Persona 4is easily one of the best entries in the series, even despite its occasional flaws. Its memorable cast of characters, unique setting, and twist on the series' core formula worked so well and still holds up to this day. While it lacks some of the flair that the series was injected with and is now known for thanks toPersona 5, the bones of what made that legendary JRPG so great can easily be seen inPersona 4and then some. There’s a lot thatPersona 4gets right that evenPersona 5misses out on.
Naturally, while the original is available on PC via Steam, people have wanted a remake ofPersona 4for a long time. Their hopes of one were raised exponentially after the release ofPersona 3 Reload, which was an incredible remake that completely and faithfully overhauled the original experience. However, despite clamoring for a remake, after the very real and officialPersona 4remake was announced, people have been complaining. There is, admittedly, a lot wrong with it, butby far its greatest flaw is something it has cut out of the original experience.
Persona 4 Revival Looks Rough
It Isn’t As Visually Impressive As It Should Be
Persona 4 Revivaldidn’t quite launch to the fanfare that many were expecting, least of all SEGA. While many are just happy that we’re getting a remake at all, there were a lot of criticisms surrounding the game’s visual style, specifically to do with its graphical overhaul. Of course, it would be ludicrous to say thatPersona 4 Revivallooks worse somehow than its predecessor,Golden, which, by today’s standards, looks fine, albeit slightly outdated. It isn’t even likePersona 4 Revival looks worse thanPersona 3 Reload’sgraphical overhaul, as both games share a more glossy visual style.
Additionally,likely to be more in line withPersona 3 ReloadandPersona 5’svisual style,Persona 4 Revivalhas adopted the saturated, vibrant, and colorful aesthetic of those games.Reloadjust about toed the line between retaining the original cold, blue, and dark aesthetic ofPersona 3that reflected the game’s heavier and more depressing themes, butRevivaldoesn’t really do that. A lot of thediscourse surroundingPersona 4’sremakeis to do with how it abandons the muted, desaturated, and monotone color palette of the original game, which reflected the game’s story in ways I won’t spoil.
Of course,there are also questions around whetherPersona 4should be remade in the first place, specifically when it comes to certain narrative aspects that are, especially by today’s standards, but even at the time, considered rather controversial. The game deals with themes of sexuality, gender identity, and mental health in a way that I and many others consider to be distasteful, disrespectful, and not representative of the experiences of people in the LGBTQ and transgender community, especially with regard to Kanji and Naoto.
As how Atlus sees their stories is so integral to the original game’s plot, it seems unlikely that they’ll be changed for the remake.Revivalcould do a 180 and completely alter the endings of its characters' stories to fit a more progressive point of view, but that seems unlikely, even despite Atlus previously makingminor changes toPersona 5in this regard. However, while it remains to be seen whether Atlus addresses the narrative issues withPersona 4,we do know that it is changing one aspect of the original experience, and absolutely not for the better.
Persona 4 Revival Is Ditching The Original Voice Cast
Yuri Lowenthal & Erin Fitzgerald Aren’t Returning
Persona 4 Revivalis very likely ditching much of the original English voice cast, including Yuri Lowenthal, Erin Fitzgerald, and Amanda Winn Lee. For those who can’t put these names to faces, Lowenthal voiced Yosuke Hanamura, Fitzgerald played Chie Satonaka, and Lee voiced Yukiko Amagi, all of whom are integral party members. Lowenthal confirmed the remake was real when he stated in a since-deleted Bluesky post that he “will not be returning as Yosuke for the Persona 4 remake.” The reason for this is that Atlus “don’t want [him] to come back,” despite him begging them to take him.
Fitzgerald later told fans that she, too, would not be returning, stating onBlueskythat she had “not been asked to reprise [her] role as Chie Satonaka in the Persona 4 remake.” Finally, Lee stated onXthat she also hadn’t been asked to return.Persona 4 Revival’schanged castisn’t completely surprising, asthe same thing happened withPersona 3 Reload. It changed the majority of its English cast, with only one actor returning to their original role. However, several members returned as cameos, including Lowenthal, who played the protagonist in the original game, and Eiichiro Takeba inReload.
There were good reasons for recasting many of the voice actors, including their difference in age since the original recording - they’re all meant to be playing teenagers after all - as well as scheduling conflicts, and the controversy surrounding Junpei’s VA, Vic Mignogna. However, it is worth noting that the original Japanese voice cast all returned to reprise their roles. While it makes sense whyPersona 3’sEnglish voice cast was replaced, it still felt strange returning to that story and those characters hearing entirely different voices.
Tara Platt returned to voice Elizabeth inPersona 3 Reload, making her the sole member of the English voice cast who retained their original role. All other actors were replaced, with a few, as aforementioned, taking on smaller roles or brief cameos.
Of course,Persona 3 Reload’sreviewsproved it wasn’t detrimental to the finished product, but it nevertheless took some adjusting to, which, at least in my case, ruined a lot of the immersion. The same will likely happen withPersona 4 Revival. WhileRevivalcould be as compelling a remake asReloadwas, and while I’m certain the new cast will do a great job,hearing new voices portray those characters will be tough. Of course, the original experience isn’t going anywhere, nor are those amazing performances, but I do wonder how much it’ll affect people’s overall enjoyment without them.
Persona 4 Revival Could Still Succeed
There are a lot offeaturesPersona 4 Revivalneedsand major changes it should make to not only improve upon the original experience, but also modernize it for a contemporary audience. With those, I suspect thatit still has a chance to succeed, even with the significant downgrade to its visuals and overall aesthetic, and the changes to its voice cast. After all, everyone’s initial reaction toPersona 3 Reload’schanged cast and visual style was met with skepticism at first, but later praised by critics and fans alike.
While I don’t know whetherPersona 4 Revivalwill capture the magic that Reload did, I do feel like it has a chance to update the iconic JRPG in a way that Reload really couldn’t. The originalPersona 3has its flaws - mainly Tartarus, whichReloaddidn’t really fix - but it doesn’t feel quite as outdated asPersona 4does.Revivalhas a chance to truly remake the original experience, and that’s an exciting prospect, especially for people like me who enjoyed the original but had a lot of issues with its storytelling.
Atlus feels like it has matured, and I’m hopeful thatPersona 4 Revivalwill benefit from that growth. Dodgy running animations and a change in color aside, the only real flaw ofPersona 4 Revival, at least at this extremely early stage, is its changed voice cast. I hope I’m able to get over that and that the new cast does an excellent job and makes these characters their own.Persona 4 Revivalcan be something truly excellent if Atlus completely commits to changing it as much as it has committed to changing the English voice cast.
