In all honesty, when Persona 4 Dancing all Night was announced I like many others was totally skeptical. Looking back on that fact now though, Persona 4 is the perfect fit for a dancing game. I mean just look at this new trailer from E3.
Glorious, completely fabulously glorious. Persona 4s cast of characters are a prime fit for this style of game and so is the world of Persona 4. The original game was a bit of a change for the series, which is traditionally very dark storytelling wise. While the original certainly had its dark tones (the game is about a murder case after all), the overall tone of P4 is totally goofy. It's a story about a group of teens banding together and learning about each other in the process while investigating a murder mystery. Of course anyone who has played Persona 4 knows that this investigation takes place inside of a mysterious TV world that people get trapped in. After Persona 4 another game came out that involved the gang getting wrapped up a crazy fighting tournament in Persona 4 Arena.
This makes the series easily accessible for a multitude of ideas from here, including P4DAN. In the game the investigation group gets back together to find abducted idols, and in the process ends up in another TV-like world where they have to dance to survive instead of fight. While a bit far fetched in theory, this idea sounds incredible to me. The world of Persona is very malleable, and the team always finds a way to stretch their storytelling muscles. The original Persona 4 is one of my favorite games of all time, and was one of the most emotionally impactful experiences I've ever played. I have high hopes for this new game, of course I myself am a huge fan of rhythm games.
I would encourage anyone interested to take a look at Persona 4 Dancing All Night when it releases in September, the Persona team has an incredible standard of quality in their games and this looks no different.
The final thought I'd like to leave you with is the impression that the Persona 4 games leave on me. Never before have I played a game that just gives me such a feeling of happiness with everything related to it. Persona 4 was one of the happiest games I've ever played, so much so that I put the soundtrack on my phone to cheer me up in times that I may not be feeling top notch. Seeing these characters return yet again in such a fun setting, gives me that warm fuzzy feeling inside. It may sound cheesy, but honestly no other game gives me the feeling that Persona 4 does. Maybe part of that reason is that Persona 4 got me through a really rough time in my life, with serious family issues a terrible breakup and an identity crisis. But that's something to delve into another day, and believe me I will.
Video games can be great escapes for us at times, as well as teach us many lessons. Sometimes as well, they can just be whole lot of fun. That's exactly what I'm expecting out of Persona 4 Dancing All Night, and boy I cant wait to take my favorite characters to the dance floor in another interesting tale. To close play the Persona 4 games if you haven't, they're all well worth it. It's easy to find some character or part of the story to connect to in such a wonderful game. Also, here's a picture to describe my feelings right now.
