Welcome back everyone, I’m the Grey Gaymer, and without a moment’s delay, let’s move onto the next episode! This time, we’ll be talking about one of my favorite games, that I also never beat… but one that inspired me to get involved in game making and analyzing in the first place! It’s Persona 4!
Persona is a series designed by Shin Megami Tensei, A serious game maker from Japan, who fills his games with cultural references and cultures from around the world. He takes inspiration from global pantheons, as well as the tarot deck, and tarot shines through, especially in the Persona series.
Persona 4, as well as the Persona series in general, takes place in modern Japan, however the topics and themes behind the games are much more global, if not otherworldly, commonly dealing in issues like humanity’s perceived reality, and the collective subconscious.
I’ll try to avoid any topics that dive too heavily into culture away from America’s specifically for ease of explanation.
For the purposes of setting things up however, here’s a quick rundown of how Persona 4 brings human issues to light, and makes them the center focus, without sacrificing gameplay.
In Persona 4, the main character (you) moves to the small town of Yasoinaba, in the wake of a string of murders. While this is going on, you pick up some information from the high school rumor mill about something called the ‘Midnight Channel’ or ‘Mayonaka TV’. With your new friends you decide to watch it, and discover something odd. You see one of your classmates on the TV, the next day, she’s been murdered.
At this time, you find that you can enter the TV, when you accidentally stick your hand in it…
Your friends decide they don’t believe you, and upon showing them, you all enter the TV, and find some information about the murders in this strange land.
People are thrown into the TV, and soon after they’re found dead on TV antennas around town. When in the TV, humans are hunted by beings called shadows, and we learn that when someone enters a TV, their hidden feelings and emotions become manifested as shadows.
When people are thrown into the TV, their feelings also manifest as places and dungeons, themed around the secrets they’re hiding. Anything from a castle to a strip club to a gay bath house can be formed by the shadows, and you have to dig through all of them in pursuit of those who have been kidnapped.
As you start hunting down the killer, you meet many people, and make it your goal to rescue those thrown into the TV, before they’re killed by their shadows.
After you enter, you gain your Persona, a mythological figure used to represent you, and allow you to fight the shadows. Also that’s why the series is named what it is. After someone overcomes their shadow, they gain a Persona themselves. These Personas allow you and your friends to save others in the TV, and fight their shadows, Also they’re all Tarot themed.
Now that we’ve set up the story, let’s talk about the characters themselves who interest us: Kanji Tatsumi, the emperor, and Naoto Shirogane, the wheel of fortune. Their stories are crossed, and they’re both a bit complex, but I’ll try to give you the jist of what they mean, maybe we’ll even get into tarot!
Kanji is first introduced on the TV, and then the next day at school. He is, simply put, a punk. And after seeing him on the TV, you and your friends decide to investigate him. You decide to tail him around town, as he’s on a “date” with a mysterious individual in blue (Naoto).
He doesn’t like to talk about why he might be with a dude, and might be enjoying it, so he gets angry and chases your characters down. Later on, you go to his family’s textile shop and ask his mother about him. He tells you he’s a very sweet boy, and you learn overtime that he loves arts and crafts, he’s actually really really good at them.
You also learn that the reason he was seen as a punk is because he scared off a biker gang, singlehandedly, because they were keeping his mom up at night.
The next day he disappears, and on the midnight channel, he reappears… behaving very flamboyantly, walking around in his underwear, with a noticeable lisp, and entering into a very steamy gay bathhouse.
This is Kanji’s shadow, if you can’t tell, and upon entering, you see more of his confrontation with his shadow. His shadow, (and he himself) feels rejected, and wants someone to accept him for who he is. Because of his interests in arts and crafts, he was bullied by girls primarily, he was worried about appearing unmanly, so he hid his interests and made himself appear masculine. Perhaps he doesn’t like girls at all, the game kinda just… leaves it out in the open.
Either way, upon the defeat of his shadow (a hulking man surrounded by roses with two buff attendant guy holding mars symbols… yeah) he receives his Persona, themed after the Emperor, who appears as a giant hulking masculine figure.
In Tarot the Emperor card symbolizes strong masculinity, as well as being in charge. When reversed, the card symbolizes someone who is using their heart more than their head.
Kanji wants to be seen as masculine, like the Emperor, and his fear is largely in his head, while his actions are entirely impulsive, which roots him more in his heart.
Now, let’s move on to Naoto.
Naoto Shirogane is a detective in training. Trying to live up the their family name, Naoto goes around, and is known as the ‘Detective Prince’ among the town. Naoto has been investigating the case, unknown to the police, and has been making more headway than the police by a long shot, even making some progress on you. Naoto appears on a TV interview, and later that day, is thrown into the TV, even after trying their best to stay safe.
While trying to find information, we find Naoto is a loose cannon, who regularly disobeyed the police, making them appear more childlike.
Naoto’s shadow appears on TV, talking about some kind of ‘body altering’ operation, and then quickly running away, they’re wearing an oversized labcoat, with a high pitched, almost robot-like voice.
Once tracked down, we find Naoto strapped to an operating table, their shadow talking about some kind of operation, here it gets thrown in our face that Naoto is a girl, and that something about that isn’t what she wants.
Upon denying her shadow, it turns robotic, and fires altering lasers at the team. Upon the defeat of the shadow, Naoto comes to grips with herself, and accepts her shadow and gains her persona, a buzzing tomboy figure, and part of the wheel of fortune arcana.
The wheel of fortune arcana represents a change, and a trend that what goes around comes around. When reversed it means very much the same thing, meaning more that ‘this too shall pass’, as well as saying it’s okay to ask for help, don’t go it alone. Naoto is someone who has had a harsh past, we learn that her parents died doing detective work, and Naoto wants to follow in their pursuits, but fears she can’t because she’s a girl. The wheel of fortune is a card of change, and that’s something that has haunted Naoto, but also is exactly what she needs.
Kanji and Naoto both hint at two ends of LGBT culture. Kanji hints at gay men, and Naoto hints at Trans culture. Admittedly, this game does something fairly annoying and sort of… never confirms anything, in fact, in some cases it incredibly denies that these characters are actually Gay or Trans themselves. However, they do both hint at one thing that’s very relatable for anyone in these situations, especially in high school: They are buried in their own minds, and the fear that surrounds their coming ‘out’ about their insecurities.
As someone who’s gone through one of these situations, I can testify that there’s just a lot of fear that comes with it. You fear how the world will react… you fear how you’ll be treated, however it seems like in general, it really is all in your head.
I don’t know how accurately Naoto represents Trans concerns… in all honesty, it’s as much an issue of wanting to be another sex/gender as it is to want respect as a woman… Naoto really covers two bases.
Even if it turned the LGBT issues into gender insecurity issues (which are just as important mind you), Persona 4 is still one of my favorites games… even if I can’t date Kanji…
Anyway, that’s all I have for this episode.
Want more information on the craziness known as Tarot? Links in the description!
Remember to check out the Game Theorists, Gaijin Goomba, and others for cool info and culture, I don’t know anyone else who has really looked at Persona 4 critically, but I’m sure there are others on youtube who have talked about it… and until next time!
I’m the Grey Gaymer, and I hope your days are bright, and you live them to their fullest! Until next time!