Persona 4 - A Character Study

Widely considered to be one of the best RPG's of recent years, Persona 4 blew everyone away with its incredible presentation, fun gameplay, and excellent cast. Today we'll be talking about that last aspect in some more detail. I should warn you ahead of time that this article will contain spoilers, so if you haven't beaten Persona 4 yet, it's unadvisable to continue reading.

Recently a friend told me something interesting he'd heard on /v/ a while ago: the protagonist and antagonist of Persona 4 represent different facets of the people who are most likely playing the game (weeaboos, anon, etc). If you take some time to think about it, it makes a lot of sense.

Let's take a look at the protagonist first.

Like every SMT protagonist, he doesn't speak and doesn't have a default name (the manga gives him the name "Seta Souji", but it's not really official); the kind of person he is ends up being shaped by the player's choices.

If you play the game right, he's fucking awesome. Unlike Persona 3, Persona 4 doesn't put a limit on how many girls you can juggle. If you can get them, you can keep them, and nobody else will care. So obviously, you'll get as many as you can. Not particularly realistic, but it's a lot more fun, and makes the protagonist a ladies' man of the highest order.

His charisma doesn't just extend to his ladyfriends: pretty much everyone in your social links ends up loving him (though that isn't really unique to Persona 4), and depending on how well you can manage your social links, by endgame you'll have built up quite the social network.

These unwavering bonds are ultimately what save the Protagonist and unlock the road to his ultimate Persona in the game's true ending. And what a glorious moment that ends up being. Tossing off glasses has never been more manly.

Bottom line is, the protagonist is a blank slate for you to fill up with what the game offers you. And obviously, you'll want to make him as awesome as possible, which is what ends up making him so likable.

Let's talk about the antagonist now.

The antagonist of Persona 4, Tohru Adachi, is a pretty interesting fellow. To some he comes off as suspicious right at the start, others are fooled by his façade and are quite surprised when they learn about the kind of person he actually is. At first he seems to be a chipper, kind, and likable young man, and a helpful source of information to the cast, given his position in the investigation of the murders and disappearances. But all isn't what it seems to be.

If the player chooses to take revenge on Namatame at the hospital, they receive a sad, bitter ending that leaves the mystery unresolved. However, should they choose to spare him, and then later make the right guess at the culprit, a looming shadow suddenly closes in on Adachi and makes him look fairly suspicious. The party manages to successfully incriminate him, causing him to run away into the TV world. The party gives chase, and upon finding him, it becomes clear that his previous demeanor was nothing more than a ruse. He greets them with a malicious sneer, gleefully telling them of his sordid exploits, displaying no remorse over his terrible deeds.

Although at first glance he just comes off as ragingly sociopathic, his monologue before fighting him gives some more insight into his character.

It becomes clear that while he probably is sociopathic to some degree, he's also probably become incredibly frustrated and cynical regarding life's various obstacles and expectations. It's probably not unfair to assume that he's had quite a few of his ambitions crushed and torn aside (being spurned by Mayumi Yamano was probably not his first romantic rejection going off what he says), and rather than simply getting back up and trying again and again, he's given up and deemed them unachievable, putting himself in a place where he can't get out of, no matter how hard he tries. He gives no importance to consequences and morality, because in his unhappiness and despair, he sees no reason to.

Doesn't that all make something click?

The protagonist and Adachi are great foils for one another, and they represent different facets of the player.

The protagonist represents everything any lonely weeaboo would ever want out of high school: kicking ass, fucking bitches, hanging with bros, charming everyone who runs into you, earning money, being essentially self-sufficient, someone who you can look up to and admire.

Meanwhile Adachi represents what will probably happen to any social shut-in who can't manage to crawl out of the hole life's dug for them: stuck with a mediocre job they don't like and only took up because of a selfish perk, unsuccessful with women, lonely and bitter with life, and ultimately committing horrendous crimes for no reason, other than simple amusement. If the protagonist is the player's Persona, then Adachi is the Shadow, something that must be overcome in order to move on and become a better person.

I think that might be part of Persona 4's message. So you don't think you can ever be as cool as the protagonist. My question is: why not? Life ends up giving some people a pretty bad hand to win the game. But losing hope and not giving a fuck about anything is only going to make you spiral downwards, and ultimately won't help you at all. Everyone has flaws and insecurities they're uncomfortable with, but usually they're not something unsurmountable, even if you need a little help to eventually overcome them.

So do it. Fight your shadow self, unlock your Persona, and make your life awesome. Max out your social links, and try to save others from their Shadows if you see they need help. Make your true self someone you don't have to be ashamed of.

Music - Fleet Foxes (EP)

It's probably true that a lot of indie rock bands tend to sound alike. It's also true that a lot of them will likely put you to sleep. Sturgeon's law at its finest. It's a huge scene too, so looking for bands can be a daunting task. Most of the time you'll run into something that's not necessarily bad, but not likable enough to keep putting on repeat on iTunes. Sometimes though you'll get lucky and find a needle in the haystack.

Fleet Foxes are a Seattle-based band formed by Robin Pecknold and Skyler Skjelset in 2006.

Their self-titled EP is really nothing revolutionary and I'm perfectly willing to admit that (then again we haven't really had that in music for a while now so it's hardly a strike agains them). It's pretty standard indie rock fare. The thing is though, it's good indie rock fare. The guitar riffs and melodies are simple, but very memorable and enjoyable. Lyrics are okay, nothing too special, but nothing godawful (not like lyrics alone make a song anyway). I like this EP so much I'd be willing to support FF by going out and buying it. "She Got Dressed" alone makes this an awesome collection of music.

At the end of the day, it's just an enjoyable album to listen to, and when it all comes down to it, that's really all that matters when it comes to music. If you like indie rock at all I'd highly reccommend it.

(semi-)Daily Band: fun.

Trying to think of what band should start of this segment of the blog, I felt as though the option was clear: fun.  It matches our background, it's a short band name with only one LP, and it serves to satisfy my fetish for punctuation in titles.

First off, fun. was created by Nate Ruess, formerly of The Format.  They're based in New York City, blah blah blah, that's an awesome cover, isn't it?  Most of you aren't going to be interested in the formation of the band; most people will want to know how they sound.  In a word: fun.  With songs featuring horns, strings, choral arrangements, drums, you name it; the band has a very big sound.

From the very first track, listeners are treated to a diverse tune that is upbeat despite its lyrical content.  I, personally, felt as though I had stepped into some Disney film.  Try not to imagine some hand-drawn prince with a cleft chin, perfect hair, and a 8 inch...loaf of bread...walking down the streets, talking to a baker, dancing along buildings, and making women with huge hair swoon and sigh.  Now imagine that at one point he starts screeching, and somehow the tone isn't ruined.  That's basically what this song (and record) sound like.

With their relatively new status as a band, many people will probably fear that this is a release with a little bit of potential and not a whole lot of maturity.  Rest assured: despite being an indie-pop affair, this band combine a modern, 2000's sound with the swing and dance concepts of the 60's.  If you don't believe me, one doesn't have to look any further than 'All the Pretty Girls'.

I know that most of you won't want to read a track-by-track review, so I'll just leave you with this: this album is a collection of 10 brilliant, schizophrenic, and just plain fun songs that will have you dancing at the doctor's office, in the library, wherever you are.  If you want to listen to an indie-pop band with great taste and potential, feel like dancing, or wonder what kind of music your grandparents listened to while they had sex, this is the band for you.

Manga Review - One Piece

There's two big things I avoid when checking out manga/anime: shonen series and long-running series. I avoid shonen series because honestly, most of them kinda suck. And I avoid long-running series because it takes forever to get caught up with it all, and it typically isn't worth it anyway because when a series runs for a long time, usually what happens is the author runs starts running out of good ideas and the series goes to shit. Funnily enough, both these things coincide with the three big shonen series: Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. Considering how ridiculously bad Bleach is right now, it seems my prejudice isn't really just a prejudice.

To my surprise however, I found that fellow Pseudoroid writer Taylor was a huge OPfag, and he heartily recommended the series to me. Since he (usually) doesn't steer me wrong, I decided to give it a try.

Most of you probably know what the gist of One Piece is: the quest of a young man, Monkey D. Luffy, to sail the seas and become "The Pirate King", the greatest pirate ever. Due to eating a "Devil Fruit", a mysterious fruit which bestows those who eat it with magical powers, he has become a "rubber man", able to stretch any of his limbs as if it were rubber.

While on his journey he builds himself a small but very memorable crew, including the former pirate bounty hunter swordsman Roronoa Zoro, the lithe and money-loving navigator Nami, the lying-prone big-nosed sharpshooter Usopp, the talking shape-shifting reindeer doctor Tony Tony Chopper, among various others. Throughout the various trials and tribulations he and his crew face, they all grow stronger as combatants and individuals and gain increasingly higher bounties from the World Government, who has since branded Luffy as an extremely powerful and dangerous individual.

After sitting through 594 chapters, I have to say I'm very impressed. I have never seen a shonen manga that has run for over a decade and yet has managed to keep itself together so well. Oda either has amazing foresight and planning (considering the fact that he wouldn't have a way of knowing that One Piece would be the massive succes it is, he wouldn't necessarily have to feel obligated to plan so far in advance), or he's ridiculously good at spotting opportunities to tie his story together.

Oda's art is very distinct, with highly caricatured and stylized designs that help make each character memorable and unique. Design aside, the characters themselves are also diverse and likable, from the simple-minded protagonist Luffy, to the comic relief villain Buggy the Clown, to the kickboxing womanizing chef Sanji, to the sinister and ruthless criminal boss Crocodile, every character is different and instantly recognizable.

It's not the best manga ever, but for a shonen manga, it's entertaining and surprisingly well-written. The series still has a ways to go, as Oda has gone on record to say that it is only about halfway done, which means there is still a lot in store left for the fans. I am definitely interested in seeing how it will all end up.

If you like shonen manga, you will definitely like One Piece.

Comic Con 2010 Game Impression: Marvel vs Capcom 3

Probably the first thing we rushed to was the Capcom booth, as it's known for being dedicated to video games. What we found was a store full of great stuff, a section set up for taking a picture of you in the Dead Rising 2 universe, and a whole upper deck dedicated specifically to Marvel vs Capcom 3.

As I made my way up to the Marvel vs Capcom deck, I saw that the line was anything less than friendly. Still, I was able to get my turn rather quickly, as only a couple matches after I entered the line, the Capcom employee asked if there were any other single players ready to battle. Apparently the ten people in front of me all wanted to play against each other, so I took my chance and when up there.

My opponent was a 25-some player who looked like he was going to kick my ass. And he did. I own Marvel vs Capcom 2, so I wanted to get a feel of the characters that I had yet to play as before. Seeing as Thor and Amaterasu were both left outside of the demo, I decided to go with Deadpool, Dante, and Chris. My opponent decided the exact opposite, and picked the characters he knew would allow him to win: Iron Man, Dr. Doom, and Wolverine.

Needless to say, I was pretty much destroyed. Iron Man plays exactly as he did in MvC2, so the guy seemed to know exactly what he was doing. I didn't get a great feel of anyone but Chris, as I was destroyed far too quickly to really do anything. Chris was a fun fighter though, and his long range focus kept me away from this guy's partner attacks. I also managed to use one of Chris's Ultra attacks to knife, pistol, shotgun, and bazooka the shit out of Dr. Doom. I ended up killing Doom and nearly killing Iron Man; my opponent never had to use Wolverine.

My combination of characters were terrible choices, to be honest. Partner attacks had Chris and Dante lunging forward and totally missing my opponent, so Iron Man continued to batter me as Deadpool. I had hoped to be able to be lucky enough to play around with the fight stick, but I ended up in an XBox 360 section, playing with the controller I was least familiar with. They had a somewhat-helpful little diagram on the bottom, dictating what buttons did what, but I ultimately ended up button-mashing as if my life depended on it.

The game itself, much like MvC2, can be very one-sided depending on who knows (or doesn't know) what they're doing. Button-mashing can take care of a lot for your combo needs, and pretty much bring your opponent to the point where they can't lay a finger on you. And frankly, I'm more used to playing Super Street Fighter IV on my PS3, which I feel doesn't focus on button-mashing quite as much as the MvC series. Ultimately, as I said, I was obliterated pretty quickly. Felt bad, bro. Especially because I only got the chance to play one game throughout the entire day.

The game is incredibly fast-paced and the match actually did not feel that long, despite the fact that we each had three characters. As Deadpool, I just sort of jumped around and did kicks, and with Dante I only managed to use gun attacks for whatever reason. As I said, Chris was a majority of my gameplay time, and that's not saying all that much.

Combat isn't flawed, and it honestly feels a lot like Marvel vs Capcom 2 in 3D. As previously stated, Iron Man seemed to have nearly the exact same feel, and as I watched other matches on the gigantic screens streaming atop the booth, I noticed many of the other veteran characters looked like that too. The game looks nice, feels nice, and will ultimately be awesome. I'm positive of it.

But adding Gene or Phoenix Wright wouldn't hurt.