In 2020, we were all stuck inside, quarantining due to the COVID-19 pandemic...time I would've spent out on the town was now spent in my house or right outside in the backyard...and all of a sudden, I had all of this time to myself (as an extrovert, that was something that sounded awful!).
How'd I spend it? Let me start by saying as of last year, I'm new to RPGs/JRPGs in the video game realm. I mean, I never thought I’d play games just for the story or that I’d be able to get attached to a fictional cast of characters (but then I remembered people do the same thing with books and movies too). From the moment I finished Fire Emblem Three Houses for the first time, I knew I’d have a different view on why a lot of people enjoyed this video game genre so much (after all, it was my first type of game I had ever played like that outside of Pokémon). Maybe it’s the love of the cast of characters, the plot and challenges that keep me high-key invested, the adventurous journey ahead, the trials face (and also overcoming those trials) - gosh, I could go on because the answer is all of that and then some.
When I first started playing Persona 4 Golden, I thought it was all about just solving a murder case...and believe me, the game's strength comes from the process of getting to (or not getting to) the bottom of the mystery. It is up to you to find out who the killer is on your own, and preface...you can indeed get it wrong, and there is a moment in the game where you realize for yourself that you can play 85+ hours and not actually solve the case/save the world.
"Persona 4 Golden follows a group of high school students dealing with a mysterious TV channel dedicated to distorting and exaggerating their true identities. The game’s action begins when they realize they can jump into this television world to save the residents of their peaceful, rural Japanese town from being murdered by their inner manifestations" (Rouse, 2020).
But then, I realized the game was more than that. It was also about self-discovery in terms of facing your inner self, confrontation, and accepting that as a part of you. After experiencing Persona 4 Golden for the first time this past year, I can wholeheartedly see why it is so loved in the gaming community as a whole; it allows us to see ourselves within its cast of characters over the course of the journey. Each character struggles by going through a sort of crisis or doubt about their identity. That eventually leads to victorious moments of self-confidence and self-acceptance, which the characters keep exploring through their own respective character arcs.
So what did experiencing this game for the first time teach me? We can’t be afraid of ourselves - both the good and bad. At the end of the day, our flaws are part of what makes us who we truly are. None of us are perfect and never will be, and these areas of flaws only give us room to continue growing and blossoming into the individuals we are meant to be. We always have the opportunity to become better people. and there will always be a support system of others around us no matter what season of life we go through.
Remember:
You are loved.
You matter.
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