Reviewed by: Michael Speakman
I have been a fan of the Persona Series since the first game in 1996 as part of the Shin Megami Tensei iterations of games. With Persona 4 releasing on the PS2 in 2008, it soon became my favorite in the series. When given the opportunity to review Persona 4: Danicing All Night (Atlus, MSRP $49.99), I couldn’t possibly say no. The curiosity of how Atlas was going to transition the popular RPG/Life Simulation game into a dancing rhythm game was beyond my comprehension and needless to say the results are AMAZING!
The Story mode takes place after the events of Persona 4 Arena Ultimix where The Love Meets Bonds Festival is taking place. Rise, who is performing in the festival has asked the Investigation Team to be dancers for her performance. But of course what’s a Persona 4 game without the supernatural Personas to summon and a mystery to investigate right? A strange force has kidnapped other Pop Idols and it’s up to Yu, Rise and the rest of the Investigation Team to solve this mystery and save the other Pop Idols by dancing (that’s right, dancing). The narrative itself is strong with its only flaw being that it felt more like a visual novel that the player is guided through than something more interactive. Persona 4 Arena games in the past have had this feel too but it felt like there was more walls of text before the action started.
The option where Persona 4: Dancing All Night really shines through is in the Free Mode. Once the players has concluded the story there’s still many dance sequences to perform for items in a store that are used in Free Mode option. It’s here where you can change dance difficulties, select a partner and change to even more unique and custom outfits via what is already included in the game or through DLC microtransactions. The controls are very comfortable to use. even in Hard Mode as i easily managed my way through using the correct button combos. Songs range from classic Persona 4 tunes to new ones and remixes so it never gets old to play numerous times. If you are a huge fan of Persona 4 or Rhythm games then I cannot recommend this game enough. Despite the wall of dialogue it’s a real enjoyable game with hours of enjoyment waiting for players willing to “kick up” their dancing feet.
Reviewed by: Michael Speakman
Played On: Playstation Vita
Score: 10/10
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