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The cast members of Persona 4 sure are a busy bunch.
After following up their solid role-playing turn with appearances in a fighting game in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and an old school-style dungeon crawler in Persona Q — as well as two anime stints in between — it's no surprise that the game's elite eight are trying their hand at something different yet again.
So how about some dancing, guys? Heck, why not. Seriously, nothing these characters do honestly surprises me anymore. Then again, any excuse to partake in an adventure with the Persona 4 crew is alright in my book. They're such a lovable, goofy bunch that I really don't mind extra opportunities to revisit the Persona 4 universe, even if it ain't in role-playing game form.
The good news is that the cast chemistry in "Persona 4: Dancing All Night" remains as good as ever. Granted, it starts out a bit slow at first but once all eight were quickly reunited, I found myself laughing out loud with a lot of their interactions. Some things never change. Not that it's all fun and games, mind you. As with any Persona 4 story, it starts out with a serious tale involving the suicide of a popular entertainment idol, followed by a mysterious otherworldly phenomenon that endangers residents of the real world. Like any Persona 4 story, the storytelling in this one is also extensive, though it's not out of control like BlazBlu Chrono Phantasma Extend.
Regardless, it's one of the longest, most involved tales I've ever seen in a rhythm game that I've played for sure. Just because the game genre is different doesn't mean Atlus is skimping on the story for Dancing All Night, which is what the cast does the entire game, by the way, as dancing is the only way they can address problems this time around. Seriously. Anyway, there's a full-fledged story here for sure — perhaps too much for folks who just want to get to the rhythm parts. For such folks, you have the option to fast skip story segments in the campaign. The campaign, by the way, took me about six hours to get through on my first playthrough with minimal skipping. As far as presentation goes, graphics are also good for a Vita game and the production values are top notch.
The rhythm portion of the game, meanwhile, takes an interesting approach, though I can see it being a polarizing interface as well. Instead of the typical straight path used in a lot of games in the genre, Dancing All Night places the timing nodes on the left and right sides of the screen while keying prompts to up, left and down on the D-pad as well as the triangle, circle and x buttons. The left and right analog sticks also serve as scratch triggers for turntable sounds. Under Dancing All Night's system, prompts basically radiate from the center of the screen to the sides. While it's a different system that's refreshing for sure, it also effectively splits the screen and makes it easy to lose track of one side of the screen while you're concentrating on the other side unless you have the vision of a fly. As such, you'll want to take good advantage of your peripheral vision in order to accurately track everything that's going on.
Admittedly, it can be a tough slog at first. Although I didn't fail any missions during my first playthrough under normal, it took me about three dances to get used to the interface and consistently get "Brilliant" ratings. Once I did, though, it was actually quite enjoyable, especially during times when I get into a groove and don't miss any notes.
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Granted, I've yet to have a completely all-perfect game despite having several no-miss sessions under my belt. Like most rhythm games, not missing any notes is one thing but getting perfect timing for every note is another. It doesn't make it any easier when Dancing All Night tries to trip you up with the placement of its double taps, holds and double holds, though I find the simple thumbstick taps to be mostly responsible for my misses. It's partly because I have to move my thumbs farther away but there's just something about them that tends to mess my rhythm at times, particularly when they're accompanied by a bunch of other button combinations. Also, while the game starts you out by naturally cycling the prompts from one side to another, harder songs scatter them more so it's easy to lose track of one side or get confused, especially during faster songs. On the plus side, the margin of error between a miss and a hit is more forgiving in this game compared to other rhythm games so even if you don't get a "Perfect" hit, you might still get a "Good" one.
In addition to the campaign, Dancing All Night features a free play mode where you can use additional characters, such as Adachi and Marie via DLC, for example. You can also unlock items as well as clothing and accessories for your characters by using money earned in-game to buy stuff, with purchases sometimes unlocking the option to buy other wares as well.
As far as downsides go, the biggest would be a lack of variety in the track selection. I mean, I've always loved Persona 4' s music but after powering through the campaign in one sitting, I started getting a bit tired of the music, which includes variations of the same songs sometimes. Fans of Persona 3 also will be disappointed by its absence in this game though to be fair, this is P4 Dancing All Night, not P3 Dancing All Night. Folks who have a hard time getting used to the user interface for the rhythm portions will be frustrated as well. (My tip is, ignore the busy animations of the characters in the middle and focus on the prompts. That and using the beat of the music as a guide so you can view the whole screen better as opposed to getting tunnel vision on one side by looking at the icons too closely and missing what's going on at the opposite side).
Overall, Persona 4: Dancing All Night offers a fresh take on the rhythm genre with a unique interface as well as a meaty story featuring the beloved cast. If you loved Persona 4 and want more stories about the gang and are a fan of rhythm games such as Hatsune Miku Project Mirai DX to boot, getting this is a no-brainer.
- Rating: 4 out of 5
- Cost: $50, Vita
- http://www.atlus.com/p4dan/
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