It is chronologically the fifth installment in the Persona series, itself a part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise, and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in July 2008, North America in December 2008, and in Europe and Australia in March 2009, being one of the final major exclusives for the system.

[1] The main focus of the game revolves around Personas, avatars projected from one's inner self that resemble mythological figures and represent the façades worn by individuals to face life's hardships.

Similar to the Press Turn system used in other Shin Megami Tensei games, battles are turn-based with characters fighting enemies using their equipped weapons, items, or the special skills of their Personas.

[1] Persona 4 takes place in the fictional, rural Japanese town of Inaba (稲羽市, Inaba-shi), which lies among floodplains and has its own high school and shopping districts.

[1] A few days into the game, the protagonist, Yosuke, and Chie follow the "Midnight Channel" rumor, which leads them to discover the TV World and meet Teddie, a friendly creature that appears as a hollow bear costume.

[12] On April 11, 2011, Yu Narukami arrives in Inaba to live with the Dojimas, consisting of his uncle Ryotaro and his cousin Nanako, for one year, as his parents are working abroad.

[15] They awaken their Persona abilities, realizing that the murders stem from attacks by Shadows, beings native to the TV world created from repressed emotions, and are able to rescue several would-be victims.

Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Rise, and Teddie one by one come to accept the parts of their psyches they rejected, which manifest as giant Shadows in the TV world, allowing them to wield Personas whilst each joins the group in turn.

[16] Naoto Shirogane, a nationally renowned "Detective Prince" investigating the case, is also rescued and gains a Persona, and joins the group who learn that "he" is actually a girl who assumed a male identity to avoid the police's sexism.

The group tracks them down within the TV world; the culprit, Taro Namatame, becomes possessed by the nearby Shadows and transforms into Kunino-Sagiri which attacks them but is defeated, and both he and Nanako are taken to the Inaba hospital.

During Nanako's stay at the hospital, the fog that appears when the Midnight Channel occurs persists in the real world beyond the deadline, causing increasing panic among Inaba's inhabitants.

Upon being questioned by the Investigation Team, Namatame explains that his kidnappings were an attempt to protect those who appeared on the Midnight Channel from the killer, not realizing that the TV world was dangerous and that trapping them within was how the murder victims were killed; he also denies sending Yu any warning letters.

Upon looking over all of the evidence they have gathered, the Investigation Team determines that the real killer, and the writer of the threat letters, is none other than Ryotaro's assistant, Tohru Adachi, who inadvertently confirms their suspicions when confronted and flees into the TV world.

[18][19] It is possible to fail to deduce the real killer's identity; doing so or killing Namatame by throwing him into the TV both result in bad endings, in which the recurring fog permanently sets in, leading to humanity's demise.

[20] Killing Namatame also results in Nanako remaining dead; otherwise, she will be miraculously revived by Teddie, who undergoes a journey of self-discovery during which he realizes, and later accepts, that he is a Shadow.

[21] After fighting Adachi, he is controlled by Ameno-sagiri, who reveals that the fog is harmful to people and will eventually cause humanity to fall into a permanent state of ignorance and transform into Shadows.

[28] Persona 4 Golden adds two new Social Links to the game; Adachi and Marie, a mysterious girl who becomes an assistant in the Velvet Room and wishes to uncover her lost memories.

If the player advances Adachi's Social Link to a certain level, they are given the choice to withhold his identity as the killer from the rest of the Investigation Team, thus leaving the mystery unsolved and resulting in the "accomplice" ending.

During a surprise party with his friends, Ryotaro, and Nanako, Yu discovers, among others, that Namatame is running for mayor in order to atone for his previous actions, that Adachi has become a model prisoner, and that Marie has a new identity as a popular TV anchor presenting the weather, which she seemingly is able to control.

The design team had a good deal of creative freedom while creating Personas, because although Japanese deities have well-defined character traits, their appearances are traditionally unspecified.

[4] RPGFan's Ryan Mattich recommended Persona 4 as "one of the best RPG experiences of the year", noting that "among the cookie-cutter sequels and half-hearted remakes", the game is "a near flawless example of the perfect balance between 'falling back on what works' and 'pushing the genre forward'.

"[72] 1UP.com's Andrew Fitch summarized Persona 4 as "some of this decade's finest RPG epics", although the reviewer criticized its "slight loading issues" and the time spent "waiting for the plot to advance".

[4] Hyper's Tim Henderson commended the game for "willfully embellish[ing] absurd urban legends and other ideas with such assured consistency that the resulting whole is unshakabl[y] coherent".

[46] Amazon exclusively sold the Persona 4 "Social Link Expansion Pack", which included an additional soundtrack disc, a t-shirt, a 2009 calendar, and a plush doll of the character Teddie.

Set two months following the True Ending of the original game, the members of the Investigation Team are pulled back into the television and forced into a fighting tournament called the "P-1 Grand Prix" hosted by General Teddie.

Set midway through the events of Persona 4, the Investigation Team is pulled into an alternate version of Yasogami High and must work with the members of SEES to find a means of escape.

The game takes place half a year following the events of Persona 4, as the Investigation Team look into a mysterious "Midnight Stage", which is abducting girls from Rise's idol group.

It is written by Shūji Sogabe, the artist for Persona 3's manga, and started serialization in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Black Maoh Volume 5 in September 2008.

[143] Actors starring in the stage production include Toru Baba as the audience-named protagonist, Takahisa Maeyama as Yosuke Hanamura, Minami Tsukui as Chie Satonaka, Risa Yoshiki as Yukiko Amagi, Jyōji Saotome as Daisuke Nagase, Motohiro Ota as Kou Ichijo, and Masashi Taniguchi as Ryotaro Dojima, and Masami Ito as Tohru Adachi.

Additions to the cast include Yuriya Suzuki as Rise Kujikawa, Juria Kawakami as Naoto Shirogane, Yasuhiro Roppongi as Tarou Namatame, Shotaro Mamiya as Izanami, and Arisa Nakajima as Margaret.