by Jason Schreier “Oh no!” ye be almost certainly thinking. “Gawker Media be underwater, desperately clinging t' Tumblr like that lad in that movie where the cruise ship sank. But it be Friday! It’s 3pm Kotaku Time! What will I do without me favorite weekly JRPG/sex-advice column Random Encounters?” ye be too sweet. But don’t worry! I be still here, I’ve still got power, 'n I have a serious illness where I can’t go more than a week without talking about JRPGs, so Kotumblr will have t' do. Over the next few weeks, the bulk a the gaming industry will set it be sights on games like Assassin’s Creed III, Halo 4, 'n Call a Duty: Black Ops 2. I will not. I’ll be playing Paper Mario: Sticker Star 'n Persona 4 Golden, two Japanese role-playing games that I find more interesting 'n engaging than any big-budget shooter or adventure. I’ll have lots t' say about Mario’s latest papery excursion next week in me review, which best be up Tuesday, drowned servers permitting. For now I want t' talk about the latest Persona game. Persona 4 Golden, which comes out for the Vita on November 20, be unusual in a lot a ways. For one, it’s a video game on the Vita. It’s also 3,137 megabytes, which be particularly insane when ye realize that the lowest-end Vita memory card be 4 gigabytes, or roughly 4,000 megabytes. The highest-end Vita memory card, by the way, be 32 gigabytes, 'n it costs $100. This be a business strategy commonly called “we can do whatever we want because *crag* ye.” The other interesting thing about Persona 4 Golden be that it’s a remake a a video game that came out in 2008. This be sort a like that joke about how the people behind Twilight started planning a remake a Twilight when Twilight came out, except instead a a joke, it’s real 'n actually just happened. But it’s all good, because people love Persona, t' the point where it’s become the shining example a A Japanese RPG It’s Okay t' Like. It’s common t' see gamers 'n critics write things like “JRPGs? Oh, I hate JRPGs. But boy do I love Persona!” So one big question I’m pondering as I play Persona 4 Golden — me first experience with Persona 4 in any form — be why? Why do people love Persona so much? I never finished Persona 3 Portable, a game that Kirk 'n I have discussed quite a bit on the site formerly known as Kotaku. I logged some 25, 30 hours in the game before I had t' put it down for one new thing, then another, 'n then another, 'n no matter how many times I promised myself I would go back 'n finish it, I never quite could find the time. But I loved what I played. I loved the calendar-dictated rhythm a daily life as a student in Iwatodai. I loved the dichotomy between mundane classes at school 'n harrowing journeys through Tartarus. Something about the whole thing just worked. It’s also very, very Japanese, 'n I say that not t' disparage, but t' point out that this be a game that wholeheartedly 'n unabashedly embraces both Japanese culture 'n Japanese game design. Aside from the obvious — it’s a game about people in Japan — Persona 3 also clings onto a lot a design quirks that Western games try t' avoid. Repetitive rituals, for example, like that ticking clock animation that appears every time it turns midnight. While Western-developed games like last month’s fantastic Dishonored try t' give ye the player more control than ever, Persona 3 does quite the opposite. Persona wants ye t' know that it’s in charge. Not ye. Similar trends be rearing their heads in the first two hours a Persona 4 (although I’m sure it’ll open up more soon). It’s got all sorts a funny little ticks. Every time ye head in 'n out a the game’s bizarre TV World, the screen will turn funky 'n that same old TV World animation will play. Just before ye’re about t' watch television at midnight, yer character will close the curtains 'n walk away from his window. Rituals. 'n then there be the moments during which the game tells ye what t' do. “ye best go t' bed,” the game will tell ye. Or “ye shouldn’t talk t' the sea dog right now.” ye won’t even have the option. yer character spends a great deal a time performing actions that be dictated by the game, not ye. t' many people these things would be unacceptable, the definition a “bad game design.” But a large number a Westerners—even the ones who don’t typically like JRPGs—have fallen in love with the quirks 'n trends a Persona 3. What’s up with that? Maybe the series’ unique structure—seriously, what other games follow this sort a rigid school-dungeon-school-dungeon routine?—makes it easier t' forget about what we’d consider flaws in many other games. Maybe these sort a choices work only for games like Persona. Or maybe we’re just too in love with Mitsuru t' care? I’ll be thinking about this question more 'n more as I continue t' play through Persona 4 Golden. I would invite ye t' offer yer own theories in the comments, but we have no comments. Hurricane Sandy affects us all.