@ClingtoaScheme
You know that old saying that the No. 1 thing people fear is public speaking? I’ve always taken that with a grain of salt. I mean, sure, being in front of people and speaking about something that is often times personal is incredibly scary.
But I would much rather give a lecture over something I didn’t know, than dance. Why? Because no matter how much I flub my words, at least I’m confident that I’m not making things worse by popping and locking. Dancing is a full body message of emotion and requires more courage because there’s no hiding behind a podium when you do it.
You’re out there for the world to judge, every leap and twist expressing something words can’t. This makes dance the perfect avenue to explore the Persona series further. Where past Persona games explored these issues with
Sims-like social links or by beating the crap out of one another, Persona 4: Dancing All Night uses dance to explore themes of teenage angst and the need to belong.
Dancing your problems away
The Persona series is no stranger to changes in genre, jumping between diverse styles like fighters and dungeon crawlers. But what’s made the series stick as well as it has through these shifts is how it keeps its narrative relatively grounded against the outlandish gameplay.
Persona 4: Dancing All Night has the added issue of making a narrative fit naturally in a rhythm game, a genre not known for the depth of its stories. Thankfully, however, Dancing All Night shows a lot of care for it’s narrative, making it one of the better Persona stories to date.
Following the
Persona 4 crew and several new Idol pop stars, the story of Dancing All Night hits all the same notes most Persona games do. Characters unable to accept their true selves and not being able make real bonds with people because of it, has been tackled before in other games, but Dancing All Night sets itself apart by giving the females the spotlight.
Persona 4’s Rise and new character Kanami take the stage alongside older protagonist Yu. Rise and Kanami are both idols, a highly branded type of Japanese pop star, and each come at the Idol lifestyle in different ways. The objectification and demand on these types of stars is a key focus of both girls’ stories and makes for an interesting discussion on how people view female artists.
Idols are not treated like people as much as they are products. One only has to look at the member of Kanami’s Idol group, which are all named after cuts of meat, to see this. So it’s interesting to see how these women move from being the stereotyped playthings created by their managers to fully realized people.
It’s encouraging to see a game like Persona take on issues like this since the series has always been good about highlighting female character’s struggles. This isn’t to say that every part of the narrative is so heavy, however. The game still finds interesting and humorous ways to explore the lives of teenagers that manage to feel fresh.
If there is one major point against the games narrative, it’s that, while the characters arcs are nuanced, the actual story can be a bit goofy at times. This might be expected in a game based around dancing, but when you compare the individual characters stories to that of the main game it becomes like two different tales. I was much more interested in the lives of Rise and Kanami than the big bad’s plot to take over the world.
Aside from that small nitpick, the story of
Persona 4: Dancing All Night surprises with it careful handling of its female characters and how it manages to make their stories impactful.
Show me your moves
It’s hard enough to make a rhythm game fun to play; the controls have to be just right to be challenging but also not so hard to ruin any enjoyment. When you add the extra task of making it work on a handheld, the task transcends hard and seems almost impossible. And while it’s not perfect,
Dancing All Night does manages to get enough right to make the game a blast to play.
Dancing sections are standard rhythm game fare, made up of two to three minute bursts of arrows that must be hit during the right moments with the correct analog or face buttons. With three difficulties, these sections move from the simple to thumb-blisteringly hard. It never becomes too much though; any mistakes I made felt like it was my own fault and not the game’s.
One thing that does hinder the gameplay, however, is the HUD setup during the dancing sections. With the indicators at the far left and right of the screen it takes a while to train your eyes to move quickly between the two. Also by having them so far apart, it’s hard to focus on the choreography of the characters in the middle.
Sick beats
Now all that dancing would not be worthwhile without a soundtrack to back it up, and
Dancing All Night delivers in spades. Featuring thirty original and remixed tunes from Persona 4’s soundtrack the set list is jam packed with great music to get the body moving.
The mix includes a good variety of slow and faced paced tunes that make every dance feel different. Being able to pick from these songs in the Free Dance mode is great when you just want to jam out to your favorite songs.
While it would have been nice to have more original music on the track list, the remixes by artists like Lotus Juice, Yuu Miyake, and Norihiko Hibino add new flavor to old hits.
TL;DR
Playing
Persona 4: Dancing All Night is an experience in letting preconceived notions go. Dancing All Night isn’t your typical rhythm game and going into it ready to be surprised is the best way to play. You’ll be charmed by its narrative and entertained by its gameplay. Don’t be surprised if the music grabs you and makes you want to bust a move of your own.
+ Surprisingly moving story
+ Focus on female characters
+ Fun and challenging gameplay
+ Groovy soundtrack
- Distracting HUD
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