Let's Play Persona 4: Everyday's Great at your Junes!

Thanks Sheridan!

There's also this. It doesn't comes up as often in the game, but it's super catchy! This was the battle music when Pockets was fighting mysterious figure in the fog in his dream.

For a long time, the entire P4 OST playlist was my study music. I listened to it exclusively when I studied, so I'd be in a study mood whenever I heard it.

Nowadays, the velvet room music is one of my phone's ring tones

And wow, the new music in Golden :O Funnily, several things have made me thought about getting P4G and a vita just for it (yeah...), but nothing is more convincing about this than listening to the new music!

Let's go to the shopping district shrine. And study again, with all the "knowledge is important SOON" hints the game is dropping.

Ack, knew I had forgotten something! Usually that's the music that plays when you confront someone's shadow, like Yosuke or Yukiko's, right before they transform into the boss.

And yeah, the Golden music is pretty boss. I even think the Pop Song they made for Rise is pretty good (well, the dubbed version anyway, since Laura Bailey is a way better singer than Rise's original voice actress), but I can't find a music quality cut of that, just the cutscene, and it features characters we haven't met yet.

Might want to spoilertext that last bit, sheridan.

She mentioned the name Rise in The Longest Intro Ever and that we would be getting to know her more, so I figured it was safe to leave that unspoilered.

All these locations sound interesting, but Pockets will go to Yasoinaba station, it looks like!



Pockets's been to this station --- it was where Dojima and Nanako went to pick him up on his first day in Inaba. It's awfully empty at the moment. Kind of give you an idea of how middle-of-nowhere Inaba is.

Since we're here anyway, though, may as well get a soda!



Satisfied with this, Pockets decides to go somewhere else.



> The dusty shrine doesn't seem to be well-maintained…
> ……
> You decided to go home.

But...



It's a... fox wearing a... red apron with pink hearts. I can't tell whether the lines near its eyes are scars, or its fur just looks like that.

The fox leaps into the air and lands before Pockets.



> A mysterious fox suddenly appears before you...!
> Does it live at the shrine…?
> The fox is staring at you…
> You notice an "ema" plaque in its mouth…



> It reads: "Please help Grandpa's legs get better. -Keita"
> The ema has someone's wish written on it…
> Why did the fox give this to you…?
> Upon closer inspection, you notice an unusually-shaped leaf stuck on the back of the ema.
> You don't recognize this leaf from the local plant life…
> Is this also the work of the mysterious fox…?

The fox suddenly runs away and hides, just moments before an old man appears.



Old Man: Nobody lives at this here shrine. I come by to tidy things up once in a while, but lately my legs are so achy, I just can't do it. I've been tryin' to get this place up to snuff, but there just isn't enough money to go around. Well, I s'pose I'll pay my respects. If my legs don't heal, I can't maintain the shrine. That, and…I won't be able to visit Keita anymore. He's my grandson, y'know.
> You wonder if it could be the same Keita who wrote the ema…
> The ema said, "Please help Grandpa's legs get better…"

As Pockets is wondering about the ema, the old man seems to have noticed it too.



Old man: That leaf…! That's it! Way back when, my grandmother always used to say a leaf shaped like that was the best kind of ache remedy out there! Ah, what memories! But how'd you get your hands on this!? I didn't think you could find those in the mountains anymore. P-Please, young man! Can I trouble you to spare me that leaf!?



Old Man: Ooh, this is it, this is it… Now let's see here…
> The old man stuck the leaf onto his leg…

That's kind of an old thing to do with a leaf. I mean, what can it do? It's certainly not healing that leg...



Whoaaa :O

Old man: Hm…? Hrmmm…!? Why, I feel better than I have in years! You really helped me out, young man! I'm so grateful! Now I can go visit my grandson! I'd better pay thanks to the shrine for bringing us together like this!

The old man puts some money into the offering box and promptly goes somewhere else, perhaps to celebrate, leaving Pockets alone.



> Not only did it heal his aches, it even restored his vitality…

Now that the old man's left, the fox comes out of its hiding place. The dialog box is incomplete, but I want a picture of the fox with the happy flowers



> The fox looks on from his hiding place with a contented expression…
> It seems to understand that the wish on the ema has been granted…



> It even seems to understand that the shrine has received an offering…
> ……
> Perhaps you were given the ema with the leaf for that express purpose…



> It seems it has taken a liking to you…
> It has a mouthful of the same leaves as the one you gave to the old man…
> It seems the fox has a large stock of mysterious leaves with healing powers.



Because the fox really likes you, from now on it always talks to you when standing on two legs like that.

... nah, just kidding, not really. But sometimes when it's happy, it kind of jumps up like that for a second.

> The fox is looking up mirthfully…
> Is there something it wants from you?
> You cannot help but think how strange an encounter this is, as you realize a fox is showing you a pile of leaves…
> You feel a faint bond forming between you and the fox…

Oh no, where did my important screenshot go D: I can't find it, so I'll have to settle for the next one...



Another social link gained! The fox, our Hermit social link, is one of the two social links we can hang out with on rainy days, so we often try to save it for those days if possible. Unlike other social links, we don't actually get to know the fox, even though that would be interesting. Where does this fox come from? Why is it wearing an apron full of heart? Where does it get those leaves? Why is it living in the shrine? Does it have family? So many questions about this mysterious fox. Unfortunately, by the end of the game, these questions will still be mysteries to us!

Instead, we rank up with the fox by completing the quests on the Ema. In theory, this will bring more offering to the shrine. So I guess the fox is kind of like a shrine maiden.

> Where does it find such amazing leaves…?
> You reflect how useful it would be to have this kind of help while exploring the "other side"…
> ……
Fox: *yip *
> Does it understand your thoughts…?



> The fox gestures toward the offertory box…
> Is it offering its servies for a price…?
Fox: *yip *
> It seems the mysterious fox has agreed to aid you in your exploration…
> However, it appears that it will require a fee for its cooperation…
> You returned the ema to the shrine and went home.

Pockets is the one that can understand thoughts here!

It's another ordinary evening watching TV with Nanako.



Announcer: The alleged thief is Pumena Sushin, a 26-year-old former employee of the company which reported the stolen vehicle. According to the police investigation, Pumena Sushin was…



It looks like Dojima isn't too late today.

Dojima: *sigh * How many days is he gonna call in sick? These rookies lately sure are-
Nanako: Welcome back!



And here's a smiley Dojima face!



Nanako: Oh, that's a Junes bag! What's in it?
Dojima: Haha, good eye. Well, today is Children's Day… So I brought you a present.
Nanako: Yaaaay!



Dojima: Haha, it took me a while to decide what to get you. You like it?
Nanako: Oh wow, there's a picture on the front! That's so funny! Ahaha, yay!



Now I can't help but imagining Dojima saying "I got you a present" with a stern, serious face. I also can't really tell whether this is out of common courtesy (i.e they haven't known each other that well, so Dojima bought him a polite present).



Somehow both choices are extremely appropriate for the situation.

Dojima: Don't mention it. I thought you might need one soon. Well then… let's eat.
Nanako: Okay!



Nanako is an easy to pleased child. She talks about her present for a while after dinner.



Dojima, on the other hand, really want you to wear yours.



And of course, before we go to sleep, we must study! There's a test coming up after all.



Whoa, double increase again! This is the second time in a row.

Vote for tomorrow!

Afternoon:

- Hang out with Yousuke

- Hang out with Chie

- Work at the day care; start Temperance social link

- Other (study, eat, etc.)

Evening:

- Start Dojima's social link

- Study

- Make envelope

- Fish

I think you need to hang out with Chie. Something tells me that something REALLY good will happen if you get her Social Link to level 3...

Temperance social link in the day

and

Dojima social link at night!

Let's start a new social link, then.

And again, fishing. Although I am tempted by the prospect of another new social link.

False is in the right here.

Screw fishing.

Chie

Dojima.

WE NEED MORE NEW SOCIAL LINKS. capsban for suckas.

Just so you guys know, party member S-Links give more tangible playing benefits (they learn moves and stuff).

Also, and this is just my opinion here, but Temperance is extra super boring.

It's always been very interesting to me to hear what social links other people like or consider boring. Personally, I think which social link a person likes/dislikes says a lot more about themselves than about the social link itself A lot of it is about your life experience --- different people sympathize with different characters and their situations.

I like Rise a lot as a person (have always had the MC date her), but I thought her social link was kind of contrived. On the other hand, I really like Ayane's story, though apparently almost everyone else hates it D: A lot of people stay away from Ayane because of her 12-year-old appearance, but I can relate to trying hard and still not be good enough, so her story was memorable to me.

Chie and Dojima.

Partially because those are my two of my favorite social links in the entire game.

Temperance wins by 1 vote, it looks like!



The Golden Week holidays are over, and everyone is back to school. Pockets sees Yousuke riding his bike.



Yousuke: Huh? Yeah… Hey, by the way… I'm sorry about the other day… You know, about what I said to Nanako-chan.



Yousuke: Hehe… Same to you! Y'know, Chie and Yukiko seem different lately… They're a lot closer. Oh yeah, I was just curious, but are you… Ehh, never mind. If we keep chatting, we're gonna be late. *sigh * Man, school's such a chore. And now my bike's messed up too… The roads are much wider here than in the city, so I keep speeding… I guess that did it. *sigh * Oh well. Until I get my motorcycle license, I'll just have to walk.

Yousuke never actually gets a motorcycle in the game, unfortunately. I heard he does in Golden, though!

Yousuke and Chie finds Pockets during lunchtime to say that they want to hang out.



Yousuke: If you've got some free time after school, let's go get our grub on.
> Maybe you should hang out with Yousuke after school...



Chie: Hey, if you have time after school, hang out with me, okay?



Unfortunate for them, we don't intend to hang out with either. We stay around a little bit after school's over and talk to them, though.



Yousuke: At least they were peaceful. I listened in on the housewives gossiping at Junes, but it doesn't seem like anything happened. And I haven't heard anything about someone disappearing suddenly, either…



Chie: Hmm…
Yukiko: I don't know. But we shouldn't relax as long as the culprit remains at large.
Yousuke: I wonder… Will someone show up on TV again if it rains? If we only knew a little more about who the killer might be…
Chie: Eh, it's no good fretting over it now. If someone does show up on the Midnight Channel, then we'll deal with it.
It's supposed to start raining soon, but I hope this weather holds through next week… You know… Midterms…
Yousuke: Ugh, you had to go and bring that up… I don't wanna think about it.
Chie: *sigh * I wish I had Yukiko's gift for studying…
Hey Yosuke, why don't you have Yukiko go over some of the material with you?
Yousuke: Hm? Oh, that's right. Yukiko's ranked at the top on every exam.



Hey, that sounds like a good idea. Why is Yukiko looking at Yousuke like that? Oh wait-



Yousuke: Huh? What's wrong?



Yousuke: Ow…! What was that for? I'm just asking you to help me study…
Yukiko: Oh, I'm sorry… You were talking about studying… I thought it might've been an off-color joke. Our inn has had some strange visitors lately…
Yousuke: If you thought it was a joke, then just shrug it off!
Yukiko: Sorry. My hand moved without thinking…
Yousuke: Geez… Thanks a lot, Chie, for bringing up the whole studying thing.
Chie: Wh-What did I do!? You're the one who made it sound creepy and wrong! "Private lessons," huh?
Yousuke: Wha-Then it's mostly my fault!?

Chie and Yousuke continues arguing for a while.



And somehow Pockets gets caught in the middle of their argument, like usual.

I had a busy day when I was playing this, so I completely forgot about the mini-quest and the hermit quest =/ Ah well. There's always tomorrow. Pockets is just too eager to earn some more money.





> Yuuta is full of energy.
> Once again, the children tug at you from all directions.



Yay! Even though we didn't spend any time doing anything that increases Understanding, the increase from dialogue choice was enough to bring our Understanding up a level.

Afterward...



Day Care Supervisor: Most of the children have been picked up, so you can go home now. I'll see you next time!
> You finished your job and went home.
> You earned 5000 yen from your day care job.





Yuuta's Mother: Oh! It's already this late? I've been sitting here all this time...

Yuuta's Mother:... Oh, no, it's nothing. *chuckle* You're a high school student, right? You seem so mature... I was heading over there... I was going to pick up Yuuta... But then something came over me... My legs just went weak all of the sudden. Every time I think about him...
> Yuuta's mother sighs...
...Have you heard?



Yuuta's Mother: He's my husband's child. I've lived with Yuuta for 6 months now... Only six months... Already six months... We don't ever talk to each other. My husband is away, so... Heh... It's just the two of us, alone together in a dark house.



Yuuta's Mother: Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell you all this out of the blue... But I'm glad that you listened to me, that you spoke with me... Haha, it's sad, but these days, I don't even get to have simple conversations like this...
> Yuuta's mother is smiling weakly...
> It seems she is trying her best to adapt to living in the countryside...
> You feel a faint bond forming between you and Yuuta's mother...



We get a new social link, Temperance! I don't know whether I just like all the social links others consider boring or what, but I do like Temperance. I won't say it's my favorite social link, but I definitely like it better than some others. The Temperance social link is about the struggle of a young mother to be accepted by her step-son. It's not always a smooth journey, and she wants to give up a lot of time. Adding to her stress are the vicious rumors of other people, and the responsibility she has on Yuuta's behavior as his mother despite the fact that they never get along. Everything together really shows you how lonely and helpless she feels. It's a special link to me, because I can relate to both sides of this conflict, Yuuta and his step-mother.





Eri: It was nice seeing you.

Pockets goes home after that. Dojima is home today. Now that Yukiko's disappearance has been resolved, there's not as much urgent work at the police station.



Dojima: Haha, you bored? Well, have a seat.



Dojima: ……
> Dojima is desperately casting about for a topic to discuss…



Dojima:You school days will be over before you know it. Make sure you have fun while you can.
> Dojima is nodding to himself.
Dojima: What else…? Oh, yeah… How about your friends? ……
Looks like you've made plenty of 'em.
> Dojima is scowling…
Dojima: I'm not saying who you can and can't hang out with, but…

Oh no! I guess living in the same house with a police officer is not the best situation to be in when you have murder-related secrets to hide.



Umm... well. Dojima is kind of intimidating. How about...



Dojima: Huh. So you did notice…
> Dojima is nodding.
Dojima: For some reason, wherever there's an incident, there you are… I wish I didn't have to consider this, but… the killings began around the time you came to town. My job is all about eliminating the random element. I look only at the facts. If you keep getting caught up in my job, then…

Oh no, are we in trouble?

Nanako, overhearing our conversation, comes over.



Dojima: I-I know. I didn't mean it like that.
But you're bullying him…
Dojima: I'm not bullying him. We were just having a little talk. It's getting late… Go to sleep.
…Okay.
Dojima: Sheesh… She's really taking a shine to you.



> It seems Dojima is genuinely worried about you.
> You feel a faint bond forming between you and Dojima…



And this is our second evening social links! Dojima's schedule is slightly erratic, depending on the main plot, but in general maxing it is not very hard. Dojima's social link intertwines with Nanako's social link, and the loss of Nanako's mother play a significant role in both.

Dojima: Things here might be a little different from what you're used to, but this is a good town. Though it's a little dangerous right at the moment… Now then, it's about time for you to turn in. Get some sleep. 'Night.

And that's it for today! Tomorrow is a rainy day.

Afternoon:

- Eat at Aiya, or

- Study (with someone probably) at the library

- Fish?

Evening:

- Hang out with Nanako. Wow, we can finally do that!

- Study

- Make envelopes

- Fish?

Vote away!

Study at library and hang with Nanako

Eat at Aiya and hang with Nanako!

So fishing is a futile hope until after the studying-for-exams is done, I guess?

Let's definitely hang out with Nanako though.

Study and Nanako.

I can relate to this too, so out of curiosity, I looked up her story. Yeah, that's a nice character arc.

I personally have no problem with deceptively childlike character (heck, it's another thing I can relate to), as long as the story doesn't fetishize her (e.g. having her do klutzy things and make expressions for "kawai-ness" purpose) and neglect to actually construct a realistic character. Based on what I've read, Ayane doesn't seem to be the case.

Yarp, I chose her for the first time during my current 100% run, and, as of Rank 6, I'm really taking a liking to her. It's just that she's about an inch taller than Nanako and looks three years younger

Sorry, I cannot get over her design. She looks like a bizarre Oompa Loompa.

Plus, I've never been a big fan of "confidence problems" s-links. Puts me in mind of Fuuka. *Shudder*

Aww, I like Fuuka just fine. I just wish her entire S.Link had been about her joy in doing what she likes (fiddling with and creating electronic devices,) instead of shoehorning the tired old trope about "lol she can't cook what kind of girl is she" and then tacking on the other bit at the very end.

It rains in the morning when Pockets walks to school and eavesdrops on his schoolmates.



This is just not true! The rain will stop before the evening.

Chatty Girl: Speaking of misery… Midterms start next Monday. They even post the results up for everyone to see…
Easygoing Girl: Oh, don't worry about it. Your life isn't going to be ruined by one little piece of paper, is it?
Chatty Girl: What? How can you possibly believe that?



If you can say something in red highlighted text, it must be true!

Chatty Girl: Talented people really are more highly valued in society, aren't they…?

Now I know why no one ever values me!

Today's class is with Mr. Hosoi. We've seen Mr. Hosoi before, but in case you don't remember, he's the one with a hand puppet of himself.



Mr. Hosoi: Of course I did. But it's raining today. I hope I can get it home without getting it all wet… So, uh, does anyone have an extra book cover they'd be kind enough to lend me?
…Whoops, I have to start the lecture! Don't try to distract me by talking about books! Um, so day we'll be covering free morphemes. Let's get out our textbooks, everyone. A free morpheme is a word that can stand alone. New words are formed by combining them with other free or bound morphemes. Some examples would be the words "tree," "juice," or "fruit." As you can guess, bound morphemes can't stand alone. …Okay. Let's see if Pockets-chan can answer this.



Answer: Ionize.

Mr. Hosoi: Good job. That was kinda tricky, wasn't it? The word "ionize" can be divided into "ion"-a free morpheme-and the suffix "-ize," meaning it's not a morpheme. Understanding morphemes may give you clues about a word's meaning, so it wouldn't hurt to study them.

That wasn't really a hard question or anything; I just didn't have the right screenshots.

The rain persists through the morning into the afternoon. Exam week is coming up. Before we head to the library though, let's go do a few things.

First is buying that new book. I'm sure it's the last one in store!



Then we should visit that fox. Maybe it has an ema or two for us.



The fox is hiding on the rooftop, just like the last time.



> This ema is written in rounded characters. It's probably a young girl's handwriting.
Ema: I want things to go well with the person I like!
> It seems the fox wants you to fulfill the wish written on the ema on its behalf.
> Could it be thinking that if wishes are fulfilled, then more money will be put into the offertory box?



Fox: *bark *
> The fox seems happy.

We only get a rank up with the fox when we complete a quest, not when we accept one. And so the Hermit social link has this strange arrangement where accepting a quest is free (does not consume a time slot) but turning in a completed quest will cost time. Since we can see the fox even on rainy days, such as today, reporting a completed quest to the fox is almost always reserved for when it rains.

This is all we need to do today at the shopping district!

On Pockets's way back to Yasogami High to study, he notices some girl standing near his shoe locker...



Female Student: Ahhhhhhh!Wh-What? Oh, you're the transfer student, Pockets…



Yeah, I know, it's a pretty funny name, too. Who would name themselves that. Right?

Female Student: Oh, I must have made a mistake! This is your shoe box!
> The female student ran away…
> She said something about shoe boxes…
> …?



> It's a note…
Note: "Excuse me for writing this to you out of the blue.
"I held my emotions back all this time because I didn't want to disrupt your studies, but I just had to tell you…



> It's a very moving love note. However, it's actually addressed to someone else…
> Apparently, the girl put this in the wrong shoe box…
> Perhaps she's the one who wrote the ema request the fox showed you.
> You should talk to her the next time you see her…

What luck! We just happened to run into the very stranger we needed to meet.

Speaking of people we need to meet, let's find Chie and offer her some... lessons.



Not that kind of lesson. Pockets isn't Yousuke!



Chie: Got it! Thanks for helping me, Pockets-kun!
> You were able to get more studying done by teaming up with Chie.