Persona 4 (Shin Megami Tensei)

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 (ペルソナ4 Perusona Fō) is a role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus for Sony's PlayStation 2, and chronologically the fifth installment in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series. Persona 4 was released in Japan in July 2008, North America in December 2008, and Europe in March 2009. It features a weather forecast system with events happening on foggy days to replace the moon phase system implemented in the previous games. An enhanced remake for the PlayStation Vita, Persona 4: Golden, was released in Japan in July 2012, North America in November 2012 and in Europe in February 2013.
Instead of the city locales of previous games in the series, Persona 4 takes place in a fictional Japanese countryside and is indirectly related to both Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (in terms of gameplay, story and production) and the Persona 2 duology (in terms of confronting one's "Shadow Self" to awaken their Persona). The player-named main protagonist is a high-school student who moved into the countryside from the city for a year. During his year-long stay, he becomes involved in investigating mysterious murders while harnessing the power of summoning Persona.
The release of the game in Japan was also accompanied with retail merchandise revolving around the game's theme such as character costumes and accessories. The North American package of the game was released with a CD with selected music from the game, and, unlike Persona 3, the European package also contained a soundtrack CD. The music was composed by Shōji Meguro, with vocals by Shihoko Hirata who sang the theme song "Pursuing My True Self". The game was positively received by critics and developed into a full franchise. Various manga and light novel adaptations and spin-offs have been produced, and a television anime adaptation by AIC ASTA aired in Japan between October 2011 and March 2012. A fighting game sequel to the game, Persona 4 Arena, was released in 2012.