I had heard of Persona 4, but it wasn't until a friend suggested it and explained some of it's components, as well as sent me his (at the time, collecting dust) copy of it that I worked to try to get it working on my PS3. When it was put up on the Playstation Store, I quickly got myself a copy, and from the intro, I found myself drawn into the game and how the game will go. Most of it, I will admit, was the tarot-themed Personas, Social Links, and the Japanese Mythology-inspired Personas who connect to the characters.
Intro:
[April 2011 -
A peaceful rural town is shaken by bizarre murders...
What truths will those unraveling the case find?]
The game itself is one of a mystery and is connected to the other Persona games by Igor and the existence of the Velvet Room, a traveling room meant to aid the protagonist (the player) in the quest given to them. Inside the Velvet Room resides Igor, who speaks of Tarot and it's use in telling fortunes, and Margaret, who keeps a record of the Personas you find and use or create. They are the ones who issue what would be considered the Call in the Hero with a Thousand Faces story-arc.
The first cutscene allows you to name the Protagonist (which was fun for me - "yes, the obviously male protagonist is named Felicia, a very obviously female name.") and has Igor read your cards.
TAROT ANALYSIS
The first use of tarot in this game is in what could be considered one of the 'classic' versions of it - fortune telling. Cards in general have been used for either games or fortune-telling for a while, and tarot itself has moved from the game-form to the fortune-telling form a long time ago. In this case, Igor uses a two-card spread, for the immediate future of your protagonist and the place you arrive, though the cards appear to be spread out in a three-by-three version of a Past-Present-Future spread. Due to the fact that how you play the game will affect the cards you make, the people you interact with, etc, explaining only the upcoming plot is essential.
Back to the two cards:
The Tower (XVI), Upright
Commonly, the Tower Arcana Card represents danger, crisis, and destruction or liberation. It is commonly shown as a tower being destroyed by lightning, with two people falling from it. Igor explains this as representing a "terrible catastrophe" in the location that the Protagonist is going to end up, but in this case, the reading explains that something is going to be upset, possibly by a force that appears natural, and will result in some pretty hard truths being looked at.
The Moon (XVIII), Upright
Commonly, the Moon Arcana Card represents the mind, mystery, intellect, and dreams. It is commonly shown with the Moon between two pillars, often with a water source somewhere, and either two dog-like creatures howling at it, or with something like a lobster or crustacean coming out of the water-source. Igor explains this as representing "hesitation" and "mystery" on the part of the Protagonist. The end result is showing that the Protagonist will either hesitate in this journey, will accept the mystery that confronts him, or possibly both.
[It seems you will encounter a misfortune at your destination, and a great mystery will be imposed upon you.]
With that, we begin the game with a great deal of cut scenes and little activity - you are coming to a small town (Inaba) to live out the year while your family is away at work, and are living with a relative who has a demanding job and a young daughter. Igor and the game warn you that you have one year to solve the mystery, or your "future" will be lost.
Next up - The Midnight Channel and the Mystery
