Atlus has started to give their upcoming Persona 4 RPG some special coverage in their April/May issue of their Atlus Express Newsletter. Volume One was released a number of days ago but, here's a brief summary of the answers Director Katsura Hashino had for the questions fans sent in.

Is the world that "Persona 4 (P4)" is set in linked to its predecessor in anyway? Does it matter if you haven't played Persona 3 (P3) or watched the Anime "Persona Trinity Soul"?

There are bits of content that will make players of P3 grin but even if you haven't played the previous title, you can still enjoy P4. It is a completely new and original story.

Why did you decide to set the story in the rural countryside this time?

P4 is an RPG with a mystery and suspense theme. With all the bizarre incidents happening, the countryside suits the mood better. Also, the city has been used in every Persona game so far. Changing the setting now and then gives the series a breathe of fresh life. The scenes you see aren't just drawn in a positive way like the kind of images you'll come across in tourist guides but there are also negative scenes such as the local abandoned stores. This kind of scenery portrays how the residents have two sides to them.

In Persona 3, Igor's assistant was "Elizabeth" in the Velvet Room. We haven't seen her in any of the P4 related media so far. What has happened to her?

She hasn't been forgotten. Players may learn more about her from Igor's new assistant Margaret.

The AI wasn't very sharp in P3 and actually annoyed players. Has it been improved?

Rest assured the AI algorithm has been improved. Players will also be able to give commands so everyone can choose their own style of play.

It was fun completing the Persona compendium in P3. Can it be done in P4 too?

Of course. Over 180 Persona have been prepared for P4 too.

I got bored half way through the randomly generated dungeons in P3. Has anything been added to P4 to lower the chance of this happening?

The dungeons will be unique and have various features depending on the missing person that they are based on. Furthermore, to increase the overall tempo of exploration we have adjusted the size of each dungeon floor so that they are smaller and less time consuming to get through, concentrating more on their actual content. Players will also be able to use specialised items and magic to escape at anytime then resume from that point. Not only that, while players could only explore P3's Tartarus as far as the main story events allowed you, P4's dungeons will be part of the main story events. Even after clearing them, there will be fun extra things to do.

What kind of "multiple endings" are there exactly? Just a bad ending when you lose the game?

Can't really say much because it'll spoil the game but yes, losing the game can lead to a bad ending. Basically the idea is how close will players manage to get in trying to resolve the mystery behind the bizarre murders? Players won't be forced to replay the game to get each ending and they won't need to make multiple saves either like in visual novel games to explore multiple story paths.

What about the dating aspect of the Social Links system?

The overall content has been increased. The greatest difference is that they are multi-branching. Characters can become the player's lover or just a close friend depending on how they play.

Will the characters from P3 make an appearance? I'm very interested in how the SEES members are doing.

They won't but because P4 takes place two years after P3, you might hear something about them in the game.

The characters are well dressed even though they live in the rural countryside. Where do they but their lovely clothes from?

Never thought that far when they were designed but, there is a big city near Inaba so maybe they travelled there to get their clothes. Yosuke might have got his from his father's shop, Jeunesse.

My Thoughts

Sounds like P4 will have a lot of improvements over P3. Tartarus did feel kind of segregated when I played P3 so I think it's a good idea tying the unique looking dungeons in with P4's main storyline this time. Also great to learn that one might be able to re-visit them to do side things too even after beating them.

On the other hand, I wasn't that much bothered about how plain Tartarus was. What I didn't like was how I always had to find the elevator to get back down to save. Knowing that I can now exit and resume from any point will be another plus point. I'm sure they'll put some limits in to keep it from being too easy.

I wasn't really bothered about the AI either so I think I will be sticking to setting them on "auto" when I get the chance to play.

Multi-branching Social Links system is also good too. Now I don't have to feel guilty making all the girls fall in love with the MC just to max out the links with them! It's a game but, just doesn't feel right. And you could always end up like in "Reverse or Broke" ^^;

Lastly, it's a pity we don't get to see how the P3 characters are doing but, at least there we'll be able to hear something about them it seems. Maybe it'll explain how Akihiko ended up with this Persona research team which they've yet to explain in Persona Trinity Soul.