The soundtrack was mainly composed by Shōji Meguro with 4 tracks composed by Atsushi Kitajoh (known for his soundtrack for Trauma Center: New Blood and Trauma Team) and 3 tracks by Ryota Kozuka (1 composition and 2 arrangements). All the vocals were done by Shihoko Hirata, whom Meguro felt was able to meet the range of emotion needed for the soundtrack, while the lyrics were written by Reiko Tanaka, whom Meguro believes “writes excellent English-language lyrics.” Meguro was given a rough outline of the game’s plot and worked on the music in the same manner and simultaneously with the development of the story and spoken dialog, starting with the overall shape of the songs and eventually working on the finer details. According to Meguro, the songs “Pursuing My True Self” and “Reach Out to the Truth” were composed to reflect the inner conflict that the game’s main characters; the former song, used as the opening theme, helped to set an understanding of the characters’ conflicts, while the latter, used in battle sequences, emphasized the “strength of these characters to work through their internal struggles.” The “Aria of the Soul” theme used in the Velvet Room, a concept common to all the Persona games, remained relatively unchanged, with Meguro believing “the shape of the song had been well defined” from previous games.
According to the game director Katsuro Hashino, while “ideas [had been] thrown around earlier”, development on Persona 4 in Japan did not begin until after the release of Persona 3. The development team consisted of the team from Persona 3, all of whom retained their roles from the previous game, as well as new hires who were “fans of Persona 3″. Atlus intended to improve both the gameplay and story elements of Persona 3 for the new game, to ensure it was not seen as a “retread” of its predecessor. Hashino said that “to accomplish that, we tried to give the players of Persona 4 a definite goal and a sense of purpose that would keep motivating them as they played through the game. The murder mystery plot was our way of doing that.” Feedback from players on Persona 3 and Persona 3: FES was considered a “great help”, as well as over 2,000 comments generated by Atlus staff on the company’s internal website. The plot of Persona 4 was “greatly inspired”, according to Hashino, by mystery novelists such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, and Seishi Yokomizo. “The discovery of a bizarre corpse in the countryside, and…a story that reflects Japanese mythology” are common elements of Japanese mystery novels reflected in the game.[39] Persona 4 was officially unveiled in the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu in March 2008. An article in the issue detailed the game’s murder mystery premise, rural setting, and new weather forecast system. The game’s North American release date was announced at the 2008 Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California.[40] Atlus has stated that there will be no Persona 4 FES.
Persona 4 Anime Teaser
After all the teasing and brief clips, here’s a proper promo video for the Persona 4 anime, scheduled to air in Japan this October. It’s nice to see some of the effects from the games made it in:
Shōji Meguro, born June 4, 1971, is a game music composer, best known for his work on the Shin Megami Tensei series of RPGs by Atlus. His first work for Atlus was on the collaborative soundtrack to 1996’s Persona, where, among other things, he composed the theme of the Velvet Room. He would then move onto bigger roles by composing half of the soundtrack to Devil Summoner: [Soul Hackers] and a nearly solo effort for the Dreamcast slasher [Maken X].
However, he began his rise to prominence in the game music scene for his work on Atlus’s Megami Tensei games, beginning with Shin Megami Tensei: [Nocturne] in 2003. He quickly follow up with the guitar-laden Digital Devil Saga and its more electronic oriented sequel, along with Devil Summoner: [Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army].
He attained more wide acclaim for his pop-imbued soundtracks for Persona 3 and Persona 4. More recent Shin Megami Tensei works include Devil Summoner 2: [Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon]. Both directorial and arranger duties for the PSP remake of the first Persona, new tracks for the PSP port of Persona 3, and dark original compositions for the latest in the main Megami Tensei series, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey.
He has also composed music for the Trauma series, including [Under the Knife] and its remake. Second Opinion, along with contributions to its spiritual sequel Trauma Team. Upcoming projects include an original soundtrack for [Atlus] dream-induced mystery game Catherine, and arrangements for a PSP port of Persona 2: Innocent Sin which, like PSP Persona 1, Meguro will also be overseeing as director
The soundtrack was mainly composed by Shōji Meguro with 4 tracks composed by Atsushi Kitajoh (known for his soundtrack for Trauma Center: New Blood and Trauma Team) and 3 tracks by Ryota Kozuka (1 composition and 2 arrangements). All the vocals were done by Shihoko Hirata, whom Meguro felt was able to meet the range of emotion needed for the soundtrack, while the lyrics were written by Reiko Tanaka, whom Meguro believes “writes excellent English-language lyrics.” Meguro was given a rough outline of the game’s plot and worked on the music in the same manner and simultaneously with the development of the story and spoken dialog, starting with the overall shape of the songs and eventually working on the finer details. According to Meguro, the songs “Pursuing My True Self” and “Reach Out to the Truth” were composed to reflect the inner conflict that the game’s main characters; the former song, used as the opening theme, helped to set an understanding of the characters’ conflicts, while the latter, used in battle sequences, emphasized the “strength of these characters to work through their internal struggles.” The “Aria of the Soul” theme used in the Velvet Room, a concept common to all the Persona games, remained relatively unchanged, with Meguro believing “the shape of the song had been well defined” from previous games.
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