Fans of Persona 4 may not be too happy with the recent news regarding the seemingly confirmed remake. Voice actor Yuri Lowenthal, who played the lovable sidekick Yosuke Hanamura in the 2008 RPG, posted on BlueSky that he would not be reprising his role for the as-yet-to-be-confirmed Persona 4 Remake, despite his many calls to Atlus. Later, both Erin Fitzgerald, who played the kung-fu loving Chie Satonata, and Amanda Winn-Lee, who voices the shy heiress Yukiki Amagi, also confirmed not being in the title. While many are focused on the game’s semi-confirmed existence, despite rumors dating back to last year, it looks like the remake of the beloved RPG will include an element from Persona 3 Reload that, prior to launch, many weren’t too keen on.
Persona 4, released in 2008 for the PlayStation 2, kept the traditional turn-based battle system of Persona 3, but now let you control your individual party members in combat. In addition, the game takes place in Inaba, a rural town now rife with strange murders and a worrying fog rolling in. You, as the protagonist, will team up with other students to solve the murder cases and save future victims via the mysterious Midnight Channel, accessed through the TV. Many praised the game’s story and gameplay, as it helped shape what the series is now, but much love went to its cast, which was rife with heavy-hitting voice actors who are still hugely popular today. However, with Yuri’s confirmation, it seems we may not be hearing them anymore.
Persona 4 Remake Will Likely Recast Every Character Like Persona 3 Reload Did
As it seems, Persona 4 Remake will be recasting all of the main characters, replacing the old cast members from the 2008 release. That means VAs like the protagonist’s Johnny Yong Bosch (Bleach), Rise’s Laura Bailey (The Last of Us Part II), Kanji’s Troy Baker (The Last of Us), and, of course, Yosuke’s Yuri Lowenthal (Marvel’s Spider-Man 2), will not be reprising their roles. This approach happened with Persona 3 Reload, which changed all of the cast members to newer VAs like Aleks Le (Solo Leveling) and Zeno Robinson (My Hero Academia).
Speaking on that, the reception towards Reload‘s English recasting was initially met with little fanfare, given many of the actors are in the industry and can still do the roles. However, those criticisms did subside as the game rolled out, as the new VAs worked surprisingly well in the roles, especially Zeno Robinson and Dawn M. Bennett, who played Junpei and Aegis, respectively. While their performances can feel like close impressions of the original cast, it did give newcomers like Ken’s Justine Lee and Shinji’s Justice Slocum a chance in the limelight.
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Unfortunately for fans of Persona 4, the writing has been on the wall for a recast, given many of the big stars didn’t return to reprise their roles after the original and Golden. For example, both Laura Bailey and Troy Baker did not come back as Rise and Kanji for Persona 4: Dancing All Night, being replaced with Ashly Burch (Horizon Zero Dawn) and Matthew Mercer (Persona 5). While it is bittersweet not to have the original cast back together for Persona 4 Remake, it does make way for new or veteran voice actors to play these iconic characters for the new generation.
Persona 4 Remake has yet to be announced, but rumors point to a reveal at Xbox Games Showcase, set to be livestreamed on June 8th at 10 am PT/ 1 pm ET.
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