So a few weeks ago, I had finished playing Persona 4. It was the PS2 version so I wasn’t able to see all the extra content that was present in the game Persona 4: Golden. However fortunately, my friend Nightmaren streamed the game and I was actually able to witness all the changes myself and it was fascinating to see all those new content. Moreover, the ending was much better than what it was back on the original. Many questions were answered and the ending felt a lot more fitting than it was on the original game.
In short, Persona 4: Golden felt like the game that it was supposed to be in the beginning way before they remastered it into the Vita version.
Why am I talking about Persona 4 of all things? Well, not just because Nightmaren beat the game today, but how I feel about it. Don’t worry, it’s nothing too overanalytical (and I do have some pictures that I took today).
As you may already know, I adore Little Busters! with all my heart. The friendship that is displayed in that game is possibly one of the best ways that I can show others how I feel about the topic. After being exposed to Persona 4, I’ve realized that this game shares many similar traits that I cherish. Memories with friends, touching the hearts of many, the feeling of being one with your friends, the inescapable bond you end up developing with you friends. Persona 4 not only presented this in the game, but they delivered it with the human touch that they were not able to accomplish back in Persona 3.
I think it’s very important to express one’s self to his or her friends. There are so many people that I see that are “friends” but I’ve always questioned if their friendship was only on the surface. I’ve had my fair share of that kind of friends and it was never an enjoyable experience.
I suppose it may be due to my desire to connect further than just mere acquaintances, but I’ve always felt that most of my friends (when I was younger) were only friends because it was convenient. What I mean is that we were friends because we were in the same class, lived next door to each other, etc. After I would move from the area, I would never get in contact with them again despite the fact that I had their numbers.
Why is it, I would often wonder, that they just don’t try to chat with me like we used to back in the day? There were so many “best friends” that I thought I had when I was younger. It always disappointed me to no ends when I would make contact with some of my older friends (especially now) but they react in kind of a shallow way.
An example would be a friend I used to know as Joseph. He was my best friend when I was in elementary school. He and I supported each other a lot. We had a lot of great ideas, we hung out a lot, had great birthdays together, hell, I fought for him when he was in trouble.
When I tried to subtly spark a conversation between him and I, it failed. I honestly feared just how much he changed from all those years ago. I feared that he didn’t care about the friendship that we had back years ago. I feared that he only added me on Facebook because he remembered me.
I suppose it’s something I shouldn’t let grip on me for so long, but I can’t help it. That anxiety chews me apart slowly but surely until it gets to the point where I just forget about it altogether.
Though there are friends that you never let go. My guild from Mabinogi, Onigiri, has proven to be one of the best things that has happened to be. I now have two best friends that I know will be with me for the rest of my life, Luekion and Nightmaren. It is these people that I know I have created that tight bonds with. Nightmaren and I chat with each other practically every single day. Before, I thought something like that just doesn’t happen, but it does. While Luke and I may not always chat all the time, the words that are not shared together will never sever the bonds that we have.
A great analogy to use to describe these bonds are “Social Links” from Persona. The links that I have with Luekion and Nightmaren are of max links. They are the friends that I will always have and we will grow up together. I cherish them with all my heart.
It’s funny. When there’s something that’s related to the bonds of friends working together towards a goal, it warms my heart. There was a post I made about family (though it’s kind of embarrassing to listen to). I mentioned that a family doesn’t just consist of just blood relations, but the bonds that you share with your friends.
It’s important to realize that your friends are just as much as family to you as your blood relatives are. Treat them well and they will do the same. Never disregard your family for they are truly the few people that will care enough for you. When you find that family, never let go of it. It’s so rare to find anymore. Thus when you finally do find it, cherish it forever.
**Minor Epilogue Spoilers**
I practically spent my whole summer streaming Persona 4 Golden– I am glad that I was able to share my favorite vita game with you guys in the way I did since it allowed us to experience it together. In a way, I spent my summer with you guys even though I did not leave my apartment much save for apprenticeship duties. I will have to do it again sometime with a different game as it was a unique experience considering the type of game Persona 4 is.
I have a lot of respect for media that emphasize the humanity in the portrayed characters. I value such emphases because they equip us for the challenges we face in real life. Whether the lessons learned take the form of lenses that shed new light on otherwise normal situations or dilemmas that help reaffirm (or reevaluate) one’s values, I feel that properly portrayed “human” characters have a lot to offer in our lives.
That being said, a work can simultaneously be appropriate in its portrayal of human characters and be an “ideal” as well. While there exist works that are not as ideal-centric (such as Seinfeld, which has often been referred to as a “show about nothing”), the vast majority serve to depict ideal or fantastical situations — after all, many people do use art as an escape from the “mundane” reality. While it is almost disappointing to admit, Persona 4 too fits this image.
Now it is important to note that the “ideal” is not synonymous with the “impossible”. In fact, it may embody a very possible scenario, but one that is somewhat rare to encounter. This is how I would characterize the friendship depicted in Persona 4. Outside of their bonds with one another, what I would especially call attention to is Yosuke’s line during the epilogue in response to their appearances having changed over the months. He said something along the lines of not wanting to be the type of person who is always talking about the past / good-old-days and said that he’s totally cool with people changing. This is a notable sentiment for multiple reasons:
1. Yosuke has changed, but has not changed enough to stop a) valuing Yu’s company and b) valuing their past adventures together.
2. Yosuke, not being one to want to dwell on the past by his own admission, still values Yu’s person without the past in the picture, meaning that he values Yu’s attributes and personality.
The fact that bonds start to fade over time is an evolutionary adaptation in the event that the people close to us were killed out in battle (recall that humans are social animals). The point of its existence is to let people move on, but this fading over time can also persist in the event that the bond is strong enough to trump that adaptation. The factors that would decide this strength would be similar to Yosuke’s qualities explored above (and that they do not change over time as the person changes). Consider if Yosuke had changed to the point of no longer valuing some of the stuff he did previously? It is not out of the question as people change because of their environment and would certainly throw his contact with Yu into question. It wouldn’t mean that he didn’t enjoy his previous time with Yu together, just his values have changed to continue forward.
Of course, it is not as simple as I described above. There are people who have nothing in common who enjoy each others company while hardly exchanging any words. There are people who always take solace in the past. There are people who have such rich, fulfilling lives that looking at the past seems like a waste of time in comparison. While the above discussion surely factored into your experience with some of your friends, the point is that it cannot be analyzed. Friendships are transient while lifelong friendships are the ideal. Just because a friendship doesn’t endure (even if it was at one point your most important friendship) does not mean they do not appreciate the time they spent with you. Looking at it as a lie or a betrayal (unless it is actually the case) is quite frankly melodramatic and ultimately a destructive mindset.
There are friends that I have stopped talking to despite having a means to communicate with them because I was the one who changed. There are people who I went to high school with who have qualities that I once valued, but now I see such traits as childish and ill-informed. Had I not gone to college, I may still be compatible and value talking with them. It does not diminish the fun I had at lunchtime with them. It is just that my life has been steadily moving along while theirs have stayed stagnant.
… and that really is an appropriate consideration to make when it comes to friendships, I would say. Life moves on one way or another — some friends are transient travelers who accompany you on your journey (sometimes for long periods of time) while others become loyal comrades (a rare and wonderful thing). At the end of the day, instead of trying to characterize them mid-journey, the only way to know for sure is to see who is still standing next to you as your journey comes to a close.