CR Persona 4 The Pachinko
CR Persona 4 The Pachinko is a Pachinko spinoff of Persona 4. The machines were released in pachinko parlors starting in September of 2015, with around 10,000 machines being made in all.[1] Sega Sammy announced in December of the same year that they were developing an app version of the game for their online pachislot and pachinko subscription service, 777Town.[2] The app came out on April 15, 2016.[3] Though the machines have since been phased out,[4] the app can still be played through 777Town.
Blurb
Japanese
家庭の事情で都会から叔父の住む稲羽市へと引っ越してきた鳴上悠。平和な田舎町に見える稲羽市だったが、突如として遺体がテレビアンテナに吊るされた状態で発見される怪奇殺人事件が起こる。町を覆う原因不明の霧と、若者たちの間で囁かれている「マヨナカテレビ」の噂。雨の日の夜の午前0時に消えているテレビをひとりでみると画面に運命の人が映るという・・・。様々なクラスメイト達との学園生活を送る中、徐々に近づいてくる異変は何をもたらすのかー?
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Gameplay
CR Persona 4 The Pachinko plays similarly to the pachislot. When playing the digital version, graphics of balls fall from the top of the screen, travel down the various pins, then land in 1 of 3 holes on the bottom. If a ball drops into a specific hole, then the player gets one spin at an on-screen slot machine. The number of spins the player has queued up are represented by blue Persona cards on the bottom of the screen, maxing out at 5. The slot machine has 3 reels with the numbers 1 to 8, and each number is represented by a different Persona 4 character. If the player gets 3 of the same number on the slot machine, then they win a jackpot. There are various probability changing events that make it less straightforward than simply matching 3 of the same number.
The Pachinko machine has a central screen and two side panels. Each side panel is split into two sections. The top right shows a calendar with a weather forecast, the bottom right shows the player's avatar and Social Stat pentagon, the bottom left shows Margaret doing fortune telling to inform you of which events are coming up next, and the top left is an explanation of Persona 4' plot and characters. The game features many animations, voice overs, and remixed music tracks from Persona 4 that are unique to the pachinko game. Many accompany the probability changing events and only play based on what the player gets on the slot machine. The pachinko game also uses the protagonist's name from Persona 4 The Animation (Yu Narukami) and includes music from the anime.
Slot Machine
The character who represents each number is as follows:
- 1 is Yukiko Amagi
- 2 is Teddie
- 3 is Yosuke Hanamura
- 4 is Kanji Tatsumi
- 5 is Chie Satonaka
- 6 is Naoto Shirogane
- 7 is Yu Narukami
- 8 is Rise Kujikawa
This numbering still applies even when the setting and game mode changes:
- When the setting is the Dojima Residence, Nanako dresses up as the members of the Investigation Team for the slot numbers. For example, for number 8, it shows Nanako dressed up as Rise in her Marukyu Tofu shop outfit.
- When the setting changes to the Velvet Room, the slot numbers display as tarot cards. For example, when the number is 5, it will show a tarot card featuring Chie.
- When the game changes to Fog in Reality mode, 1-6 and 8 change to the Shadows of the respective characters. For 7, it changes to Yu wearing his glasses to see through the fog.
Customizations
Before starting, the player can customize their experience by bringing up their profile and selecting one of the Persona 4 characters as an avatar. The Investigation Team and Nanako are all available to use. Selecting a character as an avatar also changes the machine's voice over to that character. By default, it will be set to Yu. The selected character avatar will be shown in the bottom right sub-panel of the machine. While playing the game and getting more slot rolls, the player increases their rank, and unlocks things such as: puzzle pieces, background music, and customization options for Battle Mode. Player progress can be saved and resumed next time through a randomly generated 18 character password.
Game Flow
The game starts out in Normal Mode where the player sees animations of places around Inaba while they accumulate pulls at the slot machine as the balls fall. After you begin to accumulate pulls, the slot machine will appear on-screen and automatically operate. There are six locations shown, and the player moves around to them randomly: Yasogami High School, the Central Shopping District, the Dojima Residence, Junes, the Samegawa Flood Plain, and the Velvet Room. These locations serve as flavor; there is no traditional "gameplay" as everything is automated and based on random chance. For example, at Yasogami High, an animation of the protagonist walking through the hallways plays, and there are random events where you speak to teachers and students. At the Dojima residence, the slot machine changes to Nanako dressed up as members of the Investigation Team, and the Persona cards on bottom which track how many slot pulls you have turn into flowers.
From Normal Mode, players can enter the following other modes:
- Fog in Reality: Yellow fog takes over Inaba and the slot machine changes to everyone's Shadows.
- Battle Mode: Mode where the player engages in combat versus Shadows and Bosses. "Battle" is also based on RNG, but the player has some input by pressing on the large "Push" button on the machine at certain timings.
- Reaper Mode: Mode where the player must fight The Reaper.
- Lost in the Fog Mode: If the player gets wiped out by a Shadow in Battle Mode or by The Reaper, then they wind up in a place resembling Yomotsu Hirasaka filled with fog. While the protagonist runs through this area, you accumulate slot rolls like normal, and you automatically leave Yomotsu Hirasaka after rolling 20 times.
The player can win a jackpot from any of the 5 modes that gives them more silver balls and allows them to continue playing. There are also bonus and special bonus jackpots which have a higher payout.
Animated Events
While balls fall and pulls are accumulated, there are various events where the player has a chance at a jackpot. Alternatively, it gives them a chance to enter Battle Mode. The events play with an animation of a scenario that has a success and failure. If the player does not get a jackpot, then the failure animation plays. If the player does get the jackpot or gets to enter Battle Mode, then the success animation plays. Some events have multiple parts where the player must succeed multiple times in a row in order to get a jackpot, namely the TV World events.
Examples of animated events:
- Yu, Yosuke, and Teddie try to eat Yukiko and Chie's curry
- Yu and Teddie compete in the beauty contest
- Chie tries to use Galactic Punt near the river
- Yosuke rides his bike and swerves as to not hit a cat
- Yukiko tries to cook
- Rise asks you to take a photo of her
- Teddie tries to jump into a futon
- Kanji tries to knit a stuffed animal
- Naoto tries to reveal invisible ink on a note sent by the phantom thief
- Yosuke fights Shadow Chie by himself, Yu steps in to help him, then they finish off Shadow Chie
- Chie fights Shadow Yukiko by herself, Yu steps in to help her, then they finish off Shadow Shadow
- Yukiko fights Shadow Kanji by herself, Yu steps in to help her, then they finish off Shadow Kanji
Version Differences
There are two different versions of the Persona 4 machine: The 392 version and the 99 version. The 392 version has a lower probability of getting a jackpot, but a higher payout of silver balls. The 99 version has a higher probability of getting a jackpot, but a lower payout of silver balls.
Nomenclature
Language | Name | Meaning |
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Gallery
Screenshots
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Player selecting which character to use as an avatar and voice over
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Normal mode with the protagonist walking around Yasogami High
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Kanji, Yosuke, and Chie on the on-screen slot with their respective numbers
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Almost Jackpot triggers when the player gets the same number on the left and right reels
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Almost Jackpot event where Chie Satonaka fights Shadow Yukiko
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Almost Jackpot event where Yosuke Hanamura nearly runs into a cat on his bike
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Almost Jackpot event where Naoto Shirogane has to uncover invisible ink
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Nanako Dojima taking over the slot machine when the game setting is the Dojima Residence
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Nanako dressed up as more members of the Investigation Team
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Player randomly meeting Tohru Adachi in the Central Shopping District
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School NPC MC hosting the beauty pageant
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Player meeting Ms. Sofue
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Start of Fog in Reality mode
Videos
External Links
- Official Webpage
- CR Persona 4 The Pachinko Explanation Document
- CR Persona 4 The Pachinko 392 ver
- CR Persona 4 The Pachinko 99 ver
References
- ↑ pachinko’s blog. Published September 1, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2024. Hatena. Blog.
- ↑ 【特報】『CRペルソナ4 the PACHINKO』開発中!. Published December 11, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2024. 777Town. News Article.
- ↑ 【正式版】『CRペルソナ4 the PACHINKO』登場!. Published April 15, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2024. 777Town. News Article.
- ↑ "Pachinko machine search with 0 nationwide store results" CRペルソナ4 the PACHINKO 392Ver.. Retrieved March 16, 2024. P-World. Database.