Persona 4 Original Soundtrack
| Persona 4 Original Soundtrack | |
| 「ペルソナ4」オリジナル・サウンドトラック | |
| |
| Publisher(s) | Aniplex |
| Tracks | 52 |
| Length | Disc 1: 57:12 Disc 2: 71:44 |
| Release | CD  Japan July 23, 2008Streaming
WWWorldwide January 5, 2021 |
| Catalog Number | SVWC-7565~6 |
Persona 4 Original Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 2008 game Persona 4. The original music was composed and arranged by Shoji Meguro, with further contributions from Atsushi Kitajoh and Ryota Kozuka. The physical album released in Japan on July 23, 2008, and was later released worldwide on digital streaming services in January 2021.
Production
The Persona 4 Original Soundtrack was composed primarily by Shoji Meguro, who was joined by two new members of the Atlus Sound Team: Atsushi Kitajoh, who was hired in fall 2006, and Ryota Kozuka, who was hired in February 2008.
The soundtrack's development was closely tied to the progress of the game's production. Typically, the sound team’s work begins after graphics and text are implemented, which means that early builds of the game had no music. To address this, Meguro used placeholder tracks, including some from Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner and Burn My Dread: Reincarnation: Persona 3, to prevent developers and testers from getting too attached to early drafts. Generic placeholder tracks were also produced, some of which ended up in the final game; one of these placeholder tracks was "Alone," which makes it the first song composed for the game. Meguro had also created a placeholder track was so versatile that it was used in multiple scenes during development and almost made it into the final soundtrack, but director Hashino refused since it was a very simple loop that took Meguro only 14 minutes to make;[1] despite this, the audio file for this song is still present in the final release of the game, left unused.[2] It was also shared publicly by Meguro on his Atlus Net blog in 2008.[2] Kitajoh and Kozuka worked on the game’s diegetic tracks, filtering songs to sound like they’re coming from low quality speakers that the characters themselves can hear. Kozuka’s first song composed after joining Atlus was the "Junes Theme," based on the short commercial jingle sung in-game by Nanako. Nanako's version was originally composed by Kenichi Tsuchiya and arranged by Kitajoh.[3]
In Meguro's blog, he noted that recording for the soundtrack’s vocal tracks was particularly demanding. Shihoko Hirata was selected as the lead vocalist for Persona 4 because Meguro felt that her voice matched the game’s youthful tone, and Shigeo Komori and Reiko Tanaka returned as the lyricists following their work on the soundtrack for Persona 3.[4] Recording took place over three afternoons in February 2008, with the final session lasting eight hours;[5] "Heaven" required only one take, but the wide vocal range of "Your Affection" made finding the right key challenging, and the song ultimately had to be recorded over two days.[4] The recording process involved double-tracking, a technique used to create a fuller sound by recording the same melody twice and panning the tracks left and right; each chorus was recorded multiple times, while repeated sections were copy-pasted in the editing program instead. Harmonies were sometimes created on the spot, with Hirata improvising by ear or following prepared melodies. After recording, Meguro would review the takes with the vocalist before taking a short break and proceeding with the next song; he credited engineer "Sato" for his reliability during the sessions, noting that he handled both the engineering and direction aspects of the recordings.[5] Meguro was proud of the final product but did worry about the pronunciation of the English vocals, saying that if the sound team had more time and money he would have composed entirely Japanese versions for the Western releases.[6]
The creative direction of the soundtrack was influenced heavily by the game's setting and themes. Hashino gave Meguro creative freedom for the soundtrack but did provide some thematic direction; while the previous installment, Persona 3, was set in a more urban, polished environment, Persona 4 took place in the countryside, which pushed Meguro toward a rougher, more grounded sound.[7] He had also requested traditional Japanese instruments be used due to the setting, but Meguro ended up not using any.[8] The game's opening theme, "Pursuing My True Self," was composed after receiving a rough outline of the game’s scenario, which helped Meguro shape the overall emotional tone of the track.[9] Its slightly urban feel reflects the fact that the protagonist is still living in the city before the game begins.[4] The battle theme "Reach Out to the Truth" expresses the strength of the characters’ resolve as they confront their inner conflicts, and the "-First Battle-" arrangement has an added guitar riff intro representing the protagonist’s feelings of confusion.[4] Meguro intentionally structured the song to create a sense of emotional drive during battles;[9] though the song was finished late into development, Meguro had a clear vision for the track from early stages.[4] Meguro also created a sense of continuity through the repeated use of various motifs. For example, the melodies for both "Reach Out to the Truth" and "I'll Face Myself" are used during a verse of the final boss's battle theme, "The Genesis." Bits of the credits theme "Never More" appear consistently throughout the soundtrack, first playing before the game even begins as the basis for the title screen's theme, "A Corner of Memories," then in the generic every-day track "New Days," and into the post-battle themes "I'll Face Myself" and "I'll Face Myself -another version-", before its full appearance during the staff roll.
The physical soundtrack release was mastered to be as high-quality as possible, with vocal tracks being optimized for 24bit 48kHz recording and revised for proper sound balance.[9] Mastering for the first disc of the soundtrack was finished by early June 2008, with the second disc completed later the same month.[10]
Release
The 54 song Original Soundtrack was released on two discs in Japan, published by Aniplex on July 23, 2008. A 24 page booklet featuring liner notes, track commentary, and lyrics was included with the release. Additionally, the bonus track "Electronica In Velvet Room" was created exclusively for the soundtrack and included on the second disc. It was later added to Spotify in Japan in 2018 as part of the "PlayStation Game Music Grand Prize," where it ranked fourth based on number of plays,[11] and the album became available on multiple streaming services worldwide in January 2021.[12]
A North American release was published as Persona 4 Soundtrack, split into two discs with altered track orders: Side A was included with all copies of the game, and Side B was included only with the "Social Link Expansion Pack." Side A was also packaged with European copies of the game, with the title Persona 4 Soundtrack Selection. An alternate Japanese release of the album with a revised track order, titled Persona 4 Sound Collection, became available on iTunes in June 2013 as two separate purchasable albums: Vol.1 and Vol.2; the album was removed from the store in 2023.[13] Persona 4 Vinyl Soundtrack, a vinyl pressing of the Original Soundtrack, was released in 2022.
Reception
The Persona 4 Original Soundtrack CD sold over 50,000 copies in 2008, outselling notable releases like the Ponyo soundtrack. On the Oricon charts it peaked at number 5 and held a placement on the top 300 album list for 23 weeks.[14] Critics generally praised the game's soundtrack, especially the battle themes; Earnest Cavalli, writing for Wired, said that even those that don't live video game music would find themselves humming along[15] and Lark Anderson of Gamespot concurred.[16] On the other hand, IGN's Jeff Haynes criticized the use of the music in-game, feeling that it was too repetitive.[17]
Multiple popularity polls have been held for the game's songs in the years since its release. During the lead up to Persona Music Fes 2013 a general Persona series music poll was held, where "Reach Out To The Truth", "Never More," "Heaven," and "Your Affection," ranked 2nd, 5th, 7th, and 9th respectively.[18] During the "News Flash! Persona Channel 2015" live stream Atlus revealed the top 25 Persona series songs voted on by fans, and “Reach Out to the Truth,” “Never More,” “Heaven,” and “Pursuing My True Self” ranked in the top 10 at 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 10th.[19] To commemorate the re-release of Persona 4 Golden in 2023, Atlus held a fan vote for songs within Persona 4 and Golden; the top five spots consisted of “Reach Out To The Truth,” “Your Affection,” “Heaven,” “Reach Out To The Truth -First Battle-,“ and “Never More” in that order.[20]
The soundtrack’s strong reception was a source of pride for Meguro and the sound team. He credited lyricist Reiko Tanaka for the strength of the English lyrics, noting that her work on the Persona 3 soundtrack had also been well-received.[21] Meguro expressed gratitude for the contributions of sound team members Atsushi Kitajoh and Ryota Kozuka, whose fresh creative input helped elevate the soundtrack to a higher level.In retrospect, Meguro felt that the Persona 4 soundtrack succeeded because it aligned so well with the game’s narrative and emotional themes. While the process of creating the soundtrack was physically and mentally challenging, Meguro expressed deep satisfaction with the final product. He credited the cohesive sound to the talent and hard work of the Atlus Sound Team, and the support from Hashino and the game’s development staff gave him the freedom to fully realize his creative vision.[4]
Tracklist
English track titles are taken from the Persona 4 Soundtrack.
Disc 1
| No. | Track title (Japanese) | Track title (English) | Composer | Lyricist | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Pursuing My True Self | Pursuing My True Self | Shoji Meguro | Yu Namba / RyoRca | 1:26 |
| 02 | 記憶の片隅 | Glimpse of a Memory | Shoji Meguro | — | 1:11 |
| 03 | Welcome to the limousine | Welcome to the Limousine | Shoji Meguro | — | 0:26 |
| 04 | 全ての人の魂の詩 | Aria of the Soul | Shoji Meguro | — | 5:38 |
| 05 | New Days | New Days | Shoji Meguro | — | 2:18 |
| 06 | Signs Of Love | Signs of Love | Shoji Meguro | Reiko Tanaka | 3:01 |
| 07 | マヨナカテレビ | Midnight Channel | Shoji Meguro | — | 1:18 |
| 08 | Your Affection | Your Affection | Shoji Meguro | Reiko Tanaka | 2:52 |
| 09 | Like a dream come true | Like a Dream Come True | Shoji Meguro | — | 2:37 |
| 10 | そこにいるのは誰? | Who's There? | Shoji Meguro | — | 1:52 |
| 11 | Reach Out To The Truth -First Battle- | Reach Out to the Truth -First Battle- | Shoji Meguro | Reiko Tanaka | 2:57 |
| 12 | SMILE | Smile | Shoji Meguro | — | 3:23 |
| 13 | Backside Of The TV | Studio Backlot | Shoji Meguro | Reiko Tanaka | 2:54 |
| 14 | 推理 | Deduction | Shoji Meguro | — | 3:22 |
| 15 | Castle | Castle | Shoji Meguro | — | 2:38 |
| 16 | 狂気の境界線 | Border of Insanity | Shoji Meguro | — | 2:19 |
| 17 | I'll Face Myself -Battle- | I'll Face Myself -Battle- | Shoji Meguro | — | 3:00 |
| 18 | I'll Face Myself | I'll Face Myself | Shoji Meguro | — | 2:41 |
| 19 | muscle blues | Muscle Blues | Atsushi Kitajoh | — | 1:29 |
| 20 | It's SHOW TIME! | It's Showtime! | Atsushi Kitajoh | — | 0:51 |
| 21 | 人の夫 | Someone Else's Man | Atsushi Kitajoh | Tamari | 1:40 |
| 22 | ケロリンMAGIC! | Quelorie Magic! | Atsushi Kitajoh | — | 1:04 |
| 23 | Sauna | Sauna | Shoji Meguro | — | 2:04 |
| 24 | 覚醒 | Awakening | Shoji Meguro | — | 1:23 |
| 25 | Reach Out To The Truth | Reach Out to the Truth | Shoji Meguro | Reiko Tanaka | 2:48 |
Disc 2
| No. | Track title (Japanese) | Track title (English) | Composer | Arranger | Lyricist | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Reach Out To The Truth -Inst version- | Reach Out to the Truth -Inst version- | Shoji Meguro | — | Reiko Tanaka | 1:32 |
| 02 | specialist | Specialist | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 2:13 |
| 03 | Theater | Striptease | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 1:53 |
| 04 | Heartbeat, Heartbreak | Heartbeat, Heartbreak | Shoji Meguro | — | Reiko Tanaka | 2:15 |
| 05 | youthful lunch | Youthful Lunch | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 1:42 |
| 06 | Game | Game | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 2:39 |
| 07 | ZONE TIME | Zone Time | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 1:33 |
| 08 | A New World Fool | A New World Fool | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 4:18 |
| 09 | 霧 | The Fog | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 3:56 |
| 10 | Period | Results | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 1:01 |
| 11 | ジュネスのテーマ | Junes Theme | Ryota Kozuka | — | — | 1:39 |
| 12 | 心の力 (P4ver.) | Strength of Heart (P4 ver.) | Shoji Meguro | Ryota Kozuka | — | 1:59 |
| 13 | The Path is Open (P4ver.) | The Path is Open (P4 ver.) | Shoji Meguro | Ryota Kozuka | — | 1:50 |
| 14 | 夢想曲 | Traumerei | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 2:23 |
| 15 | How much? | How Much? | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 1:20 |
| 16 | Secret Base | Secret Base | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 2:30 |
| 17 | Heaven | Heaven | Shoji Meguro | — | Reiko Tanaka | 3:00 |
| 18 | Alone | Alone | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 2:00 |
| 19 | 推理-another version- | Deduction -another version- | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 0:44 |
| 20 | Long Way | Long Way | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 2:24 |
| 21 | Omen | Omen | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 0:54 |
| 22 | 回廊 | Corridor | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 2:20 |
| 23 | The Almighty | The Almighty | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 4:39 |
| 24 | The Genesis | The Genesis | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 7:51 |
| 25 | I'll Face Myself-another version- | I'll Face Myself -another version- | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 1:44 |
| 26 | Never More | Never More | Shoji Meguro | — | Shigeo Komori | 6:40 |
| 27 | Electronica In Velvet Room | Electronica of the Soul | Shoji Meguro | — | — | 4:45 |
Samples and Remixes
- "Aria of the Soul" – Audio reused from "Aria of the Soul" on the Persona 3 Original Soundtrack. Originally arranged from "Velvet Room" on the Megami Ibunroku Persona Original Soundtracks
- "Theater" - vocals sampled from Track 17 of the Best Service - Voice Spectral II sample CD
- "Strength of Heart (P4 ver.)" - Arrangement of "Strength of Heart" from the Persona 3 Original Soundtrack
- "The Path is Open (P4 ver.)" - Arrangement of "The Path is Open" from the Persona 3 Original Soundtrack
Personnel
| Position | Member |
|---|---|
| Main Composer | Shoji Meguro |
| Sound Director | Atsushi Kitajoh Ryota Kozuka |
| Lyrics | Yu Namba RyoRca Reiko Tanaka Tamari Shigeo Komori |
| Vocals | Shihoko Hirata Disc 1: 1, 6, 8, 11, 13, 25Disc 2: 1, 4, 17, 26 Haruko Komiya Disc 1: 4[a]Tamari Disc 1: 21
|
|}
| Position | Member |
|---|---|
| Mastering Engineer | Machiko Suzue (SMC) at Sony Music Studios Tokyo |
|}
| Position | Member |
|---|---|
| Production Coordinator | Junichi Mori (ATLUS) |
| Art Direction & Design | Yasunori Takeda (SMC) |
| Package Coordinator | Ayako Torimoto (SMC) Mina Mitsui (Aniplex) Yukiko Matsunaga (Aniplex) |
| Sales Coordinator | Satoshi Okada (Aniplex) |
| Sales Promoter | Shunsuke Saito (Aniplex) |
| Promoter | Takayoshi Ikeda (Aniplex) |
| A&R Producer | Kazuki Adachi (Aniplex) |
|}
See also
- Persona 4 Soundtrack - A collector's edition release of the original soundtrack for North America and Europe
- Persona 4 Sound Collection - Two iTunes exclusive albums, published by Index Corporation
- Persona 4 Vinyl Soundtrack - A vinyl pressing of the full soundtrack, released by iam8bit
Notes
- ↑ Uncredited
References
- ↑ Shoji Meguro, Meguro's Hobby Diary Vol. 34. Published May 14, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2025. AtlusNet.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Cutting Room Floor - Persona 4. Retrieved March 24, 2025. The Cutting Room Floor.
- ↑ "ちなみに私が作った物はゲーム内で実際に使用するデータではなく、歌ってくださる声優さんにお聴かせするためのカラオケ版。ゲーム内ではサウンドの新星・喜多條が涼しげな伴奏を付けてくれたTVCMバージョンと、超新星・小塚が大幅に加筆修正してくれた店内BGMロングバージョンを聴く事ができます。" Translation: "By the way, the version I made was actually just a karaoke track for the voice actress to reference. The in-game version features an arrangement by the sound team’s rising star Kitajoh, who added a chill backing track for the TV commercial version. The extended in-store BGM version was further polished by the team’s supernova Kozuka, who gave it that authentic "electronics store BGM" feel—kind of cheesy, but intentionally so." Kenichi Tsuchiya, Tsuchiya's Musings of a Sound Craftsman Vol. 21. Published July 18, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2025. AtlusNet.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Album liner notes and track commentary
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shoji Meguro, Meguro's Hobby Diary Vol. 28. Published February 20, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2025. AtlusNet.
- ↑ Play Magazine, Mollie Paterson. Published by Future Publishing. English. (December 2008 ed.) p.33-34.
- ↑ Shoji Meguro, Meguro's Hobby Diary Vol. 31. Published April 2, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2025. AtlusNet.
- ↑ Persona Club P4 Interview. Retrieved March 30, 2025. Shmuplations.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Jeriasaka, Interview: Reaching For The Truth - The Story Of Persona's Music. Archived: []. Published June 9, 2009. Retrieved March 17, 2025. gamedeveloper.com.
- ↑ Shoji Meguro, Meguro's Hobby Diary Vol. 35. Published June 11, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2025. AtlusNet.
- ↑ 4gamer, 「ペルソナ5」「MH: W」「ICO」などが「PlayStation Game Music大賞」を受賞。Spotifyでノミネート曲をまとめたプレイリストが公開. Published June 16, 2018. Retrieved March 26, 2025. 4gamer.
- ↑ PersonaCentral, Persona Series and Catherine Soundtracks Releasing on Spotify and Apple Music on January 5, 2021 (Update). Published January 4, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2025. personacentral.
- ↑ https://www.atlus.co.jp/news/21977/
- ↑ Oricon Listing
- ↑ "Even those who consider gaming music to be a mere background annoyance will find themselves humming along while playing or enjoying the soundtrack CD — which publisher Atlus has kindly included with each copy of the game." Earnest Cavalli, Review: Stylish Persona 4 Is RPG Perfection. Retrieved March 17, 2025. .
- ↑ "The music is heavily inspired by J-pop and J-rock and is extremely catchy, so despite the number of times you may hear the battle theme throughout your entire journey, it never gets old." Lark Anderson, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Review . Published December 10, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2025. gamespot.com.
- ↑ "Apart from issues like that, the game is packed with a larger number of musical tracks, and while it still winds up repeating itself quite a bit with the music loops, particularly during battle sequences, you'll at least feel like there's some creativity with the music." Jeff Haynes, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 Review. Published Dec 9, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2025. ign.com.
- ↑ Famitsu, ペルソナライブ終演直後のアトラス・目黒将司氏を直撃！ 期待膨らむお答えが……!!【PERSONA MUSIC FES 2013～in日本武道館】. Published August 15, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2025. Famitsu.com.
- ↑ Fans vote for top Persona songs and Persona 4 Golden characters . Published February 4 2015. Retrieved March 17, 2025. gematsu.com.
- ↑ Persona 4’s Most Popular Songs Revealed By Atlus. Published January 30, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2025. rpgfan.com.
- ↑ Shoji Meguro, Meguro's Hobby Diary Vol. 36. Published June 25, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2025. AtlusNet.