The original Persona 4 was released in 2008, nearly two decades ago. While the game (and its updated Golden version) still hold up, there are some elements of the story that have not aged well. The sharpest criticism over the years has fallen on Yosuke, a party member whose story feels especially outdated in how he treats those around him. Atlus is looking to change that in its upcoming remake, Persona 4 Revival.
Persona Team general producer Kazuhisa Wada revealed the news in an interview with Anime Corner during this year's Anime Expo. When asked if any controversial scenes have been rewritten because of changed audience expectations in the modern day, Wada responded, "mostly with Yosuke, really." Wada continued, saying that Yosuke is "a little bit insensitive in terms of how he treats outsiders sometimes."
He is beautiful, useless and gayAtlus USA
This is in reference to the common perception by the modern player base that Yosuke is often misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic to other characters in Persona 4. Perhaps most notoriously, Yosuke makes insensitive remarks toward the character Kanji during a camping scene that he fears Kanji will assault the other boys in the tent. Kanji's story involves questioning his sexuality and gender expression, as well as his attraction to another character, Naoto, whose gender expression is hotly debated by the community to this day. Yosuke also makes leering comments to female members of the party throughout the game.
"We wanted to lighten that up and make it a bit more fitting for the world we live in now," adds Wada with regard to Yosuke's story.
Atlus has addressed the Yosuke problem in the past
Atlus has previously shown a desire to update or omit problematic scenes from past titles. 2024'sPersona 3 Reload famously removed a scene from the original game that included a transgender character whom the game's cast made insensitive remarks about. Similarly, Yosuke has been partially rehabilitated in multiple spinoff titles. In both 2012'sPersona 4 Arena and 2013's Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, direct sequels to Persona 4, Yosuke even acknowledged his mistreatment of Kanji in the past. Yosuke also sheds some of his misogynistic traits in 2018'sPersona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, which is set loosely at the same time as the original game. Making Yosuke a less problematic character in Persona 4 Revival feels in line with these changes.
Wada clarifies that Persona 4's core is intact, and that updates in the remake only seek to make the story and characters feel appropriate for the modern player. He explains that the team accomplished this by keeping the characters' thoughts and actions the same but changing "the way we express some of this."
Persona 4 Revival will be released on Feb. 18, 2027 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.
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He is beautiful, useless and gayAtlus USA
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