Persona 4 Golden

I played P5 first, so while this is obviously not as visually slick or broad in scope as that game, it's still a VERY strong JRPG with an appealing cast of characters, great music, and an engaging story that slowly but surely pulls you in.

Stylish (though less so than 5 which I'd played before, thus taking the edge off this aspect), with decent, if eventually a bit repetitive, dungeon-crawling mechanics. Plot was enjoyable, and the (base game) ending sequences had me particularly invested. Characters, mostly well voice-acted, range from unbearable (Teddie pun not intended) to genuinely compelling and eliciting of emotional investment.

It gets the same score as Persona 5: Royal for being better at some things and worse at others. Story and characters are the strongest in Golden, minus the "directors cut" content where Royal kicks Golden's ass imo. Combat and dungeons are a lot more repetitive than 5, and it lacks in style and music, while still being strong in those areas for a pretty old game. Exploring the much larger Tokyo is also just more fun, though you can't deny that Inaba has a special charm. Also, Yukiko best girl.