...This isn't really a review. And it is bait of the baitiest order. But, because I am easily baited:
- Adding a new incarnation in does not constitute a "radical" backstory alteration
- The fog was a product of Izanami, and Sagiri, another incarnation controlled it. Marie, whose true identity was apparently of a similar divinity rank to Sagiri, has at least some logical basis for doing what she does.
- Personality... well, tastes are tastes. This one's subjective. I admit, it's a bit forced, but not to the degree you describe. Rise, for instance, does act jealously on other routes, even if it is not to the degree that it is on Marie's. And I would focus the bile on more deserving targets. Q was far, far worse on every count when it came to damaging and misrepresenting characters.
I'll say the same thing I said when someone kept trying to call Naoto a Mary Sue: having positive qualities of any kind does not a Sue make. I have my issues with the character and the way she was handled, but to say her (optional) content ruins the remake is the very definition of disingenuous.
This is not to comment on the animation. I haven't watched it. But it has its own page.
I found her character mostly just unremarkable, sort of just... there i guess if not particularly great.
What really pisses me off was the gameplay of the hollow forest dungeon, which could have been a great addition and expanded on the endgame. But no, you lose half of your SP every fight, and lots of unavoidable fights. And then the boss is... ugh, invulnerable to everything but the correct element but you probably have no SP left.
...I like the idea of tying her to Izanami sorta i guess?
I was in a bit of a pissy mood about Marie, so I would like to know how to remove this review...but until I know how, I will say this:
Adding a new incarnation most certainly does constitute a radical alteration, especially when it is so involved in the plot. If this is something to do with SMT standards, then I will say those are irrelevant: as a rule, adding giant chunks of plot to a new character that doesn't resolve anything from before they were introduced, is always bad. Never a good writing decision. If their bit of the story doesn't wrap up anything from when they weren't there, they have no point. That's the line between "new incarnation" and "Mary Sue injection".
I would have said the above in the post, but, ya know, only 400 words and I was squeezing as it was.
Man, am I the only one who liked the Hollow Forest? By the time I did it, I had enough SP regen (not even factoring in Victory Cry) that the penalty was manageable, and there're so many element-resistance nullifiers you get that I assumed I was supposed to use them on the boss, and did.
Because Marie has no interaction with the other "pieces" of Izanami, her addition does not constitute an alteration. If, for instance, she had an argument with Izanami during the final battle, or appeared during the Saigiri boss fight to consume the fog, or anything like that, I'd concede you had a point. But because her material is, essentially, cordoned off in its own little section, it is purely an addition to old material, altering very little about either Saigiri or Izanami, save for giving the latter much-needed foreshadowing.
And if one doesn't like her content, skipping it is as easy as not talking to her. She is not a necessary component of the plot, and doing so deprives the player of nothing but more of her content they weren't enjoying anyway. If she were a Mary Sue, she'd take over the narrative, inserting herself in everywhere whether we like her or not.
You could try flagging the review so that the mods take it down, or you can edit the review into something more productive and more representative of the game as a whole. I'd probably go with the latter if you're up to it, better to fix a mistake than to have someone else take care of it.
You could probably cover your issues with Marie in between how you feel about the game - if you like it, how decent of a port Golden is etc.
Come sail your ships around me, and burn your bridges down.
Alright, done!
You probably are the only one to like it. I don't mind the tricks of the Hollow Forest itself. I maintain that the one reason it's a huge pain in the ass is that it won't let you leave when you need to except through items you might not find. That, and those shitty poems being read every single floor.
As for Marie—she DOES. But while I was gone I wrote a whole article in Word on why. I'll drop this here and you can message me if you want to see it.
I don't think we'll ever agree, so I'll politely decline. (Also, I was tripping over those things, what'chu talking about?)
But, for what it's worth, your revised review is a significant improvement.
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Persona 4 Golden - Social Links
Persona 4: Golden was a fantastic remake to an already great game, managing to make me care about the characters than I already did.
Thanks to Marie and Adachi, the social links are a lot different, but really only in their respective areas. Marie as a new character is particularly problematic, because of how much story is centered on her. She's fine while you're actually doing the link, but optional or not, the canon of the game now heavily involves her to an inane degree. In contrast, Adachi's link is one I found interesting and exciting, but I only pursued it on the second playthrough. I felt guiltier than sin the first time I tried for the accomplice ending—it's one thing for Adachi to spout lies and bullshit about how things are your fault when he's cornered, but having him say that to your face and know hes 100% right, that shook me.
The other links don't change much, but now your team gain new moves as they progress, which gives you a lot more customization options, and the third tier personas are fantastic. I have plans to turn Chie physical-only and magic-only in future runs, and to turn Kanji into a good healer with a Blessed Hands accessory.
Third Tier Personas: Yosuke's made me laugh out loud, it looks stupid as hell—but I liked the Youthful Wind move. Chie at third tier is fantastic. I like the look of Suzuka Gongen a bit more than Haraedo-no-Okami, but it still looks badass, and Dragon Hustle is a must for Margaret or the Final Boss on hard, just make sure to have a Chakra Ring. Pretty much the same deal with Yukiko in terms of design, but Burning Petals now allows her to be the sole character that can outdo Kanji in damage, provided you take the time to get Mind Charge. Kanji's is...less appealing, both design-wise and because I tend to shuffle out the Dizzy Boost move that will make The Man's Way reliable. It at least looks better than flames everywhere. Teddie's I can take or leave. Naoto's Shield of Justice move is amazing, and not so detrimental, but the look of Yamato Sumeragi is so gaudy, I hate it, USA up the wall.
Golden doubles the already admirable replay value this way, and it's probably the best new feature added.