Persona 4 Revival Appears to Address Homophobia Issues
Persona 4 Revival is set to breathe new life into a nearly two-decade-old classic, bringing a beloved RPG about friendship and self-acceptance to modern platforms. However, it also faces the challenge of addressing some problematic elements from the original game. One character, Yosuke, has gained notoriety for his homophobic remarks, particularly towards Kanji, whose shadow self is depicted as a promiscuous gay man. Yosuke even mocks the protagonist, Yu Narukami, if players hint at any femininity or attraction to men. Fortunately, it seems the developers are looking to smooth out some of these rough edges in the remake.
In a recent interview, producer Kazuhisa Wada discussed potential character and storyline adjustments in Persona 4 Revival. While he noted that the core story and character motivations remain largely intact, Yosuke is set to receive some modifications. Wada mentioned, “He’s a little bit insensitive in terms of how he treats outsiders sometimes. So we wanted to lighten that up and make it a little bit more fitting for the world we live in now.”
While specifics were not disclosed, Yosuke’s treatment of Kanji serves as a prime example of his insensitivity. In the original game, he insinuates that Kanji might assault him and Yu while they share a tent, stemming from Kanji’s shadow self being portrayed as a gay man.
This portrayal carried over into the anime adaptation, where Yosuke’s discomfort was framed more as an internal struggle. It also appeared in Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, where he was “forced” into a fake wedding with the player. Outside of that scene, Yosuke expresses a somewhat progressive sentiment, saying, “Who cares if a guy looks at another guy? The problem comes when you freak out about it,” suggesting some character growth after the events involving Kanji. However, his reputation as a homophobe has lingered within the community.
The original Persona 4 does not explicitly condemn Yosuke’s behavior, leaving Kanji and a potentially queer Yu as targets of his jokes and outbursts. There were indications of a planned romance route for Yosuke that could have reframed his actions as those of an insecure queer individual grappling with his feelings, but this was ultimately cut from the final game. Fans have even created mods to restore this content, as remnants of the dialogue still exist in the game’s files. Wada’s comments may lead some fans to hope for a revival of this romance in Persona 4 Revival, but it’s wise to temper those expectations.
Simply replacing Yosuke’s homophobic moments would align with how the studio has approached queerness in recent Persona titles. They have altered scenes in Persona 5 Royal during localization, rewritten transphobic interactions in Persona 3 Reload, and hinted at queer characters in Persona 5 Tactica, though without fully realizing same-sex relationships. This trend has allowed the series to become more inclusive, but it often stops short of enabling players to engage in same-sex romances. It would be surprising if Persona 4 Revival did more than just mask the unnecessary homophobia.
The relationship between Persona 4 and queer identity is complex, and it’s a challenging task for the developers to navigate as they remake this RPG. While the game promotes self-acceptance and embracing one’s true self, its interpretation as a queer narrative remains debatable due to inconsistent handling of these themes. Changes to Kanji’s character have already been hinted at, with new images showing his shadow wielding both male and female symbols as weapons, a departure from the original’s exclusively male symbols. The implications of this shift are still unclear, but it promises to be a complicated journey, much like Persona 4 itself.
We’ll discover how these changes play out when Persona 4 Revival launches on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S on February 18.
