Quick Summary
Persona 4 takes place in a small, rural Japanese countryside town called Inaba. The game begins with the Protagonist--the player--moves in with his uncle, Ryotaro Dojima, who is a police detective. Strangely enough, many murders begin to occur once the protagonist moves into Inaba. The murders do not particularly affect the Protagonist until the second murder is committed... the victim was a fellow high schooler. This is when the story really takes off with the Protagonist and his new found friends start to take interest and try to figure out the truth behind the murders and the rumor about the MIDNIGHT CHANNEL. While the premise seems simple enough, like all students you--the Protagonist-- must still keep up grades, build relationships with people in Inaba, and keep your uncle from figuring out your role in the murder cases.
Beginning of the game
In the very beginning of the game there are three different difficulty levels to choose from.
Normal--Provides 10 Moon Tsukubame items which allow you to avoid a Game Over once the Protagonist has fainted. Another interesting thing about the Moon Tsukubame is that once activated they bring back all the characters with full HP and SP bars. The AI in the game seem to be a lot nicer, though their stats remain the same.
Beginner--This setting is for default game play.
Expert--This is for more advanced players. It provides for more aggressive AI and therefore more difficult battles.
PLEASE NOTE that the difficulty levels does not affect events, cut scenes, or endings. The difficulty setting is just to change the difficulty of battles.
Stats
There are five important status in Persona 4: Understanding, Knowledge, Courage, Expression, and Diligence. Out of these five status, only four of them need to be maxed out. Knowledge, Courage, Expression and Understanding are crucial for day-to-day activity opportunities. Diligence is important but it does not necessarily need to be maxed out.