Shadow World was written for Persona 4 Golden, the 2012 expanded re-release of Atlus's Persona 4, with music by Shoji Meguro and vocals by Shihoko Hirata. It replaced Pursuing My True Self as the opening theme and became closely tied to the Golden version's brighter tone. Clips labelled as only the true or main hook circulate on soundboards and in edits, separated from the full song so creators can grab the recognisable opening instantly without using the whole track.