Persona 4 Arena

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List Price: $59.99
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I absolutely love fighting games, the Persona series, and Arc System Works, the masterminds behind Guilty Gear and BlazBlue, so naturally one would think this game would be a smash hit. Technically it is, where in Japan it's become the number one selling fighting game in recent years, and if there's anything to be learned from that it's that fighting games aren't dead, despite the lack of "commercial" accessibility.

Luckily, ASW addresses that issue in Persona 4 Arena, which became almost instantly identifiable when I jumped into Challenge mode with Akihiko. I was expecting a GG or BB control scheme, complete with all sorts of different attacks for a single button that can be performed through simple directional inputs (e.g. 2C, 5C, 6C), which consequently opens the doors to long combo chains. Although that's quite fun, ASW left that system in those games and simplified things considerably here.

And by simplified, I mean that during the early days of this game's cycle you'll probably see a lot of players online spamming Auto Combos, which certainly look impressive and would be more difficult to perform normally, but as you can plainly see by the notation (a string of five A attacks, for example) the combo is pretty braindead. Before you shake your head in dismay, though, remember Marvel also has braindead combos (and characters), and it's a game that's easy to grasp yet hard to master. And as far as impressions go on day one of release, Persona 4 Arena seems that way as well.

Persona 4 Arena looks, plays, and feels in almost every way like an ASW title. It has multiple single player modes, such as a comprehensive tutorial, challenge mode, extremely robust story mode (understatement of the year!), and a training mode with more bells and whistles than you can shake a stick at. The SP meter (super meter) is identical to BB, not just in how it's measured but also in how you build it; there is a burst system; you can combo after throws; and you have two Persona normals that feel like a Drive attack in BB. One cool aspect of the Persona attacks, though, is that your Persona has a health bar, too, in the form of four cards which if depleted deactivate it for about 10 seconds. This is huge. Several attacks and combos rely on Personas, and some characters are useless without their Persona. Think of the implications this could have in matches and tournaments.

Despite the heavy ASW flavor so far, Persona 4 Arena's attack buttons aren't as multi-purposed as other titles from the company. As mentioned previously, A, B, C, and D for the most part all have one attack without multi-directional counterparts, which is actually a really nice departure that simplifies combat a lot. There's one weak and one strong attack; one weak and one strong Persona attack; and a sweep performed by hitting down, plus A and B. Simple, right? Another unique feature is Furious Actions, which is just a combination of B and D at the same time. For some characters this is a simple DP (Dragon Punch), for others it's a counter, but what makes it interesting is that it reduces your HP slightly (which auto recovers, though) and usually has significant recovery (but can be used in combos if used properly). All Out Attacks are also somewhat unique, but for the most part feel like modified versions of Dust attacks in GG. This is basically an attack that hits once and sends the opponent spinning backwards allowing you to follow up with a launcher or a "grounder," both of which allow for combos afterward. You simply hit A and B and viola, you have an All Out Attack.

What also makes the game unique is probably the most obvious aspect, and that would be the Persona characters which will immediately guarantee a sale for any diehard Persona fan even if he/she isn't into fighting games. The same trend happened when BlazBlue released in 2009; plenty of anime fans flocked to the game because of its visual aesthetics and elaborate story mode, the latter of which not typically associated as a strong suit for fighting games. The Persona writing staff is luckily on board for this title, though, and with that comes certain expectations in terms of quality and content, which have been exceeded with leaps and bounds as far as I can tell so far, since this is after all a proper sequel to Persona 4.

Despite all this, however, the game's strong suits may be its undoing. As popular as Persona may be, it is still a niche series made even more niche by becoming a fighting game, a pill that gets harder to swallow when you have to master combos and fighting game techniques such as footsies and spacing which can be grueling trials of endurance for a novice player. After story mode has been completed, the sheen might fade and diehard fans might not be compelled to play online despite the numerous tools ASW has provided to make any fight a button mashing affair. Of course, I hope I'm wrong, but we saw it happen to BlazBlue; hopefully, ASW will find a way to keep the game fresh, and the community will find a way to make it relevant because it would be a shame for such a gem to fade into obscurity as countless other amazing games have.

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Let me start with a simple statement; I'm a fan of JRPGs, and have never tried to play a fighting game seriously before. While I did enjoy my time with one of Ark System Works' older titles, Blazblue: Calamity Trigger, my number one reason for buying this game is because I'm absolutely in love with the Persona series. Both Persona 3 and 4 rank among my favorite games, and I bought Persona 4 Arena hoping that it would serve as a neat little continuation of Persona 4's story. What I got was completely different.

As someone who bought the game primarily for its story, I can say with certainty that Persona 4 Arena's plot does not disappoint. Rather than serve as a small continuation of Persona 4, Arena's plot utilizes the well-established casts of both Persona 3 and 4 to tell an all new story filled with mystery, twists, and even some heart-wrenching moments. The story on display here is very, very good.

There's definitely more to a fighting game than its story, however, and the game absolutely shines in the gameplay department as well. Being a tad more simplistic than other serious fighting games like Blazblue, Street Fighter, and Tekken, Persona 4 Arena is both more accessible to newcomers than those games, and just as because of its unique game mechanics. While new players will be able to get by using the simple auto-combo the game has, playing online (which plays beautifully, by the way) will force you to learn timing, combos, and how to play mind games using your Persona and character-specific moves. It's an absolute blast to play.

I've been playing the game for hours on end, and still haven't even tried some of the modes yet; even for $60, this game is well worth the price. There's a ton of content that'll keep you occupied for at least 30 hours, and for a fighting game, that's damn impressive.

Arena really is as good as a fighting game can be, in my eyes. A well-sized, balanced list of characters, a stellar story, fantastic gameplay, and an awesome soundtrack all culminate to make an experience you don't want to miss.

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Persona 4 Arena overall is a fun and great game. It's a perfect balance of having gameplay mechanics that are friendly to the casuals but it does not take away the competitiveness for the hardcore fighting gamers. A hardcore fighting gamer myself was at first skeptical on how simple the controls, auto-combos, etc. When I poured more hours of the game from local matches to online matches, I not only experienced the competitive flow in many matches but enjoy the game like any ordinary game should make you enjoy. You can still create your own advanced combos, strategies, even modify the button layout to your liking. The game is heavily balanced which makes it all the more fun. I recommend this game to the hardcore fighting gamers, the persona fans of the jrpg series, and I would even recommend this to total casuals. I, a persona and a hardcore fighting gamer approve of this game! Good job Atlus!

Read Best Reviews of Persona 4 Arena Here

Easy to pick up, difficult to master.

I bought this game for my husband. He not only enjoys it as his favorite fighting game engine, but it's actually approachable by a non-fighting-game-player.

The music is phenomenal. The voices are great. The system is smooth and responsive.

The online matches have minimal lag, great connection speeds, and are organized very well.

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If you like BlazBlue, then you'll love P4A! A true masterpiece for BlazBlue fans!!!! A truly unique fighter from ArcSys.