E3 2012: Persona 4 Arena is a Kick Ass Good Time

Mash ups in fighting games seem like all the rage right now, but has a famed fighting game developer like Arc System Works, (of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue fame,) come along and created a fighter based entirely around RPG characters? Well it’s happened with Persona 4 Arena, which brings characters from the third and fourth entries to do battle in a completely different type of arena.

As expected from Arc Systems, the game is fast paced with both movement and combo execution. With over a dozen different characters to choose from, an extra layer of strategy is added thanks to the addition of Personas. Two attack buttons control the fighter’s attacks while the last two cause the Persona to appear, creatures that temporarily fight alongside your character to extend attacks. The best part? The demo showed that Personas aren’t tied to particular fighters, so the combinations will feel endless. If there are any BlazBlue fans reading this, they felt a lot like controlling Nirvana with Carl Clover, except the Personas don’t have full movement.

Speaking of BlazBlue, you can tell it was a huge inspiration for Arena’s game play. Different parts of the fights from the special effects when super moves are used, the excamaition points that pop up when thrown or tripped, the completely outlandish fighting styles… all reminiscent of BB and Guilty Gear to a lesser extent. So if you’re fans of those games, is there really any doubt?

When I heard a Persona based fighting game was a thing, I was incredibly excited as both a fighting and RPG fan. After trying it at E3, my excitement has increased tenfold! Promising online, a story mode tying it to its RPG roots and expanding on the overall universe, fans of the cult favorite series are going to want to keep an eye out in August.