Persona 4 Arena Review

Available on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360

So I'll be the first to admit, I actually know nothing about the Persona series.  I was unaware of its existence until I saw this game and at some point I'll try to check out some of the other entries to the franchise. A friend brought this game to my attention a few days before it came out, and we decided to try it out. Persona 4 Arena is a fighting game brought to you by the same people who worked on BlazBlue games as well as the Guilty Gear series and produced by Atlus.  If you're unaware of what all this means, let me translate for you: this game is fighting genre gold.

Controls for this game are very similar to that of Guilty Gear and they're extremely well-done. Every character has a Persona, representing who they want to be or what they want to achieve in life and these Personas can be called into battle to aid in attacks. You earn damage by attacking the opposing player directly but if you attack their Persona enough times you can disable it from coming out for a few seconds which can prove vital to a winning strategy. This game has multiple combos and chains that are easy to learn with different ways to string them together and every character has flashy special moves and even a One Hit K.O. move in the last round for a visually dazzling finisher. For people who are new to more in-depth fighting games the game has a training and tutorial mode that will get even the most novice player into the game quickly.  Persona 4 Arena has the classic formula of easy to learn, hard to master and it will keep you coming back for more.

The story takes place directly after the events of Persona 4, with the mysterious Midnight Channel appearing back on the air. The investigation team goes to check it out to see if the rumors are true, and when they look inside the TV as before, they don't see other people, but themselves competing in a tournament of sorts. The story mode for the game is pretty deep and anyone who knows me will vouch for the fact that I'm a HUGE supporter of story in any game and P4A doesn't disappoint for the most part.  The story follows the individual characters, letting you hear their thoughts, follow the action and it goes pretty deep.  It's well written, and beautifully presented between still screens with voice actors and fully animated scenes. But the story mode is also one of my biggest complaints with the game. Fighting games are not meant to have a lot of story, or if they do, there should be enough action involved to keep your attention.  I went into story mode, expecting a few paragraphs or pages of text/dialogue, then a fight or two, then repeat.  Unfortunately I sat through 30 minutes of mostly pointless plot and inner monologue to finally be greeted by a fight that lasted all of 25 seconds, then more plot. I realize story is important, especially to this franchise, but you gotta give me a little more action than that in a story.

Persona 4 Arena really shines in presentation.  From the neon-colored menus, to the fast animations of the fights and attacks, right down to the J-Pop/Techno soundtrack. Every attack, combo, and special in the game has so many frames that the animation is very fluid. The characters are well-drawn, and the attacks are creative, especially Teddie. Every level available to play on is a creative spin on one of the locales of the characters' high school and the music is always upbeat, fast paced, and increases the action. As previously mentioned, during the last round of a fight, when certain conditions are met a character gains access to a One Hit K.O. finishing move, and if it connects you'll see a combination of in-game sprites, cartoon animation, and 3D effects.  All of the finishing moves are really a sight to behold and give a feeling of more accomplishment to a win. I would almost compare this game's flashy graphics to that of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, but it's not quite there yet so you don't have to keep your optometrist on speed dial.

One of the first things I noticed about P4A when I loaded the game for the first time was the number of modes. Between Story, Training, Tutorial, Arcade, Challenges, Online and more, this game really has a lot to offer.  As usual in a fighting game Arcade mode pits you against CPU-controlled opponents that increase in difficulty as you progress. Challenge mode lets you take the skills you've learned and try to complete move sets and combos to help you learn your characters better. The online fighting mode has quite a few options for filtering your opponents such as region, skill level, and more to keep you from getting in too far over your head.  There's also a rating system and a level-up system for various skills you may use, such as how often you throw or how many special moves you've performed. I noticed slight lag in the animation aspects sometimes, but never any noticeable breaks in gameplay. Definitely a fun opportunity to test your skills against other players around the world!

 



***Synopsis***
Persona 4 Arena is a fighting game from the creators of BlazBlue and Guilty Gear with tight controls, a variety of game modes, and a dazzling presentation. The game's visuals and soundtrack are astounding and there's a very deep (albeit frustratingly unsatisfying) story mode. Must-own for any fighting fan.


Gameplay: 8.5 - Responsive controls, easy-to-learn but hard-to-master fighting system for combos. Great for beginners, and veterans alike.

Graphics/Presentation: 9.5 - Animated cutscenes along with high quality voice acting in story mode,  fluid animations and bright, colorful menus. Awesome finishing moves, special attacks and combos.

Story: 6.5 - The story itself is very well done with deep character development, but this score is hurt by the gameplay aspect of the story mode. 30 seconds of gameplay after 20 minutes of reading really doesn't balance out well, in my opinion.

Sound/Music: 8.0 - Some of the repetitive voice clips during fights can be mildly annoying but is by no means a deal-breaker. The music of this game is great. Every stage is set to a Techno/J-Pop style soundtrack that keeps the game feeling upbeat and energetic. Depending on where you buy your copy, a lot of new copies of Persona 4 Arena include a soundtrack with it!

Replay Value: 8.5 - Story mode has a number of characters to play through as, and there are a variety of other modes including Arcade and 30 Challenges for each character, and a fully equipped Online mode to let you play with friends, foes, and strangers alike.

Overall Score: 40.5/50


Overall Persona 4 Arena is a fantastic game for any lover of fighting games and it takes a lot of skill to fully master it.  Comments? Questions? Fight requests? Contact me for all of your gaming needs!