Persona Month: Persona 4 Arena

Welcome to the Velvet Room. Kinda feels cool saying that... wait, this is Underground. Hang on.

Welcome back to Persona Month. There is no doubt about it. Persona 4 is the greatest RPG ever made. If you other fanbases disagree (Kingdom Hearts fans) you can take this. Not only did it surpass expectations with it's diverse and incredibly rewarding experience, but gained a following of fans who I can actually back up. Now P4 as it will be called from then on has gained the honor of not just being the first in a long running series to branch out of the normal RPG formula, but has the honor of dipping it's hands in the fighting game genre in this current gen.

"But Rare", you may ask. "How can you make P4 into a fighter and does it work?" To you I say, it actually makes sense. A bit convoluted mind you, but over all it does work.

Though I am not one to say much about the fighting genre because it's not my thing. There are many fighters that people eat up immediately due to lineage, fanbase, and people using it in tournaments. Normally I don't play fighters because A) I'm not that great with them, and B) People put too much effort in something like that. However, in this case, I'm willing to make an exception.

P4Arena was developed by Arc System Works and published by a incredibly respectable company Atlus. Atlus is one of those companies that knows how to cater to their customers. They churn out games that become successful hits, sleeper titles, and then there's Catherine. More on that later. Atlus is also notorious for having some of the most difficult, brutal, insanely unfair and downright sadistic games ever made. And yet, we can't get enough of this pain. What is it called that someone inflicts pain that becomes pleasure? That's what Atlus is famous for, and we love them for it. Arc System works is famous for developing Blazblue as well as a few other titles including Guilty Gear, Sengoku Basara X, Arcana Heart 3 (Never got it), and believe it or not Battletoads (Genesis port) and Moonwalker (Sega Master system).

P4A takes place 3 months after the events of the first P4. Yu Narukami (see? His name is canon) is on his way back to Inaba when suddenly he receives a message from the investigation team about the Midnight Channel. This time, Teddie is acting strange... stranger than usual as he announces the P1-Grand Prix where people from around the world can duke it out inside the TV to see who the strongest Persona user in the world. Simply put, an excuse to kick ass and take names. Makes sense to me.

For a game like P4A in this day and age it's surpingsly deep like it's predecessor. It consists of many modes to offer. Story mode is basically Arcade mode in a more visual novel esque look. For many fans of the game, hearing Yu talk for the first time may shock you (it did for me) as he has actual dialogue when he usually is silent... except for that one time. Somehow I find that the story mode is a bit lacking and the choices you are given really don't deter from the main plot as it's just something thrown in as to think a choice is important. I will admit I do have a long way to go to unravel the mystery of, no spoilers, Labrys and her Shadow. What? Both of them are available in arcade mode so it's not that much of a surprise.

This time around, the fighting system is simple, yet complex. There are 13 characters to choose from with different Personas. Each of them using different abilities based on each Persona. Yu can use Zio as well as slashing combos, Yosuke uses wind based, Chie can kick and deal some deadly physical attacks, Yukiko can use Agi and recover her stamina bar and so forth. Included are some status effects that will effects the player if inflicted such as poison, confusion, silence, and parylyze. On the bottom left there is what is called an SP gauge. The more you use Persona based attacks, the more SP you gain. If you have at least 50 SP, you can unleash a special attack. However, when you get to a certain point you will gain the ability to use an Instant Kill attack if you gain 100 SP. Those attacks can only be used after the first round. Think of it as a Limit Break. The Instant Kill attacks are spectacular and you feel a sense of accomplishment executing a fist pump with yourself.

In addition to the Stamina bar, you also have a limited supply of Persona cards. However, if your Persona gets hit while it's exposed, a card will shatter. Shatter all 4 and you can't use Persona based attacks until it recovers. That gives the opponent a great advantage because you can't use 50SP for specials or use your instant kill in the second round.

Kanji, you can brofist with me anytime. (no homo)

Story Mode is the main seller of P4A. It gives you an enriching enhanced story on top of a fighter game that actually makes sense. Each character that you choose has this silly nickname that goes along with the setting. The title sequence that everyone has is funny because it not only goes with the character, but against it as well. For example, "The Sister Complex Kingpin of Steel". Yu doesn't have a sister complex, even if it is his precious Nanako, that's his cousin. Then there's the "Carnivore that Discard Womanhood, Chie Satonaka". Well... she does like her meat, but the "discarding womanhood"? Uh... Oh, what about the "Bloodcurdling Beefcake Emporer, Kanji... Beefcake? The "Two Fisted Protein Junkie, Akihiko Sanada"? Well hey! You get to fight as Elizabeth as well! Anyway, the former member of SEES and the Investigation Team get together to not only find the Anti-Shadow Weapon and sister of Aigis, Labrys, but also find out the main entity behind the whole P-1 Grand Prix. Better to take a look at this.



The music is pretty much the same as always, and that is not a bad thing at all. However this time around, there are a few new additions to it including a remix of a few killer themes including Reach out for the Truth and Heartful Cry (my favorites) plus some new ones for Akihiko, Mitsuru and others, and some old familiar ones for Elizabeth and a return of some songs from Persona 3. So there is a plethora to choose from, and it doesn't deter at all from the overall experience.






                                          Ok this isn't officially in Arena, but it's just catchy as hell!

The graphics are excellent hand drawn sprites on top of a 2.5D backdrop inside the TV. Remember these things? Those are called Stands. For fighter buffs not like myself the Personas immedeately remind you of that. However, the difference is the Personas are a part of the user, while stands are more guardians of the user. And for a little fanservice some may recognize the spirite work to be palette swaps of other characters. I won't go into detail who looks like who, except Yu reminds me a bit of Ragna the Bloodedge and Kanji is like Iron Tager, but that's it.

Even as an announcer, Rise is hot!

Voice acting is pretty good for the most part. Some maybe shocked to hear Yu talk for the first time in Story Mode (it did for me). All the others are fine and fit their roles pretty well...except for a minor adjustment. See, Chie and Teddie's original voice actors are not present in this and are replaced by Erin Fitzgerald who I was shocked to find out she played Nazz and Marie from Ed, Edd, n Eddy (my reaction was "NAZZ!!?") and Polka from Eternal Sonata; While Sam Riegel who played as Shiro Emiya from Fate Stay Night and... holy shit! Allegretto! plays the role of the lovable scamp Teddie. Yes, yes it might take some getting used to, but both Erin and Sam do their roles pretty well. Then there's Labrys. If you notice, Labrys speaks in some kind of accent which immediately reminds me of Harley Quinn from Batman the Animated Series. To others, it sounds like a stereotypical New York accent or somewhere in the East. "Help me find Mistuh J, or else muy Shadow will get to him first." Sounds pretty out of the norm, but give it some time.

You're good. Want to come back to my gym for some more training?

Including in the entire package are a "Myriad" of modes that you can play. One of them is Story Mode which plays like a visual novel the main story in which P4A takes place. I won't go further into who might be the main bad guy, but it isn't Labry's Shadow, also I haven't finished it yet. There's also your standard arcade mode which unlocks little easter eggs that change the announcer of the fights amongst other things. A Score Attack mode which I immediately turn off because Yosuke has a speed boost and I'm going, "Screw this"! Network mode lets you go online to challenge other people... if you can find an open room. Over there you can create a profile which will give you some silly name like "Heaven's Dragon Blast" or anything you can think of. You also have an online ranking system which tallies up your matches and gives you a rank based on how many matches you win or lose. Obviously I'm F-, but I just got started damn it! And my fingers aren't used to fighting. Theatre and Gallery Modes will allow you to see all the unlockables you have gained through the story mode or arcade mode and watch the matches you participated with. There is some day one DLC which is mostly glasses and other things, but not only are thos cosmetic you can unlock them the more you play. At least Atlus gives you day one dlc instead of announcing it months later. There were talks about how the 360 version's online has lag issues, but Atlus got the patch out immediately. Now that's how you treat your customers!

Those who preordered the game get a CD soundtrack of "original arranged" tracks. There's only 6. That's ok. This is probably the only time I actually pre ordered a game like this... except for those other times, but they didn't have paltry yet palletable extras like this one.

Persona 4 Arena offers alot of style, verv and flair that the original RPG had, but also a robust yet simple 2D fighter that far exceeds everyone's expectations. Persona 4 the Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena (That's the full title) is out now where games are sold.

Bonus: Just wanted to show this because both the soundtrack and this will become rare items eventually. I just happen to have found it. I am a Rare Game Hunter after all.

Say, did you know that there is an animated series of it as well? What did I think of it? Find out, as Persona Month continues!