Persona 4 Arena combines one thing I love and one thing I hate: Persona and fighting games; guess which applies in what. Seems like a dysfunctional mishmash at first glance, but it turns out to be an excellent pairing that succeeds in appealing to a broad audience. This title is a collaborative effort between Atlus (Shin Megami Tensei) and Arc System Works (BlazBlue, Guilty Gear), producing a 2D fighter that offers an entertaining storyline and general accessibility compared to what the genre is known for.

P4Arena is a customary four-button fighting game with the occasional twirl of the analog stick for more complicated moves. Each character has light and heavy attacks (Square and X buttons, respectively), though they can also call upon their Personas to briefly help them in battle (Circle and Triangle buttons). Personas taking frequent damage can lead to a “Persona Break,” in which the Persona is rendered temporarily inactive. Chaining attacks together enables you to perform advanced moves and special attacks. Some of these specials require a specific amount of SP (think mana) to pull off. Your SP count is displayed at the bottom of the screen, and you can earn more by dealing or sustaining damage. Lesson Mode introduces more gameplay features such as One More Cancels, status ailments, and Fatal Counters, but it does a great job explaining their functions and teaches you how to do them properly.

The rest of P4A’s mechanics makes this the most approachable fighting game Arc System Works has done to date. It starts with auto-combos. This means inexperienced gamers can mash the attack button, chaining combos effortlessly and not worrying much about pulling off advanced combos with two or three quarter-circle gestures. Doing most of P4A’s moves is just as painless; some attacks can be executed by pressing just one or two buttons, a few even without the aid of the analog stick. Basically, certain moves have shortcuts beginners can use, should they still find themselves fumbling with the gameplay. It’s easy to grief at these ideas, but it does give novices (like me) a convenient fighting chance rather than being constantly dominated by proficient players. I understand that it potentially paves way for people to annoyingly spam their way to victory. Even then, there are “normal,” complex means to pull off every combo, and that seasoned fighters can ultimately find workarounds for these methods.

...easy enough, right?

Additionally, the inclusion of Instant Kills is a balanced approach in matches, as it gives players a universal sense of comeback against stronger opponents (not to mention they’re flashy and extremely appealing). As the name suggests, Instant Kills completely disregard the health meter when performed. In other words, you’ll instantly die when hit (even at full health). These special techniques can only be executed during deciding rounds of a match, and when your SP gauge is at least 100. These force players to exercise caution and rethink their strategies during such moments. It doesn’t matter if your opponent has only a shard of health left; they can quickly turn the tide once they meet all the requirements to perform one.

Once you get the hang of things, it’s finally time to explore the game’s other modes. Arcade Mode pits every playable character against a total of nine opponents. There is some plot in this mode, though it’s minimal compared to what you’ll encounter in actual Story Mode (more on that later). Score Attack is a much harder version of Arcade Mode. Challenge Mode has you going through every character’s moves, from simple button presses to a complex mixture of basic and special moves. Versus Mode is the local multiplayer, and Network Mode is the online side.

You get a cookie if you get this reference.

I didn’t spend much time playing online, partly because of the heavy lag associated with it (the other part, well, I kept getting worked online). It’s since been remedied with a patch; the matches ran totally fine, though the introductory parts still experience a serious drop in frame rate. Network mode also features a “create your own dumb title” for the whole world to see. There are a multitude of hilariously ridiculous phrases to pick and mix them up as you see fit. I settled with “Authentic Beefy Bastard” for my official title. Which is, you know, fitting (ha, I’m lying).

P4Arena's Story Mode is set about two months after the events of the original PlayStation 2 game. New rumors about the Midnight Channel appearing again quickly spread through the rural town of Inaba. A fighting tournament called the “P-1 Grand Prix,” featuring all the members of the Investigation Team in the promo video, with one of their companions, Teddie, supposedly hosting said tournament now appears on the channel. Not letting this issue slide, Yu Narukami (Persona 4 protagonist) and his friends jump back into the TV world to investigate this new mystery. Meanwhile, Mitsuru Kirijo (Persona 3 major character) and her Shadow Operatives team also enter the TV to retrieve their stolen cargo.

Each character has their own story to play through. You start out with only four (Yu, Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko) and unlock more as you go. Persona 4 Arena’s narrative is told in visual novel form, which means you’re going to be reading a hefty amount of text. If you’re a newcomer to anything Persona-related, the story does a decent job in catching you up, making quick summaries and references to events that happened in both Persona 3 and 4.

You can totally play the game entirely in Japanese, if you so desire.

Everyone’s anecdote intertwines with one another, so you’ll see the same scenes and dialogue (with some minor alterations on each) at least five times or so. As a result, some story bits tend to drag, and you’ll feel compelled to skip a few parts. The fact that the storyline is presented as a visual novel doesn’t help. Playing through this mode can be daunting for those who find reading copious amounts of text a chore. Still, those who aren’t really looking for an incredibly written tale (which isn’t to say P4A’s story is bad) and use it as more of an excuse to see their favorite characters again will feel right at home. Having the Persona 3 and 4 crews interact and form bonds together was exceptionally fun to watch, emphasizing on how connected the series universe is.

The fanservice-heavy narrative is made all the more meaningful when you’re treated to beautifully drawn illustrations (courtesy of Persona artist, Shigenori Soejima). Every story graphic and animated cutscene is sharp, vibrant and well detailed, from the colorful backgrounds to the fantastic, eye candy character designs. On top of that, the game lets you choose between the original Japanese audio/text and the English dub, if you’re in to that. P4A has a gallery section, in which you can view previously seen content including cutscenes, endings, character portraits, sound samples, and themes from the game’s upbeat, infectious soundtrack. It just makes exploring each game mode enjoyable, because the rewards that come with it are definitely worthwhile.

Playing through every game mode just to unlock nice art is definitely worth it.

What P4A succeeds in doing is it basically has something for anyone in the market for a fun 2D fighter. It’s a cool title that players of varying skill levels can pick up, and it’s got enough content for those who simply can’t get enough of Persona. Though I generally scorn fighting games (because of my lack of skill in the genre), P4A’s overall accessibility--combined with my adoration for the series--essentially makes this title a match made in heaven.

David Gabriel, NoobFeed.