Persona 4 Arena



Persona 4 Arena (Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena in Japan) is a 2D fighting game by Arc System Works, developed under the supervision of Atlus' Team Persona. It is a direct sequel to Persona 4 directed by Katsura Hashino and scored by Shoji Meguro. Fumihiko Tachikiacts as the voice of the announcer.

Arcade Version

 * Japan: March 1, 2012

Console Version

 * Japan: July 26th, 2012
 * North America: August 7th, 2012
 * Europe: 2012

Additional Characters

 * Japan (Arcade Version)
 * Labrys: March 22, 2012
 * Elizabeth: April 5, 2012
 * Shadow Labrys: April 19, 2012

Plot
The game's story takes place two months after the ending of Persona 4 and revolves around "Teddie", who starts advertising a fighting program called P-1 Grand Prix and announces that the members of the Investigation Team will take part in the tournament. They, however, don't know anything about the show and try to find out the truth about the tournament. Another part of the game will also explain how Aigis arrives in Inaba. It has been revealed that Mitsuru is in Inaba in order to recover an object that has been stolen from her and that it was Mitsuru who sent Akihiko an invitation to enter the P-1 Grandprix.

Characters
A video of the alternate Persona palettes can be viewed [|viewed here]

"Teddie" will serve as the tournament's host. Rise will not be a playable character. Instead, she will provide commentary as the MC of the tournament. Igor and Margaret both comment on the player's actions at the character selection screen. It was hinted that new characters might be added in the future. Viewing the official site's source code reveals a place holder for a character named "Syuyaku", a variant for the word "Shuyaku" meaning "Protagonist" or "Leading Role".

Both Nanako and Ryotaro Dojima will appear as non-playable characters.

In addition, characters have the option to wear glasses for their character, even characters that never wore glasses:, , , and Elizabeth wears reading glasses.

Gameplay
Persona 4 Arena follows the style of modern anime fighters as there is a focus on fast, combo-centric combat with many movement options. The controls of combat consists of four buttons: A (Light Attack), B (Strong Attack), C (Persona Attack) and D (Persona Rush). There is an option to combo with simple commands from a neutral position Light Attack, making it easy for players not familiar with fighting games to chain attacks.

One of the more unique features of Persona 4 Arena is the Persona system. If the Persona suffers enough damage, a Persona Break will occur barring the usage of the target's Persona for a set amount of time. Additionally, each character has their own Reversal Action. As the name implies, they are defensive commands that allow the character to overturn the tide of battle like having an anti-air move with invincibility frames or a reversal/counter attack. However this uses some of that player's life to use which turns into blue life which can be healed over time as long as they don't get hit. Persona 4 Arena also has it's own variation of an All-Out Attack dubbed an All-Out Rush, a mini version involving only one character instead of two characters or a whole party. This is activated by inputting a universally unique overhead attack with autoguard/guard point properities and an additional input if the initial overhead connects. The All-Out Rush allows for the player to knock foes away or launch them into the air, though they have a chance to be countered. Also imported from the Persona series in general are Status Ailments.

The SP Gauge at the bottom of the screen. Players can choose to expend a portion of SP to execute various, advantageous moves if they input the correct command and they have enough SP to pull it off. Such commands involve Skill Boosts (enchanced versions of special moves) SP Skill Attacks (Supers), Guard Cancels (actions done from a guarding position), and 1 More! Cancels (ends current animation, returns it to a neutral state; an example of an "Anywhere Cancel"). Characters can perform difficult-to-land Mortal Blows which instantly defeats the opponents and ends the match. They can only be performed on match point and takes up 100 SP (which are universally activated by pressing down three times and using both Persona buttons). When a character's life is 35% or less, they enter an Awakening State signified by a red SP Gauge and a cut-in in the background. In this state, the SP Gauge is extended to 150 and gains an extra 50 immediately, the character suffers less damage, and enables a new Super or two exclusive to that state.

Below the Life Gauge is a Burst Gauge. When full, the player can Burst which blows back the opponent if they are in close proximity. When it is used when your opponent is hit and you are in neutral position, your SP Gauge maxes out and your Burst Gauge takes less time to refill. If it is used when the player is attacking, it causes a ''1 More! Burst'', a launcher that upscales damage following it. If it is used while the player is in hit stun, bursting has no benefits other than peeling the enemy off the player. All Bursts count as Persona moves, thus if the player cannot use their Persona, via Persona Break or Silence, they cannot burst.

Trivia

 * P4A is the first spin-off title to not feature the Shin Megami Tensei label in its overseas title, which it was granted when Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne was localized in North America and Europe.
 * P4A's story takes place in spring 2012 - the same year it is stated to be released.
 * Despite taking place after Persona 4, Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, Kanji, Teddie, and Naoto are shown with their initial persona, instead of their ultimate ones unlike Mitsuru and Akihiko, as well as Aigis being shown still using Pallas Athena. This, however, can easily be explained as obtaining their ultimate Persona is optional in Persona 4. Also since Aigis and Yu are both users of the Wild Card, they may have just recreated Izanagi and Pallas Athena through fusion. However, this still does not explain why Teddie still does not have his canon Persona, when it transfigured into its ultimate form, Kamui, by unlocking the good ending of Persona 4.
 * Yu, however, can use Izanagi-no-Okami during his Mortal Blow move.
 * Each of the main characters are given insulting titles, which the characters complain about:
 * Yu Narukami: The Sister Complex Kingpin of Steel (鋼のシスコン番長. "Sister Complex" directly points to the players who feel love for Yu's cousin, Nanako Dojima, which is also known as "Nanakon" [ナナコン] in Japanese fandom.)
 * Yosuke Hanamura: Captain Ressentiment (キャプテンルサンチマン, a reference to Yosuke's resentment towards a society which resents him for being the son of a man that destroyed business for the Central Shopping District.)
 * Chie Satonaka: Carnivore who's Discarded Womanhood (女を捨てた肉食獣, a reference to her undying consumption of meats and being a fan of martial arts.)
 * Yukiko Amagi: The Unconquerable Snow Black (難攻不落の黒雪姫, wordplay of "" due to Yukiko's name means "snow" and reference to Yukiko's Castle. "Snow black" is also a poetic term used to describe charcoal.)
 * Kanji Tatsumi: The Bloodcurdling Beefcake Emperor (戦慄のガチムチ皇帝, gachimuchi is a Japanese slang term, referring to very masculine homosexual men)
 * Teddie: The Beast in Heat (色欲の猛獣, "ビースト・オブ・リビドー" is the official of the kanji title. The kanji translate literally to "Predator of Sexual Desires".)
 * Naoto Shirogane: The 2000 IQ Killjoy Detective (IQ2000のKY探偵, "" is a Japanese slang abbreviated from the phrase "kuki ga yomenai" [空気が読めない, unable to read the atmosphere] which means someone is acting improperly in the wrong occasion. Yosuke uses this slang on Naoto during their school trip to Tatsumi Port Island in the club in the Japanese version.)
 * Akihiko Sanada: The Two-Fisted Protein Junkie (剛拳のプロテインジャンキー, referring to his boxing career and how he eats protein a lot)
 * Mitsuru Kirijo: The Imperious Queen of Executions (孤高の処刑女王, a reference to Mitsuru's ice executions)
 * Aigis: The Heartless Armed Angel (全身凶器の心なき天使, a reference to her being a humanoid android with heavy weaponry)
 * Labrys: Yasogami's Steel Council President (八高・鋼鉄の生徒会長, a reference to her being an android and the class president)
 * Shadow Labrys: The Massacre Bull Führer (皆殺しの猛牛総統, a reference to her familiar Asterios and her desire for destruction)
 * Elizabeth: The Ultimate Elevator Attendant (最凶のエレベーターガール, referring to of her previous role as the assistant to Igor in the Velvet Room, which in Persona 3 took the form of an elevator.)
 * Arc System Works originally wanted Ryotaro Dojima as one of the playable characters during the pre-planning stages when they were deciding on the cast. Takumi Iguchiya joked that instead of a Persona, he would summon Nanako Dojima to his aid. However, Altus rejected that concept.