Persona 4 Arena

Persona 4 Arena is a fantastic 2D fighting game originally released in 2012 and features the entire main cast from the original Persona 4 video game. With slick controls, bright gameplay, and a whole host of unique character abilities, the game leaves nothing left to be desired and is 100% worth trying out, especially if you’re a fan of fighting games.

Familiar fighting gameplay

Persona 4 Arena follows the same kind of gameplay style as seen in many other popular fighting games like Street Fighter or Tekken. You’ve got light attacks, strong attacks, and special attacks that can all be used by themselves or chained to perform combo attacks that do extra damage.

Although the characters all have certain unique attacks, a lot of core moves and abilities are shared between them so it’s easy enough to pick up a new character without having to learn a completely new moveset. This is especially useful if you’re a new player as you’ll be able to get to grips with things fast and find a character you enjoy playing as without being overwhelmed by complex controls.

Characters and personas

Yu Narukami, Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, and all the other main characters from the original Persona 4 make an appearance in this fighting game, so be prepared to take a trip down memory lane. Not only are the characters present, but all their unique personas make an appearance too and have special abilities that can be taken advantage of during battles. Personas act kind of like second characters and once you learn how to use them properly, you’ll be dominating in all your future fights.

Multiple story modes

Though Persona 4 Arena is a fighting game, there are multiple different story modes that can be played. Twelve are available and each one follows the story of one of the main cast members, featuring plenty of cutscenes and unique events. It’s worth noting that everything that happens in this game is set 2 months after the events of the original game, so be sure to play Persona 4 first so you don’t have anything spoiled for you!

Pros:

• An incredible story mode that builds upon the plots of both Persona 3 and Persona 4
• Bold and stylish art style that brings the characters to life
• Controls are relatively easy to get the hang of, so fighting game beginners won’t have any trouble getting to grips with things

Cons:

• The gameplay can feel a bit slow at times
• The story modes have a fair bit of overlap, so it may get boring watching the same scene from a different character’s perspective over and over again