As a videogame geek, there are some mash-ups between developers and franchises you dream about happening. Sometimes they happen (Marvel vs. Capcom), sometimes you wish they didn’t happen (Ehrgeiz) and sometimes they never happen (Secret of Mana vs. Final Fantasy: Beach Battle Blitz).
Although Arc System Works making a Persona fighting game long lived on as only a wish, it has now become a reality. And, thank God for that because it’s shaping up to be an incredible fighting game that has the potential to reach beyond the Persona 4 fanbase while speaking to it directly.
For the first time, Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena is playable this weekend at Tokyo Game Show. Although the game has yet to be announced for a console, Arc System Works brought the arcade build to TGS. It stood out on the show floor, not only for pulling in a large crowd but also due to it being the only arcade cabinet at TGS this year.
The arcade build showed off four of the game’s stages and six of the game’s characters. The character select screen hinted that the final count will be ten, but more may be added at later date. As you may expect of an Arc Systems and Persona 4 crossover, the game’s characters come to life with bright colors, fluid animation and the stylized character design that made me a Persona 4 fan in the first place.
Since the game brought in such a long line, press were limited to only one match. For mine, I played with Kanji who controls like a slightly faster version of BlazBlue's Iron Tager. The real reason I chose him is because he bashes his opponents with a traffic stop sign. His sluggish speed is made up with some powerful, defensive moves he delivers via his persona. Every character in the game has their own persona that they are paired with. The personas deliver characters' most powerful attacks.
Along with three regular attack buttons, the controller has its own dedicated persona button. Projectiles, powerful blows and special attacks all come from the player’s persona. As with the game’s RPG counterpart, the player is limited in their persona use by a meter along with SP use. Using a special persona attack triggers a flashy animation, complimented by a comic panel displaying the character’s face. To say, "It looks kind of neat" doesn’t do it justice.
The stages themselves are amazing in both their fan service and detail. The demo contained a Midnight Channel stage, school entrance stage, and a Velvet Room stage. My favorite has to be the train stop stage, which perfectly captures the atmosphere of Persona 4 with ghost's shadows flickering in and out of the stage’s detailed night sky and suburban sprawl.
The Ultimate is an Arc System Works game through and through, down to the goofy match start screen: GRAND PRIX! (uh, sure?) This also means that the game may very well be another interesting experiment for the company that is best played for fun amongst friends rather than competitively for local arcade fame.
Being that this is Persona 4 we are talking about, the fan service alone makes the game worthwhile. Seeing the characters I’ve grown to love come to life with such detail is gratifying on its own, but the addition of the game’s accessible fighting system makes me even more excited for this.
If you are in Texas, I highly recommend coming down to Houston for Anime Matsuri and checking it out for yourself.
Contest:
12:14 PM on 09.15.2011
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Unless I missed something, Kanji's weapon is a folding chair, which is actually way more awesome.
Anyway, the more I see of this game the more excited I get. This has quickly overshadowed pretty much everything that's coming out for the next year for me. I really hope the localization gets a quick turn-around, because I need to own this game.
I'd gladly trade my neighbor's first born and his liver for this game.
And that includes tons of niche titles that aren't huge money makers and are more translator-intensive. Being a fighter, this is pretty straightforward to localize, and it's going to sell well.
So fear not, this is going to come to NA and Europe.
Funny in-joke.
Hell, why stop there? I'd like to see Hito-shura, Raidou Kuzunoha, and a Demonica soldier. :D
Atlus doesn't publish games her at all. They always need other publishers to step in.
The US should get it at least.
That said, I am really hyped up for this game, even though I have yet to play a Persona game.
If people are getting into competitive Catherine play (no seriously, look), they'll play anything competitively.
Gameplay footage if anyone wants it.
Or SMT DLC for the fighter. Because hot damn do I want a fighter with Hitoshura, Seraph and Raidou in it. Given Aleph kills YHWH with his bare hands, I think he'd be a *little* overpowered. But cool.
Regardless, it's looking better and better each time we see it!! I'd love for some DLC with older Persona/SMT characters. :D That, I'd actually buy.
See I would love to do that, but it would detract from the Persona part of it. I guess they'll have "nakama" helping them out instead of personas.
@ Jon B:
SMT DLC would be a huge plus. I think Aleph, Seraph and Hitoshura are on the same level given that the Kagatsuchi and Brahman is essentially an incarnations of YHWH (although, Brahman was WAY easier).