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[PK Gaming]

Is Lesson mode really that crucial? I hadn't planned on going through it. I always get bored a few lessons in.

Also, Omi, want to start an EU-only room tomorrow at some point? I don't feel like jumping straight into the game with a group of people who are going to wipe the floor with me.

Absolutely.

It gets you through the basics in under 30 minutes time (maybe even less, the game is kind of easy to play). Hell, if you want to take it a step further, go to Persona 4 dustloops wiki and try to learn some of the basic combos. I also wouldn't recommend jumping into story mode if you just want to fight; arcade mode is much more enjoyable experience.

Agreeing with Sophia that the P3 story modes were really good (especially the intros) and the inner monologues weren't intrusive.

 

[FluxWaveZ]

It's the metagame we all clamor for anyway. That's what separates the best from the rest. It's the weirdly inordinate amount of memorization you have to do before you can even start messing around with the metagame that throws people off.

I guess, but then I feel like a portion of the same people who claim that fighting games are too complicated for them to get into are the same people who then turn around and make fun of things like Divekick or Super Smash. Maybe that's not accurate, but that's how it seems.

 

[Omikaru]

@Dantis, sure, we should organize an EU-only room. But do some story/arcade mode plus Lesson mode first.

 

[Delusibeta]

I feel like, in many ways, fighting games have not evolved out of the arcade days. Back then they wanted combos to be long and difficult, and kept a lot of that stuff unwritten because they wanted people to keep putting in quarters in order to train.

I don't want to knock the whole genre, I love fighters. And the fact that they ARE complicated is what makes it exciting. However, I just feel like a lot of it is so rooted in archaic design that no longer has a place. It's as Sophia said: fighting games are stuck in a niche because they do very little to help people get started. A kid isn't going to be a great football player from day one, but it's pretty easy for him to pick up a football and immediately have fun with it. This is why soccer is so popular all around the world: all it requires is that you can kick a ball.

It's the metagame we all clamor for anyway. That's what separates the best from the rest. It's the weirdly inordinate amount of memorization you have to do before you can even start messing around with the metagame that throws people off. Ask a lot of people why they can't get into a fighter: It's usually dragon punches.

I can't help but feel that most of that also applies to MOBAs, and yet that genre is booming. Maybe it's the fact that most MOBAs have an entry cost of £0.00, or it could be differences between users of different formats.

 

[Sophia]

I can't help but feel that most of that also applies to MOBAs, and yet that genre is booming. Maybe it's the fact that most MOBAs have an entry cost of £0.00, or it could be differences between users of different formats.

The barrier to entry in MOBAs is a lot lower. You don't have to memorize combos, and it doesn't take nearly as long to learn your character. You also get to the metagame a lot faster, even in low level play. League of Legends specifically has gone out of it's way to remove or improve upon archaic mechanics.

They are, in ways, the modern day fighting game. With the quarter-munching replaced by DLC transactions.

I guess, but then I feel like a portion of the same people who claim that fighting games are too complicated for them to get into are the same people who then turn around and make fun of things like Divekick or Super Smash. Maybe that's not accurate, but that's how it seems.

Lunar's got a point about the Dragon Punches thing. It took me hours to learn how to pull off a Shoryuken consistently, and then I had to learn it again when I got my fightpad. It's actually a wonder I'm at the level I am now, considering where I started.

 

[NotLiquid]

Hope my copy arrives tomorrow/today. Store I ordered from updates on midnight to show supply status and while they have over 50 copies in their central stock, every store across the country has the game listed as "on order", meaning stores won't stock the game unless people ordered it.

Could very well be there since it won't update my order status until the store opens or if they get the game later on in the day but last I asked when I was there to buy Dark Arisen they said the copies hadn't gotten in yet and I still have bad memories about how Zen didn't get Arcana Heart 3 on time here either.

 

[Shito]

The barrier to entry in MOBAs is a lot lower. You don't have to memorize combos, and it doesn't take nearly as long to learn your character. You also get to the metagame a lot faster, even in low level play.

I've heard this argument many times, and I must disagree with it: you have much much MUCH more characters to "learn", and also quite a lot of concept and mechanics. I'd dare say you have just as much things to learn in a MOBA than in a fighting game, it's just that your basic actions are easier to do, leaving you with only the tactics to learn... quite like what P4A is doing, actually.

 

[Roto13]

Know what's bullshit?

The fact that the glasses are DLC. That's just shameless.

Also I bought this game months ago but I'm in this OT because I missed the original OT.

 

[cluderi]

Didn't even last one day before I cracked and bought P4 arena. I am a weak weak guy

Spoiler

but happy, fsteak !

 

[Korigama]

Hm, I've had two people ragequit on me during ranked already, and I'm not even that good yet anyway (been losing most of my matches so far)...eh.

 

[Mesharey]

I didn't finish P4G yet, but the spoilers that are in P4A are really important or it's OK to play story mode?

Some people say it's ok and some people not. :/

I enjoyed the game in arcades when I was in Japan, so I'll get it.

 

[Samurai_Heart]

Didn't even last one day before I cracked and bought P4 arena. I am a weak weak guy

Spoiler

but happy, fsteak !

Well Dantis has been vocal in his displeasure of P4Arena but seems he still brought it so =P

 

[Dantis]

Well Dantis has been vocal in his displeasure of P4Arena but seems he still brought it so =P

I haven't bought anything, pal.

Rentals. Zen and Atlus aren't seeing a penny from me for this shit.


As an aside, postman just walked straight past my house, so no rentals for me today it seems.

 

[Samurai_Heart]

I haven't bought anything, pal.

Rentals. Zen and Atlus aren't seeing a penny from me for this shit.


As an aside, postman just walked straight past my house, so no rentals for me today it seems.

Lol thought you cracked and brought it XD, hope to hear whether your impressions before the release has been reinforced =P

 

[NotLiquid]

Great, it didn't come in. Hope it's there later.

Might just take a swing by a nearby GameStop after class and see if it's there for a reasonable price since they put budget prices on select new releases here, unlike Game.

 

[rmanthorp]

I'm so happy this game is in my life now. That clash video. Ahhh!

 

[Risk Breaker]

Hello guys, I just got the game for review and I have one very important question that I hope you can answer.

I've played through Persona 3 Portable already but I'm currently playing P4, I'm up to the part where

Spoiler

I'm rescuing Rise

, about 26-28 hours in and I DON'T want any spoilers for Persona 4. So the question is, which characters' story mode can I play that won't spoil Persona 4 for me?

 

[EvilKatarn]

Edge has their review up

Yet if anything the delay has helped: the intervening months have seen the release of Persona 4 Golden, the retooled remake of the 2009 RPG that still stands as Vita’s best game. A particularly niche entry in this most niche of genres – an anime fighter from the developer of Blazblue and Guilty Gear, spun off from a Japanese RPG – finally arrives in Europe with a significantly larger potential audience than it would have enjoyed had it launched day and date with the US release last August.

Oh my god what the fuck.

 

[NotLiquid]

Edge has their review up



Oh my god what the fuck.

That's such a stupid supposition that it was probably why Atlus waited this long.

 

[buddha0991]

Edge has their review up



Oh my god what the fuck.

Dat Spin

 

[Dantis]

Edge has their review up



Oh my god what the fuck.

Whilst that's dumb, I appreciate this:

It doesn’t quite work out like that, of course, but while there’s plenty of game here – involving, apparently, Atlus’ biggest-ever dialogue job – the script lacks Golden’s wit and easy charm. There are pacing problems, too, with the ratio of exposition to action weighted too heavily in favour of the former, and while you’re required to play around with the cast, the sporadic one-round battles aren’t enough to really give you a feel for each character’s idiosyncracies.

Though I do find it incredibly strange how much opinions of the story have changed since release. US reviewers were really into it and so was the fanbase.

I think maybe a lot of people were so happy to see some actually original Persona content they overlooked the lower quality of it.

Lol thought you cracked and brought it XD, hope to hear whether your impressions before the release has been reinforced =P

I am genuinely interested in playing it, if not excited. I doubt my opinions on most of it will change.

 

[ThePeoplesBureau]

Unbelievably, both records arrived intact. Kudos, GAME... kudos.

 

[OMG Aero]

Sweet my jigsaw, badges, bag and keyrings arrived.

 

[buddha0991]

Whilst that's dumb, I appreciate this:



Though I do find it incredibly strange how much opinions of the story have changed since release. US reviewers were really into it and so was the fanbase.

I think maybe a lot of people were so happy to see some actually original Persona content they overlooked the lower quality of it.



I am genuinely interested in playing it, if not excited. I doubt my opinions on most of it will change.

It must be that. Even I who loved it back in the day now uses words like good enough, or fine to describe the story mode

 

[Dantis]

Unbelievably, both records arrived intact. Kudos, GAME... kudos.

Assure me that you didn't buy two so that you could sell one off at a profit...

Sweet my jigsaw, badges, bag and keyrings arrived.

Feel like taking some unboxing pictures for us?

It must be that. Even I who loved it back in the day now uses words like good enough, or fine to describe the story mode

Yup. Sophia was super high on it too.

Not me though. I saw through the turd.

 

[EvilKatarn]

Sweet my jigsaw, badges, bag and keyrings arrived.

Screw the game, assemble the Exclusive Jigsaw™ Puzzle to Unleash Your Exclusive Persona 4 Arena™ Artwork™ Right Now™

 

[oneida]

That CE is spiffy. How hard to get is it? Can I conceivably import one without going over MSRP?

 

[ThePeoplesBureau]

Assure me that you didn't buy two so that you could sell one off at a profit...

No re-sale here, I assure you. Persona and records are two of my very favourite things, so I will cherish them dearly. Only thing being sold on is the spare copy of the game.

 

[Dantis]

Oh hello there Arena.

Interesting that the two versions have different disc art. PS3 one looks miles better.

 

[Zeouterlimits]

Oh weird. To fit in more with the labels?

Edge has their review up

Oh my god what the fuck.

Ha ha, wow.

 

[Uncle AJ]

Oh hello there Arena.



Interesting that the two versions have different disc art. PS3 one looks miles better.

Interesting. The all-yellow one you got for 360 is what we got for the PS3 discs.

 

[Dragon1893]

I'm excited for the story mode even with all the negativity being thrown around here.
Curious to see it for myself.

 

[buddha0991]

Oh hello there Arena.



Interesting that the two versions have different disc art. PS3 one looks miles better.

Shitgame

 

[Lunar15]

I don't think anyone ever said that the story was on par with Persona 4. However, I do think it's perfectly fine. I enjoyed the arc, found Labrys' story to be interesting, and was overall pretty impressed with the amount of dialogue. Keep in mind, I've never played an ASW game before, so I really had no expectations.

I still think the story is totally acceptable. I do take issue with a lot of the repetition in the P4 side, but it was still fun seeing how each character reacted. No one's saying this is the ultimate in persona writing or anything.

 

[akaoni]

Unbelievably, both records arrived intact. Kudos, GAME... kudos.

How did you manage to get 2?

 

[NotLiquid]

Got my game, the box is sort of broken. Go figure.

I love the feel of it so far. Feels a lot more faster than I remember BlazBlue being, and lord knows I love me some fast paced fighters. I think I'm going to have quite a bit of fun with this.

 

[Dantis]

I don't think anyone ever said that the story was on par with Persona 4. However, I do think it's perfectly fine. I enjoyed the arc, found Labrys' story to be interesting, and was overall pretty impressed with the amount of dialogue. Keep in mind, I've never played an ASW game before, so I really had no expectations.

I still think the story is totally acceptable. I do take issue with a lot of the repetition in the P4 side, but it was still fun seeing how each character reacted. No one's saying this is the ultimate in persona writing or anything.

I thought about like grabbing a load of quotes from reviews and from the OT back when the game first came out to show you that people did say that it was as good/better than Persona 4's writing and/or story, but that would be insane.

You might not be saying it personally, but other people absolutely did, and you wouldn't have to go far to find evidence of this.

 

[Lunar15]

I thought about like grabbing a load of quotes from reviews and from the OT back when the game first came out to show you that people did say that it was as good/better than Persona 4's writing and/or story, but that would be insane.

You might not be saying it personally, but other people absolutely did, and you wouldn't have to go far to find evidence of this.

Well that's just weird. Hard to believe, but this is an internet forum after all.

 

[ScraftyDevil]

I don't think the story is bad necessarily; just awkward and underrealised. If they had taken more character development into account with the dialogue and eliminated the internal monologues, it would be pretty good (if still rather basic). It's kind of unfortunate that several characters were regressed to caricatures of their P3/4 selves, and I could've done with fewer (or preferably no) "Kanji is gay lol" jokes, but some of the character interaction is at the very least entertaining and droll.

 

[Dachande]

Oh hello there Arena.



Interesting that the two versions have different disc art. PS3 one looks miles better.

Is that your pic? Why did you rent both versions?

 

[Dantis]

I don't think the story is bad necessarily; just awkward and underrealised. If they had taken more character development into account with the dialogue and eliminated the internal monologues, it would be pretty good (if still rather basic). It's kind of unfortunate that several characters were regressed to caricatures of their P3/4 selves, and I could've done with fewer (or preferably no) "Kanji is gay lol" jokes, but some of the character interaction is at the very least entertaining and droll.

I agree with all of this. I guess my reaction to it is just more negative than yours.

Is that your pic? Why did you rent both versions?

360 version to play with my brothers (I only have one PS3 pad) and PS3 version to play with the guys from PersonaGAF.

 

[akaoni]

I thought about like grabbing a load of quotes from reviews and from the OT back when the game first came out to show you that people did say that it was as good/better than Persona 4's writing and/or story, but that would be insane.

You might not be saying it personally, but other people absolutely did, and you wouldn't have to go far to find evidence of this.

On a side note I think it sounds like the type of fandom that in 10 years time will be telling us how the series/Atlus is dead and that they should just remake Persona 4 with quadruple HD visuals. Atlus stuff seems to be 'in-thing' among a certain crowd and I can imagine them jumping ship to other stuff very easily, not without informing us how their new pet is that much better. I've felt this way before Arena ever released.

 

[Lunar15]

On a side note I think it sounds like the type of fandom that in 10 years time will be telling us how the series/Atlus is dead and that they should just remake Persona 4 with quadruple HD visuals. Atlus stuff seems to be 'in-thing' among a certain crowd and I can imagine them jumping ship to other stuff very easily, not without informing us how their new pet is that much better. I've felt this way before Arena ever released.

Not sure I understand what you're talking about. Are you saying that "persona is just hot right now", causing people to overlook a massive drop-off in quality, and that eventually these people will move on to something else? Are you just trying to say that person has a fickle fanbase? If the quality of the series drops significantly, I would HOPE people would move on. Nothing is worse than supporting a franchise long after it's jumped the shark.

I don't think P4A is indicative of a quality slide for the franchise. It's a sign of atlus beginning to milk it, but if P5 comes out and knocks it out of the park, then I'm perfectly content. I support good games, not franchises.

EDIT: This is not meant to be aggressive. I'm honestly not sure what you meant by your post.

 

[CrazyTank940]

Oh hello there Arena.



Interesting that the two versions have different disc art. PS3 one looks miles better.

Looks like Atlus does care about EU somewhat, the US PS3 discs have the same art as that 360 disc. And yeah it's kinda bland.

 

[akaoni]

Not sure I understand what you're talking about. Are you saying that "persona is just hot right now", causing people to overlook a massive drop-off in quality, and that eventually these people will move on to something else? Are you just trying to say that person has a fickle fanbase? If the quality of the series drops significantly, I would HOPE people would move on. Nothing is worse than supporting a franchise long after it's jumped the shark.

I don't think P4A is indicative of a quality slide for the franchise. It's a sign of atlus beginning to milk it, but if P5 comes out and knocks it out of the park, then I'm perfectly content. I support good games, not franchises.

Fickle fan base that were too blind to realise when things aren't as good already, given the opinions of the story from now vs last August. I have no problem with people jumping shark when things don't suit them, but I feel they won't go quietly, not that they have to but reading the views of people drowning in nostalgia in 10 years while lamenting the series/company they once loved gets to a point where enough is enough. I hope I'm wrong though and that Atlus can control their properties well enough, they seem to have kept their heads cool with not milking the popularity with sequels or revealing stuff early.

 

[oneida]

I would very much like to see Arena get the same treatment that BlazBlue did. SELL ME MORE. Bring over more characters from P3 and I'll be happy as a clam.

Best new fighter of 2012.

 

[Dantis]

Holy shit, there are absolutely no normals in this game. Just had my first match, and it looks like you just have standing and crouching moves?

I asked about this the other day and everyone was like "Oh it has just as many normals as any other game".

LIES.

 

[oneida]

Holy shit, there are absolutely no normals in this game. Just had my first match, and it looks like you just have standing and crouching moves?

I asked about this the other day and everyone was like "Oh it has just as many normals as any other game".

LIES.

There definitely aren't as many normals as SF and the like, because there's only 4 buttons (and only 2 are attacks from your character). But there are normals.

 

[Dantis]

There definitely aren't as many normals as SF and the like, because there's only 4 buttons (and only 2 are attacks from your character). But there are normals.

On Blazblue, aren't there directional normals too? I feel like there definitely are.

On this, 4A, 5A and 6A are all the same, for example.

With the Personas, it's even worse! There's just ONE normal?

 

[oneida]

On Blazblue, aren't there directional normals too? I feel like there definitely are.

On this, 4A, 5A and 6A are all the same, for example.

With the Personas, it's even worse! There's just ONE normal?

"Normal" is a weird term for me because I haven't played SF in over a year and it's not the center of attention in most fighting games like they are in SF. If we're just talking moves that don't require command motions (236 etc) then there are standing and crouching and air normals for every button you have. Personas have more than one 'normal'.