14 DAY TRIAL // Despite the switch to fighting game mechanics, the upcoming Persona 4: Arena will have enough diversity and content to satisfy long-term fans of the franchise, according to the leader of the team who is porting the game for Western gamers.
Geraint Evans, the game director at Zen United, told VG247 that, “We’ve had an unbelievable amount of requests for us, specifically, to bring this over – which is very flattering, we’re hugely appreciative of everyone’s support, and the response to the announcement has been terrific.”
Speaking about the actual features of Persona 4: Arena, Evans commented, “It’s an interesting change of direction, and the collaboration between Arc System Works and Atlus is really very exciting.
“Atlus wanted to broaden Persona’s audience – to reach beyond its traditional RPG fanbase, and working with one of the best studios for 2D HD artwork and hugely respected in its genre, feels like the perfect union to achieve this.”
The personalities of the various characters in the series will be clear even in the fighting game space and will be reflected in their moves and their animations.
Characters included in Persona 4: Arena include: Yu Narukami, Yosuke Hanamura, Yukiko Amagi, Kanji Tatsumi, Naoto Shirogane, Chie Satonaka, Teddie, Aigis, Mitsuru Kirijo and Akihiko Sanada.
The development team says that the various characters will need to call upon their personas in order to succeed in battles and has hinted at new online and story modes for the future versions of the game.
Persona 4: Arena is at the moment launched on arcade machines in Japan and those gaming on the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 will have to wait until August 2 to get the game in the country.
No clear launch date has been announced by Atlus for the console version in North America and in Europe, but the game will be released before the end of 2012.