[P4U] Persona 4: Arena - Homeport 26/07/2012(Japan) / 07/08/2012(USA) / EU: 10/05/2013 [NEWS & FACTS ONLY!!!]

Quote Originally Posted by Sefie View Post
**Warning! Sefie Summons a Cyclone of Text**

Alright, I finally got around to posting up what my friends thought of the game and certain characters they played while there. They said they tried everyone, but only told me about a few. Probably means these are the ones they played the most and remained most prominent in their memory. Works for me, so enjoy Naoto, Aigis, Narukami, and Yukiko fans.

Gameplay Impressions
- Plays like JoJo's Circus meets BB. There's definitely some spice of GG in here, but not quite as frantic as the fans remember it. Still an early beta, so it could change.
- Air Dashes are much more viable now, though ground mobility is the way to go. TGS made air dashing feel super clunky, though that could just be because of the crappy animation back then.
- Burst so far is just a GTFO mechanic. Tried doing bursts to see what would happen, though I just got a blowback. Here's hoping for a change to that mechanic.
- Scrubs beware! You like to spam buttons? Prepare to lose your Persona very quickly and get pulverized. Very few characters can last on their own for the entire round, though I'm sure some guys will try to be that badass. So far, Kanji and Narukami are the best at solo survival.
- Game has an awkward pace. Not quite turtle-like, but also not aggro up the woo-hoo. Need more time to play to feel comfortable.
- Characters with power ups and status effects are no joke. This has to be the game's main trait that separates itself from others. Stun is a major bitch with no mobility for a while, and silence cripples some characters entirely. Let's not forget the minor players poison and dazed, which can fuck with a person temporarily.
- Persona's have the ability to continue attacking like they are also playable. Remember their spot until they disappear (even afterwards too, as some characters require that.)

Character Impressions

Narukami, Yu
- Standard like you all imagined, though not as easy to pick up as you may think. Kinda like Ryu. Easy to start off with, but takes a dedicated master to learn all the tricks.
- His B attacks are great. 5B and j.B have excellent hitboxes to toy around with the opponent, with Yu's hurtbox being much farther away than the active frames. Think Ragna/Sol Badguy 5B and you got an idea of what to expect for ArcSys's latest protagonist fighter.
- j.b cross-ups for free super easy. You have up to Yu's ass to work with, and it's even easier on Teddy.
- All or Nothing has invincibility on start up, though I don't think you can combo off it. We didn't get any results for our efforts. Also, don't whiff or get it blocked. Without a roman cancel system here, we don't know how well this move will be other than a typical reversal.
- His Belial Edge attack A-version might be safe on block, -3 at worst. EX is not, but leaves in pretty good hitstun on impact. Might need to test this out more.
- Projectiles suck balls as zoning tactic. Leaving Izanagi exposed that long is NOT worth a Zio spell. Dont' do it. Instead, Yu is free to move during the ordeal, so apply some unique JoJo pressure to keep the beat going. Might be able to cancel lag off projectile with a slash move, though I'm not sure how to do it.
- Ziodyne hurts like a mo-fo. Doesn't do much chip damage, though that might just be an engine trait.
- Normals all have impressive range and are safe from a distance. Kinda slow at close range, as Akihiko and Chie stuff him pretty easily.
- Has enough tools to do a decent poke game without Izanagi. Some of his attacks also end in knockdown afterwards, which is something you want if your Persona is gone.
- Kinda lacks good gatlings.

Hanamura, Yosuke
- Probably the best character for a beginner to try out if they want to learn the game and do not want to play Narukami. Fast, does decent damage and combos easy with his gatlings. Narukami does okay, but Yosuke pretty much has every base covered at the expense of not having as much HP.
- Speed speed speed. This guy has a great dash on the ground or air. Very mobile, matching Aigis real well.
- 5C is hella good for combos. Keeps the enemy floating for a decent amount of time and chains into his moonsault attacks easy enough.
- His kunai toss might be enough to do short-hop into BnB. Haven't tried yet, but sounds plausible with Sukukaja buff.
- Speed buff is no joke. I felt like playing an XF2 Yosuke.
- Garudyne is one of the best hypers in the game. Utility for lockdown or for combo ending, since it stays on the field for a decent amount of time. Nice panic hyper too. Hoping for a roman cancel of some sort so that we can do some sort of lockdown cross up tactic later.
- Tentarafoo traps is probably a nice tactic to use, but we didn't bother to play enough. Definitely has some potential, as somebody was tearing it up with corner resets using that spell.

Satonaka, Chie
- Another good beginner character, as the main focus would be just on learning her combos. Players don't have to focus on using Tomoe as much as say Hanamura or Narukami.
- Power Charge is needed to make her combos hurt. Easily can land a 50% BnB solo with it on.
- Tomoe seems suited for combo finishers or to punish poorly summoned Personas. Mitsuru and Kanji were getting punished pretty often with it. Terrible thing though, Tomoe doesn't have as much range as you may think. She doesn't lunge at all.
- God's Hand is like v-13 or Lambda-11's Kusanagi sword special, though it could have more range if Tomoe is a little farther away than normal.
- Agneyastra is trash. Does mediocre chip and doesnt' seem useful unless we get a good cancel system going. Slow to start up too and doesn't remain active long enough.
- Her counters are probably the easiest to use, though I dunno what you could get off them.

Amagi, Yukiko
- The hardest to use out of the main four, but teaches you how to control your Persona real fast. She deals a lot of damage with Konohana Sakuya and Fire Boost, though she's pretty much a free win without them.
- Lack of a worthwhile reversal makes it kind of a double edge sword for rushing in.
- Real easy to use her attacks and spam. Also REAL easy to kill Konohana Sakuya for poor usage. She may have projectile negation properties in some of the melee attacks, though I think it's just the lack of caffeine playing tricks on my eyes.
- Don't play melee. Just don't. Her normals don't have good knockback and just leads to you eating damage. Stay away from Shirogane players too. Silence is not fun at all, because she can die in one combo from Naoto during that time.
- Real easy to stock Fire Boost and a Fire Break. Try to aim for it too, because her potential for opening up an opponent without it is severely lacking. It's easy enough to stock too, as the casting is decently fast.
- Save meter for her hypers, but do not do them without at least Fire Boost lvl. 3. That's when you scare your opponent into thinking twice before trying to mess with you. Lvl. 3 Agidyne hurts A LOT, and Lvl. 3 Maragidyne gets you a free combo no matter how you look at it. Combine Maragidyne D with Agidyne charged for easy 40-60% damage combos after Konohana chains into it.
- Dia is silly, but forces campers to come in. Slow cooldown though.
- Use her normals to space out Konohana Sakuya's attacks. They're free fireballs after all.
- Learn to control the field. Maragi limits ground approaches and allows you to use 2B + Konohana's upward swing to keep them at bay. I'm not sure if chip damage is involved, but you definitely control the time.
- Agi might be useful, but needs more work. I treat it like Noel's qcf gunshot.

Tatsumi, Kanji
- For a grappler, he's got a lot of tools many lack. His wide arc attacks make it difficult to get in on him if you don't have a decent projectile. Yukiko gives him a headache big time.
- His Zio spell or whatever is cancelable into a BnB? Not sure what happened, but some guy did it to me and I lost like 35% of my health in a simple ABC combo. Not cool at all.
- Take-Mikazuchi's lack of speed is made up for the impressive range. He can give Konohana Sakuya and Artemesia a good run for their money in terms of range in proportion to damage and speed. 2C is proof of this, which draws them in for some good ol' jab pressure from our punk.
- Imagine a faster, less frame advantage Ragna 5B for Kanji's jab and you got a good idea of what you're getting yourself into.
- Many types of grabs for different situation. He's definitely no Zangief, but has the ability to play footsies like him.
- Try to combo or set up the Peacemaking hyper. Like previous reports say, he can start a combo or finish one off with it, giving it one of the best utility hypers in the game. Good range too and not so bad on the cooldown if he whiffs.
- Troll with Additional Buster. It's worth it.
- Learn the spacing of his chair normals. It'll help you deal with those annoying swordsman/woman and keep Akihiko/Chie out of your hair. As for Yukiko or Naoto, no clue. Godspeed to you, because I was getting raped by them both.

Quote Originally Posted by Sefie View Post
Shirogane, Naoto
- If you've been a Testament player from GG or a Mu-13 of BB, you're going to feel right at home with Naoto. Long range normals and a solid zoning game would make you think she's just that. The traps are her big ticket, advanced play shit. Learning to control Sukuna Hikona is going to be the difference in landing high damaging combos and netting you the Hamoan/Mudoon kill. Players were capable of using the 5D Sukuna attacks to pin foes down while Naoto was able to space for combos. If you're not sure how either of those characters worked, go look them up on YouTube to get an idea.

Do note, Naoto doesn't have that large of an arsenal of disjointed hitboxes. It's mainly the gun zoning and Sukuna that gives her such range, as well as her standing B. Against characters with large melee range, great mobility, or impressive Persona attacks, you're going to find yourself in a major predicament. Examples include: Narukami and Chie were giving the Naoto players a hard time.

- Fate Unlimited Codes Archer players rejoice, your management of meter bars is gonna be huge here too. If you're that beast, it's possible to use Hamaoan/Mudoon kills every round. Absolutely not practical, but picking up on how the reduction and recover system works between rounds can easily net you a comeback or a match sealer. In F:UC, Archer players could spend meter to set up his Unlimited Blade Works (correct me if I'm wrong, it's been a while) Noble Phantasm and literally seal the deal for a round. Naoto has it the same way, though you can't just get all three charges in one combo. Managing your meter between Medigo traps and the Fate reduction is gonna be the main focus of the Shirogane players.

- Unlike other Personas in the game thus far, Sukuna's small size makes it harder for the foe to hit him. What sucks though, is that the hurtbox on him is larger than his sprite depicts itself. He's also vulnerable during the warp and some even say his blade is a hurtbox (I don't buy it.) Naoto isn't as dependent on her Persona as say, Yukiko or Mitsuru. His main job is to get in and ping the opponent a few times to set up for a bigger combo.

- Reloading the bullets is pretty crucial. Don't forget to do that. Arcana Heart 3 players should know what this means.

- Name of the game is control. She can bulldog and zone, but her forte lies in staying mobile and keeping the opponent pestered with shots and Sukuna, with your secondary objective in setting up for a final round Hamaon or Mudoon kill. Both hypers are a pain to combo into, and don't pull a MvC Mudoon hail mary tactic. It's not fast enough to do that, with most of Naoto's hypers kinda mediocre as a reversal. Her meter building is decent, but her hypers are all great. Silence wrecks Mitsuru and especially Yukiko, while knocking down the fate counter of tanks like Kanji and Akihiko gives her another option of approach. Doesn't do a whole lot of damage alone, so you'll need to coordinate your attacks appropriately. Medigo traps are a must.

- Trust me when we say, it's not that hard to combo into Mudoon. The only question the Naoto player has to do is decide when it's best to do it. I think I saw somebody do something as simple as downward gunshot to Sukuna forward arc (1-hit) to Mudoon. It's super scary when it's time for you to die.

Aigis
- Kites like a boss and gives NO fucks to your Persona. Seriously, her main objective might be to just kill off your Persona while pestering you into making mistakes.
- Has a normal that acts like Nu's 3C. It's pretty sick and keeps the foe away. If only there was one like the 6C now...
- Orgia mode allows for some insane air control and aerial mix-ups, though Aigis's focuses on the high-low 50/50.
Didn't get to play Mitsuru, Teddie, or Akihiko. Most of the others who we fought stuck to the big three.
- Gatling Gun makes sure to keep foes pressured if it hits. Very possible to chip the opponent to death, but she probably has more to her gameplan than that.
- Remember that FES FMV where you see Aigis jumping around and shooting things? Or her battle against Ryoji? Yeah, that's kinda what you'll be doing here. Aigis is very mobile in the air and keeps people off her with excellent mid-range normals. She can fight full-screen, but doesn't get much of anything off it. Stick to just outside of a sword's range or persona attack range to get the best results.
- Very spacing dependent.
- Ground game is a bit lacking, as the lag off her guns get reduced when done in the air.
- Able to quickly switch between Orgia and normal. Might change later.
- She suffers from lack of power when dealing with a full character opponent, but if it's just her v.s. a human...then this fight just went to Aigis.
- Probably the best standalone character in the build thus far. Even when I lost Athena/Palladion, I didn't even change my gameplan.

That's about it for now. Sorry if your character wasn't covered.

I didn't get you guys and gals something for valentines day. So, in response to a false alarm family emergency that took me out of the military academy for three days, I got to spend one of those at...YOU GUESSED IT, the loketest! Now that I actually got to go there, there's a very clear image in my head why there's a lack of videos for this game out right now. Guards and patrols were actually present at the test, at the arcade owner's discretion. Apparently has something to do with both ArcSys and Atlus's agreement, so that's why the data flow has been pretty much kept on the low profile. My personal take on it is that they're trying to do what Capcom keeps fucking up on...letting information stay locked up. Too bad they're not doing so hot in the hype train portion by letting out info so slowly.

tl;dr: No videos from us. We did have the gear and tried! (cellphone included, but...I like having my shit..so that didn't happen.)

Anyways, back to what you guys really wanna hear. Here's the general breakdown of who went, and who played what.
Me- (Tag: Aegis-no-Sekai/Sefie): Naoto & Aigis, subbed a bit of Chie.
Yukio- (Tag: 8WY<3): Yukiko, subbed Akihiko
Sakuraba- (Tag: Saikyo!Denpa *was in japanese, but my comp is weird): Yu

General Impressions: Now I'm not that big of a doujin fighter person as I probably should be, but I'd definitely take this game seriously. The flow of battle is actually very smooth and my biggest worry was that he game will turn into different versions of Hakumen duking it out in animated stages. While some characters still act that way, it honestly does feel like a faster paced JoJo's with a hint of BB mixed in. Not quite GG crazy, but I don't think that's where they're going with this.

Every character feels pretty complete and able to compete. The popular ones are still Yu and Chie, but did see a lot of Mitsuru's rising up. It's probably why we're seeing more data on her (and that 2ch blog.) Can't blame them, and when I get into my impressions about characters, you'll see why I don't think I'll like dealing with her when release day comes.

Maintaining your Persona is a lot easier to track with the new interface. I didn't have that much of an issue because of who I used because how prominent the cards stand out. Exactly what it looks like, four hits and you're in recovery mode. You really shouldn't be tossing those Persona attacks out haphazardly anyways unless you're dependent on them (like Yukiko, Teddie, and a few others.) Recovery isn't that bad tbh. It really might be because nobody has the game down pact yet, but the gauge recovers fast enough. It's not ball-crushing 30 real time seconds long, but is considerable. I'd guess around 10-15. Memory is kinda hazy about that.

A lot of the cast got safer gatlings, and those who didn't really didn't need them anyways. Kanji was one of them who probably got some, but his gameplan really didn't require it. He DOES have Take-Mikazuchi to cover half the damn screen with after all (it's all intimidation btw.) I guess it's to add more of a pressure mechanic to the game? I don't really get why, as this game is already stupid in terms of offense power. It's probably why the primer just released showed a lot of defensive options to compensate, which do make a big difference in this game.

Offense:Defense balance; I'm personally a fan. The blowback attacks people get isn't all real easy to use, like Naoto and Chie's one require a bit of timing for the better payoff (like a wall bounce or potential status down). Ones like Yukiko and Yu's is more liberal to use because they can be tossed out whenever, but they have their costs too with heavy cooldown or health down. Either way, players should make use of this alpha counter because things get pretty hectic when you have Orgia mode Aigis pinning you down or Mitsuru with Artemesia controlling all the actions. I'd compare them to just frame blockings in a way, though it seems it's not nearly as tight timing wise.

Health bars don't disappear too fast, and most people have pretty good balances between what they can do and how much HP they have. I personally think Mitsuru needs a little less because of the how crazy her field control can get, but I don't know how she is as a player. Could be something I'm missing, cause it is the first time for me trying this game out. We don't have retarded shit yet like Kanji's grabs taking out nearly half your health on CH, though maybe that'll increase his threat level more? I dunno.

No one was doing 3/4 life damage combos w/o awakenings. The only one who got close was a Teddie player and a fellow Naoto mainer, both requiring loads of set up before the deed was done. Might change later, who knows. ArcSys games are known for bullshit damage in their later life. :3

All-Out Attacks are like dust attacks from GG. Kinda slow, but you can mash A or B for more damage. C sends them flying up, while D kicks them closer to the corner. Depends on what your character benefits from. If they're Akihiko, then a corner rush would benefit you more as his air tools aren't the best. Someone like Chie or Yukiko can take the C launcher because of their air moves and hitboxes (Yukiko in particular can get a nice reset opportunity by combining Maragi lvl.2 as a finisher.) I don't think there's a quick dust attack like the later GGs, but it seems kinda easy to get into the AOA. Scales damage kinda though, so you'd have to do the attack somewhat early in the combo (until combo video masters show us otherwise.)

Burst is a blowback mechanic like usual. Its nice to see the meter fill portion from GG back. Haven't got to toy around with it though, so I don't know if the usage can be similar. I'd assume so.

Overall, I think GG fans can get into this game better than BB. It's faster pace imo, though not up to the standards of its originator because of the Persona usage. While it slows down the pace of the fight somewhat, it's not to the point where it's unbearable. Honestly, I kinda like the pace. You can still pull off split second mix ups with certain characters, but you'll need to always manage your Persona's health in order to get the maximum effect. Their deceiving hitboxes/hurtboxes and range of effect is stellar and adds new depth to this game. Get hyped, this one's a keeper!