Persona 4 Arena (PS3)

Coming off my initial playthrough of Persona 4 Golden, I purchased this game.  I thought it would be a good idea.  I love Blazblue and this seemed very similar.  I was only slightly disappointed by this game but not for the reason that I was thinking.

To begin, this is a fighting game that takes place after the events of Persona 4.  The premise being that the main character from Persona 4, in this case named Yu, has returned to Inaba for a vacation.  During this time, it appears the Midnight Channel from the previous game has returned and it is up to the Investigation Team to find out what is going on.

This story setup is not the problem.  The problem with this game is the story is incredibly slow and there is far too much text on the screen for a fighting game.  Now I don't mind Blazblue because usually there is a lot of fights.  In this game, it is the opposite.  During one story section, there is literally 40 minutes of talking and one fight.  The fights are fun but often are very easy.

I couldn't actually finish the story mode because there was just way too much text.  I feel disappointed in myself for this because I really wanted to like the story but I just could not get into it.  This was just so slow and really was not interesting.  I'm sure that I am the only one that feels this way but it is my opinion.

The fighting in this game is superb and fluid.  Every character is awesome and plays just as you would expect them too if you had played the RPG.  Even some characters from Persona 3 make an appearance and it just brings more for players of both.  It is great to finally be able to settle who would win a fight between Teddie and Aigis.

I must give a special nod to the music in this title.  Most of it is remixes from Persona 4 but it really makes you feel nostalgic if you played Persona 4 beforehand.  It really pumps me up and makes me want to play both titles whenever I hear it.

All in all, if you are a fan of Persona or Blazblue, you should buy this or the new enhanced version that recently was released.  They are solid games and worth it.  Although the story mode was incredibly slow to me and with little reward, it by no means should ruin the game for you.