

Is it the thoughtfulness for RPG players who are not used to action games? Is there any other system designed for newcomers?

Compared to ordinary fighting games, the skills and combos seem easier to perform in P4AU. On the other hand, you can also enjoy the RPG-like gameplay in the Golden Arena Mode of solo play, where you can acquire EXP and level up in each combat. In addition, Navigator, a feature of the Persona series, is presented as the shoutcast for fighting game and become a new characteristic too. There are many different types of status effects, each with its own set of disadvantages, making it a challenging factor to deal with for newcomers. We have carefully blended the Persona series’ symbolic systems, such as All-Out Attack, 1 more, and status effects, into Arc System Work’s fighting game system.

Could you talk about how you guys managed to work that into a 2d fighting game? One of the really cool things about P4AU is how it blends Persona’s RPG mechanics into the gameplay (such as status effects).
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We had a lot of solid and fascinating ideas thanks to Arc System Works’ love for the Persona series and expertise in fighting games.

This is where Persona’s charm shines most, as some real-time activities and participation with the characters are impossible to depict in an RPG. So, the design process was a lot of fun.įirst, for each character and Persona, we expanded the idea from the original setting, fixed the rough type and characteristic, and then came up with ideas and made decisions based on them. How did you go about designing this for P4AU? In the Persona JRPGs, you never really saw the characters fighting alongside their Personas. And we modified that image into a funny and exaggerated name.Īt the time, all of the writers, including myself, brainstormed ideas and then made decisions, but we struggled with the slight modifications. The ring name should be memorable while not being too insulting of the character, and it should make people giggle a little… Even from the perspective of the character’s fans, you could say we were pushing the design rather aggressively. We attempted to base the ring name on an image that should be somehow related to the character, as the character might be offended by the name. One of the best things about P4AU is the exaggerated ring names, how did that come about? This game would not exist if Arc System Works had not agreed to take on the project. We hadn’t planned to go that far with the sequel plot at first, but the team worked hard to create new characters and settings, and eventually set the story as a fighting game. Then, after consulting with Arc System Works, the only company I trusted to handle the task, we were lucky enough to reach an agreement and begin development. Based on these considerations, we began looking for a trusted partner who could work with us to jointly create the game in the fields of specialization rather than simply outsourcing. Also, rather than a halfway character-based game, if we make a Persona game, it should be a first-class fighter. However, there was also the idea that the Persona series should be expanded to have more possibilities than only RPGs. I used to play fighting games with character designers like Soejima, Doi, and others, and we always thought to ourselves, “We want to make a fighting game too,” but we never got around to it because we lacked the necessary expertise. Personally, I am a fan of fighting games. So how did we get from JRPG to fighting game? I was also involved in the production of the following Persona series games: Persona 2: Innocent Sin (movie), Persona 3 (design director), Persona 4 (design director), Catherine (design director), Persona 4 Arena series (director), Persona Dancing series (producer), and Persona 5 Royal (producer). Currently, I am in charge of the Persona team and work as a creative producer on each title’s production.īecause P4AU is a remastered title, I spent the majority of my time collaborating with Arc System Works on the updated parts. I joined the production as director on the Atlus side during the original game’s development 8 years ago, and oversaw development of the story, world setting, character design, sound, and graphic designs such as UI. I’m Kazuhisa Wada, producer of the P4AU remastered version.
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The full responses from Wada are as follows: Could you talk a bit about your role in the re-release of P4AU? Kazuhisa Wada, Producer/Director of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax As a developer, I was very happy to hear that many said their first fighting game was Persona 4 Arena”, he says. Follow was difficult for me to make that aspect easier, but there were still a lot of players who began out as beginners and went on to compete in big tournaments.
