Persona 4 Arena Ultimax: Out in NA, It's Time You Burn That Dread

[Rutger]

That was intentional, Elizabeth has a super that will drop her health down to where Awakening will activate, she used that.

You should be able to do this with any character, just use your furious action or a super cancel to turn a portion of your health into blue health and if your health is low enough and you will activate awakening. It might be a good idea if you are able to pull it off so you don't get killed before you can activate awakening.

 

[LivewiresXe]

That kinda sounds...y'know just a wee bit risky if you don't mind me saying so.

 

[Rutger]

Elizabeth's super?

Yeah, if you are at full health, but it will turn all the health you had before into blue health and if you are nearing awakening it could be worth it. The super is essentially free once you have 50 SP because it will give it back to you and Elizabeth gets a healing super in awakening that will heal 20% of her health and she will get a very powerful command grab in awakening.

It could be very useful in the right situation.

 

[Jam Stunna]

Oh okay, I didn't know Elizabeth had a super that dropped her down.

 

[Lythium]

That is specifically what it's for though. Using Mind Charge, you're essentially trading health for SP. However, you get access to Diarahan and Ghastly Wail in her Awakened State along with all of the other Awakening bonuses, like Rutger said.

She's obviously a very high-risk, high-reward character. I have a feeling that she'll be quite difficult to play in that regard.

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

I just want it in my hands already. I figure I'm going to end up with Brosuke or Ahkiko and I want to get the tech down so I can try and learn the game. That's the ***** about learning new games. You gotta do your lab time before you can learn lest you meet a terrible fate at the greasy hands of a butter churner.

But man, after watching both of them: So. Much. Reset. Potential.

 

[Sephiroths Masamune]

Ryker, are you getting this on PS3?

 

[LivewiresXe]

That is specifically what it's for though. Using Mind Charge, you're essentially trading health for SP. However, you get access to Diarahan and Ghastly Wail in her Awakened State along with all of the other Awakening bonuses, like Rutger said.

She's obviously a very high-risk, high-reward character. I have a feeling that she'll be quite difficult to play in that regard.

Health for SP, huh? I wonder if anybody in their right mind would ever be silly to spam that or if newbies will ever spam it forgetting that it takes life.

 

[Lythium]

It's not something you can really "spam," as it's a super.

edit: Or rather, you could, but there would be no point.

 

[LivewiresXe]

It's not something you can really "spam," as it's a super.

edit: Or rather, you could, but there would be no point.

D'ohhh....


On the plus-side though, I came across this little gem from a Persona stream down in the States.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J9zgOhVu-w

 

[Raziek]

Hey, this has a thread.

Interested in Chie, Yosuke, Akihiko, Mitsuru.

Can't wait to try this game out, like the pace and the not-stupidly long combos.

 

[Sunnysunny]

Huh. Your avatar reminded me of something Raziek.

I'm gonna be real bummed if Vincent doesn't appear as DLC in this game. Supposedly he does exist in the same universe as the Persona 3 cast, so it doesn't conflict with canon. Not necessary, but it'd still be pretty awesome to play as Vincent and beat up things with a pillow.

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

Ryker, are you getting this on PS3?

I will get this on PS3 if someone buys me an adapter so that I can use my XBox controller. Pad Warrior for life.

Likewise, I'm starting a donation drive to get enough money for Raz to dual mod his PS3 stick to work with both consoles so that I can stomp him.

 

[Raziek]

I will get this on PS3 if someone buys me an adapter so that I can use my XBox controller. Pad Warrior for life.

Likewise, I'm starting a donation drive to get enough money for Raz to dual mod his PS3 stick to work with both consoles so that I can stomp him.

What if.... I told you there were PS3 controllers that have 360 Button Layouts and Analog/DPads?

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

I'd probably tell you to buy me one.

 

[Raziek]

[yt]ovdpomjTOY0[/yt]

If you can get me $20 in one form or another, I will buy you one from my Costco after class today. (We carry them)

 

[Saki-]

Nope, Ryker is only allowed to get this on the 360****

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

Well, the point was for you to pay for it, but it's a moot point at the moment anyway, because the PS3 lives in my parent's house where I am not living any longer. I only have the Sexbox, I am afraid. Buy me a PS3 and I'll buy the game AND the controller, how about that for a steal?

 

[Raziek]

Nothing for you, then.

 

[Lythium]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpzm4hqK-J0&lc

Pretty sure I've found who I'm going to play. :3

 

[LivewiresXe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gpzm4hqK-J0&lc

Pretty sure I've found who I'm going to play. :3

Dat axe, huh? You know, I remember hearing once that chair>axe.

 

[Scamp]

S. Lab for me too, but for the 24 hour stream on FinestKO I'm prolly going Elizabeth.

Can I ironman it? Stay tuned!

 

[Smooth Criminal]

That Shadow Labby video was really cool.

I can't wait to play you guys. xD

Smooth Criminal

 

[Jam Stunna]

UltraChenTV had s segment on P4A last night, and it's a pretty good look at the game from people who aren't inside the hype bubble. It starts at around 26:00 in:

http://www.twitch.tv/ultrachentv/b/326973925

 

[LivewiresXe]

S. Lab for me too, but for the 24 hour stream on FinestKO I'm prolly going Elizabeth.

Can I ironman it? Stay tuned!

Marathon stream? Was not aware. Still going?

 

[Rutger]

Several character hitboxes have been put up over the past few days on the Dustloop, I believe they are only missing Yukiko, Kanji, and Elizabeth now, check it out.

http://www.dustloop.com/wiki/index.php?title=Persona_4:_Arena

Marathon stream? Was not aware. Still going?

No, It will be on release day.

I was planing to post a link the day before. :/

http://www.dustloop.com/forums/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=321&day=2012-8-7&c=2

 

[Smooth Criminal]

Yeah. Good stuff, Jam. That was a pretty good look at what P4A's gonna be facing here in the States. Plenty of people are chasing the hype wagon right now, but what happens when they don't catch up...? I find myself guilty of that nowadays with games. I get all super-excited for the **** and then when it drops I make all kinds of johns about not getting into it like I should. The reality is that I was just caught up in the moment, and I was lacking substance that kept me glued to the game afterwards. I can't even use the excuse of not having people close at hand to play, especially since it's a simple matter to get in touch with a lot of the people that are interested in this kind of thing.

I am genuinely excited about P4A. I really am. I get hype when I watch the matches; that's something I only experience with Marvel. It reminds me of a new-gen GG, and (imo) P4A is what Blazblue should've been. This is the kind of fighter I've been waiting on for years. Hopefully when I enmesh myself in my local scene, I'll be galvanized against the sort of apathy that James Chen was going on about.

Edit: Oh hell yes, thanks for the links Rutger!

Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Vanilla Labby does chip damage with her normals?!

Smooth Criminal

 

[LivewiresXe]

I'm definitely hype about P4A (note to self, remember to pre-order today or tomorrow), but I'm not sure I agree on the "what Blazblue should've been" stuff. Though, I don't think me going into that in detail would be constructive as my stance is kinda obvious by now, methinks.

 

[Jam Stunna]

It reminds me of a new-gen GG, and (imo) P4A is what Blazblue should've been.

This is exactly what I think about P4A as well.

As for the hype train stuff, I bought Marvel 3 purely on hype and didn't like it. I bought Skullgirls to show support, but I knew all along I wasn't going to play it. I bought SF4 because it was THE game when it dropped, but have pretty much stopped playing it. I bought BlazBlue because I loved GG, but became pretty disenchanted with it after CS2. I bought SFxT because my friend got it, and I actually enjoy that game alot, although the community has cast that game out like a leper (and I can honestly understand why, it is pretty janky).

I tend to put up the money, but I don't stick around for too long. I'm really, super excited about P4A though, and I hope that I can maintain the level of interest I have now. Watching match video for the last six months helps me to feel confident that I will, but we'll see.

 

[Minato]

I'm definitely hype about P4A (note to self, remember to pre-order today or tomorrow), but I'm not sure I agree on the "what Blazblue should've been" stuff. Though, I don't think me going into that in detail would be constructive as my stance is kinda obvious by now, methinks.

I actually don't agree with that statement either. BB's not my favorite fighter, but I think it's fine how it turned out.

I'll try and show support by going to the next two Level Up P4A tourneys next Wednesday and the Sunday after that.
I'm actually not sure how long this game is going to last though. I think the game is fun and all, but I'm curious on how many people are going to stick with this game after 3 months (competitively).

I just don't think the game can generate a community to push the game further than past anime fighters. I'd like to be proven wrong though.
Jam mentioning that SF4 being THE game makes me hope that there will be a game like that for the anime FGC someday instead of just splitting people off.

 

[Jam Stunna]

Jam mentioning that SF4 being THE game makes me hope that there will be a game like that for the anime FGC someday instead of just splitting people off.

I hope that Persona's status as a (relatively) popular RPG series helps with this.

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

I ditched BB because the community ditched BB. No support whatsoever. I don't see this game showing up at EVO, but a man can hope. I just can't hope to much because the community for anime fighters just never seems to step up to the plate.

 

[LivewiresXe]

I ditched BB because the community ditched BB. No support whatsoever. I don't see this game showing up at EVO, but a man can hope. I just can't hope to much because the community for anime fighters just never seems to step up to the plate.

Not sure if it helps, but Ultradavid and James Chen seem to be supportive of it. They're commenting on how pretty much people who were in the GG/BB camp and the Skullgirls camp are supporting it and that it won't have to worry about competing with KOFXIII. Yeah, they said it'll be competing a bit with Skullgirls, but they also feel the SG scene is dying off and going to other games which...admittedly isn't as surprising as some people will claim. It's still rather unfortunate for Mike Z though because I know it's like his baby and that.

I can honestly see it showing up at EVO if the community sticks with it and doesn't get complacent and stop wanting to fight for it. But that's partly because I feel the EVO lineup's going to consist of SSFAE, UMVC3, KOFXIII, P4A, and TTT2 with a 'maybe' spot for something like SCV again if the community grows.

 

[Rutger]

Many of the people who played BB will probably be playing P4A and that's, something I guess, enough to keep tournaments going for a while at least.

P4A is a fresh start though and unlike BBCT it isn't a complete train wreck, which should help it attract other anime fighting game fans along with the better pacing compared to BB, and who knows how much the game being based off of a very well received JRPG will help in attracting people to this. We also don't know if this is a standalone game or if it will get updates in the future.

I am cautiously optimistic that while it may not be a big hit in NA, it will at least be around for a good amount of time. I want to see this game do really well.

But I'm also part of the problem because even though I will not drop this game anytime soon, I really need to start doing things offline in the community. :/

 

[Scamp]

I'm certain P4A will do fine. People are talking about Blazblue like it was a huge failure but it did technically make it into EVO twice.

However, the bar has been set higher than before so the community needs to come out and play it at majors. I'm just lucky I live near NorCal where a scene for it is practically guaranteed.

 

[Rutger]

BB definitely was not a failure, it has done very well compared to other anime fighters.

But BB does have a very negative reputation, P4A has had a great start though and should avoid being in a similar situation and I can only hope that this will help the game.

 

[Scamp]

Keep in mind both BB and SFxT had great starts. How deep or how liked a game is is not something that can easily be forseen.

Okay maybe BB's start was good and not great (it's debatable) but I think you get my point here.

 

[Smooth Criminal]

I'm not saying BB's terrible. It's a good game. It's just...I'm not exactly a fan of certain aspects of its execution. I feel that it's kind of slow and floaty, and that when you see any kind of real action, it's subdued. No crazy, clutch movement for spacing or any breakneck exchanges. It's hard for me to put it into words how I feel about the engine in particular, but I from my time playing BB and being party to high-level play via stream, I'm not excited for the game. I want faster. I want technical. I want insane.

Probably the biggest sound-off/turn-off for me is/was the cast. I haven't really liked a character in ANY of the games until Relius in Extend. I played everyone trying to find a character I really liked, but I got bored with them sooooo quickly. None of them really seem to fit me which, coupled with my nebulous and ill-gotten feeling on the game's pace, killed any interest I had.

I dunno. Maybe P4A will turn out the same way, but the impressions I'm getting from watching high-level matches and the commentary from people like Minato (whose insight I will always appreciate) make me think otherwise.

Smooth Criminal

 

[#HBC | Ryker]

Wow, I disagree with a fair bit of what's been said since my last post.

The fact that it was from a well received JRPG was actually a fairly big turn-off for me as I haven't played the series and expected (and still do, actually) inside jokes and a much lower bar being set for getting you attached to the characters. I will never get a lot of the stuff going on unless someone can get me to play the Persona series, which I hated the small dose I've had.

Luckily, the fact that I tend to stick around when I see Dacidbro (God, he was running a train on people) and have nothing better to do led me to watching enough game play that I'm actually fairly excited for it on the merits of its game play. I have actually been obtaining enough free time and lack of more fun things to do that I have been committing to fighting games instead of reaching a coasting level and being content.

We'll have a scene here, I'm gonna try and make it hype and not let it die. Wish me luck.

 

[Lythium]

We'll have a scene where I live, because well, I'll run it.

In all seriousness, comparing it to BB and GG is fine and all, but it's clearly its own kettle of fish. I'll still play the FGs that I like until there's no one left to play them with, haha. It is kinda disappointing to hear people talk about how they're waiting to see how well P4A is going to do, and if they're going to switch from BB (not necessarily anyone in this thread, I'm talking locals). I mean, they're made by the same dev, but they're pretty different. I can understand that you can't play every game out there, but it still bums me out.

We'll see how it goes, regardless. And yeah, I agree with Ryker. BB scene gets very little support from its own community, it's a bit disheartening.