The first time I played Guilty Gear X, I was simply blown away. Though I'd played many 2D fighters before, nothing had prepared me for Arc System Works' style of blistering fast gameplay, the lineup of stylish anime-style characters all bouncing around the screen at mach 5, stringing together insane...

When the name Shin Megami Tensei is mentioned, two responses usually crop up: "Oh, I love those games! But they're so long..." or "Huh?". For those of you in the latter category, some background might be needed. The rest of you can jump ahead.

Great fighting mechanics; intriguing story

Story is confusing if you don't know the Persona games; controls have a very steep learning curve

: One of the best fighting games on the market today. Enough said.

While I have enjoyed many fighting games in my time, I have never been happier playing one than with P4A; The ultimate fulfillment of fun will be achieved by those who are fans of both the Persona series and fighting games.

: Story-mode appeals only to the most hardcore Persona or RPG fans and even then it could use more player-controlled fight sequences and less repetition.

You have to hand it to Atlus. Originally released on the PS2 , Persona 4's critical acclaim in both the East and West quickly gave rise to a slew of marketing spin-offs, including an anime series and movie, mangas and novels, and even a live stage performance in Japan.

All in all, Persona 4: Arena is a fantastic fighting game as well as a heaping dose of Persona fan service that can appeal to a broad range of gamers. You don't have to be a Persona die-hard to enjoy it. Fans of the Persona RPGs will enjoy the story full of characters they already know and love.

Persona is probably the longest running and consistently good JRPG series out there. The last two titles have done an increasingly great job of blending dungeon crawling and grinding with the everyday life of a Japanese high school student.

When you think 'RPG', Persona is one of the first words that comes to many a gamer's mind. The Persona sub-series of Shin Megami Tensei captured the hearts of its players, with Persona 3 and 4 specifically being hailed as two of the greatest RPGs ever made.

With Persona 4: Arena , Atlus' critically acclaimed Shin Megami Tensei sub-series finally makes its Xbox debut - in a completely different form. Instead of a modern-day JRPG that ruminates on the nature of life and relationships, Arena is a one-on-one fighting game.

+ Slick presentation with snazzy UI; character art; and phenomenal music; backed by a solid fighting engine; + Massive story augments the usual array of arcade; challenge; and versus modes

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The original Persona 4 Arena proved itself as a competent and absorbing fighting game on its own terms, but it did not forget what fans love about the franchise. This included an expansive, visual novel-inspired story mode that fleshed out some of the characters and added new mysteries for the...

If the world were a farm and all its countries were farm hands, analogically speaking, of course, Japan would quite easily be those guys and girls who pull udders all day long. You know, the milkers… you know, because they milk everything. Get it? Sure you do.