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The original was posted on /r/fighters by /u/SF6isASS on 2024-04-10 06:13:21.

I feel like this game is the goldilocks principle of the FGC. It’s right there in the middle between old school fighting games and the modern ones. Let me explain:

  1. It’s neither too hard nor too easy. It’s at that right spot between those old school fighting games that had execution that’s too hard, weight specific combos, unnecessarily restrictive input motions, and so on - and the more modern fighting games where everything basically goes buttery smooth for you. The result is that it’s pretty easy to learn some basic combos, but there’s still room for advanced stuff and you see people drop things pretty constantly and it’s part of the game. But you rarely feel like it’s because the game is unresponsive or controls poorly.

  2. It’s got system mechanics in spades, but they do not define the game’s identity, unlike many modern fighting games. Seriously, scroll down and see for yourself. It’s got a combination of movement, defensive, and offensive options that do not dictate the game’s neutral, but are used sparingly to keep the gameplay varied. Pretty much all of the arcsys tried and true mechanics are in there, with some other fighting game classics like short hops, alpha counters, and so on, and none of them feel oppressive.

  3. It’s got a great ‘tempo’, with its rounds being generally long, exhibiting a blend of neutral but also, when the time is right, degen anime combos. You’ll see players constantly moving around, getting in small hits or little combos, but then on the flipside under the right circumstances, and with the right character, somebody can explode and lose half their life bar. But for the most part, it doesn’t have that modern fighting game feel of every hit leading into a major combo, you’ve got a lot of small conversions and optimizations in it. Furthermore, the vast majority of rounds use up most of the timer, but without feeling turtle-ish or stagnant; there’s constant action, movement, resource management, and so forth.

  4. It’s got a heterogeneous cast of characters that are still well balanced. The game comes from an era before you patched things every couple of months, but the balance is still surprisingly robust. The vast majority of characters are seen in tournaments, and they represent all the common fighting game archetypes - and more. Characters have extremely strong identities, mostly because of the Persona system. Having a character that is focused on insta-killing you coexisting alongside heavy neutral-based zoners, a Faust-equivalent, a close-ranged boxer, puppet characters, etc. is a pretty impressive achievement.

  5. It’s got a game-defining mechanic, the titular Personae, which gives the game a unique identity. Very loosely speaking, characters use these summons to execute somewhat puppet-character like attacks; they are consequently very powerful but are also limited by a resource system. The way each character uses their Persona is creative and further deepens the asymmetry between them.

  6. It’s got a comeback mechanic that is pretty reasonable. Basically, the game procs a sort of guts system when you’re below X health and you get a small chunk of meter. It’s really not game breaking but it is felt. You can also give this up in exchange for your character having access to a stronger unique mechanic.

This is strictly about the gameplay, but then it must be added that they managed to do a banger job with adapting a pre-existing franchise into its own distinct fighting game.

I could go on and on about it, but I think you can just watch some footage for yourself if you’re unfamiliar with the game and get the feel for it (channel’s full of weekly tournament footage for the game, it’s great).

Where’s Persona 5 Arena?