Not unlike the mainline installments of thePersonaseries,Persona 4 Arenaperformed quite well among fans and critics. While the main games feature standard turn-based JRPG combat,Arenapits the protagonists against one another in a one-on-one format. It includes not just the many beloved faces fromPersona 4like Yu and Chie but a few notable characters fromPersona 3as well including Aigis and Elizabeth.
Persona’s 25th Anniversary is currently underway but previously, the series' developer Atlus teased a whopping seven projects that would release during the year-long celebration. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they will all be games, however. The first project was Atlus making allPersonaanime series available for streaming and the second is aPersonaorchestral concert. There’s reason to believe more of the seven projects won’t be games, but there’s still reason to believe aPersona 5 Arenagame could be in development.
RELATED:Why Persona’s First 25th Anniversary Announcement Isn’t What Fans Expected
The Success of Persona 4 Arena and Persona 5
Persona 4 Arenacurrently holds an impressive 86 aggregate review score on Metacritic while its sequel,Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, holds an 85. Even though it’s not the title’s main gameplay function,Persona 4 Arenawas noted for its entertaining main story. Furthermore, critics found the fighting game to be well-suited for both veterans ofPersona, with the way it threaded in gameplay elements fromPersona 4, to newcomers with an easy-to-use combat system with a distinctive style. On the whole, both the originalPersona 4 Arenaand its sequel were highly successful, meaning Atlus and possibly Arc System Works could implement the same strong formula for aPersona 5fighting title.
Not only are their review scores substantial, but there’s plenty more reason why aPersona 5fighting game would be unprecedented giving the base game andRoyal’s rampant success. For one, fans would love to see Joker, Morgana, Kasumi, and the rest of thePersona 5cast get their own unique moves and combos. It would build onPersona 5’s lore just as the hack-and-slash spinoffStrikersdid, as well. What’s even better, however, is that it’s actually possible thatPersona 5could see anArena-style spinoff in the future, possibly even for the 25th Anniversary.
Why A Persona 5 Arena Game Is Possible
Persona 4 Arena’s great reputation is a strong motive to make another one-on-onePersonafighting game, but there’s also evidence to suggest this might be the case. Earlier this year,Atlus renewed and registered several domainsrelated to variousPersonaIP games. Back in 2017 and 2018, fans used these domains to see hints towardPersona Q2(under the domain PQ2.jp),Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight(Persona-Dance.jp), andPersona 5 Royal(P5R.jp).
Prior toPersona 4 Arena’s announcement, the domain P4U.jp was registered for it (because the title is known asPersona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arenain Japan but was shortened for localization). Interestingly, the domain P5U.jp was renewed its year, lending fans to believe that aPersona 5 Arenagame has been in the works. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s certain and not allPersona-related domains have come to fruition, but Atlus has already heavily capitalized onP5’s popularity by addingJoker toSuper Smash Bros. Ultimateand Morgana toMonkey Ball, so it would be a profitable leap to release another one-versus-one 2D fighting game. It would be even better to see them fighting againstPersona 3and4’smost titular characters as well.
While the first twoPersona25th Anniversary revealsdidn’t turn out to be upcoming game titles, anniversaries are the perfect time to announce big projects. And withPersonabeing one of the biggest JRPG franchises out there alongsideFinal Fantasy, it’s likely that Atlus has at least one major thing planned for the silver anniversary.
Persona 4 Arenais available on PS3 and Xbox 360.MORE:Why a Persona 5 Fighting Game Makes Sense
