Persona 4: Arena Preview

It’s been a little over 2 weeks since the arcade release of Persona 4: Arena in Japan and I could not be more excited about any other fighting game.  Arc System Works’ and Atlus have teamed up to create an almighty melding of worlds.  On one hand, one of the most popular JRPG franchises ever to cross the states since Final Fantasy and on the other, the development team behind both Guilty Gear and Blazblue.  What is the result? It looks to be one of the flashiest and most fun fighting games I have ever laid my untainted eyes upon; Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena (Just Persona 4: Arena in the states).

Now I have previously fallen in love with the Persona games.  Their Japanese pop culture feel and the fun characters ebb nicely into the flow of a marvelously produced RPG complete with social links, fun combat, and a superior stylized anime feel.  Guilty Gear and Blazblue also have a similar stylized look about them along with intense and fast paced fighting.  As games, these hit top marks in my book and are definitely worth the reception they have received.  But first and foremost I consider myself a fighting game player.  The level of excitement I feel towards the “marrying” of these 2 ideas makes me wet with anticipation.  I loved Guilty Gear and Blazblue, these games have stolen countless hours of my days in the past.  Boiling up fresh combos and set ups in the lab is what I live for.  But getting to do so as Chie and Yosuke will make it all the better.  This makes for one of the best RPG to fighting game cross overs since Ehrgeiz and their inclusion of FF7 characters. I must say though, getting to play as Cloud, Tifa, and Zach in a 3D fighter was pretty cool back in the day.  All the mainstays from Persona 4 are here, and a few from Persona 3 as well.  Aigis, Akihiko, and Mitsuru join the investigation team for some all-out mayhem in the 2D fighting world. 

Turn Based Tuesday: Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review

When I first heard about Final Fantasy XIII being released with a sister game, both looked beautiful and had so much hype surrounding them that I thought it had to be the most epic release of the year. Well XIII itself wasn’t exactly as great as advertised and it’s been a couple of years with barely any news of XIII Versus. Still, I had no idea why they would have already made a direct sequel to XIII before I’d even heard news of Versus, so as you can imagine I was a bit skeptical due to the reputation instilled by previous direct sequels in the Final Fantasy series. 

 Final Fantasy XIII was a bit of an upset. Especially when you compare it to its otherwise amazing predecessors, it just doesn’t quite hold up to the standards we set for Final Fantasy. It was a funnel of linear world play, convoluted storytelling, and a battle system on training wheels. The game was easy, monotonous, and pretty boring.  Outside of the sheer beauty of the pre-rendered cut scenes and my general interest in the character Sazh, I had no reason to enjoy XIII.  So of course, I had little value in the idea of a sequel. However, ultimately, and pleasantly, I was surprised of how much more complete of a Final Fantasy experience XIII-2 ended up being.

The Vidya Weekly MMONDAY: PvP Systems

Happy Monday everyone!  It's the shittiest day of the week when everyone wishes the weekend was just one day longer. Well, I can't call off work for you, but I can provide you with some lunch time entertainment!  Check out this weeks MMONDAY, in which we discuss PvP systems and trends, ways PvP combat can be improved, and Guild Wars 2!  Enjoy!  And please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel for future MMONDAY updates!

MMONDAY: Community Mechanics

Good Monday, all! It's time for the beginning of our new podcast segment, MMONDAY! Every Monday we will be posting a new podcast discussing certain aspects of MMORPG's, from successes and failures to great innovations and lack thereof.

This week we discuss certain mechanics and systems in MMORPG's and how they can affect the quality of the communities that play the games.

Please remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel!

Street Fighter X Tekken Review

Capcom is no stranger to competition in the fighting game arena. Major franchises like SNK, Marvel, and Tatsunoko have done battle against the Capcom roster but this time, a new challenger enters the ring, in Street Fighter X Tekken (read: Street Fighter cross Tekken).  Namco's famed 3D fighter makes its 2D debut in the first of two titles in the Capcom - Namco co-venture.  All throughout the development of Street Fighter X Tekken, two major questions have piqued  gamers' curiosity; "How well do Tekken characters work in 2D" and "How do the mysterious  gems work?" The answer to both of those questions are pretty positive. 

Capcom's representation of Tekken characters remain true to their Namco roots in terms of general feel.  Not only do the Tekken characters have quite a few more moves in comparison to the Street Fighter characters but in some cases, as with King's Shoulder Tackle and Rolling Elbow, even the inputs are the same.  There are,  however, some creative liberties taken to keep Tekken characters competitive against the Street Fighter cast.  Several Tekken characters such as Jin and Steve were given projectile moves they don't have any iteration of in Tekken.

MMONDAY Approaches!

Hi all!  It's been a good long while since I've last updated.  Life has been busy!  I've since been working at Electronic Arts on their global brand Community team, but they decided to go in a different direction with their community support and have closed our department.

So sorry for the long absence!  But you can check back again now every Monday starting next week (3/5/2012) for a new segment called, "MMONDAY!" We will be posting videos and discussing MMORPG's at length, covering the ups and downs and the successes and short comings of the genre.

As you may or may not know, I have played MMORPG's since 1999 starting with Asheron's Call, and my list of MMORPG's in my "Been there, done that, got the t-shirt" book is well over 20.  I've personally alpha and beta tested over 17 major release MMORPG's in the last decade.  My cohorts on the project have similar MMORPG backgrounds.

This new segment is going to be really great!  I can't wait for you guys to see it!

-Ed