Persona 4 Arena Brawling to PS3 This Summer

Look, I’m just going to come out and say it: this summer, ATLUS is bringing Persona 4 Arena to a PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system near you (and if it’s near you we’re going to go ahead and assume you own it).

One of the most successful, highest-rated RPG franchises of the last few years is our very own Persona series. The two most recent games, Persona 3 and Persona 4, were hailed for their memorable casts of characters, plots that defied many established clichés, and mechanics and visual designs that stood apart from their competitors.

Collaborating with fighting genre masters Arc System Works (the folks who made a little series called BlazBlue), ATLUS is taking the Persona universe, complete with its added “summon your inner power” wrinkle, and transforming it into one of the most unique, visually stunning fighting games you’ve ever laid your eyes on. Or whatever part of your body you lay on things.

Persona 4 was all about a world inside the TV; those who were thrown in were featured on the mysterious Midnight Channel, with only days to live. Persona 4 Arena takes place just a short while after the Midnight Channel went off the air, only to find that a new program featuring a bizarre fighting tournament with deadly stakes has started up. You guessed it: that’s where you (and your friends) come in.

It’s not just the visuals that make Persona 4 Arena worth your time. Every one of the game’s 10 fighters (don’t react to that number yet, read on) can summon their Personas for special attacks. So… Not only do they each have their own highly specialized move set, but when you throw the fact that their Persona do as well, it’s like you’ll multiplying something to the power of something. Or something. Perhaps the most compelling part of all is WHO these ten fighters are: beloved characters like Chie Satonaka, Aigis, Mitsuru Kirijo, and Teddie. That’s right: Teddie.

Now, we’re only just announcing Persona 4 Arena today so we’re not quite ready to talk about EVERYTHING you can expect when the game releases in August, but we CAN confirm new console-exclusive Story and Online modes. For the Story mode—before you bombard us with questions— YES, we’re doing everything possible to retain the full English voice cast from Persona 3 and 4, and no, we’re not yet able to confirm or deny whether the original Japanese voice track will be included as well.

Ok, go back to playing on your shiny new PS Vitas, PS Blog friends. We’ll hit you up later with more details, screens, video(s), etc. STAY TUNED!