if you're an ex BB player or really anyone for that matter, how does this game feel to you?

[AeternumSomnium]

So, it's fairly obvious a rather large amount of BB players have attempted to make a bit of a migration (OR maybe an Exodus. . .) to Persona Arena, in an attempt to try out something new and potentially refreshing.

Me being one of them.

My roommate is a BB guy and he isn't really into Persona at all, he says: "The combos seem much less intricate and personalized, the fights are much more turtle-v-turtle, and spamming is pathetically easy."

Ya know, I can agree in one sense, I'm sure all of you have noticed the LOVELY auto-combo feature that makes me grit my teeth after hours and hours in BB's challenge mode learning a solid combo. In fact I find that in general, basic combos aren't too difficult to pull at off--at least that was my assumption when I bought it...

Of course, we all know that this simply wasn't the case. I've seen discussion here and there regarding the bizarrely difficult time people (Ex BB players especially) are having with getting notable combos down at all in challenge mode. I planned on maining Akihiko the moment I heard he was to be in the game, imagine my sorry face when I realized getting him down was not going to be a simple walk through the park. It appears I've underestimated the game, I foresaw a BB clone and while there is many similarities, but overall in feeling--it is not the same, AT ALL.

Everything seems faster, everything seems more focused. Looking back, in Blazblue I felt like I had a million years to do stuff and input for combos, versus now where my fingers are constantly dancing across the pad to be the combo guy for Persona. It took me almost 20 hours to get down the 29 challenges for Akihiko, Yukiko, and Elizabeth. It was some of the most frustrating nonsense ever.

Don't even get me going on their 30th challenges.

(I also rather enjoyed the--"Here's the buttons.....oh BTW you need to do this little dash cancel or you need to move somewhere else on the screen to execute this...but we won't tell you till you scope out the Demonstration 50 times)

Sorry to ramble, anyway the point I'm getting at is, if you're an ex BB player or really anyone for that matter, how does this game feel to you? On that note do you think the combo potential is higher or lower? And also, how does it stack up in terms of depth to your expectations? I was surprised, my roomies were to.

Thoughts?

Edited August 15, 2012 by Veteru

[Linear04]

doesnt have the stupid long ass hitstop and actually required proper game/meter management to do high damage combos

autocombos are actually really good for building burst and meter back at the expense of the loss of oki and damage, its a trade off that i think is ok considering how some chars need meter to do real damage

combo potential is way higher than bb because of how OMB and personas work

[Soriphen]

doesnt have the stupid long ass hitstop and actually required proper game/meter management to do high damage combos

autocombos are actually really good for building burst and meter back at the expense of the loss of oki and damage, its a trade off that i think is ok considering how some chars need meter to do real damage

combo potential is way higher than bb because of how OMB and personas work

Wat. BB's burst system works the same way with positive proration. I don't see how P4A has more combo potential than BB, not that it's a big deal.

Anyway, the one thing I noticed when I first touched P4A was that everything felt tight and the buffering felt perfect. IADs seem easier than in BB. All the inputs feel perfectly fine-tuned to how I'd like inputs to be in a fighter. It's got a fast pace like GG along with a nice balance of fundamentals involved in the game. It's like if SF, GG, BB and KoF had a baby or some shit LOL. IMO I feel the combo potential is less so far, since I've seen way more varied combos in BB than in P4A. The thing I like about it is that there's more focus on short and sweet combos as BnBs instead of ridiculously long ones.

[Fluck]

You can OMB with your burst unlike in BB so you can rapid off more than one resource.

I'm quite sure BB has way more combo potential than Persona though, BB has way too many wallbounces, slides, staggers, and long untechable blowbacks to make up for the lack of Personas.

[polarity]

People like fast paced, high damage games. For all the smart system reasons people give for liking GG more than BB, I think that's the main reason ultimately. It's one of the reasons the sluggish Skullgirls died a death. And while it might not be the reason P4A is enjoying such early success, it will certainly be one of the reasons people keep playing it. It's 10x more fun just to move around and hit buttons in than BB ever was. It being simpler is probably a valid argument (some of the rushdown looks particularly braindead) but I don't think that's ever really influenced most people's opinions. It's all about how fun it feels on an intuitive level... SF4 gets a pass because it has Ryu in it, which is a shame since I like the SF games where it's not like playing in molasses.

Edited August 13, 2012 by polarity

[AeternumSomnium]

Anyway, the one thing I noticed when I first touched P4A was that everything felt tight and the buffering felt perfect. IADs seem easier than in BB. All the inputs feel perfectly fine-tuned to how I'd like inputs to be in a fighter. It's got a fast pace like GG along with a nice balance of fundamentals involved in the game. It's like if SF, GG, BB and KoF had a baby or some shit LOL. IMO I feel the combo potential is less so far, since I've seen way more varied combos in BB than in P4A. The thing I like about it is that there's more focus on short and sweet combos as BnBs instead of ridiculously long ones.

In terms of speed, I feel like I've been having my hand held by BB all this time when I play Persona. Although, admittedly it is kind of my fault going from two rather sluggish characters (Valkenhayn and Relius) to a speed demon like Akihiko; the adaption to this new fluid movement will take some time getting used to.

In fact I've noticed I feel more at home with Yukiko, she has the delays, quarter circles, and releases that remind me an awful lot of my time in BB. Akihiko's playstyle seems almost alien with just high speed directional inputs and button cascades heh.

People like fast paced, high damage games. For all the smart system reasons people give for liking GG more than BB, I think that's the main reason ultimately. It's one of the reasons the sluggish Skullgirls died a death. And while it might not be the reason P4A is enjoying such early success, it will certainly be one of the reasons people keep playing it. It's 10x more fun just to move around and hit buttons in than BB ever was. It being simpler is probably a valid argument (some of the rushdown looks particularly braindead) but I don't think that's ever really influenced most people's opinions. It's all about how fun it feels on an intuitive level... SF4 gets a pass because it has Ryu in it, which is a shame since I like the SF games where it's not like playing in molasses.

I would agree that the energy is much more vibrant than BB. I suppose what it really comes down for us immigrants is: you can't have your cake and eat it too. Practice practice practice. . .

[Airk]

I must be defective, because I don't really feel the difference much at all. None of this "everything feels tighter" or "oh wow, so much less hitstop" or...anything, really. Maybe I'm not hardcore enough, or too old or something, but this is all just not registering for me. I guess "requires proper meter management for high damage combos" means "doesn't have Extend Ragna in it", but otherwise? Really? Maybe it's because my BB character requires TWO different meters in order to do good damage?

Frankly, I can't honestly understand why someone would like P4U and not BB unless they really need/like the accessability features or the persona gimmick. Or I guess the different system mechanics. The games feel very similar, except BB has more variety in character selection, and seems, at the moment, to be a bit more combo heavy - though I gather that P4A will be featuring plenty of 50% combos as people get better at it, which is a bit of a disappointment. I would've liked a lower damage, less combo heavy game.

Still enjoying P4A, but not buying into all the arguments about why it's the second coming.

[poon]

BB hitstop and slidey shit movement made it totally unplayable to my playgroup. BB combos feel like masturbating in a vat of butter

Edited August 13, 2012 by poon

[WonderTonic]

I can definitely relate to the long hit stop stuff with BlazBlue. It was the most unappealing feature of BB to me when it first came out. It felt incredibly stiff compared to GG imo. Though BB did grow on me eventually. I love how much more fast/ fluid P4A feels. Not quite GG but still great. I can see myself putting a lot of time into this.

[Vulcan422]

I like it a lot more than BB, but it's still taking me a while to get used to how much faster and more fluid it is, as well as all the options the characters have. There's just so much more freedom to do stuff than in BB.

The only thing I miss is Throw Reject for command grabs, but then Kanji would be a fucking joke character.

[AchedSphinx]

Frankly, I can't honestly understand why someone would like P4U and not BB unless they really need/like the accessability features or the persona gimmick. Or I guess the different system mechanics. The games feel very similar, except BB has more variety in character selection, and seems, at the moment, to be a bit more combo heavy - though I gather that P4A will be featuring plenty of 50% combos as people get better at it, which is a bit of a disappointment. I would've liked a lower damage, less combo heavy game.

Still enjoying P4A, but not buying into all the arguments about why it's the second coming.

Overall, the speed is a big difference I feel. Because the game feels fast, it's much more entertaining for me to watch. Extend feels slow by comparison. If you want a time-based comparison Aigis combo time vs Lambda combo time you can easily tell the pace of the game based on that. So I can see where people are coming from when they say executions are tighter.

The games does have 50% health combos, that's basically Aigis' gameplan, since a successful hit confirm is half the opponent's life. Also, check out Kanji, Mitsuru, Labrys, and Akihiko, they have plenty as well but can't get it as easily as Aigis can.

For now, P4A is a good game and I enjoy it, might be awhile before I get interested in Blazblue again.

[Airk]

Overall, the speed is a big difference I feel. Because the game feels fast, it's much more entertaining for me to watch. Extend feels slow by comparison. If you want a time-based comparison Aigis combo time vs Lambda combo time you can easily tell the pace of the game based on that. So I can see where people are coming from when they say executions are tighter.

I guess. Sadly, I like the Lambda combo better because I can actually SEE WTF is going on, whereas the Aigis combo is just like "Oh, yeah, some explosions?" It actually looks weird to me how little time there is between hits because it makes it feel like nothing has any 'impact' behind it.

The games does have 50% health combos, that's basically Aigis' gameplan, since a successful hit confirm is half the opponent's life. Also, check out Kanji, Mitsuru, Labrys, and Akihiko, they have plenty as well but can't get it as easily as Aigis can.

That kinda sucks for me. What's the point in having another game with huge arse 50% combos? =/ It seems like everything is either a Street Fighter style "yeah, like a couple of hits together" game where the average combo damage is maybe 20%, or a BB/SG/P4/MvC explosionfest where one combo can do 40+% damage. Seems there has to be a compromise in there somewhere.

For now, P4A is a good game and I enjoy it, might be awhile before I get interested in Blazblue again.

I agree with the first two statements.

[Diveman]

One of Persona's main features is that it is supposed to be simple, which attracts much more players than other games, I think it was the right desicion since now we live in a different era. People now like games that are easy to get into and that are deep once you get to higher levels, and Persona 4 does exactly that.

[Airk]

Yes, yes it does.

It's kinda funny how they made the game easier to learn by ADDING stuff though, because P4A actually has a TON more "system mechanics" to remember than BB does. Short hops, evasive action, air turn, SB moves, a third type of burst, sweeps, furious action, all out attack... when the only system mechanic they removed was barrier. And guard breaks, I guess. I suppose you could argue that they reduced the number of "command normals" (6A etc), but since they're still there and still super character specific, I don't think that's much of a change.

Having to shake out of ice is super stupid though. :P

[a Lisianthus]

be glad it's not CT ice

going from bb>marvel>p4u, p4u's pace felt pretty natural to me. granted i dont even remember the last time i played bb though

[Halcyone3]

I hear some complaints about the auto-combo feature being "easy combo by mashing", but I really don't see much a difference between auto-combo and every character just having follow-ups on their 5A (like Tsubaki has for a lot of her normals). Only real difference is you can keep mashing after for a special and super that can be much less effective than other options.

I personally prefer BB, but I think it's mostly emotional investment (first fighting game, just way more familiar with it, never really was into persona games, etc). Gameplay-wise I find them equally fun.

That being said, probably not playing BB till CP comes out.

Edited August 14, 2012 by Halcyone3

[a Lisianthus]

i think what people really complain about are the "scrubs" that the auto-combo feature creates - it encourages new players to heavily mash for that easy combo, and i guess a lot of people are getting blown up by it so they hate it lol. i have 0 problems with it myself...

[Halcyone3]

i think what people really complain about are the "scrubs" that the auto-combo feature creates - it encourages new players to heavily mash for that easy combo, and i guess a lot of people are getting blown up by it so they hate it lol. i have 0 problems with it myself...

Well, I guess it does encourage new players to not learn much else combo-wise. But I don't know, I started playing P4U 2 days ago and had not played a single fighting game in almost a year, and I still destroyed people online. Only couple times I lost was massive lag vs kanjis >_>

I don't see why one would whine about getting blown up by someone that's basically gimping himself doing rather inefficient combos.

[Hecatom]

I don't see why one would whine about getting blown up by someone that's basically gimping himself doing rather inefficient combos.

It is quite simple my friend, its their ego talking, they feel that they are better players, but when they lose to basic and simple shit, instead of accepting that they are not as good as they think, they start blaming the easy options of the game.

We already saw this on SF4, BB and UMVC3 with their respective features, now it is the turn for P4U

[Heroic_Legacy]

I guess. Sadly, I like the Lambda combo better because I can actually SEE WTF is going on, whereas the Aigis combo is just like "Oh, yeah, some explosions?" It actually looks weird to me how little time there is between hits because it makes it feel like nothing has any 'impact' behind it.

You're right, a 18 second long combo is so hard to watch because Aigis isn't hitting you, Athene is. It's just a fast flowing 'You're gonna die' combo. I don't are what's going on in it. Damage is happening to my opponent? I'm okay with that.

That kinda sucks for me. What's the point in having another game with huge arse 50% combos? =/ It seems like everything is either a Street Fighter style "yeah, like a couple of hits together" game where the average combo damage is maybe 20%, or a BB/SG/P4/MvC explosionfest where one combo can do 40+% damage. Seems there has to be a compromise in there somewhere.

40% damage is good. You should be rewarded for being able to confirm combos off of your opponent's stupidity. 100% combos are better. It makes your opponent look real fucking stupid (Which they deserve to be called out on) if they get hella fatal'd and don't have a burst.

The reason P4 is being picked up all over the place is because it is so accessible. It takes execution out of the game almost entirely with the exchange for like, a few timed special cancels and whatnot. In essence, it's a lot like DiveKick. Unadulterated footsies and mixups leading into "You'd better burst son" if your opponent messed up and did a bad reversal. I for one like a game where every character can play footsies and win off of said footsies.

BB's flow was horrible, and deserved to be changed. Hence why BBCP seems to be a lot less combo oriented and right back to neutral or mixup according to loketest info.

[XDest]

It is quite simple my friend, its their ego talking, they feel that they are better players, but when they lose to basic and simple shit, instead of accepting that they are not as good as they think, they start blaming the easy options of the game.

We already saw this on SF4, BB and UMVC3 with their respective features, now it is the turn for P4U

It seems silly to have an ego for a game that just came out. At this stage, everybody is just starting to learn.

But I guess people want excuses for why they lost other than themselves.

[Silmerion]

That kinda sucks for me. What's the point in having another game with huge arse 50% combos? =/ It seems like everything is either a Street Fighter style "yeah, like a couple of hits together" game where the average combo damage is maybe 20%, or a BB/SG/P4/MvC explosionfest where one combo can do 40+% damage.

So, you seem like someone who didn't play GGXXAC. That game had a combo system where 35%-40% was something you could reasonably expect off of most hitconfirms and you could get 50%-60% with some meter. It actually didn't make the game dumb or annoying - it made it terribly, terribly exciting, because you knew that your mistakes mattered a lot and that, conversely, you had an opportunity to come back from more or less any amount of health if you had a good eye. High damage made GG totally awesome.

[SkyKing]

People never look at themselves as the problem to fix and find something else to blame for their shortcomings, and in turn don't learn. I've experienced this first-hand with my community which is Capcom-heavy, and someone complained about auto-combos, and this mythical 300+ hit combo that someone's kid did in training mode lol. They should look into the game first and understand what they are getting into before judging it.

As for myself, I'm really happy with the exposure the game has created, as the convention I was at this past weekend has many people interested in picking it up. It is a lot faster than BB, but also you need some skill to beat out the ease of the game that some can abuse when just picking up the game. I see it as good practice to bait things, as everyone can rip out a DP or burst in P4U. I'll admit too that I'll abuse auto-combos in the beginning and ends of matches specifically when I need the meter, I know the combo will kill, or silence-comfirm since I play Naoto.

[Errol]

There's auto combo, but on the other hand, I feel like the high level combos are a lot harder than they were in BB. Only speaking from experience of playing chie vs tsubaki though. Virtually every high level combo requires mini dashes. Maybe when I get that down it'll seem easy.

[STenSatsu]

It's a good game that's fairly accessible and has enough depth to be competitive. Not personally a fan of the throws (why are they so easy to break if you don't gte much reward outside of OMB) and some of the hitboxes seem pants on head retarded. I do love that it will teach people to focus on airdash game footsies/fundamentals even at a starting level thanks to R-actions, 2B being good AA for almost everyone, and generally simpler combos. I do wish the combo system had a bit more depth to it, but it doesn't really matter outside of style shit anyway.