[Update] Onslaught of ‘Persona’ news includes ‘Persona 4′ fighting game, Vita remake

 

To keep track of the latest updates on these exciting titles, scroll down to the bottom of the article!

Fans of the Persona series, get ready for a news overload: not only has Persona 4 The Golden, a remake of Persona 4 for the PS Vita, just been announced, but a Persona 4 fighting game is also in the works! This week’s Famitsu provides some exciting details regarding these new titles, as well as a few tidbits on the next numbered entry in the series, Persona 5.

Perhaps the most unexpected announcement here is of the Persona 4 fighting game, which is being developed by none other than Arc System Works and the team behind BlazBlue. Titled Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena, the game will be a 2D fighter that takes place 2 years after the events in Persona 4 and will include characters from both Persona 3 and Persona 4. Not much else is known about the game yet, but it will debut in Japanese arcades in Spring 2012, with a PS3 and Xbox 360 release following in the summer. If it’s being done by the BlazBlue team, I think it’s safe to say that we can expect a polished, solid 2D fighter that will undoubtedly please fans of Persona 4.

Just a few days ago, Atlus released a teaser site that many speculated would announce something to do with Persona 4, and those rumors were indeed correct: Persona 4 will be getting an update for the PS Vita called Persona 4 The Golden. This version will include a new character named Mary, more voiceovers than the original PS2 version, new animated movies, a new opening animation with an accompanying song by Shouji Meguro, wireless support that will allow you to call others to your aid when you’ve died in a dungeon, and other unnamed features that have been requested by fans. Japanese fans can expect Persona 4 The Golden in Spring 2012, making the PS Vita’s early lineup very exciting indeed.

Finally, Persona 5‘s staff has been revealed, and will include Katsura Hashino as director, Shigenori Soejima as character, and Shouji Meguro as the main composer. These names are without a doubt familiar to Persona fans.

With all this Persona news, it looks like 2012 is shaping up to be a great year for fans of the Persona series. Unfortunately we have no information regarding potential localizations of any of these games, but they will undoubtedly come. In the meantime, you can preorder Persona 2: Innocent Sin, the long-awaited English release of the prequel to Persona 2: Eternal Punishment for the PSP that will hit shelves this fall.

[via Andriasang] [Update 1] @AksysGames_Bo has been taking pictures of the pages of Famitsu, and has uploaded a picture of Mary, the new character in Persona 4 The Golden:

 [Update 2] @AksysGames_Bo has provided his Twitter followers with a number of Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena scans as well, and the game is certainly looking a lot like BlazBlue. Head over to his Twitter account for more scans.

[Update 3] Andirasang has just revealed more information on Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena, including confirmation that the Persona team will be heavily involved in the game’s production. In addition, a number of game modes have been revealed: arcade mode, where players will face off against a CPU while following the game’s story, story mode, which will be exclusive to the console versions of the game and will delve deeper into the story behind the game, score attack mode, where players will face off against CPU to get the highest score, a traditional VS mode, and an online mode.

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