This is a column by Kat Bailey dedicated to the analysis of the once beloved Japanese RPG sub-genre. Tune in every Wednesday for thoughts on white-haired villains, giant robots, Infinity+1 swords, and everything else the wonderful world of JRPGs has to offer.
I've had Persona 4 Arena in my house for a week now, and I'm still trying to wrap my head around what a glorious oxymoron the game is. Has there ever been a more contradictory mash-up than fighting and role-playing?

Fighting games, of all genres, have proven the most resistant to the "RPG elements" embraced by shooters, puzzlers, and even rhythm games. It's a genre predicated on the notion of a level playing field. Street Fighter and its ilk are hard enough to balance as it is without throwing in added variables like stat bonuses and special equipment.

That's to say nothing of the fact that the play styles are oil and water. Fighting games are competitive, twitch-based affairs - not the best fit for the average RPG fan who enjoying whiling away the hours constructing an optimal party. Probably the closest thing we've had to a true fighting game/RPG hybrid is Dissidia Final Fantasy, which was definitely an interesting spinoff with some solid RPG elements, but couldn't really be called a traditional fighter. Persona 4 Arena, by contrast, is a classic 2D fighter that wholly embraces its setting and even adds to the overall lore. It's also more or less devoid of RPG mechanics though, which might be a tough sell for traditional fans of the series.

So will fans of the Persona series find this unlikely spinoff to their liking? Here are a few thoughts from the perspective an RPG enthusiast who happens to be pretty bad at fighting games.