Late last week, Atlus confirmed that it will bring Persona 4 Arena -- the fighting game spinoff of the cult-favorite Shin Megami Tensei role-playing franchise -- to North America for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this August. The fighter will include 10 total fighters pulled from both Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 and Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3.

What makes this surprising offshoot particularly notable is that it's being developed by Arc System Works, the celebrated creator of gorgeously animated 2D genre entries like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear. As seen in the initial screens, Persona 4 Arena sports a very similar style as those fighters, and if history is to be believed, it should look rather stunning in motion.

In a twist specific to the source material, the fighters in Persona 4 Arena will be able to summon their powerful Personas in battle, plus Atlus revealed on the PlayStation.Blog that the console version will include both story and online play modes added to the original arcade release. Additionally, the publisher is working to bring back the entire English voice cast from both original RPGs, and while it won't confirm whether or not the game will include the original Japanese voice track, the sheer fact that Atlus brought it up without prompt means it's likely just a matter of time before that feature is announced.