Persona 4 Arena Ultimax stands the test of time
The nice thing about the new re-release Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is that it’s just how you remember Persona 4 Arena in the first place. It is still the RPG-infused fighter that has the stellar cast of characters from Personas 3 and 4. It’s still fast and fun, with a lot of depth and a good variety of playstyles. If any of that’s your chief concern, then don’t be too worried.
Where Persona 4 Arena Ultimax earns an asterisk on its recommendation is how it is, still, a game from 2013 and 2014. The re-release of Ultimax occasionally feels out-of-time in less-than-desirable ways, like lacking explanation on certain mechanics and netcode that will eventually be rollback, but isn’t at launch.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax (PS4 [played], Switch, PC) Developer: Arc System Works, Atlus Publisher: Sega Release: March 17, 2022 MSRP: $29.99
For those who never took the plunge in the first place, I’m mostly there with you. I played a handful of Persona 4 Arena matches in college, but most of my experience with these characters was with their guest appearances in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle. It’s exciting to finally play as the Persona crew in their own fighting game, and in the systems made specifically for them.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a one-on-one fighting game, with the anime fighter aspects of air-dashing and potentially long combos. The big distinction is the Persona system; every fighter can strike with their own weapons or use their Persona, their spirit companion, to attack the enemy. Personas can do some pretty big attacks with some devastating effects, but they’re limited both by the number of cards available and can be stuffed—hit by the opponent—to be temporarily taken out of the action.
With an SP meter and, for most
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