Developed by Arc System Works, creators of BlazBlue, Guilty Gear, and Dragon Ball FigtherZ, the game follows familiar mechanics from these other fighting games except with a Persona spinoff. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a fighting game that conveys its story through a visual novel-style narrative. Not that this is anything to complain about since, much like Persona 4 Golden, Arena Ultimax is a much-welcomed addition to those who have never tried the game.
PERSONA 4 ARENA ULTIMAX PORT PS3
Case in point, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax was originally for the PS3 and Xbox 360 all the way back in 2013 and now has been ported to the PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. The risk and reward are pretty in line with one another, and scoring a fast second-round KO with a shadow character feels incredible.ATLUS is quite busy bringing classic old games into modern-day consoles. The combination of these elements makes them risky to play, since they don’t have a get-out-of-jail-free card, but when fully utilized, Shadow Frenzy allows you to convert almost any loose hit into potentially match-ending damage. They lack awakening mode, or a proper defensive burst, but in return they get constant access to their awakening super, the ability to carry super meter over between rounds, and something called Shadow Frenzy, which grants them nearly unlimited meter for a limited time. The newly included Shadow versions of nearly the entire cast provide an entirely different way to approach characters you already know. The entire cast has been rebalanced, and while there are still dominant characters, the overall power curve between them feels flatter, making matchups that felt kind of hopeless before more workable. But its character silhouettes are just so memorable, and its use of color so well-tempered, that it comes off as high fashion rather than total chaos.Īs entertaining as they all are though, it’s the various subtle changes to the fighting system that really impressed me. That isn’t to say it doesn’t look out-there or audacious, because it most certainly does. If Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 impresses with the “kitchen sink” approach to visual design, Ultimax’s brand of art direction and color theory is more akin to feng shui. No other fighting game commits this completely to its own fiction, or weaves such a convincingly consistent world.Įven if you don’t get all the references, the eye-popping color palette and strangely macabre art-direction are a one-two punch that gives every fight real character. Characters use Persona-appropriate spells like Ziodyne and Sukukaja, important locales like Junes are used as backdrops, and victory quotes make clever callbacks to the original’s story. There’s even an option to have the computer do the fighting for you, so people who just want to experience the story can do so.Įven outside of story mode though, Ultimax fully leverages the unique personality of Persona 4. It’s more like a graphic novel with a few fights sprinkled in. Just be warned: if you’re just here for the fighting, story mode will test your patience with seemingly interminable stretches without any actual gameplay. That’s no small feat, especially for a fighting game. The result is a story that’s equally well-written and entertaining as anything from Persona 4. Developer Arc System Works collaborated tightly with Atlus to create a ton of story content using the same voice actors, and presentational elements as the source material. It picks up where the events of Persona 4 Arena left off, which itself was a direct extension of the story told in Persona 4. The meaty story mode benefits the most from the direct connection with Persona 4.
That game’s exemplary tunes are put to good use in Ultimax, lending it a driving, toe-tapping energy both in and out of combat. Every part of the experience, starting from the opening cinematic, feels like it’s actually from Persona 4.
PERSONA 4 ARENA ULTIMAX PORT SERIES
Just like 2012’s original Persona 4 Arena, Ultimax puts on a great show regardless of how good you are at fighting games, especially if you’re a fan of the wonderful JRPG series it’s based off of.
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