Explaining Junpei's baseball mechanic to random Tinder matches until I find a date.
Day 284.
Day 284.
This was kind of a banger. I really enjoyed my time here more than I was expecting. Kind of a tale of two games though, the original persona 4 arena story was a little messy, and a chore to play through, but the overall story was good and I enjoyed it.
The new "ultimax" content though, was really great, and was tied together in a much better way, and a better flow to it. It was great getting to see the persona 4 cast again, but even more so, it was SO great seeing the Persona 3 cast again, and getting an update on them being older, and what they've been up to since the events of Persona 3. I really wish some of the persona 5 spin offs would have given us this, but they didn't go in that direction for whatever the reason.
The actual fighting game itself? It's fun. I'm not a GIANT fighting game fan, so I won't pretend to know if this is peak quality or not, but it was fun, the graphics were really gorgeous, and a lot of unique characters and way to play in it.
Overall, a fine send off to persona for me. I've played almost everything I've wanted too now (besides Persona 2 and the Q games, hoping they get ported/remastered). But that'll be it for now, with a 5 Royal replay likely in my future.
Bless Persona. The second greatest video game franchise of all time!!!
The new "ultimax" content though, was really great, and was tied together in a much better way, and a better flow to it. It was great getting to see the persona 4 cast again, but even more so, it was SO great seeing the Persona 3 cast again, and getting an update on them being older, and what they've been up to since the events of Persona 3. I really wish some of the persona 5 spin offs would have given us this, but they didn't go in that direction for whatever the reason.
The actual fighting game itself? It's fun. I'm not a GIANT fighting game fan, so I won't pretend to know if this is peak quality or not, but it was fun, the graphics were really gorgeous, and a lot of unique characters and way to play in it.
Overall, a fine send off to persona for me. I've played almost everything I've wanted too now (besides Persona 2 and the Q games, hoping they get ported/remastered). But that'll be it for now, with a 5 Royal replay likely in my future.
Bless Persona. The second greatest video game franchise of all time!!!
Fuck Ken
Fuck Kanji
Fuck Yu
Fuck Naoto
Fuck Shadow Naoto
Fuck SHO Minazuki
Fuck Sho MINAZUKI
Fuck this game
10/10
Fuck Kanji
Fuck Yu
Fuck Naoto
Fuck Shadow Naoto
Fuck SHO Minazuki
Fuck Sho MINAZUKI
Fuck this game
10/10
This review contains spoilers
This is Adachi's best appearance and it's not even close. I actually love this character now holy shit
To this day, no other fighting game is as mechanically loaded yet easy to get into as Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.
On the surface level, it seems like somewhat of an easy game in terms of execution with how prevalent auto-combo is for a lot of characters, though once you get deeper into the mechanics there is a lot to mess around with. Movement is extremely interesting with the existence of Manual Airturn/Airturn Backdash, IBs are extremely rewarding, playing around Awakening is really fun, One More Burst/Frenzy is really interesting to build gameplans around, and Persona Displacement allows for extremely creative use of your character's moveset. All of these elements combined take this seemingly simple game, and give it a ton of depth.
The mechanics themselves are a lot, but this game also has some of the most interesting fighting game characters period. A lot of this I think comes from the fact they are NOT afraid at all to give characters really broken stuff, so the overall character power in this game is EXTREMELY HIGH. No matter their place on the tier list, every character in this game is a nuclear bomb and will KILL YOU if you let them. This aspect of the game is probably the most divisive part of Persona, but it's something I've learned to love, especially as a Shadow Labrys player.
You can't really go wrong with either version of this game, give it a shot if you are considering it.
On the surface level, it seems like somewhat of an easy game in terms of execution with how prevalent auto-combo is for a lot of characters, though once you get deeper into the mechanics there is a lot to mess around with. Movement is extremely interesting with the existence of Manual Airturn/Airturn Backdash, IBs are extremely rewarding, playing around Awakening is really fun, One More Burst/Frenzy is really interesting to build gameplans around, and Persona Displacement allows for extremely creative use of your character's moveset. All of these elements combined take this seemingly simple game, and give it a ton of depth.
The mechanics themselves are a lot, but this game also has some of the most interesting fighting game characters period. A lot of this I think comes from the fact they are NOT afraid at all to give characters really broken stuff, so the overall character power in this game is EXTREMELY HIGH. No matter their place on the tier list, every character in this game is a nuclear bomb and will KILL YOU if you let them. This aspect of the game is probably the most divisive part of Persona, but it's something I've learned to love, especially as a Shadow Labrys player.
You can't really go wrong with either version of this game, give it a shot if you are considering it.
As a fighting game, it's a CERTIFIED BANGER. ALL-TIMER HALL OF FAMER.
As a story mode/golden arena/arcade mode it's a 3.
Even with the recent re-release it still feels a tad behind the times with its training mode/online mode options.
As a story mode/golden arena/arcade mode it's a 3.
Even with the recent re-release it still feels a tad behind the times with its training mode/online mode options.
Solid fighting game I guess with mediocre story
Intensely feedback-heavy anime fighter with some mechanics that feel gratuitously complicated. The story mode is a bloated visual novel but there is lots of it. A very complete package if you're amenable to its charms, personally I found it a bit overwhelming.
A surprisingly good fighting game filled with the Persona charm fans has come to know and love. The story is very anime-esque filled with action and drama that really help make this game feel "official" to the franchise. Seeing SEES and the Investigation Team interact held some very interesting and emotional moments that really made this game special. As the official send-off to both of these casts canonically, I say it did a brilliant job, and it was very hard to say goodbye to these characters I've spent so many hours with over the course of a year.
Full video review: https://youtu.be/CuQXm2OcdPw
In keeping with tradition, ATLUS has decided to skip over Persona 5, 3, or any other mainline entry and give us the fighting game instead. Having played it now though, I can’t say I’m complaining.
Gameplay
Persona is usually a JRPG series, but this is a fighting game and it’s one developed between ATLUS and the prestigious Arc System Works - who brought us classics like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear. This game plays a lot like those two, but does so while incorporating a ton of elements from Persona and honestly, it’s a bit brilliant how it all works out.
Each character has moves of their own, but also has their persona with unique moves on top of that and the game basically revolves around combining these two to build up some nasty combos. It is a very cool mechanic and, while complex on paper, I managed to pick it up pretty quickly.
The base combat is some incredibly polished stuff too - before you even get to the extras like personas or super moves. It’s fast, fluid, responsive, and way more fun than I thought it was going to be if I am being honest. Maybe it’s because I am just coming off of playing Phantom Breaker, but this one just feels good to play. It has that perfect blend of move variety, gameplay mechanics, and audiovisual feedback to give the combat that unique Arc System touch and it makes for some very satisfying gameplay.
Content
You’ve got arcade mode, score attack, lessons, training, challenges, and this RPG-like endless mode called Golden Arena. In that one, you basically fight to earn XP to level up a certain character’s stats and even unlock abilities for them. It’s nothing too complex, but it’s a nice touch over the “endless mode” that we usually get.
Story
The story is also notable - both for its length (around 18 hours of VN scenes and fighting) and its insane entry barrier. Not only is this game a direct sequel to Persona 4, but Persona 3 as well and you will get spoiled on major plot points for both if you just jump in right here. I would speak on the quality of that story - but I am going to be honest, I have not completed either Persona 3 or 4 and don’t want to be spoiled myself, so I did not play through Arena’s storyline.
Multiplayer
At launch, the game is not going to have rollback netcode, but the devs have announced that it will be implemented in an update sometime this summer. A bit odd that they didn’t just do that right off the bat, but at least there is official confirmation. I was unable to test the netcode as it is because I played before release, so hopefully it’s at least decent enough to hold out until summer.
Closing Thoughts + Technical
PRAU is a solid fighting game all around, bunch of stuff to learn and master, yet still not this massive wall to get into. It looks great with that flashy Persona aesthetic, has that similarly great music, and also runs just fine and I had no technical issues whatsoever. I will note that while I did play at 1440p, the game is actually locked to 1080 internally and only scales up from there - disappointing to see.
Overall
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a fairly easy recommendation to make. If you are a fan of any of Arc System Works’ previous fighting games, then you’ll likely have a lot of fun here. Persona fans too or even just fighting game fans in general. The story might be lost on that latter group, but the gameplay, the characters, the mechanics, all of that is incredibly polished and this is definitely one that will be on my fighting game rotation for a while. Now please just give us Persona 3 and 5.
In keeping with tradition, ATLUS has decided to skip over Persona 5, 3, or any other mainline entry and give us the fighting game instead. Having played it now though, I can’t say I’m complaining.
Gameplay
Persona is usually a JRPG series, but this is a fighting game and it’s one developed between ATLUS and the prestigious Arc System Works - who brought us classics like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear. This game plays a lot like those two, but does so while incorporating a ton of elements from Persona and honestly, it’s a bit brilliant how it all works out.
Each character has moves of their own, but also has their persona with unique moves on top of that and the game basically revolves around combining these two to build up some nasty combos. It is a very cool mechanic and, while complex on paper, I managed to pick it up pretty quickly.
The base combat is some incredibly polished stuff too - before you even get to the extras like personas or super moves. It’s fast, fluid, responsive, and way more fun than I thought it was going to be if I am being honest. Maybe it’s because I am just coming off of playing Phantom Breaker, but this one just feels good to play. It has that perfect blend of move variety, gameplay mechanics, and audiovisual feedback to give the combat that unique Arc System touch and it makes for some very satisfying gameplay.
Content
You’ve got arcade mode, score attack, lessons, training, challenges, and this RPG-like endless mode called Golden Arena. In that one, you basically fight to earn XP to level up a certain character’s stats and even unlock abilities for them. It’s nothing too complex, but it’s a nice touch over the “endless mode” that we usually get.
Story
The story is also notable - both for its length (around 18 hours of VN scenes and fighting) and its insane entry barrier. Not only is this game a direct sequel to Persona 4, but Persona 3 as well and you will get spoiled on major plot points for both if you just jump in right here. I would speak on the quality of that story - but I am going to be honest, I have not completed either Persona 3 or 4 and don’t want to be spoiled myself, so I did not play through Arena’s storyline.
Multiplayer
At launch, the game is not going to have rollback netcode, but the devs have announced that it will be implemented in an update sometime this summer. A bit odd that they didn’t just do that right off the bat, but at least there is official confirmation. I was unable to test the netcode as it is because I played before release, so hopefully it’s at least decent enough to hold out until summer.
Closing Thoughts + Technical
PRAU is a solid fighting game all around, bunch of stuff to learn and master, yet still not this massive wall to get into. It looks great with that flashy Persona aesthetic, has that similarly great music, and also runs just fine and I had no technical issues whatsoever. I will note that while I did play at 1440p, the game is actually locked to 1080 internally and only scales up from there - disappointing to see.
Overall
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a fairly easy recommendation to make. If you are a fan of any of Arc System Works’ previous fighting games, then you’ll likely have a lot of fun here. Persona fans too or even just fighting game fans in general. The story might be lost on that latter group, but the gameplay, the characters, the mechanics, all of that is incredibly polished and this is definitely one that will be on my fighting game rotation for a while. Now please just give us Persona 3 and 5.
This is the first fighter that I truly loved and didn't feel extremely frustrated by, I haven't even really touched the story mode but I've gone through arcade mode 37 times, 1 time for each character including their shadow variation. The gameplay and visuals are perfect.
this game is FUNNNN and they made mitsuru even more hot
Make persona 5 arena cowards
I think it's really cool how you can beat the shit out of Teddie in this game
kinda cool fan service fighting game but the story mode bores me to fucking tears
Running into a 0 bar Narukami player must be what it feels like to discover an SCP
Margaret and her Personas turn me on
I don't care if the shadow characters competitively dominated this game, I still want them to step on me and I still want people to play the best Persona game.
If you still play this game online you're a real one
manual airturn is the pinnacle of fighting games
Whatever the fuck they did to the Persona 3 cast in this game (looking at you Akihiko, why the FUCK did they turn him into an empty-headed meathead???? that's like completely missing the point of his original character) is a travesty and I will not stand for it
Sho just wanted a friend ಥ_ಥ
the story sucks a lot, but it's fun to see the cast interactions. as an actual game this is much better than the original
solid game. fun and broken as all hell, i love it
story wise the game continues on from both games pretty well, I liked seeing how the p3 cast had changed
definitely worth playing, can't wait to try this on newer platforms with the ps4/pc/switch port :)
story wise the game continues on from both games pretty well, I liked seeing how the p3 cast had changed
definitely worth playing, can't wait to try this on newer platforms with the ps4/pc/switch port :)
Of all of the attempts Arc System Works has made to make games that are comparatively more "simplified" than their older titles, I think that this game does the best job at achieving that goal while still making the process of going in depth with it satisfying. Also Labrys is one of the best characters to come from the P4 games.
Kanji puño y después Kanji silla
teddie 5b
So called free thinkers maining adachi with mcdonalds free wifi
Fun fighting game with a good story and unique mechanics that could only work with the persona series. I also love the pixel art and all the new and character portrait and cutscenes mad for this game. My only problem with this game is that the online community isn't that active which makes it hard to get the online achievements.
P4U2 in 2020.
The sequel which introduced my favorite Persona villain, Sho Minazuki. The story followed up on Arena's and we got to see the P3 and P4 cast banter with each other, which im certain all everyone ever wanted. Arena's core gameplay is still here and just as good, with some questionable buffs to some characters (Narukami) and Shadow characters were a fun new feature (that were hilariously broken in a version of the game we never got here in the states.) But this game is high tier. Love it.
The sequel which introduced my favorite Persona villain, Sho Minazuki. The story followed up on Arena's and we got to see the P3 and P4 cast banter with each other, which im certain all everyone ever wanted. Arena's core gameplay is still here and just as good, with some questionable buffs to some characters (Narukami) and Shadow characters were a fun new feature (that were hilariously broken in a version of the game we never got here in the states.) But this game is high tier. Love it.