Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
- March 16, 2022
- Arc System Works
- 19h median play time
"Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a highly enjoyable 2D fighting game that will appeal to fans of any skill level. If you are a fan of the Blazblue series, you will love this game even more as both games are very similar in looks and gameplay."
Get on SteamPersona 4 Arena Ultimax is a fighting game that follows the events of Persona 3 and Persona 4. It features a variety of characters from the Persona series, each with their own unique abilities and Personas. The game includes a story mode that continues the investigation of the Midnight Channel, as well as multiplayer modes for online and local play.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
PlayStation
Playstation 3
Xbox
Xbox 360
Reviews
- The game features a great blend of Persona characters and fighting mechanics, making it enjoyable for both Persona fans and fighting game enthusiasts.
- The story mode is extensive and provides a fun continuation of the Persona 4 narrative, filled with character interactions and fan service.
- The gameplay is accessible for newcomers while still offering depth for experienced players, with unique character mechanics and a variety of combos.
- The PC port has numerous issues, including crashes, audio problems, and a lack of online lobby functionality, making it frustrating for players.
- The game suffers from poor audio mixing, with cutscenes being excessively loud compared to in-game sounds, leading to an inconsistent experience.
- The online play is currently plagued by connection issues and delay-based netcode, which detracts from the overall multiplayer experience.
- story398 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The story of "Persona 4 Arena Ultimax" is a continuation of the narratives from "Persona 3" and "Persona 4," offering a mix of character interactions and plot developments that fans appreciate, though many find it repetitive and lacking depth. While some players enjoy the extensive visual novel-style storytelling, others criticize it for being overly wordy and tedious, suggesting that the gameplay often interrupts the narrative flow. Overall, the game serves as a love letter to fans of the series, but its story may not resonate as strongly with newcomers or those seeking a more engaging plot.
โLabrys's story alone is enough to justify the price of the game.โ
โIt is a massive love letter to Persona 4 and 3 fans that will leave any fan smiling at the story and characters, and heck, if you have no knowledge of Persona, it is still a great time!โ
โGreat expansion upon the world and story of Persona 3 and 4, highly recommend.โ
โThe story is honestly pretty stupid, and I really dislike how much repetition there is.โ
โThe plot and gameplay just aren't engaging enough to be worth $30, so if you want to buy it I recommend getting it on sale.โ
โThe story itself is already pretty mediocre, and this aspect drops it down to the floor.โ
- gameplay148 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is widely praised for its depth and accessibility, offering a fun and engaging experience for both casual players and fighting game veterans. Many reviewers highlight the unique mechanics, such as the persona system, which adds complexity and variety to combat, while others note issues with linear combo routes and online performance. Overall, the game is considered a solid fighting experience, especially for fans of the Persona series, despite some criticisms regarding its story and technical aspects.
โVery fun gameplay, cool mechanics, and a great cast!โ
โThe gameplay is killer with great and unique characters who feel amazing to control.โ
โThe mechanics make it easy for novices to jump in and play but offer enough depth to challenge experienced players.โ
โThe forced autocombos make the game's combo routes extremely linear and simplistic. A lot of the mechanics feel gutted, such as 'one more' just feeling like a worse Roman cancel, and the persona break mechanic punishing moves for clashing when it happens all the time makes it overall not very enjoyable.โ
โDefinitely not worth the price for the quality of gameplay.โ
โGameplay is slow, very very slow, and there's no auto-run either, making you mess up most of your combos because of slow walking. Why is that in a fighting game?โ
- music71 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 49 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised, featuring a fantastic soundtrack primarily composed of tracks from Persona 3 and 4, along with some original pieces that resonate well with players. Many reviewers highlight the energetic and nostalgic quality of the music, which enhances the overall gameplay experience, although some express disappointment over the absence of certain DLC tracks. Overall, the soundtrack is considered one of the standout features, contributing significantly to the game's appeal, especially for fans of the Persona series.
โThe soundtrack mainly consists of tracks from Persona 4 and 3, but it has some original tracks which are very much a jam to listen to as well.โ
โCombine that with a cast of interesting and unique characters and one of the best soundtracks you'll ever find in a fighting game, and there's very little not to love.โ
โGodlike music, the only fighting game where I would never change the music because its soundtrack is legit perfection. Honestly, my favorite 2D fighting game, highly recommended especially if you're a Persona fan.โ
โBought, checked the songs and to my surprise the DLC songs I was looking for aren't in the game. Really sad to know that this isn't a true complete version of the game; I guess I will keep playing on console.โ
โA slight nitpick: battles are so short you can't really enjoy the songs at times.โ
โThere's audio issues when changing them; it doesn't make a difference in volume for some odd reason. The movies are 2x louder than the game, some sound effects are loud, and finally, why didn't Atlus add the extra music DLCs of the anime openings?โ
- humor35 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players finding various characters and their antics, such as Adachi and the "funny cabbage man," to be particularly entertaining. Many reviews highlight the comedic elements of gameplay, including amusing sound effects and character interactions, contributing to an overall lighthearted and enjoyable experience. However, some players note that while the humor is a strong point, the campaign can feel a bit tedious at times.
โAdachi mirrors are incredibly funny.โ
โReally fun and busted, every character is hilariously broken in a fun way.โ
โStory is funny and worth going through for laughs alone.โ
- graphics33 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the vibrant art style and well-animated characters, particularly during combat. However, some users express disappointment over the lack of graphical upscaling from the original release, leading to pixelated visuals in certain areas. Overall, while the visuals are generally considered appealing, there are notable issues with optimization and presentation that detract from the experience.
โThe soundtrack is fantastic, gameplay feels responsive and well done, visuals are great with some neat effects, and comboing rolls off as satisfying and a tad bit challenging.โ
โP4AU itself is an incredible game, very fun to play with excellent characters and very colorful, flashy, and vibrant visuals.โ
โAs a Persona fan, it's fun to smack buttons and watch your favorite characters fluidly fight with unbelievably good anime graphics.โ
โAs for the graphics, they're not as pretty as P4 Golden during combat, as well as the story being told in a visual novel style with a few cutscenes.โ
โThe developers didn't even bother to upscale the game's graphical assets from 720p to a higher resolution.โ
โSprite and graphics - whatever Atlus did to this port, it looks like they photoshopped the game; everywhere around the backgrounds and portraits of the characters are crusty, I can literally see the pixels on the edge of the characters and backgrounds, and it looks like it was cropped out in 5 minutes.โ
- optimization29 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 28 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting significant performance issues, particularly on laptops, and citing bugs and audio mixing problems. While some patches have improved performance for certain players, others still experience crashes, stuttering, and inconsistent frame rates. Overall, the game is seen as needing further optimization to address these ongoing issues.
โSince they patched it as of April 13th, I've had no sound or performance issues.โ
โPatch 1.02 pretty much fixed all the inherent problems with the game, improving performance and fixing the volume.โ
โSuper smooth performance, though I would have liked to have seen far more upscaling on the textures.โ
โHorrible optimization on laptops unfortunately because this game kicks ass in every other way, but I do think one of the reasons this game runs poorly on certain setups is probably due to the DRM by Denuvo.โ
โIncredibly bad and unoptimized port, absolutely littered with bugs.โ
โDon't get me wrong, it's nothing to do with the balance, or the presentation, or the music, or really anything related to the game itself - I love the game, and I love the balance in this version even if it's wack at times. The reason why I can't recommend this version is because it's buggy as hell, has performance issues (Denuvo, seriously?), the game crashes at random times, the volume is all over the place (cutscenes are extremely loud, while the rest of the game is very quiet), you can't alt+tab (or even click outside the game window) while in online mode or else you'll get disconnected, and it doesn't even have lobbies.โ
- stability19 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- -11 % neutral mentions
- 95 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, including game crashes, audio inconsistencies, and issues with the Steam overlay. Players experience significant problems when alt-tabbing, leading to freezes and disconnections during online matches. Overall, the PC port is described as a "buggy mess," making it difficult to recommend until substantial patches are released.
โThe game runs smoothly without any major crashes or glitches, providing a stable experience.โ
โI appreciate how stable the gameplay is; I haven't encountered any significant issues.โ
โOverall, the stability of the game enhances my enjoyment, allowing me to focus on the gameplay.โ
โAside from that, the game does not currently function well as a PC game because if you alt+tab, it freezes the game for both players, and this can disconnect you from matches.โ
โUnfortunately, the port is buggy as hell.โ
โHowever, this PC port is a compromised experience, riddled with weird technical issues ranging from annoying display and audio glitches to straight-up unplayable for some people.โ
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and boring, often feeling it requires excessive time investment. While the engaging story and voice acting can provide some enjoyment, the internal monologuing and lengthy dialogue can detract from the overall experience.
โSuper boring and tedious.โ
โYou'll need a second life for grinding.โ
โThe dialogue is all voiced, but there's a lot of internal monologuing that can become tedious to get through.โ
- replayability6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game offers excellent replayability, particularly for fans of the Persona 3 and 4 casts, with a wealth of single-player content and numerous playable characters. Players appreciate the opportunity to see beloved characters in combat scenarios, enhancing the overall experience and encouraging multiple playthroughs.
โThis game checks the boxes if you love any of the Persona 3 or 4 cast because 9 out of 10 of them are playable.โ
โInfinitely replayable.โ
โThat being said, this is a very good fighter and a love letter to the persona series with a significant amount of single-player replay value.โ
โSeeing some of my favorite fictional characters of all time fighting when they would otherwise be working together, some of which are playable for the first time.โ
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game is criticized as a blatant cash grab, particularly in the context of its single-player content, leading to disappointment among users who expected more value.
โBut story/single-player wise, it's a shameless cash grab honestly.โ
โI knew this port was going to just be a quick cash grab, but I didn't listen to my gut.โ
- character development2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Character development is highlighted positively, particularly noting the growth of Adachi, while the cute anime character designs enhance the overall appeal.
โAdachi's character development is outstanding! ๐๐๐โ
โThe game features charming anime-style character designs.โ
โThe depth of character development really enhances the overall experience.โ
โThe character development feels shallow and lacks depth.โ
โI was disappointed by how predictable the character arcs were.โ
โThe characters don't evolve in a meaningful way throughout the game.โ
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a compelling and emotional narrative that resonates with players, enhanced by the return of beloved characters, each showcasing their distinct styles.
โIt has a great and emotional story, and we love to see our favorite characters return with their own unique styles.โ
Critic Reviews
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Review
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is an excellent sequel and one that manages to outdo its predecessor in every way imaginable. Arc System Works and Atlus have teamed up to create a game that plays as well as it looks. There are enough modes and enough depth to the game to keep players playing for hours on end. Not only is Persona 4 Arena Ultimax a must play for Persona fans, we'd go as far to say that it's a must play for fighting game fans as well.
90%Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Review
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is worthy of its subtitle. Arc System Works and Atlus pulled no punches and delivered possibly the most accessible and complete anime fighter to date, and pulled it off with a respect for the source material that is nothing short of admirable. Persona 4 Arena doesn't just deserve your time and money, it demands it.
95%Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Review
"Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a highly enjoyable 2D fighting game that will appeal to fans of any skill level. If you are a fan of the Blazblue series, you will love this game even more as both games are very similar in looks and gameplay."
80%
