Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

While a fighting game isn’t exactly what one might expect for a sequel of a game like Persona 4 Golden, this reviewer finds it to be a fun fighting game with a compelling story that expands the world of Persona by introducing the Investigation Team to another team that once saved the world from a mysterious threat with the power of Personas.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax brings the best version of the game for fighting games and Persona series fans alike. People will be incredibly pleased by the beautiful fusion of easy-to-control characters alongside the highly detailed sprite animations and the wide variety of gameplay modes that are sure to keep various gaming genre fans hooked.

The big new addition to Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is rollback netcode. The problem is that this isn't active as of the time of writing, and won't be available until sometime in Summer 2022. Once that arrives, there will be a renewed interest in playing the game online. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a great fighting game for the casual and hardcore crowd, with a unique cast of fighters and a ton of systems to use in combat, though a big part of its appeal will be lost on people who aren't Persona fans and who haven't experienced Persona 3 or Persona 4.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax has remained an arcade staple for good reason - it’s got a perfect learning curve, fantastic sprite work, and oodles of fanservice. However, this lackluster port job is a disservice to the title. If you’ve never checked out the Midnight Channel, it’s a must play; however, those who have years of experience might feel like this is a rerun.

Persona 4 Arena Ultimax on PC is a port with some questionable drawbacks, like the lack of a lobby mode and no rollback netcode on launch. But it's still the same great fighting game beloved by many.

The rerelease of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a welcome one — it’s always good to see these games brought back for a new generation. The fighting feels as good as ever, and looks better than ever thanks to modern hardware, but the storyline and pacing almost feel antithetical in a franchise that was built on just that. Is it a solid fighting game that fans will love? Absolutely. Is it a must-buy for Persona fans? No, probably not.

Within Persona 4 Arena Ultimax players will find a more-than-decent fighter, that those experienced with Arc System Works games will like quite a lot. Persona fans will enjoy seeing their favourite characters once more, but be warned that the story hasn't been handled as well as one would expect.