Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

 PlayStation 3
User Score
5.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 291 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 133 out of 291
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 291
  3. Negative: 141 out of 291
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  1. gingetsu
    Apr 17, 2016
    6
    este juego lo amarran los fans de las shin megami tensei persona pero que no es para nada tecnico te pueden derrotar en un instante solo moviendo el mando ala loca .
    realmente una pelicula de pelea demasiado costosa que no llega ala talla de jugabilidad de un juego de lucha
  2. Miguelxdz
    Oct 6, 2014
    10
    Superior in every way to the first Part this game brings us a better define fighting system and a lot of new character and adding Shadow version to a lot of the originals. The story even though it was its ups and downs and pretty consistent and with a good length (for a fighting game). The fighting system is a 2D fighter which has really beautiful sprite animations and great character. IfSuperior in every way to the first Part this game brings us a better define fighting system and a lot of new character and adding Shadow version to a lot of the originals. The story even though it was its ups and downs and pretty consistent and with a good length (for a fighting game). The fighting system is a 2D fighter which has really beautiful sprite animations and great character. If you are a fan of the Persona series this is a must buy, if you are a fan of fighting games this game offer a good depth to pros and an easy to understand system for beginners.
    I will be giving it a 10 because i love fighting games and love the Persona series so for me its one of the best games of the year.    … Expand
  3. Kenmei
    Dec 10, 2014
    9
    This is a Persona game made by Persona fans for Persona fans and not for fighting game fans. While the fighting system itself is pretty decent, the main draw of this game is to give a detailed epilogue to P4:Golden. If you have not played P4:Golden, specifically that version of Persona 4, and Persona 3, you will not get the maximum potential that is brought to the table with this game. ItThis is a Persona game made by Persona fans for Persona fans and not for fighting game fans. While the fighting system itself is pretty decent, the main draw of this game is to give a detailed epilogue to P4:Golden. If you have not played P4:Golden, specifically that version of Persona 4, and Persona 3, you will not get the maximum potential that is brought to the table with this game. It truly is a Persona game made specifically for the fans.
    After the first P4: Arena came out a few years ago, people wondered why they would release a fighting game in the Persona franchise. This game was specifically built as a way to connect P3 and P4 together with huge amounts of fanservice for both games. You will not like this game as much without having played both games, specifically the FES version of P3 and P4:Golden. The star of the show is the story, which is easily the longest storyline, in terms of length, given to any fighting game probably ever. The two main storylines will easily run upwards of 20 hours to complete with meaningful pieces of story along the way. The fighting takes a backseat to what happens in the main story. The story is good and it's really nice to see some more from these characters, especially coming from an AVID Persona fan. The characters are great and they are built up properly but the game does assume you already know who these people are, at least from the first P4 Arena game.
    The fighting mechanics themselves are ok. This game will not take any players away from the Street Fighter series, nor will it ever be played in any official tournament setting. But it's well done and builds on what went well from the first game. While there are still some balance issues, the fighting isn't half bad and won't scare away from Persona fans who don't like fighting games.
    The main problem I have with the game is the pay wall. To get any new characters or additions to the storyline, you have to buy them. I dislike games that force you to purchase an additional content without letting you earn it in some capacity. There's a whole chapter to the main storyline that needs to be purchased and I don't like that at all.
    In the end, this game was meant to be played on the Playstation and the game was specifically built for it's storyline. It's a wonderful closure to one of THE best games of all time and will easily hold over anyone waiting for Persona 5 to come out next year sometime. But, know that this game was definitely designed for Persona 4 fans specifically. If you didn't like Persona 4 for whatever reason, stay far, far away from this game.    … Expand
  4. kyoycz
    Oct 15, 2014
    7
    If you're looking for a good fighting game, look no farther. If you're looking for a good story, you'll be severely disappointed.

    If you enjoyed playing Arena, you'll love Ultimax - the Shadow variants, new characters, and improved/balanced mechanics make things plenty more fun. Unfortunately, the story is extremely lackluster. The writers prioritize the "friendship is magic" message    If you're looking for a good fighting game, look no farther. If you're looking for a good story, you'll be severely disappointed.

    If you enjoyed playing Arena, you'll love Ultimax - the Shadow variants, new characters, and improved/balanced mechanics make things plenty more fun.

    Unfortunately, the story is extremely lackluster. The writers prioritize the "friendship is magic" message (that was already overused in Persona 4 and Arena) over a worthwhile conclusion. The main antagonist (who is revealed towards the end of the story) has basically no relation to either P3 or P4, being some asspull existence that shouldn't even exist.

    Then, to make matters worse, Elizabeth's story is completely ignored. If you played her story in Arena, you know that it tied in directly to the end of Persona 3. Well, it sucks for you, but they hardly even acknowledge it, ending that plotline with a vague cliffhanger that they'll never deliver on.

    Oh yeah, and the final battle in the P3 story isn't fought by a P3 character. Why? Who knows.

    It's a bit baffling that the writers thought this could pass a conclusion to the P3/P4 stories. But at least the actual gameplay isn't disappointing!    … Expand
  5. Overanalytical
    Oct 2, 2014
    10
    Thank you ATLUS for doing this everything about this game is a godsend I actually feel rewarded for going through that awful awful p4G now

    Graphics: pretty smooth and exactly what you would and should expect from a persona 4 game a few anime cutscenes, character boxes and thought bubble text is here and that kind of bothers me I would have rather had all cutscenes however the biggest    Thank you ATLUS for doing this everything about this game is a godsend I actually feel rewarded for going through that awful awful p4G now

    Graphics: pretty smooth and exactly what you would and should expect from a persona 4 game a few anime cutscenes, character boxes and thought bubble text is here and that kind of bothers me I would have rather had all cutscenes however the biggest issue is the fact that characters have few portraits to choose from

    Sound: very smooth and vast everything fits so well too

    Ai
    Dissapointing but it's minimal so I won't penalize the game too much

    Gameplay : very much like persona 4 arena but everything is much more balanced could we nerd sho a bit though jeez btw all shadows feel differant from thier counterparts

    Story : exemplary everything to the last detail is structured well it gives us the send off we'd been hoping for and the way the story is set up it is much less annoying to progress I do wish the shadow characters had thier own stories though

    And that's it everybody it's the best possible sequel to p4 arena and I'm supper supper happy I got this thank you atlus for making such a fantastic game why did you end the series now after this we don't want persona 5 we want labrys    … Expand
  6. Sploolordcam
    Oct 3, 2014
    8
    Everything great that can be said about the original Persona 4 Arena has been kept or improved upon in the sequel. Many more characters with unique play styles have been added, and returning veterans in P4AU have updated movesets and alternate forms by use of their shadows who play on a completely different mechanic. The story mode of the game has been vastly improved in my opinion, ratherEverything great that can be said about the original Persona 4 Arena has been kept or improved upon in the sequel. Many more characters with unique play styles have been added, and returning veterans in P4AU have updated movesets and alternate forms by use of their shadows who play on a completely different mechanic. The story mode of the game has been vastly improved in my opinion, rather than repeating similar scenarios with different character, as is the case with P4A, the story has a linear path with branches for different characters so that there is little overlap, and it's much easier to establish a canon progression than in P4A. The episode P4 portion of the story feels a bit forced with how the characters interact and relate to the current situation, but this is more than made up for with Episode P3 which provides a much more detailed and characterized path through the story. The inclusion of the Adachi episode which comes free in the first week as DLC is also a pleasant surprise. Gameplay is much like P4A, but feels overall more polished and smooth. I found myself having issues activating SP skills with my Dualshock 3's D-pad, despite the commands being entered correctly on screen. I'm unsure as to whether this is a problem from the game's standpoint or my controllers, as I am able to execute the commands well using the analog stick instead. I won't include this in my score as it may be a problem on my side.… Expand
  7. mAceOfHearts
    Dec 4, 2014
    7
    Better than P4A, but still quite flawed. An entertaining fighter to be sure, but the lackluster story mode drags on and it adds nothing of worth to the Persona series. Golden Arena mode is an excellent idea, though, and gives the game a single player mode that's actually fun. I'd recommend this game to ASW fans, but not Persona fans.
  8. theman21
    Dec 4, 2018
    10
    Persona 4 arena is a really fun fighting game by arc system works on the ps3
  9. iMustang
    Mar 26, 2019
    8
    This spoiler free review is for story value alone. In order to give these games a proper assessment, I feel it's best to review them as one long journey, since both games made one full story. The first half of the story (or the first Arena game if you will) had a decent story, but it was told in a very dull fashion. Having to play through multiple possibilities to learn different canonThis spoiler free review is for story value alone. In order to give these games a proper assessment, I feel it's best to review them as one long journey, since both games made one full story. The first half of the story (or the first Arena game if you will) had a decent story, but it was told in a very dull fashion. Having to play through multiple possibilities to learn different canon bits along the way was just very messy, and often made the game feel much longer than it actually was. It wasn't a bad experience, but it was just a very lengthy one. Fortunately in the second half of the story (Ultimax), they fixed the problem by making one coherent story... er, mostly. Having to play through an entire 'What If' story that was Episode P3 really took away from my enjoyment of the experience of what was actually an overall better presentation. Episode P4 (the main story), followed by Episode Adachi was absolutely amazing! It felt like an actual sequel to the game much more than Dancing all Night did, which is why I'm glad I saved it for last. The moments were often very intense, the character development for characters like Rise was fantastic, and overall it was just a really well told story! And while I would have preferred if Episode P3 took the route Episode Adachi did where it matched up with Episode P4, it still did have it's moments. As someone who doesn't care for Junpei, I really liked his interactions with the P4 characters who were uncertain how to handle him.… Expand
  10. Kai82
    Jun 3, 2022
    7
    The sequel to Persona 4 Arena improves the gameplay formula and continues the story of the previous game. As reminder: You should be familiar with Persona 4 (Golden), Persona 3 and the prequel to understand what is going on. It is set 1 day after the events of the prequel. The Investigation Team from Persona 4 and the Shadow Operative Team from Persona 3 saved the day but the culpritThe sequel to Persona 4 Arena improves the gameplay formula and continues the story of the previous game. As reminder: You should be familiar with Persona 4 (Golden), Persona 3 and the prequel to understand what is going on. It is set 1 day after the events of the prequel. The Investigation Team from Persona 4 and the Shadow Operative Team from Persona 3 saved the day but the culprit escaped. This fires back as he goes up to eleven. The town of Inaba is engulfed in a red fog and the Midnight Channel reappears. Only divine intervention from Maria prevents serious problems for now as it is not sure how long her powers can protect the town. It is time again to enter the TV / subconscious world and stop this thread for good and get answers. I stop here and already you should ask yourself what is going on if you did not have knowledge of the other games. It is for fans of those as otherwise you will get more and more questions or even WTF moments. I still think it was not the best idea to continue the story of a RPG in now two fighting games aka beat em ups. Even the developers give you an auto fight option for those who are just there for the story. I was satisfied with the story characters and conclusion as it was the main reason I bought the game. The story is told in character chapters. You have to unlock additional chapters to continue the story and / or see other perspectives. This can be a negative for some but they managed this well. The gameplay is fine and I see improvements from the sequel. However take this with caution as fighting games are not my favorite genre. I am familiar with Street Fighter, Tekken and Mortal Kombat but not as much to be anywhere near expert knowledge. They managed to give the Persona feeling without a doubt. The characters, move sets, Personas and areas are familiar and enjoyable. What should I say you have basic attacks, special moves, a SP gauge for devastating attacks etc. The characters are different and have their unique moves. For me it has depth and works well. I repeat take this with a grain of salt as I am no expert in the genre. The presentation is excellent. The graphics, style and music are a strength and deliver the Persona felling. Overall I am divided. I was mostly here for the story so the main part of the game is not what I wanted. Because it is well made I give a 7/10 as I cant criticize this.… Expand
  11. DanHazy
    Feb 27, 2016
    7
    I'll tell my favorite three games so you will know what kind of gamer is writing this review.

    Fire emblem series  Danganronpa series  Atelier Totori (You should know this review is of the story mode only.)  THE GOOD: GRAPHICS: Graphics are top notch along with the art. MUSIC: Music was great. VOICE ACTING: This game was voice acted about 85 percent of the time. Great    I'll tell my favorite three games so you will know what kind of gamer is writing this review.

    Fire emblem series 
    Danganronpa series 
    Atelier Totori

    (You should know this review is of the story mode only.) 

    THE GOOD:

    GRAPHICS: Graphics are top notch along with the art.

    MUSIC: Music was great.

    VOICE ACTING: This game was voice acted about 85 percent of the time. Great voice acting also. 

    GAMEPLAY TIME: About a 12 hour story mode. Not as long as persona 4 arena.

    STORY: The story is good but not great. I was quiet dissappointed in the ending, and this includes the games true ending. 

    CHARACTER CAST: The character cast and character interaction was great.

    IN DEPTH REVIEW:

    No more repeated scenes with a different persons outlook as in persona 4 arena. This is what actually made this game shorter than persona 4 arena.This game was about 80 percent story and 20 percent fighting. This wasnt a bad thing in my opinion. If you do need more fighting from the game, there is always arcade mode and 2 player. As in persona 4 Arena., I was able to win every fight by using the same combo over and over with every character. This was on the preset difficulty. I'm sure you could boost the difficulty if you need more of a challenge. 

    That wraps the review up everyone. The game goes for about a 20 dollar price tag. Mine also came with a teddie bob inflatable for this price. Be sure to get one with that included as it might be worth something later on. For the price of the game, I would recommend it to Persona fans. If you are just looking for an anime fighting game, I would look for something else though.     … Expand
  12. LordAthmos
    Jan 25, 2020
    9
    No es el mejor juego de lucha del mundo pero si es extremadamente divertido y si eres un fan de Persona, especialmente de persona 4, lo vas a pasar en grande, su mayor problema es la total falta de personajes desbloqueables, puesto que vienen todos desbloqueados desde el minuto 1 salvo los personajes dlc de pago, otro punto en contra es que tiene demasiado contenido de pago, pero que noNo es el mejor juego de lucha del mundo pero si es extremadamente divertido y si eres un fan de Persona, especialmente de persona 4, lo vas a pasar en grande, su mayor problema es la total falta de personajes desbloqueables, puesto que vienen todos desbloqueados desde el minuto 1 salvo los personajes dlc de pago, otro punto en contra es que tiene demasiado contenido de pago, pero que no afecta al gameplay en nada
    Imprescindible para todo fan de Persona 4, pero cuida tu cartera    … Expand
  13. Xplocion
    Nov 9, 2019
    9
    The good: five “new” characters directly extracted from Persona 3 and older with respect to the characters in their student facet of Persona 4 are attached, and three more direct from Persona 4 Adachi, the cause of all the mess and events from the previous game in addition to Rise "Rissette". The history of this new tournament occurs a few months after the end of the original Persona 4The good: five “new” characters directly extracted from Persona 3 and older with respect to the characters in their student facet of Persona 4 are attached, and three more direct from Persona 4 Adachi, the cause of all the mess and events from the previous game in addition to Rise "Rissette". The history of this new tournament occurs a few months after the end of the original Persona 4 Arena. The story mode is divided into the point of view of the characters of Persona 3, those of Persona 4 and Adachi's particular story. The shadow version of the characters allows another dynamism to the fighting. The differentiation between "normal" characters and "shadow" characters allows more dynamism and prevents spam from auto-combos. The new Golden Arena Mode is included, which are towers where you face enemies with ascending difficulty, while gaining skills and leveling up. Is better optimized on Xbox 360

    The bad: Three of the new characters are via DLC (Margaret, Adachi and Marie) and add more achievements. Many of the achievements are to make online, but the game was overshadowed by the generational jump and there were not many players when it came out and currently this game is just a myth.

    Lo Meh !: came out in 2013 in full generational change and this game was lost in time. The final boss is bi-polar and his good part is painful. It is not backward compatible with Xbox One    … Expand
  14. Antonyy
    May 3, 2022
    10
    I love this game soo much! Persona 4 Series really has changed my life, and I feel very grateful for that.

Awards & Rankings

7
#7 Best PS3 Game of 2014
26
#26 Most Discussed PS3 Game of 2014
33
#33 Most Shared PS3 Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 38 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 38
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 38
  3. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. Multiplayer.it
    Jan 15, 2015
    85
    Persona 4 Arena Ultimax comes a little too late in Europe but it's an all around excellent beat'em up nevertheless with a huge amount of content for fans of the genre and brand lovers.
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  2. PlaySense
    Jan 8, 2015
    85
    Persona 4 Arena was a fine spin-off and this new iteration continues the trend with more depth and a longer story mode, that, however, lacks a bit of gameplay action. Newcomers are strongly advised to start with the previous one, by the way.
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  3. XGN
    Dec 23, 2014
    85
    Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a big improvement to its predecessor and so far one of the most beautiful 2D-fighters ever released. The somewhat boring dialogues doesn't change the fact that Ultimax is a challenging and exciting fighting game.
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