Additionally, the game was made to be approachable, but rewarding to those who desire to excel. Characters in the game fight alongside their Persona, utilizing it for combos, pressure strings, and defense. For those who aren’t fans of the Persona or Shin Megami Tensei series, a Persona is essentially a Pokémon or creature that you send out. It has a unique system where every character (save for one) wields a Persona. Persona fightingĪs for the game itself, it’s a port of a great fighting game. This is all we get on Steam (and the Switch as well). While Guilty Gear: Strive players can battle others around the globe, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax players will have to settle with those who live on the same coast. We know better netplay is coming (although, even rollback is not a guarantee for a smooth online experience), but what we got instead is a puzzlingly dated system that damages the experience for both players. ![]() It’s a little difficult to consider how to factor in the netplay for this review. My colleague and I tested out the delay-based netcode the game will release with, and it’s pretty dreadful as predicted. Every Arc System Works game in the past several years has had rollback netcode on release. (Rollback netcode is a form of netplay that greatly reduces the lag between players, as opposed to delay-based netcode.) While a massive wave of fan response prompted ATLUS and ArcSys to add rollback post launch, it’s a wonder why it didn’t have it in the first place at all. ![]() This feature is only available for the PlayStation version.Īdditionally, controversy struck the game when it was revealed that it wouldn’t release with rollback netcode. It really doesn’t make sense why any of these ports have features taken away instead of added, and it’s frankly disappointing. It’s a barebones matchmaking system where you can only play Ranked Matches or Player Matches. The PC version instead is more like the Xbox 360 port of the arcade original. Those who buy the PlayStation version can join a matchmaking system known as the “Lobby System.” It’s a mode popularized in all of the recent Arc System Works games, where you can take an avatar and walk in an arcade-like setting, choosing foes to fight. While we have the 2.0 balance changes now, there are aspects of the Steam version and the game overall that mimics the turbulent development cycle we saw before.įor instance, the Steam version is already lacking certain features found in the PlayStation port. But this port echoes the tribulations of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and its development and progression. The Persona 4 Arena Ultimax port brings us this new balance update, simply known as 2.0, featuring major changes to the cast and bringing previous paid DLC to the game for free. It was a depressing development in the game’s lifespan, and one made worse when the balance update wouldn’t make it overseas at all. This update would not make it in time for the world’s biggest fighting game tournament, meaning Japan and America were playing two different games competitively. Right before Persona 4 Arena Ultimax would make a triumphant appearance in EVO 2015, there was also news of a new major balance update in Japan. The presence of this port also warrants a little history lesson. ![]() It was an announcement that blindsided, overjoyed, and reaffirmed my love for the easy-to-learn yet hard-to-master fighting game. So when the announcement that Persona 4 Arena Ultimax would come to Steam in a port, I ran out into the streets and heard the church bells ring. Content creators continue to post videos on this anime-inspired arcade fighting game released nearly a decade ago, and they still manage to reach an audience of thousands. I won’t call it anything more than the niche outing into the fighting game community that it is, but the fans are nothing but dedicated. Hours and hours were spent grinding in the training room, trying to perfect that elusive and difficult combo, or working on tech that I could spring onto my opponents.Īnd Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a loyal game. But what came from my simple wanting for more Persona 4 content was an introduction to a vast and wonderful genre of gaming. I know plenty of other people in the same position, as the Persona 4 spin-off mostly appealed to my love for Persona 4 Golden. But there is a truth to the sentiment: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax gave birth to my love for fighting games. More than often, I joke that I was born and raised by this game. I consider Persona 4 Arena Ultimax to be one of the cornerstones of my gaming career, oddly enough.
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