Persona 4 Arena in 2022 - Is it Good?

Welcome to my Persona 4 Arena Review and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Review! Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax are some of the most popular Persona spinoffs games and in this Persona 4 Arena Analysis and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Analysis, I'm going to be reviewing Persona 4 Arena (& Ultimax). There will be story spoilers in this Persona 4 Arena Review for Persona 3 and Persona 4 because I compare them to Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Persona 4 Arena The Best Of Both Genres is just my own opinion on Persona 4 Arena. If you disagree with me, that's okay. This Persona 4 Arena analysis is a follow-up to my Persona 4 Analysis, so make sure you watch that as well. Persona 4 Arena The Best of Both Genres is the best video I've made.

0:00 Intro
2:34 Persona 4 Arena
18:19 Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
28:38 Conclusion
30:10 Outro & Supporter Credits

Ever since its initial conception, the core of the Persona series has been rooted in the foundation of turn-based combat. This is par for the course for this genre and the Persona games have always done their best to make these systems mechanically satisfying. However, it’s hard to imagine this style of game working in a real time setting without seeing some drastic overhauls. Which is why the Persona 4 arena series was so impressive to me. Both of these games, while taking liberties in some areas, managed to expertly translate the turn-based combat of the Persona games into a 1 on 1 fighting game. These games were a collaborative effort between Atlus and fighting game developer Arc System Works, who are primarily known for the Blazblue franchise which was used as the template for Arena’s core design. The first Persona 4 arena game was released back in 2012 with Ultimax following a year later. I’m mostly looking at the first arena game out of a formality since, to put it bluntly, Ultimax is mechanically superior while also offering Arena 1’s campaign as dlc. And since these games are so similar at their core, it would be best to just lump them together in one video. I also think it’s important to acknowledge the foundation set by the first arena game so we can get a better grasp as to what was changed and improved upon in Arena Ultimax.

[typemoriarty]

19:55 "Alongside Tohru Adachi who's mere inclusion no doubt spoiled Persona 4 for someone" Yeah, me.

[hexenvexen]

Sad to see no mention of Episode Adachi, probably had the best story out of the Arena games alongside Labrys' Route. I think the True Ending you get after meeting certain requirements in both Ultimax routes is worth mentioning as well, it makes Sho's character a tiny bit more interesting.

[kagekun]

I feel the Arena story was best in the manga, where Yosuke became the protagonist of all people. It was amazing to see the best bro taking up the mantle when Yu had to drop out.

[sparkytlg]

No mention of Episode Adachi?
That was the best part of Ultimax for me. Adachi gets genuine character development that makes him my 3rd favorite Persona character overall. And Adachi is just super entertaining. I love batshit crazy characters

[ThatBoyAqua]

Excited to see your thoughts on the dancing games. Another great video Nam!

[dearickangelonej.legaspi]

I consider Labrys, Elizabeth, and Adachi's routes as the canon ones since they're the only ones that feel different and feels like the development sticks

[BagelDukes]

I feel like the Persona 4 side is weighed down quite a bit, by the fact Adachi was a DLC character - since he has a bigger part to do with that side of the story and perhaps funnily enough a connection with Sho.

[Rilobster]

ah yes, the game that brought me my favorite persona character. super excited for the PC port to introduce more people to Labrys!

[Ciel_Low]

Honestly, my favorite way to experience Arena's story is the manga, its based on Yosuke's and Aigis's stories and it actually is really good in my opinion

[legodawg]

Couple things that were missed on the gameplay side that are interesting, but ultimately details. The Awakening effect not only gives access to new supers and 50 more SP, but also gives the character a substantial buff to their stats. This creates a strong comeback effect that defines the Arena/Ultimax meta.

The other thing to note is about shadow characters. Shadow characters have 2000 more HP and 20% less attack. This fundamentally hurts their playstyles outside of shadow frenzy, meaning that with the exception of Chie, Naoto, Yu, Yosuke and Mitsuru, most shadow characters are unviable really, since Burst and Awakening is so strong. Also, in 2.0, Shadow characters have been completely retooled to have a burst, and no longer carry over their SP. Instead, Shadow Frenzy is started through burst. Their stats have also been retooled, with most characters having a 10% attack reduction and 1000 more HP, and also, any combo that includes a shadow frenzy is unburstable by the opponent. This makes Shadow Characters the typical favorite for 2.0, and while we don't know how different 2.5 is, we can expect a shadow dominated meta going forward.

On the story side, there's a few things to mention. First, in the first Arena game, in order to get 100% you have to play certain character stories multiple times. This is because many characters have joke endings, and you need to get them for the game to declare you have 100%. I don't like the Arena story much haha

In Ultimax, there is a secret ending if you do both of the dialogue choices for Yu against Sho. I have no idea if you got this, but you didn't mention it so I'm assuming you didn't. This results in a final battle of Yu and Sho with his newly integrated Persona that, in my opinion, really brings his character into a stronger light. Its also shown that Sho is a wild card that rejected Igor's contract, which is FASCINATING and that alone makes me want to see more of him. I would play a Sho focused spin-off. Also, I am not sure if you're aware of this, but the Adachi DLC comes with an Adachi story mode that offers a view of the story from Adachi's point of view, and I think develops Adachi's character in a natural light.

[anxhelovucinaj]

No mention for adachi's campaign in ultimax?
Well that's disappointing

[phantomanchild]

Pretty nice, but one thing you didn't mention is Adachi and his story. Goddamn its so good, really shows his development after P4, but that dosen't make him less of an ass then before, and that's why we love him. He's just plain fun in the story and he steals the spotlight every single time, especially in the end.

[SapphireCarbuncle]

Personally I felt like Sho Minazuki and Kagatsuchi were the biggest symptom of how much Persona 4's legacy shifted as the theme transitioned from "facing and accepting the truth of things" to "bonds between friends is the true strength". The anime kinda started that trend, but Kagatsuchi's last words being how "he lost to something as weak as bonds" really speaks to how much the theme central to Persona 4 was ironically lost to the fog of merchandising and spinoffs.

[personaever]

1. Arcsystem Works is Known both for Guilty Gear & Blazblue. Primarily though of Guilty Gear.
For more Info, ASW has 2 Teams (Red & Blue Team) in developing Guilty Gear & Blazblue.

For Blazblue & the P4 Arena Games, Team Blue.

2. In the 1st Game, each of their Story is to be considered Canon, though to be considered as Different Timelines becuz this is Persona & specifically Megaten afterall, a Series where multiple Timelines or a Multi-universe exists.
But to have a Concrete Main Timeline Story, the following Important Stories that you would want to play are
Labrys
Yu
Elizabeth
Mitsuru
Naoto

3. For one thing, I believe that the Story Mode should had more of Blazblue's Artwork & Design so the Story could look visually better...

4. The only Problem of P4 A.Ultimax to me is that Sho didn't really have his own Story like Labrys. In the Manga, he has more Story...

5. You forgot Adachi's Story & Growth, lol.

[Wolfedge]

I love the Arena games; they're what got me into the Megaten series in the first place.

As a fighting game fan though...
it's funny how they're the "accessible, casual-friendly" fighter back in the day, quarter-circle motions only for specials and light attack autocombos and all yet nowadays the bar was (somehow) lowered ever lower with "one-button+direction" specials and autocombos that starts from any buttons.

[skyslashnova]

Part of me finds it funny that the Persona series has some great narratives and the Persona fighting game managed to end up with the classic fighting game narrative of a fighting tournament.

[Paolo]

I simply love the reviews of this man, covers most information efficiently and not boring. Amazing job.

Now I wanna play Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

[Deoxys_Used_Mimic]

Gripes aside, Shadow Labrys vs Sho was the *hype-est* thing for me in that game.
…but Adachi’s story was pretty neat too.

[gensationaldraws]

I will always say this, The story of the Arena duology is always greatly undersold. Your relatively kind analysis (compared to others) is greatly appreciated.

I will say, Ultimax suffered from time constraints. Loose plot threads, underutilization of Sho, Minazuki and Hi-no-kagutsuchi. Arena is objectively the more polished experience.

Though a more realised version of the Ultimax story does exist. It has yet to be officially translated. And that would be the manga from Rokuro Saito. Should that happen, I couldn't reccomend it more than enough. It truly taps into what Ultimax should have been.

[rivp]

I’m so incredibly addicted to your videos, you definitely make some of the best review content on YouTube