Persona 4 Arena Ultimax New Trailer, Pre-Order, and Pricing Details Emerge

A PS3/360 Era Favorite is Coming to Modern Consoles/PC

Revealed through a new trailer and a press release, we now have some definitive details about the anticipated revival of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, a game that was previously only available on PS3 and Xbox 360. The game was released first in arcades in Japan but this flashy use of the Persona brand has been unfortunately collecting dust in the wake of several more accessible titles. Availability aside, fighting fans have delighted in the quirky mechanics and complex characters that range from a homerun baseball meter to a mini rhythm game as an ultimate. Persona is one of the strongest brands of Atlus and they’ve had an excellent track record with Arc System Works, a behemoth of a studio leading a new wave of incredible fighting games, so it makes sense to see a re-release. 

Let’s do a quick breakdown of the new details but know that for the most part, the core gameplay will remain similar to the most up-to-date versions with all of the previously released content. That said, the Japanese website apparently has more details on a Golden Arena Mode with RPG elements and character growth, as reported by NME. Exact gameplay updates such as frame data and other minute details will likely be detailed by dedicated fans or released in patch notes. Generally, anyone with an interest in fighting games or Persona should look into picking this up. Persona 4 fans should know that the story is continued in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, much like how Persona 5’s story was continued in Persona 5 Strikers. 

Something that is sorely missed though is the inclusion of rollback netcode, an absolute must for the future of any fighting game, especially since the celebrated release of Guilty Gear Strive. Considering that other Arc System Works legacy titles BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle and BlazBlue Centralfiction are both getting rollback updates, it seems weird that Persona 4 Arena Ultimax won’t be releasing with that feature. With Covid infection at high levels, in-person events are once again threatened, meaning that more value will be put into online events which (without rollback) will put Persona 4 Arena Ultimax back in the position it’s been in before. Longevity in the fighting game scene is incredibly important, so a rollback update is expected for P4AU.  

As far as platforms go, Ultimax will be released on March 17th on PC (Steam), Nintendo Switch, and PS4 which means it will also play on PS5 consoles. Both English and Japanese voiceover will be available with text and subtitles being in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese.

Pricing looks like this. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax retails at $29.99 USD on all platforms. A Midnight Channel Collection Steam bundle that includes Persona 4 Golden will be temporarily on sale at $34.99 USD, eventually increasing to $54.98 USD. Those who already own P4 Golden on Steam will save 30% on Arena Ultimax for a limited time.  

All in all, it’s great to see this game return. Yet, I still can’t help but yearn for it to release alongside a console version of Persona 4 Golden and the lack of rollback netcode will be a dealbreaker for some. We are in the middle of a new age of fighting games and anything lacking rollback is in danger of being left behind. 

More information about Persona 4 Arena Ultimax can be found on the official website.