Matt: With smash hits like Dragon Ball FighterZ, Granblue Fantasy Versus, and the upcoming DNF Duel, Arc System Works has made a name for themselves as the go-to studio for adapting fan-favorite franchises into fighting games, and it all started a decade ago with Persona 4 Arena. A fighting game based on a lengthy, high school-focused JRPG like Persona seemed like an odd choice at the time, but its resounding success (which neatly coincided with Persona’s own explosion in popularity) proved that ArcSys can make a fighting game out of pretty much anything. Now its sequel—Persona 4 Arena Ultimax—has been remastered for modern consoles, including features and balance updates that were previously exclusive to the arcade version. Things have never been better for fans of fighting games and Persona, though there’s some reason to hesitate if you’re mainly looking to play against opponents online.

Ultimax is a traditional fighter that adapts not only the characters, but also the style and gameplay elements of Persona 4’s world. Like most ArcSys games, controls are kept simple; a quarter circle is the most complicated thing you’ll be doing with your controller for any given move. Depth and complexity instead come from context and knowing when it’s the right time to take advantage of your fighter’s arsenal. Mechanics from the Persona franchise appear such as the All-Out Attack, status ailments, and even a “1 More!” system that allows you to seamlessly transition from one attack into another with no delay.

But what really gives Ultimax its identity as a Persona fighter is, well, your persona! Each character brings a persona alongside them to fight in battle with half of your moveset—and buttons—dedicated to using it. A persona’s attacks are powerful and often have the potential to turn the tide of battle, but they can’t be used thoughtlessly. Personas have their own dedicated stamina represented by the tarot cards beneath your health bar, and being hit while your persona is on the field will destroy one of these cards. When you run out of cards your persona will break, and any moves involving it will be unusable for a few seconds. A few seconds might not sound like much, but in the fast paced action of a fighting game, this can be the difference between life and death.

If all this sounds overwhelming, then don’t worry. Arc System Works has some of the best tutorials in the business, and while Ultimax’s decade-old lessons may not be as comprehensive as some of their more recent releases, they still have everything you need to get started. The tutorial starts with the very basics like moving and jumping, eventually working your way up to the most complex context-sensitive actions in the game, making sure you can pull off each one before continuing. Beginner-friendly features like auto-combos from mashing the attack button and simplified controls for single player modes also help to guarantee that you’ll be able to pull off some cool moves even if you’ve never played a fighting game before.

And speaking of single player content, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax has a hefty story mode featuring existing characters from the Persona series alongside new, original fighters. I played a good chunk of the story back when Persona 4 Arena first released, but I’ll admit that Persona 4 was never my favorite game of the modern trilogy. For that reason I figured a fresh take would be best and handed the story review over to Alex Orona, who never played it before.

Alex: Ultimax features two full-length stories, including both its own original content and the entire story mode from the original Persona 4 Arena. Both games pit fan-favorite characters from Persona 3 and Persona 4 together in a mystery that is both intriguing and original. Fully voice acted, this story finds an organic way to bring all the characters back but also expands on some, finding out where their lives have landed after the credits have rolled in their perspective games. It’s great to see the S.E.E.S. and Investigation team back together, like old friends you haven’t seen in a while.The voice acting isn’t bad but not exactly what I had in my head for the characters so be forewarned that it may not transfer one to one with the expectations (as a first timer to this story).

Another thing to be prepared for is that the story is presented in a lengthy visual novel form. The story beats are explained multiple times from every character’s perspective, so there are a lot of repeated scenes and conversations, not to mention the sheer duration of said text conversations. At some points you could go up to 20 minutes before getting into a single round fight that lasts a minute, then back to the novella. It can feel absolutely daunting, but the fan service is there if you keep pushing forward.

The story itself ranges from the original Arena content to new follow ups with Persona 4, Persona 3, and Adachi DLC stories. These provide extra pieces to the already complex story of the mysterious Labrys and Sho Minazuki whose existence brings some dark tones to what we know of the Persona world. I will say that these new characters became welcome favorites to an already rich and beloved lore. You just need to dedicate yourself to long stretches of reading to get the nuance.

Matt: And while you’re here Alex, you were the one who personally played the Switch version of the game. How does that hold up on performance?

Alex: Bringing this port to the Nintendo Switch is a definite win for fighting game fans. There’s complex systems that are just as flashy and fluid as the original. Arc Sys did a great job optimizing the hardware to keep the game running silky smooth. There’s no notable latency in both handheld and docked mode plus the load times remain snappy, so the pace isn’t bogged down. If your question is on fidelity and quality, the Switch version remains in parity with other console versions.

Matt: Unfortunately, there is one big elephant in the room with this port, and it’s one that’s going to impact Switch users especially hard. Ultimax is launching with delay-based netcode for online play rather than the popular rollback solution that most fighting game fans prefer nowadays. The difference between delay-based and rollback netcode is well outside the scope of this review, but suffice it to say that rollback is widely agreed to be better. Delay-based netcode is what leads to the slow, stuttering online lag that Nintendo fans would best recognize from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Maker 2 that seriously degrades the online experience.

Atlus has promised that an update later this year will revamp the online netcode to use rollback, but the Switch version was noticeably absent from that announcement. Even on PlayStation I’ve already encountered issues while playing online, and while I’m happy that my copy of the game will eventually have a significantly improved online mode, the reality that the Switch version might never receive that upgrade is a bitter pill to swallow. If you care about the quality of online matches in this game, then you may want to consider avoiding the Switch version, since it’ll objectively be the inferior version in a couple of months.

Alex: Persona 4 Arena Ultimax promises to be another high quality fighter that will satisfy both “fans of the series” but also hardcore fighting game enthusiasts. It may lose the casual player, but it’s got a lot of story to tell with complex mechanics. Of course, with auto combos there’s some wiggle room for newcomers, but this may not be the target audience.

Matt: Meanwhile as a fan of both Persona and fighting games, I can say pretty surely I am the target audience, and Ultimax is just as good now as it was a decade ago. This is the game that solidified my faith in Arc System Works as a developer, and they’ve only proven themselves more and more in the years since. Admittedly part of me would’ve preferred a sequel that also included the cast of Persona 5, but I’m not complaining about getting a chance to revisit one of the finest fighting games I’ve ever played.