New information regarding playable characters and modes have come out for the Persona 4 Arena sequel, Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax. If you weren’t aware, the game is a 2D fighter spin-off of the original Persona 4 RPG. The fighting style of the game is classified as an anime fighter where the gameplay focuses on fast, flashy combos and tons of movement options.
Director Kazuhisa Wata admits that the new playable character, Rise Kujikawa, has been requested by fans for some time. Being an idol, Rise uses a microphone and her Persona Himiko amplifies her voice to attack. She is being called a more defensive type of character that uses music notes as projectiles. Rise’s Instant Kill move is called True Story. If you have played Persona 4 Golden or seen the anime, this should be familiar as she performs the song on stage.
Also noted is that her shadow self will appear as well, but for reasons unknown to us at this time. We can expect different performances from her as well.
Both characters make an appearance in ATLUS’s new trailer for the game.
With Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax’s story mode, we have found out that players will be able to find out what happened in the events taking place after Persona 4 from both the Persona 3 and Persona 4 groups’ perspectives. In the visual novel style, there will be two distinct routes for each group.
Finally, information regarding the new mode, Golden Arena, have been detailed. Golden Arena is to be a mode where players can choose their favorite characters and boost their stats with four courses and boss battles. Wata states that part of the purpose for this new mode is for players who “struggle at fighting games” to “offset their weaknesses.”
While Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax is currently only in Japanese arcades at this time, they have a console release date set for August 28th 2014. The game is expected to release later this year in the West.
