Perhaps Persona 4 Arena Ultimax was re-released as an amusing reminder for why there are still fingerprints on my TV or perhaps it’s down to Atlus’s infamously odd release strategy, but there’s one thing for sure, no one’s complaining about this choice as part of Atlus’s 25th-anniversary celebration, with the excellent 2D fighter now brought to modern consoles. 

Originally released in 2013 as a sequel to Persona 4 Arena, Ultimax contained adjustments and improvements to the gameplay mechanics while also providing a continuation in the story. It also had quite a lot of DLC, even including Arena‘s story, which now comes as standard alongside the Japanese audio.

If you are unfamiliar with the story of the Persona series (itself an off-shoot of the darker Shin Megami Tensei series), then this description is probably not going to help, as it doesn’t make a great deal of sense.

Essentially, it centers around high-schoolers who each control a ‘Persona’, powerful supernatural entities converted from an evil ‘Shadow’ spawned by their own negative thoughts. Armed with their Personas and together with their friends, they battle evil Persona owners in the same mysterious dimension from which the shadows originate, and is one that’s accessed……through a TV. Instead of the darker, moral side-choosing of the SMT games, Persona has a relaxed anime charm, and it’s likely this aspect that you can partly attribute the huge success of the super stylish Persona 5 to.

Disappointingly, there’s no trace to be found of the more recent Persona 5 and its characters, but unless you already own the original, there’s little reason why fans of the series – or fighting games for that matter – would come away disappointed. 

This is partly because the amount of content available here is absurd, with the voiced visual novel/fighting story modes from Arena and Ultimax‘s own at the very least 20 hours, as well as excellent Arcade, Score Attack and Golden Arena single-player modes to supplant the online and local multiplayer modes. 

Arena‘s narrative (a continuation of Persona 3+4) tells the story of the P-1 Climax Grand Prix, a strange battle tournament, used as bait to lure the cast to the TV world and is told through 9 different characters’ perspectives. Ultimax picks up where Arena left off but uses 3 separate branching timelines for its chapters – as well providing the ability to choose who you fight as when in a group. It’s more of a warm hug for fans than it is a shake-up in the state of affairs, bringing in new characters to provide the standard drama, but it’s still an enjoyable ride. 

For those who aren’t particularly interested in the story though, you can take solace in the fact that the Arc Systems Works-developed battle system is undoubtedly the star of the show having lost none of its allure in the last decade, with a well-balanced roster of characters with distinct movesets and characteristics. 

It’s not the largest roster in the world, but the action is lightning fast and the animation is beautifully smooth, emanating personality from the 2D models that make the action feel alive right from the well-designed intro screens and graphics. This is also helped by the fact that the game is never silent, with an exciting soundtrack supplanted with constantly chatting characters and a brilliant in-battle commentator that comments on your progress, praising you when you come back from behind to win and bemoaning your bad fortune if you lose from an advantageous position.  

If you do happen to find it difficult though, fear not, there are 3 training modes to help improve your skills including a challenge mode that shows short videos of how the move actually looks – perplexingly, a feature missing from most fighting games – and breaks combos down into sections while showing you which parts you’ve done successfully on the screen. Further accessibility is provided by being able to launch a powerful combo by simply pressing ‘Square’ 5 times and another by just holding ‘Square’ down long enough for it to build up different levels on a meter. If that wasn’t enough, there’s even an auto mode that will fight the matches for you, before or at any point during the fight.

None of this is to say that Ultimax is easy or overly simplistic though, as not a single soul will profess that the Risky level (the hardest of 5 difficulty levels) is a walk in the park and the battle mechanics, similar to Arc Systems Works’s Granblue Fantasy: Versus, are not only highly approachable but are deceptively deep, with numerous defensive and attacking features for those willing to put the time in to learn them, such as cancels and bursts which extend combos. Additionally, the SP meter (the bars at the bottom of the screen) also facilitates instant blocks and attacks without filling up too quickly during the fight, balancing the gameplay without the ability to spam any one particular feature.

The impressive amount of content doesn’t end with the story either with the 3 battle modes adding something different in each instance. Arcade mode adds a bit more story for each character with a set amount of enemies, Score Attack allows you to select different courses and difficulties and Golden Arena goes back to its JRPG roots with a level-up system with customizable moves in a limitless dungeon-like framework for the battles. You can even choose a partner that will provide you with extra skills and commentary. This makes each fight feel distinctly different from the last with a host of different variables changing the state of play on the turn of a dime – and it’s awesome. Individual battles are fun enough as it is, but these modes provide legitimate variety, and you can lose hours and hours getting stuck into them.

If I’m being greedy, I would have loved to have seen a 3-vs-3 tag mode, as well as the different fighting styles, would really compliment and contrast with each other well, but it’s really hard to pick any faults with what we’ve been provided with here. Would you like more cake with your cake, good sir/madam?  

If online is your thing then Ultimax doesn’t rest its laurels in that regard either. Admittedly, it has launched without the must-have in online gaming – rollback netcode – but in the few 1-vs-1 lobby fights that I had, there weren’t enough issues that won’t tide over the mode until it arrives in the summer (to all consoles but the Nintendo Switch).

I often bemoan barebone re-releases as quick cash-ins from publishers trying to revitalize their IP with minimal effort, and while Persona 4 Arena Ultimax does fit that criteria (as the DLC and Japanese audio were already technically available), in all honesty, it was already an excellent 2D fighting package that didn’t need improving. And with rollback netcode on the horizon to give the game more of a modern relevancy, there’s never been a better opportunity to jump in.

It’s apparent within moments of starting Aztec Forgotten Gods that you’ve stumbled upon something fascinating and unique. 

Opening in a mysterious cave that Indiana Jones wouldn’t feel out of place in and armed with a gauntlet that allows you to fly and attack stylishly through the air, you are put in control of a well-designed character, introduced to the game’s mechanics and mythology before being whisked away from that character forever and transported ahead in time to a modern Aztec civilization with flying cars and bright lights.

This unexpecting beginning then fosters an excellent and heartfelt story sandwiched between the gameplay of flying around this futuristic Aztec city and fighting humungous gods. Imagine the Aztec/Mayan design and structures in Sonic Adventure painted with a Cyberpunk brush. It’s such a cool idea that there are even plans for a live-action movie, I mean, really – what’s not to like?

It should perhaps come as no surprise that up-and-coming Mexican developer Lienzo was capable of such a feat though, as they also merged great aesthetics with Mexican culture in their last title, Mulaka, which focused on the little-known Tarahumara. Combining the secluded tribe’s folk stories and history with an exciting action-adventure world, it created something culturally significant in an industry that lacks diversity.

The story has our heroine Achtli help her mother uncover the truth of the scientific research they are doing on an ancient dig site, and inadvertently unleashes world-destroying gods onto the world.

This is where the prior-mentioned gauntlet comes in and it is this huge attachment that does all the heavy lifting in the gameplay department. It allows you to traverse your city to make your way to the next plot point, but it also works the same way in the boss fights, which are huge grandstand set pieces, allowing you to blast around the huge enemies looking for weaknesses.

For a gameplay mechanic that is so integral to the game, thankfully, it is a joy to use, as the controls are flexible and easy to learn. You can launch yourself upwards from a standing start, blast yourself forwards from the ground and adjust your trajectory mid-flight.

Mind you, the gauntlet isn’t just a glorified flying Iron Man rip-off, as it’s also your only method of offensive. As you progress through the game you are given upgrades (in addition to ones you can purchase) – which add to your available attacks – that focus on each new boss’s weakness, so that by the end, you have a satisfying arsenal of moves such as a super punch, a ground stomp, and a slicing projectile.

The city itself also can be used as a parkour-like playground. You can grab onto rails and run along them, jump up structures like Spider-Man or slingshot yourself off them for a boost to your stamina, which flying slowly decreases. You can even land on the train that runs around the city or catch a ride on any of the flying vehicles or boats that run around the city. 

This makes for a grand old time of just flying around with no goal and for no good reason – you do it just because you can, and it’s a blast (pun intended). If you did want something to do outside of the main story, the world also provides distractions in the form of purchasing different hairstyles, costumes, and gauntlet upgrades as well as minigames challenges like races and fights in order to earn in-game currency for said shops.

You can even talk to every single NPC that walks around the main city square which is yet another aspect that will make you wonder how this was made by such a small team. With this effort, Lienzo was essentially aiming for the stars, and considering how high you can actually fly, it doesn’t seem like they were actually that far off.

On the flip side of that coin, however, there are aspects of the game where the reality of a smaller budget clashes with its tall ambitions, but other than NPC designs that might make you do a double-take, there aren’t any that particularly affect the core experience. Yes, the map isn’t as feature-filled as it could be, and, true, the graphics and animation are at times incomparable to more expensively-made alternatives on the market, but the key is that the game never loses sight of its strengths – its empathetic story and epic battles – creating something both compact and impactful.

Other than the occasionally poor-quality visuals and boring fight though, every other aspect is like the cherry on the cake of this sub 10-hour action-adventure. There are only 5 human characters involved in the story, but their characterization and personalities are rich and believable. Humour, grief, and friendship are weaved together effortlessly and with every relationship given time to grow, scenes have an emotional weight – a hugely important aspect in any story that wants to take itself seriously – and can be really quite moving. 

There is a particular scene where you need to separate from a character who means a lot to Achtli, and in-game this is as simple as walking across and exiting a map, but based on what it would mean for her, you won’t want to make the journey. Simply put – there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

Aiding the story is the very expressive – albeit repetitive – animation of character models in interactions which is excellently paired with emotive noises at the beginning of each sentence. It gives a palpable emotion and humanity in each conversation. As someone who gets lost in the Yakuza series for games at a time – with their voiceless side missions and often wooden expressions – this approach to conversation scenes is like a breath of fresh air.

It would be remiss of me if I went without mentioning the titular Aztec gods which feature heavily throughout, as they don’t disappoint, with designs inspiring awe and fear in our heroine who already bears the pressure and fate of the entire city on her inexperienced shoulders. 

Aztech Forgotten Gods is a highly ambitious project that undoubtedly has room for improvement, but considering what this action-adventure not only aims for but also achieves in under 10 hours of playtime, it can only be considered a resounding success. I for one hope that this isn’t the last we see of our witty heroine and Aztec gods as the lore and world is teeming with potential.