Nowadays, it seems like the Persona series is everywhere. Persona 5 has taken the series to new heights, but it still stands on the shoulders of Persona 4 and its many spin-offs. One of those spin-offs is Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, a fighting game developed by Arc System Works.
For recent Persona converts, this game might be a nice surprise, as it not only pays loving homage to the characters and aesthetics of Persona 4, but is also quite beginner friendly for a fighting game. If they were interested in checking the game out, there’s a few characters who will make the learning process much smoother.
10 Akihiko Sanada
Since temporarily losing a persona to persona breaks are something newcomers to P4AU will likely be susceptible to, Akihiko presents a playstyle that isn’t punished too heavily by them. Since he only has 2 persona cards, his persona breaks easily, but also recovers from breaks much faster.
This plus his evasive, boxing playstyle and high health means he can get away with being a bit reckless. However, as a boxer he is very short ranged, and can easily be bullied by longer ranged characters. He does have a special resource to learn via his ‘cyclone meter’ though, so mastery is far from easy.
9 Labrys
For any players looking to take advantage of large attacks without being too reliant on their persona, Labrys might be the way to go. Her huge axe can cover a decent amount of the screen, making it easier to score hits at range.
The thing that holds Labrys back is mainly that she needs to already be winning to gain access to her full power. At an advanced level this is very hard to guarantee, but amongst beginners her strong basic tools won’t be outshined too much by the rest of the cast.
8 Yosuke Hanamura
A great pick for those who like to live in the fast lane, Yosuke is this game’s staple speedster. His base movement is some of the highest in the game, and he possesses some of the best aerial movement as well.
He also has some tricks up his sleeve as well, from status effects like poison and confusion, to one of the best ‘reversals’ (invincible attacks) in the game. The speed comes at the cost of a lot of health, but those who don’t want to get hit shouldn’t miss it.
7 Yukiko Amagi
Taking up the standard ‘zoner’ role, Yukiko, is a character that allows players to stay far from their opponents while dealing respectable damage. It’s a playstyle often favored by newbies who might be scared to fight at close range.
For these players, Amagi lets them have their space, and her extensive use of her persona can help players adapt to the game’s unique system faster. Although, this does mean that if her persona is broken, she won’t get it back for quite a while, and basically becomes defenseless.
6 Tohru Adachi
One feature of fighting games designed partly to help out newcomers are ‘comeback mechanics’, which make a character stronger as they lose health. P4AU does this via ‘awakening’ which activates at low health. Adachi is a character that makes great use of this.
His normal attacks outside awakening are nothing to scoff at, but once pushed into a corner, his awakened SP skill provides a host of buffs to his moves that make him a much more dangerous character, and give players the chance to inch out a victory.
5 Kanji Tatsumi
From Street Fighter’s Zangief to Tekken’s King, ‘grapplers’ are a staple of fighting games, and Kanji represents that archetype quite well. So for players familiar with or interested in grab-heavy playstyles, he is a solid pick.
Kanji is one of the slower characters in the game, which might make it hard to get hits in, but he receives high health to compensate. Plus, some of his moves can paralyze opponents, preventing them from moving normally and creating an opportunity to set up a powerful grab or combo.
4 Minazuki
His twin swords and edgy appearance might just attract players to him off sheer cool factor, so it’s a good thing that Minazuki is also rather easy to play, being a generally balanced character with many good options.
It might be hard to get to grips with, but he has several moves that let him teleport around and keep his opponents guessing, as well as counters to help him escape sticky situations. His persona moves tend to end slowly though, so persona breaks are a constant danger to look out for.
3 Mitsuru Kirijo
Mitsuru is one of the more popular characters from Persona 4, and as her use of a rapier might imply, she is a character who excels at poking from a medium range. She might not provide as much breathing room as Yukiko, but has just enough to give new players space to think.
As far as status effects go, she also has access to charm(which saps her opponent's SP meter to fill her own) and freeze which allows for easy starts to various combos. Her main shortcoming is her reliance on her SP meter, which might be hard for newcomers to manage.
2 Yu Narukami
As the protagonist of Persona 4, Yu gets the honor of being the beginner friendly, Ryu-type character for this game. Although his actual playstyle is more comparable to Ky Kiske from Guilty Gear, due to their shared use of swords.
He’s an all around fighter who’s sword provides him decent range. Yu has a bit of everything without requiring players to learn any unique mechanics just to play him. He also has a decent amount of persona cards, so isn’t the easiest to break, while also recovering from breaks fairly quickly.
1 Sho
While Yu is the safest choice for newcomers to try out, SHO is also a possible choice for many of the same reasons some might consider him not beginner friendly. Particularly, his lack of a persona, considering that persona are what set P4AU apart from other fighting games.
In a game defined by persona, SHO’s lack of one makes it harder to transition to or from other characters, but for those who might not be used to the persona system, he has no cards to break, and might be easier to grasp as a result. For others though, he might give a bad impression of what this game is truly like, so proceed with caution.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is out now on PS3, XBOX 360, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC.