Info about Persona 4 Arena Ultimax:

Official game description:
  
The stakes are Ultimate, the tension is Maximum, the fight is… the ULTIMAX!  
Experience the latest entry into the beloved Persona 4 series with a thrilling fighting twist.  
Join the heroes as they combat an army of Shadows in the P-1 CLIMAX!  
Key Features include:
---------------------
*   Ultimax Version - Includes all previously released Persona 4 Arena Ultimax content, including the original Persona 4 Arena story  
*   A Deep Roster of Playable Characters – Persona 3 fan-favorites and “Shadow” versions offer a range of fighting styles to choose from  
*   Dual audio - Choose between Japanese and English VO  
*   Steam Achievements and Trading Cards
This game may be updated over time and have paid for and free additional content released for it. Please be aware that this may increase the minimum requirements for running the game above the specification stated below.

Release date: Mar 16, 2022

Categories: Fighting Game, Visual Novel, Story-driven Gameplay, Arcade, Character Interaction, Multiplayer, 2D Side-scrolling, Action

Feature scans:
- Proton/Linux: score 10; verdict: Works Well; summary: The game generally works well on Steam OS with Proton, with only minor issues related to menu controls and some performance quirks in offline mode. The overall compatibility with Linux and Proton is positive.
- Steam Deck: score 55; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The game has mixed reviews on the Steam Deck. While some users report that it works well despite being marked as unsupported, significant issues include display problems such as black screens and missing animations, controller configuration difficulties, and varying reports on performance and stability. These issues impact the overall user experience, particularly in story mode and multiplayer scenarios.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $15.00 - $30.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence suggests that while the game is considered worth the money, it is often recommended to purchase it on sale. The mention of $30 as a good price for the amount of content provided, along with multiple recommendations to buy it on sale, indicates that the community finds the game valuable but expects it to be priced lower than its full price. The term 'Preço justo' (fair price) also supports the idea that the game is reasonably priced but better value when discounted.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 30.0h
  - Story completion: 8.0h
  - Session length: 2.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides several key points about the playtime for Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. One user mentions that they spent around ten hours playing, but felt that much of this time was spent repeating story content. Another user suggests that the main story can be completed in under 8 hours if repetitive sections are skipped. Additionally, it is noted that each chapter can take 2 to 3 hours to complete, indicating a significant time investment for the story mode. The evidence of '1000 hours' is excluded as it is an outlier and likely refers to total playtime including repetitive or multiplayer sessions rather than typical story or game completion times.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game starts with a steep learning curve and repetitive storylines but becomes fun with local multiplayer and the Golden Arena mode.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Engaging in local multiplayer and the golden arena mode
  - Time to anchor: 1h 0m
  - Friction: Steep learning curve; Repetitive storylines; Challenging for newcomers
  - Unlock drivers: Local multiplayer; Golden Arena mode
  - Conditions: Playing with friends or family; Using a controller; Engaging in multiplayer modes
- Player Archetypes:
  - Persona Series Fan (buy)
    - Motivation: Story and character development
    - Playstyle: Engages with the game primarily for the story and character interactions, often using auto mode for combat.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Persona series fan; Story enthusiast
    - Reference games: Persona 3; Persona 4
  - Competitive Fighter (buy)
    - Motivation: Mastery of combat and competition
    - Playstyle: Focuses on improving combat skills, experimenting with different characters and strategies, and competing in multiplayer modes.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Fighting game enthusiast; Competitive player
    - Reference games: Guilty Gear; BlazBlue
  - Casual Observer (no buy)
    - Motivation: Entertainment and casual gaming
    - Playstyle: Prefers to watch or engage with the story passively, rather than actively playing the game.
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: Casual gamer; Non-fighting game fan
    - Reference games: Visual novels; Story-driven games


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Highly praised fighting mechanics (weight 0.62): The game is celebrated for its deep and technical fighting system, offering a snappy, stylish, and enjoyable experience for both skilled players and newcomers.
- Compelling and well-crafted story (weight 0.52): The story mode is noted for being interesting, engaging, and well-done, adding significant value to the game.
- Engaging and enjoyable gameplay (weight 0.45): Players find the gameplay fun and enjoyable with high replayability, good mechanics, and entertaining combat systems.
- Crossover with Persona 3 and 4 (weight 0.33): The game features characters from Persona 3 and 4, which is a major draw for fans of the series, adding familiarity and value.
- Excellent soundtrack (weight 0.16): The soundtrack is highly praised for its quality, featuring a mix of jazz and rock that enhances the gaming experience.
- High-quality voice acting and animations (weight 0.16): The game includes full voice-over and excellent voice acting, along with good animations, contributing to a polished experience.
- Diverse and unique character roster (weight 0.15): The game offers a large and diverse roster of 37 characters, each feeling unique and adding to the game's appeal.
- Rich character interactions (weight 0.14): The game features well-developed and interesting character interactions, adding depth to the story and gameplay.
- Golden Arena mode adds depth (weight 0.11): The Golden Arena mode is highlighted for its fun and engaging gameplay, featuring character leveling, unlocks, and RPG progression.
- Rollback netcode for online play (weight 0.11): The inclusion of rollback netcode improves the online experience, making it smoother and more enjoyable.
- Enjoyable with friends (weight 0.09): The game is noted for being fun to play against friends, making it a good choice for casual play.
- Abundant offline content (weight 0.08): The game offers a lot of content for both single-player and offline modes, providing plenty of gameplay options.
- Unique mechanics with Personas (weight 0.08): The game introduces unique mechanics with Personas, adding a layer of strategy and depth to the combat system.

Common complaints:
- Low player base and online issues (weight 0.37): The game suffers from a lack of active players, making it difficult to find online matches. The online community is not as active as in mainstream fighting games, and there are issues with matchmaking and server stability.
- Repetitive story and gameplay (weight 0.34): The story mode is criticized for being repetitive, with similar plots and dialogue repeated from different character perspectives. This repetition extends to the combat and overall gameplay, making the experience tedious.
- Not beginner-friendly (weight 0.12): The game is noted for being difficult to learn and not recommended for beginners or non-competitive players. This steep learning curve can be a barrier for new players.
- Not worth the price (weight 0.09): Many players feel that the game is not worth its full price, suggesting that it may not be worth playing at all, especially given the various issues and lack of content.
- Unskippable content (weight 0.08): Players are frustrated by the inability to skip battles and cutscenes, which can make the gameplay experience feel forced and tedious.
- Excessive fanservice (weight 0.08): The game is criticized for having excessive fanservice and unnecessary scenes, including the sexualization of female characters, which can be off-putting to some players.
- Control and operation issues (weight 0.08): Players have reported difficulties with keyboard controls and overall operation of the game, making it challenging for those new to the genre.
- Limited story content and choices (weight 0.08): The story mode is criticized for having limited content and choices, which affects character development and overall player engagement.
- Poor quality illustrations and videos (weight 0.07): The game's illustrations, visual novel backgrounds, and videos are criticized for being amateurish and suffering from graininess and compression artifacts.
- Poor audio quality (weight 0.07): The game's audio is criticized for being poorly mixed and compressed, with very low audio levels, detracting from the overall experience.

Gameplay feedback:
- Story mode with visual novel elements (weight 0.41): The story mode is a significant feature, offering visual novel-style cutscenes and multiple character perspectives. However, some players find the story mode repetitive.
- Arcade-style fighting game mechanics (weight 0.34): The game is noted for its traditional 2D fighting mechanics, similar to other titles by the same developer. It features fast-paced, combo-heavy gameplay with high mobility.
- Integration of Persona elements (weight 0.24): The game incorporates Persona elements, including character-specific mechanics and abilities, as well as Persona attacks and All-Out Attacks. It is set in the Persona universe and features characters from the series.
- Unique character mechanics and fighting styles (weight 0.16): Each character has unique mechanics and fighting styles, adding diversity and depth to the gameplay.
- Online and multiplayer modes (weight 0.14): The game offers online play and multiplayer modes, enhancing the overall gaming experience with rollback netcode for improved online performance.
- Auto-battle and auto-combo features (weight 0.13): The game includes auto-battle and auto-combo features, making it more accessible to players who may not be familiar with fighting games.
- Golden Arena mode with progression (weight 0.12): Golden Arena mode is highlighted for its character progression and RPG elements, providing a unique gameplay experience.
- High difficulty and diverse game modes (weight 0.11): The game is known for its high difficulty and offers various game modes, including arcade and story modes.
- Character interactions and balance (weight 0.1): The game features character interactions and a balance system, contributing to the overall depth and enjoyment of the gameplay.
- Unique fighting game ideas (weight 0.07): The game introduces unique fighting game ideas and features diverse character abilities and fighting styles.
- Complex achievement system (weight 0.06): The game includes a complex achievement system, adding an extra layer of challenge and replayability.

Performance notes:
- Lack of optimization (weight 0.25): There are numerous reports of optimization issues, including FPS drops, lag, and general performance problems.
- Frequent disconnections and crashes (weight 0.21): Players experience frequent disconnections, crashes, and random freezes, affecting the overall gameplay experience.
- Sound quality issues (weight 0.13): There are reports of poor sound quality, including disproportionately loud sound effects and low in-game music volume.
- Rollback netcode improves online play (weight 0.12): The implementation of rollback netcode has been noted to improve the online gaming experience.
- Specific technical issues (weight 0.11): There are specific technical issues such as black screen problems on high refresh rate monitors, broken windowed fullscreen mode, and video playback issues.
- Visual and graphical issues (weight 0.1): There are various visual and graphical issues, including stretched and pixelated cinematics on ultrawide screens, lack of upscaling, and low-resolution graphics.
- Steam Deck compatibility (weight 0.09): The game has compatibility issues with Steam Deck, but some players report success with ProtonGE.
- Settings and compatibility issues (weight 0.08): Players report issues with settings not saving, controller problems, and general compatibility issues.
- Performance on higher resolutions (weight 0.03): Many players report crashing and performance issues when running the game at higher resolutions.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for Persona series fans (weight 0.31): This game is highly recommended for fans of the Persona series, particularly those who have played Persona 3 and Persona 4. It is suggested to experience these games first before trying this one.
- Recommended for fighting game fans (weight 0.23): The game is recommended for fans of fighting games, especially those who enjoy titles like Tekken or Guilty Gear. It may not be suitable for fans of Smash Bros or Street Fighter.
- Wait for a sale (weight 0.14): Several reviews suggest waiting for a sale to purchase the game, indicating that it may not be worth the full price for some players.
- Buy with caution due to port issues (weight 0.1): Some reviews advise buying the game with caution due to port issues, indicating that there may be technical problems that need to be addressed.
- Not recommended for casual players (weight 0.07): The game is not recommended for casual players or those not interested in the series, as it may not cater to their preferences.
- Recommended for story enthusiasts (weight 0.07): The game is recommended for those who are interested in the story, suggesting that the narrative is a significant aspect of the game.
- Worth trying even if not a Persona fan (weight 0.04): The game is considered worth trying even for those who are not fans of the Persona series, suggesting it has broader appeal.
- Desire for more characters as DLC (weight 0.04): There is a desire among players for additional characters, such as Joker and Makoto, to be added as DLC, indicating a want for more content.
- Encourages development and updates (weight 0.04): Players are encouraging the developers to continue updating and improving the game, indicating a desire for ongoing support and enhancements.
- Desire for a sequel with P5 cast (weight 0.03): There is a desire among players for a sequel that includes characters from Persona 5, indicating interest in future installments.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.2): Players are frustrated with various aspects of the game, including the difficulty in learning and mastering its complex mechanics, especially for beginners. Technical issues such as lag, input delay, and frequent disconnections also contribute to this frustration. Additionally, the repetitive nature of the story mode, character balance issues, and the lack of active players in the online mode are significant pain points.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.18): Players enjoy the game's story mode, character interactions, and the unique blend of visual novel and fighting game elements. The crossover story and familiar characters from the Persona series, along with the deep fighting system and fun gameplay mechanics, contribute to a positive experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.12): Players are excited about the unique mechanics and the crossover of characters from Persona 3 and 4. The detailed gameplay mechanics, high-quality story, and the overall positive impression of the game's intensity and speed also contribute to this excitement.
- Disappointment (weight 0.12): Players express disappointment with the game's story mode, which is perceived as boring, uninteresting, and poorly executed. The lack of active online players, repetitive gameplay, and various technical issues such as crashes and performance problems also contribute to this disappointment.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.11): Players are satisfied with the game's story mode, character interactions, and the overall gameplay experience. The auto-battle feature, accessibility features, and the game's value and appeal, especially for fans of the series, contribute to this satisfaction.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.04): Players feel nostalgic due to the game's connections to previous Persona games, including familiar characters and story elements. The emotional impact of seeing the growth of characters from previous games and the references to past experiences also evoke this nostalgia.
- Joy (weight 0.03): Players experience joy from the game's visuals, soundtrack, and character interactions. The emotional impact of the story, enjoyable gameplay mechanics, and the ability to play as favorite characters contribute to this joy.
- Hope (weight 0.01): Players express hope for future updates, content, and the potential addition of new characters. The encouragement to play single-player and revive the online mode also contributes to this hope.
- Happy (weight 0.01): Players are happy with the ability to play as their favorite characters and the beautiful art style. The enjoyment of the game despite not being good at it and the fun aspects of the gameplay contribute to this happiness.
- Appreciation (weight 0.01): Players appreciate the combat mechanics, strategic depth, and the diverse cast of characters. The cool mechanics and excellent soundtrack also contribute to this appreciation.
- Hopeful (weight 0.01): Players are hopeful for future updates, storyline developments, and the potential addition of new characters as DLC. The wish for the game to be transformed into a 3D version like Devil May Cry 5 also contributes to this hope.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by the unexpectedly good quality of the game and positive experiences with connectivity. The game's overall positive impression contributes to this surprise.
- Happiness (weight 0.01): Players are happy with the announcement of the PC port, which includes netcode and all DLCs. The enjoyment of the arcade mode also contributes to this happiness.
- Excited (weight 0.01): Players are excited about achieving significant milestones in the game, such as platinating it. The overall positive impression of the game and its characters also contributes to this excitement.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Players are angry about the poor quality of the port and the issues it has. Specific character dislikes, such as Teddie, also contribute to this anger.
- Amusement (weight 0.01): Players are amused by humorous scenarios involving specific characters, such as Adachi. The mention of specific player experiences also contributes to this amusement.}