Platform fighting games are doing well for themselves lately. Aside from the hugely successful Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, the genre recently got a new innovator in the form of Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl, which brings a plethora of animated characters from Nickelodeon shows to the battlefield. What's more, Warner Bros. recently announced its own platform fighter in the form of MultiVersus, which has a unique focus on team battles. In contrast, 2021 has been a relatively quiet year for traditional fighting games, but 2022 and the near future could be different. During The Game Awards 2021, Atlus announced Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is getting remastered and released on Steam, PS4, and Switch, shaking up the fighting game genre.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax is a direct sequel to Persona 4 Arena, which marked a significant shift in genre for the Persona series. Nevertheless, both Persona 4 Arena games got praise for their delivery on the fighting game genre, so Ultimax's return seems good for the fighting game genre, both through its own mechanics and its use of known Persona characters rather than original fighters. There's another game in a similar situation. Riot Games' Project L is poised to take a wholly new look at League of Legends champions, too. Between these two titles from big names in the game industry, traditional fighting games might be kicking into a higher gear in coming years.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and Project L's Significance
Even though Atlus generally focuses on its RPGs, it brought a surprising amount of clever innovations to Persona 4 Arena. Like many others in its genre, Persona 4 Arena mixes light and heavy attacks with special attacks used through certain inputs, but notably, its special attacks spend SP, meaning players have to manage resources in this fighting game. Similarly, players can summon their Persona for certain attacks, but if the Persona takes enough damage, it's unusable for a while. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax kept and polished these mechanics, and since they're getting new life on current consoles, it's possible that other fighting game developers will consider the merits of resource management in making new games. It also could help get Persona's growing audience interested in traditional fighters.
Project L has potential to influence the course of fighting games too, even though it's probably much further away than Persona 4 Ultimax. A few aspects of Project L could prove to be influential, and one of them is the game's rollback netcode. Fighting games are notoriously hampered by weak Internet connections, so many fans have been calling for stronger netcode in these games. Project L may be a big step forward in making rollback netcode the industry standard. What's more, because it's built on an IP as famous and mainstream as League of Legends, Project L could be extremely influential in expanding the fighting game audience by encouraging LoL fans to look into similar titles.
Next Steps for the Fighting Genre
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These games are also showing up in the wake of some major players in the fighting game genre. Guilty Gear Strive just took home the Best Fighting Game award at The Game Awards 2021 thanks in part to its use of rollback netcode, resulting in much higher quality matches. The King of Fighters 15 will also release before Persona 4 Arena Ultimax next year, marking the long-awaited return of the King of Fighters franchise. As compelling as these games are, though, they're also recognizable mainstays of the genre, making them less likely to shake up the genre.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and Project L, however, have connections to very different corners of the industry that could change things. Not only can these games contribute new mechanics to the genre, but perhaps more importantly, they can contribute more fans. If Project L and P4AU serve as gateways to King of Fighters, Guilty Gear, Street Fighter, or any other traditional fighter, then the genre could be flourishing in a few years. The true impact of these games won't be seen for a while yet, but for now, the fighting game genre's future looks bright.
Persona 4 Arena Ultimax releases on March 17, 2022 for PC, PS4, and Switch.