Persona is a series that is rich with spin-offs. It’s been that way since Persona 4, so, as a big fan of Persona 5, I was what you might call moderately excited when they announced a Musou-style game developed by Omega Force. If you’re like most, you probably assumed Persona 5 Strikers would be a known quantity, a game like Hyrule Warriors or One Piece Pirate Warriors. Simply take the Persona IP and plugin Dynasty Warriors-style play. I assumed the same, and I’m delighted to tell you how wrong I was. Persona 5 Strikers is more Persona game than Musou game, and more action RPG than senseless beat’em up, and I couldn’t be more delighted by that.
Persona 5 Strikers (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Switch)
Developer: Omega Force, P-Studio
Publisher: Atlus
Released: February 20, 2020 (JP) | February 23, 2021
MSRP: $59.99
Strikers takes place when the Phantom Thieves reunite over summer vacation just a few months after the events of Persona 5, forcing us to strangely pretend that the much better ending of Royal never happened. In place of turn-based battles, the Phantom Thieves still form four-character parties and exploit enemy weaknesses via their weapons, magic, and guns, but this time all in action-based instanced battles. All the systems like bond levels and the main game calendar are still present though significantly trimmed down. You don’t get to manage your days since the plot is condensed into a linear road trip that has the kids seeing the sights and changing hearts across Japan. The social bond system is here too, though now it’s one single bond level for your entire crew.
You still get opportunities to get one on one time with each of your friends at landmarks and restaurants you encounter in the many cities the kids visit on their trip.
Combat is surprisingly engaging. As I mentioned above, you’re not dealing with the large swaths of enemies across a huge battlefield like in a typical Musou game. Instead, the dungeons, called Jails here rather than the Palaces of the original Persona 5, are filled with patrolling enemies. You can stealthily sneak up on enemies to get the upper hand in combat or wait for them to come to you, though doing the latter results in the Jail’s overall security level being raised.
Combat is instanced, though, unlike any other Musou game I have experience with. Much like in Persona’s original turn-based combat, you exploit enemy weaknesses level up your characters as well as their personas. Joker still possesses the wildcard ability allowing him to obtain multiple Personas and switch them on the fly. This easily makes him your most versatile party member, but every character still feels unique and fun to play despite being more or less the same functionally. As you progress, it becomes more about using Joker’s roster of Personas to fill the gaps in what the rest of the party is capable of.
Unlocking new Personas is handled the same as Persona 5. Joker can visit Lavenza in the Velvet Room to register new Personas he has found in dungeons and fuse those in his current roster to make more powerful ones.
Side-content feels more generic than most modern JRPG. You can tackle a list of requests from an online forum, as well as city-specific requests from other members of the Phantom Thieves. Unless your hell-bent on unlocking every Persona, only the character-specific requests are worth your time as they lead to more character-driven moments that make the writing here stand out.
The story that brings our Phantom Thieves back to their life of crime all comes back to the reemergence of the mysterious meta-verse and how it all seems to be tied to an enigmatic new digital assistant (voiced by Siri’s original VA) that leads the kids to explore Jails, a new Meta-verse construct that operates on a whole different level than a Palace, enveloping the cognition of an entire city. The initial hook can feel a bit hamfisted, but it goes to some intriguing places, and the real joy comes from the moments of having this cast of characters back together again. Newcomers Sophia and Zenckichi also keep things interesting though I find myself missing everyone’s best boy, Goro Akechi.
Atlus seems to want this game to be accessible to even those that haven’t played Persona 5, but that concept is pretty baffling. This is a direct sequel to Persona 5. Anyone going in expecting to play a Warriors-style game without paying attention to the narrative will find themselves slowed down by hours of cut scenes and be equally baffled by how different the gameplay is from what a Musou game typically is.
On the technical end, the PS4 version runs at a stable 30 FPS on my PS5. The slowdown seen by Hyrule Warriors on Switch had me hesitant to pick it up there, but these smaller instanced battles may fair better on the handheld, though I haven’t verified that myself.
Verdict: I loved Persona 5 Strikers, but it’s a hard recommend for anyone who isn’t a super Persona fan. This game is a delightful sequel, and it’s more Persona than Musou. That might be enough for some to write it off, but I think Omega Force paid attention to the source material in a way that paid off, and frankly, I never saw it coming.
Buy It
Author: Rich Meister