You know how they say if you find a good thing stick with it? Well, developers Atlus from Persona 5 fame sure took that saying to heart. Now, there’s no denying that Persona 5 was, and still is, one of the more popular RPG games released in the last decade.
However, instead of just enjoying the success and using the momentum to build towards other things, Atlus decided to milk that cash cow for all it was worth, and since Persona 5 came out, they’ve released:
- Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight
- Persona 5 Royal
- Persona 5 Strikers
- Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
And now, Persona 5 Tactica can be added to that list. Don’t get me wrong, Persona 5 was great; I just don’t know if it was five spin-off games in the same universe great, which is probably why Atlus decided to go with a different approach when it comes to Persona 5 Tactica – to try and keep things fresh and help maintain the series popularity. However, I’m a bit divided when deciding if it truly hits that mark.
So, Persona 5 Tactica, as the name suggests, is set in the same universe as Persona 5. However, Tactica doesn’t follow the Persona 5 story and instead takes players down a new path. However, there is a downfall:
Persona 5 Tactica’s story will make very little sense to gamers who haven’t played the other Persona games because backstory is for noobs, and Persona 5 Tactica is no noob… or something like that.
Even though Tactica has its own story, it’s still set within the familiar enough universe. Because of that, there are some familiar characters to come across, although this time, some of those characters feel a bit… much. For the first time in a Persona game, I wouldn’t put the characters’ personalities as one of the game’s strengths – which is something the series has always previously excelled at.
Parties are also made up of only three characters this time around, which adds a layer of restrictiveness that I never really felt in the game before now, and when considering how small the new maps are, the game doesn’t do well with any additional restrictive feelings. Adding to the restrictiveness are the character skill trees, which lack any significant type of depth.
Of course, Tactica also adds in some new systems this time around, and although I understand that they needed to mix things up to keep the game feeling fresh, I wouldn’t say any of the changes feel like a step forward for the franchise.
This time, there is a small grid map where differences in height and distance matter, which is one of the more pleasant changes. The height changes are significant because sometimes you can’t attack enemies directly above or below your character, even if they’re in the adjacent grid square.
Combat has also been changed to feel more like Persona 5 Strikers but with the turn-based system still in play. What I mean by that is that players can now move around enemies, allowing for a lot more strategy for where you place yourself and the possibility of being counter-attacked. This also means there is a possibility of altogether avoiding combat to complete levels, something unheard of in Persona games to come before.
One of the most perturbing changes in Tactica, and perhaps the core reason I’m so conflicted about my feelings for it, is that personas are no longer captured, as they have been in all the previous titles. Instead, they’re now handed out as rewards for finishing specific missions and quests.
And then, finally, we have the most notable change of all: The switch from semi-realistic art to a Chibi-like style where every character has tiny bodies and big, cutesy faces. This change makes all the characters feel a lot younger and changes the whole Persona tone and feel gamers’ love.
When it comes down to it, how you feel about Persona 5 Tactica will come down to what you think about the new, restrictive feeling when it comes to core parts of the game like combat, character skills, and personas, as well as your take on the new look and feel.
As for me? I’m unsure, and honestly, I’m not enraptured enough with its story to stick around any longer to try and figure my feelings out.
