Persona 5 Tactica review: Is it a breath of fresh air or Spin version

Introduce:

Since its release in 2016, Persona 5 has become one of the most beloved JRPGs of all time, becoming Atlus’s golden goose and setting the stage for a series of spin-offs, adaptations, and sequels. possible, and collaborations between P5 and other games. From Persona 5 Royal to Persona 5 Strikers, even the appearance of Joker in Super Smash Bros, the P5 franchise has become widely known and attracted a huge fan base globally. However, in 2023, Atlus suddenly released the final spinoff game, with the launch of Persona 5 Tactica (P5T). The fact that Tactica is not consumed by many people The mention has made fans and critics wonder if this is a failed gamble by Atlus?

Ignoring mobile titles like Persona 5: The Phantom . Even though the game’s content isn’t actually that bad, it still gives players the feeling of a missed opportunity, a failed project due to lack of marketing strategy, audience fatigue, and The playing style is too picky.

General information:

Game name: Persona 5 Tactica (P5T)

Launch date: November 17, 2023.

Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

Game price: 59.99 dollars

DLC: Repaint Your Heart 19.99 dollars,

Score on Metacritic: Meta score: 74, user score: 7.1

Howlongtobeat: Main story (24 hours), Complete game (39 hours), All styles (30 hours).

Content summary

The content of Persona 5 Tactica takes place parallel or rather after the events in Persona 5 (2016) and Persona 5 Royal (2019) end, depicting the journey of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts when they are caught up in a parallel world filled with war and oppression. Here, they allied with a group of freedom fighters called the Rebel Corps to launch a revolution against oppressive enemies known as Legionnaires, while uncovering the truth about the world’s mysterious origins. This. The game’s gameplay includes familiar elements of the tactical role-playing game genre, such as moving on a grid map, a weapon matching system, and turn-based combat. At the same time, the game still retains many of the series’ signature gameplay mechanics such as Persona summoning and fusion, as well as the elemental compatibility system.

Personal feeling

1. Lack of investment in marketing

Since its announcement in June 2023 at the Xbox Games Showcase, Persona 5 Tactica has been completely overshadowed by larger projects in Atlus’s release schedule. When P5T was introduced, the game was introduced at the same time as Persona 3 Reload, a remake of the classic game Persona 3 loved by many fans. Naturally, all attention focused on P3R, and only a few noticed the presence of P5T.

Atlus’s marketing strategy, or rather the lack of marketing, also did not help the game’s reputation spread widely to common players. Unlike previous Persona 5 games, which received separate promotional campaigns, P5T feels like it’s being treated like a side project. The release schedule of Atlus’s next projects shows a harsh reality: in early 2024 is Persona 3 Reload, in the middle of the year is Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, and at the end of the year is Metaphor: ReFantazio. Added to that is P3R’s DLC The Answer, we can clearly see that Atlus is focusing resources on projects considered “core” of the company.

In the above context, Persona 5 Tactica, due to bad luck, has appeared as a “stepchild” in the Atlus family, more of a last-ditch project than a serious addition to the P5 brand.

2. Fatigue from the fans themselves

One of the biggest challenges that Persona 5 Tactica has to face probably comes from the mass audience’s fatigue with the name P5. Persona 5 fans have been overwhelmed with a ton of content over the past 7 years, from the two main games to spin-offs like Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, Persona Q2, and Persona 5 Strikers. In addition, the game was also adapted into an anime along with countless accompanying collab goods that contributed to reducing the novelty and excitement from fans. In fact, this is not the first time Atlus has decided to “milk” a successful brand. The predecessor Persona 4 also went through a similar situation, and in the long run fans will feel frustrated with the appearance of Persona 5 members and need something fresher. The continued presence of the brand with similar storylines gradually caused P5 to lose its original appeal, and although players had a lot of love for Persona 5, Tactica was not outstanding and successful enough to re-create. arouse interest.

Additionally, the choice to build P5T into a strategy game further narrows the number of potential players. The strategy game series has traditionally been more picky about players than the JRPG or action genres that Persona fans are familiar with.

3. A game dedicated to die-hard fans

Perhaps the biggest obstacle for Persona 5 Tactica to target a large number of players comes from the game’s graphics and content. First of all, building a heavy tactical gameplay that still has the unique features of the Persona series and a turn-based action game also shows that Atlus also considers Tactica as an experimental project and only targets a limited number of sales. The fact that the game’s plot takes place after the events of Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal also means that only players who have completed these two versions, each requiring an average of 70 to 100 hours of play, can complete it. fully understand and appreciate the story that makes the game inaccessible to many mainstream gamers.

The game’s graphic style is designed in chibi form, similar to the graphics of the game Persona Q, further reducing the appeal of the game. Although this style is suitable for some spin-off games, it seems to be a bit picky about players and sometimes does not completely fit with the stylish and somewhat dark world of Persona 5 Tactica. Combined with the picky tactical gameplay mechanism, the choice of graphics makes P5T even more difficult to reach even for loyal fans.

The price of the game also has many problems. Locking many famous Personas, weapons along with Akechi and Kasumi in the first day of DLC makes players feel dissatisfied. Many people have pointed out that the game is actually the product of an indie studio licensed by Atlus, simply “changing skin” into the Persona brand to attract players, so the price of 60 dollars for the game and 90$ including all DLC is too expensive.

4. A missed opportunity

Even though there are many weaknesses, it cannot be denied that Persona 5 Tactica has very clear bright spots. Gameplay, although picky about players, is really creative and brings many interesting experiences. Each character has their own play style, and the game mechanics are diverse enough to keep players engaged. The all out attack mechanism in a triangle or the hit rate increasing or decreasing according to terrain height is relatively new and is a very good way to exploit the mechanics of Persona 5. Each character in the Phantom Thieves group has a unique way of playing. like Yuusuke with long attack range and the ability to freeze enemies or Haru with narrow attack range but almost the strongest hand damage in the game, and each character’s own personality also makes some Phantom Thieves stronger than the other members. and the game has almost no way Balance the abilities of the characters.

Additionally, new characters like Erina and Toshiro bring a lot of depth to the story, portrayed by a talented voice cast. In terms of graphics and sound, the game still maintains its peak performance, Toshiki Konishi shows that his ability to compose music is not inferior to Shoji Meguro as well as the background music continues to be a bright spot with new energetic songs. from Lyn, combined with classic Persona 5 melodies. The above factors show the potential of an excellent game that can completely resonate if time and resources are invested properly. reasonable.

However, rushed development and limited budget made the game’s shortcomings more obvious. The plot lacks polish, and relying on DLC to add content right from launch can make players feel like they’re not being treated fairly. In essence, Tactica’s content has a lot of potential to exploit and if invested properly, it can completely turn the game into an experience on par with Persona 5 Strikers, however towards the end of the game we feel It’s clear that the project was forced to “mature early” and the game team had to disperse their efforts on the DLC’s plot.

Conclusion: Has the journey of IP Persona 5 come to an end?

Persona 5 Tactica is like a regretful goodbye to the Persona 5 era (2016 – 2023). Although players can still meet the Phantom Thieves again through collaborations or the mobile game Persona 5: The Phantom X, Tactica gives us the feeling that this will be the last Persona 5 game for PC and consoles. While Tactica has its moments of brilliance and creative gameplay, players will still feel regretful about a missed opportunity, a spin-off that doesn’t live up to the high standards set by previous games. go out.

For most fans, P5T may be the final chapter in a nearly decade-long journey. And maybe that’s not a bad thing. Atlus is gradually shifting towards higher quality games like Persona 3 Reload or Metaphor: ReFantazio, and maybe in the distant future Persona 6. Players can only hope that new games or Future spin-offs will learn from the good and the mistakes of Persona 5 Tactica: combining innovation with the care and attention that fans can expect from Atlus.