Persona 5 Tactica Review – GameRevolution

Atlus has not finished dragging the Phantom Thieves into yet another adventure. Compared to other P5 offshoots like Strikers and Dancing in Starlight, Persona 5 Tactical hits closer to home. This time around, the familiar cast must fight through a grid-based tactical RPG, similar to the SMT: Devil Survivor series, in a new story set between the second and third semesters of high school in the original timeline from Persona 5. The solid combat system, although limited to a party of three, allows for fine-tuned strategy. However, the linear plot is tangential at best and focuses on characters who are not the Phantom Thieves.

Stolen

As the Phantom Thieves drink coffee at LeBlanc’s house, they are suddenly thrust into the Metaverse and discover that the world they have fallen into is different enough that their usual powers have been removed. Effectively castrated, they stand no chance against a dictator named Marie who drives a tank and is obsessed with her marriage plans. Luckily, a new character named Erina is able to save Joker and Mona in time, and after running back to her rebel base, they plan to save the rest of the team. Along the way, they also rescue a young politician named Toshiro, who had disappeared from the real world during the opening cutscene.

Throughout the 30-hour adventure, the core of the story centers around Erina and Toshiro. The Phantom Thieves are of course involved, but their character doesn’t progress much compared to the new characters. That said, the narrative is evenly paced and comforting, although the various plot twists and turns in the final two chapters should feel quite familiar to Persona 5 fans.

Heavy-handed tactics

On a better note, the grid-based combat system in P5T is comprehensive, comprehensive, and overall balanced. Much of the combat involves finding cover and looking for opportunities to gain One More Actions by making enemies vulnerable. Movement, spacing, and heights are all important when using melee attacks, guns, or Persona abilities. Since you can switch between party members on the fly, even in the middle of their turn, combat offers a lot of flexibility. Especially in higher difficulty levels, every move requires careful calculation.

As for progression, you will gain Personas which can be merged in the Velvet Room and can be equipped by any party member except Erina to provide HP, SP and abilities additional. This is in addition to each character’s standard Persona, whose abilities can be expanded and upgraded via the skill tree. Beyond leveling up, skill points can be earned simply by talking to party members before missions. As long as you spend points on spells and SP recovery from cover, you will win most fights with the highest rating of three stars.

Aside from a few side quests that only give you one turn to complete them, P5T isn’t terribly difficult. Replaying missions is generous with extra experience points and money, and fusion weapons are powerful compared to anything in the shop. The gameplay, however, seems sober and a little too streamlined, with groups limited to three members and Personas only being able to inherit a single skill when merging.