Platforms: PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC
Genre: Tactical Turn-Based Strategy, RPG, JRPG

It’s difficult to believe that it’s been 6 years since the original worldwide launch of Persona 5 back in 2017. Ever since then, the game has received an updated definitive version with Persona 5 Royale and several spinoffs, the latest of which is set to be Persona 5 Tactica. Atlus has been milking the franchise for more than half a decade now, so is it starting to dry out with Persona 5 Tactica or does it still feel fresh? Read on to find out.

Going The XCOM/Mario+Rabbids Route

The most popular way to describe tactical RPGs (TRPGs) or simulation RPGs (SRPGs) these days is often to refer to them as XCOM-likes (the same way Souls-likes are taken from Dark Souls). Sure, Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem can be classified into the same group as well, but my point is that with Persona 5 Tactica, Atlus’ franchise steps into the genre for the first time ever and takes a step no other previous Persona has gone before. Of course, both TRPGs and JRPGs share a usually common trait; they’re both turn-based, so Persona 5 Tactica doesn’t feel much of a departure from the standard Persona formula as say, the action Musou game that was 2020’s Persona 5 Strikers.

The core gameplay mechanics in Persona 5 Tactica feel mostly inspired by Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. In Persona 5 Tactica, you can melee enemies and all your shots will hit with 100 percent certainty, so there are no RNG elements for whether your attacks hit or not (which is a staple of most XCOM-likes). Players have SP (which is the Persona’s version of MP) to use skills and abilities tied to their Personas. However, unlike the mainline Persona games, the Personas in Persona 5 Tactica can only learn two skills. The way Personas work in Persona 5 Tactica is a bit weird too. Each member of your team has their main Persona (for example, Joker has Arsene) which you can upgrade via a skill tree. Now, everyone else besides Joker (who used to be the only one who could use other Personas) can also equip a different Persona but they’re meant to be sub-Personas. These sub-Personas are the ones who are limited to two skills, so while Persona 5 Tactica still features the iconic fusing Personas mechanic, it doesn’t feel as robust or in-depth as the one in the mainline games.

Unlike the mainline Persona games, enemies don’t have elemental weaknesses. So, the key to the core gameplay loop in Persona 5 Tactica is simply to knock out enemies by hitting them with status ailments, then hitting them with a follow-up attack or attacking them while they’re out of cover. While Persona 5 Tactica adds more enemies that require different strategies and gimmicks, the goal is the same; try to knock as many of them out as you can to keep your turn going, sort of like a combo. The game also tries to add varieties to the level’s mission objectives beyond “defeating all enemies” by having objectives such as “reaching a specific part of the level” (which is usually at the far end of that particular level) or surviving waves of enemies for several turns.

While I appreciate Atlus trying to add more spice to the gameplay by implementing gimmicks into the levels, enemies and boss fights in Persona 5 Tactica, they usually feel more annoying rather than actually making the game more challenging or enjoyable. These gimmicks include having to navigate the levels like they’re puzzles, featuring moving platforms with buttons to move them up or down which usually just make the levels slower and more frustrating to navigate around, as well as bosses requiring specific gimmicks to defeat. It’s telling that these gimmicks mostly pop up in the second half of the game, which is when the gameplay starts to get repetitive and stale. Adding these gimmicks doesn’t make the gameplay more exciting. Games like XCOM and even Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle didn’t need these gimmicks to make them great games.

It’s made even worse in Persona 5 Tactica’s Quest levels, which are purely “optional”. Notice the air quotes? That’s because while these brief Quest levels are supposed to be optional side quests which just offer extra GP (the points required to unlock new skills and abilities in the skill tree), the last few Quests offer the best rewards in the game; which is to unlock the strongest skill for each respective character. What’s the problem with that? The issue here is that all of the Quests are essentially puzzle levels. Each of them comes with a specific gimmick that you need to be able to do exactly as it wants you to. In Quests, you need to be able to clear out a whole level filled with enemies in one turn or a few turns.

There’s usually a way to do that but you’ll have to figure it out through trial and error. You can’t grind your way to win these Quests and no, there’s no ‘getting good’ either because you have to do something specific to complete each Quest. I eventually did most of the quests, but it was annoying when Persona 5 Tactica locks the best skills in the game behind these supposedly “optional” Quests.

Last but not least, the game is padded out with a boss rush near the end à la Mega Man. You literally have to fight all previous bosses again before the final boss. These encounters are carbon copies of previous boss fights, with nothing new added to them, so they feel unnecessary and tacked on, just so the game can be a few hours longer than it should be. Also, being an Atlus RPG, you can expect the usual hours and hours of dialogue and conversations between characters. If you’re not used to JRPGs, expect more than half of the almost 30-hour game experience to be filled with just that. Thankfully, the game also takes 25 to 30 hours to finish, which is a lot less time than it takes to finish a mainline Persona game (a whopping 100 hours, easily).

However, praise should be given where praise is due. Persona 5 Tactica does feature several quality-of-life features, such as being able to replay previous missions or levels as soon as you finish them, as well as several difficulty levels (including a mode where there’s no game over, probably for those who aren’t used to TRPGs). The visuals and chibi art style look charming and eye-catching enough to distinguish itself from other games. In addition, the music by composer Toshiki Konishi (who previously did the soundtrack for Shin Megami Tensei IV and Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey) is excellent, especially during epic battle moments and emotional story sequences. Good music is practically expected of any Persona game these days, and Persona 5 Tactica ticks that box.

The highlight of Persona 5 Tactica is probably how the story and narrative are focused on the mysterious new characters, Toshiro and Erina. The plot pacing is quite slow, with the first half of the game not revealing much about them, so it was hard to be invested in them at first. However, the second half of the game never lets up, except for the aforementioned forced boss rush, at which point I was fully immersed in Toshiro and Erina’s stories. It’s great that the developers chose to shine the spotlight on these two compelling new characters, and essentially ignore the Phantom Thieves, who already have way too much development across multiple other games before this. That might be a con for fans who were hoping for more from these existing characters, but it wasn’t for me.

I Am Thou, Thou Art I

Persona 5 Tactica is a fun spinoff game but perhaps it’s time for Atlus to finally retire anything related to Joker and the Phantom Thieves. The teat has been milked dry. Only dust is coming out now. It’s high time that Atlus started working on a new Persona, one feels more modern and current-gen than Persona 5 did back in 2017.

PROS

• Much shorter than a Persona game (at least 30 hours or so).
• Charming visuals and unique chibi art style.
• Gameplay is fun enough even though it doesn’t do much to innovate.
• A great story featuring the compelling new characters, Toshiro and Erina.
• The music is amazing, as expected from a Persona game.

CONS

• Padding out the game length by having a boss rush ala Mega Man near the end of the game.
• Locking out the game’s best skills behind optional Quests and puzzle gimmicks that are annoying.

FINAL SCORE: 70/100

Persona 5 Tactica was reviewed on PC based on a review copy provided by Sega. Persona 5 Tactica is now available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.