Deny brand popularity Persona – a deliberately losing venture. A role-playing series about the life of Japanese schoolchildren, whose amazing fates are broadcast through the prism of scientific works Carl Gustav Jung, a unique mythology of the universe Shin megami tensei and a good bit of anime cliches, with each release it confidently attracts more and more interested players.
Of course the studio Atlus is well aware of the diamond that ended up in her hands, which is why Persona has been confidently transforming itself into a media franchise of the widest coverage over the past decade. Characters of “Persona” become heroes of their own fighting games, rhythm games, act as guest stars in countless other projects and manage to delight fans on the pages of a licensed manga or in the broadcast nets of Japanese television as part of the next anime adaptation.
First released in 2016 in Japan, Persona 5 was no exception – today, perhaps, even those who know practically nothing about the original game are familiar with the band of stylish Heart Reavers. And now, millions of heroes are returning again – in Persona 5 Strikers – an unusual action offshoot of the series, created by Atlus in collaboration with the publisher Koei Tecmo and the team Omega force, known for his “muso-games” style Dynasty warriors…
Anticipating the most popular question, it is worth immediately identifying an important point – in its essence Persona 5 Strikers much closer to the original Persona 5 than any release Dynasty warriors… Yes, Strikers means battles with hundreds of opponents at the same time, but the traditional Musou-landmarks here are diluted with so many third-party elements that the final result gives a completely unusual experience. And as befits a game with the word “Persona” in the title, the opening minutes of Persona 5 Strikers meet you not at all with an epic battle of two armies, but with a neutral and maximally measured narrative segment.
Approximately six months have passed since the Persona 5 finale. After waiting for the start of summer holidays, the Joker and Morgana decide to visit their friends in Tokyo – the characters make an appointment, make plans for the coming weeks, and as soon as possible prepare to see each other again.
The idea of telling a new story about the Heartreavers after their temporary breakup fits perfectly into the foundations of Persona 5 Strikers. Atlus and Omega Force have put in a lot of effort and attention to ensure that every element of the game, including the visual component, is literally indistinguishable from what fans fell in love with Persona 5. In Tokyo, the Joker is greeted with painfully familiar narrow streets, and the Leblanc cafe sign involuntarily evokes the warmest associations. Is it worth writing about the fact that reuniting with Ryuji, Makoto, Yusuke, Futaba, Ann and Haru immediately brings back memories of friends whom he has not seen for a long time.
A separate nice feature is the voice acting of dialogues. Almost all conversations, even the most insignificant ones, are fully voiced (P5S can be held in both Japanese and English dubbing), and the actors returned to their roles in full force, which once again helps to immerse yourself in the events taking place.
It is also worth noting that Persona 5 Strikers is in no hurry to introduce the main characters – the game naturally implies that you have become related with the heroes for a long time. Accordingly, if you missed Persona 5 or its re-release for any reason Persona 5 Royal, then on the celebration of life unfolding on the screen, you risk feeling somewhat superfluous. It’s like watching an interim season of a TV show you’ve only barely heard of before.
Having indulged in discussions of past adventures and days gone by, the Hearts Thieves gang decides on their further leisure – a joint trip to nature and all the entertainment associated with this venture. And here the narration takes on a slightly higher tempo.
Going to Shibuya for everything they need for a picnic, Joker and Ryuuji stumble upon a small performance of the popular idol Alice Hiiragi (in whose image the world famous Kyari Pamyu Pamyu), after which they fall into a series of events and, thanks to the help of the new (and apparently sinister) EMMA mobile application, they find themselves in a familiar, but no less dangerous alternative reality. Before them is another Palace, or rather, according to the new rules, “Prison”. And the same Alice dominates here, mercilessly stealing the souls or “Desires” of her fans. It is on this note that Persona 5 Strikers first introduces its combat system and all of the core mechanics that contrast with the social side of the game. And this is where you can begin to count the roots of Omega Force’s Musou heritage.
In Strikers, travel to the Metaverse offers exploring relatively compact arenas, encountering Shadows, and solving simple puzzles. Tactically balanced battles have been replaced by high-spirited action – the characters have several simple combinations of attacks, access to firearms, one unique skill and a full set of abilities of their own person. The use of the latter stops the passage of time and allows you to choose the direction for one of the attacks, most often covering a significant area.
The meticulousness with which the core gameplay of classic Persona 5 is adapted into Persona 5 Strikers is frankly surprising. If the combat system of the original game had this or that mechanic, no doubt, Strikers also found a place for it. All attacking skills are still divided into different elemental elements, some of them are capable of applying status effects, the combination of individual techniques entails the activation of a “technical” damage multiplier, buffs and debuffs fully fulfill all their functions, a group of stunned opponents can be covered with a stylish All-Out Attack, party members offer their help in combat, and hero switching in battles is a simple interpretation of the Baton Pass system. In short, everything you might remember about fighting in Persona 5, Strikers takes over with manic meticulousness.
Of course, in the absence of an elegant turn-based system, the rampage of Persona 5 Strikers gameplay mechanics instantly turns into almost uncontrollable chaos. Dozens of Shadows running at the heroes turn to dust by pressing literally two buttons, and at the same time keeping an infinite number of variables in your head, taking momentary weighed decisions is an almost impossible task, especially considering the myriad shades of the most aggressive color palette exploding on the screen. The fact that each of the Thieves has not only a unique set of attacks, but also unique combat abilities, you will definitely forget, at least a couple of times.
A little to collect your thoughts and try to understand the systems proposed by the game, encounters with bosses help. Big Shadows hit unexpectedly painfully and are able to send the entire party to the next world in a matter of seconds. Here you involuntarily have to adapt to the situation – the shields of the opponents are reset to zero using the appropriate elemental attacks, the strengths of the heroes push them to switch them in time, and the gamepad buttons temporarily rest from almost thoughtless clicks. There are many bosses in P5S, and fighting them is extremely exciting, at least within the first “Prison”.
When describing the “battle” segments of the P5S, of course, one cannot remain silent about the musical accompaniment. The game is full of a gigantic set of compositions, which includes both new expressive arrangements of old tracks and original incendiary works. And if you have P5 or P5R saves on your hard drive, the game will kindly provide access to two additional themes – “Last Surprise“And”Take over”. If, in the dullness of everyday life, you mortally lacked color from listening to the new works of Shoji Meguro and Lin Inaizumi, you can start the party right now.
The character progression system in Persona 5 Strikes is also unashamedly taken from the original source. Heroes gain experience and gradually increase their level, which increases their characteristics. Along with this, there is a separate development of Persons, who with each step gain access to new abilities. The Joker, as before, has a distinctive feature – it contains a special potential, due to which the protagonist owns several Persons at once. And, of course, they can be crossed, improved and collected into a compendium by visiting the cozy walls of the Velvet Room, which is now (spoiler alert!) Being looked after by the pretty Lavenza.
After completing the first “Prison”, the Thieves achieve their cherished goal – the perverted “Desire” of the local ruler (an alternative to the “Treasures” from P5), after which a painfully familiar scenario is played out using incriminating messages to the antagonist who has lost shame and conscience. Then, naturally, there is a direct confrontation, which turns into a climactic battle with the boss.
If you forget for a second and selectively skim through the paragraphs written above, it is easy to get confused and mistaken for a relatively cursory look at the original Persona 5. And this, perhaps, ideally characterizes Persona 5 Strikers. Moving from turn-based jRPG to Musou action is the most radical shift, but anything outside of the battles in P5S will be unconditionally familiar to any player whose heart has already been treacherously stolen by charming thieves in stylish masks. That is why in one of the trailers the logo of the game was stylized as “Persona 5-2“.
At the same time, according to the first hours, it cannot be said that Persona 5 Strikers is drowning in an abyss of self-repetition and self-citation. A completely new character enters the scene pretty quickly – the mysterious artificial intelligence Sophia, who takes the form of a young girl. Returning to Tokyo, the Joker instantly attracts the attention of the police, and soon detective Zenkichi Hasegawa begins to closely follow him, apparently pursuing his own goals.
Whether Persona 5 Strikers will have enough dynamics to maintain a vigorous pace for the first five to six hours is still a question. But now we can say that this game is a product of a huge love for Persona 5. In the case of a project created primarily for fans of the role-playing masterpiece Atlus, there is simply no louder compliment.
Persona 5 Strikers is out in the US and Europe at Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch and PC (in Steam) already February 23…
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