I remember when Persona 5 Tactica got announced in the Xbox Showcase in June 2023. I was skeptical, having ANOTHER Persona 5 spin off after having two others. Thinking this was going to just be a cash grab for sorry suckers like myself who praise Persona 5 to the high heavens, I went in not really expecting much.
Man.
To start off, Persona 5 Tactica is, well, a tactics game. It has the usual mechanics like the shooting and the objectives and all that kind of stuff, but what stands out is its Persona spin on it. Characters can now equip personas much like how Persona protagonists can in the mainline games. This adds a crazy amount of customization, building characters to be strong in some aspects, and have their weaknesses covered by other characters and their builds! It’s actually a welcome surprise that threw me off guard. Seeing different personas on different characters was a very fun change of pace for the series, and could even work for the mainline games too.
Another thing about the game I loved and want to touch on is the art style. It’s this chibi roundish style that works well for the expressions, presentation, and animations. I don’t really know what else to explain about it, I just think it’s super appealing to look at, and obviously, the original characters, Erina and Toshiro, blend in perfectly with the already established cast of characters, and the art style isn’t the only thing to thank for that.
The story of Persona 5 Tactica follows the Phantom Thieves getting rolled up into a mysterious world, with tension in the air, as there’s an evil ruler of this world, corrupted by their twisted desires and ulterior motives. As they try to figure out what exactly the world is, they come across Erina, a member of the Rebel Corp. She and her other rebellious members are aiming to take down this ruler, and save the kingdom to how it should be: free for everyone to live peacefully. There’s also Toshiro, who comes later, but we won’t get into his side of the story, as man is it a juicy one. That’s really the best way to describe this game's story: JUICY. The approach of focusing on side characters over the phantom thieves is a bold choice, but one that couldn’t be done any other way. The story takes so many twists and turns, and it just makes you a changed man after the ending.
But that doesn’t mean this game has no flaws!
For one thing, as much as I loved the story, it’s pretty slow to get to the good stuff. Some of the battles you come across just feel like padding, making you wonder if you reeeally needed to stop and do this 15 minute battle. I beat P5T in 35 hours. I feel if they shaved off like 10 hours, that would be a sweet spot for this type of game, in my opinion of course.
Another complaint I have, and probably the one that hurts the most, is that I actually feel the music is hit or miss at times. You have some great tracks, some you’d expect from the franchise, such as the opening, the hideout, the battle themes; they're all really good. But some are just these kind of forgettable grunge rock tracks that are kind of there to fill in the silence. It’s weird for a Persona game, being so split down the middle with music tracks I care and don’t care about, but it’s all a subjective matter anyway, so it’s okay.
Either way, I still recommend Persona 5 Tactica. For any fans of Persona or of tactics games, this is one that you cannot skip out on. Maybe wait for a sale or play it on game pass, but you’ll thank yourself in the future for putting this on your backlog.
I give this game an 8/10.