Persona 5 has been an unprecedented success for the ATLUS franchise. It was the launch with which the franchise jumped from being a niche series to become one of the most famous JRPGs in the industry. Fans are asking for more from the Phantom Thieves and ATLUS is looking for ways to deliver it.
With Persona 5 Strikers we learned that the universe of this installment lends itself well to spin-offs that explore other genres. Therefore, we receive with excitement the announcement ofPersona 5 Tactica; especially when we take into account that it is a strategy RPG, a genre to which franchises like Final Fantasy or even the Rabbids have made the leap satisfactorily.
But then, is Persona 5 Tactica a good spin-off or does it seem like the Phantom Thieves may start complaining about overexploitation? The answer lies in the middle of these 2 scenarios, so let's explore why.
Persona 5 Tactica ― Available on Amazon
The Phantom Thieves Stole Your Heart And Now They're After Your Brain
Persona 5 Tactica is a spin-off that changes the traditional JRPG style to adopt tactical RPG mechanics. This means that it is not enough to analyze the situation to choose the appropriate attack, but you also need to move your characters around the field as if they were your chess pieces. All this, with the objective of putting them in the right place to maximize the offense and minimize the damage.
Of course, Persona 5 Tactica is not limited to copying other strategy RPGs and aims to be an experience with influences from great exponents of the genre with a unique touch. Its proposal offers a movement system reminiscent of that of XCOM, with which you can move your characters freely within a limited space so that you can accommodate and Attack your enemies and cover yourself with the barriers that are spread across the map. Although it is easy to make the comparison with the Firaxis series, the reality is that that is the only similarity.
It is obvious that it is designed to be a strategy game that is easy to understand, but difficult to master. In fact, its Normal difficulty will be too easy for veterans of the genre, while its higher levels can be unfair to the point of being painful. What gives it this flavor is its combat system, where movements are linked and you can take advantage of your position, as well as the synergy of the characters. The point is that if one of your 3 characters manages to take down an enemy, then he will have another chance to move and attack again. The way you take advantage of all your characters is with sequential attacks (first one character attacks and another finishes) and the triple attack (all characters found in the triangular area formed between the 3 members of your team will be damaged ).
So, a turn of Persona 5 Tactic can look something like this: you have 5 enemies and 3 of them are close, but low coverage. So, with a character you approach one of them to hit him melee and send him flying. If another of your Phantom Thieves is in the right position, then he will shoot at them, increasing the damage considerably. You can then move another of your characters to attack one of the more powerful enemies, who will counterattack and damage you. Not to mention, it's time to close the turn in the best way, so you move your last character to sneak past an enemy's cover and knock him down. This gives you an additional movement, which you take advantage of to position yourself and summon a Persona that generates damage in a large area and hurts several enemies at the same time.
As you see, the combat system is entertaining, strategic and with a sufficiently unique flavor to keep you hooked in its nearly 20 hours of duration. The problem is that it does little to offer a truly deep experience. Its potential is enormous, but it is wasted because the level design is simple and the skill trees have little depth. The most interesting thing is in its equipment system and in the fusion of Personas, which allow you to experiment to have a team with abilities to your liking. That said, the title is far from offering a gameplay style that is sufficiently varied and deep to make the biggest fans of the genre fall in love with it. Bottom line: you're going to have fun with Persona 5 Tactica, but it's hardly a game you'll want to return to again and again.
Of course, although it has a poorly elaborate level design, there is one part where it shines phenomenally: the boss battles. ATLUS understood the forgotten art of putting on a good boss fight. So, instead of being satisfied with creating an extremely powerful enemy and that's it, he thought of these confrontations as levels where the combat possibilities are expanded to offer unique mechanics. These are memorable matchups that left me wanting more, but unfortunately, there aren't many of them.
Imperfect Attack Plan
One of the elements that suffers the most in Persona 5 Tactica is its narrative. The story is good and, in true Persona style, it touches on important themes about the human experience. Plus, it has new characters that are a nice addition to the cast; especially when we refer to Erina, a heroine who carries the revolution in her heart and helps Joker and company on the journey.
Unfortunately, the way the story is told is extremely tedious. Almost everything takes place in simple cutscenes, where illustrations of chibi characters have endless conversations while standing against a static illustrated background. Nothing new in the franchise, but the problem is that, although the story has good moments, on more than one occasion you will despair because the long scenes with conversations lead nowhere. Luckily, there's the option to speed up the pace of those moments, but wouldn't it be better if it was content that players actually wanted to consume?
It should also be noted that the story falls halfway because it wants to serve 2 different audiences. On the one hand, it wants to please fans of the series, so it is a new story that takes place before the conclusion of Persona 5. On the other hand, it wants to be attractive to newcomers to the franchise, so it's an encapsulated story. What's the score? A game whose narrative will be foreign to newcomers, because they will see an unknown cast of characters and, at the same time, it will be insufficient for fans because it only dares to be superficial to avoid friction with players who have just arrived in the series.
If there is something that catches my attention about Persona 5 Tactica it is that it ignored one of the most important points of Person: social ties. Between missions you have the opportunity to see conversations between the Phantom Thieves, which vary greatly in quality. The disappointing thing is that seeing them only rewards you with skill points. Why not take advantage of social links to do something deeper that would impact the game? Something like implementing character chemistry bonuses would have been thematically appropriate, plus it would give you reasons to watch these conversations and even experiment with different combinations of Phantom Thieves.
We must also be fair and say that Tactica does something very well: preserving the soul of Persona 5. Its art direction, design The visuals and soundtrack are full of the personality that made the JRPG one of the greatest exponents of its genre. It uses contrasting colors that impact you and the soundtrack warms your blood to make your heart beat faster. This way, fans will feel at home and those who have never tried Persona 5 will get an idea of why it is such a beloved installment.
A Spin-off That Simply Fulfills
In the end, Persona 5 Tactica is a spin-off that simply delivers. It's entertaining and fans of Persona 5 will be happy to spend a few more hours with the Phantom Thieves. Unfortunately, it lacks the impact that is needed to be one of those secondary projects that become another arm of the main franchise. It also doesn't have enough weight to become one of the best games of its genre. It is simply an entertaining title and little else.
That being said, does Persona 5 Tactica need to be something much more than that? I don't think so. It's always good that there is room for small games that seek little more than to give us a good time and do it well. How terrible it would be if there was only room for large productions or highly experimental games. Persona 5 Tactica does what it intends to do well and that is enough. If you are a fan of Persona 5 you will enjoy it and if you are a fan of strategy RPGs it is also an option with which you will have a good time.
Persona 5 Tactica will debut on November 17 on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC. We remind you that this release will be part of the Xbox Game Pass catalog from its premiere.
Comments
Post a Comment