For certain gaming franchises it takes a while before they garner any type of worldwide recognition or respect, if said series gains that notoriety at all. “Grand Theft Auto”, “Yakuza”, “Metal Gear” – these game franchises all had slow starts associated with a lacking in growth in regards to their fan bases until each ended up releasing an iteration that opened the eyes of the masses; “Persona” was no different. Though its fourth numbered installment was heralded as one of the best RPGs of its generation, the release of “Persona 4” and its “Golden” version fell on mostly deaf ears thanks to the consoles they were associated with and the timing of said releases. Then “Persona 5” arrived in 2017 and, safe to say, “Persona”-mania began to run wild. Raking in awards, critically high scores, and fans in droves, “Persona 5” turned the niche JRPG into a household name amongst gamers casual & hardcore alike.
With the popularity of “Persona 5” came the releases of its “Royal” version, a spin-off based around dancing, and now a musou-centric experience handled by the same studio that brought gamers “Dynasty Warriors”. Though I didn’t dance the night away with “Persona 5’s” first spin-off, I was incredibly excited about this promoted sequel to one of the greatest experiences from gaming’s eighth generation while embracing a combat system I’ve become accustomed to since the first “Dynasty Warriors” game was released in North America.
Did I Complete “Persona 5 Strikers”?
Like its predecessor, it’s pretty much impossible to complete everything in a first playthrough of “Strikers” mostly thanks to the necessity of crafting every playable Persona summon (one can only be crafted in “New Game Plus”). Thankfully a majority of the game’s trophy list is pretty straightforward including learning every character’s four special combat combo abilities known as “Master Arts” by completing battles while using said “Arts” without really paying much attention. After a little over fifty hours I finished the main story on “Normal” difficulty alongside all the special requests including the post-narrative side missions where the player must conquer greatly powered versions of certain bosses including the final antagonist. What came next was the game’s biggest detriment in terms of completion: Maxing out all the “BOND” skills.
The newly-implemented “BOND” system is responsible for improving attributes & abilities across all the playable characters including increased health, better chances for attaining Persona after defeating enemies, and even making the “BOND” meter rise faster (the latter doing little to nothing by the time the true grind begins). To fully complete the game’s “BOND” skill tree the player is forced to either grind certain side quests and/or enemies, play through the game several times, or do both while tackling the game’s “Merciless” difficulty. After attempting to gain “BOND” points through one repeatable side mission, I took to crafting the best group of Persona possible before loading up my “Mastered” save to start New Game Plus on “Merciless”.
Thankfully my level 99 characters & Persona were able to make it to the first “Dire Shadow” enemy (level-specific adversaries that hit harder & have more health than most enemies in the game including story bosses) where I spent the next six hours defeating it, leaving the area, and coming back to overcome it again until I reached “BOND” level 99 (after starting the “Merciless” grind at “BOND” level seventy) and finished the skill list for the platinum trophy at the sixty-five hour mark.
Did “Persona 5 Strikers” Live Up to the Hype?
Set five months after the events of “Persona 5”, the player-named protagonist returns to Tokyo to reunite with his fellow heart stealers, the Phantom Thieves. The group’s intended road trip across Japan is both interrupted & benefited by a sudden return to the MetaVerse (another realm where the twisted & warped desires of humans manifest themselves into corrupt, deadly beings only those pure of heart can battle & defeat). Upon being pulled back into the MetaVerse, the Phantom Thieves are graced with the presence of a sentient AI named Sophia that proves to be the digital manifestation of a new app known as “EMMA”. Sophia becomes a member of the Phantom Thieves. in their quest to discover why the MetaVerse is back in existence.
Like many a “Persona” story before it, “Strikers” does a great job walking that fine line of being overly dramatic; focusing on friendship, love & the pursuit of happiness while showcasing the nature of humans that can be corrupted if they’re not careful. Considering “Strikers” isn’t meant to be as hefty a story as its numbered counterparts, a lot of the main villains come & go as per the “Persona” norm while not overstaying their welcome (something not even “Persona 5” managed to do successfully). Unfortunately for players coming into “Strikers” without playing the original “P5” (its “Royal” expansion is completely ignored in “Strikers”) they will miss out on some key character moments, interactions & dialogue (not to mention an explanation of the MetaVerse in general) as “Strikers” embraces its nature as a narrative sequel.
Though “Strikers” also represents a genre change, a lot of what made “5’s” traditional turn-based RPG combat style so enjoyable remains here; being more like a “Kingdom Hearts” action RPG experience instead of a full-blown “Dynasty Warriors” clone. The stereotypical musou action does exist with a copious amount of enemies flooding the screen for the player to hack & slash through them with one of four playable thieves at a time with the player being able to switch between each character at almost any given moment.
The button-mashing that comes from hitting the pair of strike buttons (“Standard Attack” and “Special Attack”) in certain sequences could’ve been just as repetitive here as with any other musou experience, but thanks to the aforementioned “Master Arts” system every character has a different style of play. For example, Ryuji can unleash a charged up batter-like swing after holding down & releasing the “Special Attack” button following a three-hit “Standard Attack”. Morgana can turn into a drivable van, Ann creates an inferno, and Yusuke will slice through enemies with ease thanks to the simplistic combo system.
Returning from “Persona 5” & its predecessors is the enemy weakness system that is usually based on one of the many elemental properties each character represents or, in the case of protagonist “Joker”, a variety of said elementals depending on the Persona in his repertoire. By holding down the “Summon Button”, the player will pause a fight while choosing the best course of action in regards to what spell should be utilized. Landing successful attacks on enemy weak points will stun them (or in the case of tougher enemies chip away at their armor before being stunned), leaving them open for an “All-Out” attack where the four characters team up to unleash a devastating series of strikes topped off by one massive explosion – the perfect way to end a fight if the player can time it properly.
While “All-Out” attacks are solely dependent on weakening an enemy, the new “Showtime” maneuver can be activated against any enemy at any time once the “Showtime” bar fills up after a character lands enough strikes on adversaries. Each active member of the team can fill up their “Showtime” bar and activate it before the battle’s end if the opportunity arises; giving players the chance to stack “Showtime” attacks during those more difficult exchanges. Switching between characters (known as “Baton Pass” just like the original “P5”) will increase the speed of filling up the “Showtime” gauge. The “Showtime” bar does reset after each battle, so it is necessary to use it when the player has the chance.
Too returning from the original “P5” are guns that also pause the action to sternly aim for potential winging of flying foes or doing no damage on someone strong against being shot. The Velvet Room where players can mix, match & even power-up Persona is back with a more simplified system and less monsters. Using “Persona Points” gained by winning battles, deleting currently held Persona, or making Persona in The Velvet Room, players can use said points to level up their actively held Persona to make the protagonist’s physical & magical attacks stronger, increase the chance to landing critical strikes, or enduring more damage than the player can dish out during a rather crowded scenario. Though some Persona can’t be crafted unless Joker and/or the base Persona is at a certain level, a little planning & grinding will mostly solve any Persona crafting issue.
The dungeons known as “Jails” in this iteration are both impressive and uninspired. With this being a musou game, “Strikers” has to offer a lot of open areas; with some arenas having environmental & interactable elements like a traffic light to swing on or blowing up a car for widespread fire damage. One issue with interactable objects is the fact utilizing said items is connected to the same button as “All-Out” attacks – meaning the player may be going for an “All-Out” attack and the game decides to have Joker jump onto a nearby lamppost. Beyond the initial presentation of each “Jail”, very few feel remarkable as the player progresses mostly because of backtracking & the general stilted nature of enemy positioning for ambush attacks.
But there are some major stipulations attached to each “Jail” including the security system where if an enemy and/or spotlight sees the character the alert meter will rise; locking treasure chests and even kicking the player out of the currently occupied “Jail” if the meter reaches 100%. One of the biggest differences between “Strikers” and “Persona 5” is the fact the player can exit a dungeon at any item and the story/calendar won’t advance so the player can leave a “Jail” from one of the numerous checkpoints scattered around a dungeon, have their health & “Stamina Points” (the game’s equivalent of “Magic Points”/MP) automatically restored, and return to where the player left off without a care.
The aforementioned “BOND” system that allows for the game’s skill tree to exist isn’t the only new out-of-combat gameplay addition. Players can purchase both recipes & food items to cook when inside the RV/“Phantom Mobile”. Cooked items produce “BOND” points when cooked for the first time and can be great restorative or buff items both during battle and outside of combat. Toned down, however, are the various HUDs the player will walk & run through while progressing through the story. While each new town looks magnificent & different compared to the one before or after it, there’s nothing to do in any of them outside of buying merchandise and, once in a while, completing an “Investigation” by talking to a few NPCs to advance the story.
The areas & cities of “Persona 5” felt alive with so many distractions that usually helped emphasize the wonderful “Confidant” system. The “Confidant” system also doesn’t exist in “Strikers” with a lot of the memorable characters from “Persona 5” conveniently on vacation; thus making the calendar system mostly unnecessary as it only advances when the player is ready. The “Request” system definitely adds content for the player to take part in while granting pretty impressive rewards including one-of-a-kind weapons that can’t be purchased through Sophia’s RV shop, but the requests themselves are usually fetch quests including gathering junk items dropped by fallen enemies in the most previous dungeon, or conquering past bosses and secret enemies.
Technically, “Strikers” is as stylish a “Persona” game as ever; though some of the textures & overall coloring seem a lot flatter in this iteration. The controllable camera can prove detrimental in smaller spaces, or when the number of enemies is so great it’s hard to determine what direction a character is being hit from or recognizing an enemy’s telegraphed attack before it’s too late. Loading times can also be a bit of a drag on non-SSD consoles; meaning Nintendo Switch owners will be waiting anywhere from five to fifteen seconds in regards to stage & cutscene transitions.
One of the most impressive things about “Persona 5” and “Persona 5 Royal” are their soundtrack; something that continues in “Strikers”. Beyond the remixed versions of “5’s” biggest hits are the impressive themes heard when moving through each dungeon. Sadly there is a sound issue that pops up a lot during battles including those with bosses where the characters are having conversations that are way too low to hear over the concussive fight happening onscreen. What should be emotional or informative moments adding to a war is lost because of poor audio mixing & planning. With the English voice cast returning, “Strikers” has a wonderful English dub that makes this one of the few Japanese-crafted experiences that is just as fun listening to the original cast as hearing their English counterparts.
“Strikers” tries to mix the best of both gaming worlds by having the frenetic gameplay of a musou experience while trying to present a gripping tale only a “Persona” game could produce; mostly succeeding in the process by gifting fans of “Persona 5” a successor worthy of the name with a more bombastic combat system.
Should You Play “Persona 5 Strikers”?
Unlike “Persona 5 Royal” that only added to what made the original iteration so much fun, “Strikers” is a grand departure that may turn off traditionalists or non-musou gamers. For “Persona 5” lovers who cared deeply about the many smaller systems that made up the overall experience including the “Confidant” system and the various side activities to increase Joker’s social stats will find this game incredibly underwhelming even if the combat is more exhilarating. Musou gamers who may not care for RPGs or “Persona” games in general will definitely find something to love here even if that means missing out on little things in regards to character interactions. Gamers who both enjoy “Dynasty Warriors” experiences and “Persona 5” will happily dump dozens upon dozens of hours into “Strikers” before & after the credits roll. It may not be the best musou or “Persona” game available, but it’s hard to deny how well it will steal your heart if you give it the chance.
