Persona 5 has essentially become its own franchise at this point, with numerous versions, spin-offs, and ancillary media since its 2016 release. The latest take on the JRPG is Persona 5 Tactica, a tactical strategy game that mixes up the formula while keeping fans in a familiar world. I had the chance to play a few missions during a preview event and walked away excited to check out the full release.
In Persona 5 Tactica, the Phantom Thieves find themselves facing a new threat, The Legionnaires, a military group that reigns over the people of a newly discovered realm. After befriending a new ally, the mysteries of the realm are slowly revealed to the group. From the different cutscenes and conversations, it was clear that this new story takes place sometime after the events of Persona 5 proper.
Source: SEGA
The tactical gameplay in P5 Tactica more or less follows the standard formula: you take turns moving your characters around the battlefield, putting them into position to deliver attacks to enemies or stay out of harm’s way. The way the initiative works, you’ll always get to control your full team before the enemy gets to take their turn, so it’s easier to coordinate attacks and set up combos.
You can use your action to fire weapons at enemies, use a Persona, or physically attack them. The latter will knock an enemy out of position, removing it from cover and making it an easy target for your allies. Each character’s Persona also has unique effects that helped turn the tide of a battle. Joker’s had an AOE effect that helped swing the odds when my team was outnumbered.
Source: SEGA
When you land a killing blow on an enemy, you’re rewarded with One More!, which essentially allows you to take another action on the same turn. It deepens the strategy as you can have quite an efficient turn if you’re able to utilize your resources properly. If you’re able to position your characters in a triangle formation, and one of them has a One More! that turn, you can unleash a powerful combo attack that deals damage to all enemies inside the triangle.
During my time with Persona 5 Tactica, I saw a handful of battle maps and got to play as various characters from the P5 family, including a newcomer. Persona fans can embark on this new adventure when Persona 5 Tactica arrives on November 17, 2023.
