The Persona franchise has always been quietly popular stateside, but Persona 5 really seemed to stick the landing. Thanks to a slick sense of style and an engaging story about changing the hearts of the wicked, the world and characters resonated to create a whirlwind experience that reigned supreme on 2017's Game of the Year lists.
That was nearly four years ago, and Persona 5 still stands heads and shoulders above other JRPGs. Now Atlus is giving the game a proper, full-blown continuation. Persona 5 Strikers isn't just incredible; it's possibly the third time we'll see the Phantom Thieves on Game of the Year charts, and the game more than deserves that spot.
Strikers picks up a few months after Persona 5. While it doesn't explicitly spoil the events of Persona 5, it is still very clearly a continuation. Joker and Morgana are returning to Shibuya for a summer trip with their friends when they discover a new app, EMMA, which can navigate the Metaverse. Inside this mysterious new aspect of the Metaverse, they discover a local pop star has been stealing the desires of Shibuya's citizens to turn them into throngs of loving fans at her beck and call. The Phantom Thieves suit up once more to save the city and shut down the newly dubbed Jail, but soon find out there's far more at stake than initially believed and set out on a cross-country trip to stop the so-called "Change Of Hearts Epidemic."
Strikers continues Persona's grand tradition of putting players in the shoes of relatable, younger protagonists to stand up against a wicked world. However, Strikers does so by combing the musou and JRPG genres, resulting in one of the most fun gaming experiences we've laid hands on in some time. On the surface, combat looks like the traditional "button mashing against waves of enemies" gimmick you may have played in Hyrule Warriors or Dynasty Warriors, but there's an elegance and a grace to it that we didn't expect to see.
What makes this so much damn fun as a musou title is a focus on the characters and Personas themselves. All of the Phantom Thieves and their respective Personas are at your disposal, with Joker retaining his status as the "Wild Card" who can use multiple Personas. To that end, you'll once again have access to Lavenza and the Velvet Room, where you can summon, fuse and register your Personas. In addition to standard combat and spells, each character has a Showtime attack where they'll team up with their Persona for a cinematic ultimate attack. All-Out Attacks are also back, bringing in the whole team for big damage when an opponent has their guard broken. Other traditional JRPG staples make their way in, too, like equipment upgrades and item buffs. Through the use of abilities, combos and Showtime attacks, the memorable characters and their incredible Personas are integrated seamlessly into an enjoyable and unforgettable combat experience.
Combat requires you to plan ahead, which means you're always engaged in the battle and never just watching it fly by you. You'll go into battle with four characters, and you can swap between them at will. The game encourages switching characters through a Baton Pass mechanic, where you'll receive attack buffs and a faster Showtime meter charge by utilizing your whole team. By efficiently utilizing your team, even the most challenging bosses will be downed in minutes. Sure, some characters inevitably will fall to the wayside (I found Ryuji and Ann, two heavy hitters focused primarily on Lightning and Fire elementals respectively, to be the least useful, though your mileage may vary), but it's imperative that you spend at least some time with every member of the team.
Speaking of characters, the two new additions may be the best the series has seen yet. Sophia, an AI the team meets early on, is at the forefront of some of my favorite moments in the story. Watching her grow as she strives to learn what it means to have a heart makes for some of the game's most emotional and incredible moments. Also aiding the Thieves is Zenkichi Hasegawa, a Public Security officer pressuring the team to help him solve the "Change of Hearts Epidemic" in exchange for their freedom. Zenkichi primarily exists to keep the plot moving by making sure the Phantom Thieves don't break too many laws in their pursuit of Monarchs, but his character and story beats make for a deeply personal one that is sure to have some players relating on an emotional level. Sophia and Zenkichi are two perfect additions to the already fleshed out world of Persona 5, and I sincerely hope this won't be the last time we see them.
While most Warriors titles stick to a tried and true "pick a mission on a map to start the next mission" formula, Strikers embraces the RPG roots of Persona to stick you in the middle of the action. For the most part, each Jail follows the same structure: investigate the Jail's ruler (dubbed the Monarch), find the aspects that power said Monarch and unlock the door to the boss fight by defeating the manifestation of their trauma. It sounds formulaic, but the game keeps you on your toes with its gripping plot and the stunning, unique design of each Jail.
However, there's plenty to do when you're not in a Jail. Each city you're in has a host of stores where you can purchase food items to restore your health and stamina points, as well as ingredients for cooking. Cooking in Joker's Kitchen proves to be an essential aspect of gameplay; Joker's dishes will provide the best bang for your buck as curative items, especially in the game's early hours. It's a great feature, but you'll probably still notice that it's laid out somewhat similar to Final Fantasy XV's cooking mini-game -- even to the point of Joker's "flash of inspiration" for a new recipe.
Shops for weapons and items are out, though; the ones you shopped at in Persona 5 have closed for the summer, so you'll have to rely on Sophie's Shop. Though the item store and recipe selection are slim at first, you can purchase new recipes from various restaurants or expand your selection of recipes and items by completing Requests. These short sub-missions require you to complete specific objections. Requests range from the almost mundane (deliver a number of specific junk parts) to the challenging (make it to the furthest point of a Jail with no fast travel and without being detected by enemies). Some also branch out into the real world, moving the character and plot progression along with hijinks like teaching a team member how to cook.
I've always been a fan of the Shin Megami Tensei games, but I'm honestly hopeful that Strikers sets a new standard for Persona spin-offs. Don't get me wrong: I don't want the JRPG series to end, and I love the traditional turn-based combat those titles offer. But the style and substance of the Persona series is so beautifully enhanced by the more action-oriented, team-based action of the musou genre that I can't help but hope we'll see more of these games in the future. Strikers is a masterclass in how to continue a franchise, and it lays the groundwork for these characters to continue to appear for years to come.
Developed by Omega Force and P-Studio and published by Atlus, Persona 5 Strikers will be available for Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Steam on February 23, 2021.
CBR was provided with a review copy of the game by the publisher.