There have been so many musou spin-offs for popular licenses that it can be hard to keep track of them all.
Yet Persona 5 Strikers manages to be more than just "another one" of those games.
It excellently captures the spirit of Persona 5, both in terms of that game's mechanics
as well as its storytelling.
There’s a fair amount to dig into, and if you're already invested in the escapades of the Phantom Thieves,
it's well worth the time to see how their journey continues.
Strikers does partly suffer from a sort of bland repetition that the musou genre is notorious for,
but there's so much to praise that it ends up feeling largely forgivable.
It’s hard to overstate just how impressively Strikers embodies the Persona 5 flavor.
While it does have the expected hacking and slacking,
a surprising number of core Persona elements
really enhance the basic gameplay, turning Strikers into more of an action RPG
than a typical Omega Force game.
Four characters engage in battle,
and you can actively switch between them at almost any time.
Every character has their own persona, which has its own set of skills.
It helps to regularly switch between characters to use their skills
for things like taking advantage of specific enemy weaknesses, healing allies,
buffing party members, and so on.
Strikers incorporates "1 more" and "all-out" attacks from Persona 5,
basically rewarding you with additional damage for exploiting a foe's vulnerabilities.
Joker, the main character, can utilize an entire stable of personas,
which he collects and fuses into new, even more powerful personas.
So not only do you want to carefully consider party composition
based on what you're fighting, but also how Joker's roster will complement that party.
It's a fair amount to think about and it's very similar to the kinds of strategic decisions
players make in Persona 5.
It lends a commendable sense of authenticity to Strikers
and that authenticity makes it easier to get invested.
The depth doesn't end with those ideas, however.
Every character has their own particular nuances which makes them all feel notably different from each other.
For instance, timing Sophia's attacks correctly raises her attack power and range,
while Haru can extend her finishers for large amounts of damage.
Although it doesn't sound like a whole lot on paper,
these small traits go a long way in keeping things interesting,
especially since you're encouraged to constantly switch between characters
and have to immediately grapple with someone that feels slightly different in the heat of the moment.
Swapping characters also makes the showtime gauge grow faster,
which builds toward a flashy super move.
Taking all of these mechanics together, there is a lively, frenetic nature to the fights in Strikers.
Yet it never gets to the point that it becomes totally mindless.
One thing to consider is that your skills take health or SP.
It can be especially easy to run out of SP, which isn’t always simple to recover,
necessitating a smart use of resources.
Such restrictions add an appreciated and enjoyable element of risk
without dampening the free-flowing joy of combat.
Even how you move around dungeons is smartly taken from Persona 5.
Rather than just running around and carelessly smacking enemies,
the player is supposed to use high vantage points or cover to avoid being seen.
Ambushing enemies gives you an edge in battle,
and being seen raises the dungeon's security level.
Raise it too high and you won't be able to open certain treasure chests.
If it gets all the way up, you'll be thrown out of the dungeon entirely.
While none of it is nearly as complex
as a game primarily focused on stealth,
the need for some caution adds to the stakes of dungeon crawling.
While initially very interesting, dungeons repeat certain ideas far, far too much.
Fending off waves of enemies as Futaba hacks open a path forward
or climbing large towers for glowing cores is fine at first,
but the appeal wears thin when you get to the next dungeon
and it throws the same ideas at you yet again.
It's not that dungeons don't have unique ideas, they definitely do, but
not enough to ward off the sense of sameness that quickly creeps in.
Side quests also suffer from similar issues.
If you have the urge to engage with them, which you probably should for the rewards,
expect to do the same sorts of tasks over and over again.
The combat is enjoyable enough that it helps balance the scales a bit, but not completely.
Although you don't raise confidant ranks with characters
or engage in a wide variety of daily activities like Persona 5,
Strikers does give you a fair amount of room to stretch your legs outside of battle
and engage with the ever-endearing cast.
You'll travel all across Japan, and the places you visit are delightful,
effectively capturing the sort of laid back vibe that Persona is known for,
which can be quite comforting.
There are shops to visit, recipes to learn,
and favors to do for your friends, which
have their own cute little stories that accompany them.
The actual plot is another highlight, although it mirrors Persona 5 a little too much.
Once again, you're changing the hearts of abusive people,
but there's enough emotional weight behind the narrative
that it still ends up resonating quite strongly.
A lot of it is carried by two of the new characters, Sophia and Zenkichi.
Sophia is a bright-eyed and cheerful AI companion.
Her chipper attitude isn't overdone or grating, but is instead
pretty adorable and makes her easy to like.
Zenkichi on the other hand is a competent police officer but not the most attentive father.
Uncovering his struggles and helping him through them are some of the strongest moments in the game.
It's also great having the main cast from Persona 5 all together right at the beginning.
There are few casts that are as much fun to watch interact
because of how believable their friendships are.
They tease and console each other in such a natural way,
and Strikers manages to nail these relationships perfectly.
The music deserves a special shout out.
Although much of it is lifted from Persona 5,
it only serves as a reminder of how spectacular that soundtrack is.
Strong themes constantly elevate moments,
whether it's a climatic boss battle or a deeply emotional segment.
If you have an attachment to the world and characters of Persona 5,
you owe it to yourself to play Strikers.
The shift in genre makes combat exciting,
and the story manages to capture so much of what made Persona 5 such an outstanding game.
The Phantom Thieves are back, not in some watered down spin off,
but in a way that will very likely steal your heart all over again.
Final score: 8 out of 10.
Want to hear more of our thoughts on the game?
Check out the latest episode of Frame Trap to listen to us discuss Persona 5 Strikers,
Little Nightmares II, Bowser’s Fury, and more.
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