Persona 5 Tactica is a game in the SRPG genre. Role-playing game (RPG) is a word with an S. S is usually interpreted as simulation, but depending on the game, S may be interpreted as strategy.
Alternating between your turn and the opponent’s turn, or moving characters or pieces on tiles such as a checkerboard or chessboard, good actions or choices can result in your character growing or your allies becoming stronger. It has features.
Game name: Persona 5 Tactica
Genre name: SRPG
release date: 2023. 11. 17.
developer: ATLUS
service: Sega
platform: PS, XBOX, SWITCH, PC
The basic framework of Persona 5 Tactica is that of the main game, Persona 5. The character can use melee weapons and ranged weapons. You can create a persona that can materialize the ‘other self’ within a person, or use that ability.
Here, Tactica has adopted several stereotypes of the ‘S’ of ‘SRPG’ and is also introducing Tactica’s own ‘S’.
Looking at the fact that the defense performance varies depending on whether the character can hide in low or high cover, it looks like a game similar to XCOM, and when you look at the use of magical Persona skills, it looks like a Japanese SRPG like Fire Emblem. do.
However, Tactica’s strategy is completely different from XCOM or Fire Emblem. The strategy of games such as XCOM, Wasteland, and Jagged Alliance is fundamentally focused on controlling and managing probability. The basic strategy is to attack with a higher probability and be attacked with a lower probability.
It is important to utilize compatibility with Fire Emblem, Tactics Ogre, and Langrisser-style strategies. Unit compatibility where swords are strong against axes, axes are strong against spears, and spears are strong against swords, as well as attribute compatibility represented by fire, wind, earth, and water, are included as important strategies in the game.
Persona 5 Tactica chose a completely different path from the two types of strategies. There is no probability in the attack, and there is no unit compatibility. Tactica has its own strategy.
There are two keys to the strategy: The first is the ‘One More’ system that the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series had.
In the existing series, if you make a well-matched attack or critical hit, you get the benefit of being able to act one more time with a ‘press turn’ or ‘one more turn’. In Tactica, when you attack a defenseless target that is not in guard mode, you get a ‘one more’ turn by ‘downing’ the target.
You are not at a level where you can attack once more, and you receive a new turn. You can activate another ‘One More’ turn with another target. Having plenty of opportunities to act is very important in Tactica. This is because of the second element, the attack method called ‘all-out attack’.
When a downed enemy unit is surrounded by three allies, it inflicts heavy damage to all units within the triangle formed. The larger the triangle, the more units can be included in it. In Tactica, the most strategic choice is to keep getting turns with one character, creating a giant triangle.
It gives the feeling of continuously solving mini-puzzles, which is completely different from previous SRPG experiences.
In Persona 5 Tactica, the story centers on the eight ‘Phantom Thieves’, a new girl named ‘El’ who appears in this work, and a young politician ‘Toshiro Kasukabe’.
In previous works, the Phantom Thieves’ characters’ personalities and actions have already been completed. There is no change or expansion of character in this work either. However, for those who have not played Persona 5, there is no narrative about the existing characters, so it is necessary to understand the characters’ personalities and relationships with each other through context or notes provided by the game.
There are basically three characters participating in battle. Each character uses different types of weapons and skills.
For example, the character Haru can use a grenade launcher that can attack a wide range and a ‘Sai’ series skill that can pull enemies in. Each character also has a ‘unique skill’ that uses a voltage gauge. It’s fun to think about what characteristics your party will have.
And since characters who did not start in the previous stage receive a buff called ‘Best Condition’ in the next battle, it is effective to change the combination every time.
A ‘persona’ is something that gives a variation to a given character. In Tactica, all Phantom Thieves can equip Personas.
There are over 200 different personas available in the game. When you equip a persona, the HP, SP, and attack power of that persona are added to the character. Unlike the previous game, you do not learn new skills when you level up your Persona. Two skills are added to the character, inheriting the persona’s unique skill and one of the skills of the persona used during the merger.
Since both active and passive skills can be inherited, you can create a character specialized in melee attack power, or a character who can use ice and fire at the same time.
The game’s play time is about 25 hours. It took me 22 hours to finish the first round on the highest difficulty level. If you want to get all the quests, 3 stage stars, and the highest level Persona from the first time, you should consider the volume to be about 25 to 30 hours. There is also an element of sequential succession. In the second round, your possessions, equipment, Persona Compendium, etc. will be inherited.
The story follows the typical pattern of the Persona series. Keywords such as friendship, justice, effort, hope, and resistance are central. I like the story of the phantom thieves and new characters mixing together, but I can’t help but feel it’s a bit predictable.
The BGM that the Persona series boasts is still good in Tactica. The cheerful and modern sound is a pleasure to listen to not only in battle, but also in the lobby. There were no bugs throughout the game, and it came out so cleanly that there were no translation errors. Even with Steam Deck, 60 frames are maintained.
Persona 5 Tactica is a game that clearly has its weaknesses.
The first is difficulty. There are five difficulty levels in Tactica. There are a variety of options, from users who enjoy the story to those who want a challenging level of difficulty. The highest difficulty level, RISKY difficulty, is not very difficult. If you have the equipment that can be equipped at the normal progress time and have the Persona at the appropriate level, you can complete most missions in one go.
There is no need to worry about synergistic combinations or play to maximize the characteristics of each character.
The second is the depth of strategy and tactics.
Since the difficulty of the game is not high, the depth of strategy also feels shallow. The most efficient attack method from the beginning to the end of the game is to use ‘all-out attack’ a lot in one turn with one blocker who can make guarded enemies defenseless and one runner with high movement speed and long shooting range. no see.
No matter what map you play, what enemies you play, what your team composition is, or what Persona you equip, this method will be the best, most convenient, and most preferred.
The more ways you can eliminate enemies, the more depth you can feel about your strategy. It’s unfortunate that the most efficient method appears to be sticking out.
There are also few types of bosses and regular monsters. The gimmick of the boss battle was fun, but the level of difficulty wasn’t high, so I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was boring from the middle of the boss battle.
There are many types of personas and various skills, but there was no need for such strategic consideration. It’s a pity that if the gimmicks of the maps and general monsters had been a little more diverse and lethal, I would have been able to have fun thinking about which character to choose and which persona to equip.
Persona 5 Tactica is an overall good SRPG.
It’s fun just to see charming characters that have already been proven in previous works recreated in cute art. I mentioned that the difficulty feels a bit easy as a weakness, but it may be suitable for people who don’t like having to worry a lot in one turn.
