I’d heard that Persona 5: Strikers was coming, and I was excited, but not really excited. I loved the first game (it’s easily in my top ten GOAT games), but I wasn’t sure what to make of the rumors I’d heard about the game.

Was it a sequel or some sort of spin-off?

When I saw that it looked like it was being designed like a Dynasty Warriors clone, like so many other IPs, my interest waned further. Not that I don’t like those types of games– because I actually do enjoy them every once in a while– but that wasn’t what I wanted from a Persona title.

Therefore, I did not rush out at release or even spend any more time researching the game. I knew I would give it a shot . . . eventually. I owed Persona that much. 

Recently, I noticed the game had gone on sale in the Playstation Store. I’d earned some extra money and had another deal, so I thought I’d give it a try.

Here’s what I learned.

 

The Misconception

The game feels like Persona 5 from the get-go.

The nostalgia of returning to the old stomping grounds and seeing sites such as Boss’ cafe and the streets of town was a pleasant start, as was the fact that the story picks up shortly after the original game’s story concluded.

It does not take long before you are thrown into your first battle to try out the new combat system. It moves quickly and can quickly unravel into chaos, but was actually relatively fun.

All of the familiar features are there, transformed to make them accessible in this new, fast-paced format. It reminded me a lot of how Final Fantasy VII Remake modified the original’s gameplay, to be honest.

I felt like this could be a pretty cool spin on the original concept, an attempt to keep the game fresh despite the obvious similarities between this game and the original. But it made me wonder whether this game was a gimmick, a money-grab similar to using one game’s engine to build another, just trying to make a few changes to draw interest.

What I expected was for this game to be like those other games: 90% churning through overwhelming armies of enemies with 10% plot.

That was my misconception, and I’d advise you not to make the same mistake.

 

The Story

It did not take long before I found myself bogged down in long stretches of character conversations and story developments, which for anyone who enjoys the way Persona plays out like a visual novel, was a welcome surprise.

I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for the slash-fest to begin, but it didn’t.

The game introduces a new story that builds off the original game, and you get a chance to catch up with the Phantom Thieves as a new plot unravels with new, interesting villains. In no time at all, it’s easy to forget that you’re NOT playing some kind of DLC extension of Persona 5.

I was saddened, however, that the game plays out with no references to events or characters from Persona 5: Royal. The way they expertly wove that story within the original, I would have expected they could have done the same here. It would have rewarded those who played Royal and also advertised it for any who had not tried the game.

Nonetheless, the game’s plot is fully developed and establishes itself as a suitable candidate for a sequel.

 

The Combat

The only time I felt that I wasn’t playing Persona 5 was when combat begins. Now, I expected combat to consist of stages of non-stop combat where you attempted to achieve an objective, but it’s really not.

It works almost exactly the way it did in the original game. Typically, you will see a shadow and have a chance to ambush it. You can hide just like before, and when you succeed, you get a battle advantage.

Only, instead of going into a turn-based menu, the monsters appear and you immediately go into the fast-paced new combat system, right there on the map. The battles are fun and nearly all of the features are there in one form or another, including being able to pass off to another character, which actually puts you in control of the party member and you get to fight using their skills and weapons.

You are also able to change your characters out from where you are instead of having to go to a safe room or back to the entrance of dungeons.

Experience and Persona leveling works exactly the same as before, only you change and use them during combat. It’s surprisingly fun and lets you get through battles a lot faster.

The only downside is that when you are first learning, the game throws a lot of tutorials and different concepts at you fairly quickly, so it’s easy to get confused and struggle to keep up until you have a handle on the mechanics.

 

The Music

The music is the same invigorating disco thumping music you’ve come to cherish, featuring both new tunes (with vocals) and impressive remixes of some of the original songs, usually with a nice sharp edge. Thumbs up!

 

The Art

The cool style you’ve grown to love is back, immersing you right back into the world as though you never left. Fantastic color schemes and flashy images rule the day, as they should. For me, that style IS Persona 5, and I hope they transfer this style to future Persona main entries because it clearly works.

 

What’s Missing

While the game surprised me with how good it is, and how much it felt like just another chapter in Persona 5, there are some differences.

❖     The calendar exists but is not the iron-fisted tyrant that it was before.

❖     The game takes place over one summer instead of a school year, so the class elements are gone.

❖     Relationship building with other characters has been replaced with creating bonds with the characters you have through combat, which provides its own set of unlockable rewards.

❖     The game tops out around 35-45 hours depending on how OCD you are about doing everything or leveling your characters and Personas, about half what you could feature from the original game. How much of that is due to the missing class and stat improving scenes and scenarios I am uncertain.

❖     We’ve already touched on the battle mechanics, but it is a lot more similar than you expect and still manages to feel similar.