“Another Fun Spin-Off That Proves The Depth Of Its Source Material”: Persona 5 Tactica Review

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Persona 5 Tactica asks the question: “what if Persona 5 was an XCOM game?” It really is that simple, as developer P-Studio borrows heavily from the latter series to fuel the latest journey through the P5 universe. As it turns out, the answer to that question is equally simple – it’s another excellent entry into a growing portfolio of Persona 5 spin-offs, and a successful blend of the series’ trademark charming art style and the deep strategy of XCOM-style tactical RPGs.

For those unfamiliar with the newest genre Persona 5 has entered, tactical RPGs – especially those inspired by XCOM – tend to lean heavily on the tactical side of the description, with dynamic combat systems, character classes, weapon deployments, and deep strategy that combine to create a highly creative battlefield. That remains true for Persona 5 Tactica, though its graphical style and innovations in line with the series’ psychology-littered universe make it memorable and unique.

Lead The Revolution

Persona 5 Tactica follows the Phantom Thieves as they find themselves in a new cognitive universe that operates differently to the Metaverse they’ve become accustomed to. While they can still summon their Personae, they’re all limited to one – including Joker – and the universe begins with clear nods to the real world, as the group finds themselves in the Leblanc café before long.

Pretty soon, the group meets up with Erina, a revolutionary fighting against the tyranny of her world, and the plot follows the usual beats found in Persona titles. There’s some drama, some self-discovery, liberal amounts of anti-establishment rhetoric, and the occasional off-putting joke about Panther’s costume (truthfully, I can’t believe we’re still doing this). It’s another narrative centered around the idealism of youth juxtaposed against the bitter reality of adulthood, and although Persona 5 has told this story before, there’s enough differences that it remains interesting.

Persona 5 Tactica also benefits from the fact it has access to most of its familiar faces quickly. While some of the early plot removes members of the Phantom Thieves from the narrative early, they’re back soon enough, and having this many well-established characters from the beginning creates a lot of compelling, slice-of-life scenes that veterans of the franchise will thoroughly enjoy. While the Personae themselves take a pretty big back seat in Persona 5 Tactica, the trade-off is even more time with a cast that’s proven time-and-again it’s one of the best elements of Persona 5.

Persona 5 Tactica also nails the aesthetic in a way that feels true to the tactical RPG genre. Scene transitions feature colorful animations, and the menus are vibrant and flashy without sacrificing the utility that’s desperately needed in games that juggle so many moving parts during combat. While the chibi-style representations of characters do take some getting used to, they’re also expressive and don’t hinder the emotional beats of the story. Persona 5 Tactica successfully captures the stylish charm that P5 is known for, and feels a lot like home in spite of the genre shift.

Tactical Battles With Fun Nuances

Gameplay mechanics in Persona 5 Tactica are the biggest leap from the original RPG to its current iteration, but it doesn’t take long to get up to speed. The Phantom Thieves (and friends) deploy as small squads onto maps with enemies in pre-determined positions and get a chance to observe the battlefield’s environment prior to setting out. Combat mostly involves hiding behind cover before using various attacks to displace or disorient enemies, which then allows for follow-up attacks in line with Persona 5‘s weakness exploitation system. Melee, gun, and Persona attacks are all available and offer different uses for battle.

In practice, Persona 5 Tactica is a little more beginner-friendly than other XCOM-esque games. Persona skills can be extremely damaging or have wide areas of effect without worrying about sight obscuring, so even a turn that sees a Phantom Thief poorly positioned can be bailed out by a Persona attack. The addition of All-Out Attacks – triggered when the player positions 3 units in a triangle around downed enemies – also adds a neat wrinkle to the combat, and those who are able to plan out their turns in advance will be rewarded handsomely.

Customize & Adapt

While the customization system is a little different from Persona 5, it’s familiar the same way that the combat nuances and aesthetics are in Persona 5 Tactica. Players gain access to a skill tree for each character that allows them to focus on what specific strengths they want them to have, functioning almost like a job selection in a traditional RPG, especially early on when GP is hard to come by. It also means the Phantom Thieves can be deployed in pretty much any combination as long as skill trees have been developed in ways that are complementary to each other, which allows for some team-ups that may not have been strategically savvy in the RPG proper.

Persona 5 Tactica also lets players equip one additional Persona to every Phantom Thief. These Personae give stat bonuses and access to skills that range from elemental damage coverage, status ailment infliction, or passives that provide bonuses based on unit positioning. This further deepens the game’s ability to provide customized battle loadouts that suit specific strategies, which are needed the deeper into the game players dive.

Final Thoughts & Review Score

While the depth and gravity of Persona 5‘s story are sorely missing here, Persona 5 Tactica is a fun journey that features enough of the charm and strategy that colored its inspiration to thrive. The tactical elements feel easy at first but do deepen as the game progresses, and the aesthetic could be off-putting to those who don’t find chibi art appealing, but the moving parts all work together here in a way that makes P5T feel like it stands on its own.

Ultimately, Persona 5 Tactica is another fun spin-off that proves the depth of its source material. Persona 5 has successfully ported itself to the musou, rhythm, and tactical genres, all the while maintaining the charm and flash that made it so instantly recognizable. At this point, it would be weirder to see a genre that the series didn’t successfully adapt itself to than one it does.

Screen Rant was provided with a Nintendo Switch code for the purpose of this review.