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Persona 5 Strikers Review (PS4) – A Striking Adventure

In a rather unexpected collaboration with Koei Tecmo, Sega and Atlus have teamed up to release Persona 5 Strikers, a brand new entry into the Persona 5 series.

If you haven’t played Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal, you’ll be glad to know that you can jump straight into Persona 5 Strikers and won’t feel lost. Persona 5 Strikers tells a brand new tale and explains things pretty well.

The Gang’s Back Together

Players in Persona 5 Strikers will take on the role of “Joker” and will party up with familiar faces from the previous Persona 5 games. The returning characters are introduced to you quite early in the story though so newcomers won’t feel left out. Each and every single returning character is still as great as ever and the new characters introduced in Persona 5 Strikers are excellent, especially Sophia.

Persona 5 Strikers - Screenshot 1

Some mild plot spoilers follow in the next two paragraphs so avert your eyes if you want to go in blind. Persona 5 Strikers kicks off with Joker and the gang meeting up for a summer vacation together. However just as they are about to finally have a relaxing break, things go awry. After heading out to buy some camping supplies in Shibuya, Joker, Morgana and Ryuji encounter a popular idol, Alice Hiragi. Alice addresses a crowd at a store and Joker lucks out. He gets given a special private access code by Alice to input into the EMMA phone app. EMMA is an A.I application that’s been trending that assists users with advice and other information.

Persona 5 Strikers - Screenshot 2

After leaving the presentation and just before heading back out, Joker inputs the code “Wonderland” into the EMMA app on his phone. Suddenly the trio are transported into an alternate dimension known as a “Jail”. This is where the plot really thickens and the game’s mystery begins to unfold with Alice being a major antagonist.

In the alternate dimension players will encounter Sophia and this is where the game introduces you to its major battle systems and dungeon mechanics. Stating anything further regarding the story delves too much into spoiler territory but I will say that those who played Persona 5 previously will definitely love that they are getting more Persona 5 goodness here.

Newcomers can still enjoy this tale but might find themselves asking some questions about certain character’s backstories and interactions, which will hopefully lead them to playing Persona 5 itself.

Persona 5 Strikers - Screenshot 3

Persona 5 x Button Bashing

Being a “musou” game, there’s plenty of button bashing in Persona 5 Strikers. Players will combine their own attacks with their Persona summon attacks and string together various flashy moves to defeat foes.

There are literal hordes of enemies thrown at you and the combat is quite fast paced. Players will also be able to use special skills and other attacks which deal massive amounts of damage. “All Out” attacks as they are called in-game are extremely satisfying to watch.

Persona 5 Strikers - Screenshot 4

Later on in the game, players will begin to unlock new Personas and can swap in new party members. The battle system and combat mechanics work extremely well with more traditional JRPG elements such as solving puzzles in dungeons. Persona 5 Strikers strikes, if you’ll excuse the pun, the perfect balance between button bashing and the more complex gameplay and storytelling that the Persona franchise is known for.

P5S Persona

Being a Persona game there’s plenty of visual novel story segments and this breaks up the gameplay quite well. Players will be treated to a hefty chunk of visual novel storytelling and then adventure through a dungeon while defeating foes, with some more story conversations interspersed throughout.

It’s extremely well balanced and the entire game is masterfully executed. You’d be forgiven for thinking that you’re playing a fully fledged Persona 5 sequel here because this definitely isn’t just a mindless button bashing game.

The full game might take you around 50 hours to complete too so do bear in mind that this isn’t a short adventure. There’s a lot to do in-game both inside and outside of dungeons.

P5Strikers - Screenshot 5

Graphically, Persona 5 Strikers still oozes the same visual flair that the original Persona 5 had back in 2016. The flashy effects are top notch in battles and the UI design is fantastic. Another stellar aspect of the game is its soundtrack. The same Persona excellence from the original game is still as prevalent as ever here with every track in this game being an absolute pleasure to listen to.

Final Verdict

Overall, Persona 5 Strikers is another amazing entry into the Persona franchise. It might not be a true sequel to Persona 5 but it sure does do a great job of expanding on the Persona 5 world even further.

The new characters are a welcome addition and the mix of button bashing “musou” gameplay and traditional Persona style storytelling works out well.

If you’re a fan of Persona 5, do not overlook Persona 5 Strikers and if you’re a newcomer, you’ll be able to enjoy this title too.

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