Persona 5 Strikers - Review @ MMORPG

MMORPG reviewed Persona 5 Strikers:

The RPG Files - Persona 5 Strikers Review

You'll Never See Them Coming

The RPG Files - Persona 5 Strikers Review

After my recent preview of Persona 5 Strikers, I couldn't wait to dive back into the full game and see if everything held up well throughout the whole game. I am delighted to report the entire game was a blast, and I enjoyed my time with it immensely. P5S has 30+ hours of gameplay, depending on how much time is spent on optional content. Throughout, the story is exciting, and all of the Phantom Thieves feel precisely how they did in Persona 5 Royal. It was a real pleasure spending time with them again. Both of the new main characters are also well done and full of the same depth as the rest of the cast. My main gripe about P5S is that my P5R save didn't have any real impact on the game. Most notably, there was no recognition that Joker was supposed to be dating Ann in my game. That is a minor gripe, though.

[...]

Conclusion

Persona 5 Strikers is a brilliantly executed melding of the Dynasty Warriors style gameplay with Persona 5 characters and systems. It delivers a solid story while staying true to the roots of both games. There were some small issues with how some of the systems were set up, the default sorting for the items list for one, and I wish some of the actual content of my P5R saves would have carried over. Despite these minor issues, I had a blast hanging with the Phantom Thieves again and working to make the world a better place. I would never have thought to ask for this melding, but it's a beautiful experience.

Score: 9.5/10

Click to expand...

More information.

These Persona games get incredible reviews and I was shortly before pulling the trigger on one a few times now. But every time I look at the screenshots I think… nah.

What is the appeal of these games? (Genuine question)

Darkheart said:

These Persona games get incredible reviews and I was shortly before pulling the trigger on one a few times now. But every time I look at the screenshots I think… nah.

What is the appeal of these games? (Genuine question)

Click to expand...

I can't answer your question about the game as I haven't played it but I have a question for you. Why do you think that no-one will take your question genuinely? Don't worry, no-one here will bite you for questioning the worth of the game. I would like to think people aren't that fragile.

I cannot speak to this particular Persona game, but I did play the original one when it was released, and most recently I played Persona Four near the end of last year. Both of those are really good, they each have a decent story with stellar combat mechanics. If you enjoy turn based combat and jrpg's in general, you'd likely dig both of those. Again, I'm not sure if this one is in the same vein, a lot of these excellent turn based games lately have been turning action-y, so beware of that possibility.

Darkheart said:

What is the appeal of these games? (Genuine question)

Click to expand...

They're set in modern times, making it more relatable than an elves/goblins fantasy land to a lot of people, while also delving a bit into everyday life for Japanese students (so it's familiar while still being a little unusual for westerner players). It's fairly long - long enough that you get time to interact with a wide range of characters a fair bit so that you get to know a lot of them. It has a striking visual and musical aesthetic, making it memorable for those who like stylish things. While it's not open world, there is a fair bit of freedom to choose what to do day-to-day so long as you finish each major dungeon by their deadline. The combat mechanics have a decent amount of depth with elemental weaknesses and there's a pokemon-esque element of collecting with capturing, merging and upgrading your summons.

Carnifex said:

Again, I'm not sure if this one is in the same vein, a lot of these excellent turn based games lately have been turning action-y, so beware of that possibility.

Click to expand...

Yes, Strikers is a Dynasty Warriors-esque action game spinoff, although it does keep a lot of the mechanics (like weaknesses) from the mainstream game.

Thanks for the opinions all! Seems like the true turn-based ones are worth a try. If the mechanics are solid, I think I can bear the JRPG-ness.

I just wanted to make sure my question doesn't come off as sarcastic.

I should hasten to add that Strikers is very much a sequel to the story of Persona 5, and should not be played first (before Persona 5) for any out there who aren't put off by it not being turn based - you'll probably be completely lost with what's going on if you try.

Darkheart said:

These Persona games get incredible reviews and I was shortly before pulling the trigger on one a few times now. But every time I look at the screenshots I think… nah.

Click to expand...

Yep, same here. I don't feel like playing a high school drama in cartoon style.

I don't want to be disrespectful to gamers who like it - each to his own. But just looking at the screenshots and videos makes me feel tired.

Darkheart said:

These Persona games get incredible reviews and I was shortly before pulling the trigger on one a few times now. But every time I look at the screenshots I think… nah.

What is the appeal of these games? (Genuine question)

Click to expand...

Based on obsession by console players with P3 I bought it when it came to PC.
Raving reviews from critics, numerous 10/10 masterpiece input from users.

That game is an utter bs.
I have no idea what was so fantastic to console audience.
P3 basically insulted my taste.
There is absolutely no way I'm gonna buy another Persona game ever again.
9.5/10 my arse.

joxer said:

That game is an utter bs.
I have no idea what was so fantastic to console audience.
P3 basically insulted my taste.
There is absolutely no way I'm gonna buy another Persona game ever again.
9.5/10 my arse.

Click to expand...

That's pretty much how I feel about most JRPGs in general.

Not me because I tend not to repeat mistakes.
No more Ys crap for example, one try was enough. Same goes for Dragon Dogma and Dragon Quest.
But Trails series? Or Yakuza? Yes please, I want more of that crazyness.

Seems that I adore their weird (or sick?) stories and characters.
When it comes to childrenfriendly titles however, I tend to hate it.

The jrpg's can definitely swing wildly in regards to quality. However, I will say that, if you can get over some silly looking graphics, some of these gems conceal very deep and enjoyable stories, with excellent combat mechanics. I'd rather risk a dollar with one of these than any current triple a title, by a country kilometer.

Persona 4 Golden was my introduction to the Persona universe, and it was fantastic - easily "game of the year" material for me. I quickly got Persona 5 Royale for the PS4 and am still playing that. They have turn-based combat and "grid" dungeons; Persona 5 Strikers is an action game so while I might play it, I'm in no rush to buy it now. A few points on the Persona series:

* It's a JRPG through and through, and like a lot of Japanese anime stories, this game features High-School aged people as protagonists. The adults are mostly the bad guys. This doesn't bother me and I'm in my 40's, because they tell a damn good story. I sometimes judge games and art and media on how well I remember it long after I've played it - was it forgettable or memorable? Persona 4 Golden and 5 Royale are very, very memorable. Excellent storytelling and art, I think. If you're bothered by the very idea of a roleplaying game featuring younger people in a school setting you probably won't like Persona games.

* The combat is pure gold (heh) - it's relaxing, turn based combat with a system of powers that can change based on what "persona" (class, in a way) you pick for your characters. In a somewhat interesting take on this, your class/persona matches up with a Jungian collective-unconscious style "Tarot card" - like Death or The Hermit or various deities/demons/whatnot from mythology. A fire-y card might net you fire powers, a healing-Goddess card might net you powerful healing and restorative abilities.

* The story is downright weird in some cases, and in Persona 4 Golden they delve into David Lynch like territory with some of it. I like this. If you prefer straightforward plots with little to no mystery, you might not like it. Persona 5 Royale features a talking cat-thing as one of your main companions through the first dungeon area, which is a subconscious dungeon based on the fact that one of the gym teachers/coaches is physically abusing his students and treating the school like his own personal kingdom. Yeah. You either like this stuff or you don't.

I liked Yakuza a lot too and I don't know that I'd consider Persona "child friendly" at all... there's a lot of weird psychological trauma that characters work through that a kid just wouldn't get. I wasn't into Ys myself. Can't comment too much on Dragon Quest yet, it's in my backlog.

Nod, I played Persona Four a few months back, and quite enjoyed it. I'd only ever played the first Persona prior to the fourth, I've never played the second or third, yet if they come to GoG or steam I'd likely give them a try.

Darkheart said:

These Persona games get incredible reviews and I was shortly before pulling the trigger on one a few times now. But every time I look at the screenshots I think… nah.

What is the appeal of these games? (Genuine question)

Click to expand...

I really like them...I thinks its the mix of modern with psi that makes it interesting....emotions play a big role in the story and you have to maximize your time during the day. It is a very different RPG, a bit JRPG with monster hunting and building sort of....really hard to explain but they are high rated for a reason.

joxer said:

Based on obsession by console players with P3 I bought it when it came to PC.
Raving reviews from critics, numerous 10/10 masterpiece input from users.

That game is an utter bs.
I have no idea what was so fantastic to console audience.
P3 basically insulted my taste.
There is absolutely no way I'm gonna buy another Persona game ever again.
9.5/10 my arse.

Click to expand...

Well, that should be a shinning endorsement

They also have quite the eclectic back-round, at least the two that I've played had those qualities. As Furtive noted above, an almost Lynchian quality to them, a view I consider both accurate and a high compliment.