After the pad in hand test carried out during gamescom 2023 last month, SEGA e ATLUS have released new information related to the gameplay of Persona 5 Tactics. The last adventure of the “Phantom Thieves” of Tokyo arriving in November it will try to present itself as the definitive mix of the turn-based JRPG formula with the dynamics of the strategic genre, through an adventure in space-time that will conclude the gang’s last school year. Let’s see together the latest news revealed with this preview.
Persona 5 Tactica: Strength isn’t everything
As we saw during our test in Cologne, the adventure of Persona 5 Tactica will be divided into various missions, and each of them will present different objectives to complete and new “gimmicks” to keep in mind, such as the presence of special enemies or the possibility of changing the very foundations of the battlefields. To give one example among many, the arenas around the French Revolution-style world governed by Marie are full of lookouts and surveillance cameras ready to call for reinforcements should one of the characters in the party interact with them by mistake. On the other hand, some arenas will be able to offer the player new ideas and suggestions on how to eliminate the greatest number of units in a few moves, through strategic options represented by hidden switches and explosive barrels. Taking these possibilities into account, the development team had fun creating scenarios that will test the strategic skills of the players, proposing secondary missions that range from the classic victory in a single turn, to real puzzle levels from high replayability.
To complicate the situation and drastically reduce the chances of a quick and smooth victory, the unique enemies will take care of adding a little spice to the fights. The clashes within the world of Yoshiki will present special units specialized in stalling and creating chaotic situations that will lead to a considerable waste of time and turns. For example, the Sumo-maton will throw any type of unit – enemy or ally – against the players or in other areas of the map; the Overseer Geisha will protect weaker units from attacks, thus leading the player to develop new strategies capable of revolving around it;. and finally the Slimy Shinobi will create copies of themselves and who in turn will create further copies to prolong the battle indefinitely. It will therefore be fundamental, for the sake of completionism and min-maxing, to stop and think before carrying out some type of action to reach the most effective solution that will lead to victory and which will bring us closer to obtaining increasingly new Personas. strong.
Here you have a Persona, you too take a Persona! Person for everyone!
And speaking of the spirits that inhabit our subconscious, this new preview allowed us to go into a little more detail about the role and functioning of the Velvet Room and which in Persona 5 Tactica takes the form of a Steampunk workshop in which to forge new weapons and new summons. In addition to the classic Persona Fusion to be able to create new, increasingly stronger entities, Persona 5 Tactica reworks this option by re-introducing into the series the possibility of creating new weapons using one or more summons, with superior power and capable of offering a particular advantage in combat, as long as particular requirements are met such as a specific level or material, which can be obtained through farming or by completing the story mode scenarios.
And as if the tools already offered couldn’t make the party even more bloated and overpowered, in Persona 5 Tactica it will be possible to equip a sub-Persona capable of offering skills, new additional moves and an increase in your statistics. Think of it as a “Made in Atlus” version of the Mixi-Max present in Inazuma Eleven GO Chrono Stones and Galaxy, an additional power-up with which to give vent to your imagination and create new combinations and break the game balance with a mix of passive abilities which – following the tradition of Persona – will be fundamental during games played at a difficulty level higher than Normal, with the Hard difficulties and the classic Merciless which will add new rules such as the possibility of hitting your allies via friendly fire, a an option that – if implemented wisely in the final release – could open the doors to new strategies or new risks. Imagine a Megidolan of a Joker under the “brainwashed” status and with Spell Master as a passive skill… chills.
Piattaforme: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch
Developer: ATLUS
Manufacturer: SEGA
Release date: November 17, 2023
After previous story-focused previews and a hands-on look at the game’s core mechanics in Cologne, this latest quick look at Persona 5 Tactica showed us some of the more advanced technicalities to experiment with once the game hits the market. The variety of enemies to face and situations proposed have the potential to squeeze out the strategic formula of the game, to the point that there is a risk that this set of systems, sub-systems, upgrades and possibilities could be overwhelming and confusing. But hey, if that’s the price I pay for having a Morgana that can shoot death laser beams and heal my party at the same time then fine!
