Persona 5 Tactica Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

For this Persona 5 Tactica Review, we join the Phantom Thieves as they lead an uprising of the heart! Assemble an all-star team of heroes in a brand-new story in this thrilling combat adventure set in Persona’s iconic universe. After a strange incident, the Phantom Thieves wander into a bizarre realm where its citizens are living under tyrannical oppression. Surrounded by a military group named Legionnaires, they find themselves in grave danger until a mysterious revolutionary named Erina rescues them and offers an enticing deal in exchange for their help. What truth lies behind Erina and the deal she offers to the Phantom Thieves?

Persona 5 Tactica Review Pros:

  • Beautiful graphics.
  • 7.1GB download size.
  • 15 save slots.
  • Turn-based strategy gameplay.
  • It has a top-tier soundtrack.
  • Controller settings – Invert axis and sensitivity sliders.
  • Game settings – autosave, automatic Persona registration, firing direction indicator, vibration, camera shake, and screen brightness slider.
  • You can rebind controls and they are in four groups – common, battle, hideout, and event.
  • Japanese and English voice choices.
  • Subtitles and captions option.
  • Five difficulties – Safe, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Merciless.
  • Name entry for first and second name.
  • In-game cutscenes with in-game interactions.
  • Character interactions can be skipped, fast-forwarded, and set to auto-scroll.
  • Really good voice work.
  • Multiple choice encounters and questions.
  • The game has so much style.
  • One more is where an enemy gets downed and you get to do one more turn, it helps when fighting a load of enemies as you get more turns.
  • Turn-based combat.
  • You can end your turn at any time.
  • The full cover-based mechanic where you can be harder to be shot at, get protection, etc.
  • You get to freely move around the limit of your movement.
  • A full 3D world with full 360 camera control.
  • When lining up attacks and abilities you can see how much damage you would do.
  • End of battle breakdown shows EXP earned and any awards you earned which are basically optional side quests to do. Any items found is shown aswel.
  • Skills use SP to cast and most skills are not affected by obstacles.
  • Ailments are in the game and it’s for things like burning or poisoned.
  • A handy undo last turn menu option.
  • Play levels how you want.
  • Auto saves regularly.
  • Enemies react to attacks like if you kill half a team then the survivors wince and shake.
  • Analysis is where you scan an enemy to get stats on them.
  • Every encounter is not a case of just wiping everyone out, sometimes you have to do things like getting to a set location.
  • The hideout is where you go in between fights and here you chat with people, deal with your team, and save.
  • Memorable characters, even more so if you have played Persona 5.
  • The shop found in the hideout lets you buy new ranged weapons and you buy them for each individual team member.
  • Weapons will show if it’s better or worse than the currently equipped weapon.
  • The phantom thieves level (your team’s name) goes up and is shared among the team, levelling it up increases HP, SP, and melee attack damage.
  • GP (growth points) are earned and found in the game, these are used to level up individuals by utilizing their skill trees.
  • Skill trees are generally broken up into parts, you can always refund points or set the game to auto-assign points for you.
  • Best played with headphones.
  • A grid can appear when using analysis or in combat.
  • Neon yellow tiles in a battle are healing spots.
  • Revenger-type enemies will auto-retaliate against your first attack and then become downed if attacked again.
  • A triple threat (all-out attack) is an awesome cutscene-inducing group attack.
  • Sometimes a battle sequence will appear and it’s almost like a brutal puzzle, you have X amount of turns to kill all of your enemies for Rewards.

Persona 5 Tactica Review Cons:

  • Long initial load.
  • Slow starter with a lot of cutscenes and interactions.
  • Loading times in general are up and down in terms of length.
  • The opening fights are very drawn out and hand-holdy.
  • Takes some getting used to the movement as it is very sensitive but also you don’t move and it ends your turn, you can basically move around infinitely until you press the end turn button.
  • You cannot pass through your team or low-level obstacles.
  • A lot to take in and it feels like it’s constant.
  • No real way to skip over explanations.
  • The first few hours are more story and menus than action.
  • New team members take a bit of getting used to in terms of how they fit in what attacks they do etc.

Related Post: Astral Ascent Review (Steam)

Persona 5 Tactica:

Official website.

Developer: ATLUS

Publisher: SEGA

Store Links –

Nintendo

  • 9/10
    Graphics - 9/10
  • 9/10
    Sound - 9/10
  • 8/10
    Accessibility - 8/10
  • 9/10
    Length - 9/10
  • 9/10
    Fun Factor - 9/10
8.8/10

Summary

Persona 5 Tactica is a game that stands out for its beautiful graphics and top-tier soundtrack. The game, which requires a 7.1GB download, offers 15 save slots and features turn-based strategy gameplay. The settings are comprehensive, including controller settings like invert axis and sensitivity sliders, and game settings like autosave, automatic Persona registration, firing direction indicator, vibration, camera shake, and screen brightness slider. Controls can be rebound and are categorized into four groups: common, battle, hideout, and event.

The game offers both Japanese and English voice choices and an option for subtitles and captions. There are five difficulties to choose from: Safe, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Merciless. The game allows for name entry for the first and second names and features in-game cutscenes with interactions. Character interactions can be skipped, fast-forwarded, and set to auto-scroll. The voice work is praised as being really good, and the game is noted for its style.

The combat system is turn-based, and you can end your turn at any time. It includes a full cover-based mechanic where you can be harder to be shot at, get protection, etc. You get to freely move around the limit of your movement in a full 3D world with full 360 camera control. When lining up attacks and abilities, you can see how much damage you would do. The end-of-battle breakdown shows EXP earned and any awards you earned which are basically optional side quests to do. Any items found are shown as well.

However, the game does have some drawbacks. It has a long initial load and a slow start with a lot of cutscenes and interactions. Loading times in general are up and down in terms of length. The opening fights are very drawn out and hand-holdy. It takes some getting used to the movement as it is very sensitive but also you don’t move and it ends your turn, you can basically move around infinitely until you press the end turn button. You cannot pass through your team or low-level obstacles. There’s a lot to take in and it feels like it’s constant. There’s no real way to skip over explanations. The first few hours are more story and menus than action. New team members take a bit of getting used to in terms of how they fit in what attacks they do etc.

Despite a few issues, Persona 5 Tactica is a game that offers a unique and engaging experience spin-off in the Persona universe. It’s best played with headphones and is sure to provide hours of entertainment for fans of Perona and Strategy players alike, They aim to add their own spin on the genre and nail it and then some.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!