Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers has been available in Japan for months now, and nearly a year after its release, a Western version of the game is finally set to be announced. While Atlus has yet to post the trailer for the game, it has leaked, showing fans that Persona 5 Scramble will boast the same hack-and-slash gameplay in the United States, albeit with a new title.
In the West, Persona 5 Scramble will be going by the name Persona 5 Strikers, dropping the “Scramble” subtitle in favor of something more fitting of the gameplay. While some were worrying about the Western version’s status following the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity announcement, Persona fans outside of Japan can rest assured that the latest adventure for the beloved characters is still coming. As it turns out, the game will also be releasing sooner rather than later.
Confirming a Persona 5 Scramble rumor from last week, the game is set to release in February of next year. Arriving on February 23, specifically, the Western release comes exactly a year after the Japanese launch. Surprisingly, the leaked trailer ends with confirmation of another platform for Persona 5 Strikers. While the Switch and PS4 versions were both expected, the reveal that Persona 5 Strikers would launch on Steam as well is a genuine shocker.
With the main game still not available on Nintendo Switch, and gamers coping by recreating Persona 5 scenes in Animal Crossing, perhaps the Western release of this spinoff could push fans to voice the need for Persona 5 on other platforms. If that ever happens, a Steam release seems just as likely as a Switch release based on this latest reveal. Regardless, at least Persona 5 Scramble is guaranteed to come to a larger audience, with an appropriate comment from Ryuji of “for real?” at the end of the trailer.
Apart from an official release date and a surprise Steam platform announcement, the rest of the trailer is fairly predictable for those that followed the game’s Japanese release. With glimpses at the action-heavy combat of the spinoff as well as cutscenes from the game’s story, the trailer does a fine job of hyping up fans who may not be knowledgeable on what the spinoff entails. The trailer also confirms that the entire game will be dubbed, using the same English voice cast from the original Persona 5, something that should come as good news to players due to this possibly being Joker’s last Persona adventure.
Come February, many patient fans of The Phantom Thieves that have been waiting to play Persona 5 Strikers will finally have their chance. If Morgana’s recent teases mean anything, DLC for the game could be on the way as well, giving fans a bit more time with the heroic group.
Persona 5 Strikers will be available on PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch on February 23, 2021.