Persona 5 Strikers is a collaboration between Atlus/Sega and Koei Tecmo. Like most collaborations, one might think this is yet another hack and slash RPG in the vein of Dynasty Warriors. All over video game collaborations have been like this including Fire Emblem Warriors and Hyrule Warriors for Nintendo.
Both are different in their own ways, but they are mostly similar. This game, on the other hand, is their most drastic departure yet. That's both a good thing and bad one. Good for Persona 5 fans, but bad for Dynasty Warriors fans. What other things are good and or not so great about Persona 5 Strikers?
10 Best: New Characters
The story is good, but not as compelling a mystery as the original game. The best part about it is being with everybody at the start, saving the need for reintroductions. There are some standout new characters as well including the older detective Zenkichi, his daughter Akane, Sophie, and Professor Ichinose just to name a few. Akane has one of the most hilarious reveals in the game that every Persona 5 fan will surely die for.
9 Worst: No Co-Op
The Dynasty Warriors series, and its spinoffs, are famous for their integration of co-op be it online, or offline. This game has no multiplayer whatsoever.
On the plus side characters maintain a four person party in the game and heroes can be swapped on the fly. It’s good for combat, but that doesn’t hurt any less for those wishing to get another co-op experience from Koei Tecmo.
8 Best: Style
Miss those colorful menus? They are back again with even more flair. Now every character puts their own energy into them as well. As two examples, Futaba handles the options menu while newcomer Sophie runs the shop. The Jails, this game’s version of Palaces, vary nicely with the themes of each episode so to speak.
7 Worst: Repetitive Jail Ideas
The Jails are not without fault though. While each one may look different from a winter wonderland to a gothic castle, their missions are very similar. Go the watch towers, get some treasure, use said treasure to open up the castle and go after the big boss. There are twists in there but 90% of the layout is the same which is a shame.
6 Best: Music
The original game’s soundtrack is accompanied by remixed tracks along with plenty of new ones. From the returners to the additional music, they are all bangers. Most versions of the game, digital or physical, also come with bonus content containing songs from the entire Persona series which is a nice bonus indeed for battle music. In addition to the music, the voice work for both the English and Japanese tracks are also well done.
5 Worst: Information Search
When starting a chapter in a new city, the gang must first go on what is called an Information Search. This boils down to the player trying to find the right NPC to further the story. These areas aren’t that huge, but they are tedious missions nonetheless because they don’t add anything. Plus these NPCs are barely highlighted making it feel like finding a needle in haystack sometimes. It unnecessarily pads out Persona 5 Strikers.
4 Best: Combat
Unlike the original game, the combat is now action oriented. Joker will be assisted by three party members, all of which can be switched out and play differently. They still have their unique Persona, weapons, and control naturally as one would imagine they would physically.
Haru is a heavier character, for example, as she wields a giant axe while Morgana is lighter on his feet. Persona 5 Strikers also introduces objects on the battlefield one can sort of parkour onto in order to fight monsters including spinning around a pole, blowing up cars, or riding on skateboards. It does not feel as mindless compared to Dynasty Warriors in other words.
3 Worst: Non-Party Members Don’t level Up
The downside to gameplay is that heroes not in the party do not gain experience. That means if one mains a certain team, they may be putting others at risk for future endeavors. It would be nice if Atlus/Sega, or Koei Tecmo, whoever is in charge, would patch in a way for non-party members to gain experience too. It’s another thing that adds to this game’s unnecessary tedium.
2 Best: Replaying Bosses
Once a Place was finished in the original game, that was it. There was no going back. Some portions of the Jails will no longer be reachable once a chapter is concluded, but most of them will still be there for extra missions. Best of all bosses can be replayed. That was something the original needed so it is much appreciated to see implemented here.
1 Worst: Save Limitations
One thing that was not fixed over the original is the amount of saves. This game may not be as long as Persona 5, but it is still a meaty RPG. That said, it would be nice to be able to save certain sections at one’s own leisure in order to replay them over and over again. Nine saves seems like a weird limitation especially for a RPG of this magnitude in 2021. It doesn’t make sense along with there not being an autosave function of any kind. Was this game made on PS2, or what?