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It's hard to believe there was a time when the Persona series was viewed as one of several low-key Shin Megami Tensei spinoffs. That age is far past us now, with mainline Persona titles being treated as veritable Atlus royalty. Year after year, the current shining star gets its very own spinoffs - and right now, that means the fifth game's about to hit the strategy RPG scene with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Persona 5 Tactica.
SRPG enthusiasts and Persona diehards alike are looking forward to this one, so we figured we'd keep a running tally of what we know about Persona 5 Tactica. Expect frequent updates as we grow closer to the November 17 launch!
Introduction
Let's start with the basics. What is Persona 5 Tactica? It's a brand-new game in the Persona canon starring the Phantom Thieves from Persona 5 proper. Rather than tapping into the turn-based battle system that so many Shin Megami Tensei games are known for, Persona 5 Tactica uses a grid-based battle map in a bid to bring tactical RPG systems into the series.
It's not too surprising to see Persona flex its cross-genre muscles like this. After all, we've had fighting games, rhythm games, and even a beat-em-up in the vein of Dynasty Warriors. Persona 5 Tactica's poised to join that proud tradition of breaking tradition.
Story And Cast: The First Kingdom
Persona 5 Tactica stars Joker and his fellow Phantom Thieves, notably minus a certain character introduced exclusively through the game's updated edition, Royal. (More on that in a bit.)
The story takes place at some point toward the end of Persona 5 - kind of. We know the Phantom Thieves are gathered during a snowy time of year, prior to graduation, so Tactica takes place before the conclusion. This is different from Persona 5 Strikers, which is set after the events of the main game.
Joker and the others are transported into a strange dimension reminiscent of Revolutionary France ruled by an oppressive monarch named Marie. Marie's Legionnaires quickly overrun our heroes, who - save for Joker and Morgana - are immediately brainwashed. The two are saved by a woman named Erina who breaks the news - they're in a Metaverse called The Kingdoms.
As you can imagine, Joker wants to rescue his brainwashed friends. That's why we'll be striking a deal with Erina and her Rebel Corps. We'll also meet a Japanese politician named Toshiro Kasukabe who claims he's uncertain as to how he's arrived in The Kingdoms. Back in the real world, Toshiro has a pretty straight shot to being elected Japan's next Prime Minister - curious stuff.
Story And Cast: The Second Kingdom
Courtesy of a new trailer, we've learned the setting of the second of the Metaverse's kingdoms. We'll head there after defeating Marie, it seems, and it's based on mid 19th-century Japan, and ruled by Yoshiki. He dons t⭕he appearance of the Buddha, but harbors a r𒁃aging heart.
The🌊 Phantom Thieves will disguise themselves in the form of samurai, ninja, and geisha, which is sure to be a good time.
Gameplay And Growth
Persona 5 Tactica will play out its battles in turns similar to a 'regular' Persona, but in addition to targeting enemies, healing allies, and the like, you'll also be controlling your characters' placement on the tactical map.
Battling 101
An easy (if tired) analogy would be Final Fantasy Tactics. The inclusion of concepts like a cover system wherein friends and foe💟s alike can take reduced damage from behind various obstacles is more akin to something from XCOM or Mario versus Rab🍌bids.
Elemental strengths and weaknesses return in Persona 5 Tactica, albeit with some environmental effects reminiscent of games like Triangle Strategy. Blasting a fire spell may cause painful burns to those within the vicinity. Electric spells can shock targets into paralysis. There are even benefits to attacking foes hiding behind cover; successful hits with proper skills can trigger Persona's 'One More' condition allowing a chain of attacks.
Each playable character has their own unique skill that can only be tapped into once the Voltage Gauge has filled. It will fill up slightly whenever you either dish out damage or take damage. Once it's ready, you'll make the tactical decision of selecting which character's reliable ability you wish to use for the situation you're in.
Unique Enemies, Interactive Stages
An increasing array of un꧒iq🃏ue foes will be available to battle as you progress through Persona 5 Tactica, from the enemy-slinging Sumo-maton to the elegant Guarded Geisha and the clone-loving Slimy Shinobi.
Stages are interactive, with elementsജ such as surveillance cameras that can call in reinforcements when triggered, as well as player-favoring Dash Squares that give your characters a quick lift to the far side of the stage. There are also explosive barrels, so watch out - and use them against your foes!
Growth Systems
It wouldn't be much of an RPG without characterization, and we don't just mean the narrative variety. Persona 5 Tactica features numerous skill trees for each party member that you'll progress through via Growth Points.
There are two ways to gain Growth Points - through gaining levels, and by listening in on conversations at the team's Hideout. We suppose, in this sense, narrative characterization directly feeds gameplay characterization! Your allies' abilities include chances to branch off, selecting between two new attacks.
Be sure to visit the Velvet Room regularly, where you can enhance your Personas' battle performance. You can also fuse two Personas to forge weapons, and this unique weaponry is stronger than whatꦉ can be purchased 🧔normally through shops.
Battle Gameplay Trailer
On August 24, Atlus dropped Persona 5 Tactica's second trailer, which is focused on the battle system. We're giving this a separate section, so we can mull over all the details.
A major focus in this trailer is the Triple Threat Attack, which is available in combat when all three members in your squad surround your enemies. These attacks, Persona 5 Tactica's separate take on the main game's All Out Attacks, deal massive damage.
There are five difficulties in the game: Safe, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Merciless. As is commonplace with recent Persona titles, we can count on Safe to be quite easy, whilst Easy is a little harder, but still favors the player well over the enemy. Merciless will no doubt be as brutal as ever. The difficulty level affects the amount of times Baton Pass can be used, and in Persona 5 Tactica, Baton Pass lets you bring in standby units from your overall team if an ally is knocked out.
Difficulty levels will also affect other aspects of battle, though we don't know anything else on that front right now.
Sergeant Morgana's First Marvelous Tactical Training for New Recruits
On September 27th, Atlus uploaded a (very) cute new video summarizing key points regarding Persona 5 Tactica's various training methods. It's well worth a watch - and it appears we'll be getting several of these over the next few weeks.
Platforms And Pre-Order Incentives
Persona 5 Tactica will be available on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. On Xbox consoles, Persona 5 Tactica will be included in Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions, so you won't need to shell out for a full-price copy unless you'd prefer to own the game outright.
As is customary, Persona 5 Tactica will come in both physical and digital editions. Pre-ordering the game either physically or digitally grants access to the Orpheus Picaro and Izanagi Picaro DLC. The Digital Deluxe edition is where things get more interesting, however - splurge on that, and you'll get the Weapon Pack, Picaro Summong Pack + Raoul Persona, and most intriguingly, the 'Repaint Your Heart' Challenge Pack.
Repaint Your Heart: Kasumi And Akechi DLC
If you've been reading along with the entire article, you might remember when we alluded to the absence of a Phantom Thief who was only added to Persona 5 via its upgraded Royal re-release.
The 'Repaint Your Heart' Challenge Pack, which we reported on prior to Atlus' official description, has now confirmed it will bring Kasumi Sumeragi (and Goro Akechi) into the game via a separate playable adventure in which the🌺 Phantom Thieves investigate strange graffiti throughout Tokyo. The image of Arsene is involved - curious.
We reckon the DLC will be substantially shorter than the main game, all things considered, but it's nice to have some confirmation on what it entails.
Persona 5 Tactica will steal our hearts on November 17, 2023.