Summary
Persona 5 Tacticatakes the beloved Phantom Thieves and places them into the tactical strategy genre alongside new comrades and a new series of villains to defeat. ThePersonaseries has received a plethora of spin-offs at this point, andTacticahas proven itself to be one of the standout ones. This can be attributed to its strong writing, additions to the cast, and its effective translation ofPersona’s mechanics to a new genre. There is a lot thatPersona 5 Tacticagets right that helps it overcome the general fatigue aroundP5’s cast and fans' frustration at a lack of news forP6, but it doesn’t get everything right.
The tactics genre has been around for decades, carried by franchises likeXCOMandFire Emblem. In recent years, the genre has gone through something of a renaissance, with new games likeTriangle StrategyandMario + Rabbidstitles delivering high-quality takes on its established tropes. While game genres are always evolving, there are some things that all Tactics games need to thrive. From the most normal takes on the genre, likeFire Emblem, to the most over-the-top parodic entries, likeDisgaea, all Tactics games need certain things.
Staples of Tactics Games
Persona 5 Tactica Has Weak Enemy Variety
Persona 5 Tacticadoes an excellent job of translatingP5’s cast and their abilities into the Tactics genre and is a strong showing in most ways. Unfortunately, its enemy variety is lacking through much of the experience. For most of the first kingdom, which is about a third of the game, the player fights two types of enemies: a musketeer and a larger brute enemy. Eventually, a support unit, the drummer, is added. The second kingdom adds some new recurring units in the run-up to its final boss, but this is nearly 2/3rds of the way throughPersona 5 Tactica’s play time.
Persona 5 Tactica’s limited enemy variety serves little purpose, and its failure to build on that roster for much of its runtime makes it fall behind some of thebest tactics games. Most of the game’s lengthy runtime is spent fighting the same three enemies on different maps. While these stages are well-designed, they can only do so much to relieve the sense of repetitiveness that sets in. The same can be said about the player’s party; the skill trees inP5Tare great, but using new abilities against the same few enemies quickly loses some of its excitement. This leavesPersona 5 Tactica’s story and aesthetic to carry a large chunk of the experience.
Other Tactics Games Have More Diverse Combat To Offer Players
Persona 5 Tactica’s sparse roster of enemies makes sense for the beginning. As a spin-off, it’s hoping to welcomePersonafans into a genre they may not have played before. The problem is that the enemy variety doesn’t grow or change for most of the game. When compared toMario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle, another tactics spin-off that is remarkably similar toP5T, this problem is made even more clear.Mario + Rabbidsstill eases its players into a genre they may be unfamiliar with, but it routinely introduces new enemies and bosses. The game is a testament to the fact that simplicity is not the only path to accessibility.
Future Tactica Games Can Find New Ways To Be Accessible
Persona 5 Tacticais a compelling proof of concept. The story is another strong outing for thePhantom Thieves, andPersona’s core mechanics translate well to the tactics genre.P5T’s lack of enemy variety weakens the experience, but the genre isn’t a bad match for the franchise, and overall, the game is still a good experience. FutureTacticagames that spin off from otherPersonatitles could be exceptionally strong titles in the tactics genre. Rather than limiting enemy variety, a better solution to make the game approachable would have been to provide more robust tutorials.
