I had been counting down to Persona 5 Strikers as soon as I heard about it. I love the Persona series and really enjoyed Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. Strikers is an entirely different style of combat from its predecessors and it is a sequel to Persona 5. Described as an action game akin to Dynasty Warriors, many of us thought that is what it would be. It turns out Strikers is so much more than that with the combat style. So let's dive in!
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| We're ready to start this adventure! |
Strikers is set six months after the events of Persona 5 with Joker returning to Tokyo to spend Summer vacation with his fellow Phantom Thieves on a camping trip. It was so nice to see familiar faces like Sojiro who I would refer to often as Coffeee Dad as well as Makoto's sister, Sae. Joker and friends use an app called EMMA (think Alexa) to figure out what supplies they need for their trip. The casual outfits for the Phantom Thieves are quite stylish that fit each character's personal tastes and fit the Summer vacation vibe.
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| The gang is back together again! |
When Joker, Morgana, and Ryuji go to Shibuya to buy what they need on their list, they run into a rising star idol, Alice who gives them a card and tells them to put the keyword Wonderland into the EMMA app for a special event. When the keyword is entered, they end up in an alternate version of Tokyo and find out it's called a jail and they encounter Alice's shadow who is a ruler in the jail known as a monarch. Shadow Alice drops them to a dumpster below where they meet a sentient A.I. named Sophia who helps them fight the shadows and escape. This is where the story and action of Strikers really begins.
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| Joker meets Sophia. |
Strikers isn't turn based and is more of an action based hack and slash that is incredibly fun. You can't just mash buttons however. Planning out strategies and switching out party members to target the weaknesses of enemies is how to get through battles smoothly. The way Joker gets his personas is different too, picking up masks in the various jails. The Velvet Room is in Strikers as well and it is here that Joker can fuse personas to make more powerful personas. There are eight jails in the game and each one has its own theme and each monarch feels a bit familiar as it references some of the issues and shadows they faced in Persona 5. The nice thing about the jails is that unlike Mementos, you can leave and not be tired. You can leave and replenish your health and magic and go back in as many times as you like. It makes level grinding a lot easier and with the great design of the combat system, it doesn't feel like a chore.
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| Battling shadows in a jail. |
Another thing that is different is the bond skills. As the Phantom Thieves have their adventure, they get a certain number of points that can be used in the bond skills menu to enhance the skills and stats of everyone ranging from things to SP boosts and increasing luck. You get up to 30 bond points and you earn them from fighting shadows in jails, completing requests, or finishing important moments in the story.
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| Everyone benefits from the bond skills. |
The road trip with the Phantom Thieves is amazing because it feels like a Persona game, but it also feels like its own thing with a stripped down calendar that is an entire Summer vacation rather than days spread out over a year. It's fantastic getting to see various locations in Japan because it really feels like a fun road trip with friends. Each place you visit is beautiful with its own unique style and has its own Phantom Thieves hangout event. I had a great time doing things like enjoying a beach day or watching the fireworks. It reminded me why I loved all of these characters and getting to share another adventure with them was wonderful.
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| Having a fun vacation together. |
Doing the main story is not the only thing you can do in Strikers. You can also do requests which reward you with a variety of items and unlock access to more weapons and armor from the shop. With some of the requests you get asked to fuse a certain type of persona with certain abilities. The reward for these vary ranging from increasing your bond skills to unlocking skill cards. It is worth your time to do these because they help with level grinding and if you want to unlock new game plus it's vital that you do all the requests including the ones that pop up after you finish the main story.
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| Do the requests for good rewards. |
My favorite thing to do that is another great addition to the story is cooking. You can buy ingredients and learn recipes from the locations you visit and cook for the Phantom Thieves. Cooking is a lot of fun and each meal does different things like replenishing SP and increasing agility. It's another great thing added to the game, cooking for your friends and having moments of enjoying meals together.
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| Yes, you can cook in the game. |
I loved all of Strikers. It nailed the combat system perfectly while telling a great story. It felt like a nice addition to the Persona 5 universe and the Persona series. The story itself is interesting and if you played Persona 5 and Royal you will recognize the references that are mentioned. The voice actors returned for this game and did an amazing job bringing the characters to life making it feel like visiting with old friends. There are definitely some familiar themes with each monarch and jail, but in Strikers it works because of the way the story is written creating its own unique style while keeping the spirit of the Phantom Thieves throughout the entire game. Sophia became a favorite character for me because of her exploration of what it means to be human and having some thoughtful conversations with Joker about all of it. I loved the back and forth between the two as Joker helps Sophia to understand what friendship, kindness, and being true to yourself can do for the individual and others in life. When it comes down to it, Sophia is the heart of Strikers and that's what makes the story itself so special. That camaraderie shines in every aspect of the game making Strikers an incredible adventure and the best road trip ever.
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| Best road trip ever! |
*Persona 5 Strikers is available to play on the following platforms: Playstation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows
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