Who's your favourite 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Persona 5 character? Don't answer out loud, I can't hear you. I bet you feel foolish right now. In any case, whether you answered in your head or out loud, you probably said a Phantom Thief. In fact, you almost definitely said a Phantom Thief. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:You might have said Joker, in which case I can only assume you play 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mario Kart as Mario and find mayonnaise spicy, but he's still a Phantom Thief. So why does Atlus keep forgetting that?
The latest Persona 5 spin-off, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Persona 5 Tactica, is the worst offender yet. Rather than being a story about the Phantom Thieves that expands on any of them or their tale of togetherness in any meaningful way, it's about someone else entirely. Early on, we meet a mysterious girl named Erina who seems to live in the Metaverse (or whatever it is) itself. A few missions later, we meet Toshiro, an adult politician who recalls being trapped here, but has no idea what here is. Like the Phantom Thieves, he is from the real world and wishes to return.
We spend the first half of the game with just Joker and Mona (joined by Erina), going through various levels to rescue the other Phantom Thieves. First Ann and Futaba (Futaba, as usual, is a passive buff of a character rather than playable), then Ryuji and Haru, then (right as we reach the halfway point), Makoto and Yusuke. My answer to the opening question is Makoto, for what it's worth, so having her unavailable for half the game is not exactly my idea of a good time.
In 2021, Personaಌ 5 fans voted on their favourite characters. Be warned, it's not pretty reading: (from last to first) Ryuji, Ann, Haru, Morgana, Yusuke, Futaba, Akechi, Makoto, Joker.
However, this is not just irritation at having to wait for the Queen herself to arrive. The Thieves are passengers for the entire story. Without getting too far into spoiler territory, all of the bosses link to Toshiro, while the central narrative is built aro⛦und Erina. With most of the Persona powers simplified and a heavy reliance on handguns, it barely seems like a Persona game at all. A lot of this gameplay and story 🦹could exist in another game with other, random characters, without any real impact to the weight of the storytelling.
It reminds me of 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Persona 5 Strikers' worst failings. I am a major defender of Strikers, placing it on 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:my GOTY list in 2021 and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:heralding it as even bet🉐ter than Persona 5 or 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Persona 5 Royal. There is a sense of camaraderie and youthful vigour to Strikers that the base game loses sight of as it grows in complexity. You probably recall thinking 'this game is running a little overlong, wonder if they'll shake it up?' and then it made you into a rat and gave you the worst puzzle section of your life.
However, while Strikers managed to capture the perfect 'one last summer' feeling as the Thieves stood on the precipice of adulthood, it still wedged in some unnecessary side stories. Sophia, the living embodiment of your phone, was a natural addition and a catalyst for the dying embers of the Thieves' togetherness burning bright once more. The father-daughter relationship between Akane and Zenkichi though was really none of our business, and threatened to derail a lot of the positive momentum Strikers had going for it.
Tactica lacks all sense of momentum, despite the game heavily relying on chained movement mechanics. We know Strikers takes place after Persona 5 and carries on their story, building on the lessons their adventure taught them as they drive off into the sunset. Tactica doesn't fit. Logic dictates it has to take place between Persona 5 and Strikers, as the gang’s all together and none of the consequences of Strikers remain, but it doesn't feel like it connects to anything. It's not a story, it's a series of events that happen to other people while the Phantom Thieves stand by as witnesses. Where any of the main characters are in their own journey is irrelevant, because the events of the game are irrelevant to those journeys.
Persona 5 Tactica is a decent tactical grid game with Persona 5 characters, but it doesn't feel like a Persona 5 game. The characters I care about don't change, and the new ones the game builds itself around don't match up. Whatever your answer to 'who's your favourite Persona 5 character?' at the start of the game, it'll be the exact same at the game's end.
