Persona 5 Tactica Nintendo Switch Review 8.5/10 “Let me in your heart again” 👦👧 @Atlus_West #Persona5 @TransvaalGF

I have a very strong attachment to Persona 5, it was released at a time that I would comfortably describe as one of the worst periods of my life. Everything had fallen apart, and for a while, everything seemed a bit hopeless.

Luckily, I have been a huge fan of Persona and the Megami Tensei series as a whole since the PlayStation 2 era, so, just as everything seemed bleak - enter Persona 5, a game I had pre-ordered the special edition for, and it made me feel good. I spent 128 hours playing it with nothing but joy in my heart, it was the thing I needed - it wasn't just a distraction, it really felt like an old friend, and the story and the cast of characters really resonated with me, so every time this universe gets expanded, I’m always hopeful that special feeling will still be there.

Tactica opens up at the familiar Cafe Leblanc where the gang have met up, the coffee and curry are flowing and the topic at hand is their future, they are graduating soon and discussing what will be next for everyone. As discussions are being had, they realise that time has stopped and all of a sudden, they are sucked into the metaverse.

Donned in their iconic gear - confusion arises. Just as they are starting to question what happened they are attacked by armed guards, after a brief tussle they are soon overpowered, and the ruler of the kingdom in which they have appeared makes herself known, the tyrant Marie.

She manages to hypnotise most of the group, but luckily Morgana and Joker are rescued by Erina - a rebel. This sets up the crux of the game, with The Phantom Thieves going from kingdom to kingdom helping to overthrow the tyrant rulers. The kingdoms act as the levels that you move through, all with different aesthetics, enemies, and quests.

The overall story has all the wonderful charm of Persona 5, the cast of characters of all feel familiar and get extra depth added to them, they really feel like a group of characters that have grown through all the trials and tribulations. The two new characters are great and fit in nicely, plus - Tactica tackles interesting topics such as oppression and subjugation, and how we let it thrive as well as how important defiance is. It all ties with themes of the other games whilst still feeling very fresh, just like the original the story is magnetic and never gets dull.

One of the biggest changes - other than the chibi art style - is the combat, which now resembles XCOM, or Fire Emblem. It slides into more tactical combat, you start each mission with the layout of the level, and from there you see the enemy layout, and plan out your stratagem.

During combat, cover is the key, you can’t go in all guns blazing as it will leave you exposed. Each character has a gun to shoot from a distance, and Personas also make a return and can use magic to inflict elemental damage, and sometimes force enemies to move around the area. You now also have a ‘volt’ meter, where after giving/receiving damage, it builds up to a special action with either big damage results or the ability to heal yourself or party members. The combat feels like a good cross-over from Persona 5, adding a new flavour whilst also keeping it familiar.

One thing that does get lost are the social links, there are side quests to be done which do lead to some engaging character conversations, but it doesn't quite have the impact of the downtime you would spend in previous games, I understand why it’s gone, but I loved those parts of Persona. What does still remain is the amazing music, I don’t think I have ever heard a bad song in this series and Tactica keeps that streak going, I will listen to this soundtrack for years to come.

Playing this game on the Switch has one big downside in the load times – boy, are they slow - there is no getting around the fact that you will notice the load times, but I do think the game really suits the Switch, especially if you are on the go. Mission lengths and the games’ structure really lends itself to portability.

SUMMARY

I love this game, it was everything that I hoped it would be, taking me back to a world and cast of characters that I absolutely adore, it kept everything that was great about Persona 5 whilst also adding in new stuff to keep it fresh.