Summary
Persona 5 Tacticafollows suit in a long line ofPersona 5spin-offs, opting for the tactics-based genre with a chibi art direction reminiscent of thePersona Qapproach. Though the recurring appearance of the Phantom Thieves has had some questioningthe sustainability of yet anotherPersona 5game,Tacticaholds quite a bit of merit in its combat system that’s worth checking out. Its quest system offers a closer look at just how compelling the title’s mechanics can be when strung together, namely, through its use of one-turn missions.
Persona 5 Tacticaprovides a surprisingly nuanced approach to its strategic gameplay, though its mechanics are best disseminated through the game’s quest system. Quests gradually unlock through the player’s story progression intoTactica’s different Kingdoms, offering a bit of banter between the team while setting up battles with special parameters. ThoughTactica’s main story missions can be tackled with a bit more leeway, the majority of the game’s quests set constraints that require precise movement and action, helping to both teach and challenge a deeper knowledge of the game’s tactics-based system.
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Persona 5 Tactica’s Quests Shine a Light on its Combat Mechanics
Victory in a Single Turn
The most challenging aspect ofPersona 5Tactica’s combatcomes in the form of its single-turn quests. Operating under these parameters requires deliberate action from the player, as one wrong move can require a complete restart of the map.
These missions are exempt fromTactica’s ‘Undo’ feature, given that ‘one-more’ actions don’t count as turns, which can make having to restart a bit of a frustrating experience in the case of loading screens. With that said, their puzzle designs feel both well-crafted and incredibly satisfying to complete, incentivizing the learning of decisive strategy through trial and error.
Chaining One-More Actions
The ‘One-More’ system is a vital component of these quests, as players need to exploit enemy positioning and terrain to chain together actions. One-turn quests can have different success conditions, whether that be reaching a target across the map or defeating all enemies, playing into secondary mechanics like ally follow-ups and the ‘Triple Threat’ all-out attack. The former condition is exemplified in a quest fromTactica’s first Kingdom, where the player mustuse two Phantom Thieves to inflict status ailmentsand knock enemies from high ground, allowing Erina to strike downed foes while moving in a straight line toward her target location.
The Triple Threat Attack
Another more complex quest comes later in the game’s third Kingdom, where Joker, Erina, and anotherPhantom Thiefof the player’s choosing have to pull off a Triple Threat attack across a sprawling map of enemies in one turn. The terrain takes full advantage of the use of elevator switches, as Joker must focus not only on how to navigate forward but on which enemies to down and where to attack them.
Cleverly, the map takes its terrain into great consideration; while foes in this quest aren’t capable of straying from their grid placement during the player’s turn (unless they are moved through attacking), their use of cover can change depending on which platforms have been raised/lowered by the other two team members, leaving optimal room to strike. Having to knock enemies into the range of a Triple Threat attack adds a deeper layer of strategy as it takes into consideration what angle the player strikes from and what method they use to attack.
In Joker’s case, neither his gun northe Eiga skills of his Persona Arseneaffect enemy position, though his melee attack is capable of knocking back foes, allowing him to maneuver them into the proper placement. The Triple Threat can be an incredibly useful tool to get rid of enemies in one fell swoop, makingPersona 5 Tacticaquests like these a valuable resource in better understanding the power of these mechanics through more precise teaching.
