After seven long years of infiltrating Palaces, stealing treasures, and changing hearts, I think I’m about ready to duck out from beneath the mask.
When Persona 5 first released in 2016, it took the JRPG world and beyond by storm. Reviewers high and low praised the game for its unique, stylish take on a modern-day setting in all its reality bending and social linking. I’ve been on that ride since it released, and boy, has it doubled down on success.
We got a tie-in manga and anime, though that’s nothing out of the norm for the franchise. Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight followed suit, following a long tradition in Persona rhythm game spinoffs. The base game received an overhaul in the form of Persona 5 Royal, that garnered universal acclaim. We got a sequel in the action-packed Persona 5 Strikers. A mobile spinoff, The Phantom X, is still in development.
And it goes further than entries in their own franchise; the Phantom Thieves have infiltrated dozens more! We’re talking costumes — Phantasy Star Online 2, Dragon’s Dogma Online. The Thieves appear in enough gacha games to bankrupt you at a second glance. Joker even swung his way over into Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
And none of this takes into account the most recent release, Persona 5 Tactica. It’s a strategy, combo-centric game. One that I’ve played and enjoyed. But it’s also the game that cemented a lingering thought of mine every time I guiltily look at Strikers sitting half-finished in my backlog: I’m done with Persona 5.
Now, it’s no fault of Tactica. The mechanics are better than ever when you can string attacks together, and the art style breathes fresh (and adorable) air into those suave and stylish character designs we’ve come to know and love. But no matter how pretty the package is, the narrative leaves me to feel as though the Phantom Thieves are treading water.
They’re cutesier than ever and as smarmy as they were when we first met back in 2016, but after seven years, what more is there to say about a character? How far can you stretch out an arc until it’s overtold, too thin to spark any new growth? And the core narrative of Tactica, fun as it may be, feels too much like the tenth time on a roller coaster; exciting, but by now, predictable. Another permutation of the Metaverse, another gang of villains with warped desires, the same moral quandaries and the same character dynamics.
I’m ready to move on. Persona 5 has made its mark as one of the best role-playing games of all time. Coming back to Royal is always going to feel like comfort food to me. But every saga has to end at some point, and in my opinion, the curtain is ready to fall on this showtime. Let Tactica be the last heist for the Phantom Thieves. Hang up the mask, and let’s see what the Persona franchise has to offer us next.
Where are you at on Persona 5? Looking forward The Phantom X, or are you waiting to see what the next installment in the franchise brings us? Boss Rush Network’s Brad Melville had some thoughts as to what might be coming, but you can drop us yours in the comments below or in our Discord channel.
Image Credit: Steam
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