So I just beat this game as soon as I am typing this. I bought it on release day, but was really taking my time with it...and, well, it doesn't help that I was juggling this between a few other games I was playing. Overall I really enjoyed my time with this game, the gameplay is the main thing I enjoyed but the story was also surprisingly interesting to me as well (I wasn't expecting too much but this game's got quite the story).
I feel the gameplay of Persona 5 Strikers mixes together the weakness exploiting formula of Persona with the fast paced "one man army" combat of Musou games quite well, though it has some problems that Persona 5 also shared. Perhaps the main gripe I had with it is that, if you just focus on increasing your SP as much as you can, the best way to deal with bosses and mini bosses is constantly spamming Skills they're weak to. Some bosses also have things in the environment you can use to your advantage, which is unique to this game...its a neat feature in regular fights, but in boss fights they'll usually give you things in the environment that are of the element the boss is weak against, giving you some advantage. Nonetheless, it was still a fun experience.
The story was neat, as well. I'll try my best not to spoil anything as I explain what I found most interesting in the story. I felt the two new characters - Zenkichi Hasegawa and Sophia - were both great, though personally I liked Zenkichi more than Sophia. He's easily my favorite character in this game, which is saying a lot when Persona 5 already has quite a few characters I love. In my opinion, it isn't until the end that Sophia really shines, whereas Zenkichi gives a relatively solid first impression and they improve on that more when he gets more character development. Speaking of character development, I like that most Jail Monarchs (pretty much this game's version of Palace owners) have a connection to or serve as a foil to one of the thieves in some way. This ranges from feeling like a retread of some previous plot points in Persona 5 to being a breath of fresh air, there's a certain character in P5 that's infamous for not having much development and she really gets a chance to have some spotlight in this game.
I'd like to dedicate this paragraph to the OST. Because, wow, I really like this game's music. Many tracks blend together the distinct sound of Persona 5 with the energetic feel of Dynasty Warriors music -which I really enjoy as a fan of both - yet it doesn't feel like a rehash of previously existing tunes. Some tracks are remixes, some of which I actually like better than Persona 5's OST. That almost feels crazy to say considering how well loved P5's music is.
Okay I know this review is absurdly long by now, I just had a lot to say. I'll just leave this off saying this game definitely deserved the 4 and a half stars imo.
I feel the gameplay of Persona 5 Strikers mixes together the weakness exploiting formula of Persona with the fast paced "one man army" combat of Musou games quite well, though it has some problems that Persona 5 also shared. Perhaps the main gripe I had with it is that, if you just focus on increasing your SP as much as you can, the best way to deal with bosses and mini bosses is constantly spamming Skills they're weak to. Some bosses also have things in the environment you can use to your advantage, which is unique to this game...its a neat feature in regular fights, but in boss fights they'll usually give you things in the environment that are of the element the boss is weak against, giving you some advantage. Nonetheless, it was still a fun experience.
The story was neat, as well. I'll try my best not to spoil anything as I explain what I found most interesting in the story. I felt the two new characters - Zenkichi Hasegawa and Sophia - were both great, though personally I liked Zenkichi more than Sophia. He's easily my favorite character in this game, which is saying a lot when Persona 5 already has quite a few characters I love. In my opinion, it isn't until the end that Sophia really shines, whereas Zenkichi gives a relatively solid first impression and they improve on that more when he gets more character development. Speaking of character development, I like that most Jail Monarchs (pretty much this game's version of Palace owners) have a connection to or serve as a foil to one of the thieves in some way. This ranges from feeling like a retread of some previous plot points in Persona 5 to being a breath of fresh air, there's a certain character in P5 that's infamous for not having much development and she really gets a chance to have some spotlight in this game.
I'd like to dedicate this paragraph to the OST. Because, wow, I really like this game's music. Many tracks blend together the distinct sound of Persona 5 with the energetic feel of Dynasty Warriors music -which I really enjoy as a fan of both - yet it doesn't feel like a rehash of previously existing tunes. Some tracks are remixes, some of which I actually like better than Persona 5's OST. That almost feels crazy to say considering how well loved P5's music is.
Okay I know this review is absurdly long by now, I just had a lot to say. I'll just leave this off saying this game definitely deserved the 4 and a half stars imo.