Of all the video games that were released last year, one of the ones that surprised me the most for good was Hyrule Warriors: Age of Cataclysm. At first I expected to find one more musou , but in the end it was something that went far beyond this genre , making the title had its own personality and characteristics that did not stop at simply crushing everything there was for it. stage.
I have relived this same sensation with Persona 5 Strikers, the new title in the Atlus saga that has been developed with Omega Force . Perhaps it is a musou, although it shows that they have wanted to take as a basis the qualities that made Persona 5 special, because many of them are present as the gameplay is part of RPG .
We have discovered all this after trying the first hours of this great game that is coming and that will arrive in a few weeks. Until then, we invite you to read the first impressions it has generated on us.
The Phantom Thieves come onto the scene once again
The first thing to make clear is that it is not essential to have played Persona 5 to enjoy this new chapter in the form of a sequel , since the plot is completely new, but of course those who have passed the original title will know better the characters, their stories, their abilities etc. In this sense, he will present an argument that takes us to summer , when classes have finished and our group of protagonists is thinking of going on vacation.
However, their plans are soon frustrated when after a series of events they find themselves trapped in the Metaverse , where they discover that there are shadows that are attacking citizens who have also ended up there and those who are stealing their wishes. That will lead them to try to restore normality and also to try to find out who is responsible for these calamities.
Despite being a musou, it must be recognized that during our first hours what we have done least has been precisely fight . There are battles, of course, but you can be clear that you are going to witness many conversations between the characters related to the main plot, on which it should also be noted that they are dubbed into Japanese or English , depending on what each one prefers, while the subtitles have been localized into Spanish with a superb translation that has been what we have loved the most.
A large part of them will take place in the protagonists’ hideout , which in turn will act as an operations center , since from here we will have the ability to buy objects, talk to team members or access the Jail, which will move to the Metaverse, or to the Velvet Room, where we can empower the People we have obtained. The shop itself will be most useful for acquiring healing items or also purchasing weapons and pieces of equipment for the party.
The downside is that materials and items are limited and out of stock, so you have to wait a while or advance the story for it to be restocked. The other option is to walk the streets of Shibuya , where there will also be numerous shops and you can even interact with passers-by and the main characters, which in turn will serve to increase the level of bond with them and thus earn more passive skills or points. to redeem them in them.
In addition, all this is sometimes accompanied by animated sequences and others that seem to have been taken directly from an anime series. So far we have been able to witness a few and the truth is that we hope to meet more because they are worth it.
Mixing the massive battles of the musou with those of an RPG
Moving on to action, which is the other main section of Persona 5 Strikers, here turn-based fighting has been put aside for some who bet on real-time encounters , as happens in any musou. But do not think that it happens like a Dynasty Warriors that you move around the stage and hundreds of enemies do not stop appearing at the same time, because when we say that these battles have their RPG touch, it is for something.
Within the Metaverse there will be enemies roaming at ease and we must catch them off guard whenever we can to ambush them , which will make us leave with an advantage. At that moment dozens of enemies will appear in the surroundings that will have to be eradicated, although it will be necessary to hit them a few times, especially those that are more powerful than normal, with protection shields that will have to be broken to cause more damage.
Once all the enemies are eliminated that is when the characters will earn money and experience points. So it seems simple, but the battles have their complexity and their strategic touch , because none of the creatures that will have to face up will be punching bags, since they all present resistance and will be willing to hit us if they have us within range. Luckily we will not be alone at any time and at the same time three more characters from the Phantom Thieves will be able to accompany us.
Artificial intelligence, both on one side and the other, is very high, so our teammates will cover our backs perfectly against any adversary, among which there may be mini-bosses , who will have to carefully examine what their weaknesses and patterns are. Because anyone who just lashes out will be sold out in no time. For this reason, apart from having basic and special attacks, the characters will be able to summon their Personas .
Thanks to them, they will unleash devastating abilities of different types in exchange for consuming energy points, hence we must take into account which elements the enemies are weak against so that the damage we cause is even greater. In fact, the enemies we defeat will sometimes drop masks to summon new secondary Personas , with their own abilities, and whom we can merge in the Velvet Room to make other Personas stronger.
What’s more, both the characters and the Personas will level up little by little to gain even more skills or attack combos in order to have more methods at our disposal to face the battles. As if that weren’t enough, sometimes our teammates will propose to carry out combined attacks with which it will be possible to eliminate all enemies at the same time with a stroke of the pen while we witness an impressive sequence.
History, combat and also exploration
Another great reason why we say that Persona 5 Strikers differs from the vast majority of musous is that the scenarios will have a multitude of possibilities . Not only the streets of Shibuya, but also those of the Metaverse, where you will have to explore every corner in search of objects thanks to the verticality that these places will present.
In the first Palace that we were able to play there were streetlights, trucks or shelves to which we could climb and thus visit more areas. What has caught our attention in this aspect is that the characters can jump , since there will be parts with a touch of platform and others in which the camera will opt for a 2D point of view .
The truth is that the scenarios are huge and offer a lot of interaction , even during the fighting, and we can also go anywhere to pounce on the enemies or, for example, grab onto a lamppost to spin on it while we hit anyone with our legs. dare to approach.
As you can see, Persona 5 Strikers maintains numerous aspects of Persona 5, respecting much of its essence , while at the same time having its own personal proposal so different from that of other musous, which makes it one of the most promising titles for the next few months. The first hours have pleasantly surprised us and we will have to see if the same happens with the rest of the adventure of this continuation.
