Erina fits in well enough, and once Toshiro gets over his early few hours of constantly talking about Ann ( canon age: 16) and her red latex catsuit, his story works. Narratively, these two are the stars, which is a strange choice for a game that exists to capitalise on the obvious popularity of Joker and the gang. Toshiro, an adult politician, also shambles along with the cast. Except she's not quite a Phantom Thief, as she can't use a Persona. This character is Erina, a new Phantom Thief who arrives in Tactica. The best one sees you use other characters to knock enemies out of cover in strategic patterns, so another new and entirely unique character can use the 'one more turn' to make their way across the map in a single move. Gameplay here is less broad than the simplified Fire Emblem/X-COM trappings of the main Missions, and instead hones in on what makes Tactica unique. They're by far the hardest part of the whole experience though, and the one that will most make you feel like you're playing a tactical RPG. The first one is mandatory as the game explains how they work, but the rest can be avoided entirely. There are Missions, which progress the story forward and must be completed to beat the story, then Quests, which are optional side challenges. The one place Tactica stops and makes you think are in its Quests. Most of the time, I was getting all three on the first try, and it wasn't until the final slew of levels where actual tactics came into play that I found myself straining against the turn limit. Each level has three stars you can earn: one for beating the level, one for beating it in a set number of turns, and one for something else, like not getting anybody knocked out or using a special attack. The problem is, it's unsure if it wants to be an introduction to the genre, a middle-of-the-road entry, or an outside of the box experiment. Tactica transports the turn-based Persona gameplay onto a battle-grid system, playing like Mario + Rabbids, Fire Emblem, or X-COM.

I love Persona 5, and its self-made ecosystem of pseudosequels and spin-offs to fill the silence before Persona 6 arrives, but Tactica may be one game too far for the Phantom Thieves.

Instead, it's about ten extra levels thrown in like sawdust in the meatloaf, stretching out a game that just won't end. In Persona 5 Tactica, it's not just one more form you have to take on with the final boss. You know when you're fighting the final boss, and you think you have them beat, only for them to summon a new form and put you through an even tougher battle? Whether this feels frustrating or rewarding is often less about how satisfying this boss phase itself is, and more about the context around it.

Games like phase ten