Persona 5 Tactica is one of the more unique announcements from Atlus this year, and not exactly for the best reasons. If not obvious, this is yet another spinoff of their breakthrough title that put their then cult-classic franchise on the global stage. They’ve been trying to bank off of that in many ways, including making spinoffs and then making ports of the previous two mainline games for modern consoles so people could “catch up.” Whether this new game succeeds is a bit up in the air, but they are starting to promote it more and more.
For example, they just dropped a spotlight trailer on the new character of Erina, aka Elle, in the Japanese version. In the game, she plays a revolutionary that meets the Phantom Thieves when they enter her mysterious world. As Atlus likes to note, she makes a deal with them to help take out the oppressors, likely in exchange for them finding a way home. But whether Erina/Elle can be trusted is a huge mystery.
After all, Atlus games are known for their twisting storylines, so perhaps this new team member is playing multiple angles just like other team members in the past. Looking at you, Akechi!
Anyway, the trailer below highlights some conversations and shows off Erina/Elle in battle. Check it out:
So why did we note that Persona 5 Tactica was a “unique” reveal in possibly a negative way? Well, it’s a many-fold answer. First, no one really asked for this kind of title. We’ve already had one spinoff that took the Phantom Thieves on a “new adventure with new gameplay mechanics,” and no one really talks about that one. This is just a rehash of that, and the art style is completely different from those two titles, which have received mixed reviews upon first viewing.
Another reason is that Nintendo Switch owners aren’t happy that they’re only getting this title versus Persona 3 Reload, a full-on remake of the 3rd mainline title. Sure, it’s been teased for Switch out the wazoo, but it hasn’t happened yet, and some rumors say it won’t happen at all.
Finally, many are disappointed that this game was announced instead of gamers getting a clue as to what was happening with the 6th mainline entry that Atlus assures people is coming.
There are only so many ways you can “distract” people from what they want to see until they feel something bad is happening.
