After the success of Persona 5, it's no surprise that Atlus released a sequel to the popular Japanese RPG. Strikers take place several months after the base game, and while the game is phenomenal, it isn't without faults. Several mechanics will irk players who spend extended periods playing the game.
Only those who make it to the end of the game will notice some glaring annoyances that prevent players from enjoying every moment of this excellent sequel. Here are several details that will influence players who make it to the end of this experience.
10 Finding The Reaper Is A Chore
Those familiar with the Persona franchise will know that the Reaper is a late-game boss experienced players can fight. In Persona 5, the Reaper lurks in Mementos. All the Phantom Thieves need to do is linger in one spot on the track to fight him. After a few minutes, this boss will spawn on the floor, and making contact with him will initiate the boss battle.
Things aren't so simple in Persona 5 Strikers. Joker will have to defeat all of the game's Dire Shadows and complete the main story before he can even fight this enemy. It's an unfortunate change that limits who can experience this excellent battle.
9 Sophia's Shop Has Limited Stock
Because the Phantom Thieves are on a road trip in Persona 5 Strikers, they don't have access to their usual vendors from Tokyo. Instead, they'll be buying their items from Sophia's Shop.
One downside of purchasing items from her is her minimal stock. Players only have access to several healing items and cooking ingredients on each trip. Those looking to prepare for a difficult boss battle will have to exit the shop, enter the Metaverse, then return to buy more items with this time-consuming process.
8 Persona Fusions Require More Work
Another change to the gameplay formula in Strikers is the revamped Persona enhancement feature. Players will need to stockpile Persona Points to upgrade Joker's masks.
While this may not seem tedious, it's far more contrived than the system in the previous entry. Before, Joker needed money and the required masks to make new Personas, but the PP system adds another grind that will halt player progress. It's a change that wasn't necessary and drew out a once enjoyable mechanic of the base game.
7 Bond Skills Are A Slog
One interesting addition to the game's upgrade system is the introduction of Bond Skills. After Joker earns a Bond-level, he'll gain points that he can spend to unlock passive upgrades for himself and his team. These range from health and stat upgrades to improved Showtime Attacks. The only problem with this system is how slowly Bond increases.
Those who reach the end of the game will find they have a substantial amount of upgrades left to earn. Apart from requests story events, the most effective way to earn points is by fighting hordes of enemies repeatedly. It's an arduous process that will wear on those aiming for 100% completion.
6 Party Member Experience Isn't Equal.
In Persona 5 Strikers, the experience earned is dependant on who is an active party member. Those not participating in battle still receive experience, but at a much slower rate. In Persona 5, players could unlock a perk that allowed each team member to earn experience equally.
That isn't the case in this entry. Those looking to keep party members at an equal level will need to constantly switch members in and out, accepting that Joker will always overpower his companions.
5 New Game Plus Is Locked
Another change that Strikers makes revolves around how players access New Game Plus. In the previous entries, players could load a completed game save file to start the game with several benefits from their previous playthrough. In this instance, unlocking this mode takes far more effort.
Players don't even have the option to play on New Game Plus until they beat the Reaper, the boss with copious amounts of prerequisites gating off the battle. It seems a bit excessive to require players to keep track of all these tasks to start the game over with a Persona compendium and a few improvements.
4 Requests Are Mandatory For Shop Expansion
On top of Sophie's Shop lacking amply stocked items, it houses a poor selection of weapons and armor. The only way to improve the motley selection it starts with is by completing requests as they are presented.
For the game to lock upgrades behind side content is an annoyance that could easily be avoided by just giving players the same side missions with different rewards, unlocking more gear in the shop when players make it farther in the story.
3 Vocals and Sound Effects Clash In Fights
The biggest change that Persona 5 Strikers brings to the franchise is the new combat system. Instead of turn-based battles, the Phantom Thieves fight enemies in real-time confrontations. This change makes for entertaining combat, but the party will often have conversations with the enemies when fights are going on.
It can be hard to divide attention between enemies and the dialogue on screen with such a chaotic battle system. It doesn't help that the audio mix isn't ideal, making voices too quiet and battle sound effects too loud.
2 Trophies Are A Grind
The Persona community has proven that they are some of the most dedicated trophy hunters. A large portion of those who play these games not only finish them but earn every trophy available. Knowing this, it's frustrating to know that Atlus has put several trophies in this iteration that are time sinks.
Trophies that require players to unlock every Bond skill take hours of grinding the same mobs to make progress. One of the game's few missteps has proven to be an annoyance for achievement hunters.
1 Merciless Mode Is Locked
Players who enjoy a challenge when experiencing Persona often select the game's most unforgiving difficulty, merciless. In Persona 5, this mode served was included as a free DLC when the game launched in 2017.
In Persona 5 Strikers, it isn't available until players unlock New Game Plus mode. With all the stopgaps impeding this mode unlocks, it can seem like more trouble than it's worth those not interested in grinding for days to beat the Reaper on their first playthrough.