Highlights

  • Persona 5 Tactica is a spin-off game that brings the beloved cast of Persona 5 into a new tactical strategy combat style, setting it apart from other spin-offs in the franchise.
  • The game features a new art style that is closer to the chibi style of the Persona Q spin-offs, giving the characters a more expressive and cartoonish look.
  • While the visual design of Joker has changed, the character remains the same in terms of personality and dialogue options. However, his gameplay mechanics have been adjusted to focus more on ranged combat and limited Persona abilities.

Persona 5 Tactica is the latest game in the Persona franchise, taking the beloved cast of Persona 5 and bringing them to a new type of metaverse. The game's biggest departure is its use of tactical strategy combat rather than the mainline series' iconic turn-based JRPG fighting style. While the franchise is no stranger to spin-offs, Persona 5 Tactica's likable new characters and ambitious reinvention of the franchise have already set it apart as one of the most memorable. Despite the number of changes necessary to translate the cast and their abilities to the tactical genre, one of the standout traits of the game is how faithful it feels to the original.

Persona 5's most recognizable character amongst its massive cast is its silent protagonist, Joker. Joker is in Smash Bros. and his face has become synonymous with the Persona brand as a whole. While most depictions of the character to date have been faithful to his appearance in Persona 5 and its enhanced re-release, Persona 5 Royal, Tactica reinvents the character both visually and from a gameplay perspective. In spite of its faithful recreation of the characters, Tactica is also the biggest departure the franchise has taken in a while, setting it apart from other P5 spin-offs like Dancing in Starlight and Persona 5 Strikers.

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Joker Looks a Little Different in Persona 5 Tactica

Persona 5 Tactica's new art style is the most obvious thing differentiating it from Persona 5 Royal's depiction of Joker and its other characters. Rather than the slightly more realistic approach of Persona 5 which gives most characters realistic proportions, the developers settled on something a lot closer to the chibi style of the Persona Q spin-offs. This art style is a strong fit for the game's visual motifs, which take queues from the French Revolution and fairytale fiction. Joker then, like his comrades, has bigger eyes and a more cartoonish body shape. This visual re-design allows for the character to be more expressive and over the top.

Persona 5 Tactica Has a New Look for the Same Joker

While Joker looks different in Persona 5 Tactica, he is the same character. Like the original game, he is silent unless the player is choosing his dialogue options. When shown in cutscenes, his voice work is limited to grunts, sighs, and other similar wordless expressions. Also identical is the witty dialogue choices given to the character. Like in the base game, the player can play Joker straight and seriously or choose the options that showcase the character's relatively dry sense of humor. Tactica, in general, has a heightened penchant for comedy, so Joker's dialogue options match this change, but the character remains essentially the same; the spin-off effectively conveys the charm of Persona 5's cast.

Joker's Biggest Changes are Mechanical Ones

While Joker's depiction as a character is largely faithful outside of Tactica's new art style, he plays very differently. Persona 5 Tactica has a greater focus on ranged combat, drawing inspiration from games like Mario + Rabbids and XCOM. Joker and his abilities have been adjusted accordingly. Gone is the ammo limit of Persona 5, allowing him to focus more on ranged combat. The abilities of the titular Personas are also more limited, giving Joker a more stripped-back move set. Perhaps the biggest change in his abilities is that while he can still create new Personas, he can only bring Arsene and one additional one into combat.

Rather than Joker controlling a plethora of Personas, he can now create secondary Personas for his comrades, allowing them to have a wider range of abilities. This change is a logical one for the shift in genre and is explained in a way by the game due to the different nature of its metaverse. Carrying over Joker's usual Persona switching abilities would have made him overpowered in Tactica. Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Tactica's depiction of Joker is largely similar, adjusted only to make him fit into the new art style and genre. For those still unsure of these changes, Persona 5 Tactica is available on Game Pass, making it easy to try.