The Phantom Thieves Strike Back Against Corruption… Again
Once again, we must ask you: do you like Phantom Thieves? For us, the answer is a firm yes. Atlus must feel the same way, because the new Persona 5 spin-off/sequel/whatchamacallit has finally been officially revealed, and it looks absolutely amazing. Everyone’s back in action, they look stunning, and they can now pull off Dynasty Warriors-style long-ranged combat and ridiculous anime leaps with all the flair we expect from P5. They’re up against a humungous mecha, an army of Jack Frosts, a seemingly corrupt police force–very topical–a gluttonous woman studded with jewels, and what looks like an evil, soul-stealing pop idol. We’re invested already.
The best moment in the whole trailer, hands down, comes about 50 seconds in when Joker, AKA Ren Amamiya for anime fans or Akira Kurusu for manga fans, hijacks the feed for several seconds. Just long enough to make his point known in a distorted voice that sends chills down our spine. The Persona series may not be true horror stories–the last real scares it packed were way back in Persona 3–but its roots are in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise of cosmic horror RPGs, and in that moment, those roots are showing. Having said that, gamers who aren’t good with horror probably won’t have anything to worry about. The rest of the trailer presents Persona 5 Strikers as colorful, vibrant, and full of teenage rebellion against the ugly parts of the system, so we probably won’t be seeing a late-game turn for nightmarish. If you want something like that, go play Persona 2.
Persona 5 Strikers’ official description declares that it “takes players on an epic road trip with the Phantom Thieves, where they strike back against the corruption overwhelming cities across Japan. A summer vacation with close friends takes a sudden turn as a distorted reality emerges; reveal the truth and redeem the hearts of those imprisoned at the center of the crisis!”
So in other words, these kids have to save the world during summer break as well as during the school year. Now that’s just unreasonable. At least they seem to be having fun doing it? Persona is celebrating its 25th anniversary soon, so we’re excited to see what they have in store for us. Aside from the Mochibi plushies. We knew about those already.
Persona 5 Strikers will be released on February 23, 2021 for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC. Pre-orders will begin on Thursday, December 10th at 4PM PT.
What’s your favorite Persona game? Let us know down in the comments, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.
Source: Trailer