Summary
Persona 5 Tacticabrings a lot of new and innovative ideas to the franchise as well as the tactical RPG genre, making it a stand-outPersonaspin-off game. By combining the typical tactical RPG formula with iconic elements of thePersonaseries, as well as the addition of new mechanics like Triple Threat attacks,Persona 5 TacticaelevatesPersonaspin-off games to a new level. However, there is one mechanic that is used early on in the game and then never again, resulting in a confusing missed opportunity to build on this mechanic later in the game.
Like otherPersona 5spin-off games,Persona 5 Tacticaintroduces players to some new faces who join the Phantom Thieves on their quest for justice.Persona 5 Tactica’s Erina and Toshiroare two of the game’s new characters who play crucial roles in the game’s story, providing much-needed support for the Phantom Thieves as they attempt to make their way through this new version of the Metaverse. However, one early mission introduces an escort mechanic that sees the player guide Toshiro to safety, but this mechanic is never utilized in the game again, leaving its potential ultimately squandered.
Persona 5 Tactica Could Have Done More with Escort Missions
The early missions ofPersona 5 Tacticatake their time introducing players to the primary mechanics they can expect to find throughout the game, including things like mission goals, theOne-More system, and Triple Threat attacks. These tutorial levels are great for familiarizing players with the flow ofPersona 5 Tactica’s gameplay, since most levels in the game require players to understand these key features. However, one level in the Marie Kingdom includes a tutorial on Escort Units, setting them up to seem like an important future mechanic only for them to never be utilized again.
The Armory Raid mission inPersona 5 Tactica’s Marie Kingdomrequires players to successfully escort Toshiro to the goal while preventing enemies from defeating him. The twist with this mission is that Toshiro can’t attack, but still moves like a regular party member, utilizing cover to prevent himself from taking damage. While other missions require players to have specific characters, or even the entire party, reach the level’s goal, none of these ever include another Escort Unit who lacks the ability to defend themselves and needs to be protected.
How Persona 5 Tactica Could Have Built Upon the Escort Mechanic
It seems odd thatPersona 5 Tacticawould spend time teaching players about Escort Units in an early-game mission only for the mechanic to never appear again. There are even a variety of ways the game could have implemented and iterated upon the mechanic as players progressed in order to challenge their understanding of it. Given thatPersona 5 Tacticafeatures several missionsinvolving the liberation of citizens from prison, an easy way to make good use of this mechanic is to have levels where players need to escort a group of NPCs to the goal without any of them being defeated.
Another way the game could have utilized Escort Units is throughPersona 5 Tactica’s quest system, which allows players to challenge themselves in optional missions. These missions usually have more difficult requirements for completion, like defeating all enemies or reaching a goal in only a single turn, so it seems like the natural place for the game to test the player’s understanding of the Escort Unit mechanic. A quest involving an Escort Unit could have required players to utilize the One-More mechanic to continually defeat enemies and clear a safe path to the target, allowing the Escort Unit to reach the goal in one turn.
