Persona 5 Strikers is one of those games that is walking the line between two worlds. There are RPG elements to it pulled right from the Persona series, sure. But it’s also borrowing lots of Omega Force Musou staples to change up the “dungeon-crawling” experience. And it does it all very well! And what I’ve noticed after playing both the Persona 5 Strikers Switch and PlayStation 4 versions is, well, I’m enjoying it way more on Nintendo’s system!
Some of this is a personal bias. Given the current state of affairs, I tend to favor playing on my Switch when I can. I already spend about an hour each day on my PlayStation 4 playing Genshin Impact. I’m living in a 700 square foot space at the moment and not getting out much. Playing on a system where I can easily connect it to a TV in a bedroom or living room, or even play it on a handheld itself, is a pleasure. Maybe some of it too comes from getting to play a Persona game of any sort on the system. But there’s more to it than that. The innate nature of Persona 5 Strikers can make it feel more comfortable on the Switch.
For starters, the two genres it borrows from both lend themselves perfectly to the hybrid console. When I can, I tend to prefer playing RPGs on the Switch. I enjoy being able to pick away at them, making progress when I feel like it, and the nature of the system makes sitting for hours or popping in to make some quick progress over fifteen minutes work. And while this is a game where you sometimes have gaps where you can’t save, I feel like Persona 5 Strikers is pretty good about respecting your time and giving you places where you can take a pause.
Musou games prove to work quite well on handheld systems as well. They are, after all, the sorts that can lend themselves to continuous grinding. And, while Persona 5 Strikers is pretty good about not forcing someone to continually fight and even encourages avoiding foes, in general its nature lends itself well to a system that can offer both options. You want to spend some time exploring a jail, collecting Personas, experimenting with parties, and earning money? Go for it.
There’s also the fact that Persona 5 Strikers is a Musou game that removes one of the elements that would make it better on another front. It’s a single-player game. There’s no multiplayer. Which means you don’t have to worry about how things might be with someone else around to help you fight through Jails. I also feel like that eliminates one of the reasons to feel like maybe you have to play on a big screen. You can be selfish and enjoy the smaller screen experience, because it is “only” you there.
This isn’t to say there aren’t sacrifices that come from playing Persona 5 Strikers on the Switch. It doesn’t look as sharp as it does on the PlayStation 4. That version will be much crisper and more defined. Especially if you compare the handheld version of the experience to what you see on the big screen. (It seems like it isn’t so dark there as well, though that problem is easily fixed on the Switch by playing the game docked.) Audio quality is fairly equal no matter where you play. Though again, going portable will come with a noticeable hit.
I would consider the loading issue to be the one that might get to people. Getting into Persona 5 Strikers takes more time on the Switch than on a standard PlayStation 4. Though honestly, this is most noticeable when you’re first loading the game up from the home menu and starting your adventure and loading a save. When it came to going between the real world and a Jail or other areas, I didn’t feel like it was as bad. But then, it could just be I considered it an acceptable sacrifice for having it on the additional platform.
While Persona 5 Strikers might not be at its fastest or prettiest on the Switch, I enjoy it more there. This is a game that can be played for about fifteen or twenty minutes, then put down for a while, or savored for about two or three hours straight. Nintendo’s system makes it easy to do that. The genres lend themselves well to a hybrid system
Persona 5 Strikers is available for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC on February 19, 2021 for people who pre-order the Digital Deluxe edition. Its official release date is February 23, 2021.
