Dynasty Warriors-style spin-offs have been doing wonders for some of the most beloved video game franchises recently.The Legend of Zeldafans got their fill withHyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, which functionally serves as a prequel toBreath of the Wild. Now it’sPersonathat’s getting the Musou treatment withPersona 5 Strikers, functionally a direct sequel to the originalPersona 5.Strikersserves as a welcome return, and proper send-off, to the Phantom Thieves' adventures. Taking place a few months after the originalPersona 5’s ending, players embark on a whole new journey into the metaverse across Japan.
It’s not unusual forPersonato utilize spin-offs to serve as pseudo-sequels or continuations to each respective mainline game. However,Persona 5 Strikersis a little different compared to examples likePersona 4 Arenaor theDancingspin-offs previously. Whereas those examples took place in the same world in the future, those spin-offs weren’t dedicated sequels in the way thatPersona 5 Strikersis. However, for fans of the content inPersona 5 Royal,Strikersis missing a lot of the content from the definitive version ofPersona 5. There is a reason for that, as the canonicity ofPersona 5,Royal, and each games' relationship toStrikersis important to distinguish.
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Persona 5 Strikers is More Sequel Than Spin-Off
Persona 5 Strikersis the first entry in the franchise that actually resembles a true-to-form sequel, rather than just a spin-off in a different genre. Of course there wasPersona 5: Dancing in Starlight, one of the manyPersonarhythm gamespin-offs, but obviously that wasn’t anything close to a canon sequel. PreviousPersonagames not only hadDancingcounterparts, butPersona 4had theArenaandArena Ultimaxfighting game spin-offs, which also featuredPersona 3characters. That’s without even counting thePersona Qspin-offs, which are very clearly separate from anyPersonacanon, acting more as fan service for the hardcorePersonafans.
This time, however,Persona 5 Strikersbreaks the mold, and is the closest thing to a “Persona 5-2” if there ever was one. On a surface level,Persona 5 Strikerscertainly looks like the action-infusedDynasty Warriorsgames that its foundation is based on, but underneath the gameplay systems are much closer toPersona 5proper.Strikersplays like a traditionalPersonaRPG: players collect and fuse Personas, learn new magic skills, target enemies' weaknesses, and combine attacks together to optimize damage. Everything about thegameplay resembles the originalPersona 5, just at a much faster pacefor combat among some idiosyncrasies in between.
Persona 5 Royal is Not Canon to Persona 5 Strikers' Story
However, forPersona 5 Royalfans, there’s an important caveat toStrikers' existence as a sequel. Specifically,Persona 5 Strikersis a direct sequel to the events ofPersona 5, notPersona 5 Royal. The events of the third semester, certain characters, and certain events throughout the main game are not considered canon toStrikers. Along those lines, Phantom Thieves like Kasumi and Akechi are not featured inStrikersas well. While it’s unfortunate consideringPersona 5 Royalcan be quantified as the definitive version of the fifth entry,Strikersoriginally released in Japan (known asPersona 5 Scramble) beforeRoyal, so the latest game is not canon toStrikers.
Granted, the actual canonicity between all games hasn’t been officially denoted,butStrikersis specificallyPersona 5’s “follow-up story.“While it’s unfortunate that now-iconic Phantom Thieves like Kasumiand Akechi don’t get to join Joker on his summer road trip, the game was likely far enough in development beforeRoyalbegan. Atlus does maintain the mantra that “anyone” can enjoyPersona 5 Strikers, regardless of their knowledge ofPersona 5, even though that’s only technically true. The game does call back and rehash notions from the originalPersona 5in a way that makes sense, but can also be repetitive for existingPersona 5fans.
In truth, the players who will get the most fromPersona 5 Strikersare the ones who’ve played and enjoyedPersona 5, whether it’s the base game orRoyal. It is a shame that aspects fromRoyalwon’t transfer intoStrikers, but it doesn’t interrupt the game’s momentum in a tangible way.Persona 5 Strikersis a love letter just as much as it is an exciting twist on the originalPersonaframework, and even withoutRoyal’s content, it’s still a worthy successor to both versions ofPersona 5.
Persona 5 Strikersreleases on August 03, 2025, on PC, PS4, and Nintendo Switch.
