It's always nice to see your friends again, even if your time together doesn't always live up to the highest highs you've experienced in the past. Persona 5 Strikers is a lot like that--it comes with some special moments that foster a deeper appreciation for what Persona 5 is and what it represents. From the wild action-RPG combat to the summer road-trip premise, characters we know and love get to show off how much they've grown and prove they can still kick ass in style. Strikers does trip over a few clumsy tropes along the way, and sometimes tries a little too hard to recapture Persona 5's magic, but when it's all said and done, I'm glad this reunion happened to begin with.

It's the summer after the events of the original game, and the Phantom Thieves have a little free time. With Joker being back in town, why not enjoy the break? Before they can even make plans, they're caught in another round of beating down the metaphysical evils of the Metaverse and changing hearts. This time, the phenomenon is happening all across Japan. Although you follow similar patterns established in Persona 5--fighting through surreal dungeons and living life in the real world--the context is quite different both narratively and gameplay-wise.

Your first few targets have been manipulating people's desires in order to feed their ambitions for fame and fortune, but there's a bigger mystery as to how and why there's strange behavior en masse. You begin to unveil that tragic pasts have led them down a dark path of exploiting the Metaverse. The broader message isn't to excuse behavior or to say that trauma will surely corrupt its victims--rather, that our circumstances and the people around us (or lack thereof) have significant influence over how we internalize and process pain, and eventually who we become.

Through each story beat, the main cast relates to these tragic situations because they were once in similar positions in the original game. It shows how much our fellow Phantom Thieves have matured since the events of Persona 5--they've been able to conquer their traumas, and Strikers gives them the opportunity to impart their wisdom onto others.

However, the story doesn't always hit these topics with particular nuance, leaving some of its messaging feeling either a bit shallow or hamfisted. Dialogue sometimes relies on surface-level exposition and cliches, or talking in circles to belabor the point. Many of the villains also boil down to being an avatar for a certain type of character flaw in a very matter-of-fact way. I felt somewhat detached from the stakes at times.

Although it's not deliberately explored in depth, Persona 5 Strikers does have a surprisingly poignant message about the role of technology in our lives--the perks, the pitfalls, the power it affords certain people, and how it can be abused. As per usual with Persona, the story also presents genuine human connection as a source of strength, and by the end of the journey, both those themes come into clearer focus.

For all its shortcomings, Persona 5 Strikers reminds me why I loved the Phantom Thieves to begin with and shows how they've matured since we last saw them. Once you get your head around it, the action-RPG combat is a challenging thrill, and no one can pull off flourishes in the same fashion as these characters. I almost forgot I was playing a musou-style game developed by Koei Tecmo and Omega-Force, and I think that's a testament to how sharp Strikers is as a Persona game. If you have any love for Persona 5, what say you save the world one more time with some old friends?