10 Reasons Persona 5 Is Already A Game Of The Year Contender
5. Combat Is A Traditional JRPG, But Modern Where It Counts
One of the most important aspects of Persona 5 is combat. Luckily, it manages to be deep and engaging across hundreds of hours.
P5 introduces a focus on stealth over charging headlong into battle by allowing players the opportunity to ambush enemies and get the first move. This makes stealth one of the biggest factors in battle, as you can also be ambushed by the enemy, and have this advantage reversed.
The rest of the combat system remains similar to the other Persona titles. Battles are turn based and each character has their own melee weapon, gun and Persona attacks. One of the biggest priorities of battle in Persona 5 is identifying enemy weaknesses. Finding and using these is essential to dealing big damage, as it allows for 'All Out Attacks'; stylish, effective, often-finishing blows.
This turns Persona 5's combat system into a rhythmic balance of attacking and defending, making it feel satisfying from beginning to end. It may not reinvent turn-based RPG combat, but Persona 5 is still a great example of how fun and deep those systems can be.