A Koei Tecmo financial report for the first quarter reveals that Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers is planned for a North American and European release on PS4 and Switch. If the information is correct, it will also be releasing both physically and digitally.
The document, unfortunately, doesn’t give us a release date for Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers, but according to Siliconera, there were plans of a localization in a survey in March.
Phantom Strikers is a spinoff/sequel to the hit JRPG Persona 5, but instead of turn-based battles, there’s a Dynasty Warriors/Musou twist. It is all action-focused with hack-and-slash mechanics. Joker, with the power to have multiple Personas, has a multitude of moves to pull from. You can also round up a full party of the characters you know and love from the original game.
According to The Verge, Joker meets his friends again four months after the events of Persona 5 for a summer vacay. However, the Phantom Thieves’ plans to go on a camping trip get put on hold when they enter an alternate universe. Yep, that’s some good old fashioned JRPG stuff right there! And just like the original game, they have to find a way to change (steal?) the ruler’s heart. Unfortunately, there’s a reduced focus on social links, but The Verge does claim that the developer Omega Force and ATLUS has “done a good job at fusing trademark Persona elements to the musou formula.” Let’s hope the game lives up to the high praise!
The localization could have been delayed due to the Coronavirus. Anime network FUNimation had to delay the dubs of their shows because its voice actors are now working from home. Most of its programming with dub work has been delayed to Winter 2020. Maybe it’s the same deal with ATLUS, as there’s a lot of dialogue in Persona games; they might not want to make concessions with the quality of the audio and the acting.
Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers released on February 20th, 2020 in Japan, so the wait for Western fans has been arduous. It’s something that ATLUS fans have been used to, however, as the original Persona 5 came out in Japan around 8 months before North America.
Life Will Change, on the other hand, as Persona’s older brother, Shin Megami Tensei, will be having a simultaneous release next year around the world. While you wait, you can play the updated version of the 2016 title Persona 5 Royal, or the PC port of Persona 4 Golden!
Source: Siliconera, The Verge
