History VideoGame / Persona5Strikers

--->'''Ann:''' I bet Skull couldn't pull it off this gracefully.
--->'''Ryuji:''' What's this sense of déjà vu?

** Once the FinalBoss is beaten, Ichinose [[spoiler:tries to turn herself to the police for creating [=EMMA=], an [[AIIsACrapshoot AI god]] that caused nationwide discord, and potentially global chaos if left unchecked. [[CassandraTruth The police do not believe a word she says]] and set her free, despite the fact that she was the ''de facto'' culprit that they're hunting for. Like with ''Persona 5'', supernatural elements don't work as proper evidence to any form of crime. Since her crimes were only committed in the Metaverse (unlike Akechi who killed people in the real world), she gets dismissed for lack of proof.]]

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite being members of the Phantom Thieves, Akechi and Kasumi [[spoiler:(Sumire)]] aren't so much as mentioned in ''Strikers'', which can be interpreted as happening after ''Royal'' rather than the original due to several {{Continuity Nod}}s notes below. This can be explained away as their membership within the Phantom Thieves were only temporary as [[spoiler:Sumire explicitly told Joker that she would be participating in international tournaments at the end of ''Royal'' as well as the fact that in her Kasumi persona, she vocally disagreed with the group's methods (Though she eventually took back her statement after learning Joker's secret identity) and although Akechi is heavily implied to be alive in the True Ending should you max Akechi's Confidant rank with Joker, he is also shown to be flanked by officers, which implies he went through with his decision to face justice for his actions and is currently incarcerated; otherwise, he really was killed in Shido's Palace]]. Out-of-universe, the lack of a mention probably stems from the fact that the lack of a mention probably stems from the fact that the development team wasn't in the loop for ''Royal'' (or was expressly forbidden from featuring spoilers, which including these two characters would all but require) and left it vague to make a confirmed retcon into the ''Royal'' timeline easier and avoid contradictions.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite being members of the Phantom Thieves, Akechi and Kasumi [[spoiler:(Sumire)]] aren't so much as mentioned in ''Strikers'', which can be interpreted as happening after ''Royal'' rather than the original due to several {{Continuity Nod}}s notes below. This can be explained away as their membersship within the Phantom Thieves were only temporary as [[spoiler:Sumire explicitly told Joker that she would be participating in international tournaments at the end of ''Royal'' as well as the fact that in her Kasumi persona, she vocally disagreed with the group's methods (Though she eventually took back her statement after learning Joker's secret identity) and although Akechi is heavily implied to be alive in the True Ending should you max Akechi's Confidant rank with Joker, he is also shown to be flanked by officers, which implies he went through with his decision to face justice for his actions and is currently incarcerated; otherwise, he really was killed in Shido's Palace]]. Out-of-universe, the lack of a mention probably stems from the fact that the lack of a mention probably stems from the fact that the development team wasn't in the loop for ''Royal'' (or was expressly forbidden from featuring spoilers, which including these two characters would all but require) and left it vague to make a confirmed retcon into the ''Royal'' timeline easier and avoid contradictions.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite being members of the Phantom Thieves, Akechi and Kasumi [[spoiler:(Sumire)]] aren't so much as mentioned in ''Strikers'', which can be interpreted as happening after ''Royal'' rather than the original due to several {{Continuity Nod}}s notes below. This can be explained away because neither of them were truly part of the Phantom Thieves in the first place as [[spoiler:Sumire explicitly told Joker that she would be participating in international tournaments at the end of ''Royal'' as well as the fact that in her Kasumi persona, she vocally disagreed with the group's methods (Though she eventually took back her statement after learning Joker's secret identity) and although Akechi is heavily implied to be alive in the True Ending should you max Akechi's Confidant rank with Joker, he is also shown to be flanked by officers, which implies he went through with his decision to face justice for his actions and is currently incarcerated; otherwise, he really was killed in Shido's Palace]]. Out-of-universe, the lack of a mention probably stems from the fact that the lack of a mention probably stems from the fact that the development team wasn't in the loop for ''Royal'' (or was expressly forbidden from featuring spoilers, which including these two characters would all but require) and left it vague to make a confirmed retcon into the ''Royal'' timeline easier and avoid contradictions.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite being members of the Phantom Thieves, Akechi and Kasumi [[spoiler:(Sumire)]] aren't so much as mentioned in ''Strikers'', which can be interpreted as happening after ''Royal'' rather than the original due to several {{Continuity Nod}}s notes below. This can be explained away because neither of them were truly part of the Phantom Thieves in the first place as [[spoiler:Sumire explicitly told Joker that she would be participating in international tournaments at the end of ''Royal'' as well as the fact that in her Kasumi Persona, she vocally disagreed with the group's methods and although Akechi is heavily implied to be alive in the True Ending should you max Akechi's Confidant rank with Joker, he is also shown to be flanked by officers, which implies he went through with his decision to face justice for his actions and is currently under arrest; otherwise, he really was killed in Shido's Palace]]. Out-of-universe, the lack of a mention probably stems from the fact that the development team wrote ''Strikers'' as a sequel to the ''Vanilla'' game rather than ''Royal'' (or was expressly forbidden from including spoilers, which including these two characters would all but require) and left it vague to make a confirmed retcon into the ''Royal'' timeline easier and avoid contradictions.

** Though [[LooseCanon more concrete references couldn't be made]] due to the largely simultaneous development cycles, the Japanese version of the game semi-implies that it ties into ''[[UpdatedRerelease Royal]]'' instead of the Vanilla ''Persona 5''.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite being members of the Phantom Thieves, Akechi and Kasumi [[spoiler:(Sumire)]] aren't so much as mentioned in ''Strikers'', which can be interpreted as happening after ''Royal'' rather than the original due to several {{Continuity Nod}}s notes below. This can be explained away because neither of them were truly part of the Phantom Thieves in the first place as [[spoiler:Sumire explicitly told Joker that she would be participating in international tournaments at the end of ''Royal'' as well as the fact that in her Kasumi Persona, she vocally disagreed with the group's methods and although Akechi is heavily implied to be alive in the True Ending, he is also shown to be flanked by officers, which implies he went through with his decision to face justice for his actions and is currently under arrest; otherwise, he really was killed in Shido's Palace]]. Out-of-universe, the lack of a mention probably stems from the fact that the development team wrote ''Strikers'' as a sequel to the ''Vanilla'' game rather than ''Royal'' (or was expressly forbidden from including spoilers, which including these two characters would all but require) and left it vague to make a confirmed retcon into the ''Royal'' timeline easier and avoid contradictions.

*** In Morgana's above reference at the Tokyo Tower, the Japanese dub has him say it occurred specifically six months ago, lining up better with the battle against [[spoiler:Maruki versus Yaldabaoth]].
*** Ann mentions not having seen Futaba in a long time, which matches the ''Royal'' canon where she went overseas since Futaba attends Shujin in both.

* UselessUsefulSpell: Unsurprisingly enough for a ''Persona'' game, Tetraja and instant-kill protection. The game gives you these defensive spells with the expectation that you'll face instant-kill spells, but not only do instant-kills ''never'' appear on Normal difficulty, enemies who actually cast instant-kills only appear on Merciless and are so rare that there's no point in filling a Skill slot or Accessory slot for immunity against them. There's also the fact that since WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou is averted, there's no real danger in losing a party member to an instant-kill unless you're in a ''really'' bad fight and are out of revival items.

** In Osaka, one of the idle dialogues you can hear while wandering says "Is it true that celebrity cheated on 9 people at the same time?". In the original game, you can obtain the harem route by romancing all 9 female confidants sans Lavenza. If Joker dates all of them, the Valentines event will have all of the women Joker romanced to call him out for essentially two-timing all of them until Sojiro steps in to interfere, essentially referencing Joker's fate should he try to date two or more of the date-able female confidants. [[labelnote:Explanation]]''Royal'' has 10 romanceable confidants with the addition of Kasumi.[[/labelnote]]

** In Osaka, one of the idle dialogues you can hear while wandering says "Is it true that celebrity cheated on 9 people at the same time?". In the original game, you can obtain the Harem route by romancing all 9 female confidants sans Lavenza. [[labelnote:Explanation]]''Royal'' has 10 romanceable confidants with the addition of Kasumi.[[/labelnote]]

** The prospect of Haru driving always causes Makoto to nervously decline or simply freak out, and when Haru finally has to take over driving duties for the second Kyoto trip, Makoto is noted to look incredibly pale. The reason why becomes clear when Haru starts giggling and talking about a "special technique"... that, as it turns out, [[DrivesLikeCrazy wouldn't be out of place]] in ''Manga/InitialD'' than it would be in a trip between cities. By the time the rest of the Thieves realize letting Haru take the wheel was a bad idea, it's too late. In fact, the team make it to Kyoto by noon on the same day, which means Haru somehow cut an eight-hour trip down to ''three or four hours''.

** While accessing Sophia's shop in Okinawa, the Japanese dub replaces Sophia's "Youkoso" (Welcome) with "Mensoree", the Okinawan phrase for "Welcome" and it only last until the thieves left Okinawa.

* GenreShift: From a turn-based RPG to a ''Warriors''-style action game. While not unlike how ''VideoGame/Persona4'' saw [[VideoGame/Persona4Arena both of its]] [[VideoGame/Persona4DancingAllNight sequel titles]] change genres and developers in the process, ''Strikers'' retains most of the RPG elements of ''P5'' and approximates many of its turn-based combat systems into a real-time setting, making the game more akin to a traditional action RPG, while also keeping the daytime social interactions, calendar system, and town exploration as seen in the mainline ''Persona'' series, something ''Persona 4'''s sequels didn't include. The presentation is also much more in line with other mainline ''Persona'' games, rather than the ''P4'' sequels that were closer to {{Visual Novel}}s.

** Like the previous Palace rulers who had a bad habit of NiceJobFixingItVillain, [[spoiler:Konoe didn't check who EMMA was using to capture the Phantom Thieves.]] That's actually [[spoiler:Akane, the daughter of the police officer who was going after him.]] This brought [[spoiler:Zenkichi's wrath straight to his face and caused Konoe to be foiled and arrested at the end.]]

* HypocriticalHumor: In the second dungeon, the Overlord's retainer, both before and after the battle, insults the Phantom Thieves, calling them repulsive-looking and grotesque. This coming from a [[https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Pisaca Pisaca]].

** As if the Phantom Thieves haven't learned better, the whole [[spoiler:Kyoto arc is kickstarted by one. The Phantom Thieves received an obviously faked distress SMS from EMMA using Akane's identity, but Akane doesn't even have the SMS contacts of any Phantom Thief. The obviousness of this trap didn't matter to them, and Makoto's suggestion to throw herself into Akane's Jail as a decoy was rejected for no good reason, causing 7 teenagers, an AI and a cat-like creature to rush directly head-on to save Akane only to have most of its combatants trapped by what was obviously a brainwashed Akane's shadow. If not for Futaba tripping and generally being too slow to run, EMMA would have captured ''all'' the Thieves, and Konoe would be changing the hearts of ''all'' of Japan unopposed.]]

** Lavenza acts as the protagonist's sole Velvet Room attendant and appears at the start of the game. She also mentions Yaldabaoth splitting her into the Twin Wardens during the [[spoiler:vanilla game's final act, before the party makes their way to confronting the awakened EMMA.]]

* NewWorkRecycledGraphics: Several assets from ''Persona 5'' and ''Persona 5 Royal'' are used here, including UI elements, character models, and even music. [[TropesAreTools This works in the game's favor though.]]

* NonStandardGameOver: During a section in Kyoto's Jail, due to all party members save for Futaba [[spoiler:being taken hostage by EMMA and Akane,]] Zenkichi, [[spoiler:who hasn't awakened a persona yet]], has to approach [[spoiler:Akane]] by sneaking past patrolling Shadows. If Zenkichi goes into the line of sight of any of the Shadows, it will automatically result in a Game Over since he can't defend himself against them at that point.

** For starters, it is one of the few ''Warriors'' crossovers based on a multi-generational franchise that is not a MassiveMultiplayerCrossover. As such, the roster is limited to only 10 playable characters, with Joker and up to 3 other party members available at any given time as opposed to the larger crossovers seen in titles like ''VideoGame/HyruleWarriors''.

** The prospect of Haru driving always causes Makoto to nervously decline or simply freak out, and when Haru finally has to take over driving duties for the second Kyoto trip, Makoto is noted to look incredibly pale. The reason why becomes clear when Haru starts giggling and talking about a "special technique"... that, as it turns out, [[DrivesLikeCrazy would be more suited to]] ''Manga/InitialD'' than it would be a trip between cities. By the time the rest of the Thieves realize letting Haru take the wheel was a bad idea, it's too late. In fact, the team make it to Kyoto by noon on the same day, which means Haru somehow cut an 8-hour trip down to ''3 or 4 hours''.

* AnAesop:
** Only you can find your own answer to happiness.
** Having been wronged or bullied in the past [[HeWhoFightsMonsters does not merit your use of an extreme counter-offensive method]] as a form of revenge. Especially if you get innocent people caught in the crossfire.
** Emotions are a vital part of the human soul. Without emotion, one can only see the extremes as the sole answer to conflict and strife.

* SamePlotSequel: The plot of ''Strikers'' recycles much of the same basic framework of the plot of ''Persona 5'' with a few extra themes from ''Royal'' sprinkled in for flavor. The main differences are that the antagonists are somewhat more morally complex this time around (leading to a different {{Aesop}} compared to the original) and some Phantom Thieves getting [[ADayInTheLimelight additional focus]] to cap off their character development from the previous game.

* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: On the Japanese box art, Ryuji gets comically punched in the face by a Shadow, while on the American cover, the punch whiffs him.

** "Answer" comes up a ''lot''. [[note]]答え (Kotae) in Japanese[[/note]] The purpose of [=EMMA=] is to [[spoiler:guide humanity towards the one answer to happiness by telling its users the best solution to daily issues and reaching a conclusion from all that it was being consulted with.]]
** "Desire" [[note]]ネガイ, Negai[[/note]] also comes up a lot. This is the human essence that the Monarchs contain within their Jails so everyone only desires the Monarch for the Monarch's happiness. Furthermore, [[spoiler:due to having no actual understanding of emotions, after countless people used it for counseling, EMMA decided the sole answer for humanity's happiness is for her to think for humanity by taking over the Tokyo Tower and using mind control over the public to give her their Desires, so they could no longer think without her advice.]]

* ArmorPiercingAttack: Wolf uses the Megido series of skills for his magic output, and once he learns a certain Master Art, entering Fury imbues the Almighty element into his sword combos and grants him Almighty-element {{Sword Beam}}s. Notably, Almighty damage ignores affinities, allowing him to deal neutral damage to some otherwise pesky foes.

* AutobotsRockOut: Some of the new battle themes lean away from ''Persona 5'''s jazzy thematics in favor of pure metal, presumably as a nod to ''Dynasty Warriors''. Several songs from the original ''Persona 5'' are remixed into heavier rock themes — "Last Surprise" gets a heavy metal remix with a new, deeper vocal take provided by Lyn, and "Keeper of Lust", already a pretty heavy jam, gets a fast-paced electronic rock remix with a new guitar solo. A similar treatment is applied to the two major boss theme remixes, "Blooming Villain" and "Rivers in the Desert."

* BilingualBonus: One of the earliest giveaways that [[spoiler:Madicce, the developer of the EMMA concierge application is into something much, more sinister, is that the company's name actually comes from "Oracle" in Greek.]] Its [[spoiler:CEO, Konoe, dubs his crusade to use the app to wipe out ''all'' crime as "Operation Oracle (Oraculi in the English localization)"]] and [[spoiler:in order to achieve this goal, he made Shuzo Ubukata include knowledge of using Cognitive Psience — well known as the domain of Futaba's mother Wakaba in the previous game — into EMMA's code.]] In sum, [[spoiler:Madicce]] is really [[spoiler:using Cognitive Psience and AI technology to summon a "god".]]

* BusmansHoliday: The Phantom Thieves' planned summer vacation is interrupted by the sudden return of the Metaverse, requiring them to go back into action and defend Japan once again.

* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: When introduced to the Phantom Thieves at their hideout, Sophia hums a few notes of "Life Will Change." Sophia will also occasionally hum the game's ending theme, (To Wish/Towards a Dream) a habit she picked up from her creator, [[spoiler:Kuon Ichinose]].

* SmallRoleBigImpact: [[spoiler:Sae Nijima]] has an extremely brief one-minute off-screen appearance that its almost a cameo, but she provides a critical role during a major turning point in the game. [[spoiler:She helps Zenkichi get out of interrogation and manages to get the police off the Phantom Thieves temporarily when they become Japan's most wanted]].

* StealthBasedMission: During the Kyoto Jail, [[spoiler:the entire party save [[SupportPartyMember Futaba]] is captured by Shadow Akane. The player assumes control of Zenkichi, who has no Persona and cannot defend himself against Shadows; he must sneak through the Jail to reach the Phantom Thieves and rescue them without being caught.]]

* ActorAllusion: EMMA, the AI assistant introduced in the game, is voiced in English by Susan Bennett, the vocal model for the default voice of [[Creator/{{Apple}} Siri]].

** Joker's glasses in the original game were merely cosmetic, worn to make him seem less threatening in face of his assault charges, with him discarding the glasses in the ending cutscene to both the original game and ''Royal''. Joker's real world outfit in ''Strikers'' has him continue to wear glasses, even though he seemingly no longer needs them, ostensibly because they're too iconic. [[note]] Another possibility is returning to Tokyo where their record was leaked, even if they were proven innocent, made them want to bring them, but nothing is ever said.[[/note]]

* TheCameo: [[spoiler:Sae Nijima]] has an extremely brief one-minute off-screen appearance but provides a critical role during a major turning point in the game, [[spoiler:helping Zenkichi get out of interrogation and getting the police off the Phantom Thieves temporarily when they become Japan's most wanted]].

* CastingGag: Just like Jose in ''Royal'', when the Thieves first meet Sophia, she mistakes Morgana for a "Tanuki." Morgana angrily rebukes her that he is no Tanuki and adds that he ''is'' a cat, before "correcting" again that he is "*not* a cat." Aside from being a ShoutOut to ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'''s RunningGag, Creator/IkueOtani has a similar gag moment in ''Manga/OnePiece''. For some reason the English version localizes this to "Raccoon", despite using "Tanuki" in ''Royal''.

** ''Numerous'' [[VideogameInterfaceElements UI elements]] from ''Persona 5'' are reused and altered, making ''Strikers'' look like a straight-up extension of the original game.

* DiegeticSoundtrackUsage: When introduced to the Phantom Thieves at their hideout, Sophia hums a few notes of "Life Will Change."

** Pressing the strong attack/save button in the Velvet Room results in different reactions from Lavenza. She starts off asking if she can help you, before [[StopPokingMe gradually getting more uncomfortable each time you press the button.]]

** At the start of the Sapporo Jail, Yusuke is the only one completely unbothered by the cold, [[AnIcePerson likely due to his powers]].

* HelloInsertNameHere: Unlike most ''Persona'' spinoffs, the player retains the ability to name the protagonist in ''Strikers''. It's framed as them signing up for the EMMA app as it asks for your name to set up a profile.

** The first arc of the game takes place in Yongen-Jaya and Shibuya, nearly identical to how it appeared in ''VideoGame/Persona5'', and Joker meets up with everyone in the Leblanc cafe that served as the Phantom Thieves' headquarters and Joker's place of residence during his probation the previous year. Only a select few areas remain explorable however; both Takemi's clinic and Iwai's shops are closed down as is the road directly leading to the Sakura household, while most businesses that Joker would normally enter, like the gym and movie theater, are similarly unavailable. The subway stations in both districts are also unavailable, as is the ability to roam any other locales within Tokyo. Shujin Academy does return, but only for a very quick spell when the Phantom Thieves visit it near the arc's climax.

* NotSoDifferentRemark: Konoe tries this on the Phantom Thieves, claiming that [[spoiler:they're both people trying to change the world by changing hearts. It's just that he managed to make it into a system. Sophia [[ShutUpHannibal points out]] that nobody, not even the Jail Monarchs, is happy under his system, while the Phantom Thieves have instead inspired hope.]]

** As a ''Persona'' spinoff game, it's unique in that it's billed in much the same way as a mainline game, being an action RPG which retains most of the original game's basic mechanics as opposed to being a wholly different genre such as a fighting or dancing game. It also isn't a crossover, unlike the ''Q'' games or the aforementioned fighting games. It was also a multiplatform release, at the time a highly unusual move due to the series being Playstation exclusive up to that point.

* RecurringRiff: Sophia's theme, "AI and the Heart," shares a similar melody as her other theme, "The Heart of an AI" and the introduction of [[spoiler:the Demiuge's second phase.]] "The Heart of an A.I." also has an another version that shares the same medley as "Throw Away Your Mask" and the credits theme.

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: While the targets aren't exactly evil, unlike in ''Persona 5'' it's mostly played straight, as the Phantom Thieves start by fighting against a bullying victim who [[spoiler:graduated from Shujin a few years ago]], to an [[spoiler:IT conglomerate CEO trying to wipe out all injustice via robbing the public of free will]], and finally to a [[spoiler:digital goddess who believes that humanity's desires was for her to make decisions for them]]. However, the GreaterScopeVillain (also [[spoiler:the traitor and the creator of Sophia and the BigBad]]) was fought before the [[spoiler:BigBad herself.]]

* ThemeMusicPowerUp: On the day the Phantom Thieves assault the Jail's central castle, "Daredevil" plays until the Thieves make it inside, even playing over the battle music. Also, like in the original, "Life Will Change" plays after the Thieves have sent the CallingCard.

* VariableMix: The field music for each area of a Jail switches to a more subdued mix during sidescrolling platforming sections.

* WhamEpisode: Or more specifically a Wham City [[spoiler:[[BeachEpisode Okinawa]]. This Jail is where the plot really picks up the pace when it is revealed that [[DrivenToSuicide the Monarch is already dead]] and, one long string of cutscenes after leaving the city, [[FrameUp the Thieves are framed for his death]].]]

-->'''[[spoiler:Shadow Akane]]''': You say you couldn't catch him? It's more like you didn't ''want'' to catch him. The monster who killed Mom...you knew [[spoiler:it was Owada!]]

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite being members of the Phantom Thieves, Akechi and Kasumi [[spoiler:(Sumire)]] aren't so much as mentioned in ''Strikers'', which can be interpreted as happening after ''Royal'' rather than the original due to several {{Continuity Nod}}s notes below. This can be explained away because neither of them were truly part of the Phantom Thieves in the first place as [[spoiler:Sumire explicitly told Joker that she would be participating in international tournaments at the end of ''Royal'' as well as the fact that in her Kasumi Persona, she vocally disagreed with the group’s methods and although Akechi is heavily implied to be alive in the True Ending, he is also shown to be flanked by officers, which implies he went through with his decision to face justice for his actions and is currently under arrest; otherwise, he really was killed in Shido's Palace]]. Out-of-universe, the lack of a mention probably stems from the fact that the development team wrote ''Strikers'' as a sequel to the ''Vanilla'' game rather than ''Royal'' (or was expressly forbidden from including spoilers, which including these two characters would all but require) and left it vague to make a confirmed retcon into the ''Royal'' timeline easier and avoid contradictions.

* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Despite being members of the Phantom Thieves, Akechi and Kasumi [[spoiler:(Sumire)]] aren't so much as mentioned in ''Strikers'', which can be interpreted as happening after ''Royal'' rather than the original due to several {{Continuity Nod}}s notes below. This can be explained away because neither of them were truly part of the Phantom Thieves in the first place as [[spoiler:Sumire explicitly told Joker that she would be participating in international tournaments at the end of ''Royal'' and although Akechi is heavily implied to be alive in the True Ending, he is also shown to be flanked by officers, which implies he went through with his decision to face justice for his actions and is currently under arrest; otherwise, he really was killed in Shido's Palace]]. Out-of-universe, the lack of a mention probably stems from the fact that the development team wrote ''Strikers'' as a sequel to the ''Vanilla'' game rather than ''Royal'' (or was expressly forbidden from including spoilers, which including these two characters would all but require) and left it vague to make a confirmed retcon into the ''Royal'' timeline easier and avoid contradictions.

''Persona 5 Strikers'' (known as ''Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers'' in [[MarketBasedTitle Japan]]) is a ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors''-style ActionRPG sequel to ''VideoGame/Persona5'', developed by Creator/{{Atlus}} and Creator/KoeiTecmo's Omega Force, and published by Atlus for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, and PC via UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. It was released in Japan on February 20, 2020, in Asia and South Korea on June 18 the same year, and in Western territories with an English dub on February 23, 2021, with an early release date of February 19 for the digital deluxe edition.

* OldSaveBonus: You can unlock the original version of ''Last Surprise'' as well as ''Take Over'' if you have save data for ''VideoGame/Persona5'' or ''[[UpdatedReRelease Royal]]'' in the UsefulNotes/PlayStation4. In the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch version, these tracks are instead unlocked by having save data from ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''. For those playing on Steam, these instead have to be unlocked by beating the game once.

** Sophia's third Master Art is called "[[UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis Blast Processing]]".

* BonusBoss: Abundant. Each Jail has a Dire Shadow, for which you'll likely need three more dungeons' worth of experience before you can beat them. Also, each of the Monarchs (except for the Kyoto Monarch) can be challenged again after completing their Jails, and you can rematch them as many times as you want. The post-game unlocks the rematches on a higher difficulty, and the last of another group of powerful Shadows like the Dire ones, except defeating these unlocks them for fusion in the Velvet Room. And if you manage to beat all of those, clearing every Request, you can battle The Reaper. Defeating him unlocks NewGamePlus and the Merciless difficulty setting.

** Like [[VideoGame/Persona3 SEES]] and [[VideoGame/Persona4Arena The Investigation Team]], the team of Persona users encounter a robot who assists them on their journey, although Sophia isn't an Anti-Shadow Weapon by the Kirijo Group.

** Joker's glasses in the original game were merely cosmetic, worn to make him seem less threatening in face of his assault charges, with him discarding the glasses in the ending cutscene to both the original game and ''Royal''. Joker's real world outfit in ''Strikers'' has him continue to wear glasses, even though he seemingly no longer needs them, ostensibly because they're too iconic. [[note]] Another possibility is returning to Tokyo where their record was leaked, even if they proven innocent, made them want to bring them, but nothing is ever said.[[/note]]

*** Not once in ''Strikers'' does Morgana ever mention becoming or wanting to be human (although he [[RunningGag still gets mad at being called a cat]]). After the Phantom Thieves defeated Yaldabaoth in the Vanilla ending, he ''still'' wanted to become human, and specifically cited looking for some way to do so as a reason for continuing to stick with Joker. In ''Royal'' [[spoiler:by contrast, after the Thieves awaken to their senses in Maruki's dream world, he fully accepts that he is not human. In the ending after Maruki's defeat, Morgana tells Joker that, regardless of what he is, he will always be Joker's partner.]]

** Because an accuracy-based stat wouldn't make a great deal of sense in an action game, the Agility stat (which was noticeably missing entirely from the last ''[=MegaTen=]'' action game, ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Raidou Kuzunoha]]'') has been reworked from its implementation in previous ''Persona'' and ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' games — Agility increases a character's chance to perform a special automatic dodge if the player fails to dodge an attack on their own, and instead of boosting accuracy, it now governs CriticalHit chance instead of Luck. Morgana, who had fairly high Luck in ''P5'', has seen his stats adjusted to compensate, giving him some extra points in Agility compared to ''P5'' so he can continue to function as a CriticalHitClass.
** Each character has at least one move in their basic combo strings that uses their Persona's respective element — Ann and Makoto can [[SpellBlade add their affinity to their standard attacks]], Haru and Yusuke have area-of-effect moves for Psychokinesis and Ice, etc. — all without expending SP. In addition, some moves (like Ann's final Master Art) cast status-effect moves for free as well. And MagicIsRareHealthIsCheap is in full effect, as is typical for a ''Persona'' game. While the effects and damage of these moves are lesser than what casting them would provide, it still makes exploiting ElementalRockPaperScissors much easier and allows enemy defenses to be broken should you ever run out of SP to cast spells with.
** Later in the game, the Phantom Thieves can unlock a Bond skill to allow them to follow up a perfectly-timed dodge with an automatic, magic-based counterattack. If the enemy being countered nulls or drains the element, they will be reduced to only resisting it for the purposes of the counterattack.
** Unlike traditional ''Persona'' games where skill settings are permanent with the exception of a very specific function that arrives mid- to late-game like the confessional in ''Persona 5'', the lack of such a function here means that you now have the ability to alter your party members' skillsets on demand so long as you aren't in combat.[[note]]Joker can lose access to specific skills for Personas if they're learned outside of their level progression via skill cards, but the game does highlight this and warns the player which skills can still be relearned or not.[[/note]]
** The Velvet Room has a number of Anti-Frustration Features compared to previous games.

** The party can still order gear and items from Sophia even when the plot should make instant delivery impossible, such as [[spoiler:when the brainwashed Okinawa locals are actively hunting the party, or during the Tree of Knowledge arc when power has been cut, most of the public has been brainwashed by EMMA and the Thieves are permanently stuck in their metaverse gear.]]

** Due to the in-game calendar only progressing via story progress, there are very little penalties to leaving a dungeon to return to the real world in order to not only fully restore health and SP, but to also purchase equipment as Sophia's shop refreshes its inventory with every trip to the Metaverse. As such, managing resources is made a lot easier than in mainline ''Persona'' games.

* AscendedFridgeHorror: ''Persona 5'' has the Phantom Thieves engage in Heel–Face Brainwashing by using the Metaverse to change the hearts of their targets, turning the targets from horrid people into apathetic ones who can't do much but to feel sorry for what they've done. The ethics of doing this were brought up a few times, with Joker ultimately getting drunk on power in the bad ending, but it's generally portrayed as a justified last resort to dealing with people who can't be brought to justice through normal means. ''Persona 5 Strikers'' examines this more closely by having the villains use the Metaverse for mind control instead, showing what happens when someone without such strong convictions has that kind of power.

* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: Noticeably {{Subverted}} in this game; while this doesn't say a lot since most targets you encounter in this game are BrainwashedAndCrazy and all of them are nowhere near as heinous as the ones in ''Persona 5''[[note]]While there's still a fairly heinous personality sticking around, that isn't a target you fight in the game[[/note]], the female targets in this game can be seen doing some obviously unacceptable things on-screen and are just as Distorted as the male targets. Not only that, but most targets in this game are female, with there being only two [[spoiler:living]] male targets, which is the inverse of the original game. To say nothing of the person who actually kickstarted the whole catastrophe [[spoiler:who is an emotionally deficit woman throwing a fit through her pet AI against her original creation and is heavily implied to have some very questionable perceptions of morality.]]

** Goro Akechi shares many similarities with [[spoiler:Akira Konoe. Both are prominent public figures with genial personalities that mask a deep psychosis. Both gained said psychosis as a result of their abusive fathers whose actions led to the deaths of their mothers. Both had a childish liking of heroes. And both of them claimed that they were doing what they did to reform society]].

** Joker and Ryuji are introduced to the supernatural elements of the game when you accidentally input the navigation keywords into a smartphone app, are unceremoniously dumped into the StarterVillain's domain which is a lust-themed castle, captured by Shadows, and are guided out by an amnesiac non-human sidekick. The only difference is that Morgana is also dumped and captured alongside them.