Persona 5 Tactica Producer On The Game’s Chibi Style And The Challenges Of Introducing New Characters To The Cast

More than six years after the original Persona 5 arrived on U.S. store shelves, the RPG is still spitting out successors and spin-offs that capitalize on how beloved that title is to this day. The 2020 update, Persona 5 Royal, is the best-received successor, but both 2021 Musou hybrid Persona 5 Strikers and the recently released turn-based strategy RPG Persona 5 Tactica gave players plenty to love.

Among the reasons players love those games are the new additions to the cast. Each of those aforementioned titles gives the core Phantom Thieves new characters with whom to interact. Royal gave us Kasumi and Maruki, Strikers gave us Sophia and Zenkichi, and most recently, Tactica gave us Erina and Toshiro. With chemistry serving such an important role for the casts of these games, bringing in new additions could be a tricky proposition. However, the Persona teams have historically done a great job with these delicate balancing acts.

We had the chance to ask producer Atsushi Nomura, who has worked on the series since Royal, about this process with regard to Persona 5 Tactica. You can see the full interview below.

What is the thought process of deciding to introduce new characters into the Persona 5 universe in a game like Tactica?
We were at first concerned that some players will focus mainly on the Phantom Thieves characters in a Persona 5 game and might not share a similar connection with newly introduced characters. We wanted to help connect players with these new characters, so we spent a lot of time working on various elements to build this connection with strong character design and dialogue. 

We put one of the new characters, Erina, at the forefront of the battles to help connect her with fans as they progress with her through the game. We think players will create a bond with her and enjoy how seamlessly she and the new characters fit with the game.

We’ve seen other new characters join the Persona 5 roster through Royal and Strikers before. What do the new characters in Persona 5 Tactica bring to the group that previous new additions did not? Were there any archetypes or gaps in the roster that the team identified and wanted to fill with Erina and/or Toshiro?
In Persona 5, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts fight for the purpose of changing the hearts of adults with warped desires. However, the other new character appearing in Persona 5 Tactica, Toshiro Kasukabe, disagrees with how they achieve that goal. So, in this game, there are views that were not expressed in the original that highlight how you may see things a different way depending on your perspective, and we hope you don’t miss them.

In Persona 5, one of the goals is rehabilitation, and in this work, one goal is to achieve revolution. What this revolution will bring, and what will happen in the process? We invite you to find out for yourself.

What were the primary influences when designing the personalities of Erina and Toshiro? What about the influences that went into their looks? How do their personalities play a role in informing their visual design?
Our character designer commented on Erina’s visual design as follows: “Erina is the leader of the revolutionary army and the driving force behind the story. Therefore, we included charisma in her design. I thought that the essence of charisma is a harrowing charm that simultaneously possesses the contradictory images of unshakable magnanimity and unstable destroyer. Therefore, we tried to make the overall design asymmetrical so that the design alone would convey a sense of her character. The basis of her clothing is a formal military-like uniform, but with epaulets on only one side, sleeves rolled up on one arm, and armor on one leg, the design is both dignified and unstable at the same time.

I can’t say too much about Toshiro because he is a key figure in the story, but I used Kabuki actors who play female roles as references. For example, the two strands of hair on his forehead are the typical style of Kabuki actors. He is designed in a way that effectively reflects his performance of melancholy and determination.”

With the Persona 5 roster featuring such a tight-knit group of friends, what are the challenges associated with introducing a new character into that group?
Some of the characters in Persona 5 make deals with the Phantom Thieves, and Erina is one of them. She offers to help the Thieves return to their original world in exchange for their cooperation in the revolution.

Therefore, Erina does not necessarily join the Phantom Thieves of the Hearts. In her case, a challenging question was posed if this new character is a fit to be a potential bargaining partner for the Phantom Thieves?  

For example, in the early stages of development, she was envisioned as a highly independent person with strong passion and energy. This was because she symbolized revolution, which is the keyword of this work. However, as it was, she was too assertive, and I could not imagine her being able to coexist with the members of the Phantom Thieves. 

Therefore, we asked the artist to balance the image by including familiar elements, such as a rashness without planning, and an original style of drawing. A wide array of adjustments were made that were complicated but also necessary to make it all work.

Since Persona 5 Tactica uses a different art style/character design convention from the other Persona 5 games, how did you create characters that feel visually appropriate in the universe but have origins in different character design conventions?
In the early stages of development, there were two opinions: keep the original look or match the tactical game with the Chibi designs. The characters themselves could have been expressed nicely if we had used the original designs, but the size of the surrounding map and objects also needed to match the characters. Since strategy games are often shown from above, the larger the objects, the more the camera must be pulled back, and with such designs, the active figures of the Phantom Thieves would have been buried in the distance. Because of this distance in development, it seemed that the team was completing the mission without much emotion, and there was concern that the sense of team play would diminish. After some further testing, we decided to adopt the Chibi style in the final game.

With the art style now decided, a problem still remained. We needed to be careful about making the characters appear solely cute. To tackle this, the balance of the arms and legs, as well as the balance of the whole body, was adjusted repeatedly until the current style, which is Chibi but at the same time had a stylish appeal. With the new design, we were also able to make it move more dynamically than usual. We hope you enjoy the many cutscenes and movie scenes as you play, as we think this look is very cool and memorable.

When introducing a new character into a popular and character-driven series like Persona, what factors do you use to measure how successful the team was?
As we shared earlier, a lot of work and dedication has been put forth for these new characters to be loved by all. We trust that they will remain in the hearts of the players long after they complete the game.

For more on Persona 5 Tactica, be sure to check out our review here. If you’re new to Persona 5, you can learn more about Persona 5 Royal here and Persona 5 Strikers here.