Can You Play Persona 5 Tactica Without Playing the Original or Royal?

Persona 5 Tactica is just one of many Persona 5 spin-offs, including the updated release Person 5 Royal. But does that mean you can’t play Persona 5 Tactica without playing either Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal first?

Do you need to play Persona 5 or Persona 5 Royal before Tactica?

Yes, you should play Persona 5 first. However, you don’t need to play Royal. This is because the game assumes you already have a familiarity with who the Phantom Thief characters are, what they did, and their experiences in the base game. It doesn’t really explain anything about them, while it does introduce newcomers like Erina.

If you haven’t had the chance to play Persona 5 Royal yet, no worries. Persona 5 Tactica is a fully independent experience from Persona 5 Royal. In Persona 5 Tactica, the action takes place towards the end of the original Persona 5 storyline. This means that it doesn’t incorporate or even mention the additional story elements and characters introduced in Persona 5 Royal.

That means you won’t encounter Kasumi Yoshizawa or any other fresh faces from the Royal edition in Persona 5 Tactica. Instead, the game revolves around the original Phantom Thieves and makes only mild references to vanilla Persona 5‘s plot.

However, this doesn’t mean Persona 5 Tactica is short on characters. Persona 5 Tactica brings it’s own new characters and even world into the mix.

Royal fans can look forward to playing the Persona 5 Tactica DLC

However, it’s important to note that a day one downloadable content pack is available for Persona 5 Tactica. This DLC pack features Kasumi and Akechi from Royal. So, if you have played Persona 5 Royal and want to reunite with the new characters while playing this spin-off, this DLC offers you the opportunity to do so.

So in conclusion, you can absolutely play Persona 5 Tactica without playing Persona 5 Royal, but should play the original. The game remains true to the base game’s experience experience, and it doesn’t require prior knowledge of the Royal edition’s characters or plotlines. However, if you’re a fan missing the Royal characters, the day one DLC provides a chance to see more of them.

Persona 5 Tactica is available on the Nintendo Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and PC.