Artistically Speaking: New Characters In Persona 5 Strikers

Have you ever seen something great and wanted to see what could make it greater? There’s plenty of aspects that can make any sort of media even better, and one of those things is adding new characters to your media. New characters open up to new perspectives on the same story and add to a formula that could make it work or fix it entirely. 

In Persona 5 Strikers, we follow the journey of the “Phantom Thieves”, a group of teenage high school students who were given the power to change the minds of the corrupt after awakening to their “personas”. They fight within a cognitive world known as the Metaverse, and along the way meet two new additions to the game, Officer Zenkichi and an AI named Sophia.

Zenkichi is a part of the police force, and while his overall goal is to imprison the Phantom Thieves, he plays a big role in aiding them from his position. Sophia is an AI that’s lost its memory, only knowing to serve the purpose of humanity’s companion. They both play off of the narrative in two completely different ways. 

Zenkichi acts as an adult perspective for the kids, understanding the importance of acting legally and being able to handle extreme situations with a stern mind. While the Phantom Thieves aren’t new to the sick nature of the world, they still get taken aback by Zenkichi’s serious yet honest way of thinking. As for Sophia, she’s a cute and clueless robotic friend, who doesn’t understand how the “heart” works and seeks to learn more by helping the Phantom Thieves. She shows a more naive perspective of the world, always asking questions about emotions and what’s just or morally right. 

It’s a great dynamic that helps the player and the narrative in an interesting and seamless way. Persona games have a way with always making all their characters work well in their plots, and I recommend checking out more of their other games, too!