Persona 5 Strikers’ Menus Are As Vibrantly Alive As Its Solid


Beep boop beep!
Gif: Atlus / Kotaku

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Online game menus are like assholes—each recreation has them and most of the time, they stink. They’re usually the least-pretty, least splashy a part of an in any other case lovely recreation, partly as a result of they aren’t central to gameplay (except it’s Crusader Kings or one thing). However Persona 5 Strikers reveals us a world wherein menus shouldn’t have to be soullessly utilitarian information-management techniques.

Persona 5 Strikers, out at the moment in North America, pairs Sega Atlus with hack-and-slash style kings Koei Tecmo for a surprisingly substantial musou-style crossover. It’s a direct sequel to Persona 5, persevering with the story of the Phantom Thieves however with Koei Tecmo’s signature 1 vs. 1000 melees instead of Persona’s conventional RPG-style confrontations. The sport’s fairly nice. I loved it each as a recreation with a narrative to expertise and as a bit of artwork—particularly the menus.

Menus in Persona 5 had been already fairly fucking wonderful. One want solely to have a look at Persona 5’s distinctive battle UI (and all of the funny-ass memes it spawned) to see how Atlus put plenty of thought into make UIs as enjoyable and attention-grabbing because the video games they’re part of. As a result of Strikers is a kinetic motion recreation and never a static RPG, these well-known menus wanted an overhaul. Fortunately, Atlus was capable of carry that chaotic vitality and spirit over into Strikers’ new interface. Have a look.

Fuck you I won’t do what you tell me!

Fuck you I gained’t do what you inform me!
Screenshot: Atlus / Kotaku

I really feel like online game menus are typically designed to be as unobtrusive as attainable. In any case, you’re there to play the sport, not fiddle with UI. A “good” online game menu is just like the transmission in your automotive, in that you just solely give it some thought when it’s busted. Persona 5 Strikers’ menu rejects that notion of being seen and never heard. It’s a riot of shade and expression. It will get in your face with its aggressive redness in a method that screams each “Fuck yeah!” and “Fuck you!”—like these children in highschool who wore anarchy t-shirts and spiked their hair with sufficient gel to hold drywall.

However that chaos doesn’t imply Strikers’ menus are a multitude to learn. They’re nonetheless intuitive to make use of, and after I navigate between choices, the menu doesn’t lower to the brand new display however easily transitions in a method that’s pretty to look at. For instance, as you drill down into the Gear submenus, Phantom Thieves Joker and Ryuji transfer seamlessly collectively via an alleyway—such as you’re infiltrating a Jail with them.

This menu development was so cool to note!
Gif: Atlus / Kotaku

I additionally recognize how the menus let you know extra about every character’s distinctive character. Makoto (aka Queen) is the neatest of the Phantom Thieves—accountable for planning their elaborate heists. To suit together with her standing because the brains of the operation, her menu possibility is Expertise. You see her within the background of that menu poring over blueprints and paperwork, and as you select expertise to spend money on it feels such as you’re each working collectively to make the workforce stronger. Futaba (aka Oracle) is the workforce’s hacker and information. If it includes a pc or something technical, that’s her area. So it makes excellent, chic sense that if you navigate to the Choices command, she’s there serving to you modify the issue or to activate subtitles.

Persona 5 Strikers is a recreation about being your true, uninhibited self, ripping off the masks of politeness and gentility society forces upon you. Strikers’ menus are an ideal instance of that. Somewhat than be restrained by neat, monochromatic bins or small, uninspiring textual content, phrases and artwork explode everywhere in the display as if attempting to flee its boundaries. Like its characters, Persona 5 Strikers’ menus refuse to be contained.


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