Sapporo looks and feels like Sapporo, and I got a giddy kick out of seeing the Glico man on Dotonbori Street. Although you don’t quite get to go where you want in each city, you do get to see some really cool places that are pretty true to the cities they represent. In a nutshell, Strikers is a road trip around Japan with your friends, and the game excels in this regard. You can do it, but that doesn’t mean you should. That’s as nonsensical as trying to play Final Fantasy X-2 before Final Fantasy X. Although you can play this as a standalone adventure with no knowledge of the series, you do yourself a massive disservice if you do this. The most compelling reason to pick up Strikers is the chance to hang out with your friends one more time. It’s basically like Makoto before and after she meets Johanna. It’s the same soundtrack you know and love, but now with extra metal. A couple of the tracks have been slightly reworked, meaning that Rivers in a Dry Land now slaps like never before. The writing is as engaging as ever, and the music in Persona 5 is and always will be exemplary. While the gameplay is significantly different, as a sequel it’s excellent and I have absolutely loved getting to kick back and hang out with the original Phantom Thieves once again. It’s action-packed, but it’s not as big a challenge as in Persona 5, thanks to the forgiving way you can jump in and out of Jails at will, giving your party a break to replenish their HP and SP. You’ll be diving into city-sized Jails this time, instead of Palaces, facing off against Monarchs instead of Rulers.