Persona 5 Tactica devs explain the art style

Persona 5 Tactica was recently revealed and it has its own chibi-esque art style that’s prompted some interesting fan discussion. Some of the game’s developers have now weighed in on the design.

In an interview published this week, Famitsu spoke with Persona team producer Kazuhisa Wada, director Naoya Maeda, and business producer Atsushi Nomura. They confirmed what we essentially knew in that Persona 5 Tactica isn’t a Persona Q sequel, but also discussed style differences between them. Oribe said “the 3D models are intentionally taller with the arms and legs being longer” and noted how “it may seem more like an American comic-like deformed style.”

Here’s the notable interview excerpt regarding the art style in Persona 5 Tactica, courtesy of MbKKssTBhz5:

What was your approach to Persona 5 Tactica, which has its own unique touch?

Oribe: The art direction when it comes to the more chibi-style design reminded many of the PQ series of games. However, Tactica is not a sequel to PQ, and the genre of the game is different. So, I aimed to create artwork that I felt was the most emblematic of this title. In the seven years since Persona 5 was released, there have been many spin-off projects. And if we were going to release another new game, we felt it should be challenging both in content and its appearance. I think this was something that the development team as a whole was aware of, not just myself.

As Wada mentioned in his interview, the characters move with a sense of aggression in the battles featured in Tactica, so you aimed to create visuals that would express that, right?”

Oribe: Yes. In Persona Q, the silhouettes were more rounded with small arms and legs, which is a type of style more familiar to Japanese people. But in Tactica, the 3D models are intentionally taller with the arms and legs being longer to emphasize this. If anything, it may seem more like an American comic-like deformed style. This may not be to everyone’s liking, and some members of the development team expressed their concerns that the models might come off as too ‘strong.’

Soejima: If you design something that appears too strong, the response will be even stronger. So we are always prepared for that type of reaction.

Oribe: I also came at this with clear intentions, so I prepared materials to explain it. If the battles were to be viewed from an overhead view, the usual height would make the characters look almost like a bundle of matchsticks in comparison. And the height of models alongside their head would make it much more difficult to depict dynamic types of gestures, so I felt this style of deformed design was a good choice for this project. I strongly empathized this point, and Wada supported my idea. Also, among the staff in charge of 3D modeling, there were members who had been involved with the series since the days of Persona 4, and they greatly encouraged me to vividly design the characters to make full use of both 2D and 3D.

Persona 5 Tactica arrives for Switch on November 17, 2023 worldwide.