Delve into your cognition, pull on your masks, and get jazzed up in your best thieving outfits, because Persona 5 Tactica is coming to town — luckily, not as a monstrous Shadow, but as a themed cafe in the Philippines.
Moon rabbit cafe+restaurant at 2 Ledesma St., San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines is changing its heart to a Persona 5 Tactica cafe. The first thing you see is the venue emblazoned with the by-now familiar sights of your favorite Persona 5 characters, with a little twist — they’ve all been chibi-fied!
Two new characters also join the fray: Erina the Rebel, decked out in an appropriately-Persona 5-colors uniform, and a smartly-clad man, Toshiro Kasukabe, who’s all business in a suit.
First steps into the Persona 5 Tactica cafe
The main area of the cafe has been transformed into a classroom, complete with chalkboard and a teacher’s desk.
Enthusiastic students can order food and drinks themed after P5T, as well as leave some encouraging messages for the Phantom Thieves — like how you would gauge the Thieves’ reception in Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal.
Aside from the food, activities are available, including playtesting Persona 5 Tactica, and a chance to create your own customizable keychain.
Link your party members with customizable keychains
You get to pick out three members to form a linked keychain, which is pretty much the only customization you get to make.
Everything is printed nicely for you, so just pick and choose your favorite party members to form a keychain. All 10 major main characters of the game are available, including new editions Toshiro and Erina, and the Persona 5 gang you get to recruit, sans Goro Akechi and Sumire Yoshizawa.
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Try before you buy: Playtest area means you can play Persona 5 Tactica before making a purchase
The northwest corner of the Moon Rabbit Cafe has been converted into a playtest area, with four stations decked out with the four different systems P5T is available on: Xbox Series X, PC, PS5, and the Nintendo Switch. No matter which platform you are planning to get the game for, you can test the game right there and then.
Besides what controller you are holding, expect some graphical differences. The Switch version will undoubtedly be of lower fidelity than the PC version, but it also turns P5T into a portable game rather than a sit-at-home affair.
The playtest section will be available through the duration of the P5T cafe collaboration, and you can also purchase copies of the game. If you’re feeling frisky waiting around for your food, hop in for a test run — and you might find yourself going home with a copy of P5T.
Unthemed food might not be Insta-worthy, but great taste more than makes up for it
I had the chance to try the wagyu cubes skewers and the pork katsudon curry, as well as the accompanying Joker drink, a strawberry tonic that’s syrup mixed with tonic water.
The food is just regular food, not the themed kind often found at collab cafes. It’s not the most grabbing thing on your Instagram feed, but it’s also exempt from the fact that some of these foods trade in practicality and taste for beauty.
The wagyu cubes skewers were tasty, juicy, and well-seasoned, and a rich appetizer to kickstart the meal.
The pork katsudon was fried incredibly to retain its tenderness and succulence. It was the perfect pairing with the curry — on the spicier side for Japanese-style curries, but perfect for my taste buds — creating a bowl of deliciousness that made me want to get to the next bite.
The portions were generous as well, and presented a decent deal at ₱600.
10 drinks are available as well, each themed after one character from the series. Like the food, they are fairly normal drink combinations, but the few we tried all tasted great — though my personal favorite was the Toshiro, a vanilla latte that was smooth and delicious.
The Moon rabbit cafe x Persona 5 Tactica collaboration runs for a month from November 17 to December 16.
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READ MORE: Persona 5 Tactica: Release date, platforms, pre-order, bonuses, characters
