Persona 5 Tactica ending explained

Persona 5 Tactica has seen a fair bit of positive reception from players and critics alike, where many in the community are praising it for its overall narrative as well as the emotional ending. While the spin-off is not as long as Persona 5, the story does pack a punch. Players are taken for a rollercoaster ride with all the revelations that happen around Toshiro, inside whose cognition the game takes place.

While the ending is rather straightforward, Tactica introduces a few concepts in the form of Samael, Erina, and Ernesto, which can be a bit complicated to grasp. The biggest twist in Tactica happens as soon as you reach the end of Kingdom 3. It is only after you beat Shadow Toshiro, will Lavenza go over who Samale is, the role Erina plays, and how the world of the three Kingdoms came to be.

Today’s Persona 5 Tactica guide will, therefore, explain the ending in the narrative.

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Who is Salmael in Persona 5 Tactica?

Salmael is the entity born from a universal instinct (image via Persona 5 Tactica)

Salmael is the one who created the world inside Toshiro. The entity established Kingdoms from his memories in order to corner him and deter him from acting against his father and trying to bring in mass social reform.

As Lavenza explains it, Salmael is the materialization of an instinct that already exists subconsciously in the hearts of every human. It is a universal instinct that stems from the fear of getting hurt. It is a desire that wishes to avoid pain and suffering at all costs.

Lavenza explains the existence of Salmael (Image via Persona 5 Tactica)

Salmael began to manifest inside Toshiro when he was looking to rebel, to go against his father, Yoshiki’s wishes, and indict him and his fiance Marie for all the wrongdoings that they have done.

Salmael, sensing that thai would lead Toshiro down a path of strife and suffering, created the 3 Kingdoms, each with its own ruler constructed out of images and memories of those who oppress him in real life.

Toshiro talks about being indecisive about turning his father in (Image via Persona 5 Tactica)

Kingdom 1 is ruled by Marie, 2 is ruled by Yoshiki, and the third one is ruled by Shadow Toshiro, who is Toshiro’s escapist version.

By creating these kingdoms in Toshiro’s cognition, Salmael was able to plant the seed of doubt and indecisiveness in him in order to deter him from acting. However, things changed when Toshiro saw Joker and the Phantom Thieves hijack the TV broadcast to challenge Shido and proclaim that they would steal his heart.

This gave birth to a seed of rebellion inside him, and Toshiro was then determined to turn his father in.

Phantom Thieves hijacking the TV broadcast plants the seed of rebellion in Toshiro (Image via Persona 5 Tactica)

Salmael, sensing that it is about to lose, gets desperate and pulls Toshiro into the metaverse of his own cognition. Salmael traps Toshiro as one of the many prisoners in Marie’s Kingdom.

Players will notice as soon as Persona 5 Tactica starts the television news in Le Blanc talking about Toshiro, one of the ministers of the Diet building, being missing for months. After Toshiro, the Phantom Thieves are then pulled into the cognitive world of the three kingdoms.

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Who is Erina and Ernesto in Persona 5 Tactica?

Erina was the seed of rebellion in Toshiro (Image via Persona 5 Tactica)

Erina is the seed of rebellion that was born from Toshiro’s desire to do the right thing and indict his father. He was looking to bring great social reform, and to start it off, he was willing to put his political career in jeopardy by turning in Yoshiki.

Erina is created by Toshirpo’s cognition to fight against the oppression of the three kingdoms created by Samael. She was made in the image of Eri Natsuhara, who was Toshiro’s senior at Shujin High and also a fellow student council member.

Toshiro entrusts Erina with the will of his power (Image via Persona 5 Tactica)

They worked together to inspire other students to speak up against the wrongs done to them by the Vice Principal.

Eri remained in Toshiro’s heart as a symbol of rebellion, and she manifested as soon as the Kingdoms were made. Hence, while Toshiro was indecisive about turning his father in, he never fully gave up on the idea.

Erina manifests into Ernesto (image via Persona 5 Tactica)

Toshiro finally realizes his will when he confronts his own Shadow to save Erina. This causes Erina to fully manifest as his Persona called Ernesto. The seed of rebellion is the seed of a Persona. When Toshiro realizes his desire for mass social change, Ernesto is born inside him.

Exploring the ending of Persona 5 Tactica

Toshiro indicts Yoshiki and Marie (Image via Persona 5 Tactica)

Persona 5 Tactica ends after you beat the final boss and the creator of the Kingdoms, Salmael. It’s one of the longest encounters in the game. Once you beat in both Phases, there will be an epic cutscene where all the Phantom Thieves attack him at the same time, with Erina and Joker dealing the final blow.

Beating Salmael was the only ticket for Joker and the gang to make their way out of the metaverse. When Salmael fell, so did the Kingdoms, which made it so that there was no need for Erina to exist in Toshiro’s heart now that he is not going to waver from his will any longer.

Toshiro is seen helping citizens out on the street (Image via Atlus)

As the world around them disappears, Toshiro and the Phantom Thieves are transported back to their reality. There, Toshiro goes on to indict both Marie and Yoshiki for corruption.

He loses his standing as a Diet politician, expecting to face charges for his crimes. However, he doesn’t give up on his convictions and is seen going around time helping people before he finally stumbles across Eri Natsuhara.