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There are plenty of elements inPersona 5 Tacticathat are brand new in the tactics-based spin-off ofPersona 5, and one of the biggest, most immediate ones is Erina. You meet her in Marie’s Kingdom as the leader of the Rebel Corps, but questions arise quickly about who she is and where she’s from.
As Toshiro joins the gang, wires get mixed between him and Erina several times throughout the story, until he recalls exactly why she’s felt so familiar all along - Toshiro’s recollection of Eri Natsuhara, a fiery friend from high school, has kept his rebelliousness alive.
This guide contains major end-game story spoilers and main plot points from Persona 5 Tactica.
Erina, Leader Of The Rebel Corps
Marie’s Kingdom
When you first meet Erina, you’re barely into the tutorial of Persona 5 Tactica. She’s the braveRebel Corps leaderthat you meet inMarie’s Kingdom, fighting with her comrades tostart a revolutionagainst the Kingdom’s ruler.
Erina, a girl with ametal leg and one eye covered, saves Joker and Mona from potential execution, and she agrees tojoin the Phantom Thievesif they agree to help her and the Rebel Corps rebel against Lady Marie.
From here, Erina is apivotalparty memberin your battles as you push forward into the Marie Kingdom in an effort to free your friends from her spell.
Shespecializes in gunsand, despite thatshe doesn’t have a Persona, she’s still able to castForget spellsin battle.
Erina is the only party member who isunable to equip aSub-Persona, either.
She’s crucial to rescuing your friends from Lady Marie, uprooting Marie’s flag andplanting her own flag to rescue the Phantom Thievesfrom her control.
This is the final step thatbreaks Marie’s spellover them, making Erina critical in the rescue mission. From here, Erina learnsFlag of Freedom, a support skill thatbreaks enemy Cover and heals nearby allieswhenVoltage is full.
But along the way,Erina falls in battleafter being shot by one of the Legionnaires, andToshiro picks up the flag and plants it himselfto end the battle.
Before thefinal battle with Lady Marie,Toshiro remembers that Marie is his fiance in the real world, but insists she’s an awful woman to whomhis engagement was arranged for monetary and political gain.
Yoshiki and Nakabachi Kingdoms
After the boss battle against Marie has finished, anotherbullet dooropens nearby, and much to their surprise,Erina proceeds to the next Kingdomwith the group, despite only knowing about herself that she’s been rebelling against Marie her entire life.
Regardless, Erina isavailable to use in your party throughout the Yoshiki Kingdomas well. She helps fight through the revelation thatYoshiki is Toshiro’s two-faced, controlling fatherin real life.
Erina is there as you battle through the Yoshiki Kingdom and learn thatToshiro blames himself for his mother’s death, helping Toshiro overcome this needless blame anddefy his fatherfora final time in battle.
Once all is said and done in that boss fight as well, Erinacontinues into the Nakabachi Kingdomwith the Phantom Thieves and Toshiro.
Upon arrival in the third Kingdom, the rebels here insist thatthe Phantom Thieves need to collect four “keys"throughout the Nakabachi Kingdom before they can have their final showdown with him.
However, the keys they’re discussing aren’t physical keys - they’rekey items from Toshiro’s childhoodthat are able tomake him remember who he is as a personwhen he touches them.
It’s through these flashbacks that we realize Erina has a striking resemblance toToshiro’s friend from high school, Eri Natsuhara.
Eri Natsuhara
As Toshiro continues to touch the keys throughout the Nakabachi Kingdom to reveal his memories from high school, you learn more about Eri Natsuhara, but the main thing Toshiro remembers about her is thatEri has a ceaselessly rebellious spiritand refuses to settle for injustices.
When Toshiro was in high school, he was on thestudent council as Class President, and Eri came by to introduce herself after transferring to the school mid-year asEri joined the student councilwith him.
Through their work on the student council, Toshiro and Eri worked tirelessly together tolisten to students, provide counseling, and work together to find solutionsto problems throughout the school, growing closer all the while.
While it’s never explicitly stated in the game, it’sheavily implied that Toshiro had feelings for Eri.
Eri likes totease Toshirooften, often poking fun at him for being so steadfast and serious,the opposite of everything Eri is. While Toshiro respects her rebelliousness and carefree nature, though, he can’t seem to make himself participate.
Nakabachi And The Subway Incident
By the final key in the Nakabachi Kingdom, Toshiro rememberswhy Nakabachi is so awful-Nakabachi was blackmailing studentsfor his own personal gain, many of whom had come to the student council for help on the matter.
When Eri finds out about Nakabachi’s mistreatment, she’s adamant thatshe and Toshiro confront Nakabachiabout his misdeeds. He’s blase about the encounter, demanding thatall his so-called victims come forwardabout their allegations.
Shortly after, we see Eri and Toshiro with Nakabachi again, who reiterates that he’s able to worm himself out of any situation and that nobody would believe high schoolers. He maintains this position untilevery student being blackmailed appears to confront Nakabachi at once.
Not only that, butToshiro voice-recorded the entire encounter, including all the taunting about how Nakabachi would get away with the crimes he was well aware were torturous.
But while Toshiro and Eri feel initially like they’re doing the right thing,the school gangs up on Nakabachiand aren’t able to relent, eventuallystalking and tormentingNakabachi for his misdeeds, which leads toNakabachi having a mental breakdown.
Shortly after they believe the dust has settled with the entire situation,Toshiro and Eri were standing on a subway platformwaiting for a rush hour train home after school. As they chat, we see Nakabachi enter the subway platform, eyes affixed to Toshiro and Eri.
In a dazed fit of anger,Nakabachi snaps and pushes Eri onto the train tracks just as the train is pulling into the station, and in slow motion, we see her make eye contact with Toshiro as she reaches out to him for help.
Unfortunately,Toshiro wasn’t able to save Erifrom being pushed onto the train tracks and maimed.
We learn later thatEri survivesthe attack, but shestruggles to walk, with the implication thatone of her legs was brutalized, and the bandages on her face suggestshe lost an eye.
However, Toshiro remembers, as he begins to confrontShadow Toshiro, who’s well aware thatToshiro can’t get over that he wasn’t able to save Eri, that Eri wanted him to forgive himself, to keep fighting the good fight even while she’s not able to help him.
Because of this, Toshiro admits to himself thatErina is a manifestation of Eri Natsuhara, and, at just the right moment, he awakens toErnesto, his Persona.
Ernesto, Toshiro’s Persona
IfEri was Toshiro’s memory of rebelliousnessand what it means to stand up for yourself, then it should come as no surprise that she wouldmanifest into Ernesto, Toshiro’s Persona.
Between the name Ernesto and the flag motif, the implication is that Ernesto was inspired by Che Guevarra, a major leader in the Cuban Revolution who’s become a catchall in recent media for the spirit of rebellion.
With Erina’s focus on guns, Toshiro and Ernesto have an attack calledBaywell 45 MkII, a gun-based move thatcosts Toshiro no SP to use,which sees Ernesto transform its body and make use of its enormous weapons.
He’s also able to useLiberatorto castAlmighty damagein a medium range as another attack, and for support, Ernesto hasCrystal of Rebirth, which is able toheal party members around it.
Should you finishQuest 015,Lavenza’s third trial, Toshiro will also be able to use his ultimate skill,Light of a Promise, which dealsheavy Almighty damage in a large area.
Salmael Boss Battle And Erina’s Goodbye
Toshiro is a required party member for the entire Salmael Kingdom, so becoming comfortable with Ernesto’s range and attack is pivotal to finishing the final battle with as many party members standing as possible.
Once you’ve freed her from Shadow Toshiro, youcan use both Erina and Toshiro in a party together. Erina will vanish for a moment to allow for her spirit to become Ernesto before reappearing back where she was.
Beforeyour final showdown,Salmaellets the Phantom Thieves know that hecreated this entire metaverse to squash Toshiro’s rebellious heart. Toshiro is trying to become Prime Minister someday, and stirring the pot would only tarnish his reputation.
As such, Salmael hasmade Toshiro overcome his cruel fiancee, Marie, and puppeteering father, Yoshiki. What Salmael wasn’t planning on, though, wasErina, the memory of Eri Natsuhara that kept the flame of rebelliousness alive in Toshiro.
In order to truly stand on his own two (shaky) legs, Toshiro and Ernesto must join the Phantom Thieves for their final battle against Salmael, and you’ll need todefeat Salmael to end Toshiro’s trial metaverse for good.
After Salmael falls, Erina tells the Phantom Thieves that she knows her time with them is short. Everone says an emotional goodbye beforeErina vanished back into Toshiro’s heart againat the end of the game.
However, before the credits roll, we see that Erina’s resolve has worked on Toshiro in real life, asToshiro dumps Marie and indicts his fatherfor criminal activity after overcoming Salmael and awakening to Ernesto.
Toshiro calls Leblanc at the end of the game to confirm that he’s happy with everything, shortly beforehe reunites with Eri Natsuharaon the street for the first time since high school, after her memory is what helped him change his own heart.
