An unending Persona 5 spin-off seems like a very good idea in terms of game pitches. What’s not to adore about intricate villains, turn-based role-playing games, and an abundance of opulent social connections? Presenting Persona 5: The Phantom X, Atlus’s most recent genre-bending entry into the series. This gacha-fied adventure has all the characteristics of its renowned source material, including exquisitely animated cutscenes and heart-stopping needle drops. What’s the catch? Well, once you get over its alluring early game, there’s a ton of complicated currencies to manage and a grind-heavy gameplay loop.
It’s unfortunate because The Phantom X is a wonderful pastiche if you ignore the gacha baggage that keeps showing up. However, this framework has more than worn down its attractions after 35 hours, leaving behind a flattering but seriously flawed ripoff of Persona 5. Despite being a Persona 5 spin-off, you won’t be playing as the Joker and company in The Phantom X. Instead, you take on the role of Nagisa Kamisiro in a different timeline of Persona 5’s plot, while you are still free to choose your name.
A charming owl named Lufel calls on Kamasiro, an ordinary student, to fight back against the sadness and hopelessness that permeate the world and to reverse the widespread despair that permeates people’s hearts. This transforms Kamasiro’s life. Unable to reject, Kamasiro travels to the shadow world to assist in purging the collective unconscious, one monster at a time, after learning to control their inner Persona. Similar to Kamisiro, as you go, you will encounter and awaken more Tokyoites, with the arcs of each new character neatly woven into the main plot. If you’ve played Persona 5, you’ll see right away that The Phantom X adheres strictly to its formula.
You will alternate between a few exquisitely re-created Tokyo neighborhoods and the monster-filled Metaverse to combat the aforementioned evil; however, your options in each location are now restricted by time- or money-gated resources rather than a strict calendar that never stops moving. As The Phantom Thieves, you will have to learn to master the turn-based battle that is centered around elemental weaknesses while eking out wayward fiends and infiltrating their minds. Kamisiro is a teenager, so you’ll also need to juggle your social life, part-time job, and studies. In the shadow of a classic that is almost ten years old, The Phantom X finds it difficult to generate new ideas or instant excitement despite all of its obvious derivatives.
However, it does a good job of copying the Persona formula, which will satisfy certain players. Even though the basic gameplay concepts may seem familiar, a varied cast of supporting characters gives the setting much-needed humor and emotion. Anderson, a gym-goer with a big heart, Yaoling Li, a motivated international student who is having academic difficulties, Minami Mitashita, a cautious future nurse, and many others have captured my heart. An attempt has been made to give the NPCs a feeling of identity, as evidenced by the animated voice acting that supports their expressive and frequently hilarious conversation. As with Persona 5, the more time you spend with them, the more you can discover about their poignant backstories.
Spending time with one NPC over another isn’t a concern.
In addition to providing you with interesting storylines to work on, assisting the locals can help you in your daily duties and battles. For instance, you will discover important recipes that you can prepare to improve your fighting skills if you decide to continue assisting Yaoling Li in adjusting to her new life in Japan. As an alternative, you can earn upgrade currency and unique household goods by finishing minor side quests for characters like Minami.
Alongside the roller coaster of routine activities, like studying for school in neighborhood cafes, working at the Konbini for money, or purchasing seeds to plant in your garden, these social interactions also broaden the range of Kamisiro’s daily responsibilities and offer customized options like working out at the gym. Your social stats—Guts, Knowledge, Proficiency, Kindness, and Charm—are influenced by how you spend your time. These stats might affect the kinds of NPCs you can be friendly with and the things you can purchase from nearby shops. Kamasiro’s initially peaceful life is enhanced by the harmonious blend of social activities and solitary pursuits, which complement one another well and form an approachable system (while polishing their skills in the process).
In contrast to Persona 5, The Phantom X does not have a set daily agenda; instead, your choices on how to spend your time are determined by recoupable Action Points. You may simply wait for those points to spontaneously reappear and avoid missing out on either, so you don’t need to worry about spending time with one NPC over another. Compared to the strict structure that the Persona series is renowned for, I can appreciate that this system is far more forgiving. But without that crucial time constraint, The Phantom X falls short in capturing the depth of how these choices may and ought to feel.
This free-for-all strategy makes it a bit too simple to switch between NPCs without thoroughly delving into their compelling backstories or thinking about how they could assist you if you select them over another character, even though it makes sense in the Gacha scenario. But it’s not all acquaintances and errands. After you’ve completed playing above ground, you’ll eventually advance to combat expeditions, which you may start whenever you want from Kamisiro’s phone’s Metaverse app. Your time in fight is partially controlled by an auto-refreshing currency, this time called Stamina, which functions similarly to the system that regulates social activities. Additionally, you will have to use it to benefit from your battle.
Persona 5 serves as the foundation for the Phantom X’s fighting system, which is turn-based and includes interesting reactive aspects like chaining together One Mores for maximum efficiency. One member at a time, you will cycle through your party when you take on a bad guy, selecting between melee, ranged, and special Persona attacks. Like Pokémon, the Personas you use and the adversaries you encounter have elemental strengths and weaknesses (such as fire or ice) that can be used to your advantage to deal more damage.
Eventually, a credit card-shaped obstacle will appear, which is to be anticipated yet completely upsetting.
Even if you’re becoming bored with it, the imaginative enemy designs carry a fair bit of weight throughout the game. It’s a tried-and-true concept with enough variety in its moveset to make bouts interesting. However, the series’ iconic fight music and daring interface design, which have been meticulously re-created here, are what set Persona combat apart. No matter how many times you’ve heard Persona 5’s Last Surprise, I can assure you that it never gets old.
Unfortunately, the vast complexity of gacha systems and currencies you must balance in The Phantom X is not made up for by any amount of vocal flair from singer Lyn Inaizumi or reflective dialogue.
There aren’t many obstacles to progression throughout the first twenty hours or so, so you may go between main and side plots and eliminate villains with ease. However, when you delve further, level barriers inevitably provide a more accurate image of what long-term advancement truly feels like. The next best option to get the experience points required to unlock more is to engage in random encounters in the Metaverse after you’ve exhausted the main story content and side tasks that will fuel your rise (which can happen rather rapidly). But you have to expend stamina to accomplish that.
You can either spend real money on boosting vitamins or wait a long time for your stamina to replenish itself if you’re out of it. Considering how delicious the combat in The Phantom X is and how captivating the accompanying narrative is, I have nothing against grinding out materials. Instead, this credit card-shaped outcome was a completely anticipated yet disheartening obstacle to overcome. Reminding me that I could just pay using the in-game shop pop-ups every few minutes was annoying.
Fortunately, The Phantom X’s Gacha mechanisms aren’t all that annoying. Although you can unlock characters and Personas through the plot, using the lucky dip Contracts menu is the quickest method to strengthen your squad. Like the majority of other Gacha games available, you can grind to acquire the currencies you need to draw, or you can pay to obtain a quick boost. Fortunately, I didn’t have to go for my cash to invest my hard-earned Gacha currency and unlock my cherished Persona 5 favorite, Ann Takamaki. This system introduces a ton of new characters, and Shigenori Soejima’s eye-catching character designs keep coming up, which adds a little sweetness.
All of my Gacha offspring are equally beloved, but I was especially smitten with the icy-haired Kotone Montagne, whose appearance fell somewhere between Swan Lake and Joan of Arc.
Perhaps my biggest complaint about The Phantom X to now, aside from the addition of the premium currency, is that it feels more like an eerie reflection of Persona 5 than a fresh interpretation of its well-established narrative. While The Phantom X is more of a skillfully done replica, other spin-offs, such as Persona 5 Tactica or Persona 5 Strikers, feel like powerful additions to the franchise that approach or build upon it from a different perspective.
I’ve enjoyed the combat and getting to know the many oddball personalities I’ve encountered, so it’s not that I’m bored. In addition, the 35 hours of missions I’ve completed thus far are skillfully written, suitably gruesome, and effectively present the antagonists as multifaceted, broken individuals. Although Persona 5 and its predecessors are easily accessible and feel much more curated and captivating, The Phantom X’s “do-over” of the Phantom Thieves story isn’t novel enough to justify the time (or possibly money) I’ll need to invest if I want to see it through to its lengthy end (the specifics of which haven’t even been revealed yet).
Verdict
Persona 5: The Phantom X is a chic, well-written remake of Persona 5, but its gacha systems make it difficult to feel authentic. Blasting about the colorful vision of Tokyo and assisting the few endearing NPCs is a lot of fun when you are still in the early stages. However, the relentless barrage of low-stakes activities and patience-testing obstacles eventually amounts to little more than a lovely but exhausting grind. It’s safe to say that my connection with Lufel and the gang will stay more like acquaintances than best friends because there are so many great Persona games to play elsewhere that don’t artificially keep you at arm’s length.
