Persona 5: The Phantom X has finally released in the West on PC and mobile devices, and a lot of players are already wondering if it is worth playing. Well, after installing it on PC, my iPhone, my iPad Pro, and my Retroid Pocket, I've already put in way too much time than I should probably admit. It is a game that has gone with me everywhere, and I’ve jumped in every chance I’ve got.
Although I haven’t 100% completed all content currently available (due to it being a mobile game), I now feel I've finally reached a point where I can share my thoughts and feelings on the game, and let everyone else know exactly what they are in for. It honestly takes some time for the "real" experience to show itself, but once you reach it, it pretty much follows the same pattern going forward.
Now one disclaimer I'd like to make is the fact that I can only judge the game based off of what is currently available. I have knowledge of unreleased content thanks to others I know who have played the original release, but I have not experienced it for myself. So I will not be discussing said future content in detail, nor will I spoil the creative dungeons that will be added at a later date. Still, my opinion of the game could always change depending how things develop, so for the time being I will simply be explaining what the game is, point out any current "flaws," and do my best to give you an idea of what the game truly is.
That being said, here's what The Phantom X is all about, and how I currently feel about the game!
The Story:
The Phantom X is set within an alternate universe to that of the main Persona series. The game begins with a flash back to the intro of the original Persona 5, but it quickly takes a turn when our new protagonist Nagisa Kamisiro shows up as well. This is where the game then cuts away to our hero waking up from what he assumes is a dream, and then we quickly jump to school.
It turns out in this world people are losing their desires for nearly everything. Work, school? Who cares. Live? Why even bother living? Even when we see a girl jump off of a roof, the people watching don't even care. "Eh, she'll most likely live. Whatever."
Obviously this isn't normal, and it doesn't take long for Nagisa to discover the strange app on his phone that allows him to enter the Metaverse; a world created by the collective unconscious of those living within the area. Here is where Nagisa meets the owl named Lufel, awakens his "true self" (his Persona), and takes on the monsters known as shadows for the first time. Of course he manages to escape the Metaverse and return to the real world, but as he discovers, this is only just the beginning.
Although Nagisa is able to reclaim his own desires within the Metaverse, Japan is still in trouble. Everyone's wills are being stolen from them, and by using his newfound power of Persona, Nagisa can now step in and actually do something about it. Of course some of those who lost their desires are also causing issues in the real world, and that in turn is impacting others as well. The first of which is a man known as the "Subway Slammer" who bumps into people in the subway just for the fun of it. He hates women especially, so he targets them above all else.
This is actually a real world problem in Japan, which Persona is often known for tackling real world issues, but there's no denying that The Phantom X handles it in a pretty ridiculous way. It is unintentionally funny, but there's no denying that it is at least entertaining.
Moving on from there, the story is told through anime cutscenes, in game cutscenes, and through tons of dialogue. Just like the main series, days advance, new events happen as time moves on, NPCs around the multiple towns have something new to say constantly, and there are countless side characters to form bonds with to further flesh out the overall story. There is a lot of reading and watching here as this game is extremely story heavy game; it is exactly what a Persona player would expect, and those who played Persona 5 will especially be at home. Despite being in a different world, the main group does form their own Phantom Thieves team, and some familiar faces appear as well. Still, this is very much its own story, to the point where they could've dropped 5 from the title and simply called it Persona X... But 5 is too popular for them to do that, and there's no denying that 5's core themes are still here.
Daily Life:
The Daily Life aspect is still here, but it is handled slightly differently. Days do advance, but they are unlimited and not on a calendar system. You simply have "yesterday/today/tomorrow," and taking part in events will move time along. The game allows you to instantly jump to whatever time you need for your next needed activity or quest, with the day automatically advancing if the required time has already passed. There is no penalty for doing this, and that allows for a much more "relaxed" experience as time management is not an issue.
However, the game does still run on the real world clock, with events being locked behind multiple energy systems.
Each day you are allowed to take so many social actions, with an option for refilling this "energy" by using in game items, or real world cash. By default however you can only do so many things each day, and the rewards are different for each activity. Some activities will increase your friendship level with the characters you meet during the main story or from side quests, while others are part time jobs that help you gain extra cash. The game also features all of the other events seen in past games, such as being able to read in the library, visiting food places, studying at home, watching movies, and so on. These increase your social stats, and having increased social stats allow you to access even more events. This means some activities are time locked simply because it takes days to reach the required social level, and that also means you really have to consider what you truly want to do each day.
Outside of these limited activities, there are no blocks on simply exploring the world, talking to NPCs, or visiting the many different shops. These aspects feel like a standard RPG, and is the most freedom a modern Persona game has ever given to players. You can even stop by your house to freely change your clothes if you wish, and then go visit every location without worrying about the time. Yes, eventually the game will advance to the next day, but again this is unlimited. In a way it is a nice relaxing change of pace, but there is also only so much that can really be done.
The Dungeons, the Metaverse and the Core Gameplay:
Once you get tired of exploring the real world, or simply want to advance the story, entering the Metaverse allows you to explore the game's many dungeons, and tackle other challenges.
Unlike in Persona 5 before it, dungeons in The Phantom X are massive, and do not require players to fully complete them. In fact, the main story only covers maybe 30% of what each one has to offer, with them being packed full of puzzles to solve, challenge enemies to fight, and hidden areas to explore. These dungeons can be revisited at any time after beating the boss, and are packed full of rewards for every little thing you do. These rewards are what give you reason to come back to finish everything off, but they also serve as a reason to keep playing the game between major content updates. I know I said I wouldn't discuss the original version of the game, but it should be noted that they were long stretches between major updates, so having a lot of content to work through helps fill those gaps.
With that being said, the dungeons still work like in Persona 5, with the main goal of sneaking around, jumping enemies from behind to get an advantage, solving puzzles to advance to the deepest level, and then ultimately finish with a major boss fight; many of which have some sort of gimmick you need to take advantage of. Again, fans of the series will already be at home with this setup, and the game makes use of features that were introduced in Persona 5: Royal; such as the grappling hook to reach higher areas.
When it comes to battles, the game retains a version of Persona's take on the turn press battle system. Hitting enemy weaknesses knocks them down and gives you an extra turn, knocking down all of the enemies allows you to deal massive damage with an all out attack, and each character has a special attack of their own as well. The difference here however is the fact that you cannot fully control the baton pass mechanic, which lets you swap out who attacks next after hitting a weakness. The game simply lets you pick who you want to use, and they will then use their best attack as a follow up. It streamlines having to pick a skill to hit the next weakness, but it also takes away some of the freedom from the game.
Outside of this, everything does function basically the same as in Persona 5. The main character can have multiple Persona equip, each with different skills and abilities, and the party members have their unique Persona set. The game encourages you to swap out your party members to make up for any elements you may be missing, but switching the main character's Persona also becomes key. There are limits to how many you can have with you at a time, which are limits tied to player level, but the game seems to be very generous and always give you what you need. New Persona can be "captured" by fighting enemies and randomly getting them, or they can be obtained using the game's character gacha. There are also some that are 100% rewards for completing special events, with these events being replayable to obtain extra copies to release the level cap on them.
This is where the gacha mechanics come in, and it is where some people might have an issue with the game.
The Gacha and Getting Stronger:
There are multiple gacha mechanics in The Phantom X, and a few ways players get stronger. First of all, everything is tied to the main character's level, which prevents you from over leveling the rest of the team, the Personas, or the weapons you can obtain. Your main level is increased by doing daily goals, reaching milestones, and by completing quests. The game prevents you from power leveling this, and instead wants you to simply check in each day to slowly get stronger. Once this level increases however, the rest of your party and gear can be upgraded, but even all of this has limits.
New party members are obtained during the story, but a vast majority of them are from the gacha only. These "pulls" can be purchased using in game currency or real world money, and will give you random items for your expense. The character gacha rewards you with new Persona and has the possibility to get new party members, but it isn't a 100% sure thing. You actually need to get more than one copy of a Persona or character to limit break them, so even after obtaining something you want, there is still reasons to try to get it. This includes the story characters, as you can actually obtain them before they join.
In this case them joining in the story simply acts as an extra copy, so you can upgrade them right away. The same can be said for the Persona which can also be obtained outside of the gacha, with extra copies being useful for both upgrades and fusion. (Fusion allows you to mix extra copies of Persona together to create a new one, or pass skills and abilities along that a Persona would not normally learn.)
On top of the character gacha, the game also features a weapon one, which is also pretty key to survival. Again, weapons can also be increased in power by getting duplicates, and some character's weapons can only be obtained by using the gacha. These help give you an edge, sure, but they also aren't fully required to progress through the game, as even base weapon characters seem to be useful if you play it smart. Of course this might not always be the case for more challenging bosses and events, but for the time being the power requirements do not seem too bad.
Once you have obtained your party members, weapons, and Persona, leveling is done by spending materials to upgrade pretty much everything, and reaching max level requires you to spend special material to further expand them. These materials are gathered through daily events, which are locked behind a different energy system compared to the real world activities, and players have the option to simply complete them once and spend extra energy for more completion rewards. This is a massive time saver, as some of these fights can take awhile to complete.
This is how leveling up works throughout the entire game, and that pattern never changes. Level the main character, level up your other characters, weapons, and Persona until they hit the cap, get upgrade materials to increase them even further, and then go back to leveling up the main character to once again lift the level restrictions. It's a slow process, but it is how the game keeps you exactly where you need to be without becoming overpowered and breaking it.
Art, Music, and Presentation:
One thing The Phantom X does quite well is capture the Persona 5 style. As mentioned before, the story contains quite a few anime cutscenes for major moments, and the art style features the same red and blacks as the original game. Menus are highly stylized with your mobile phone being the main menu itself, and the cell shaded art style simply looks nice. Of course most of this comes from reused assets from Persona 5, but even the new resources do a good job of capturing the original style. Every character also has multiple highly detailed profile pictures during dialogue, and that goes a long way when it comes to cutscenes. It helps the characters feel even more alive, along with watching their animations play out in the background. Again, this isn't anything Persona 5 didn't have, but seeing so much work put into all of the new characters is really nice to see, and something many mobile games wouldn't even bother with.
When it comes to the music, the soundtrack is mostly made up of Persona 5 hits, with some new songs mixed in as well. Personally as much as I love the P5 soundtrack, I would've liked to hear less of the old songs, and more of the new. But this is coming after spending hundreds of hours playing the original game, getting all of the trophies, playing Dancing in Starlight, and having the songs on loop while driving places. It is a simple case of me burning myself out on the outstanding OST, and finally hearing something new in The Phantom X is simply refreshing. The good news is, songs that play when exploring the real world can be changed on our phone at any time, with more songs becoming unlocked as you advance through the game.
Overall, The Phantom X does a great job capturing the style of Persona 5, and it really gives off the impression of it being a big budget game. If it wasn't for the gacha game mechanics, it could easily be passed off as the next mainline console game... Except there is no denying some animations do feel a bit off at times. Not everything is 100% smooth all the time, but it's really only a minor issue that doesn't take away from the overall presentation.
Social Features and the Thieves Den:
Speaking of being a gacha game, The Phantom X does contain standard mobile game social features. You can add friends, there is a chat box to talk with others, and you can join your own thief guild to work with other players for rewards. It basically has all of the features one would expect from any mobile game with online connections now days, and that comes complete with allowing other players to use your team if they need help, and even customizing a mini profile. Of course none of this is fully required to enjoy the game, as it can be played completely solo, and there is also an age restriction on the chat box if you do not meet the requirements to use it. The game asks you how old you are the moment you start it up, and this is why; not to mention it is an M rated game with strong language and other themes not for children.
As for the Thieves Den, it functions similarly to how it worked in Persona 5: Royal. It is a hang-out spot where you can walk around, look at collectibles, place characters, change music, and simply enjoy your collection. You can change which character you are playing as here as well, and there are extra rewards for unlocking new items. This plays into the whole "it being a gacha game" thing as well, as pretty much everything you do in the game will give you at least something for doing it. In other words, despite being mostly for fun, it is also another way to get limited resources in a game where you are constantly trying to make progress. Some items placed provide extra perks as well, so even without the rewards it’s worth looking into.
Other General Mobile Features:
Persona 5: The Phantom X is a really big game, and there are tons of other mobile features at play also; in fact, there are way too many to even cover in this review. So instead of diving into every single one, I'll make this quick and simple. For anyone who has played a mobile game in general, none of this is going to be surprising, but for those jumping into one for the first time thanks to this being Persona... There's quite a bit you need to be prepared for.
Outside of the main story, the game features limited time events, and limited event stories. These are broken into chapters and offer rewards for completing them, but also contain limited items to be found in each stage. Not finding everything or completing the events on time will result in missing out on them forever (unless there is an event rerun), and completing everything helps you get ahead.
As mentioned before, there is an energy system at play for some special fights and events, which in return get you resources to upgrade your characters, Persona, weapons, and more. These are goals that should be completed every day to avoid missing out on items and falling behind, with options for spending real world money on unlocking extra energy. This system is one of the reasons you should play every day however, as missing a single day means you are behind all of the players who didn't skip out... But don't let this ruin the game for you. Missing a day isn't the end of the world, and this game is honestly better if you take it at your own pace and enjoy it.
There are paid reward passes, which give you extra items when completing specific milestones. There is a free tier that everyone starts with, but those who purchase the pass will have an advantage. This is mixed in with other rewards and items you can buy with real money, all of which can make the game a bit "pay to win" if you really want to go all out.
Characters that can be unlocked are tied to specific banners, and the game shows you exactly what can be drawn within said banner. There is a pity system at play where pulling enough will eventually reward you with a rare character, but not one of your choosing. The "choose your own Persona 5 Phantom Thief" is an option for the beginner banner however, and that is the best place for new players to start. The main character Ren cannot be unlocked this way however, as he only appears in special limited time banners. If he is missed, players have to wait until the next time he appears in the pool.
And finally, there are many other special events and battle stages to work through. These stages have specific requirements to complete them, and reward you with a star ranking based on how well you did. Some of these are always available and can be challenged as much as you want, while others only run at specific times. Again, missing out on these will mean missing out on the rewards, and are something players should consider finishing as soon as possible. The main story isn't going anywhere so it can wait; time limited events cannot.
Again, none of this should come as a surprise to those who have experience with mobile games, but The Phantom X will draw in newcomers to the whole gacha game thing, and it really is important that you understand how all of this works. If you don't, you'll put yourself at a disadvantage, and possibly even miss out on something you wanted. Thankfully the game does have a great tutorial system, and everything you are "taught" gets logged within the tutorial option in the menu. You even get rewarded with currency for checking the tutorials, which can then be used to draw for characters, weapons, and more.
Should you play it?
I'm no stranger to mobile games. I have invested thousands of hours into games like Fate Grand Order, the Final Fantasy mobile titles, every Tales of release, Star Ocean Anamnesis, Honkai Impact, Granblue, Fire Emblem Heroes, Langrisser, Another Eden, Dragon Raja, and so many more that I'm sure no one wants to see me list. The point is, I'm not new to the world of mobile gaming, and I am someone who has seen just how "bad" end game can get in some of these.
That being said, Persona 5: The Phantom X has been a blast so far, and I do not regret starting it.
I'm not going to sit here and say this game is perfect, nor am I going to ignore the gacha and time locked elements. This is a game meant to be slowly played one day at a time, and not one you can simply rush through. It has the massive large scale story of a standard Persona game, but it is made even longer simply because of your real world limits. Sure you can pay real money to keep going if you really want to, but honestly I've yet to see anything actually worth purchasing in this one. By simply using the free currency in game I've already unlocked 90% of the characters and have good weapons for the characters I care about, and the Personas have been very generous as well. I've yet to hit a roadblock of any kind, outside of simply needing to wait a day to hit that next level. And really, that's okay.
With how relaxed The Phantom X is, I've yet to feel pressured to really do anything. Yes there are social elements and you can join "guilds" just like in any other mobile title, but this game is for sure a lot more enjoyable if you do not let your competitiveness take hold. Instead of having to be the best, simply take it one day at a time and enjoy what is offered here; that is my best advice I can give. Still, the biggest draw back is the fact that the gacha does rely on luck, and it is possible you will have a harder time than others. Thankfully the main story characters are great in their own right, and a free Persona 5 character is rewarded for completing the initial challenge goals, so it shouldn't be too big of an issue... But that doesn't mean it isn't an issue.
Persona 5: The Phantom X is a solid spin off entry, and a game that successfully brings the main gameplay of Persona 5 to mobile devices, with plenty of extras added on as well. The game has some awkward animations at times, and some of the writing is laughable, but it hasn't impacted my enjoyment at all. The intro took quite a bit of time to get through (which was expected), but once more options opened up, I found myself having a lot more fun. I still enjoy the turn based battles (this is one of the few mobile games where I turn off auto battle), I liked the dungeons and puzzles, and I really like the additional social aspects that comes with this being a mobile game.
I feel like anyone interested in Persona or Shin Megami Tensei at all should at least give this one a shot. It isn't going to be for everyone, and some might get turned off by the sometimes funny dialogue, but I really recommend at least getting past the intro dungeon before fully judging it for yourself. The game has some great characters, the classic battle system, fun dungeons, it retains the social aspects from the main series, and so far a much lower "power creep" requirement than most other mobile games on the market. And if this is your first experience with the series, I strongly recommend going back and playing the main games in the series as well! Although ATLUS is heavily involved with The Phantom X, it is not developed by them, and honestly it does show. So if you do fall into the category of not liking this one, do not let it ruin the series for you. Still, I have really enjoyed my time with the game so far, and I plan on making it one of main mobile games.
VERDICT: Recommended
Reviewed on PC
Take your heart
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