Review in Progress: Persona 5: The Phantom X

Oh man, where to start with this Persona thing? I’ve always kinda raised an eyebrow at these Persona spin-offs. Like, how do you even begin to reshape such a beloved series while keeping all the juicy details that fans like me drool over? Anyway — oh wait, I lost my train of thought. Ah, Persona5: The Phantom X. Yeah, those Perfect World folks seem to have pulled it off, or at least, that’s what it looks like when you first peek at it. The slick cutscenes? Totally nailed. The soundtrack? Gives ya goosebumps. The game feels comfy, like your old go-to hoodie, except it’s stuffed with mobile game IAPs. Somehow comforting and ominous at once. Weird, right?

So yeah, this is a spin-off but doesn’t revolve around Joker and the crew. Instead, we’ve got this new kid, Nagisa Kamisiro (call ‘em whatever you want, really) in a parallel timeline — or something like that. They’re just some kid doing their thing until this owl, Lufel, waltzes in and ropes them into battling the world’s woes. I mean, why not, right? So, now Kamisiro juggles school life with kicking shadow monster butt. It’s kind of a ‘rinse and repeat’ of Persona 5’s moves, but hey, they’re good moves.

Tokyo’s beautiful chaos is your playground, bouncing from your typical teen chores to monster hunting in the Metaverse. It’s the OG Persona turn-based style, so if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, I guess? Among the teenage chaos, you’ll meet Motoha, who’s all about baseball, Kayo, who’s husband-crazed (don’t ask), and Tomoko, the adorable schoolmate. Oh, and the owl, Lufel. Can’t forget about them. Their old-school language is hilarious, totally messing with the students. Kind of love it.

Imagine yourself doing typical teen stuff: study at cafes, get cash at the local shop, yet you’re saving the world. Sound balanced? Not really, but I’ve made shopping lists just to ogle the Tokyo streets. Trust me, the buzz of Shibuya Scramble with its puppy mascot wink is like a postcard of wanderlust. Now, maybe it’s just nostalgia talking.

The bulk of your time, unsurprisingly, is spent battling, launched from this Metaverse app on Kamisiro’s phone. It’s here that the grind sneaks up on you, even if the fighting is surprisingly addictive. Just power up with the story quests or stray into other missions for loot and XP. Grinding should be old friends by now, yet still sneaks up on you.

Persona 5 fans will feel at home with the familiar combat — elemental strengths and weaknesses flashing like déjà vu. And the design? A feast for the eyes. That “Last Surprise” track never gets old. But all creative soundscapes in the world won’t cover the gacha elephant in the room. Yeah, upgrades and characters are basically a lucky draw, which is thrilling until you realize your wallet’s crying. Ten hours in and so far, no paywalls stopping me, but, you know, they’re lurking.

Speaking of which, The Phantom X kinda mirrors Persona 5 a tad too closely for its own good. Not necessarily bad — there’s genuine care in crafting the story and characters that reel ya in. But being a Persona fan comfy in the series’ shadows, I can’t shake feeling like it’s more of a doppelgänger than its own beast. But hey, I’ve only poked at the surface here. Loads still to discover.

So yeah, it’s good junk food for the brain, and as someone who’s all aboard the Persona train, I won’t look this gift horse in the teeth. Just… still trying to see how it’s gonna carve out its niche in my heart. Stay tuned, I guess?