Another day, another Persona 5 spin-off. Earlier this week, the new Persona 5: The Phantom X or P5X was officially unveiled. Currently only set for release in China and developed by Perfect World Games’ Black Wings Game Studio, P5X promises to “faithfully inherit the original dual-cycle core gameplay” of the series while providing “a new P5-style ‘turn-based combat + role-playing’ game experience.” Perfect World Games has also done Tower of Fantasy and the now-defunct Final Fantasy Type-0 Online, so they definitely have experience.
Persona 5: The Phantom X’s website shows the new, unnamed protagonist and their Persona, Yanoshik, alongside several other new characters. Both are designed by longtime series artist Shigenori Soejima. We’ve included a gallery of Persona 5: The Phantom X below with pictures of them and several other new characters, including owl companion Luffy, sporty girl Arai Suwa, and the lovely new Velvet Room attendant Merope.
I’ve been pretty lukewarm on the Persona series since Persona 4. But I even have to admit the designs for Persona 5: The Phantom X are great, and the game nails Persona 5’s iconic aesthetic. There’s no word on if Persona 5: The Phantom X will reach western players, but there’s always hope. Sega eventually brought over the excellent Shin Megami Tensei Liberation Dx2, and I’m sure the immense popularity of the Persona series in the west will at least be considered at some point down the line. However, it being free-to-play ensures there will be microtransactions involved. No details of monetization or exactly how the gameplay works were shared. Currently, Chinese players can sign up for a chance to join the beta test. No release date has been announced either.
Love Persona 5? Check out our selection of lovely figures, including Joker. Prefer Persona 3? We’ve got a beautiful model of everyone’s favorite android, Aigis!
