Persona 5: The Phantom X, true to its name, takes place within the same fictional universe asPersona 5, though it follows a different cast of characters courtesy of some interdimensional narrative shenanigans. DespitePersona 5: The Phantom X’s many differences from its progenitor, it retains key lore elements and, perhaps even more significantly, broad-strokes narrative, design, and thematic tendencies.
Spoilers forPersona 5ahead.
These parallels are particularly evident within each game’s cast of vibrant characters: there are clear archetypes repeated. One such archetype, which may very well be exclusive to Atlus' bizarre brand of storytelling, is the mystery-laden animal team mascot. Indeed,Persona 5’s Morganais reflected inThe Phantom X’s Lufel, an anthropomorphic owl that guides players through the Metaverse. He shares a number of other similarities with Morgana as well, but upon spending more time with each of them, players may find more differences overall.
How Is Persona 5: The Phantom X’s Lufel Different from Morgana?
At a Glance, Lufel and Morgana Are Remarkably Similar
Before getting into how these adorable-but-formidable mascots differ, it’s worth understanding why they’re worth comparing in the first place. Aside from both being talking animals who claim to be different beings in disguise,Lufel and Morganaare also both well-acquainted with the Metaverse, and are thus intermediaries for the player-character and the fantasy elements of thePersonauniverse. Additionally, they both suffer from amnesia.
They can also both transform into automobiles while in the Metaverse, which seems like a totally bizarre parallel without considering its mechanical purpose. Indeed, the many similarities between Lufel and Morgana can likely be attributed to how Atlus likes to tutorialize and dole out features in its games: both human-animal hybrids serve as wells of lore information, making them entertaining and useful resources as players explore each game’s story and mechanics. Then, features like theAnimorph/Transformers-inspired car shape-shifting are wacky, lore-acceptable ways to facilitate faster movement. Beyond these high-level similarities, though, Lufel andMorgana are actually remarkably different.
Lufel and Morgana’s Greatest Differences Are Matters of Personality
While Morgana and Lufel may play similar roles in their respective stories, they are written rather differently. For one thing, though they both suffer from amnesia, Morgana’s is both more complete and more affecting, as he makes it his personal journey to rediscover his past. Part and parcel of this goal is his desire to return to his human form, whereas Lufel seems to don his owl-like appearance for personal reasons; it’s not even clear whether he claims to be a human or some other creature. In general, Lufel’s goals are less personal and moreduty-driven than Morgana’s.
As one would expect, these differences in outlook and priorities make for drastically different personality types.Morgana is energetic, bubbly, and almost childlike despite being a wellspring of knowledge; he behaves much like a close friend or, at times, even a younger sibling. Lufel, on the other hand, is much more serious, self-possessed, and reserved, prone to speaking in an antiquated manner and coming across as pompous. At the same time, he is very respectful of his allies and views them as equals, though his owl-like wisdom makes him feel a bit less relatable than Morgana.
It’s also worth noting that, as a live-service game,Persona 5: The Phantom X’s narrativeis ongoing, so there’s a lot that audiences might come to learn about Lufel over time. Such revelations could further distinguish him from Morgana, or maybe even have the opposite effect. For example,Persona 5reveals that Morgana is actually neither human nor cat, but a creation designed specifically to aid the Phantom Thieves; perhaps similar lore dumps will illuminate more about Lufel’s true nature as well.
