Persona 5: The Phantom Xtakes place in an alternate-reality version ofPersona 5’s Tokyo, but that doesn’t stop it from including the most prominent connective tissue of the franchise: the Velvet Room. This bizarre, otherworldly location is nestled between the conscious and unconscious realms, making it the ideal place to manage and fuse Personas, inPersona 5: The Phantom Xas well as in other entries in the series.
As one of the few consistent narrative elements in thePersonafranchise, the Velvet Room and the characters associated with it are often among the most captivating parts of any given game. Igor is always a prominent figure in this space, but he is joined by different assistants, typically called “Velvet Room attendants,” in each entry. InPersona 5: The Phantom X, the Velvet Room is tended by Merope, an elegant, mysterious woman who aids the player in their journey and is one ofP5X’s many confidants. ButPersonahas a history of subversive and unpredictable Velvet Room attendants, and there’s reason to believe that Merope will be similarly complex.
SincePersona 5: The Phantom Xis a live-service game, Merope’s story is still unfolding.
Persona 5: The Phantom X: How Merope Is Different from Other Velvet Room Attendants
Merope Sticks Out From Other Velvet Room Attendants Like a Sore Thumb
At first glance, Merope might seem rather similar to theVelvet Room attendants of previousPersonagames: she is dressed in all blue, adopts a friendly, helpful demeanor, and carries an air of aloof wisdom, much like her predecessors. But delving into the lore of the Velvet Room and its residents reveals some important distinctions between her and her colleagues.
While there are several Velvet Room residents and visitors, only a few characters are considered traditionalVelvet Room attendants. Not including Merope, these characters are:
Persona 4 Golden’s Mariemay be considered a Velvet Room attendant, though she is only serving the room temporarily, isn’t related to the other characters, and her true purpose has little to do with Igor or the Velvet Room itself, so it’s fair to consider her an outlier.
The aforementioned characters are all siblings, which is easy to believe, given their appearances: they all have pale skin, blond hair, and yellow eyes—distinguishing features, to be sure. They are also all named after characters from either theFrankensteinbook or film, much like Igor himself. But Merope, despite dressing the same as these previous attendants, playing the same role, and having similarly colored hair, is not named after aFrankensteincharacter, nor does she have yellow eyes. Maybe these differences are meaningless, but maybe they’re not.
Persona 5: The Phantom X Might Have a Trick Up Its Sleeve with Merope
The specific design elements and naming convention associated with previous Velvet Room attendants are too significant to ignore, so Merope not adhering to them is notable. As it happens, the story of thePersona 5base game might offer some clues regarding Merope’s identity: inPersona 5, Yaldabaoth impersonates Igor and splits Lavenza into Caroline and Justine, all in a bid to manipulate them and expand his influence.
All of this is to say thatPersona 5has set a precedent for misleading or false Velvet Room attendants, and withThe Phantom X’s story overlapping with that of thePersona 5base game, such subterfuge may be afoot once again. Merope already comes across as different—maybe she’s even more different than players think.
