It might be remarkably different courtesy of its gacha mechanics and free-to-play elements, butPersona 5: The Phantom Xstill feels like aPersonagame, at the end of the day. It’s got the same charm and sleek appeal of other entries in the series, and its specific parallels withPersona 5make it a treat for returning fans, especially those coming off the heels of2019’sPersona 5 Royal.
That said,Persona 5: The Phantom Xisn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Naturally, the typical free-to-play woes that plague so many modern games are a concern for manyP5Xplayers, and have likely driven away many of those looking for a more traditional gaming experience. Much like other contemporary gacha games such asGenshin ImpactandWuthering Waves,The Phantom Xrequires players to cough up cold, hard cash to enjoy the entirety of the experience. Moreover, since it’s still being expanded via a seasonal model,P5Xcan often feel incomplete. But these live-service traits are to be expected; there’s one other, less-discussed shortcoming that could have been addressed, and perhaps it someday will be.
Persona 5: The Phantom X Would Have Been the Perfect Opportunity for a Female Protagonist
The Persona Franchise Has Dropped the Ball With Female Leads
There have only been two female protagonists in thePersonafranchise, with one of them being optional and effectively erased from the modern canon. There’s Maya Amano fromPersona 2: Eternal Punishment, andKotone Shiomi ofPersona 3 Portable, but the latter is just an alternate protagonist option, and was left on the cutting-room floor forPersona 3 Reload, much to the chagrin of many fans. These two leading ladies have engendered strong respective followings, though: not only are they among the franchise’s strongest female characters, but they are interesting and lovable in their own right, making them easy to get attached to.
And yet, Atlus has shied away from including female leads in the rest of thePersonaseries;Persona 3 Portablewas released sixteen years ago, after all. And whilePersona 3 Reload’s director offered a reasonableexplanation for the female protagonist being excluded inPersona 3 Reload, the lack of other heroines is still sorely felt. There have been several opportunities for the franchise to improve in this area, andPersona 5: The Phantom Xis a fitting example of one.
Why Persona 5: The Phantom X Would Be the Right Choice for a Female Lead
As a long-term, live-service gacha game,The Phantom Xwould have been a nice venue to introduce a female protagonist, even if she were only an alternative option like inPersona 3 Portable. With the game’s story being informed by updates,P5Xcould have offered a wider variety of narrative elements, tweaked by the arrival of a different main character.P5X’s global release also could have been a good chance for Atlus to redeem itself a bit in the wake of the aforementionedKotone Shiomi debacle, which drew attention to thePersonafranchise’s history of favoring male leads over female ones.
But hopefully, this dream could still become a reality. Indeed, if there were ever aPersonagame that could feasibly loop in a new player-character through post-launch content, it’sThe Phantom X. Maybe, if the game continues to grow a healthy worldwide playerbase, Atlus could integrate a different lead character, giving audiences a chance to engage with its story and social sim elements from a different perspective. And since it’s a live-service game, this option could start small—perhaps even as small as some cosmetic and dialogue differences—before evolving into a more complex and differentiated playstyle, not unlike what wasoffered inPersona 3 Portable.
