Persona 5: The Phantom X

Last updated
Persona 5: The Phantom X
Persona 5X app icon.png
Developer(s) Black Wings Game Studio [lower-alpha 1]
Publisher(s) Perfect World
Director(s) Yusuke Nitta
Producer(s) Yohsuke Uda
Vulpe [1]
Designer(s) Zhen [2]
Artist(s) Shigenori Soejima
Xiao Le [1]
Writer(s) Yusuke Nitta
Yi Wen [2]
Composer(s) Ryota Kozuka
BlackWings Audio [lower-alpha 2]
Series Persona
Engine Unity
Platform(s) Android, iOS, Windows
Release Open beta
  • CHN: April 12, 2024
Genre(s) Role-playing, social simulation
Mode(s) Single-player

Persona 5: The Phantom X [lower-alpha 3] is an upcoming role-playing game developed and published by Perfect World Games under license from Sega. The game is a spin-off of the Persona series by Atlus, itself a part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. It is set to be released in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea. An open beta test for Android, iOS, and Windows began in April 2024.

Contents

Persona 5: The Phantom X takes place in modern-day Tokyo, the same setting as Persona 5 (2016), and follows a group of characters that wield the power of Persona. It combines elements of social simulation, as the protagonist uses his free time to raise stats and forge bonds with characters, and dungeon crawling in the alternate world known as the Metaverse. The cognitive versions of the people met in the city, including the Phantom Thieves of Hearts from the original game, can be summoned for use in the Metaverse through a gacha system.

Several staff members from Persona 5 were involved in the development, including series producer Kazuhisa Wada as the project supervisor, artist Shigenori Soejima as the character designer for the protagonist Wonder and his Persona, Ryota Kozuka as the opening theme composer, and vocalist Lyn.

Gameplay

Persona 5X daily life gameplay.jpg
Persona 5X combat gameplay.jpg
Wonder, the game's protagonist, has two alternating lifestyles: a normal student life (top) and exploring otherworldly locations (bottom).

To accommodate the format of a free-to-play game created primarily for mobile devices, Persona 5: The Phantom X adapts the Persona mechanics with various changes. Like the main titles, it combines elements of social simulation and dungeon crawling. However, in place of the Calendar system, both activities now require energy that replenishes over time or is restored using currency, similar to other mobile games. [4]

As the male silent protagonist (who is named by the player but also given the codename Wonder) attending the school in modern-day Tokyo, players experience the story events, answer questions in class, and freely explore the city after school or during days off in order to engage in various activities. [5] Some help Wonder earn experience points or money, while others improve his social stats, such as Knowledge or Courage, which affect the gameplay in other ways. Additionally, players can consult the "City Schedule" feature to see the list of suggested activities and available rewards. [4]

The game also features multiple characters that Wonder can interact with in Tokyo using the "Confidant" system. [5] Compared to the main series, it was heavily reworked: the number of ranks has increased, but not every rank results in unique dialogue conversations. [4] The cognitive versions of Confidants also appear as special units that can be summoned using the gacha system. [6]

Like Persona 5, the dungeon crawling portion takes place in the Metaverse, a realm created from subconscious desires that consists of Mementos and Palaces. Mementos is the procedurally generated location consisting of multiple floors that is primarily used for grinding and completing daily quests, while the Palaces are the story-related levels ruled by various bosses. [4] [5]

The battle gameplay remains faithful to the Persona series, using the turn-based system with the "1 more" mechanic when striking enemies' weaknesses. However, unlike the main series, activating "1 more" is always followed by specific skills instead of giving the player complete control over their additional action, and not all enemies can be "downed" in one turn, as some were given a meter that dictates the necessary number of attacks. When all enemies are down, the player can perform a powerful "All-Out Attack". [4] [5]

Development

Perfect World Games first teased the project with a trailer in April 2021. Titled Code Name: X, it was claimed to be the first mobile entry in a “famous Japanese console game series” that has sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The footage was noted to feature the aesthetic and music reminiscent of Persona 5 , but the ties to the Persona series were not officially confirmed. [7] The connection was later discovered through image filenames on the website and the binary code at the end of the trailer, which was translated to Persona 5X. [7]

Persona 5: The Phantom X was developed by Black Wings Game Studio, a subsidiary of Perfect World, under the supervision of the series developer P-Studio (Atlus) and their parent company Sega. [8] The Persona staff provided input on the game's story and setting, and directly presented ideas regarding the characterization of the Phantom Thieves, which were then turned into original characters by Black Wings staff. [1]

The general producer of the Persona series Kazuhisa Wada worked as the supervisor of the project. [9] The business producer Yohsuke Uda served as the game's producer from the Atlus side, and scenario planner Yusuke Nitta, who previously worked on Persona 5 Royal , Persona 5 Strikers and Persona 5 Tactica , is credited as the development director and lead scenario planner. [10]

Music

The opening theme, Ambitions and Visions, was composed by Ryota Kozuka of Atlus Sound Team, with lyrics by Jasmine Webb. According to sound director Qing Yao, it helped to define the musical style of the game, "inheriting the punk and rock" of the original game and "expanding into a fast tempo J-pop direction." [2] The rest of the music was created in-house by BlackWings Audio Station staff, [lower-alpha 2] with song lyrics by AkimR. [3] After completing the basic composition and arrangement, the music was sent to supervisors at Atlus for checks and edits. When the result satisfied both parties, Atlus scheduled recordings with Persona 5 vocalist Lyn. [1]

The first volume of the original soundtrack, containing 21 songs, was released on April 12, 2024. [3]

Release

The game was officially revealed for Android and iOS on March 16, 2023 under its Japanese title, Persona 5: The Phantom X. Perfect World announced that they will distribute and operate the game in China, but plans for release in other regions were not mentioned. [8]

The first small-scaled closed beta test, titled 'Infiltration Test', was held shortly after the announcement from March 29 to March 31, 2023. [5] While Perfect World did not announce the PC version at the time, the beta was available for Windows, in addition to Android. [8] The second, 'Awakening Test', ran from August 18 to August 31, 2023. [11] The final closed beta test, 'Heart Stealing Test', was held from January 16 to January 30, 2024. [12]

An open beta test began on April 12, 2024, in mainland China, [13] and official launch on April 18, 2024, in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea. [14] [15]

Notes

  1. ↑ additional work, support and under supervision by Atlus and Sega.
  2. 1 2 Yifu Sun, Masanori Akita, MovingPoint, Lorne Cui, Oran, Sewind, and Simai Wang. [3]
  3. ↑ Chinese :女神异闻录：夜幕魅影; pinyin :Nǚshén Yìwénlù: Yèmù Mèiyǐng; lit.'Alternate Tale of the Goddess: Phantom of the Night'

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlus</span> Japanese video game company

Atlus Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as Megami Tensei, Persona, Etrian Odyssey, and Trauma Center, as well as Print Club (Purikura) arcade machines. Its corporate mascot is Jack Frost, a snowman-like character from their Shin Megami Tensei series. Outside of video games, the company is known for their Purikura arcade machines, which are selfie photo sticker booths popular in East Asia.

Megami Tensei, marketed internationally as Shin Megami Tensei, is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed and published by Atlus, and currently owned by Atlus, the franchise consists of multiple subseries and covers multiple role-playing genres including tactical role-playing, action role-playing, and massively multiplayer online role-playing. The first two titles in the series were published by Namco, but have been almost always published by Atlus in Japan and North America since the release of Shin Megami Tensei. For Europe, Atlus publishes the games through third-party companies.

<i>Revelations: Persona</i> 1996 role-playing game

Revelations: Persona is a 1996 role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus. It is the first entry in the Persona series, itself a subseries of the Megami Tensei franchise, and the first role-playing entry in the series to be released in the west. Originally released for the PlayStation in 1996 in Japan and North America, the title was ported to Microsoft Windows in 1999. A port to the PlayStation Portable retitled Shin Megami Tensei: Persona was released in North America and Japan in 2009, and the following year in Europe. This port featured new cutscenes and a reworked English localization that was more faithful to the original Japanese release. The PlayStation version was also released for the PlayStation Classic on December 3, 2018 worldwide, marking the PlayStation version being released in Europe for the first time.

<i>Shin Megami Tensei If...</i> 1994 role-playing video game

Shin Megami Tensei If..., stylized as Shin Megami Tensei if…, is a role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus in 1994 for the Super Famicom. It is a spin-off from the Shin Megami Tensei series, itself part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. Since release, it has been ported to mobile devices, PlayStation and Microsoft Windows; it had also been re-released on the Virtual Console in Japan on Wii in 2011 and Wii U in 2013, as well as Nintendo Switch Online in 2021. The story follows a student of Karukozaka High School after their school is sucked into the realm of demons by a vengeful student's demon summoning spell going wrong.

Shoji Meguro is a Japanese composer, guitarist, and video game designer. Formerly an employee of the game company Atlus, he is best known for his work in their Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series. His music spans several genres, such as rock, electronic, J-pop, jazz, and symphonic. Meguro has also designed indie games and was the creative director of the PlayStation Portable remakes of Persona and Persona 2.

<i>Persona 4</i> 2008 video game

Persona 4, released outside Japan as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, is a 2008 role-playing video game by Atlus. It is chronologically the fifth installment in the Persona series, itself a part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise, and was released for the PlayStation 2 in Japan in July 2008, North America in December 2008, and Europe in March 2009 as one of the final major exclusives for the system. It was re-released as a PlayStation 2 Classic for the PlayStation 3 in April 2014. Persona 4 takes place in a fictional Japanese countryside and is indirectly related to earlier Persona games. The player-named protagonist is a high-school student who moved into the countryside from the city for a year. During his year-long stay, he becomes involved in investigating mysterious murders with a group of friends while harnessing the power to summon physical manifestations of their psyches known as a Persona.

Persona, previously marketed as Shin Megami Tensei: Persona outside of Japan, is a video game franchise primarily developed and published by Atlus, and owned by Sega. Centered around a series of role-playing video games, Persona is a spin-off from Atlus' Megami Tensei franchise. The first entry in the series, Revelations: Persona, was released in 1996 for the PlayStation. The series has seen several more games since, with the most recent main entry being 2024's Persona 3 Reload.

<i>Persona 5</i> 2016 video game

Persona 5 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by P-Studio and published by Atlus. The game is the sixth installment in the Persona series, itself a part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. It was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 in Japan in September 2016 and worldwide in April 2017. It was published by Atlus in Japan and North America, and by Deep Silver in PAL territories. An enhanced version featuring new content, Persona 5 Royal, was released for PlayStation 4 in Japan in October 2019 and worldwide in March 2020. It was published by Atlus in Japan and worldwide by its parent company Sega. Persona 5 Royal was later released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in October 2022.

<i>Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE</i> 2015 video game

Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE is a 2015 role-playing video game developed by Atlus and published by Nintendo for the Wii U home console. The game is a crossover that combines gameplay, narrative, and aesthetic elements from Atlus's Shin Megami Tensei and Nintendo's Fire Emblem series. It was released in Japan in December 2015 and worldwide in June 2016. An enhanced port for the Nintendo Switch, Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore, was released on January 17, 2020.

Atlus West, formerly known as Atlus U.S.A., Inc., is the North American publishing branch of Japanese video game company Atlus, primarily known for localizing games for both them and other third-party developers. Its first original role-playing game was Revelations: Persona on the PlayStation, described by staff as an attempt to break into the Western role-playing game market and establish the company's Megami Tensei franchise through its Persona sub-series.

Shigenori Soejima is a Japanese video game artist, best known for his work in the Persona series of role-playing video games by Atlus. Inspired in his work as an artist from an early age, he initially worked in minor roles on several games after joining Atlus. His first major work as an artist was on the strategy role-playing game Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity (2004). From Persona 3 (2006) onwards, he took over as the character designer from his mentor Kazuma Kaneko.

<i>Shin Megami Tensei V</i> 2021 role-playing video game

Shin Megami Tensei V is a 2021 role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus for the Nintendo Switch. It is part of the Shin Megami Tensei series, the central series of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. Produced by Shin Megami Tensei IV director Kazuyuki Yamai, it was designed as a hybrid between Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei IV, featuring returning gameplay mechanics such as raising and fusing demons.

Katsura Hashino is a Japanese video game director and producer, best known for working on the Persona role-playing game series by Atlus. From 2006 to 2016, Hashino served as director of P-Studio, an internal team at Atlus that developed the Persona series. Following the release of Persona 5 (2016), Hashino departed P-Studio to establish Studio Zero, another development team at Atlus focused on the creation of a new IP.

<i>Persona 5 Strikers</i> 2020 video game

Persona 5 Strikers is an action role-playing game developed by Omega Force and P-Studio and published by Atlus. The game is a crossover between Koei Tecmo's Dynasty Warriors franchise and the Persona series developed by Atlus. The game's narrative is set half a year after the events of Persona 5, and follows Joker and the rest of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts as they investigate a series of mysterious events involving people across Japan.

Goro Akechi, who uses the code name Crow, is a fictional character in the Persona series, first appearing in Persona 5. A high school detective nicknamed "The Second Coming of the Detective Prince", Akechi opposes the Phantom Thieves' actions and becomes both a rival and foil to Joker, the group's leader. For Persona 5 Royal, his characterization was further explored in order to appeal more to players. Besides printed and animated versions of the series, he has also been featured in the spin-offs Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth.

<i>Persona 3 Reload</i> 2024 video game

Persona 3 Reload is a 2024 role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus. Reload is a remake of Persona 3 (2006), the fourth main installment of the Persona series, itself a part of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. As with the original game, the protagonist is a high school student returning to his home city a decade after his parents were killed in a fatal car crash. He soon gains the potential to summon a Persona–the physical manifestation of his inner spirit, and joins the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (S.E.E.S.), a group of like-minded Persona users. Together, they are tasked with defeating Shadows and uncovering the mystery of the Dark Hour.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is an upcoming role-playing video game developed by Studio Zero and published by Atlus. It is the first original game from Studio Zero since its formation in 2016 by Persona series director Katsura Hashino, character designer Shigenori Soejima, and composer Shoji Meguro, which is scheduled to be released October 11, 2024 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S.

<i>Megami Ibunroku Persona: Ikū no Tō-hen</i> 2006 role-playing video game

Megami Ibunroku Persona: Ikū no Tō-hen is a role-playing video game developed and published by Bbmf. It is a spin-off from Atlus's 1996 game Revelations: Persona, and part of the Persona series, itself a part of the larger Megami Tensei series. It was originally released for Japanese feature phones on December 1, 2006, and was re-released by G-Mode for Nintendo Switch and Windows in September 2023 as part of their G-Mode Archives+ line, after being unavailable for years.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 문원빈 (April 8, 2024). "페르소나5: 더 팬텀 X "원작 재미 모바일로 완벽 구현했다"". Gametoc (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 11, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 페르소나5: 더 팬텀 X (April 8, 2024). "[페르소나5: 더 팬텀 X] 프리뷰 스페셜 공식방송". YouTube (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 12, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. 1 2 3 BlackWings Audio Station. "女神异闻录：夜幕魅影-OST1". NetEase Music . Archived from the original on October 18, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 肥肥 (August 22, 2023). "【試玩】《女神異聞錄：夜幕魅影》PC 版測試報導 還原潮到出水的原作美術風格". GNN Gamer (in Chinese). Archived from the original on March 30, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Zheng, Jenny (April 22, 2023). "Persona 5: The Phantom X - Everything We Know". GameSpot . Archived from the original on April 7, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  6. ↑ Morris, Iwan (December 15, 2023). "What we have learned about Persona 5: The Phantom X mobile game so far?". Pocket Gamer . Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Romano, Sal (April 13, 2021). "Perfect World Games announces Persona 5 mobile game Code Name: X". Gematsu. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Romano, Sal (March 16, 2023). "Persona 5: The Phantom X announced for iOS, Android". Gematsu. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  9. ↑ "ATLUS最强应援 《女神异闻录：夜幕魅影》即将首测-P5X-《女神异闻录：夜幕魅影》官网". p5x.wanmei.com (in Chinese). March 22, 2023. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  10. ↑ Gematsu (April 11, 2024). "Persona 5: The Phantom X - Persona Series Creative Philosophy Discussion". YouTube . Archived from the original on April 13, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.
  11. ↑ Romano, Sal (August 7, 2023). "Persona 5: The Phantom X 'Awakening Test' begins August 18 in China". Gematsu. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  12. ↑ Romano, Sal (January 4, 2024). "Persona 5: The Phantom X 'Heart Stealing Test' begins January 16 in China". Gematsu. Archived from the original on March 31, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  13. ↑ Digioia, Alessandro (March 19, 2024). "Persona 5: The Phantom X esce il 12 aprile in Cina, nuovi dettagli sul lancio in Occidente". IGN (in Italian). Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  14. ↑ "《女神異聞錄：夜幕魅影》今日4/18以全日配版本於全平台正式上市". IWPlay World (in Traditional Chinese). 2024-04-18. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  15. ↑ "페르소나5: 더 팬텀 X, 4월 18일 PC, 모바일로 출시 확정". Perfect World (in Korean). 2024-04-09. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.