The Phantom X Feature Makes It the Odd One Out, But It’s Not All Bad

Despite its many differences, most of which can be attributed to looming gacha mechanics, Persona 5: The Phantom X is definitely still a Persona game, in the traditional sense. The series’ fundamentals, such as turn-based combat, social simulation, and an in-game calendar, are all retained in Phantom X, and its art style and general tone are especially consistent with the original Persona 5.

The similarities between Persona 5: The Phantom X and other entries in the series include a romance system: players can woo a handful of NPCs via the game’s social-sim features. These relationships are held with Social Link characters, meaning that spending time with them can offer material in-game rewards as well as unique narrative content. But beyond these broad-strokes parallels, the romance systems of P5X and, say, Persona 3 Reload are actually markedly different, and not always for the better. By that same token, though, P5X‘s live-service gacha elements could actually make its romance sandbox among the best in the franchise, or at least the most unpredictable.

If Persona 5: The Phantom X Inspires One Change for Persona 6, It Should Be This

Persona 5: The Phantom X might fall short of other Persona games in some ways, but it has at least one feature that should bleed into Persona 6.

How Persona 5: The Phantom X’s Romance Systems Differ, for Better and Worse

Persona 5: The Phantom X’s Romantic Relationships Are Determined by ‘Synergy Rank’

In a nutshell, Persona 5: The Phantom X‘s social-sim features, and romance subplots by extension, are colored by its gacha mechanics. For one thing, while there are only ten Social Link levels in other Persona games, there can be as many as twenty levels (called Synergy Ranks) per character in The Phantom X. This makes the process of achieving a desired romantic relationship a bit more time-consuming and grind-heavy, which makes sense given P5X‘s broader gameplay loop.

In that same vein, players will earn valuable in-game resources, including different forms of in-game currency, upon increasing their Synergy Rank with a given NPC. This may help explain why there are so many Synergy Ranks in P5X: the game needs to offer material rewards to encourage players to engage with its gacha mechanics. The combination of grind-heavy social sim elements and the often sterile exchange of currency for quality time can make Persona 5: The Phantom X‘s romance plots a bit underwhelming compared to other entries in the series, but there’s a silver lining to this distinct element of its design.

As a Live-Service, Persona 5: The Phantom X Could Get More Romance Options and Features Down the Road

Currently, there are only three romance options in Persona 5: The Phantom X:

Motoha Arai
Tomoko Noge
Yaoling Li

This is a rather trim list compared to a game like Persona 5 Royal, which has a total of 10 different romance paths to follow. Additionally, the current release version of Persona 5: The Phantom X lacks a Harem Route, which is a distinct storyline that involves dating multiple characters at once. However, the Harem Route is available on the game’s early access servers, so there’s a chance that it will be added to the global release version of P5X as well.

On that note, there are a number of ways that Persona 5: The Phantom X‘s romance systems could improve over time. Since it’s a GaaS title, it will presumably continue to be supported for years to come, and if its playerbase remains healthy, it’s only reasonable for Atlus and Perfect World to flesh out its selection of romance options, either by giving previously non-romanceable characters romance subplots, or by adding completely new romanceable NPCs to the game. Persona 5: The Phantom X‘s story isn’t technically finished, so the conclusions of these various love stories are to be determined as well.