Phantom X’s Phantom Idols Put the Ball in Persona 6’s Court

Persona 5: The Phantom X‘s Phantom Idols are a new take on party members, and they could open the door to a new dynamic in Persona 6. Being a spin-off means that Persona 5: The Phantom X will inevitably do a lot of things its own way. That even extended to the way that it lets players build their party, which has rarely changed throughout the years. However, the Phantom Idols also offer another opportunity that has been waiting in the wings for years. Persona 6 may be able to take this freshly presented opportunity and run with it.

With Persona 5: The Phantom X‘s English release approaching, it’s a good time for players to know what to expect. Impressively, The Phantom X manages to capture a lot of the Persona formula in a mobile game package, albeit in a modified form. It has its own version of Persona‘s battle system, as well as an altered version of Social Links. At the same time, there are some major changes, such as the game no longer running on a strict calendar, likely due to the formula of being a mobile gacha game. The Phantom X is unique, but should still be accessible for Persona fans, and those who do pick up the game may see the appeal in Persona 6 using it as inspiration for its protagonists.

Persona 5: The Phantom X Could Be Fertile Ground to Plant the Seeds for Remakes

Atlus’ mobile spinoff may be laying quiet groundwork for something bigger, especially for long-time fans of the Persona series.

Persona 5: The Phantom X Could Be the First Step Towards More Adult Protagonists in Persona Games

The Phantom X’s Phantom Idols Are Not Full Party Members

One interesting feature is The Phantom X‘s cognitive manifestations, also known as Phantom Idols. These are characters who fight alongside the protagonist in battle. However, unlike typical Persona party members, these are not the characters in question. Rather, they are cognitive recreations of certain people that Wonder has met, reimagined as Persona users. One thing worth mentioning is that Phantom Idols do not consist solely of other students. There are several adults among their ranks, such as Okyann, Messa, and Vino. While Phantom Idols may not be proper party members, this departure from the norm could indicate something for Persona‘s future parties.

Persona Parties Typically Do Not Include Adult Persona Users

These Phantom Idols could provide an opportunity for Persona 6‘s eventual party to also include some older characters. After three straight games of teams entirely consisting of students and animal companions, a few adult party members could represent a change of pace. Part of it would be for the sake of variety and shaking up the formula of the series. At the same time, there are some potential stories that adult characters can tell that the usual high school protagonists may not be able to. The Phantom X took one step in that direction, but Persona 6 has the chance to go all in.

Persona 5 Strikers featured an adult party member in Zenkichi, but he only appeared in that spin-off, not a mainline game.

Persona 2 Already Set the Precedent For Adult Party Members

There’s already precedent for adult Persona users in the series. Persona 2 hasn’t seen a remake, so many fans may not be aware of it, but that game’s party featured several adult Persona users, such as Ulala, Baofu, and Katsuya. That already establishes a precedent for adding some older characters to the player’s party. However, the series got a significant rework after Persona 3, and that game ended up setting the standard for the rest of the series to follow. That includes parties only consisting of students and animal mascots. Persona 6 could be the game that finally breaks that long-running trend.

Persona 5: The Phantom X gave players a peek at what could be a future party dynamic. The Phantom X could change Persona‘s future even though it’s a spin-off. While there are several ways that it could do so, a look at the Phantom Idols could be for the best. The Phantom Idols feature some really cool character designs and ideas that would have been even better served as full party members, so hopefully Persona 6 will pick up where Persona 5: The Phantom X left off and use these concepts fully.