Persona 5: The Phantom X Breaks the Franchise's Formula with a Series-First

Persona 5: The Phantom X is doing something the series has never done before in introducing an elderly Persona user. The new character will be arriving in a future update to Persona 5: The Phantom X alongside the introduction of Makoto Nijima, better known as the Phantom Thief Queen from Persona 5.

The newest entry to the Persona franchise has been experiencing a rough spot recently, with Persona 5: The Phantom X being review-bombed by angry players. While turning it into a gacha-infused game didn’t sit right with some players before it was released, the issue fans have been up in arms about revolves around the rewards in the global version of the game being unequal with those of the original Chinese version.

Now, Persona 5: The Phantom X is breaking a tradition for the franchise by introducing a Persona user that’s 75 years old. Prior to this, there were no Persona users over the age of 44, with the 44-year-old Persona user also notably being added to the series in this game. Now, the game is gearing up to introduce Chizuko “Vino” Nagao, a Phantom Idol who uses the Persona Ampelos. She’s classified as a Saboteur, uses Nuclear attacks, and is a four-star, so players may have an easier time pulling her when she’s added to the game. She’ll arrive along with Queen, who returns with Johanna as her Persona. Queen will be an Assassin-type who also does Nuclear damage, and will be a five-star like her fellow Phantom Thieves from Persona 5.

Does an Elderly Persona User Make Sense?

Typically, Persona users tend to be young, with most having been in their teens and 20s over the course of the series. Prior to the release of The Phantom X, Zenkichi Hasegawa from Persona 5 Strikers was the eldest known Persona user, but as he’s in his 40s, he’s now been left in the dust by Vino. The notion of running around a Palace with an elderly person may not seem to be particularly realistic, even in a game revolving around changing hearts in a shared cognition Metaverse. However, her Phantom Idol status helps alleviate that concern.

Phantom Idols are essentially cognitive beings created from Wonder’s cognition, based on people he’s encountered. Their real-life counterparts don’t have any knowledge or awareness of their Metaverse selves, and they can also appear a lot younger in the Metaverse than they do in real life, like with 44-year-old housewife Kayo Tomiyama appearing as the youthful gyaru Okyann in the Metaverse.

Vino and Queen will be revealed in more detail during Persona 5: The Phantom X‘s upcoming livestream. The stream will cover the upcoming 1.3 update and these new characters on August 3, at 5 am PT.