Persona 5 is easily one of the most beloved entries in the long-running Persona franchise. With two mainline games (Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal), three spin-offs, and now a free-to-play gacha title, Persona 5: The Phantom X has officially arrived. Originally released only in China, it has finally made its way to America. As a fan of Persona 5, I was curious—and cautious—about how this mobile entry would hold up. Would this be the next big hit or just another forgettable side story? Here’s my review of Persona 5: The Phantom X for mobile!

Gameplay

Surprisingly, Persona 5: The Phantom X plays a lot like the original Persona 5, just simplified for mobile. You control Wonder (not Joker) alongside his owl companion Lufel, who acts as this game’s version of Morgana. Early on, you enter Mementos, unlock your Persona powers, and the story kicks off from there.

The combat remains familiar: exploit enemy weaknesses, earn Baton Passes, and unleash All-Out Attacks. You’ll explore Palaces, negotiate with Shadows, fuse Personas, and level up through combat or story events. At its core, it feels like Persona 5—and that’s a good thing.

However, the gacha elements heavily impact the gameplay in ways that undermine the core Persona experience:

• Your team is largely dictated by RNG. Instead of story-driven character recruitment, you can unlock most of your party in early rolls. This removes the emotional weight of assembling your team.
• Classic Persona 5 characters (Joker, Ann, Morgana, etc.) are available via gacha pulls, making team composition feel random and disjointed.
• The Persona system itself feels watered down. While fusion, negotiation, and leveling still exist, you’ll often have overpowered Personas far too early just by rolling for them. Some Personas won’t even obey unless Wonder’s level matches.
• Menus are overwhelming. There are far too many systems—banners, events, achievements, multiple party screens—and navigating them on mobile is tedious. It kills the immersive Persona vibe.

As a gacha game, Persona 5: The Phantom X is serviceable. But as a Persona game, the systems feel invasive, clunky, and break the charm that made the mainline titles special.

Graphics

Visually, Persona 5: The Phantom X is gorgeous for a mobile game. The character models, battle sequences, and anime cutscenes are all crisp and stylish. While it doesn’t reach the polish of Persona 5 Royal on console, it still manages to impress—especially on newer phones. The overall design stays true to the bold, colorful aesthetic the franchise is known for.

Sound

The soundtrack is one of the best parts of Persona 5: The Phantom X. With remixed tracks from Persona 5 alongside new original songs, the game’s music is consistently excellent. The opening theme is an absolute banger that I never once skipped.

There’s no English voice acting as of this review, but the Japanese dub is solid and fits the game well. For fans of the series, the familiar sounds and music help maintain that Persona atmosphere, even if the gameplay stumbles.

Story

The narrative in Persona 5: The Phantom X is… messy. You control Nagisa Kamishiro (default name) who dreams of Joker, then quickly finds himself thrust into a new Metaverse where people’s desires are being stolen, causing them to fall into despair. Your goal is to form a new band of Phantom Thieves, steal back these lost desires, and stop the villainous forces at play.

While the premise has potential, the story tries far too hard to replicate Persona 5. It uses the same concepts—Palaces, Mementos, Phantom Thieves—without creating enough of its own identity. The result is a game that feels like an awkward fanfic sequel rather than a worthy continuation or spin-off.

Some character backstories and individual moments are well-written, but as a whole, the plot lacks the charm, humor, and depth of the original.

Mobile vs. Steam

I also tried Persona 5: The Phantom X on Steam, and it is undeniably the better experience. The larger screen, controller support, and improved menu navigation make it feel much closer to the Persona console games. If you’re interested in trying it, I’d highly recommend the Steam version over mobile—though be warned, it requires over 100 GB of storage.

Overall Impression

I’m still playing Persona 5: The Phantom X—mainly because I’m a fan of the franchise—but I can’t say I love it. As a gacha game, it’s fine. As a Persona game, it’s unnecessary and fails to capture the magic of the original titles. If you dislike gacha games or aren’t invested in the Persona 5 universe, you can safely skip this one.

Conclusion

Persona 5: The Phantom X is easily the most unnecessary entry in the Persona 5 universe. While I was glad to see it finally released outside Asia, I couldn’t help but wonder: did we really need this? Fellow Persona fans I’ve spoken to seem to agree—the excitement faded fast. Unless you’re a die-hard fan or love mobile gacha games, you’re better off waiting for Persona 4: Revival or Persona 6. Persona 5: The Phantom X isn’t essential, and that’s the truth.

ーAaron