i had the metaphor-themed drinks from kung fu tea the other day

Ren and Futaba as the Kagamines : ]

this one is a repost from my twitter actually... it's a little old but i might be reposting a few things while i'm working on new artworks!

Phantom Scapegoat: Why P5X Deserves A Chance

Whilst many often shake their head at the concept of a 'gacha' game, it wasn't a surprise to see the Persona series take a shot at such a game. Persona 5: The Phantom X, or just P5X, was released fully in April within multiple regions of Asia and is planned for both a Japanese & Global releases within the future. Aiming to tell a brand new story within the Persona 5 universe, P5X takes place in a parallel timeline where new protagonist, Wonder, leads in the main role with a new group of Phantom Thieves.

As of writing, the game is about to release its 2.3.3 update, which will include an expansion of the side story 'Cross Fate', which covers the original Persona 5 palaces with both the new and old cast, yet it's clear that this story will aim to tie into the main story in one way or another through the developing concept of parallel worlds and timelines. The one thing we have to be aware of is that whilst the main developers are Black Wing Studios, a subsidiary of Perfect World Games, it was recently confirmed in an interview that ATLUS themselves are still helping to construct the narrative and the world of P5X.

My only question is... where was this writing all over the original Persona 5?

It's quite insane that whilst we are only nearing the end of the third palace, P5X takes the world we know of P5 and makes it insanely intriguing. We went from the third arc being centred around a generic 'yakuza' goon to focusing on a struggle for power between teachers that aims to uncover a bigger conspiracy deep within the school that Wonder and some of the other characters attend. Even the second arc, whilst initially presenting itself as a parallel of the Madarame Arc, I think it does it better.

Unfortunately, many on the internet aren't exactly too fond of such a game. It's understandable. A lot of mainstream gacha games such as Genshin Impact are known for their predatory practices in terms of pull-rates, the fear of missing out, etc. Yet, P5X doesn't fall into this pattern, nor does it show itself as a game not willing to listen to its community. As someone who has barely spent a dime, getting all the featured characters and still having currency to spare is a very good thing. The game cares about you and at times will throw summoning tickets and various other items at you either for nothing or for a simple task. They've even recently brought back Tycoon from Persona 5 Royal and taken it online, which has been brilliant.

Harkening back to the earlier point, I believe that a community like the Persona one unfortunately exposed an ugly side of itself with the rising popularity of P5X. The amount of times I see that it's a 'china game' or the reason they won't touch it is because it's 'chinese' feels rather horrible. I think it's perfectly fine to dislike gacha mechanics, but at no point does Joker emerge from the phone, point a gun to your head and force you to enter your credit card details. Many content creators such as JohneAwesome were skeptical of the game, but after playing it? He's now a huge fan! Who would've thought that playing a game like this would change your opinion? The game isn't perfect and many, like myself, have a fair few issues with the game, especially with how it can be better. Yet, I think it's better to try the game for yourself than make it out to be a devil walking.

With collabs with games like P3 and P4 basically confirmed, along with their potential involvement in the main story, P5X has an opportunity to be one of the grandest stories in the entire series and I truly hope it rises to the challenge.

sleepover conversations