Dungeon-crawling has been a focal point of the Persona franchise ever since its debut, but Persona 5 took this aspect of the series’ trademark gameplay loop to the next level with the introduction of Palaces. In P5 and its subsequent Royal re-release, Palaces are large, hand-crafted areas in which most of the game’s combat sequences take place. Unlike the repetitive, simplistic levels in Persona 3‘s tower of Tartarus or the floor-based dungeons in Persona 4‘s Midnight Channel, Palaces in Persona 5 are fairly complex in terms of level design and aesthetic. Each of these Palaces, which serve as physical manifestations of the antagonists’ psyches in P5, are only accessible as players progress through P5‘s main campaign, since they materialize solely after story-specific events.
Although players can’t visit Palaces whenever they feel like it, they can freely access another location called Mementos. Also known as the incarnation of the Collective Unconcious, Mementos is a series of optional dungeons that can be used as a training ground for Joker and the Phantom Thieves. Mementos’ implementation in P5 was somewhat divisive among fans, but the controversial feature is nonetheless making a return in the upcoming Persona mobile game spin-off Persona 5: The Phantom X. While this version of the dungeon does make some significant changes to its initial rendition in the mainline series, these adjustments may serve as a double-edged sword.
One Major Change to Mementos in Persona 5: The Phantom X Has Some Pros and Cons
Mementos in Persona 5 vs. Mementos in Persona 5: The Phantom X
In Persona 5, Mementos is broken up into multiple different areas, or paths. Each of these regions, save for the Prison of Sloth at the very bottom of Mementos, are procedurally-generated. In other words, no two visits to Mementos will ever be the same, because the layout of most areas in the dungeon will change anytime a player enters it. The only thing that remains consistent in Mementos is the architectural designs and aesthetics of its paths, which get increasingly more difficult as players progress through them. This aspect, combined with its procedurally-generated nature, makes Mementos fall more in line with the constantly-changing Tartarus from Persona 3 rather than the handcrafted Palaces in Persona 5‘s main campaign.
Mementos in Persona 5: The Phantom X doesn’t seem too diffferent from its original P5 incarnation, at first glance. After all, it still sports the black-and-red hallways and railroad tracks that fans have come to know and love. However, a closer inspection will reveal that the locations in Mementos aren’t procedurally-generated; instead, they’re handcrafted. This is why, whenever players enter any given region in the dungeon, their mini-map automatically shows a complete layout of the floor they’re on. This wasn’t the case in the original Persona 5, where the layout of levels in Mementos would only be revealed as players progressed through them.
Mementos Being Handcrafted Instead of Procedurally-Generated is a Double-Edged Sword
Black Wing Game Studio’s decision to make Mementos hand-crafted in Persona 5: The Phantom X has its pros and cons. While handmade level designs do allow for more unique layouts and visually sophisticated areas, exploring the same exact locations over and over again may get dull. This can especially be a problem in a dungeon intended for grinding that players will likely revisit, such as Mementos.
Admittedly, the procedurally-generated floors in Persona 5‘s Mementos can get repetitive very quickly, but at the very least, the changing layouts of each path means that players don’t know what to expect when entering each floor. If the hallways and locations of treasures, enemies, and collectibles in Persona 5 : The Phantom X‘s Mementos are always the same, on the other hand, then they’ll become far more predictable and easy to navigate. As such, it would probably be best for the game to incorporate some sort of randomization in its level layout to keep players on their toes.
