I’ve been a fan of the Phantom Thieves since their debut way back in 2017, so I was initially a bit concerned when I heard that Persona 5 Royal would be adding a new member to the team. To be honest, this same concern was amplified even further when I learned that Persona 5 Strikers would be doing the same. Sure, Royal’s new faces won me over in the end, but even more Phantom Thieves? P-Studio did well to pull off Kasumi’s introduction in Royal, but inducting yet another member into Joker’s iconic crew sounded like a pretty huge undertaking.
I am pleased to report that Persona 5 Strikers’ new Phantom Thief, Sophia, is amazing. After playing the preview build for about ten hours, I’ve concluded that every single scene she participates in is a genuine joy to play through. I think she might have already sneakily managed to become one of my favourite characters out of the lot - she’s brilliant.
There are minor spoilers about meeting Sophia in Persona 5 Strikers below.
Your first encounter with Sophia in Persona 5 Strikers occurs shortly after entering Alice Hiiragi’s Jail near the beginning of the game. Alice, irritated by the fact that she is incapable of controlling the Phantom Thieves in the Metaverse, has her guards throw Joker, Ryuji, and Morgana in the sewers beneath her castle. While attempting to find a way out, Joker encounters a large, mysterious box. After examining it closer, it opens up and Sophia appears. “I’m Sophia,” she says. “Humanity’s companion.”
Sophia explains that she’s somehow lost all of her memories, but she’s more than happy to help the crew escape the sewers. After Joker, Ryuji, and Morgana beat up some shadows to defend her, Sophia goes into some weird attack mode and annihilates an entire group of enemies in one fell swoop. She then escorts them to a portal and warns them that things will feel “all WOWOWOWOW” for a bit, but then everything will go back to normal. At this point I was fascinated by, confused about, and completely sold on Sophia. Although not officially inducted yet, she had already become one of the Phantom Thieves in my eyes.
When she gets back to the real world, it’s revealed that Sophia is actually an AI. She’s able to pop in and out of conversations by manifesting her consciousness on Joker’s phone, but she’s only able to hold a physical form in the Metaverse. Regardless, she participates in pretty much every major conversation the Phantom Thieves have, her personality constantly flitting between an innocent desire to learn more about humanity and regular attempts to show what she’s already picked up. A couple of hours in, she’s telling police officers to “get a hold of” themselves and calling them “Gramps.”
This is my favourite line of hers so far. After Joker introduces himself, Sophia tries her best to deduce what Ryuji and Morgana’s names are.
She also describes everything with strange noises. That’s something I personally do in real life, so naturally I’m glad to see somebody else committing to “SHOWOWOW” when words fail us. On top of that, I reckon I’m going to adopt the way she says “Praise accepted” every time she gets a compliment into my own vocabulary.
Sophia is just a heartwarming character all around. Her innocence and willingness to learn combine in such a way that she provides a unique insight into some of the more nuanced emotions and beats of the story, while her sprightly singing and sharp wit provide a welcome respite to some of the more difficult parts of this world. I’ve yet to see a single scene with her that I’ve been anything less than delighted with, and I can’t wait to get to know the most recent addition to the Phantom Thieves throughout the rest of what’s shaping up to be yet another remarkable story.