As a whole, the Persona franchise is made up of disconnected games. Anyone interested in Persona can pick the series up with just about any core entry without missing out on any kind of overarching plot or recurring characters. Igor and the Velvet Room are perhaps the only person and place that run through the entire Persona franchise; they'll almost certainly return in Persona 6. However, even though the Persona games aren't tied together by a single narrative, they still share a ton of important lore. Some central concepts established by the earliest Persona games continue to impact the franchise, including the character of Philemon.

Most recent Persona fans probably have no idea who Philemon is, but without him, there wouldn't be a Persona series. That's because Philemon is the being who originally gave humans the power to access Personas. In other words, although he's not necessarily responsible for all of Persona's many supernatural worlds, he could be considered the creator of the Persona universe by helping bridge the gap between the human world and the metaphysical world. Philemon is such an impactful but mysterious character that it only seems right that he makes a return to the franchise. Persona 6 would be a perfect opportunity to explore Philemon in more depth.

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Philemon's History in Persona

Persona 2 Innocent Sin ps1 cover

Philemon had a presence in Persona from the very beginning. He appears in the opening scenes of Revelations: Persona, briefly describing himself as a being that lives in the spiritual realm of mortal souls before giving the protagonist the power to use a Persona. Philemon plays a more direct role in the Persona 2 duology, occasionally assisting the player directly and appearing as an extremely challening boss battle in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. In spite of his frequent appearances in the games, he mostly plays the role of a cosmic observer with a benevolent attitude toward humanity, watching rather than interfering directly.

Persona 3 changed the franchise in a lot of ways, including through its decision to step away from deities, demons, and other metaphysical beings a little to put a greater emphasis on the real world. That could be why Philemon didn't play a direct role in Persona 3, and why he hasn't made an obvious appearance in the franchise since the Persona 2 duology. However, Philemon is still out there. He often manifests himself as a blue butterfly, an animal that makes noteworthy appearances in Persona 3, 4, and 5 in various forms, suggesting Philemon is still out there, watching over every Persona user.

Although Philemon doesn't appear much anymore, there's compelling evidence that he still affects the events of the series. Aside from supposedly giving humans their Personas, Philemon is responsible for the Velvet Room and its keeper, Igor. In the first Persona games, Igor directly described himself as a servant of Philemon, and in an epilogue chapter later added to Persona 3 called The Answer, Igor mentions that he was a doll before Philemon brought him to life. Igor and the Velvet Room's attendants may not reference Philemon directly these days, but their continued presence strongly suggest that Philemon is still involved.

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Why Persona 6 Could Be Philemon's Moment

Cutscene from Persona 5 showing Igor in the Velvet Room

Some Persona fans want to see Philemon return to the franchise and hoped he'd play a role in Persona 5. Although Persona 5 had its fair share of supernatural entities, Philemon never appeared directly. A shining blue butterfly did make appearances when Lavenza contacted Joker from the cognitive world, and another butterfly briefly guided Joker through a dreamscape of Shujin Academy in Persona 5 Royal's third semester, although both of those butterflies could've simply been Lavenza at her weakest. Philemon may not have cropped up in Persona 5, but that could be because Persona 5 was setting up for Philemon's return in Persona 6.

For one thing, Igor plays a major role in Persona 5's plot, rather than being a helpful observer with little connection to the story. Yaldabaoth, a godlike being created from humanity's slothfulness, usurped the Velvet Room and imprisoned Igor for at least a year. That direct attack on the Velvet Room served as a compelling plot twist for Persona 5, but it might mean more for Persona's greater mythos. In Persona 6, Philemon might pop back up in his humanoid form out of concern for his servant Igor, who suffered greatly at the hands of Yaldabaouth. Philemon could have a frequent presence in the Velvet Room, protecting Igor and offering further help to Persona 6's protagonist.

Persona 5 Royal might have its own teaser for Philemon's return as well. Royal introduced a new denizen of the Metaverse in the form of Jose, an odd young boy on a mission to study and understand humans. The game never completely clarifies why exactly Jose is doing this, but anyone who completes Jose's secret boss battle in Persona 5 Royal's third semester will hear that Jose has a master, and he reminds the Phantom Thieves that there's more beings observing humanity than just Yaldabaoth. That seems like a clear reference to Philemon, and probably to his nemesis Nyarlathotep too. If Philemon has a new servant interacting with humanity, it could be a sign that Philemon himself wants to play a more active role in humanity's fate again.

Philemon's Potential in Persona 6

Philemon in the Persona series

Philemon would be a fantastic character to revive for Persona 6. There's so many unanswered questions about how the Persona world works and just how many beings are out there observing humanity, and Philemon would be the perfect guide through the answers to those questions. Even if Persona 6 wants to stay fairly rooted in reality, rather than opting for the more Shin Megami Tensei style aesthetic of the first three Persona games, Philemon would be a pretty grounded and approachable character who can help examine the Persona cosmos. Now that Persona 5 has expanded the fanbase, Persona 6 would be a timely game to think more deeply about how the Persona world works.

Of course, it's impossible to say for sure if Atlus has Philemon on its mind right now. It may have much simpler or more wholly new plans for Persona 6 in mind. Even so, Atlus must be aware of how dear Philemon is to a lot of longtime Persona fans and how unique he still is, in spite of all the cosmic beings that Persona games have introduced since the beginning. His role as the creator of Personas and the true master of the Velvet Room is impossible to match. Philemon still has so much to give to the Persona games, and hopefully Persona 6 will give him his due diligence.

Persona 6 is in development.

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