Those who possess the wild card are often symbolized by multiple masks.
"It is like the number zero... empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself."
In the Persona series, the Wild Card (ワイルドカード, Wairudo Kaado)? is the ability to form a contract allowing one to access and summon multiple Personas and switch between them in battle, and the ability to change bonds into strength. The Wild Card is most closely related to the Fool Arcana, with its Tarot numeral being zero (0); however, stagnant Wild Cards can be associated with other Arcanas. The term is also associated with the capabilities of Fusion Spells, where multiple Personas are summoned at the same time in order to execute a powerful attack.
Appearances
- Persona 3 / FES / Portable
- Persona Mobile Online
- Persona 4 / Golden
- Persona 4 Arena / Ultimax
- Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
- Persona 5 / Royal
- Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
- Persona 5 Strikers
Known Wild Card Users
- Protagonist / Female protagonist (Persona 3: The Journey)
- Aigis (Persona 3: The Answer; circumstances prevented her from fully taking advantage of it)
- Tarou (Persona Mobile Online)
- Yu Narukami (Persona 4)
- Sho Minazuki (Persona 4 Arena Ultimax; rejected the contract)
- Protagonist (Persona 5)
- Goro Akechi (Persona 5; stagnant)
Profile
Persona 1 and 2
The Wild Card was never mentioned prior to Persona 3, but in Megami Ibunroku Persona, Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, all playable characters were able to switch Personas in combat and had access to the Velvet Room. All playable characters in the Persona 2 games are also able to use the Fusion Spell system, which requires two or more characters with the appropriate Personas to execute.
Persona 3/Fes/Portable
"Only those who have signed the contract can enter this place."
The protagonist (or the female protagonist should that route be chosen) is the only character in Persona 3 to possess the Wild Card. While he has never shown to have a direct interaction with Philemon, he is visited by him under the guise of a blue butterfly.[1] The protagonist is also visited by a child that is not visible to others, who prompts him to sign a contract, which is later revealed to be the source behind the protagonist's Wild Card ability. Having signed the contract, the protagonist is granted access to the Velvet Room and thus is allowed to fuse and create new Personas.
The protagonist's Wild Card ability appears to be significantly superior to that of all other known users. Unlike prior users, he is compatible with every Arcana present in the game. He has no highly-compatible Personas, as any Persona of any Arcana he uses do average performance (no more/less SP cost or faster/slower Level Up). This is in contrast with Persona and Persona 2 characters who each of uses Personas more or less effectively (or even, cannot use) based on their Arcana compatibility. Furthermore, he is also the only known Persona user capable of using Fusion Spells on his own, without the assistance of others.
In events of Persona 3, it is later revealed that the reason behind the protagonist's superior Wild Card ability is tied to his past. During his childhood, Death was sealed within his body, in which Death's powers are eventually imbued to the protagonist, amplifying his talents in summoning Personas, and thus his Wild Card as well, though the protagonist was exceptionally talented to begin with.
The Answer
In the playable epilogue of Persona 3 FES titled The Answer, Aigis is the only character to gain the ability of the Wild Card. Like the protagonist before her, she was approached by a blue butterfly before being allowed into the Velvet Room.
Similar to the protagonist before her, Aigis is also compatible with all Arcanas in the game. However, unlike the protagonist, her Wild Card is not boosted by Death's powers, and as such, she does not gain the ability to use Fusion Spells. While she is capable of taking advantage of Social Link bonuses, she does not have access to Social Links due to the circumstances she awakened to her Wild Card in.
Persona Mobile Online
The Protagonist, Tarou, possesses the wild card.
Persona 4/Golden
Protagonist's Wild Card, as seen when first using a Persona.
The protagonist of Persona 4 stands unique in contrast to the characters in the previous installments, as he was automatically welcomed to the Velvet Room, where Igor tells him that while he does not have a "contract" yet, he will enter into a "contract" of sorts in the near future and return. The protagonist was not shown to have any encounter with Philemon nor the butterfly prior to his appearance in the Velvet Room (save points appear as the butterfly, but only appear afterwards). It is hinted that when Izanami gave him the power to enter the Midnight Channel, she inadvertently awakened his Wild Card ability, but that does not explain how he was able to enter the Velvet Room without it.
The protagonist of Persona 4 also has access to all of the Arcanas in the game. His skills with the Wild Card seem to match that of Aigis, his predecessor, rather than that of the protagonists of Persona 3, because like her, he also has access to most Arcanas without any particular preferences, he is also unable to use Fusion Spells on his own.
Persona 4 Arena/Ultimax
"Some have had the talent of turning bonds into great strength by forming a contract through intense desire... We residents of the Velvet Room refer to this talent as the 'wild card', and it has at times changed the course of history."
The Wild Card is an important story element in Elizabeth's story mode, and a minor story element to its current wielders, Aigis and Yu, though they do not use it in the game. Much of her story is centered on her understanding the true nature of the Wild Card, through challenging its last known wielders, Aigis and Yu, in battle. Despite their inability to defeat Elizabeth, they manage to succeed in helping her understand the full potential of the Wild Card, enabling her to receive the Fool Arcana.
Yu and Aigis are mostly unable to change Personas during battles and they are only able to do so when they successfully launch their Instant Kills, where Izanagi and Athena will change to Izanagi-no-Okami and Palladion respectively in their Instant Kill animations.
Sho Minazuki turned down the contract at some point before the events of the games.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
"The Fool is the number zero... It is the Arcana that represents beginnings, and infinite possibilities. Just like the card, my guest can wield infinite personas. We call that ability the power of the wild card."
In Persona Q, the true power of the Wild Card gets sealed off from both the P3 and P4 heroes. Margaret explains that the two groups are trapped within a finite plane of existence, which limits the Wild Card's representation of infinite possibilities. While all playable characters originating from Persona 3 and Persona 4 are unable to change their main Personas, including the leaders, they all have the ability to equip a second, Sub-Persona. Margaret and Elizabeth learn by using the Tarot that the ability to equip the Sub Personas is due to the blessings of the Fool, showing its blessing upon them all due to multiple users of the card being together.
Persona 5 / Royal
The protagonist of Persona 5 is able to utilize the power of the Wild Card along with the Metaverse Navigator by Yaldabaoth. Goro Akechi was given the same power as well, but was only shown to be able to use two Personas, both of the Justice Arcana: Robin Hood and Loki. Futaba Sakura speculates that Akechi was only able to awaken to two Personas (one that represented his lies and one that represented his hate) because he didn't trust anyone enough to form genuine human bonds, implying that a person needs to be connected to others in order to make full use out of the Wild Card ability. It is later revealed that the reason Yaldabaoth granted them both the wild card was to pit them against each other as part of a test for humanity. However, Yaldabaoth had rigged the test from the start, posing as Igor to hamper the protagonist's progress.
During the game's climax, the protagonist is empowered by the faith of the citizens of Tokyo, enabling him to summon Satanael. The idea of the faith strengthening the protagonist is similar to Confidants, though whether or not this was thanks to the wild card is unclear.
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
In Persona Q2, the P3, P3P, P4 and P5 heroes find their power of the Wild Card has been altered, which limits the Wild Card's representation of infinite possibilities. While all playable characters originating from all four games are unable to change their main Personas, including the field leaders, they all have the ability to equip a second, Sub-Persona.
While facing off against Enlil, the four users of the Wild Card combine their attacks into one single combo, enabling them to effectively defeat the enemy.
Persona 5 Strikers
As a direct sequel to Persona 5, the protagonist still possesses ability of the Wild Card.
Trivia
- Igor's assistants (Elizabeth, Theodore, Margaret and Lavenza) have been shown to freely use multiple Personas.
- Sho Minazuki is the only known case of a person rejecting a contract, though Igor states that he will eventually return to sign it.
References
