Persona 5X Calls Split-Pot Hotpot 'Sichuan Romance' — Sichuan Players Lose It: 'That's Heresy!'

Ever heard of a game tripping over a pot of hotpot broth? Persona 5: The Phantom X (P5X) dropped the line "split-pot hotpot is the romance of Sichuan people" — and Sichuanese players absolutely lost it. In their eyes, split-pot (yuanyang guo) is nothing short of culinary heresy. The comment section instantly turned into a crash course in hotpot culture.

The controversy centers on an in-game character story that romanticizes yuanyang hotpot — a pot divided into spicy and plain broth. But anyone familiar with Sichuan/Chongqing hotpot culture knows the deal: for a real Sichuanese, there's only one proper way to do hotpot — full mala (numbing-spicy) red broth. Split pot? That's for kids and people who can't handle spice. "Romance" doesn't even enter the equation.

Sichuanese commenters showed up in force to set the record straight. One player quoted their Sichuan friends directly: "They all think split-pot is idiotic. If you truly love her, take her for sauerkraut fish hotpot or mushroom broth hotpot instead." This commenter went on to explain the fatal flaw of split-pot: cross-contamination. "A few chopstick-dips later, the white broth turns yellow, then red. Eventually you end up with 'slightly spicy' and 'extremely spicy' as your only two options. And the plain side barely tastes like anything." So if you're really willing to compromise, just switch formats entirely.

Another commenter claiming Sichuan heritage added: "Normally our split pot is red broth + mushroom broth, but it definitely cross-contaminates, and plenty of ingredients can't go on the plain side — like mala beef, for example. If someone tolerates yuanyang for you, that's true love right there." The takeaway? Split pot isn't romance — it's endurance.

One player delivered a killer analogy: "When a Lanzhou person is willing to admit that beef noodles are just 'ramen,' THAT'S true love." Another nailed it with: "Can't imagine how disappointed you'd have to be in someone to say 'fine, split pot it is.'" They also noted that yuanyang is actually pretty rare in Sichuan/Chongqing — baby pot (zimu guo, a small central divider) is already the extreme compromise.

Some players floated a theory: "The original script probably said 'mala hotpot,' but they changed it to split pot to avoid triggering people." Others pointed out this character wasn't in the previous beta test, so nobody caught it before. A minority tried to defend the line: "It's expressing that the girl is willing to accept split pot to take care of you — that could count as romance." But most players weren't buying it — in Sichuan culture, you can eat plain food, but you don't ask hotpot to come with a plain option.

But one commenter delivered the ultimate reframe: "It's because SHE's the one eating split pot for YOU, not the other way around — she's the one compromising, not you." Suddenly it almost sounds romantic? But Sichuanese players probably still aren't convinced — when it comes to hotpot, compromise itself is a form of suffering.