Persona 5 Royalhas no shortage of epic boss battles. Over the course of the game, the Phantom Thieves see their Shadow adversaries take on all kinds of monstrous forms, but they never back down from the challenge. While they’re all memorable, some fights have a bigger scale than others. Shadow Kamoshida may loom over the Phantom Thieves, but he’s nothing compared to the late game twist antagonist Yaldabaoth, who’s the size of a skyscraper. Yaldabaoth isn’t the only huge boss in the game, though; players fight a colossal cognitive Wakaba inFutaba’s Palace, long before they discover the truth behind Mementos.
Cognitive Wakaba is perhaps one ofPersona 5’s most personal boss battles, given that she’s the complicated product of Futaba’s distorted grief and guilt. She’s also a major escalation in boss design, threatening to destroy the pyramid around the player. Bosses after her remain imposing, but they aren’t quite as vast as Wakaba until the final chapter of bothPersona 5andPersona 5Royal, so it’s interesting that Atlus established this boss scale in advance. Wakaba’s fight is also a notably character-driven battle, featuring significant moments for Futaba and the rest of the Phantom Thieves that define the course of the story beat – much like the endgame.
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The Futaba Palace’s Boss Battle Sets Precedents for Size and Meaning
Personagames have plenty of significant midgame bosses, but not all of them are the size of a building. That makes Wakaba’s scale a little unique in the grand scheme of the IP, especially considering the bosses that come after her.Shadow Okumuraand Shadow Sae are some of the smallest bosses inPersona 5 Royal, despite coming off the heels of Wakaba. Rather than being part of a linear progression in boss scale, Cognitive Wakaba’s size helps make the halfway point of the game memorable while hinting that gigantic enemies are on the table for later in the game.
Wakaba’s boss battle is also identified by its insurmountable odds. At first, the Phantom Thieves see no way that they could defeat Wakaba, but once Futaba joins the fray, she gives the team the firepower necessary to stop her. Similarly, Yaldabaoth nearly defeats the protagonists before the people of Tokyo give the Phantom Thieves their support, and whenTakuto Marukifuses with Adam Kadmon, he’s unstoppable until Futaba identifies his weakness. Wakaba joinsPersona 5 Royal’s final bosses as one of the few times that the Phantom Thieves are truly pushed to the brink.
Perhaps more importantly, though, the Wakaba fight emphasizes mid-fight character interactions and cutscenes. MostPersona 5bossesinvolve banter with the boss or party dialogue explaining a fight gimmick, but Wakaba’s boss battle pauses so that Futaba can awaken to her Persona. For the rest of the fight, Wakaba also tries to question Futaba’s newfound beliefs. This mid-fight effort to highlight character development is similar to dialogue in Maruki’s boss battle, where he begs the Phantom Thieves to surrender, but thePersonaprotagonists refuse to sacrifice their personal growth. Most other bosses showcase character moments before and after the battle; these baked-in character moments make Wakaba and the final bosses all the more significant.
Aside from giving attention to individual growth, both the Wakaba fight and the final bosses take the time to point out the strength of the Phantom Thieves. Many otherPersona 5boss battles lean more on an individual character’s backstory and relationship with the villain, so they don’t all emphasize the team to the same extent. After Futaba’s awakening, the cutscene ends with a snapshot of all the Phantom Thieves going into battle together, which is great for highlighting the team’s increasing size, skill, and confidence. Similarly, Yaldabaoth’s fight is defined by the team’s tenacity, and Adam Kadmon’s battle ends withthe Phantom Thievesholding Maruki back together so that Joker can defeat him. All in all, Wakaba’s fight resembles the final bosses in a fair few ways that make it seem important for setting the tone of the game’s second half.
Persona 5 Royalis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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