WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS for Persona 5 Royal ahead. Proceed at your own risk.
Summary
Persona 5 Royalhas some of the most memorable bosses in the series, for better or for worse. While many of the antagonists inPersona 5 Royalare well-written and have equally well-designed boss fights, others are remembered for being frustrating or disappointing with little payoff to their arc. The heights these boss fights reach are unmatched within thePersonaseries, but the lows of some of the worst bosses leave a lot to be desired and should serve as a lesson forPersona 6’s boss design.
Compared to the vanillaPersona 5game,Persona 5 Royalchanges up its bossesa bit, even adding a new final boss in the game’s third semester. Some of the changes vastly improved upon the original fights to make them much more manageable, while others seemingly made them harder and more contrived. As such, there are clear distinctions between each of the game’s main story bosses that helps define their place among the best and the worstPersona 5 Royalhas to offer.
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S-Tier
Takuto Maruki– Thefinal boss ofPersona 5 Royalthat is only accessible by unlocking the bonus third semester really lives up to his status. Maruki has one of the most heartbreaking arcs in the game, which leads him to be a very sympathetic villain in the third semester. Capping the game off with an intense, cinematic climax seals his spot as the best boss in the game and a more than worthy addition toPersona 5 Royal.
Masayoshi Samael Shido–Shido is a thorn in the Phantom Thieves’side throughout the entire game, pulling the strings behind the scenes as he makes his way up the political ladder. Finally facing off against this villain is immensely satisfying as his boss fight is not only tough but fair, but features epic music and the sense that justice is finally being served. His battle can be difficult, often pushing players to swap between benched party members, but its unique use of key mechanics makes it a well-rounded bout.
A-Tier
Suguru Asmodeus Kamoshida– While not the most difficult or unique boss fight,Kamoshida is the first bossplayers will face inPersona 5 Royaland this battle does a great job of setting the tone for the rest of the game. The game’s first arc is very intense and Kamoshida is quite the loathsome villain, making defeating him all the more exhilarating. His fight also does a great job of teaching the playerPersona 5 Royal’s boss mechanics early in the game, setting them up for later success.
Goro Akechi–Persona 5 Royalplayers will battle Akechi during the course of their infiltration of Shido’s Palace, and this fight is still quite memorable even though he’s not the primary target of the dungeon. After his betrayal of the Phantom Thieves, Akechi’s true colors are revealed in this fight and his unhinged nature makes for an intimidating slugfest of a battle. This fight can be quite challenging for players caught unprepared, but it ultimately serves as the climax ofGoro Akechi’s complex character arc.
Sae Leviathan Niijima– The fight againstSae inPersona 5 Royalmarks a major turning point in the game, as it precedes the capture of Joker. It also is more personal than other fights given that it forces Makoto to confront her sister and the corruption that has overtaken her. Aside from this story beat, the roulette mechanics featured in the battle make for an interesting twist on the standard gameplay and fit thematically with the rest of Sae’s Palace.
Holy Grail/Yaldabaoth– Thefinal boss of the vanillaPersona 5story is the god of control Yaldabaoth, who also takes the form of the Holy Grail. This fight features an epic confrontation against the true mastermind manipulating the events of the game and forces players to throw everything they’ve got to take down the behemoth and its many limbs. Unfortunately, it is somewhat overshadowed inPersona 5 Royalby the true final boss fight against Maruki.
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B-Tier
Ichiryusai Azazel Madarame– AlthoughPersona 5 Royalgives Madaramea pretty substantial glow-up, his boss fight still remains pretty standard. It is less annoying than in vanillaPersona 5, but thePower Rangers-esque clones he creates with their own distinct elemental affinities doesn’t make for the most interesting or novel boss mechanic.
Cognitive Wakaba Isshiki–Cognitive Wakabais an interesting concept for a boss, given the fact that she is not a villain in the game’s real world, but only a manifestation of Futaba’s trauma in the Metaverse. However, her boss fight isn’t all that interesting and mostly comes down to playing the waiting game between firing ballista bolts at her and biding time until Futaba awakens to her Persona.
Junya Bael Kaneshiro– Kaneshiro could have been a much better boss if he had a greater connection to the Phantom Thieves. Theboss fight against Kaneshirohimself is rather easy, but he will summon his Piggytron to do most of his work for him, which ends up being about as disappointing as Kaneshiro’s character himself. After his Piggytron is destroyed, Kaneshiro will summon a Bodyguard-for-Hire and a Hitman-for-Hire, who can also be annoying because they resist all forms of attack.
C-Tier
Kunikazu Mammon Okumura– Most of the boss fights inPersona 5 Royalare forgettable at worst, butPersona 5 Royal’s Okumurabattle is actively a poorly designed fight. Okumura himself doesn’t do much fighting, instead summoning his robotic underlings to do his dirty work. While this is fitting for his character, these bots get annoying because they will reset if not defeated in two turns, which makes the battle drag on when it is already on a time limit. This all earns Okumura the infamous status among fans as the worst boss in the game.
Persona 5 Royalis available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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