Unlike the other targets of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, Futaba is a young girl who needs their help. So unlike the other Palace bosses inPersona 5 Royal, the enemy isn’t Futaba’s Shadowbut rather the demon her mother has becomewithin her own mind.
This is also an unusual fight because Futaba makes her debut as the team’s support character, and she works differently from the party members Joker can call onto the field. She doesn’t get her full list of abilities until later in the game, but this fight gives players a preview of what she can do to help. As such, this is possibly the least straightforward boss battle in allPersona 5 Royal.
RELATED:Persona 5 Is Getting a Brand New Spin-Off Game
From a Distance
When the fight begins, the Phantom Thieves find themselves on the top of the pyramid facing a Cognitive Wakaba Ishiki in the form of a massive sphinx. As Morgana points out, Wakaba is keeping her distance and thus can’t be targeted by Physical skills or melee attacks. Instead,the party must rely on elemental skillsand Gun attacks, all of which do only a tiny sliver of damage.
During this phase, Wakaba can act twice on each turn and has several skills she can use.
After a couple of rounds, Wakaba will useRapid Ascent, which takes her off the battlefield completely. A random number of turns later, she’ll useSphinx Diveand land on the party, dealing severe Physical damage to everyone (including herself). Players can only Guard or use buff skills until she reappears since even Morgana can’t predict when it’ll happen.
One cheap way to speed this fight up is togive Joker Decarabia and useTetrakarnto reflect the Physical damage of Sphinx Dive onto Wakaba. Physical Ointment is another way to gain this valuable bonus damage.
However, after the first Sphinx Dive, a cutscene will play. It starts with Futaba entering her own Palace and ends with her awakening to her Persona and taking on the support role. This marks the start of the second phase of the battle.
RELATED:Persona 5 Royal Futaba ‘Oracle’ Sakura MegaHouse Lucrea Figure Announced
Up Close and Personal
The second phase starts with another Rapid Ascent, but Futaba proves her valueby shielding the party from her attackso that only Wakaba takes damage. She also gives the party a full HP and SP restore, which is definitely welcome.
Next, Futaba hacks her Palace to give the party a ballista, and Joker can order any party member to crew it. After two turns, the ballista will fire and Wakaba will land on the pyramid. This opens her up to Physical attacks, and since she takes around three to four times as much damage from them players shoulduse the party’s best Physical skillsduring the two rounds players can use them.
Between ballista bolts, Wakaba will sometimes attempt to hit the party withSphinx Swipe, a medium Physical attack that can hit the whole party. However, Futaba will deflect this attack if the player makes the right dialog choices as she’s winding up. This isn’t hard to do, since all the player has to do is disagree with whatever Wakaba says. Still, for players who aren’t sure, here’s what to say:
After two ballista cycles, players should be able to take Wakaba down. All that’s left is to make sure Futaba is okay after the double whammy of a Persona awakening and a Palace collapsing.
Persona 5 Royalis available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
