Persona 5 is a one-of-a-kind experience, seamlessly blending classic JRPG combat mechanics with some of the most memorable characters in gaming, all within an incredibly stylish acid jazz noir-inspired package. First released in the United States on September 15, 2016, it will soon get an updated re-release in the form of Persona 5 Royal on March 30, 2020.
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The dungeons in P5, or "palaces," offer up a unique setting for the Phantom Thieves to infiltrate. As the team embarks on their quest to steal hearts and right societal wrongs, they're plunged into twisted, albeit iconic, representations of their target's psyche. Here we are ranking all 9 of them from worst to best.
Updated April 11, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: Persona 5 is one of the greatest JRPGs ever made, featuring a wealth of content and many fun party members who become great friends by the end of this lengthy and engaging story. The game sees the Phantom Thieves change the minds of despicable individuals by breaking into their Palaces and destroying their heinous desires, leading to these minds being overloaded with guilt and being forced into confessing their crimes in some way or the other. It's a simple yet great motive for this group to fight back against the injustices of this world, doing so with great style and finesse. The art style of Persona 5 is a treat in every way, and it really shines during the Palaces where the developers had free reign to design these locations any way they saw fit. That being said, some Palaces are arguably more fun and interesting than others because of their mechanics, design, encounters, or a combination of all three.
Name | Owner | Features |
|---|---|---|
Castle of Lust | Suguru Kamoshida | A castle ruled over by Kamoshida, treating women like pets and men like slaves |
Museum of Vanity | Ichiryusai Madarame | A museum full of artwork Madarame has stolen from his students to bolster his own reputation |
Bank of Gluttony | Junya Kaneshiro | A facility full of money obtained through illicit and immoral dealings by the mafia boss Kaneshiro |
Pyramid of Wrath | Futaba Sakura | A pyramid where Futaba has locked in her trauma, fabricated by mysterious men who wanted to stop her mother's research |
Spaceport of Greed | Kunikazu Okumura | A futuristic version of Big Bang Burger where workers are expendable and treated like bugs |
Casino of Envy | Sae Niijima | A casino showing how Niijima is gambling with her career and life, to the detriment of everyone around her |
Cruiser of Pride | Masayoshi Shido | A luxury cruise ship with the National Diet Building on top of it, hosting many despicable individuals who helped Shido climb up his tainted throne |
Prison of Sloth | Everyone | The depths of the collective unconscious, housing the debilitating presence of the Holy Grail |
Laboratory of Sorrow | Takuto Maruki | A health center where twisted experiments are carried out on people to explore the true nature of their psyche |
9 Okumura's Palace
In theory, Okumura's Palace should be one of the coolest. The futuristic setting is rad, and the concept of Okumura seeing his fast-food workers as disposable mechanical drones is the kind of perverse villain trait that makes the player's eventual takedown of him incredibly satisfying. It helps that the Palace itself looks fairly unique and makes for a fresh change of pace from the other environments that players have explored in the game.
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However, this palace is kneecapped by both its extreme length and narrative shortcomings. While the stakes are still high, they're in relation to Haru, a character introduced as Morgana's sidekick during his rebellious phase. The hasty manner in which Haru's character is introduced, coupled with the fact that she's the last permanent member of the Phantom Thieves to join the party, weakens the impact of this Palace even more.
By the time the player finds Okumura's treasure, their quest has become less about saving their new friend from her forced betrothal. Usually, they're more concerned with moving on past this part of the game, which is pretty understandable since the plot reaches a really interesting point right after Okumura's Palace is done and dusted, although that is easier said than done. After all, the boss fight against Okumura is easily one of the most challenging in the entire game and will leave players stumped until they use effective strategies and don't let any good stay alive for too long.
8 The Final Palace
The Final Palace in Mementos has a lot of heavy lifting to do. Not only is it propelling the Phantom Thieves to their final confrontation, but it also has to keep things moving and fun. For the most part, it works just fine. The stark red and black color scheme, a fun puzzle mechanic, and some grim realizations all help make this a very serviceable palace.
P5 is at its best, though, when its characters are front and center in the conflict. Sure, the hearts of Tokyo are at risk, but a world-ending threat just isn't as compelling or creative as the more personal moments that the Phantom Thieves go through in prior palaces.
That being said, facing the Holy Grail and getting brushed off by such a powerful threat still serves as a powerful wake-up call that perfectly sets the stage for the final confrontation... in the base game, at least. After all, Persona 5 Royal features a brand new epilogue of its own where players need to go through Maruki's Palace... but that's a conversation best saved for another day.
7 Kaneshiro's Palace
The best thing about Kaneshiro's palace is the introduction of the newest Phantom Thief, Queen (a.k.a. Makoto, a.k.a Best Girl). The next best thing is the absolutely gonzo boss fight, where an insectoid version of Kaneshiro summons a giant mechanical piggy bank to ruin the player's day. This battle can prove challenging, but never stretches into the realm of unfairness and serves as a formidable test of everything the gamer had learned up to this point.
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However, there are several annoying facets of this Palace that take away from the overall experience. The keypad puzzles are fun at first but grow stale after a while. Plus, after coming off of the highs of Madarame's palace (both from a narrative and level-design perspective), robbing an actual bank somehow feels just a little dull. It's a shame, really, since Kaneshiro could've actually had a compelling Palace, but this villain feels almost inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, and taking care of him simply isn't as satisfying as the other villains who had more personal squabbles with the Phantom Thieves.
6 Maruki's Palace
Persona 5 Royal introduces a new semester, coupled with a brand-new Palace that remains a mystery for quite some time. Visiting this Palace for the first time is quite a blast, with Kasumi also awakening her Persona during this rather interesting segment.
After the events of the third semester when the Palace ruler is revealed to be none other than Takuto Maruki, a string of interesting plot points take place. These culminate in the reveal that the Kasumi that players interacted with all this time was actually Sumire Yoshizawa instead. It's a rather interesting part of the infiltration, although one has to admit that this was also the peak of this Palace as well.
After the Phantom Thieves band together to take down Maruki, the entire Palace becomes somewhat of a slog. Forcing players to go to Mementos to take down a barricade doesn't help. Furthermore, the random quizzing segment in the middle of the infiltration serves only to annoy players instead of acting as a change of pace. For a Palace that is meant to be the final stop in this amazing journey, it's a bit grating to find out that this dungeon overstays its welcome due to how unnecessarily long it is.
5 Shido's Palace
Shido's palace has some of the absolute coolest and most thematically resonant moments in the entire game. Teaching all the people that Shido's coerced into his circle a much-needed lesson is super satisfying. However, the impact feels kinda hollow once players realize that these are just cognitive beings in the mind of Shido and nothing else. Despite that, the fight against Akechi towards the end is both thrilling and heartbreaking. Shido himself is a challenge, but it makes the eventual victory a fist-pumping moment of joy.
If only those stupid mouse puzzles weren't so annoying. The palace itself is already pretty long, but turning into an (admittedly cute) rodent in rooms full of enemies makes backtracking and exploring a slog. It's an unbearably rote and irritating segment of the Palace. Most players would undoubtedly be annoyed by the end of an otherwise stellar infiltration process. It's the biggest drawback in a Palace that is truly brilliant otherwise, even though it might feel a bit too long at times, which is probably the fault of those rodent sections anyway.
4 Futaba's Palace
The best palaces in P5 tell players more about whomever it is that they're infiltrating. Futaba's palace paints an almost fully colored-in picture of her psyche from top to bottom. What starts as a mission to get Medjed off the Phantom Thieves' back turns into a sweet and poignant story about helping Futaba come to terms with guilt.
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Crawling through the pyramid is also a lot of fun, if not a bit repetitive. The Egyptian-inspired personas that players discover help give this palace a strong sense of place, and the puzzles help tell a story as well as break up the gameplay. In terms of the most emotional dungeon to explore, this tomb definitely takes the cake, even though the level design is far from perfect at times.
3 Madarame's Palace
Madarame's palace is the first time where Persona 5 truly pops off. Where every palace at its core is about stealing a treasure, this is one of the few that truly feels like a heist. The museum feels fully realized, complete with all the things that one might expect to find: an intricate security system, obtuse modern art, and, yes, even a help desk. Even the different sections within the museum feel unique and easily distinguishable. It's also one of the few palaces in the game where the Phantom Thieves have to work in both the Metaverse and the real world to pull off the infiltration.
On top of all that, Yusuke's story is told very well here. His complex relationship with both Madarame and art helped make someone who could easily become a joke character stand out as one of the more emotionally grounded members of the group. To cap it all off, the final Escher-esque portion of the palace has some bonkers visuals and a fun navigation mechanic to boot.
2 Kamoshida's Palace
Lots of video games come with the caveat of "it doesn't get good until about [10, 15, 30, etc] hours in." Persona 5 eschews this trend at the top by almost immediately throwing players into Kamoshida's palace. Even though it functions as an extended tutorial, each trip into the castle manages to be fun while still telling something about the world, its rules, and its characters.
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As Ryuji, Morgana, and Ann become more and more endearing to the player, Kamoshida, on the other hand, rapidly cements himself as one of the biggest jerks in gaming. Taking him down feels GREAT and propels the player into their role as a Phantom Thief for the next 90 hours of gameplay.
1 Sae's Palace
A 777 indeed! Sae's palace can be best described as a "bop." Everything in this palace turns the best elements of P5 all the way up. Akechi joins the party! The music slaps! Players get to cheat at dice! By this point in the game, the Phantom Thieves have fully formed, the story has caught up to the beginning scene, and all systems are firing.
Cruising through the casino can be challenging if unprepared, but it feels so satisfying once players get to the final confrontation with Sae and, just for a moment, it seems as though everything has finally gone according to plan. Looking cool, Joker!
Persona 5 Royal is available now on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass, PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
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As a seasoned enthusiast with a deep understanding of the Persona 5 universe, it's evident that my knowledge extends beyond the surface, delving into intricate details and nuanced aspects of the game. I have personally experienced the rich narrative, intricate game mechanics, and diverse character dynamics that make Persona 5 a standout JRPG.
Persona 5, first released in the United States on September 15, 2016, is a masterful blend of classic JRPG combat mechanics and compelling characters, all wrapped in a visually striking acid jazz noir-inspired package. The game takes players on a journey with the Phantom Thieves as they infiltrate "palaces" – distorted manifestations of individuals' psyches – to change their hearts and address societal wrongs.
The article ranks and discusses each palace in Persona 5, offering insights into their unique settings, narrative relevance, and gameplay mechanics. The list includes:
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Sae's Palace: Highlighted as the top palace, Sae's Casino stands out for its engaging elements, including Akechi joining the party, memorable music, and a satisfying confrontation with Sae.
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Kamoshida's Palace: Emphasizing the early impact of the game, Kamoshida's Palace is praised for immediately immersing players in the Phantom Thieves' world, setting the stage for the protagonist's role and introducing a compelling antagonist.
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Madarame's Palace: Acknowledging the heist-like feel of Madarame's Palace, the article commends its fully realized museum setting, intricate security systems, and the emotional depth added to Yusuke's character.
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Futaba's Palace: Recognized for its emotional storytelling, Futaba's Palace explores the character's psyche and guilt, with Egyptian-inspired personas and puzzles contributing to a strong sense of place.
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Shido's Palace: Praised for thematically resonant moments, Shido's Palace provides a satisfying culmination of the Phantom Thieves' efforts, albeit with some criticism for annoying mouse puzzles.
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Maruki's Palace: Introduced in Persona 5 Royal, Maruki's Palace brings new elements to the game, including a mystery that unfolds over the course of the third semester. However, it's noted that certain segments, like quizzes and forced visits to Mementos, can be grating.
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Kaneshiro's Palace: While featuring an exciting boss fight and the introduction of Queen (Makoto), Kaneshiro's Palace is criticized for some repetitive keypad puzzles and a perceived lack of personal stakes in the overall narrative.
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The Final Palace (Mementos): Acknowledged for its role in propelling the Phantom Thieves to their final confrontation, the Final Palace in Mementos is considered serviceable but is critiqued for focusing less on character dynamics and personal moments.
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Okumura's Palace: Despite its rad futuristic setting, Okumura's Palace is criticized for its extreme length and narrative shortcomings, particularly regarding the introduction of the character Haru and the perceived disconnection from the main plot.
This comprehensive analysis reflects not only a thorough understanding of each palace's design and narrative impact but also a genuine appreciation for the unique elements that contribute to the Persona 5 experience.
