The Epic Finale: Unveiling the Powerful Message Behind Persona 5 Royal's Ultimate Battle

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Persona 5 Royal. Proceed at your own risk.

Highlights

In Persona 5 Royal, the final battle between Takuto Maruki and Joker perfectly portrays the central theme of acceptance and progress. Maruki, the antagonist, ultimately relinquishes his perfect world and embarks on a new path for himself. The intense showdown between Maruki and Joker portrays a unique twist on the usual Persona growth scenes, as the two characters engage in a raw, unrefined brawl. This moment captures the challenging nature of change and encapsulates Maruki's decision to embrace hope rather than succumbing to despair.

Maruki's transition from antagonist to someone who discovers the significance of genuine connections and rejects manipulation is a refreshing departure within the Persona series. It serves as a hopeful model for future antagonists, encouraging them to embrace hope and cultivate sincere relationships.

The Persona games exhibit significant variation in terms of tone and plot elements, particularly when comparing the first three games to Persona 3 and its sequel. Nonetheless, they still share numerous central themes. Among these themes, one of the most vital is the process of confronting life's challenges directly, whether that entails acknowledging the flawed aspects of one's own character, defying societal expectations, or living life to the fullest despite the presence of death. Persona 5 Royal also embodies this theme. However, while these games often focus on imparting these lessons to the protagonists, the Palace rulers in Persona 5 Royal also experience personal growth through learning some of these lessons.

Maruki and Joker's Fistfight is the Perfect Culmination of Persona 5's Message

The Phantom Thieves from Persona 5, like their Persona protagonist peers, are high school students. However, they are distinct in that the game predominantly presents them as vigilante superheroes. These remarkable individuals conquer various human adversaries by infiltrating their Palaces, forcing each of these Palace rulers to confront their corrupt actions and abandon their false lives. Nevertheless, the final Palace ruler in Persona 5 Royal's third semester experiences a different type of revelation. In a deeply impactful final showdown during Persona 5 Royal's ultimate battle, a sympathetic antagonist comes to terms with loss and embraces a new path forward instead of dwelling on the past.

In Persona 5 Royal's final boss battle, the clash between the Phantom Thieves and Takuto Maruki primarily revolves around ideological differences. However, it is the concluding moments that truly encapsulate the essence of Persona's themes. As Maruki's Palace crumbles and the Metaverse withdraws from reality, Joker and Maruki engage in a final dignified fistfight, allowing Maruki to openly express his frustrations and disappointments regarding his plans. Ultimately, Maruki fully acknowledges his own failure and appears determined to forge a new path for himself, regardless of its nature.

The final confrontation with Takuto Maruki in Persona is remarkable for its complete transformation of a typical scene in the series. Throughout Persona games, characters often grapple with difficult truths but ultimately choose to keep moving forward and growing, rather than dwelling in their despair. However, Maruki is forced to confront his failure in fixing Rumi's life and creating his perfect world. With Joker's assistance, he vents his pent-up rage in a messy, scripted fight, showcasing the immense difficulty he faces in changing. Despite the scene's raw nature, Maruki ultimately chooses hope over despair, aligning with the classic Persona theme.

What makes this scene unique is that it presents a moment of acceptance and epiphany through an antagonist, rather than a teammate. Most Persona antagonists are either incomprehensible god-like creatures or individuals defined by their selfish intentions, rarely experiencing a change of heart. Witnessing Maruki learn to stand tall offers a refreshing perspective on one of Persona's core principles: no one is isolated. Maruki's research and magic proved futile in healing his grief, but his friendship with Joker and the indomitable spirit of the Phantom Thieves taught him the importance of resilience and refusing to surrender. The unconventional yet memorable act of confiding in Joker during their final duel serves as a transformative first step in Maruki's decision to cherish what he has, rather than obsessing over what has been lost.

Persona 5 Royal concludes Maruki's story beautifully, with hopes of inspiring future antagonists to embrace lives filled with hope and cultivate meaningful connections instead of manipulating or causing harm. Persona 5 Strikers provides encouragement that this outlook will prevail, as several Jail rulers make a public commitment to better care for others and establish genuine relationships. Perhaps Persona 6 will introduce its own villains akin to Maruki, who undergo a transformative journey and find solace in newfound enlightenment. Persona 5 Royal can be enjoyed on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.