Persona: 5 Hardest Bosses In The Games, Ranked

Highlights

• The Persona games offer challenging bosses and unique life sim mechanics, attracting both hardcore fans and new gamers.
• Persona 5 Royal introduces a new variant of the Okumura boss fight and a challenging superboss, The Reaper.
• Persona games feature tough battles against Velvet Room attendants, such as Margaret and Elizabeth, requiring strategic planning and strong party members.

The Shin Megami Tensei series is known for featuring some of the toughest JRPGs of all time. While hardcore fans of the series appreciated this unique gameplay dynamic, Atlus also wanted to attract more gamers to the series. Instead of compromising the challenging nature of the base games, the developer decided to go down a different route and release a spin-off with more approachable gameplay and unique life sim mechanics. This has proven to be a winning formula, with the gameplay changes brought forth in Persona 3 doing a great job of making this series one of Atlus’ most valuable properties.

However, players who assume that the Persona games are void of any challenge will be in for a rude awakening when they encounter some ridiculously challenging bosses while playing through the series. These climactic encounters can be a downright pain to deal with if players don’t come equipped with a sound strategy and powerful party members.

5 Kunikazu Okumura

A Tricky And Timed Boss Fight That Can Become Really Frustrating

Persona 5 Royal is the definitive way to enjoy one of the most stylish and visually stimulating games in the entire series. This version of Persona 5 brings a ton of changes to the table in the form of a whole new semester following the original game’s conclusion, bigger Palaces, new party members, more areas to explore, and a bunch of QoL changes that make it a blast to play through.

It also introduces a different variant of the Okumura boss fight that is lengthy, frustrating, and a pain to figure out. Players must take out this boss’ lackeys in one go since leaving even a single one of them behind will lead to Okumura summoning a fresh batch that must be taken out before a time limit expires. Most players will fail this encounter the first time they tackle it, meaning that all the time they invested will be for naught.

4 The Reaper

A Superboss Who Appears In Almost Every Persona Game

• 	Persona 3	Persona 4	Persona 5
  Platform(s)	PSP, PS3, PS2	Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS Vita, Switch, PS4, PS2, Xbox One	PS3, PS4
  Released	2006-07-13	2008-07-10	2016-09-15
  Developer(s)	Atlus	Atlus	P-Studio
  Genre(s)	JRPG	JRPG	Social Simulation, RPG

The Reaper is a superboss that most long-time Persona fans will be familiar with. The sound of his chains that players hear after gallivanting around on a floor for too long is something most fans are quite familiar with, and it takes Herculean effort for gamers to even think about taking on this imposing foe. In the early going, the Reaper is so powerful that most people won’t be able to lay a finger on him before being taken out in a single attack.

Even after amassing a ton of levels, players must use buffs and debuffs to even the playing field before using their strongest attacks to incapacitate this foe. It’s a nerve-wracking encounter in every Persona game and makes for a great incentive to encourage players to move as quickly as possible unless they want to be ambushed on a floor and lose all their hard-earned progress.

3 Margaret

Takes Two Turns And Can Dish Out Some Serious Damage

Each Persona game features a tough-as-nails battle against the Velvet Room attendant, and Persona 4 Golden is no exception here. Players who feel like they’re up for a major challenge can tackle Margaret in this game, with the battle being significantly harder than the one in the base game. Not only does she attack twice in one turn, but she has access to some incredibly damaging attacks that can be a pain to deal with.

Players must have a Persona with the Enduring Soul or the Endure passive skill if they don’t want to be taken out in a single hit with her Megidolaon. With enough elemental strengths and a wealth of powerful attacks, players will be able to bring their entire party to this boss fight and dish out a ton of powerful damage to take Margaret out, conquering the most challenging battle in Persona 4 Golden.

2 Elizabeth

The Protagonist Has To Solo This Boss, Which Is No Joke

There’s no denying that the fight against Elizabeth will make for one of the most challenging battles in Persona 3. Players who assume that their party members will have their back will be in for a rude awakening when they realize that they must solo this enemy, which is easier said than done. Elizabeth hits like a truck and punishes players for breaking any unsaid rule with a Megidolaon that always hits for 9,999 damage and defeats Joker with ease.

Players can only rely on elemental resistances and must ensure to output a steady stream of damage so that the battle doesn’t go past 100 turns. Failing to accomplish the same will lead to players being decimated in a flash with no hope of winning the battle unless they make some serious tweaks to their strategy.

1 Lavenza

Whips Out A Fatal All-Out Attack If Players Don’t Meet Certain Conditions

The fight against Caroline and Justine in Persona 5 is no joke, and only the most optimized party combination can stand a chance of coming out victorious against this duo. However, players who thought they were in for a rough time with this encounter will be tearing their hair out when Persona 5 Royal shows off a superboss so ridiculously challenging that most people won’t even bother with trying to beat it.

The fusion of Caroline and Justine, Lavenza, can be fought in Persona 5 Royal if the player has a death wish. Every 9 turns, players must deal 5,000 damage and fulfill certain tricky conditions if they don’t want to be hit with a battle-ending All-out Attack. It can take several tries, but players with an optimized party can defeat Lavenza after a grueling effort.