Persona 5 Royal ending spoilers ahead.

Highlights

  • Joker and Akechi are aware that they are trapped in Maruki's reality in the bad ending of Persona 5 Royal.
  • Their self-awareness makes that ending even bleaker than it might appear at first, not least because Akechi repeatedly states he'd rather be dead than brainwashed by Maruki.
  • This alternate conclusion to Persona 5 Royal continues the series' long-standing tradition of offering unsettling bad endings that cut the story short.

Joker and Goro Akechi are aware of their true fate in the bad ending of Persona 5 Royal, Atlus has revealed. The move confirmed a long-standing fan theory that makes the alternate ending of Persona 5 Royal even bleaker than it first appeared.

Aside from the Persona 2 duology, all mainline entries in the iconic JRPG franchise feature multiple endings. Specifically, those adhering to that pattern have a true ending and up to several alternate ones. Bad endings in Persona games often cut the story short, but not always. The main bad ending that Atlus added to Persona 5 Royal can qualify as either of those types because players are able to trigger it multiple times during the third semester, both before and after completing the final Palace. The choice itself sees Joker accept Maruki's reality in order to stay with his friends forever, even if that means being brainwashed.

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Persona 5 Royal Artbook Sheds More Light on the Game's Bad Ending

The artwork that comes up before the credits roll following that choice has long made fans theorize that both Joker and Akechi are still aware that they aren't in the real world. That's primarily because they seem to be giving meaningful stares to the player while everyone else is enjoying themselves. Atlus has now outright confirmed that theory via Persona 5 Royal Official Design Works, the game's latest artbook that hit the Japanese store shelves on March 28. The caption attached to the alternate ending artwork specifically states that Akechi and the protagonist are looking back at the viewer "to establish that they're aware that this scene is Maruki's ending," according to a translation provided by Twitter user SpecterThieving.

This confirmation makes Persona 5 Royal's bad ending even bleaker than it might appear at first. That's largely because Akechi himself states he would "rather be dead than live as a puppet" multiple times throughout the third semester. Knowing he's been brainwashed, even if only subconsciously, leaves him in a tragic situation from which there is no escape.

New Persona 5 Royal Artbook Sample Pages

Granted, fans are still debating whether Akechi was even alive during the game's epilogue. But seeing how he doesn't immediately disappear along with all the other artificially "revived" characters when Maruki is defeated in the true ending of Persona 5 Royal, many players have previously argued that he wasn't merely a cognition.

Such convictions grew stronger after one datamined scene from Persona 5 Royal outright confirmed Akechi survived Shido's Palace. However, that cutscene cannot be considered canon since it was cut from the game.