Highlights

  • The boss fight against Shadow Okumura in Persona 5 Royal is divisive among fans, with some finding it too difficult and others finding it manageable with the use of the Baton Pass mechanic.
  • The Baton Pass mechanic allows players to pass their turn to another party member after downing an enemy, leading to a fluid chain of attacks that can quickly defeat foes.
  • Future entries in the Persona series, like Persona 6, may draw inspiration from Persona 5 Royal and include their own boss fights designed around the Baton Pass mechanic. However, these bosses should be improved to avoid creating battles that are nearly impossible to beat without relying solely on one mechanic.

The stylish and intimidating boss fights in Persona 5 Royal are some of the most memorable parts of the game, for better or for worse. Players who've made their way through the game will understand the difficulty posed by the Shadow Okumura boss, contributing to one of the most controversial parts of the game. While this boss likely won't appear in Persona 6, the next entry in the series might draw from Persona 5 Royal and include its own boss designed around the signature mechanic required to beat Shadow Okumura.

While the entire Okumura arc of Persona 5 Royal is controversial among the game's fans, the boss fight against Shadow Okumura is particularly divisive. Some players believe the battle is too hard and a step down from how it was in vanilla Persona 5, while others believe it isn't difficult as long as players utilize the game's Baton Pass mechanic. It's the emphasis on this mechanic that could inspire a future boss design in Persona 6, especially since Atlus seems to be committed to keeping the mechanic around through the introduction of the similar Shift system in Persona 3 Reload.

The protagonist looking mournful in a Persona 3 Reload trailer
Related
Persona 3 Reload Should Have Taken Another Persona 5 Mechanic Besides Baton Pass

Persona 3 Reload made a wise decision in adding Baton Pass, but another Persona 5 feature could have been a more valuable addition.

Baton Pass-Focused Bosses Will Likely Return in Persona 6, But Need Improvements

The Baton Pass mechanic is arguably one of the best ways Persona 5 improved combat over its predecessors. This system allows players to pass their turn to another party member after downing an enemy and earning a One More, provided they've reached a high enough Confidant level with that character. Utilizing the Baton Pass mechanic allows players to continually down enemies by swapping to a character with a skill that can target an enemy's weakness, potentially leading to a fluid chain of attacks that can quickly wipe out foes.

This mechanic became especially useful against Persona 5's Shadow Okumura boss because, rather than fighting the Phantom Thieves directly, the boss summons waves of minions to do the dirty work for him. Players only have 30 minutes to defeat Shadow Okumura before they automatically get a game over, so defeating these waves of minions as quickly as possible is a must. The easiest way to mow down Okumura's Corporobos is by using Baton Passes to wipe out an entire wave in one turn, ensuring that players aren't wasting any of their limited time on any particular enemy.

While this fight can be tricky enough in vanilla Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal ups the difficulty to contentious levels, as now if an entire wave of Corporobos isn't defeated in a single turn, they will retreat and a fresh set of enemies of the same wave will be summoned. This design essentially forces players to master the Baton Pass mechanic or risk undoing all of the work they did on the previous turn and wasting a ton of time. The hard emphasis placed on utilizing Baton Pass for this fight has been quite divisive among Persona fans, but it's likely that future entries will see a similar tactic used.

One strategy players have found for beating Shadow Okumura involves upping the game's difficulty setting to Merciless for the fight. While this may sound like it will make the game harder, playing on Merciless increases the damage done by hitting an opponent's weakness, making it easier to clear waves with Baton Pass.

Persona 3 Reload demonstrates that Atlus is committed to the Baton Pass mechanic, as its new incarnation known as the Shift mechanic was not present in the original Persona 3 release. With the precedent set for this mechanic to be featured in modern Persona games, Persona 6 will likely include its own iteration along with a boss that forces players to utilize it for success. However, if Atlus does make this choice, they need to ensure the boss fight that emphasizes this mechanic doesn't follow in the footsteps of Shadow Okumura and create a battle that is nearly impossible to beat without leaning completely into one mechanic.