It's become somewhat of a tradition with JRPGs that they will always include at least a few brutal bosses who will push players to their limit, and the Persona series is certainly no exception. While the general turn-based combat of the Persona games isn't too difficult to get accustomed to, especially since many of the ordinary monsters are relatively weak, the games will drastically ramp up the difficulty at certain points by throwing a difficult boss in the party's way.

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While the majority of these bosses have some particular weakness that players can use to their advantage or small gimmicks that can make the fight a lot easier, there have also been a few that are much more unforgiving in how they play, much to the frustration of many longtime fans.

6 Kunikazu Okumura

Okumura Throws Waves Of Enemies At The Player While A Timer Ticks Down

Rather than actually facing Okumura himself when reaching the end of his Palace in Persona 5, players must instead take down what feels like an endless horde of his mindless robots within a strict time limit. Each time it moves to Okumura's turn, he will immediately summon a new worker to fill in the ranks, and because they can knock party members down very easily, it means that stocking up on revival items is absolutely essential.

Each robot will have two specific weaknesses that can be exploited to make the fight a bit more manageable, but since these are always changing around, it makes it extremely hard to weaken every single one that appears, especially since there's only so much MP available. The timer at the top of the screen paired with the hard-hitting enemies makes this one of Persona 5's most intense fights.

5 Contrarian King

The Contrarian King Can Deal An Absurd Amount Of Damage With His Rampage Skill

The Contrarian King is actually an optional boss in Persona 4, but this weird and wacky mascot is definitely worth taking on since he will drop a unique weapon for Yukiko to utilize in future battles. Because the king is resistant to physical attacks, it means that the party will need to rely on their magic to take him down, but even this isn't always reliable since he can also drain fire spells and block wind completely.

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Electricity and wind are pretty much the only ways to hurt him, but since he has a staggeringly large health bar, players will need to exercise a lot of patience during the encounter, considering how long it can go on. The Contrarian King also possesses the Rampage skill, a physical attack that deals an absurd amount of damage to all enemies one to three times, which is capable of wiping out an entire party because of how powerful it is. While he may look like some sort of joke character, the Contrarian King is not a foe that should be taken lightly.

4 Masayoshi Shido

Shido's Many Different Forms Make His Fight Long And Very Challenging

During Shido's boss fight near the end of Persona 5, the corrupt politician will cycle between five different forms throughout the encounter, making it one of the longest and most arduous battles in the history of the series. The majority of Shido's five forms are weak to specific elements but will also come with their own unique attacks, making him incredibly hard to predict. His Wings of Human Sacrifice form is especially irritating as it is actually resistant to all types of magic and will regularly throw out Curse and Nuclear attacks to decimate the party.

Then there's his second phase where Shido will bulk himself up with numerous powerful buffs before launching a barrage of deadly attacks on the party that can instantly kill them if they're not at a high enough level. His Tyrant Fist is an especially lethal move that has been the cause of more than a few Game Over screens. Constantly switching out party members and refilling MP with items is the best method for trying to make it out of this duel in one piece.

3 Lavenza

Lavenza Forces The Party To Complete Brutal Trials While Trying To Fight Her

If players are running through New Game Plus on Persona 5 Royal, and they make the decision to enter Mementos during the third term, they will unlock a secret fight against Lavenza, one of the caretakers of the Velvet Room. While Caroline and Justine are already difficult enough on their own, Lavenza is on a whole different level, especially because of her trials that activate every time she loses 25% of her health.

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These trials are specific requirements that the party must complete in the space of nine turns, but because they are often so difficult, it adds an extra layer of tension to the fight, especially since failure results in the entire party being wiped out instantly. What's more is, that Lavenza can easily bypass Persona immunities, which is why it's essential to keep a wide variety of them stored away to have a chance of catching her off guard. In fact, this fight is considered so difficult that there is no game over screen for failing to defeat her, with the player instead having an infinite number of attempts to try their luck at taking her down for good.

2 Great Father

Players Will Need To Do A Good Amount Of Grinding To Even Stand A Chance Of Facing The Great Father

It makes sense that the Great Father would be a challenging fight considering that he's the final boss of Persona 2: Innocent Sin, but he's a truly brutal enemy who will severely punish the player for making even the smallest of mistakes during the fight. Because the boss has a handful of insta-kill moves, it means that keeping everyone alive throughout the entire fight is pretty much impossible. Setting up characters to reflect magic and supply healing is necessary for even standing a chance of beating him, but this also means that trying to squeeze in any amount of damage is extremely tough because of how risky it can be.

The boss pretty much demands that the player do some extra grinding before they even attempt taking it on, since even at the level 60 mark, the characters will barely be durable enough to survive his overwhelming attacks. Any Persona that can increase magic and physical resistance, such as Isis and Artemis, for example, becomes absolutely vital to surviving this punishing late-game encounter, but it does still require a large amount of luck to come out the victor.

1 The Reaper

The Reaper's Fast And Lethal Attacks Can Kill The Entire Party In A Single Turn

While roaming around the halls of Tartarus in Persona 3, there's a chance that players might be paid a visit by the Reaper, a large and menacing monster who's essentially designed to be unstoppable because of how insanely powerful he is. The Reaper will show up if the party spends too much time on one floor, so it's basically a way of telling the player to get a move on. If they do happen to come face to face with the monster, they'll be in for one hell of a fight.

If the player and their fellow party members aren't at least level 70 or higher, it's more or less guaranteed that the Reaper will wipe out all characters with a single hit, which just goes to show how ridiculously strong he is. Because the Reaper can also act twice in a turn, it allows it to throw out plenty of insta-kill and Break skills to completely wipe the floor with its enemies if they aren't prepared. Luckily, the Reaper can be paralyzed by using electric attacks, which will cause it to waste one of its turns healing itself, but overcoming him still requires a tremendous amount of skill and luck even with this tip in mind.

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