Rest in peace Billy Kametz, voice of Maruki 🙏 Strategy for this boss : go for the tentacles, discover their weaknesses and abuse it with baton pass. Killing one tentacle allows you to damage Azathoth but having more tentacles down allows you to do more damage to Azathoth. HIGHLIGHTS 00:00 Pre-battle 03:51 Phase 1 09:51 Phase 2 25:28 Azathoth Defeated 27:06 Victory ? 27:57 Adam Kadmon summon 29:58 Adam Kadmon Phase 1 32:50 Adam Kadmon Phase 2 38:20 Checkmate 40:50 Defeat ? 42:46 Animated escape helicopter cutscene 45:43 Final Battle 47:49 Defeat.
Just note if your too slow, Maruki will end up blocking this strategy. Either he'll stop Magic Persona Abilities or he'll block Baton Pass so you can't switch to another teammate for another go at the other weaknesses. It also seems in the first phase of the battle, you should only use abilities that hit all targets for getting rid of the tentacles if you aren't going for weaknesses, but don't attempt to use attacks that hit all targets when hitting only one target. There's some sort of dmg resistance that occurs if your using attacks that hit everything on only 1 target, including almighty.
Mr. NotBatman except for now it’s being capable of infinite possibilities, more powerful than anything can imagine, the being everyone strives to be, not just some god
Would've been the perfect time for him to awaken to Raoul Arsene. If they want to sell Joker's ultimate Persona fine, but I didn't even know it existed until after I beat P5R, might as well have given him a Satanael type moment. Would've allowed P5R to have its full circle moment.
“Help me kill every last one of my regrets” *”I GAVE UP EVERYTHING!!!”* Hits different now.. Rest in Peace Billy, you put your heart into this and no one will forget
Hmm, well Personas and Shadows are the same thing in concept, so if I had to make a guess, due to this being HIS palace, his Persona can materialise Perfectly, unlike the "Ghost" like form they usually appear as. As for his mask staying...I've got nothing, Probably just an Art choice?
@@zxshadowxz well, you could say the reason maruki can summon with his mask on is rooted in the fact that maruki even owns a palace. you could say his entire palace is the true manifestation of his mask. that could also make azathoth and Adam Kadmon cognitive incarnations, similar to Cognitive Wakaba, but this time, Maruki had control over them. this can all be proven by how certain events play out in the palace. when Joker shoots off Maruki's mask, the palace still remains somewhat intact. Since shadows and Persona are connected, that should've made the entire palace collapse. But not everything did. It's only when Maruki finally acknowledges that he turned a blind eye to the original world to fulfill his agenda of saving everyone, that his palace literally begins to crumble. That's the moment he "takes off his mask". The fist fight is actually most important part of this -stupid reach- theory. That's when Maruki had really mastered his "shadow"; his Palace crumbles and his true feelings of regret and sorrow come out from the Persona he had worn the entire time. His mask and attire disintegrate, and the true pain he has kept behind his mask comes out. This also causes the entire metaverse to collapse, and Joker's mask fades too. In the end, Maruki truly accepts his shadow; the Laboratory of Sorrow incarnate. In the time that I spent writing this dumb reach of a theory, I literally just realized how the entirety of Maruki's Palace is about his denial of everything turning into the will to bring true happiness to humanity, no matter how inherently-flawed it is. A literal Persona in the form of "Heaven".
@@Sam-sn8oy my view on it is that it's a bastardization of an awakening. He's not saying the mask is a part of him, he's saying he is the mask. Hence he keeps the mask on, because he feels that defines him more.
he might be be my favorite "bad guy" of all time. So much nuance, a man with heart but so much damage, so much love, and you can hear it in his voice. Bless you, Billy Kametz.
48:20 Maruki holding up his hand like that is exactly the same gesture Joker made when he believed he was going to be erased from reality before the Yaldabaoth fight. Interesting parallel.
Guys, can we just talk about how beautiful the entire cutscene is where Joker is trying to save Maruki? I could *feel* how much he cared, the use of the piano part of Our Light is inspired, and... god, it's just perfect.
Yeah, the third semester manages to make the new scenes very emotional and hype, specially the checkmate moment. I'm glad they didn't kill Maruki or anything like that, he's such a a great character
oh my god, i was TERRIFIED maruki was going to die, as soon as i learned he was the antagonist i thought he was done for. i’m really glad they didn’t, the finale was so, SO much more powerful this way
Not as perfect as Persona 2's Revalation where the Kids actually cause more chaos than the demons and the Antagonist isnt just some generic cosmic entity with or without an alter ego whos also generic
right?? literally everything about that cutscene from his scream at the beginning, his glasses falling off, fucking all of it. such an amazing end for an amazing character.
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that a complete mortal's sheer fucking will was strong enough to summon THE GOD WHO BIRTHED THE UNIVERSE and then evolved it into THE EMBODIMENT OF PURE ENERGY AND POWER
Alex To be fair, the P3 Protaganist pulled a similar feat but it can be argued that his can’t be repeated due to a series of necessary circumstances surrounding his Ultimate Persona.
To be fair neither of them are the actual beings in myth, they're just his psyche. Although, I personally believe there was *some* interference that essentially made him into a god
@@Bean7915 for my second run I did InO with mind charge+ alm amp and boost + magic boost, all stats maxed through fusion alarms. Idk if hasou tobi can be passed using the gallows but if it can I might kill my yoshitsune for the 3rd one and see how broken it can be.
44:37 I love how this scene was used in the trailers to show Akechi struggling in pain, but in reality he just doesn't like being in a packed helicopter lmao
“I gave up EVERYTHING!!! EVERYTHING!!!! So WHY?!?!” This line always stuck with me. I’m sorry you found out too late Billy. Please Rest In Peace. What makes this hurt more is this character stood for “A world where no one suffers” 😕
I saw a theory that said that akechi survived, and it was his wish to be friends with joker, and that jokers wish was to stay at LeBlanc with all of his friends, if we go by the "fake reality" ending
@@eldritchhollow7692 I think that makes sense think about it if Akechi was alive cause of Maruki's Alt Reality then he wouldn't have acted like he did in the third semester heck he wouldn't have suspected anything but he did he acted like himself and tried to stop Maruki and whatnot he even knew it was fake in the "Fake ending" so I believe he did survive it's just that Maruki's involvement might have done something else (since Maruki doesn't even know Akechi was in Shido's palace) and the fact that I don't think Akechi ever did attend Maruki's counseling sessions maybe he did but regardless it might be why he was mostly unaffected if not at all by Maruki changing reality and stayed himself
L0LZXD BOI thats why I said depending on the validity of the true ending. We see someone similar to him when we're on the train but that could be joker hallucinating because he also saw his phantom thief outfit in the reflection.
Myriad Truths+Almighty amp+Almighty boost+Magic Ability+Concentrate+Heat Riser can pretty much take care of everything in the game. Crazy how it made the game pretty easy if you only use that.
@@gee_kaz only used it like 3 times in the entire game, though. I considered DLC personas beyond Raoul - and even then, only during Maruki's boss fight - cheating, and only used them as a last resort. Which was Okumura's boss, the Reaper, and exactly once during Maruki's fight. Crazy how not using every possible buff makes the ability slightly more balanced.
So glad he was there. Yeah it's DLC, but having a "Win Button" Persona was a beautiful exploit, especially for someone like me who played P5 vanilla the correct way, and just wanted to experience Royal for the new story elements. Totally worth it.
After finishing the original storyline: "Ok, so how can they top an ending that epic?" After "Checkmate!": "What are all these chills about??? Why am I tearing up??? Why is this so goooood???"
39:08 This moment. This SINGLE moment made the entire game for me. I never thought they would be able to one-up shooting God in the face to save Christmas. Checkmate, P5R.
"It's true that I turned my back on the original reality... BUT WHERE'S THE HARM IN THAT?! When it grows to be too much, too painful... every person deserves to escape that. Honestly, is best for a person's growth when they tackle their own hardships. But reality doesn't make that so feasible. No matter how hard you try, or work for so long, the smallest injustice can wipe it all out and leave you with nothing... don't you, of all people, understand that?" Right in the feels, every single time.
Morgana: “You know, there probably are plenty of people who’d ultimately benefit from your ‘reality.’ But what about the people who want to take on the world themselves? How’s it right to rob them of their opportunities?”
This fight ended up being one of my all time favorite fights. Sure, Adachi, Nyx, and everything in this series all have their weights. But, seeing Maruki get dissected and all those red flags he shows only briefly. Then have his general kindness be warped into what it becomes is really good writing. What makes it hurt even more, is that the main character, in this case Joker. Actively ENABLED him as the story progressed, YOU as a player gave weight and power to his warped view of a scientist "Who just wanted people to be happy" the more you interact with him. You're actions in that world and changing peoples hearts inspires him to do the same and in the end you end up sympathizing with him. Sure we all know it's wrong, but given the chance, it wouldn't be an easy decision would it? THAT makes a fantastic villain, where that line is blurred. We know it's wrong, but we secretly wish that your true happiness is just a yes away.
Honestly? I'd say this boss ties with Nyx and Yaldabaoth as the best boss fights in the series. And in terms of villains, I feel Maruki is probably the best villain in the entire Persona series, tied with Adachi. Both the character and the fight itself are excellent, and they actually play into each other really well.
its really hard for me to like villains in games especially anime games but maruki was done amazing well. i legit did not expect him to be a palace/ persona user which made the shock factor better. the phases of the boss battle, the cutscenes, his backstory, his actual them, and that fist fight between joker and him. i couldnt asked for a better setup and finish. i think this last palace with its character development of akechi and maruki was amazing.
Definitely my favorite Persona villain. Seeing how his ideology evolved because of inspiration from the Phantom Thieves was an incredible bit of development. It's very poignant that in the final psychiatric evaluation in his dungeon, the correct answer was "to change hearts to better society."
The most heartbreaking thing about Maruki is how loving and caring he is. He just wants people to be happy with their lives. It’s heartbreaking because he just wants the suffering to end, and it makes stealing his heart painful 😣
I agree. I really wanted to think twice about fighting him but I knew it's required story wise. It's even more sad since he STILL tries to change your mind even during the fight and he's dome everything he could to make people happy. It's too bad that that meant he would just have control over reality and didn't give people the choice to choose their own fate
that's not what was painful to me. Seeing him suffering while running away from his pain knowing deep down he his wrong but hoping to be right at the is what made me sad like someone trying to fight depression
ComicAdam Thank you for being one of the only people who actually pointed this out! Seriously, no sarcasm, I am shocked almost nobody has pointed this out. He literally looks exactly like him and his whole point of “controlling the world” goes hand in hand with it
Beating this game after falling in love with Persona 5, the ending was emotional to me, not just because of how well written the end portion of the game was, but also that the journey was over. I didn't get that feeling from the OG game, but when the game ended, I legit started crying because, well, the game was over. I will forever be grateful to Persona 5 Royal for giving me the greatest experience and emotions in gaming.
I feel you, my brother... I finished it a couple of days ago and the story hit me so deep in the core of my feelings that I have been feeling a little grief these days. I think the one phrase that really made me burst down in cry was when Maruki drives Joker to the station and before saying goodbye Maruki says "If you're struggling in life, you can start all over again. Like me. Remember that." and damn... That particular moment made me feel like I just receive the warmest and most necessary hug at the moment. I see the comment section all the time when I see these videos and I'm so delighted to see there's so much fans out there whose hearts were stolen by the Phantom Thieves... like mine. Maybe this experience will change our lives for a better. Thank you Atlus. Thank you Phantom Thieves. Thank you fans who support these series.
I finished it back in April and experienced exactly what you wrote in your comment. But somehow even after coming across this video nearly 5 months later, I still teared up a little watching this ending. P5 royal will be one of those few games that alw have a special place in my heart Edit: I also played the Og P5 but It didn’t give me the same emotional rollercoaster ride like p5 royal did. Both are amazing games though
I feel you on that too. I considered the original version of Persona 5, a masterpiece and my favorite video game of all time, but once I played and finished this version of it, I now considered this version 100x better than the original. And what made way better is that I actually felt like I was actually friends with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and I was actually apart of the environment. And when it ended, it felt like I was actually saying Goodbye to them and the credits made me emotional, with me on the verge of tears. ATLUS created a beautiful masterpiece and I’ll definitely be replaying it on the PS5. This game will always have a special place in my heart. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts stole my heart once again
It breaks your heart because you know he just wants the people he cares about to be happy, and to him happiness is worth freedom if that freedom is almost guaranteed to lead to strife and struggle
Same. Both the PT and Maruki is what I would become if Personas were real. Both storys hit really close to home, and especially Marukis is so similar and tragic to me, that it makes me cry every single time.
48:40 That Expressionless face, the sad music, the closing of his eyes He was ready to accept death He felt that there was no chance of redemption, until Joker caught him and wouldn't let go
@@fallenking9334 Thank God. At first Maruki was doing more damage than I was so I highkey thought I was gonna die from this obviously scripted segment lol
May Billy Kametz rest in peace, his performance as Dr. Takuto Maruki was perhaps his greatest ever and made Royal turn an already amazing game into one of the finest in a generation
It's almost like being in battle lets him work out frustrations. Like dominating shadows gives him a sense of power that he never really had in his actual life. Cause really all he was after was revenge on shido for what he did. His anger in battle lets him direct it at something he can actually reach
@@darknesswave100 Haru also gets sadistic during battle. They've got a lot to work through. Akechi really gets to vent his frustrations by tearing through shadows.
Maruki: "You shouldn't mistake our powers as equal" Me with a level 99 Lucifer that absorbs physical so all of Maruki's attacks heal me: "yeah youre right"
One of, if not the best, boss battles ever. Absolutely fantastic. Not just the design of his first phases, how cinematic it is, the emotion, the music, etc. Really makes me question how people say games can’t be art
Even though I had to use a restart in Safe difficulty, this was probably the most cinematic and climactic final boss I've ever partaken in. Finding his palace earlier in the game threw me for a loop, trying to figure out who it belonged to. I was in utter disbelief when the GUIDANCE COUNSELOR had the last palace.
I think the only thing holding this back from being better than the Shido boss fight is the Adam Kadmon part. It was very cool but in comparison to facing Azathoth it was easy.
Most likely yes charge plus a skill that triples the effect, attack up debilitate, and have a teammate handle the tendrils Next phase you pretty much have to one shot him so while I haven’t done it yet due to time and yen it could most likely be done
Also, Azathoth made the universe through it's dreams, which is really fitting for Maruki : He is a hopeless idealist who dreams of a perfect world, but is unable to face the world he lives in, essentially making himself *a blind fool with no sense of reality* And about Adam Kadmon, according to wikipedia : It represents divine light without a vessel, pure potential as well as the collective essence of the soul. With his power, Maruki can make any reality he wishes for, hence the pure potential part, and in order to do that, he uses Mementos, the collective unconcious, the collective essence of the soul. The fact that Azathoth turned into Adam Kadmon could mean that Maruki became fully dedicated to the creation of his new world, instead of simply dreaming of it.
@ryne green Futaba's first and third Persona, Necronomicon and Al-Azif (Al-Azif being part of an arabic name that was purported to be used as its original name in the lore), is also from Lovecraft.
Like a lot of you, I came here after hearing the news... Billy was such an incredible voice actor and his legendary performance as Maruki will be immortalized for years to come. Rip Billy 🙏
47:15 I Love that Jokers mask is gone. Even in his icon. Joker doesnt need his mask anymore. It was never his mask that was the rebel who saved the World. But Akira/Ren. Thats the One we have fighting here.
L30n G like the song that plays during the boss fight is call he Threw away his mask. Well the song is called Throw Away Your Mask. But the point still stands.
Rocco The Rayquaza Just like Narukami threw his glasses before delivering the final blow to Izanami, Joker threw his mask to deliver the final blow to Maruki.
@@yungbreezy36 bruh we get it already that you have a hate boner for maruki. I've literally seen you commented on every reply section saying "maruki isn't interesting." It's not like you're not allowed to state your opinions but state it when it's relevant, don't just butt in people talking about how they like an aspect and be like "uM nO aCtUaLlY [insert complain]"
47:04 that voice hit me a lot, you can feels Maruki's feelings of frustation and anger. I think that is what 120% sold me to adore him, the best kind of persons in my opinion are those whose feelings are understandable and visible, the ones that struggle, cry express they emotions. Honestly at first i was a bit sceptical about this to be the last boss but by the end Maruki surpassed both yaldabaoth and Shido, such one amazing character
When Maruki said "A world where nobody suffers!!", it really hit me hard. I knew what I was fighting for the whole time, yet it was only at the moment that I was like "Oh god, what have I done?"
Maruki is the only boss who doesn’t have “Blood of A Villain” playing before you fight him, therefore..... he’s not considered a villain even to the creators/directors of P5R
@@xoderota He's more of an anti-villain. He had a genuinely good intention, but his way to achieve it is wrong. So yeah, you can't count him as a villain.
Ngl, third semester is what really made me like Akechi as a character. The base game version of him was a cool villain, but his ultimate reason for killing and injuring hundreds of people was "my dad left me and my mum died", which gave me sympathy for him but not nearly enough to come close to excusing the murders
@@ciarantc7881 yeah in the base game he didnt have much of a reason to kill so many people but in royal they fleshed him out so much that you feel sympathy and sadness when you find out he will die after defeating maruki
"A reality where no one suffers..." Unfortunately, as is painfully obvious, life can't and won't ever be this way. Rest in peace Billy Kametz. May you live on through the impact you've left with your works.
I mean at that time they were down to just themselves realistically. Two humans, two "friends". And you are trying to beat some sense out of him and vice versa.
Maruki is inherently nice person, even after he becomes evil and driven by despair. He also believes in Individual Freedom as shown when he give Phantom Thieves a chance to meet each other in his palace about argument of life, suffering, and happiness and also the side effects of Maruki's World rather than erasing them from existence.
1:29 I feel like enough people aren’t talking about how beautiful this section is visually, it’s unfortunate that a view like this is only used once. (Although unique assets for the final level aren’t uncommon in general)
Ends off with a Fist fight 46:53 wait wasn’t that the thing that got him put under one year Probation and that’s how He ends it. I guess what goes around comes around in the end
At 33:34 For some reason i am always touched when akechi tries to stop Maruki from becoming stronger because he says says if "we hesitate now we die" but akechi knows that if they win and Maruki is stopped, Akechi will go back to the reality where he is dead. He shooting at maruki because he is trying to save the rest of the team and wants them to live in the original reality in which he knows he is dead.
I still can’t get over how emotional Mona screaming after Joker as he falls sounds. You can hear the audio sounds like it’s sort of muffled like how it would if your falling through the air (as the protagonist is). You can also hear the desperation in Mona’s voice too as he falls. It’s the classic “you idiot! Why would you sacrifice yourself?!” tone. It’s even more emotional knowing Mona has been with Joker almost from the get-go in their metaverse “adventures” and he has a home with Joker. Knowing the story and keeping in mind the emphasis on relations with characters in Persona makes it all the more emotional seeing this
Rest in peace, Billy 🙏 Truly your performance with his character gave him so much life, and we'd never have Maruki without your stunning efforts. In my opinion, what hurts the most during this semester is that Maruki is trying his hardest to convince Joker to stay and have their "perfect" reality, and is only doing this for the happiness of others and yet, not for the sake of his own. He doesn't end up with Rumi in HIS reality, where it shows everyone is happy except himself, because he's content with seeing the world be free of its despair. And Maruki finally lets out all of his pain in 47:03
People have actually pointed out that with Azathoth fading, the memory wipe done to Rumi should have come undone as well. And people have headcanoned that after a short time, she reached out to Maruki, wondering about him and his whereabouts. I like to think that, given time, Rumi and Maruki were able to go on living their lives together as normal.
I mean... If you take Persona 5's scaling into Adam Kadmon then... Maruki IS massively more powerful than Yaldabaoth, who casually fused two universes together, even with just Azathoth. So imagine how much more powerful he is with Adam Kadmon. That building is able to take High-Multiversal level attacks.
I finished royal today, and rewatching this all, it’s so emotional. The fist fight, Maruki had so much emotion. You can truly tell there was a lot of emotion behind it
"Joker! We're at a huge climactic moment where we need you to save the day. Activate your third awakening!" "Sorry guys. I didn't buy the dlc. How about I just use regular bullets instead?"
As dumb as that DLC is, we *really* don't need another "all hope seems lost, but the protagonist overcomes it and awakens to an even stronger Persona" bit. I liked how Royal made it's own idea/iconography instead.
@@Kisaru1000 I wish they couldve added him in without doing that. I was thinking that joker finds himself in a world where all his freinds are living their dream lives and everyone is happy, only to realize that he has to stick to his convictions and not give in to these lies and when he sees everyone stop the big ass fist slam is when he awakens again and uses him to deal the final blow
Had to come back to this after hearing the news. This game helped me a lot during the pandemic where I was cut off from my friends, feeling hopeless, and Billy Kametz as Maruki was a huge part of that. He put everything into voicing this tragic and troubled character, and his performance left a huge impression on me and everyone else. *_The_* performance of his tragically short career. I hope wherever he is, he knows that his voice and his work will be remembered for years to come. Thank you, Billy.
I mean what are the odds that a guy that can summon the literal devil and every other mythological creature to have a grappling hook handy lol. Bet maruki was sitting there at the top like oh so I was being nice putting those stairs in only to have him not even fucking use them? Time to tentacle this high schooler lol
@@darknesswave100 Maruki is a doctor, he just wanted Joker to take the safe route. Lol Its as if you had that eagle mascot that says kids shouldn't touch guns simply get pissed off at a fortnite kid and pull out the p20
I didn't know I had to max him out because I never got far in the original P5, so I missed the third semester lol. Gonna save it for my NG+ playthrough maybe in a month, looking forward to the palace
@@ExplodingParrotChannel No, just Maruki. Kasumi and Akechi only give you some bonus scenes, although I'll be maxing them too lol, didn't even get that done
@@Irraptured no you have to, akechi duel is only unlocked by getting him to like max and you need that to have happened for 3rd semester since akechi is important. Kasumi is very important but I can't say that without spoilers, but if you don't care then spoilers below Kasumi is Sumire acting like kasumi because she wished to become like her, so Dr Maruki granted her wish and she became Kasumi until joker and the gang remind her shes not kasumi
Going into this fight, I really never thought much of Maruki. Yes, he was an endearing confidant with an admirable goal. He simply wanted to erase everyone’s problems, and allow them to live out their happiest dreams. I liked him, and even during the many encounters with him during the 3rd semester, I really only thought of him as a **good** character. But, Jesus Christ... hearing him try his hardest to persuade you. Hearing him struggle desperately as he clings to his dream. Watching as the Phantom Thieves, in a stark contrast to what stood for up until now, literally destroy all of his hard work and ruined what little he had left. It was heartbreaking. I think the moment I started to realize just how human and how incredible he was as just a fictional character was when you beat him in the 1-on-1 fistfight, and he just- Screams. He yells and spazzes out in frustration. Maruki is not a villain. But he is a damn good antagonist.
Skull: We’ve come this far we ain’t gonna give up Panther: Yeah you gotta do better than this Fox: Don’t underestimate our tenacity Queen: It’s just another threat. We’ll overcome it like we always do Noir: If I run now, I know I’ll regret it Violet: We’ll decide for ourselves what we want our lives to be Finally Akechi: I’m a little occupied, so do your goddamn JOB Me: You hilariously broke the mood. Good job
Here’s exactly what they said. Skull: We’ve come this far, we ain’t gonna give up! Panther: Yeah, you gotta do way better than this! Fox: Don’t underestimate our tenacity! Queen: It’s just another threat. We’ll overcome it like we always do. Noir: If I run now, I know I’ll regret it! Violet: We’ll decide for ourselves, what we want our lives to be! Akechi: I’m a little occupied, so do your goddamn JOB!
In addition to this as "Akechi being Akechi," everyone else there is fighting for a future they can determine. Akechi knows he doesn't have a future. His success will kill him. There's nothing for him to look forward to. Just one last mission to complete.
I just realised, in the car, if Makoto is driving, and Ann and Sumi are also in the front seats, and Ryuji, Joker, and Yusuke all take up the middle section, that means Futaba and Haru are sitting in the back with Akechi. Weird, huh?
Y'know I almost forgot that WE'RE the good guys in this situation, with maruki pulling an anime protagonist move and pulling out his "Ultimate strength to face the harshness of reality and evil." Hell he had the speech, look, and overwhelming power down.
3:05 this gave me chills when I first saw it. For some reason I really like when the antagonist(s) can do what the protagonist(s) can do, and it's extra points when everyone's caught off guard because like, WHY in their minds lol
I don’t know what the hell it is but that fistfight near the end always makes me so goddamn emotional. Maruki is such a fitting villain for this game. A sweetheart who’s sorta psychotic and ultimately has the same goal as you, just with a different approach. So many dimensions, such a great character.
One of the things I love about this boss fight is that it simply wouldn't have happened if Maruki was the type to do absolutely anything to get his way. The normal plot hole that would be formed is, "If he wanted to get rid of them, couldn't he basically will them out of existence?" But since Maruki truly wants everyone to be happy, he can't even consider that possibility. Maruki is an insanely relatable antagonist. The boss fight begs two questions. 1. If you were in the Phantom Thieves' positions, would you give up a perfect, ideal life to reclaim the real world? And 2. If you were Maruki, would you do the same thing as him after watching the one you love suffer? For most people, I feel like the answer to both of these questions would be No for both. Even if they want to believe that they would stand up to Maruki, the majority of people have suffered in their lives. Mentally, Emotionally, even Physically. People would do anything to rid themselves of pain. And as for doing the same thing as Maruki, there's a reason that so many antagonists take vengeance. It's because it's realistic. People always want revenge when something bad happens to them or loved ones. So instead of trying to bring all of humanity to a better place, I firmly believe that most people would immediately jump to revenge against the world if they were given the power. Anyways I'm just saying that this boss fight is insanely good at hitting you in the feels because of this among multiple other things. Atlus did a damn good job.
If I have to choose I'd accept Maruki's reality because I'm not totaly happy with my life, I don't know how do I feel but it's painful. When I play this I felt Is wanted that I can leave this reality most of the choices that i take is because I wanted the true ending.
That scene...in 45:45...god. Damn, Maruki's voice actor was epic in that scene of his punch fight with Joker. You can hear the anguish Maruki was carrying since he "lost" his girlfriend, and was afraid to accept the reality until now, but with that scene he let go his anger and sadness he holded for a long time, and the vc could do this perfectly
![MV วิถีชีวิตใต้ - ผา อัยย๊ะ [Official MV HD]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nODlkOUu9B0/mqdefault.jpg)
![⭐ฮิตในTikTok!! ( หมูเด้ง MooDeng ) Ver. แดนซ์โจ๊ะๆ ReMix BY [ ดีเจกิต รีมิกซ์ ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3krsyfWUeHU/mqdefault.jpg)
Rest in peace Billy Kametz, voice of Maruki 🙏
Strategy for this boss : go for the tentacles, discover their weaknesses and abuse it with baton pass. Killing one tentacle allows you to damage Azathoth but having more tentacles down allows you to do more damage to Azathoth.
HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 Pre-battle
03:51 Phase 1
09:51 Phase 2
25:28 Azathoth Defeated
27:06 Victory ?
27:57 Adam Kadmon summon
29:58 Adam Kadmon Phase 1
32:50 Adam Kadmon Phase 2
38:20 Checkmate
40:50 Defeat ?
42:46 Animated escape helicopter cutscene
45:43 Final Battle
47:49 Defeat.
I was wondering: why not use a persona with like a high magic, megidolaon and concentrate to kill all the tentacles in one blow.
You can I did that
@@souju7317 does the pralaya skill still exist?
Also this is important. Take the one on the right out. It heals him using Energy stream
Just note if your too slow, Maruki will end up blocking this strategy. Either he'll stop Magic Persona Abilities or he'll block Baton Pass so you can't switch to another teammate for another go at the other weaknesses. It also seems in the first phase of the battle, you should only use abilities that hit all targets for getting rid of the tentacles if you aren't going for weaknesses, but don't attempt to use attacks that hit all targets when hitting only one target. There's some sort of dmg resistance that occurs if your using attacks that hit everything on only 1 target, including almighty.
Everyone: something inspirational
Akechi: DO YOUR JOB AS A PROTAGONIST AND KILL IT
This is basically me if given a chance to inspire or motivate a group
That's akechi becuz he didn't be the protagonist
@@headlinesxen7724 if Akechi WAS the main protagonist (playable character) he'd just rush the boss
Straight to the point
That’s our pancake boi
@@ulrickguiliman4810 You gotta wake em up you know to make it stay alert
Joker is P5: “I’ll just summon Satan to shoot God in the face!”
Joker in P5R: “Fine, i’ll do it myself.”
Mr. NotBatman except for now it’s being capable of infinite possibilities, more powerful than anything can imagine, the being everyone strives to be, not just some god
Satan against God (Satanael vs Yaldabaoth)
Man against Man (Joker vs Maruki)
Would've been the perfect time for him to awaken to Raoul Arsene. If they want to sell Joker's ultimate Persona fine, but I didn't even know it existed until after I beat P5R, might as well have given him a Satanael type moment. Would've allowed P5R to have its full circle moment.
@@kr1spness
Or they could've done what they did with Orpheus Telos.
@@kr1spness Yes I was wondering after I went into Thieves Den afterwards and saw Raoul and had no idea if I skipped him.
"And I believe you called forth your power like this... Persona."
"No, no. Akechi, show him the proper way."
"PERSONAAAAAAAAUGH"
GO TO HELL
Yessss 😭
Akechi yelled that as I read this comment lol
I LOVE HIS YELLING SO MUCH HE'S JUST PURE RAGE AND SAJHFASDKJVASAFS
LOKI, TOO MEEEE. AAHHAHAHAHA
Futaba: “Everyone is really low, can someone heal?"
Ohh gee Futaba, I wonder who has the ability to do that
Trish: That's me right ?
Funnily enough I got that line from her and then not even 30 seconds later I got her ultimate healing rank 11 thing to activate lol. Came in clutch
Don’t they all have a healing thing?
raphaela ratzlaff With certain items and/or accessories, yes.
Futaba doesn’t bother to use her new skill to heal...
Don't let this distract you from the fact that this probably means people believe cats become genuine helicopters.
I will believe what i have to believe
Children imagination is strong in Persona World
Racecar the Destroyer if for persona if wil believe
if we can have catbus, then cat be anything
@@Fweefwee6 hm, then cat train
“Help me kill every last one of my regrets”
*”I GAVE UP EVERYTHING!!!”*
Hits different now.. Rest in Peace Billy, you put your heart into this and no one will forget
what happened?
@@shutuguqueens492 he died of cancer
@@shutuguqueens492 maruki actor died
@@cummywummiez Oh, that's a shame :(
@@shutuguqueens492 It was really sad and sudden the poor man was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, and he passed away just a couple months later.
Maruki’s English VA really pulled off those lines during the fist fight really well, as expected of Ferdinand von Aegir
in blazblue cross tag battle, Maruki’s English VA is also the voice actor for Naoto Kurogane
iBacka who
Fraser ODonnell
you sure?
@@ExiletheJedi yes blazbluextag.fandom.com/wiki/Naoto_Kurogane
Fraser ODonnell
Oh.
Man, he took “i art thou, thou art i” a little too seriously
Exactly what I said when I saw this part of the battle.
His mask doesn’t come of when he summons Adam Kadmon. Is it even his persona? It doesn’t have the blue flames either.
Hmm, well Personas and Shadows are the same thing in concept, so if I had to make a guess, due to this being HIS palace, his Persona can materialise Perfectly, unlike the "Ghost" like form they usually appear as.
As for his mask staying...I've got nothing, Probably just an Art choice?
@@zxshadowxz well, you could say the reason maruki can summon with his mask on is rooted in the fact that maruki even owns a palace. you could say his entire palace is the true manifestation of his mask. that could also make azathoth and Adam Kadmon cognitive incarnations, similar to Cognitive Wakaba, but this time, Maruki had control over them.
this can all be proven by how certain events play out in the palace. when Joker shoots off Maruki's mask, the palace still remains somewhat intact.
Since shadows and Persona are connected, that should've made the entire palace collapse. But not everything did. It's only when Maruki finally acknowledges that he turned a blind eye to the original world to fulfill his agenda of saving everyone, that his palace literally begins to crumble. That's the moment he "takes off his mask". The fist fight is actually most important part of this -stupid reach- theory. That's when Maruki had really mastered his "shadow"; his Palace crumbles and his true feelings of regret and sorrow come out from the Persona he had worn the entire time. His mask and attire disintegrate, and the true pain he has kept behind his mask comes out. This also causes the entire metaverse to collapse, and Joker's mask fades too. In the end, Maruki truly accepts his shadow; the Laboratory of Sorrow incarnate.
In the time that I spent writing this dumb reach of a theory, I literally just realized how the entirety of Maruki's Palace is about his denial of everything turning into the will to bring true happiness to humanity, no matter how inherently-flawed it is.
A literal Persona in the form of "Heaven".
@@Sam-sn8oy my view on it is that it's a bastardization of an awakening. He's not saying the mask is a part of him, he's saying he is the mask. Hence he keeps the mask on, because he feels that defines him more.
Maruki in the Azathoth phase: “Please reconsider, I don’t want to hurt you!”
Maruki in the Adam Kadmon phase: “AND HERE COMES A GIANT FIST!”
Lmao
Stolen
Patrick is maruki confirmed
And the last phase was a good ol'' fist fight.
Joker: MARUKI NO!
47:00
That’s not even Persona at that point. That’s just... Person.
person 5 : jokr versus makri
Nice one
"SHOW ME WHAT YOU'VE GOT SNAKE!!!"
"LIQUIIIIIIIIIID!"
Metal Gear ref
It's not even Persona at that point, it's personal
R.I.P Billy Kametz.
He did a HELL of a job voicing perhaps one of my favorite "villains" of all time. He will be missed.
he might be be my favorite "bad guy" of all time. So much nuance, a man with heart but so much damage, so much love, and you can hear it in his voice. Bless you, Billy Kametz.
I loved him as Ferdinand too, but I think his performance in Royal might have been even better.
the term you're looking for is antagonist
Yes, he is the antagonist but not a “villain.”
He makes a good bad guy because maruki is a good sympathetic villain
48:20 Maruki holding up his hand like that is exactly the same gesture Joker made when he believed he was going to be erased from reality before the Yaldabaoth fight. Interesting parallel.
That’s what it reminded me off
I never noticed that probably not intended
I think you're overlooking it.
Good eye, Atlus has done deeper symbolism within even this game so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was intended.
Phantom Thieves when they see a Phantom:
*You’re M I N E .*
Start the journey with being falsely accused of assault.....
End the journey assaulting your counselor.
I mean it's not like he'd press charges.
@@Lazaruz95 And they DID both consent to being punched.
@@MsAnimefan95 we can just say they both said square up
*Damn brat, I'll sue!*
Back to prison we go
47:10 News Headline: Counselor gets into a fist fight with student
Shield Hero and Spear Hero both Fisting each other.
R'Sene Loopin When the Spear Hero is actually the protagonist.
Juan Mago holy shit man xd
More like:
*_Two men-in-drunk slaps each other's ass_*
Made me think of mgs4 snake vs ocelot. Honestly fantastic.
Guys, can we just talk about how beautiful the entire cutscene is where Joker is trying to save Maruki? I could *feel* how much he cared, the use of the piano part of Our Light is inspired, and... god, it's just perfect.
Yeah, the third semester manages to make the new scenes very emotional and hype, specially the checkmate moment. I'm glad they didn't kill Maruki or anything like that, he's such a a great character
oh my god, i was TERRIFIED maruki was going to die, as soon as i learned he was the antagonist i thought he was done for. i’m really glad they didn’t, the finale was so, SO much more powerful this way
Not as perfect as Persona 2's Revalation where the Kids actually cause more chaos than the demons and the Antagonist isnt just some generic cosmic entity with or without an alter ego whos also generic
right?? literally everything about that cutscene from his scream at the beginning, his glasses falling off, fucking all of it. such an amazing end for an amazing character.
@@sleepyintoner amazing character my ass, your quality standards are SHIT
Can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that a complete mortal's sheer fucking will was strong enough to summon THE GOD WHO BIRTHED THE UNIVERSE and then evolved it into THE EMBODIMENT OF PURE ENERGY AND POWER
Nigga straight up pulled an anime protagonist move and called forth his Ultimate Persona after his first loss. Fucking Chad of a man.
Yaldabaoth hates him so much
Edit:69 likes? Nice!
Alex
To be fair, the P3 Protaganist pulled a similar feat but it can be argued that his can’t be repeated due to a series of necessary circumstances surrounding his Ultimate Persona.
To be fair neither of them are the actual beings in myth, they're just his psyche. Although, I personally believe there was *some* interference that essentially made him into a god
@@Alex-yg1rm Yaldaboath hates him! Find out how this doctor enlarged his Persona!
Maruki: “You shouldn’t mistake our powers as equal!”
Me with a max level OP Kaguya Picaro: Laughs
Ah a fellow intellectual I see.
Me who bought dlc for izanagi no okami: you have lost breathing privileges
@@Bean7915 for my second run I did InO with mind charge+ alm amp and boost + magic boost, all stats maxed through fusion alarms. Idk if hasou tobi can be passed using the gallows but if it can I might kill my yoshitsune for the 3rd one and see how broken it can be.
EnderWolf unique skills (example-hassou tobi, morning star cant be passed down
BILLOW FORTH SACRED TEMPEST
The “I gave up everything! EVERYTHING!” Punched my heart harder than Joker punched Maruki
I love his starting battle quote: "My Persona guides me."
Personas are strength of heart made manifest. So he's REALLY saying "My heart guides me."
Well the song does go "The shadow is where my mind's states in. " or "My mind's facing. " So yeah
May your hearts be your guiding ke-
Wait wrong game
@@ronnymahendra9035 beat me to it...
@@ronnymahendra9035 Still works tho
I doubt that its the case. From what we sees from the third semester, he don't really seems to be aware of what a Persona truly is.
44:37 I love how this scene was used in the trailers to show Akechi struggling in pain, but in reality he just doesn't like being in a packed helicopter lmao
Hes in the floor
he hates pancakes now so he wouldn't want to be one
He spends the whole game carrying that stupid briefcase around and now he _is_ the luggage
@@bubblecoffee7210 Not even Myriad Truths can deal the damage you just did with those words.
To add insult to injury with Akechi, Sumire's heels must have been digging into him as well.
R.I.P. Billy Kametz. His voice over as Maruki and so many other characters will never be forgotten ❤️
Facts.
Rip
“I gave up everything! EVERYTHING!!”
This kills me every time.
I felt what he meant 😭
Generic quote from a generic villain
*claps*
Outstanding move.
Nielsen Liebert pretty wrong tho
Nielsen Liebert u smoking crack lmfao
39:43 Oh Goro, never change.
Hubert Akechi
Karen when fast food isn't finished in 5 minutes
I love it
@@riotmakerzeronine6761 do they have the same voice actor?
Jaiveon Watts yes
“I gave up EVERYTHING!!! EVERYTHING!!!! So WHY?!?!”
This line always stuck with me. I’m sorry you found out too late Billy. Please Rest In Peace.
What makes this hurt more is this character stood for “A world where no one suffers” 😕
He punch kid because he destroy all of his work
Joker : ... *Press X*
Honestly the shot of Joker standing ready to fire is like the prettiest image in the game.
That you can't take a screenshot of
@@fodspeed I hate that stupid rule
Bold words. There are a lot of beautiful images in this game
47:00 two drunk guys in a parking lot
I died at this comment!!😂
One of them looks like they came out of a wedding and the other looks like they just finished stealing some hearts
Sasuke and Naruto did this too. Damn drunk protagonist everywhere
Nanomachines son!
@@emil4215 ironic considering the one from the wedding isn't the one with a bride
I love the little touch for the very last fight that even Joker's UI doesn't have a mask. This game is fantastic.
Its somehow ridiculous to see an adult and a teen fight
I love that too. I wish there was an option to have the phantom thieves unmasked
@@BitchChilljust mod it
Maruki after finally being defeated by Joker
“You’re pretty good.”
It wouldn’t be Persona 5 without MGS boss battle references
JOKERRRR!!!
SENSEEEiii!!!
@@withnoname31 "It’s easier to live a convenient lie than a painful truth." Seems fitting considering the theme of Royal
Joker: *_breaks Maruki's finger_*
@@LuckiSir Joker: Cuts off Maruki's hand with Paradise Lost
LIQUIIIIIIID
39:40
Everyone: We’ve come this far, ain’t giving up
Akechi: Joker just do your effin job
It fucking kills me knowing akechi was so determined to do it knowing he was going to die (well depending on the validity of the true ending)
I saw a theory that said that akechi survived, and it was his wish to be friends with joker, and that jokers wish was to stay at LeBlanc with all of his friends, if we go by the "fake reality" ending
@@eldritchhollow7692 I think that makes sense think about it if Akechi was alive cause of Maruki's Alt Reality then he wouldn't have acted like he did in the third semester heck he wouldn't have suspected anything but he did he acted like himself and tried to stop Maruki and whatnot he even knew it was fake in the "Fake ending" so I believe he did survive it's just that Maruki's involvement might have done something else (since Maruki doesn't even know Akechi was in Shido's palace) and the fact that I don't think Akechi ever did attend Maruki's counseling sessions maybe he did but regardless it might be why he was mostly unaffected if not at all by Maruki changing reality and stayed himself
Gerald of Riveria in the true ending didn’t Akechi survived?
L0LZXD BOI thats why I said depending on the validity of the true ending. We see someone similar to him when we're on the train but that could be joker hallucinating because he also saw his phantom thief outfit in the reflection.
"You shouldn't mistake our powers as being equal."
*laughs in Izanagi-no-Okami Picaro*
BY THE MYRIAD TRUTHS !
*A L L W I L L B E R E V E A L E D*
Myriad Truths+Almighty amp+Almighty boost+Magic Ability+Concentrate+Heat Riser can pretty much take care of everything in the game. Crazy how it made the game pretty easy if you only use that.
@@gee_kaz only used it like 3 times in the entire game, though. I considered DLC personas beyond Raoul - and even then, only during Maruki's boss fight - cheating, and only used them as a last resort.
Which was Okumura's boss, the Reaper, and exactly once during Maruki's fight. Crazy how not using every possible buff makes the ability slightly more balanced.
@@lavenzavantas Thousands die while a million are born.
Behold, *THE TRUTH!!!*
So glad he was there. Yeah it's DLC, but having a "Win Button" Persona was a beautiful exploit, especially for someone like me who played P5 vanilla the correct way, and just wanted to experience Royal for the new story elements. Totally worth it.
After finishing the original storyline: "Ok, so how can they top an ending that epic?"
After "Checkmate!": "What are all these chills about??? Why am I tearing up??? Why is this so goooood???"
In my case: "WHY AM I SHAKING!?" "WHY AM I LAUGHING!?" "WHY AM I CRYING!?" and more...
So many emotions...all at once
Seriously, they did an amazing job with this expansion, worth the goddamn money
@@jorntumrongwit9056 1000000% agree
And then they totally ruined all this with that horrible ending
@@jamesa.646 did they change it up quite a bit?
39:08
This moment. This SINGLE moment made the entire game for me. I never thought they would be able to one-up shooting God in the face to save Christmas. Checkmate, P5R.
He went from shooting god in the face to shooting his counselor😂
You gotta save that punching god in the face in Shin Megami Tensei V and Nocturne HD
He went from shooting an evil god in the face to shooting a reality bending god in the face. But it’s hard to tell which shot was more dramatic.
Also this means the Phantom Thieves have a hell of a strength/durability feat
Just wait until that gets animated and we can see the Tier 3 Personas holding the hand. -Wait, how would that work for Agnes?-
"It's true that I turned my back on the original reality... BUT WHERE'S THE HARM IN THAT?! When it grows to be too much, too painful... every person deserves to escape that. Honestly, is best for a person's growth when they tackle their own hardships. But reality doesn't make that so feasible. No matter how hard you try, or work for so long, the smallest injustice can wipe it all out and leave you with nothing... don't you, of all people, understand that?"
Right in the feels, every single time.
Those words hurt me as much as sayori's outburst in doki doki
Morgana: “You know, there probably are plenty of people who’d ultimately benefit from your ‘reality.’ But what about the people who want to take on the world themselves? How’s it right to rob them of their opportunities?”
@@trentm2575 another great line
This fight ended up being one of my all time favorite fights. Sure, Adachi, Nyx, and everything in this series all have their weights. But, seeing Maruki get dissected and all those red flags he shows only briefly. Then have his general kindness be warped into what it becomes is really good writing. What makes it hurt even more, is that the main character, in this case Joker. Actively ENABLED him as the story progressed, YOU as a player gave weight and power to his warped view of a scientist "Who just wanted people to be happy" the more you interact with him. You're actions in that world and changing peoples hearts inspires him to do the same and in the end you end up sympathizing with him. Sure we all know it's wrong, but given the chance, it wouldn't be an easy decision would it? THAT makes a fantastic villain, where that line is blurred. We know it's wrong, but we secretly wish that your true happiness is just a yes away.
Honestly? I'd say this boss ties with Nyx and Yaldabaoth as the best boss fights in the series. And in terms of villains, I feel Maruki is probably the best villain in the entire Persona series, tied with Adachi. Both the character and the fight itself are excellent, and they actually play into each other really well.
its really hard for me to like villains in games especially anime games but maruki was done amazing well. i legit did not expect him to be a palace/ persona user which made the shock factor better. the phases of the boss battle, the cutscenes, his backstory, his actual them, and that fist fight between joker and him. i couldnt asked for a better setup and finish. i think this last palace with its character development of akechi and maruki was amazing.
man just straight up made an english project
Definitely my favorite Persona villain. Seeing how his ideology evolved because of inspiration from the Phantom Thieves was an incredible bit of development. It's very poignant that in the final psychiatric evaluation in his dungeon, the correct answer was "to change hearts to better society."
loved this fight to bits, but i don't think there will ever be another fight that reduces me to the emotionally spent husk like nyx did
40:23 imagine being marukis persona and seeing THIS, bet yaldabaoth was like NO NOT HIM AND THAT GUN AGAIN
he be like: Dam you Sataneal! rebelling against me even beyond a spiritual level!!
Imagine being Iwai and learning that his model guns killed like, two gods 😂
EmeraldCaptain and got combinded with God’s judgement and Lucifer
EmeraldCaptain he should be grateful
damn gun, i'll sue!
The most heartbreaking thing about Maruki is how loving and caring he is. He just wants people to be happy with their lives. It’s heartbreaking because he just wants the suffering to end, and it makes stealing his heart painful 😣
I agree. I really wanted to think twice about fighting him but I knew it's required story wise. It's even more sad since he STILL tries to change your mind even during the fight and he's dome everything he could to make people happy. It's too bad that that meant he would just have control over reality and didn't give people the choice to choose their own fate
@@murasakino101 tbf it's not required at all, you can choose to accept his reality
that's not what was painful to me. Seeing him suffering while running away from his pain knowing deep down he his wrong but hoping to be right at the is what made me sad like someone trying to fight depression
Maruki literally looks like The World.
ComicAdam
Joker saves the world from the world.
ZA WARUDO
ComicAdam Thank you for being one of the only people who actually pointed this out! Seriously, no sarcasm, I am shocked almost nobody has pointed this out. He literally looks exactly like him and his whole point of “controlling the world” goes hand in hand with it
@@xpickpoke2266 STAR PLATINUM ZA WARUDO
You beat me to it...
Beating this game after falling in love with Persona 5, the ending was emotional to me, not just because of how well written the end portion of the game was, but also that the journey was over. I didn't get that feeling from the OG game, but when the game ended, I legit started crying because, well, the game was over. I will forever be grateful to Persona 5 Royal for giving me the greatest experience and emotions in gaming.
I feel you, my brother... I finished it a couple of days ago and the story hit me so deep in the core of my feelings that I have been feeling a little grief these days. I think the one phrase that really made me burst down in cry was when Maruki drives Joker to the station and before saying goodbye Maruki says "If you're struggling in life, you can start all over again. Like me. Remember that." and damn... That particular moment made me feel like I just receive the warmest and most necessary hug at the moment.
I see the comment section all the time when I see these videos and I'm so delighted to see there's so much fans out there whose hearts were stolen by the Phantom Thieves... like mine. Maybe this experience will change our lives for a better.
Thank you Atlus. Thank you Phantom Thieves. Thank you fans who support these series.
I finished it back in April and experienced exactly what you wrote in your comment. But somehow even after coming across this video nearly 5 months later, I still teared up a little watching this ending. P5 royal will be one of those few games that alw have a special place in my heart
Edit: I also played the Og P5 but It didn’t give me the same emotional rollercoaster ride like p5 royal did. Both are amazing games though
I'd say The Witcher 3 and Mass Effect 3 also gave me those feelings.
I feel you on that too. I considered the original version of Persona 5, a masterpiece and my favorite video game of all time, but once I played and finished this version of it, I now considered this version 100x better than the original. And what made way better is that I actually felt like I was actually friends with the Phantom Thieves of Hearts and I was actually apart of the environment. And when it ended, it felt like I was actually saying Goodbye to them and the credits made me emotional, with me on the verge of tears. ATLUS created a beautiful masterpiece and I’ll definitely be replaying it on the PS5. This game will always have a special place in my heart. The Phantom Thieves of Hearts stole my heart once again
47:30 “A reality where… no one suffers…” I keep coming back to this exact moment when I wanna cry a lil bit. Crushes my heart every time.
It's why Maruki is such a great antagonist.. no one wants to oppose him, because he wants what we all want: for people to be happy.
It breaks your heart because you know he just wants the people he cares about to be happy, and to him happiness is worth freedom if that freedom is almost guaranteed to lead to strife and struggle
Same. Both the PT and Maruki is what I would become if Personas were real. Both storys hit really close to home, and especially Marukis is so similar and tragic to me, that it makes me cry every single time.
48:40
That Expressionless face, the sad music, the closing of his eyes
He was ready to accept death
He felt that there was no chance of redemption, until Joker caught him and wouldn't let go
Yeah that's the look that shows that, but Joker is just like that guy who will do whatever to help the peoe he cares about
The strokes of the piano were the beginning of “Our Light”, The ending credits.
"You can't die, you have to be in the spin offs!"
Than it was ruined because they took you to the velvet room
PFMudkips this is the one thing I agree with, I think they should’ve held off just a little longer till we went to the velvet room
Hate and love how the ending fist fight looks like a gta 5 mod
You’re right, the way they lumber at each other sells it for me
What's even better is that they do less damage each punch
@@fallenking9334 Thank God. At first Maruki was doing more damage than I was so I highkey thought I was gonna die from this obviously scripted segment lol
Gta 6 looking sick
Go see mgs4 final boss fight
39:42 is by far Akechi's best line in royal, along with questioning mona's size as a chopper and not wanting to hear the word pancakes ever again
That’s exactly me when someone calls me in the middle of a soccer game
I swear ATLUS is going to make Mona-Copter merchandise
And I'll buy it in a heartbeat
It better fly Goddamnit
DoctorVoidEXP it could be a dron
A MAN HAS FALLEN INTO THE RIVER IN MARUKI'S PALACE
HEY!
34:25
Not the best thing to be saying when surrounded by tentacles.
Oh my...
*oh*
Umm very disturbing I might say...
Those sounds and groans are... Questionable
@@thidderreal Everything about those five seconds are questionable
May Billy Kametz rest in peace, his performance as Dr. Takuto Maruki was perhaps his greatest ever and made Royal turn an already amazing game into one of the finest in a generation
I know it happens eventually, but we've lost a literal legend.
it amazes me how calm/sane akechi is in cutscenes in stuff but in battle he just goes cuckoo crazy
It's almost like being in battle lets him work out frustrations. Like dominating shadows gives him a sense of power that he never really had in his actual life. Cause really all he was after was revenge on shido for what he did. His anger in battle lets him direct it at something he can actually reach
@@darknesswave100 Haru also gets sadistic during battle. They've got a lot to work through. Akechi really gets to vent his frustrations by tearing through shadows.
Maruki: "You shouldn't mistake our powers as equal"
Me with a level 99 Lucifer that absorbs physical so all of Maruki's attacks heal me: "yeah youre right"
Same! I kept using morning star as my main attack for most of the fight
@@chilucky1698 same
wait that was phisical? i thought it was allmighty or some shit, god dammit
i had Yoshitsune and just one shotted everyone and i want in new game + lol
My Lucifer and Yoshitsune just ATE him. All I needed was my team to stay alive cause I am way too connected to them for them die.
One of, if not the best, boss battles ever. Absolutely fantastic. Not just the design of his first phases, how cinematic it is, the emotion, the music, etc. Really makes me question how people say games can’t be art
Fr
Fighting everyone from kamoshida to Yaldoboth never felt as heavy as fighting a friend trying to good by you
Exactly
Even though I had to use a restart in Safe difficulty, this was probably the most cinematic and climactic final boss I've ever partaken in. Finding his palace earlier in the game threw me for a loop, trying to figure out who it belonged to. I was in utter disbelief when the GUIDANCE COUNSELOR had the last palace.
I think the only thing holding this back from being better than the Shido boss fight is the Adam Kadmon part. It was very cool but in comparison to facing Azathoth it was easy.
I'm waiting for the day when Phantom releases a video with the title "Can you one shot Maruki"
Lets wait and see if that happens
ye
@KobraShadow i mean it doesnt hurt to try
Answer is yes because joker already did that here when he shot maruki in the face
Most likely yes charge plus a skill that triples the effect, attack up debilitate, and have a teammate handle the tendrils
Next phase you pretty much have to one shot him so while I haven’t done it yet due to time and yen it could most likely be done
Fun fact: Azathoth is known as the "Blind Idiot God with no sense or sight"
Hardly a reliable fount of power for one to change reality
I mean, in Lovecraft's mythos, he kinda made the universe, if I remember correctly
@@jimphoenix494 that was Adam Kadmon I believe
@@deathbykonami5487 Adam Kadmon is the creator in Gnosticism, but Azathoth was the bitch in Lovecraftian lore.
Also, Azathoth made the universe through it's dreams, which is really fitting for Maruki :
He is a hopeless idealist who dreams of a perfect world, but is unable to face the world he lives in, essentially making himself *a blind fool with no sense of reality*
And about Adam Kadmon, according to wikipedia :
It represents divine light without a vessel, pure potential as well as the collective essence of the soul.
With his power, Maruki can make any reality he wishes for, hence the pure potential part, and in order to do that, he uses Mementos, the collective unconcious, the collective essence of the soul. The fact that Azathoth turned into Adam Kadmon could mean that Maruki became fully dedicated to the creation of his new world, instead of simply dreaming of it.
@ryne green Futaba's first and third Persona, Necronomicon and Al-Azif (Al-Azif being part of an arabic name that was purported to be used as its original name in the lore), is also from Lovecraft.
Like a lot of you, I came here after hearing the news...
Billy was such an incredible voice actor and his legendary performance as Maruki will be immortalized for years to come. Rip Billy 🙏
39:17
Everyone else: Blah blah something motivational.
Akechi: DO YOUR GODDAMN JOB!
-starts acting slower-
47:15 I Love that Jokers mask is gone. Even in his icon. Joker doesnt need his mask anymore. It was never his mask that was the rebel who saved the World. But Akira/Ren. Thats the One we have fighting here.
L30n G like the song that plays during the boss fight is call he Threw away his mask.
Well the song is called Throw Away Your Mask. But the point still stands.
Rocco The Rayquaza
Just like Narukami threw his glasses before delivering the final blow to Izanami, Joker threw his mask to deliver the final blow to Maruki.
@@mystery8820 or Makoto not even using an evoker?
@@derekmartin5340 yeah, Makoto doesn't use his evoker when summoning the Great Seal,just the tip of his finger and thumb
Nice job noticing
P5 final boss: literally a god
P5R final boss: Student councilor
Maruki: very interesting
God: boring
@@adriancastillo8208 Maruki isn't interesting at all.
@@yungbreezy36 are you kidding me, right?
Please no comment fights
PLEASE?
@@yungbreezy36 bruh we get it already that you have a hate boner for maruki. I've literally seen you commented on every reply section saying "maruki isn't interesting." It's not like you're not allowed to state your opinions but state it when it's relevant, don't just butt in people talking about how they like an aspect and be like "uM nO aCtUaLlY [insert complain]"
47:04 that voice hit me a lot, you can feels Maruki's feelings of frustation and anger. I think that is what 120% sold me to adore him, the best kind of persons in my opinion are those whose feelings are understandable and visible, the ones that struggle, cry express they emotions. Honestly at first i was a bit sceptical about this to be the last boss but by the end Maruki surpassed both yaldabaoth and Shido, such one amazing character
It hit me too! I just lost it.
40:50 is what got me
Same here but for me, yaldabaoth was better
And he was so composed even while asking Joker for it. Such a huge dichotomy.
Sorry, but I might turn gay after hearing Joker say “Checkmate” like that
lmao ;D
And you can thank Xander Mobus for that voice acting
i was hoping he'd say "Jackpot!"
@@geocross237 devil may cry reference I see
@@Solid_Bocchi a man of culture I see
When Maruki said "A world where nobody suffers!!", it really hit me hard. I knew what I was fighting for the whole time, yet it was only at the moment that I was like "Oh god, what have I done?"
Maruki is the only boss who doesn’t have “Blood of A Villain” playing before you fight him, therefore..... he’s not considered a villain even to the creators/directors of P5R
It’s “Blood of Villain” not “Blood of a Villain”. 🤦
@@catalyst539 So?
Just me being stupid
I mean I wouldn't call him a villain either... he's an antagonist for sure but that doesn't automatically mean villain
@@xoderota He's more of an anti-villain. He had a genuinely good intention, but his way to achieve it is wrong. So yeah, you can't count him as a villain.
Maruki and akechi are amazing characters. I’m so happy that akechis character was fleshed our even more.
Chidori same i find it weird that akechi and sumire aren’t in the credits though
@@papiflame5709 they aren't?!?!?
@@Franzi.subs. nope
Ngl, third semester is what really made me like Akechi as a character. The base game version of him was a cool villain, but his ultimate reason for killing and injuring hundreds of people was "my dad left me and my mum died", which gave me sympathy for him but not nearly enough to come close to excusing the murders
@@ciarantc7881 yeah in the base game he didnt have much of a reason to kill so many people but in royal they fleshed him out so much that you feel sympathy and sadness when you find out he will die after defeating maruki
"A reality where no one suffers..."
Unfortunately, as is painfully obvious, life can't and won't ever be this way.
Rest in peace Billy Kametz. May you live on through the impact you've left with your works.
I love how Akechi will always be this almost raging being no matter what situation he’s in, I love it.
Don’t get me wrong: this is a masterpiece, but when Maruki and Ren are punching each other, it looks like a drunken bar fight XD
Yeah, but then again who wouldn’t be tired after battling for (X) amount of rounds also, they were fighting without snacks. Snacks power up is OP XD
It actually was the best part of the game for me
I mean at that time they were down to just themselves realistically. Two humans, two "friends". And you are trying to beat some sense out of him and vice versa.
Only the Critical Drinker would know for sure
As a metal gear fan, I really liked it.
*use me however you want*
*surrounded by tentacles*
**heavy breathing**
Haha I'm in danger
Please don’t........
@Bruh Momento What do you mean you've seen it? It's entirely new!
*I've seen enough hentai to know where this is goin'-*
44:56
*Phantom thieves all happy*
Akechi: “Shit, I hoped he’d have been left there.”
he can’t keep getting away with this
"oh what the fuck? I thought I pushed him out the car before mona transformed? Lucky bastard"
46:23 Ferdinand you've been hanging out with Dimitri too much
My regrets... KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!
Yes!! 🤣🤣🤣
THANK YOU... this line actually ruined the mood for me, I started laughing so hard
:O how didn't i recognize his voice it's super obvious that the VA is same!
When you realize a persona game has a final boss that doesn't disgust you and instead invokes feelings of sadness
That's a good villain
Maruki is inherently nice person, even after he becomes evil and driven by despair. He also believes in Individual Freedom as shown when he give Phantom Thieves a chance to meet each other in his palace about argument of life, suffering, and happiness and also the side effects of Maruki's World rather than erasing them from existence.
1:29 I feel like enough people aren’t talking about how beautiful this section is visually, it’s unfortunate that a view like this is only used once. (Although unique assets for the final level aren’t uncommon in general)
I agree
I had to take that section of the game in slowly, it was so beautiful that I walked up lol.
Its the tree of knowledge from the story of Adam and Eve. Its looks like a holy tree with apples of knowledge growing on it.
Even ryuji agree
Ends off with a Fist fight 46:53 wait wasn’t that the thing that got him put under one year Probation and that’s how He ends it. I guess what goes around comes around in the end
Nope, Joker got put under probation cause he shoved that one guy over by accident.
Naofumi Vs Motoyasu but only with Fists.
Except Motoyasu is the hero and Naofumi's the villain.
Final fist fight? Just like metal gear!
Melon Scumpthin
*”LIQUIIIID!!”*
*”SNAAAKE!”*
At 33:34 For some reason i am always touched when akechi tries to stop Maruki from becoming stronger because he says says if "we hesitate now we die" but akechi knows that if they win and Maruki is stopped, Akechi will go back to the reality where he is dead. He shooting at maruki because he is trying to save the rest of the team and wants them to live in the original reality in which he knows he is dead.
Basically in simpler terms if he shoots maruki he shoots himself
Who knows
He might be in hiding
He's just a nice guy with doing the wrong thing. He just needed help.
Guess you could say he needed a councilor
@@denos1699 Stop it. Stop it right now.
@@kxngkxng xD
@@denos1699 but he was "counciled", by a joker
It can be argued that he isn't even doing the wrong thing.
I still can’t get over how emotional Mona screaming after Joker as he falls sounds. You can hear the audio sounds like it’s sort of muffled like how it would if your falling through the air (as the protagonist is). You can also hear the desperation in Mona’s voice too as he falls. It’s the classic “you idiot! Why would you sacrifice yourself?!” tone. It’s even more emotional knowing Mona has been with Joker almost from the get-go in their metaverse “adventures” and he has a home with Joker. Knowing the story and keeping in mind the emphasis on relations with characters in Persona makes it all the more emotional seeing this
Rest in peace, Billy 🙏
Truly your performance with his character gave him so much life, and we'd never have Maruki without your stunning efforts.
In my opinion, what hurts the most during this semester is that Maruki is trying his hardest to convince Joker to stay and have their "perfect" reality, and is only doing this for the happiness of others and yet, not for the sake of his own. He doesn't end up with Rumi in HIS reality, where it shows everyone is happy except himself, because he's content with seeing the world be free of its despair. And Maruki finally lets out all of his pain in 47:03
People have actually pointed out that with Azathoth fading, the memory wipe done to Rumi should have come undone as well. And people have headcanoned that after a short time, she reached out to Maruki, wondering about him and his whereabouts.
I like to think that, given time, Rumi and Maruki were able to go on living their lives together as normal.
Joker: *_Knocks on the door to Leblanc's toilet_*
Akechi: 39:43
Classic
I laughed
You'll get your rent when you fix this DAMN DOOR
36:42 that building confirmed to be the strongest thing in reality to take multiple punches like that lmao
I don't know, there was a building in Doom Eternal that took an absolute BEATING from the Icon of Sin.
I mean... If you take Persona 5's scaling into Adam Kadmon then... Maruki IS massively more powerful than Yaldabaoth, who casually fused two universes together, even with just Azathoth. So imagine how much more powerful he is with Adam Kadmon. That building is able to take High-Multiversal level attacks.
I finished royal today, and rewatching this all, it’s so emotional. The fist fight, Maruki had so much emotion. You can truly tell there was a lot of emotion behind it
“And I believe you called forth your power like this.
Persona.”
So it's the same persona as my arsene if joker was in the jojo universe
The fact that he just says it calmly instead of shouting really gives it that extra punch. Such a badass moment.
Joker: Show him how it's done akechi.
Akechi:
*PERSONAAUUUUGGHHH*
"Eh, it needs more face-tearing."
I'd regret not pointing this out to you before... You shouldn't mistake out powers as being equal!
The dialog during the fist fight with Joker is still one of the best VA performances I've heard. What a legend. Rest easy, Billy.
48:02 When your wife’s husband won’t let you buy the LEGO Ninjago set
48:02 When there's no fortnite burger at McDonald's
Ninjago do be fire tho 💀
King Crazy, Yes it do. It also be sad.
@@Misman345 fornite burger has an awful taste
48:02 WHEN YOU CHEATED YOUR WIFE FOR ANOTHER WOMAN
"Joker! We're at a huge climactic moment where we need you to save the day. Activate your third awakening!"
"Sorry guys. I didn't buy the dlc. How about I just use regular bullets instead?"
As dumb as that DLC is, we *really* don't need another "all hope seems lost, but the protagonist overcomes it and awakens to an even stronger Persona" bit. I liked how Royal made it's own idea/iconography instead.
@@Kisaru1000 I wish they couldve added him in without doing that. I was thinking that joker finds himself in a world where all his freinds are living their dream lives and everyone is happy, only to realize that he has to stick to his convictions and not give in to these lies and when he sees everyone stop the big ass fist slam is when he awakens again and uses him to deal the final blow
@@echodec So a repeat of what the Persona 4 anime did with Izanami?
Well what makes no sense to me is that Rahoul is part of joker's concept art implying that he was gonna be in the main game ig
Had to come back to this after hearing the news.
This game helped me a lot during the pandemic where I was cut off from my friends, feeling hopeless, and Billy Kametz as Maruki was a huge part of that.
He put everything into voicing this tragic and troubled character, and his performance left a huge impression on me and everyone else.
*_The_* performance of his tragically short career. I hope wherever he is, he knows that his voice and his work will be remembered for years to come.
Thank you, Billy.
Joker: *Sees stairs*
Also joker: *Uses grappling hook to not use the stairs*
Well wtf why have stairs?
Fish Lol Would you wanna waste valuable energy and time running up some stairs?
@@Appl3forPFP Lose SP when climbing stairs Lol
My arch-enemy... STAIRS!
I mean what are the odds that a guy that can summon the literal devil and every other mythological creature to have a grappling hook handy lol. Bet maruki was sitting there at the top like oh so I was being nice putting those stairs in only to have him not even fucking use them? Time to tentacle this high schooler lol
@@darknesswave100 Maruki is a doctor, he just wanted Joker to take the safe route. Lol
Its as if you had that eagle mascot that says kids shouldn't touch guns simply get pissed off at a fortnite kid and pull out the p20
Maruki's palace is the BEST palace of the entire game.
Change my mind.
I didn't know I had to max him out because I never got far in the original P5, so I missed the third semester lol. Gonna save it for my NG+ playthrough maybe in a month, looking forward to the palace
@@Irraptured You have to max out Kasumi, Akechi and Maruki to get third semester.
@@ExplodingParrotChannel No, just Maruki. Kasumi and Akechi only give you some bonus scenes, although I'll be maxing them too lol, didn't even get that done
How about this: whims of fate
@@Irraptured no you have to, akechi duel is only unlocked by getting him to like max and you need that to have happened for 3rd semester since akechi is important.
Kasumi is very important but I can't say that without spoilers, but if you don't care then spoilers below
Kasumi is Sumire acting like kasumi because she wished to become like her, so Dr Maruki granted her wish and she became Kasumi until joker and the gang remind her shes not kasumi
Going into this fight, I really never thought much of Maruki. Yes, he was an endearing confidant with an admirable goal. He simply wanted to erase everyone’s problems, and allow them to live out their happiest dreams. I liked him, and even during the many encounters with him during the 3rd semester, I really only thought of him as a **good** character. But, Jesus Christ... hearing him try his hardest to persuade you. Hearing him struggle desperately as he clings to his dream. Watching as the Phantom Thieves, in a stark contrast to what stood for up until now, literally destroy all of his hard work and ruined what little he had left. It was heartbreaking.
I think the moment I started to realize just how human and how incredible he was as just a fictional character was when you beat him in the 1-on-1 fistfight, and he just-
Screams. He yells and spazzes out in frustration.
Maruki is not a villain.
But he is a damn good antagonist.
Skull: We’ve come this far we ain’t gonna give up
Panther: Yeah you gotta do better than this
Fox: Don’t underestimate our tenacity
Queen: It’s just another threat. We’ll overcome it like we always do
Noir: If I run now, I know I’ll regret it
Violet: We’ll decide for ourselves what we want our lives to be
Finally Akechi: I’m a little occupied, so do your goddamn JOB
Me: You hilariously broke the mood. Good job
Here’s exactly what they said.
Skull: We’ve come this far, we ain’t gonna give up!
Panther: Yeah, you gotta do way better than this!
Fox: Don’t underestimate our tenacity!
Queen: It’s just another threat. We’ll overcome it like we always do.
Noir: If I run now, I know I’ll regret it!
Violet: We’ll decide for ourselves, what we want our lives to be!
Akechi: I’m a little occupied, so do your goddamn JOB!
Gosh Akechi is so quirky☺️
And that’s why Akechi’s my favorite character in Persona 5
In addition to this as "Akechi being Akechi," everyone else there is fighting for a future they can determine. Akechi knows he doesn't have a future. His success will kill him. There's nothing for him to look forward to. Just one last mission to complete.
31:54 I guess in a way she’s like kasumi
Underrated comment
I fucking burst out laughing at this I know it's wrong but in that moment I didn't care
Ooooooof
HOLY SHIT I JUST GOT IT THATS FUCKING HORRIBLE LMAO
😂😂😂
I just realised, in the car, if Makoto is driving, and Ann and Sumi are also in the front seats, and Ryuji, Joker, and Yusuke all take up the middle section, that means Futaba and Haru are sitting in the back with Akechi.
Weird, huh?
45:57 *"SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT, SNAKE!"*
@Xrinja SNAKE!
**SNACK!!!!**
"Joker...You're pretty good..."
@@Chris-ih3ke Looking Cool, Boss
That's orochi
Y'know I almost forgot that WE'RE the good guys in this situation, with maruki pulling an anime protagonist move and pulling out his "Ultimate strength to face the harshness of reality and evil." Hell he had the speech, look, and overwhelming power down.
+ fire ost
3:05 this gave me chills when I first saw it. For some reason I really like when the antagonist(s) can do what the protagonist(s) can do, and it's extra points when everyone's caught off guard because like, WHY in their minds lol
This.
This is like my favorite thing ever I swear
Me in the twin's fight realising they can baton pass and all out attack.
You finally get a taste of what the enemies face.
I don’t know what the hell it is but that fistfight near the end always makes me so goddamn emotional. Maruki is such a fitting villain for this game. A sweetheart who’s sorta psychotic and ultimately has the same goal as you, just with a different approach. So many dimensions, such a great character.
Technically he doesn't have the villain's blood theme when you approach him, the Devs don't see him as a villain.
One of the things I love about this boss fight is that it simply wouldn't have happened if Maruki was the type to do absolutely anything to get his way. The normal plot hole that would be formed is, "If he wanted to get rid of them, couldn't he basically will them out of existence?" But since Maruki truly wants everyone to be happy, he can't even consider that possibility. Maruki is an insanely relatable antagonist. The boss fight begs two questions.
1. If you were in the Phantom Thieves' positions, would you give up a perfect, ideal life to reclaim the real world?
And 2. If you were Maruki, would you do the same thing as him after watching the one you love suffer?
For most people, I feel like the answer to both of these questions would be No for both. Even if they want to believe that they would stand up to Maruki, the majority of people have suffered in their lives. Mentally, Emotionally, even Physically. People would do anything to rid themselves of pain. And as for doing the same thing as Maruki, there's a reason that so many antagonists take vengeance. It's because it's realistic. People always want revenge when something bad happens to them or loved ones. So instead of trying to bring all of humanity to a better place, I firmly believe that most people would immediately jump to revenge against the world if they were given the power.
Anyways I'm just saying that this boss fight is insanely good at hitting you in the feels because of this among multiple other things. Atlus did a damn good job.
If I have to choose I'd accept Maruki's reality because I'm not totaly happy with my life, I don't know how do I feel but it's painful. When I play this I felt Is wanted that I can leave this reality most of the choices that i take is because I wanted the true ending.
Maruki is a very special character to me, Thanks Billy for bringing us a performance none of us will ever forget.
That scene...in 45:45...god.
Damn, Maruki's voice actor was epic in that scene of his punch fight with Joker. You can hear the anguish Maruki was carrying since he "lost" his girlfriend, and was afraid to accept the reality until now, but with that scene he let go his anger and sadness he holded for a long time, and the vc could do this perfectly
I love after the climatic fight, joker and the doc just start beating the crap out each other
i always love it when an over the top fight just ends in a brawl.
RIP Billy Kametz.
You gave us an amazing performance of one heck of a counselor and final dungeon.
You will be missed
I love Robbie's line delivery with Darkechi, it's amazing and really gives off such a different tone to the fakely charismatic Akechi we see before
I'm a bit occupied... So do your god damn job!
I just realized this, but I’m basically tuxedo mask. So that means Robbie Daymond also voiced me.
39:43 best line
Goro 3rd sem is fantastic
The little fistfight with Dr.Maruki is absolutely heartbreaking, especially when he screams and has a little tantrum
So, Maruki's Persona is a Totem of Undying
that explains how he’s alive
Reminded me of thunderbird but yeah I can see that