Masayoshi Shido – the sureshot next prime minister and the Phantom Thieves’ final target. Or, maybe not? Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, because Shido was squarely in the thieves’ sights. Last time I grumbled a little about not having the best of times in two previous palaces, those of Okumura (the spaceport) and Sae (the casino). Thankfully, things took a turn for the better with Shido and his amazing palace: a gigantic, luxury cruise ship that sailed happily above the poor, ugly masses. Its excess was a stomach-churning as Shido’s slimy pride, and what a sight it was to behold. Little did Kai and the crew know that journeying through this palace would reveal a terrible, tragic truth concerning one of its “own.”

Speaking of which, it’s no spoiler to say that person was Akechi, for his betrayal had already been revealed. He blamed Sae for the mental shutdowns, “killed” Kai while he was in prison, and had been working for Shido all along. His motivations in that regard remained a little murky, but the thieves’ had to get back at him, nonetheless. Complicating matter slightly was that, in reality, the public believed that the thieves’ leader had actually died, so Kai had to keep a very low profile, yes, there was Akechi and Shido to deal with, but he still had to try to attain a few more social ranks and up some of his stats. (Little did he know that time was not on his side.) There was also the matter of everyone figuring out that Shido was the one behind Kai’s initial and unlawful arrest. He was truly an enemy of the people, even though society had been practically brainwashed to see him otherwise.

It took the gang some time to figure out exactly what Shido’s palace was, but once they did, it was time to set sail! Getting to Shadow Shido was an interesting journey, as it involved having to go through his “associates” to obtain permission to see him. It became clear that Shido only favored for himself, and maybe a few trusted individuals, and cared none for the country at-large. His power to turn the thieves into literal rats while on the ship only further demonstrated his total lack of empathy. Defeating each of Shido’s “associates” came with their own terrible stories of mental shutdowns they had requested. (Is that why Shido and Akechi were working together?) As it turned out, Shido was the tapestry to which all the game’s threads were connected. With his immense network of contacts, which included the likes of previous palace-owners like Madarame and Kaneshiro, and the “brains” behind Medjed (not Futaba), he had rigged the election for prime minister in his favor and eliminated via mental shutdown (Akechi’s work) all those who threatened his campaign, like Shujin’s principal Kobayakawa and CEO Okumura. Shadow Shido’s battle was a tough one, but it was nowhere near as impactful as what happened just before it.

Akechi, Akechi, Akechi — if only I had known! (Much like with a few other aspects of this game! More on that later.) His duplicity was one thing; discovering the reason why was another thing entirely. Though branded as an “ace detective,” it apparently took a bit for him to figure out that he had not, in fact, killed Kai. But once he did, hoo boy, talk about wrath. He brought forth his full power in confronting the thieves immediately after they had obtained all their Shido permission letters. The confrontation was fraught with wild emotion, as Akechi divulged that he was Shido’s illegitimate son and wanted nothing more than recognition from him. And once he had that, he would prove that he,” an utter disgrace,” could take down a man like Shido. It was this tragic desire that drove Akechi to become Shido’s assassin in the first place. Oof. Talk about a jolt to the heart. While the thieves battled Akechi in his true form, he was ultimately taken down (or so it seemed) by his cognitive self. The whole scene was…weird, but sad. Very, very sad. The emotional rollercoaster kept going after Shadow Shido’s defeat, for the gang thought they had lost Ryuji in the wake of the palace’s destruction. (Oh, he was fine…silly Ryuji.)

With Shido’s palace but a memory, the Phantom Thieves awaited his confession, which came with the approach of Christmas. It seemed a celebration would be in order! But wait. Something wasn’t quite right. With confessions usual came a public outcry of support for the Phantom Thieves, only that didn’t happen with Shido. Instead, the exact opposite occurred, with the public’s support of Shido reaching an all-time high and their belief in thieves reaching such a low point that most seem to forget they ever existed. What were the thieves to do but take Morgana’s suggestion that they destroy the public’s palace, Mementoes, to set things right. And so, on Christmas Eve, the Phantom Thieves entered Mementoes for the very last time, for what was clearly stated as their very last heist.

So much happened on December 24^th that I could write a whole article about it. Suffice to say, Mementoes was the thieves’ actual final palace; and its “ruler” was none other than Igor from the Velvet Room, or rather, the shadow version of him that had been inhabited by the god-like and deceptive persona, Yaldabaoth. With Igor’s “rescue,” also came the reveal of both Morgana’s reality and that of Igor’s Twin Wardens, along with Igor bestowing upon Kai the ultimate persona, Universe. With that, the thieves ended Yaldabaoth’s reign over humanity and closed Mementoes forever. This also meant the end of Igor, the Twin Warden’s original form, Lavenza, and seemingly, Morgana, too. I was so sad to see him go, but it made sense.

I was locked out of taking any captures after the events of 12/24, but the end credits came via the most curiously circuitous route. Clearly, I thought, there’s time left of the calendar, based on Kai’s year in Tokyo, so what would happen? A bunch of cutscenes, that’s what. After the whole route in Mementoes, Kai turned himself into the police at the behest of Sae, who had been building case again Shido and needed his testimony as a Phantom Thief. Kai agreed, and he was given a chance to say goodbye to his friends. Or rather, only his maxed-out confidants. (A disappointing but enlightening discovery, as of the thieves besides Morgana, I had only maxed out Ryuji.) The days of the calendar flew by, and before I knew it, we were in March, and Kai was free to go with all former charges against him dropped. It was time for him to head back home, which was heralded via a road trip with the thieves, including Morgana! Morgana the cat, as only his cognitive self has disappeared with the end of Mementoes. And that was that.

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While I won’t write another article about the day that was December 24^th, I will put together some final thoughts on the game in next week’s post. I’ll sign off now with my final stats and with what I said to my husband as the game’s credits were rolling. “Was it fun?” he asked. I responded, “It was..an experience.”

Persona 5 Royal stats:

Character: Kai Yasuda
Play time: 110 hours
Date (in game): March 16
Level: 78
Knowledge: Encyclopedic
Guts: Dauntless
Proficiency: Transcendent (max)
Kindness: Angelic (max)
Charm: Debonair (max)

Confidant ranks attained (listed by Arcana):
Fool  – Rank max (Igor)
Magician  – Rank max (Morgana)
Priestess – Rank 6 (Makoto)
Empress – Rank 3 (Haru)
Emperor – Rank 6 (Yusuke)
Hierophant – Rank 8 (Sojiro)
Lovers – Rank 6 (Ann)
Chariot  – Rank max (Ryuji)
Justice – Rank 6 (Akechi)
Hermit – Rank 3 (Futaba)
Fortune – Rank 2 (Fortune teller)
Strength – Rank 1 (Lavenza)
Hanged – Rank 4 (Weapons dealer)
Death – Rank max (Takemi)
Temperance – Rank 6 (Kawakami)
Devil – Rank 8 (Ohya)
Tower – Rank 3 (Skilled gamer)
Star – Rank 7 (Hifumi)
Moon – Rank max (Mishima)
Sun – Rank 6 (Man of the People)
Judgement – Rank max (Prosecutor)
Faith – Rank max (Kasumi)
Councillor – Rank 6 (Maruki)

Personas held:
Atavaka (Faith) – Level 72
Mot (Death) – Level 78
Melchizedek (Justice) – Level 65
Vasuki (Star) – Level 72
Moloch (Hanged) – Level 60
Kali (Empress) – level 63
Thor (Chariot) – Level 64
Throne (Justice) – Level 72

All images, including lede, were taken by author during Xbox Series S gameplay of Persona 5 Royal (© Atlus).