Every game is expected to have a final dungeon that beats all the ones before it. After all, you’ve spent so much time getting to that point, and it’s the last place you’ll be fighting in before confronting the final boss and beating the game. It should be something memorable in the best way possible.
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Overall,Persona’s dungeons are pretty good at making you feel the “this is it” bittersweet emotion of being a step away from the end. The series doesn’t shy away from making the final baddie you face be someone grand, and the same goes for the final dungeons. But some do it much better than others.
6Persona 3 Portable - Adamah Block
Instead of different dungeons, you fight most ofPersona 3 Portable’s Shadows in Tartarus. The only difference is that the look and music change slightly with every block, but the differences aren’t very significant at all. Sadly, this is also true for the final block you go through to reach the final boss.
It’s still Tartarus. The walls and ground are just very silver now, and the music is the same track as always just with a couple of added effects. Because of that, it doesn’t feel much different from what you’ve already been doing the whole game. There are a few guardians you have to get through to make it to the final floor, but they’re pretty much the same as the mini-bosses found on previous floors. All in all, there’s nothing too memorable before the final battle.
5Revelations: Persona - Avidya World
The first Persona game was released in 1996, so it makes sense that its dungeons aren’t quite as intricate as later games'. The environment is nothing special; it’s just corridors of grey walls and dull floors. It’s even more boring to look at than Persona 3 Portable’s final block because dungeons here are in first-person view, so there aren’t even any character models to break the monotony until battles begin.
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However, the final dungeon’s music fits the environment and situation very well, being tense but determined, and kind of makes up for it. Plus, you fight Pandora, the source of the main conflict, a few times before her final boss form, which is much more interesting than a few random Shadow guardians. Still, compared to most of the later games, the first one’s final dungeon doesn’t really hold up.
4Persona 4 Golden - Yomotsu Hirasaka
Yomotsu Hirasaka being the final dungeon inPersona 4 Goldenmakes a lot of sense if you paid attention to Mr. Edogawa’s lecture earlier in the game. It’s a boundary between the world of the living and the dead and is tied to Izanagi and Izanami, the protagonist’s first Persona and the final boss respectively. The dungeon also showed up in the very beginning of the game during the protagonist’s dream, so it’s a nice callback that brings everything together neatly.
The ethereal but ominous music and foggy layout represent Izanami, the goddess behind everything that’s happened in the game, very well. Despite this, the actual mechanics of the dungeon are the same as every other one before it, so it’s not as unique as it could have been once you get past all the symbolism. You might not even find it as cool-looking as some other dungeons in the game, depending on your taste.
3Persona 2: Eternal Punishment - Monado Mandala
Monado Mandala in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment definitely has the appearance of a final dungeon. It looks like you’re literally walking in space, with the starry sky right underneath you. The paths you walk on are a vivid pink that make the whole thing pop, and it’s all just really nice to look at. The environment accompanied by the intense, earnest music makes this dungeon stand out for sure.
The character interactions and development don’t pause until you get to the final boss, either. You get to see every character’s weakness and resolve throughout the dungeon since you have to beat the Shadow forms of your own party members to rescue the party of Innocent Sin. This all makes you excited to carry on and see what Nyarlathotep, the final boss, will do next before you reach them.
2Persona 2: Innocent Sin - Xibalba
Though its final dungeon doesn’t look as cool as its sequel’s, Persona 2: Innocent Sin has it beat in more important categories. Its final dungeon looks much simpler than Eternal Punishment’s, as it’s essentially just rooms and hallways painted a dull gold. Its music is also calmer in comparison, though it gives you the feeling that something twisted and sinister is lurking. Which track is better is up to preference, as both fit their respective dungeons really well.
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However, it’s theeventsof Innocent Sin’s final dungeon that puts it above Eternal Punishment’s. Not only do you get more of a look into every character’s past, which lets you understand them more, but it also keeps you on your toes with its inventive trap rooms. And even at the final dungeon, the party’s chemistry and humor shine through, giving you a reason to smile and chuckle even after seeing such sad events unfold.
1Persona 5 Royal - Maruki’s Palace
If this were the originalPersona 5, its final dungeon wouldn’t have made it number one. The addition of Maruki’s Palace as the true final dungeon inPersona 5 Royalis justthatgood. Taking everything else away, the concept of going against not an evil or higher entity, but a man who sincerely thinks he’s doing something that benefits everyone is already interesting.
Now bring in the Palace’s aesthetic and music, and you’ve got a winner. The Palace’s environment symbolizes Maruki’s ideal world extremely well, using white and gold to make things look pure but not overly sanitized. The psychological exams you have to take represent his values, as well as test your own. They totally stand out from the puzzles of the previous dungeons. The music is so gentle and angelic, yet it has a sense of sadness mixed in like something isn’t quite right. Everything in this Palace perfectlyshows you Maruki’s cognition, and it’s a joy to experience.
