Futaba’s palace is unique in Persona 5, as the subject is not the final boss of the dungeon.
Disclaimer: This guide was originally written for Persona 5, which Atlus released stateside in 2017. If you’ve found your way to this guide and are playing Persona 5 Royal — the 2020 update with additional content that’s hitting Xbox and Switch later this year — you can still follow along. However, note that Royal did introduce changes to several parts of the game, adding grapple points and reworking certain boss encounters. So while the paths are generally the same, you may run into some inconsistencies.
New to Persona 5 Royal is Will Seeds, a collectible hidden in each dungeon. To find them all, use our guide on Futaba’s Palace Will Seeds locations to hunt them down.
Futaba Tomb Palace walkthrough
Once you are prepared, return to the great tomb in the desert and attempt to steal poor Futaba’s distorted ideas. First things first, once re-entering the area, head up the stairs and into the room where you got chased by that massive boulder. The middle pylons will be gone, so take the left side instead.
Jump across and examine the massive door in front of you. Looks like this thing won’t be opening any time soon. Turn around to try and leave the area. Before you can get out the door, Futaba’s Shadow will stop you. Speak to her and she will send you on a quest.
You now have to go to the nearby town to steal something from a bandit. How fortunate for you that you are a professional thief. Head outside and walk to the far left area. Walk up onto the deck and examine the town in the distance. Morgana will then bus the lot of you over there.
The town
Hang a left once you first arrive and begin clearing out all of the enemies in the large area; left to right. Once they are all dead, keep moving right and further into town, until you find a large square arena.
Enter it and confront the bandit. The jerk will run from you and you need to corner him. Head out of the arena, up the ramp to the left, forward, and then right. From here, you should be able to see the scumbag standing there waiting for you. Run up to him.
He will run from you. Chase after him and turn right at the next alley (basically just follow him). Push forward again. He will run, just like last time.
Now it’s time to be smarter than the bandit. Retrace your steps all the way to the entrance of the town. Now turn right down the first ramp and run straight into him. He will trap himself in the big arena.
Now it is time for a fight. This bandit may look scary, but he is weak to guns. Shoot him up with whoever and take him down with ease. He will drop the Papyrus that Futaba is looking for. Return to her all the way back in the tomb.
Turns out that Papyrus was actually just the map of the tomb. Futaba will give it to you and them promptly drop you and all of your friends into a pit of quicksand.
The darkest dungeon
Once the gang climbs out, you will be at the bottom of a large pit area. It may seem big but it most certainly is not. Clear out the enemies on this floor and then use one of the many sarcophagi to jump onto the next level.
This is going to be the method for this entire room. Climb up the sarcophagi, look for treasure, clear the floor. Repeat. There are very few places you can actually go in here, so be thorough and use your map (Third Eye will also make it very clear where you can or cannot jump). Once you reach the top floor, you will find a big green door. Exit through it.
You will now be in a dark corridor with plenty of enemies. Move forward along the path slowly, clearing shadows as you pass. Eventually you will come up to a large spike wall and a very imposing enemy. Ignore this for now and head right instead. Head forward as far as you can and find the treasure chest in the little nook on the right.
Once you have pillaged the chest, go down the center isle and up the stairs. Once you reach the top area, open the gate and taste fresh air again. You are back at the start of palace. Jump into the Velvet Room if you need it and then head back down stairs through the gate you just came up from.
Return to the spike wall and the imposing looking enemy. Time to take this guy out.
This enemy is difficult, as it will turn your teammates into rats (a status ailment the game refers to as "rattled," which is very cleaver). However, the beast is weak to wind. Take it out cautiously and then move on.
In this next room, cross the bridge and head right at the first opportunity. Continue right and climb up the side wall. At the top, you will find a large door. Go through it.
In here, you will see a glowing pylon of light. Approach and examine it. Before leaving this room, walk behind the pylon and examine the crack in the wall. Exit for now and look immediately to your right. There is a sneaky hidden path here. Climb up the side of the wall and sidle your way over to the button. Press that button.
The inactive looking ballista in the corner will fire its giant arrow into the cracked wall, allowing the light to reach the door. This will remove the giant lock from said door, allowing you and your friends to go through it. Do so now. Pass through the next door in order to reach a new area.
Escaping the basement
Walk forward and examine the green, glowing tablet for a hint of what to do next.
From here, turn left and you will find yourself in a large square room. Clear the enemy out of here and then climb up the sarcophagi.
Take two lefts here and enter through the small door at the end of the hall. Now you will be in a very small room with a glowing statue of the Egyptian god Anubis. Walk up to the statue and grab the gem that it is holding in its hands.
Now exit this tiny room and look left for a climbable surface.
Climb up as far as you can. Once you reach the top, there will be two doors. One in front of you and a smaller one to the right. Go through the smaller door first and find another statue of Anubis with another gem. Take the gem and go through the other door on this floor.
You will now be in a room with two pedestals. Place the two gems that you have acquired onto these pedestals. .
Hooray, you have unlocked the first major door and can continue ascending the pyramid. Jump down from where you are and head over to the large door again. Open it and run up the stairs. Once your reach the next barrier, look for a distorted door in order to find the Corridor Bottom Safe Room.
The first picto-puzzle
Out of the safe room, head through the left side door. Head up the stairs here and through another door. Futaba will be standing in front of you here, so follow her to the right. When you try and pass through, Joker will almost get impaled by spikes. Guess we have to keep going forward for now.
Head straight into the room. Go up the stairs, continue forward, and then go left. Clear the enemies in here and then pass through the next door. From where you start in this next room, look right and jump across the pedestals. Climb the ramp all the way around and enter the door at the top. Ignore the gem in the center of the room for now.
In this next room, follow the path. Because you have not taken the cursed gem, you will be able to pass with ease. Walk up to the button at the far end and press it.
Do not jump down from here. Instead, return to the previous room and grab the cursed gem from the statue of Anubis. Carry it with you back to the spike area from before, where Futaba led you. Pass through safely and clear out the enemies. In the back of this room, there is a treasure chest.
Go through the left door here and follow the path. Once you reach the end of the path, there will be a little alcove to the left of the door. There is a treasure chest here. Grab the treasure and go through the door. Head forward in this room, taking the first door on your left to reach a small treasure room. Back in the hallway, climb up the far side of the room.
Continue climbing up and going through doors until you reach another ramp room. Head up the ramp until you reach an empty Anubis statue. Place your cursed gem in there to light it up, allowing you to continue forward.
Now go through the left door and down the corridor. You will come across yet another button. Press it.
Return to the room with the giant light pylon on it and look for the wall of sarcophagi. Climb up them. At the top, turn left for a locked chest and then then head through the glowing door of light.
You will be in a unfamiliar area. Examine the black mural on the wall and then turn to the light pylon. Examine the control panel on it to reveal the first picto-puzzle. You will need to re-arrange the picture so that it fits correctly. This one is fairly simple and will look like this once it is finished:
Congratulations, you have opened another door. Jump down, and continue up the long stairs until you reach another impassable barrier. Turn to the left to find the Corridor Middle Safe Room. Save here and consider taking a break from the Metaverse. You have just hit the half-way point.
The second picto-puzzle
Head through the room to the right and read the new tablet for a hint of the task to come.
Continue along the path here and jump down until you reach Shadow Futaba, who will speak to you for just a moment. Walk left up the giant ramp and you will be chased back to your previous spot by another giant boulder.
Things aren’t all bad though, if you look ahead, you can see a small hole in the wall in front of you. Walk forward and crawl through it. You will now be in a very large room with a bunch of coffins in it. Ignore it all for the time being (except for the treasure chest in the back of the room), and climb up the stairs.
Head to your right on the platform and ignore the locked blue door. Look to the scaffolding to the right and kick the large board down to make a bridge. Cross your new bridge and enter the door.
In this room, there will be a blank slab, touch it to activate it. It will give you the code B01010. Return to the coffin room for some serious computer science.
The coffins will now be all lit up, with large balls above them. The far left ball will be blue and the next five will be white. Leave the blue ball as is and turn the first, third, and fifth ball off. The ball represent 1 and no ball represents 0. Make it match the B(lue)01010 code from the other room.
Once it looks like that, hit the button at the front of the room. This will unlock the barrier on the blue door. Go through what was once locked to find the next tablet. In this room, hug the left side as much as possible, only turning right once you reach the next door (there is treasure to the right).
Go through the door and into the next room. Touch the new tablet in here to get two new codes: R01100 and B10011. Return back to the coffins.
Make the blue ball section match B10011 and make the new red ball section match R01100. Once it is ready, hit the button. It should look like this:
Pressing the button will cause the boulder mechanism to break, providing you with a lovely little bridge. Instead of going through the hole that you used to get in here, climb up the right side of the wall and up to the boulder bridge. Jump down onto the first boulder and jump across to the farthest possible side.
Jump down from the boulders and head right. Go through the door. Run past the light here and climb up toward the next light pylon. Follow the light through the golden door.
You will find yourself in another picto-puzzle room. Active the light panel to begin solving it. This one is a little more complex, with triangle pieces that require a bit of rotation. The end product will look like this:
Jump down again and through the newly unlocked door. Continue trucking up the stairs and enter into the Corridor Summit Safe Room.
The third picto-puzzle
Once you are done with the Safe Room, head into the room to left of the stairs. Go up the stairs here and hang a left to grab a locked treasure chest.
Follow the path forward, between the two massive statues. Continue along the path and go through the door at the end of the room. You will be in another big area, but this one has a massive pit in the front. Look left and you will be able to see a crawl space. Go through it.
In the next room, head straight and into the first door you see. You will be in a small pass-through room that also happens to have a button in it. Press this button so that you can get a chest later. Head through the other door in this small room and hug the left wall. Turn right at your first opportunity to find a little alcove with a chest in it.
Continue along the left side wall until you reach the wall. Look to your right and you will find a wall of sarcophagi. Climb up these just as you have all the others.
Hang a left once you you reach the top and hit the button at the end of the path.
Return to the wall of sarcophagi and jump down. Take a look to your right and crawl through the small hole in the wall. Ignore the room that you emerge in for the moment and exit into the small square. Kill the enemies here, being careful not to alert them both at once.
Once the enemies have been dispatched, move forward and into the small room full of sarcophagi. They may all look normal at first, but upon closer inspection (or just using Third Eye), you will notice that one of them has the head of a bird. Examine this sarcophagus to reveal a hidden button. Press it!
Pressing this button will reveal another nearby. Return to the room that you emerged from the crawl space in. One of the previously closed sarcophagi will be open. Walk up to it and press that button.
The wall will push back to reveal an Anubis statue, complete with gem. Grab it.
Now go back into the square with the enemies and hang a left, through the door. Walk up the path and climb as far up as you can.
Eventually, you will reach a pedestal. Place your new gem in it to reveal a bridge of light.
Jump down and cross the new bridge. When you reach the far side door, go through it. Take a left here and then go through another door. Clear this room out and grab the locked chest nearby.
Turn around when looking at the chest and go through the door. Walk forward a few steps, and a new door will appear in front of you. Go through this new room and claim the Chamber of Sanctuary Safe Room.
Head right out of the safe room and into the long room with Shadow Futaba standing in it. Approach her to fight another difficult enemy (that is also weak to wind abilities).
Once you have defeated this creature, climb up the left wall and claim another gem for yourself.
With gem in hand, climb down and then up over the coffin at the end of the room. Climb as far up as you can and hang a left. Cross the light bridge.
Once across, head down and place the gem on the pedestal.
When the new light bridge appears, hang a right and follow the light beam all the way into the next door of light.
Climb over all the cool statues until you reach the other side. Sidle along the right wall for a quick chest.
Head up the stairs and into the final door of light. You will finally be in the picto-puzzle room. Walk up to the light source and examine it. This puzzle is the most complex of them all but still fairly easy to solve. Keep an eye on the side patters and snake/bird patters. When it is finished, it will look like this:
You know the drill at this point. Jump down and continue up the stairs. Once you unlock this massive door, however, there is a barrier in your way. You have secured your route for now and it is time to head out and send a calling card. Leave via the Safe Room whenever you are ready.
Cognitive Wakaba Isshiki Boss Fight
Once the card has been sent out in the real world, jump back into the Metaverse. Travel to the Corridor Summit Safe Room and head out past the now destroyed barrier. Jump on the elevator and ride it up.
This is the farthest trek you have had to make for a boss fight so far, but it isn’t too difficult. Continue up the stairs until you reach a junction, which will allow you to continue forward or hang a left. The left way is the stealthier way, so head left.
This is basically just a big room with enemies in it. Take them down however you choose. From the left side, if you jump down and head right, you can jump across the way to get a treasure chest. Otherwise, just stay to the left and you will find the exit to this room. Once you are sure that you are ready to go, exit through the door and into the treasure room.
After a lengthy sequence you will find yourself in a battle against a giant Sphinx with the head of Futaba’s mother. For now, it is just labeled as the Beast That Rules the Palace.
She will start by flying around the pyramid, so there ins’t a ton that you can realistically do to her right now. Use your guns and magic skills on her to do minuscule damage. Just keep attacking and keep your party alive.
Eventually, the boss will fly up into the air and disappear. This is a great opportunity to heal up your party, but be very careful. After a couple of turns, the boss will plummet back onto the platform, doing massive damage. In order to avoid this, use one or two turns to heal your team, and then have every member block for the third turn. The boss will still do plenty of damage, but not enough to kill anyone at above half health.
It is at this point that Futaba will enter her own palace via the Nav and confront her mother/beast. After a short scene, she will unlock some form of a Persona!
For the rest of the fight, Futaba will assist you. She will hack a ballista into her own mind, creating one at the back of the battle field. Send one of your teammates to fire it. This will take a couple of turns, so use your remaining party members to heal up and guard.
Eventually, the ballista will fire, knocking the boss, now named Cognitive Wakaba Isshiki, to the ground. Once she is here, attack here with everything you have. Physical damage via melee attacks and skills seems to do the most damage to her. You will have a couple turns before she gets up again, so use buffs to your damage on turn one.
Once she returns to the sky, don’t bother attacking, just focus on keep your teammates healthy. Send another teammate to deal with the ballista and wait around again. When the boss falls a second time, deal as much damage as you can. Once you lower her health enough, the gang will hold her up, and you will get to fire the final shot.
After a touching moment, Futaba leaves her palace, causing the whole thing to collapse while you all are still on top of it. Time to run. Enjoy the funny anime and return to the real world.
Once back in the real world, you and Makoto will decide to check on Futaba. You will find her semi-passed out outside of Sojiro’s house. After rushing her to her room, you will call Takemi and Sojiro. Sojiro assures everyone that she does this sometimes because she doesn’t have a lot of energy. Let Futaba sleep it off and go enjoy the rest of your Summer Break.