Saving Akechi's Life (Bad Ending 3) - Persona 5 Royal (Trapped in Altered Reality) 

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

I honestly feel like an asshole watching this. You betrayed Akechi for your own happiness. Maybe you were doing it thinking about him, but he didn’t want this, still, you did it. Now, everyone is just a puppet in this false reality where “pain” doesn’t exist, thus, “true happiness” will fade away in time.

@@NestyEco not false reality, it become real with maruki power

@@MaximilanRiver It is, nonetheless, a reality where none of the friends you met through your journy exist anymore. They are just puppets of this orchastrated reality, and do not have free will. You can specially see that with Akechi's drastic change of attitude from one day to the other.

@@NestyEco and who say that is bad ? many poor soul out there are going to meet their end without achieving anything at all, Maruki could change that but thats your decision, i wont ever change my mind about this so think what u want

Couldn't have said it better myself

not really, millions ppl are suffering and now Maruki rescue them, this is the only way

@@MaximilanRiver I wouldn't call it rescuing

@@Pugkin5405 so u re fine with letting ppl die and suffer

@@MaximilanRiver 1. People did either way 2. Suffering is part of life. How different of a person would you be if you didn't go through why struggles? It's part of being human

Yeah it’s really happy on the outside, but it’s so eerie it’s actually kind of scary

It makes me feel uneasy... made me cry knowing this is not what they wanted. This isn't a good ending it's a bad one... that reality is not real.... you can sense it. I feel no good energy from that ending.

This is not weird but this is an utopia happiness that happiness can never be true as even utopia has problems too.

Yeah me too

They're literally in a sitcom environment where multiple seasons go by yet they stay in the same familiar environment no matter how much time passes and how much they "grow", it's so uncanny in an intentional very well written way.

nO-

Akechi probably feels what he never felt in the picture and my boy joker stares into your soul ready to give you a beatdown with arsene

I'd say it's because they are the only two still aware that Maruki did this for them and that he's still watching.

Their smiles suggest otherwise.

"Yes, so?"

Yeah, it's comparable to the first time he awoke in a reality that Maruki created at the beginning of Royal. But, instead of outright resisting it like he did before, he only takes a short while to accept it this time. Which is probably because he chose it this time around.

Well, Haru was willing to forgive Akechi.

thats what NG+ is for

They do a have a true happy ending in my eyes, while this is only a “false happy ending”

It’s not called the true ending just because it’s the canon one, it’s because it’s what’s *Real*

@@xr9790 royal isn't Canon my guy p5=p5s is Canon

@@alexanderthegreat3010 there is nothing in strikers that directly contradicts the events of Royal, so Royal is still the canon version as was P4G

Yeah, tbh if I had a reality like what Maruki created. I’d definitely have Minato/Door-Kun/Makoto alive rn. Cuz then it’d also be a world without Nyx technically right?

@@Shadoxas I'd make Nyx friendly and no longer trying to abide by the will of those moronic humans at the time.

not illusion anymore, maruki power make it real and the other latest game SMT IV the MC were destroying the old world then create a new world, something like Maruki level is not anything too impossible

@@princecharming8125 Yu: *Theme starts playing* Izanagi no Okami! We must live accepting the truth Joker! We can't be trapped in ignorance!

@@xornedge8204 Compassion Ren: Yu, the fact you wish to not be a ultimate savior of humanity is outrageous. Our original reality so many bastards will torment humanity like the previous generations until the end of time. I'm here to end the future bullshit once and for all permanently. If you want a challenge play videogames, sports, mate, party

It's likely because in this reality he was able to meet Joker earlier and didn't become as traumatized as he is in the core timeline.

@@ProtagonistLover oh that actually makes complete sense

Akechi survives in royals true ending too, you see him walking with men in suits after the credits

@@philleotardo8542 is that ever explained?

And also, Wakaba, Okamura and Makoto Dad is alive

@@Swaggatron3000 I was talking about the True royal ending lol that’s why he’s maybe is alive

@@Swaggatron3000 but it’s not 100% confirmed that he is alive though. And if he is alive that makes me very happy since he’s my favorite character

@@Kishotto it is confirmed because you literally see him and then how the scene performs. It is telling you in your face it's him. How much confirmed it can be, really.

@@Aurumis_ no need to be obnoxious

No Akechi is actually not alive, in the direct sequel to Persona 5, Akechi doesn't return which shows that he is in fact dead even though we all wanted him to come back ):

Those people alot happen to them like me So I can understand why they say this endings isn't bad They probably want the world like this anyway

This is an utopian kind of life that people want in their lives but are not able to have that as this is not real.

I wanna share my opinion too, i just finished the game 10-20 minutes ago I think we're considering all this because we know and think how our reality it works. The idea to fight to gain what we wish, the bad stuff happening Etc. Etc. But, can we tell if what we are living is not actually under the control of someone? How can we really being sure we're fully in control of our actions? The reason why i think the Maruki's idea it works is because the people will never know about being controlled and will live always with the mind of realizing their life with their efforts. It looks all this bad cause we know what's happening, but if you get the chance to never know and the promise you have a full happy life in a new reality.. I would probably still choose the Maruki's reality than The only problem is.. Can't live forever so.. Once Maruki's die all the reality die too so.. Damn xD

@@ZackTheRiolu The problem with his world is that there's no suffering. That seems good at first, but think about how different you, everyone, and the world would be if nothing bad ever happened. Everything would be different, and not in a good way. There are lots of good things that come out of hardships, it's how life works. You can't have a "good" life if nobody has a "bad" life. His world takes away the meaning of what it means to live. Humans are humans because our lives are imperfect. When you take that away, we're just here

Because is like if you accept Maruki as your God. He don't have the right to decide if a person can be happy or not. Everyone could make decisions by themself.

Because it’s not real..

its better, those that are kinapped, sick to dead, born crippled, who can save them but maruki

@@MaximilanRiver Yeah but not everyone is like that. This comments section itself proves that what Maruki does is flawed. Everyone has problems in life, some worse than others but not everyone is willing to surrender their will to one person who claims to know what's best for everyone on the planet. Life is really tough for many people yeah, but all that is something we could fix or improve ourselves in time. That's what it means to have hope for humanity. To rely on someone else to fix all of our problems is to sacrifice our entire species to stagnation. Nothing will ever be improved by us, just the one man pulling the strings. We've come so far by ourselves, we don't need someone like Maruki to snap his fingers and take away everyone's pain.

@@jillreyerma7592 yea right, lot of dead ppl out there, nothing can improve, they have no way to save themselves, come so far !??? ppl are still dying out there All the Phantom thieves cases were solved by some super natural power that alone tell u human cant fight back the unfairness in this world with their power alone that is the limitation of humanity will power doesnt mean shit at certain death situation, nothing u can do

imo Maruki is righ5 and you can't change my mind...so plz DON'T @ ME

@@jambofatherandsongaming2692 Sir you literally replied to my comment. Get a fucking grip lmao

Maruki’s reality’s better than the alternative

"Twist bad people's minds until they play nice?" Isn't that literally what the Phantom Thieves were doing from the beginning? If Maruki can do the same thing but on a larger scale, more power to him.

@@ParadiseLordRyu how so? Because Akechi becomes a person who he hates instead of living how he wants? Because Yusuke quits art school and joins Shujin instead of following his dream? Because Sumire becomes Kasumi instead of becoming happy again as Sumire? Because everyone still lives their entire life doubting everything (as Jose said in 3rd sem) instead of not? Because some random therapist forced you to give up on your dreams just because you experienced a bit of difficulty and forced you to go down a completely random career path that the random therapist made for you?

what does their hard work amount to !?? ppl still dying out there all over the world

@@MaximilanRiver Yeah because death is inevitable. Working to make the world a better place is always worth something even if you can't fix everything, and Maruki didn't fix everything. One man cannot make everyone happy regardless of what godlike power he has. It's very clear that his world is a self-indulgent paradise. Yusuke and Haru gets to have their fathers back as the fake loving versions they believed, but Shido and Kamoshida just disappear. Apply that generally. Who is Maruki to twist the minds of abusers and abuse victims until they fit his version of happiness? What if someone else's happiness necessitates another's misery? Even if the PT only saved one person, Shiho, Joker's confidants, the world probably considering what Yaldy's plans were, that's worth it, that amounts to something. They made the world better through their own hard work rather than roll over and let someone else solve everything for them. *TLDR:* Maruki was wrong

@@ButterflyScarlet who is maruki ? the one got the actualization power godlike power is what possible to make every1 happy death is inevitable so why dont u just kill every1 and only let galaxy dust left in this universe or u want too see every1 suffering till death ? maruki has a godlike power which isnt possible in the real world thats why he can make change worthless trash like kamoshida is something i would absolutely kill off no regret, any1 even ok with leting that trash breath the air any more second is also trash isnt worth crap to me i hope u arent that kind of trash

@@MaximilanRiver maybe, but think about it, there's not one single person who brings only dispair, even if it's only to their parents, to a friend or to their child (if they have one). Akechi was sickly happy being under Shido until Joker came around, he was proud of what he was doing, who are you to tell that someone doesn't deserve to live? Sure, I feel the same way about Kamoshida, but think about it, him being defeated made Ann somewhat happy, maybe it was a somewhat "sick" happiness of being able to confront your abuser and show them that you're better than them, and maybe she's a different kind of happier in this reality, but is it true happiness?

@@MaximilanRiver i think this point was brought up in persona 3 (read ahead for why but its spoilers) In 3 your characters shoot themselves to show they arnt afraid of death which awakens the personas. They are later fighting a representation of death, Nyx and all of their efforts are futile. Your character ends up having to sacrifice their life to save the world. In the bonus story the characters are struggling to accept the character’s death and once the accept it they can move on in their lives This game shows that death is a natural part of a human life.

I love it

Yusuke never got to meet his mother. He can't even picture how she looked like and Maruki must have based his happiness in what Yusuke told him when they met.

Ikr wathing it was nauseating

Based and Redpilled.

tbh i wouldnt blame them, there are a lot of people who are in actual horrible situations and their circumstances go beyond themselves. it's not like it's a simple matter of "work hard and everything will turn out fine in the end :D"

eh ? ppl still can think for themselves, just in a different situation, its not like every1 sleeping all the time anyway more like ppl think for the others not selfish, after all how are u gonna save those that doom to suffer until they re dead if u can save those poor soul then maybe every1 will think different sadly no, u cant

Yea

@@MaximilanRiver The entire ending is people are in a world where they can't think for themselves

@@Pugkin5405 nope, ppl like ryuji is still into running, Maruki doesnt control their hobbies or anything, he just change some event and not let bad thing happen, that is just like government controlling society but better

Well not really, they pretty much denied all their past and the whole reason of their “rebellion” and getting their own persona. They made the phantom thieves to change bad people’s hearts. However Ren/Joker/player simply let Maruki basically change the hearts of the entire phantom theives but him and Akechi. Those two are the only one who knows they’re living in a fake world while everyone else seems to be ok with it not finding it weird. Plus Futaba’s mom is alive. She’s not supposed to be alive.

Kinda , but akechi and . . . Kasumi 😕 break my heart

ikr

@@Shadoxas oh ffs, I should have watched the credits

yea i think that's why both akechi and joker are the only ones looking at the camera at the end of the credits

Probably depends on what you say to akechi in the key interactions which lead to his 3rd persona awakening

actually there was an update patch in royal 1 month after it came out, they changed the small potatoes line to make it more serious

@@kniight Yeah, I get why they changed it but the meaning behind it was pretty nice (if quite out of place and a little obscure).

He would warp A or B mind into accepting the other. In the palace, the tests actually show Maruki is willing to make you give up your dreams, follow an easy one and be happy with it, he can and will rewrite minds to fit the world's happiness

no it didnt, infinite tsukuyomi is an illusion this is real

Not exactly as the infinite tsukuyomi is an illusionary world. Maruki's actualization power is reality warping on a so high a scale that it can be compared to the likes of what Philmon and Nyarlathotep can do.

I doubt the palace disappears, but we have to consider that 1) if Im not mistaken, someone mentions that Maruki can easily kick someone out of his palace, but he doesnt do it with the PT because Maruki actually wanted to confront them and 2) since everyone is happy and perfect, no one will ever be forced to be an outcast, thus nobody will ever need the metaverse

@@gonzalorosciolesi6502 that however, implies that Maruki will continually monitor the entire world acting as essentially a misguided but well meaning god for all time. His actualization *did* allow him to rewrite several deaths… could he live forever with his newfound power? Would he choose to continue directing the world for as long as he could? Or, is his power inherently limited? Would he die eventually? Would he choose to? What would become of Mementos at that point? Would his resolve ever falter and change before that could happen? Plus, I think part of the point of the other reality is to show that even when people *thought* they were happy, they still felt like something was a bit off compared to before. Even if they couldn’t fully remember the difference between the new and old realities, if people like the Phantom Thieves could remember their old lives, could anyone else? Could anyone else awaken to a Persona? What if someone’s wish before the new world arrived, was to be like a Phantom Thief, and so Maruki’s actualization allowed them to enter Mementos and awaken a Persona? Could that theoretical person become a new set of Phantom Thieves, separate from Joker and the gang? Would awakening to a Persona in the new world even be possible? And if so, would it let them remember the old world? As I said, so many ways you could take these ideas

See I love this ending, I really do but I have to ask myself, if you are always happy then what is true happiness ever going to be defined as? It might sound a little confusing but life can't only exist with just happiness cause their would be no opposite. In the beginning of this reality that the player chose sure it will be great at the start but as time progresses what will they work for will their be blood, sweat and tears? From Marukis POV there will be no need for that. So what is happiness if their is only happiness

Okay but like, Maruki's world is only a paradise on the surface. Sure there's no disease or tragedy, but it's not a perfect world. Death and pain are inevitable parts of life, and while I'm not advocating the whole "hur suffering builds character!" nonsense, working to make the world a better place is always worth something even if you can't fix everything, and Maruki didn't fix everything. One man cannot make everyone happy regardless of what godlike power he has. It's very clear that his world is a self-indulgent paradise. Yusuke and Haru gets to have their fathers back as the fake loving versions they believed, but Shido and Kamoshida just disappear. Apply that generally. Who is Maruki to twist the minds of abusers and abuse victims until they fit his version of happiness? What if someone else's happiness necessitates another's misery? Does he just tweak them until they start playing nice? Then you might as well be a doll. Even if the PT only saved one person, Shiho, Joker's confidants, the world probably considering what Yaldy's plans were, that's worth it, that amounts to something. They made the world better through their own hard work rather than roll over and let someone else solve everything for them. *TLDR:* Maruki was wrong and there's more to the argument than "uwu but his world has no suffering therefore it's better!" Even if you apply his logic to Akechi who was only brought back to life because Joker wanted it, what kind of existence is that worth when you're forced to dance on a string and only here because one boy couldn't let you go? Do you have a choice in the matter?

@@ButterflyScarlet Maruki had a system for happiness that everyone could partake in if they choose to. You didn't have to see Maruki himself you just had to go to his center and state your wishes and his shadows would do the work from there. If you didn't go to this center you would never get your cognition changed. Maruki wasn't omniscient after all. "Who is Maruki to twist the minds of abusers and abuse victims until they fit his version of happiness?" Ironically this is exactlly what the PT do. They twist the minds of abusers and force them to well...stop being abusers. If Maruki makes sociopaths and pysothpaths no longer any kind of "path" then ill chalk that up as a win for everyone. I mean if your idea of happiness is the suffering of others you very much dersever to have your mind changed. Why do you think we prescribe people with mental issue drugs that control such issues. Akechi wasn't on any strings and its very clear. He openly aposes Maruki and can freely tell Joker to go fuck himself if he wanted to. Hell Maruki doesn't even have a fail safe on Akechi. Akechi could have just left and that would have been the end of it. I mean if your gonna make a puppet a puppet. Rule 1 is you should make them fine with being a puppet. Kinda dumb to make a puppet that wants to slit the throat of the puppeteer if you ask me. Muraki choosing happiness for others is however true. Example being if you sucked at art and had no chance being an artist Maruki would just make it so you don't want to be one IE avoiding the pain of being a failure to your dream. This is where I feel it would have made sense for Joker and his friends to act as a moral guide for Maurki. Maurki didn't need to be full on shutdown but rather shown a better more morally correct way. Those who do want to strugle in life and have hardship should by all means be allowed that freedom. Those who want the happiness and bliss that Maruki offers should be allowed it as well. There shouldn't be a "oh this 1 part of your amazing deal sucks so we should just scrap the whole thing". I feel if Joker offered to work with Maruki he would 100% say yes as he considers Joker a true friend. Side note on somethings. Im pretty sure Shido and Kamoshida are in jail in this reailty. Not 100% sure on this though. Lastly Joker's confidants (not his party memebers) problems only go away because they had someone else solve everything for them. That being the Phantom Theives. No amount of hard work would have fixed Kawakami or Takemi's problems unless someone like Joker intervened to give 2 examples. TLDR: Maruki was wrong but not working with him for a better way is even worse.

You can't have a good world without struggles. Most good things that come from the world come from terrible things that happen. If you're in a world where there aren't any bad things, then you aren't really living. You're just there. You can't grow as a person

@@Jax1147 the PT don't twist the minds of their victims. Their Change of Heart doesn't actually change people, it just makes them feel guilty. They're still fundamentally the same, they just feel bad about their crimes. Also the PT didn't enact their CoH on a large scale to every unconsenting person. Their targets ranged from sadistic abusers to full on evil politicians, and they only went after them because they had limited options and couldn't get help elsewhere. You cannot compare what Maruki did to the actions of desperate children dealing with a society where they have no real power. Maruki wasn't right. Let's take your example of wanting to be an artist but not having the talent/skill so he edits the person so they mo longer have that dream, or magically gifts them the skill with zero practice? So a world where either you stop having aspirations or you no longer have to work for anything ever at all. People cannot be happy all the time. Aside from the psychological threshold, that would mean removing a bunch of emotions. TLDR: just watch Inside Out

I LITERALLY WANT THE WAKABA AND Nijima SISTERS TO BE HAPPY :(

Well look at it this way, while you do get a literal reality full of happiness, sure. But in the end, it just takes away the free will of the people themselves, without having any idea that they're pretty much having privacies invaded, basically, but worse being manipulated like puppets without having any other emotion or the ability to grow. And Maruki expects you to be happy without any consent or if you want any part of this. In layman's terms, it's pretty messed up and it sucks. Especially not having any other emotions.

@@smellyuncle I'm sure he was asking for your consent 24/7 and you said yes.

@@smellyuncle Maruki explicitly asks you if you're fine with the new world like 20 times in a single month, just stop with the free will bullshit.

This is something i learned from Tsukihime True doesnt always mean happy or good. And its the same case for P5R

i dont think its evil joker, i think hes the only one in existence who knows its all fake and that theres no going back

Akechi knows as well

Ah I understand.

It's not an illusion, Maruki can literally change reality.

Haru?????? Of all girls????

@@danielcesar664 haru is best girl

Makoto*

Stop looking for something that isnt there. Those are her normal eyes

@@borisjohnson5417 I mean that symbolically, Sumire is dead. In the Maruki’s ideal reality, Sumire basically no longer exist. Maruki mentally killed Sumire, and “Kasumi” is nothing more than an empty shell now. “Kasumi”, as a person, feels fake in Maruki’s reality.

@@thatoneguy5343 no you were talking about her eyes. Not sumires lack of existance

@@borisjohnson5417 I mean through her eyes, she looks empty. Like a soulless expression. I meant she looked empty on the inside from her eyes.

for me it is since he murdured futaba mom and okumura

@@mariogameplays2144 akechi killed wakaba? For some reason i thought it was someone else because i thought akechi wouldve been around the same age as futaba

​@@adri._. he killed her only 2 years earlier which is when he even said he said he first went and met with shido

@@adri._. He was around the same age as Futaba and that's part of the reason why Shido is such a piece of shit.

People who can't see passed the murders make me so fucking confused, like even Futaba and Haru could see the bigger picture and they were the ones who were ACTUALLY affected???? What is going through you head to go "Nah he just murderer who desearves death" I don't g e t i t. Actually, don't answer that, I don't wanna hear it.

So you're okay with sitting around and laughing with the one who took away your loved ones in the first place?

@@F1rstNameLastName you wouldn't know the person around is the one that took their life. You also don't know if you'd ever even interact with that person ever. It's made very clear during the third semester that the revived loved ones ARE REAL PEOPLE!!! They're not illusions or a dream or ghosts. Real people. Real loved ones brought back to life. Also if you chose that reality, the person that killed them technically never did and so you wouldn't have to "hang out with them" or even interact with them and you wouldn't know anyway because you'd be in Maruki's "perfect" world. If it meant having my dad and any loved ones I may have lost back with me and alive and well, then sign me up for that reality. Real life sucks. I'd 100% prefer to be blissfully unaware/ignorant of the fact that I'm living in a "perfect" world created by some school counselor with a not as violent or "not evil" God complex. Sure he makes decisions for me down the road, but at least it means I'd be happy with my loved ones and that he'd make sure I'm making the decisions that don't end up with me or my loved ones dying. I wouldn't know what's going on anyway unless I'm a wildcard so I wouldn't care. For all we know in real life, we might be living in some sort of illusion/matrix/virtual world...etc. and our "God" in real life might just be monitoring us and seeing how we progress as a species before deciding he/she/they might just reset us or turn off the simulation entirely to try again because we suck? LOL Anyway, sorry for the long ass rant of mine. But long story short, I'd pick the reality where my dad and other loved ones are alive and well. Because I chose Maruki's world, I wouldn't have to interact with my loved one's killers because technically they never were killed.

@@Subzero66758 they are illusions though, like how the world cracked and the revived people stopped existing anymore and morgana returned to being a cat when the team realised the truth.

@@F1rstNameLastName it was only like that because his reality wasn’t fully actualized until February 3rd

Doesn’t really apply here since Maruki isn’t making an illusion but an actual reality where you can run. Not really a fake reality, just not the first one.

If you are able to forget things from the past. You should be fine.

Seems like a nightmare to me

I'd call the actual bad ending the worst think that can happen

Except no one does anything they just live their lifes as a mere puppet for someone

The phantom thieves still exist, so bad things are still happening. There will still be suffering since everyone will always doubt reality (as Jose mentioned) no matter how happy they are.

@@F1rstNameLastName I forgot about that, damn it really is a bad ending.

It still is an illusion though, like how the word cracks and Morgana returns to being a cat and the revived people return to being dead when they snap out of it

Better for everyone? No it's not, this is terrible. They are being forced to be happy, that's hell

@@tatsui8679 But they aren't forced to be happy, rather, they are given happiness by being given everything they wish for. Life may be dull if this is what the it becomes but I prefer it being dull than seeing other people suffer just for the sake of knowing the feeling of happiness through struggle

@@MettaKing no they are, look at Akechi for example, he is being forced to live in that reality against his will and to make things worse he rewrote everyone's cognition so they can be happy. They didn't choose to live in that reality, their cognition was being written.

Also by choosing this ending, you are basically condraticting all of what the gang did for most of the game

@@tatsui8679 Indeed, that is why I call it The Sloth ending. An ending in which happiness is given and sadness is taken

While this ending may seem "good", it's terrible because they lost their free will and are essentially puppets