Persona 3 Reloadhas many battles you can tackle, but the main attractions are the boss fights during every full moon. You can expect increasing difficulty as the game goes on, but it depends on your own preparation.
What truly sets each battle apart is the unique challenge that it poses to your party. As a player, this is what can make these boss fights memorable and engaging. When you look at all of the full moon fights, some live up to the hype more than others.
Affinities
Weak to Fire
This is the first full moon fight you will encounter in the game. As tutorials go, it’s a cool intro to your Persona ability and the big bad Shadows you will be facing in the coming year.
That said, there’s barely any agency for you here, and it hardly feels like a real “boss fight” since you get a few hits and then watch cutscenes. There’s no discounting how it establishes the power of both your Persona and the Shadows (you get bedridden for a week after), but it’s still the least satisfying full moon fight by a long shot.
Nullifies Light and Dark
The Hierophant is the first of two big Shadows you face in the seedy hotel you find yourselves in. Despite the peculiar circumstances, there’s nothing that interesting about this boss fight. The most dangerous move to look out for here is the Doomsday Doctrine, which can inflict fear on the entire party.
If you hit the top of the Tartarus block of the month, you’ll be fully prepared for this fight. Just use a Persona that nulls fear and verify to have some Patra ready, and this becomes a breeze. It’s really more of a precursor to the more interesting Lovers battle that follows.
Moonlight Bridge
Takaya - Repels Light and absorbs Dark; Jin - Repels Fire and Dark
There’s a lot of hype and tension coming into the November operation, just for the big bad to get blocked by Jin and Takaya. They don’t want you killing the “final” boss, so you get saddled with a fight with them before moving forward.
It’s a good way to build up the lore and mystery behind the shadows and Persona users, but the fight itself pales in comparison to the others you’ve already faced at this point. Jin and Takaya use Shift and block status ailments during this fight, but it’s nothing a little Theurgy can’t overpower. The most fascinating part of this battle is their exit, showing just how ride-or-die the duo’s energy is.
Nullifies Electric, Wind, and Dark
The Hermit boss has a creative design that matches its dangerous ability. Comprised of wires, the Shadow will charge itself up to get more power. It takes a few turns to finish juicing up, but it unleashes a devastating shock once it’s done.
Any unprepared party will taste a swift K.O. from this, but you can easily prevent this by dealing massive damage to stop the Hermit from charging. It will start powering up faster near the end of its life, but with some tactical guarding, you’ll quickly knock the lights out of this boss.
Resists Electric and Pierce, Nullifies Fire
Unsurprisingly, the Lovers boss fight is all about trying not to get Charmed. Nothing spells romance like watching your entire party beat the heck out of each other until you all die. It’s afun battle that can also be extremely frustrating, but that adds to what makes it engaging.
Plus, you’re fighting a giant flying glass heart that can cast fire attacks against a party that has already likely turned against each other. Such is the passion of love.
Resists Strike, Nullifies Fire, Repels Dark
The Hanged Man is imposing and threatening on a scale that befits what you are led to believe is the final fight. It also doesn’t hurt that its summons are terrifying by themselves. These statues have their own affinities, blocking a variety of attacks that make it harder to use skills that target groups of enemies.
The final statue will even be resistant to all attacks. After beating her, the Hanged Man will have six successive attacks that can spell doom if your crew is low. It’s a lot, but other bosses still have more intriguing fights.
Variable
This is the first full moon fight that establishes Fuuka as your go-to navigator. After you rescue her, she awakens to her Persona and is able to conduct a full analysis of every enemy. This comes in extremely handy because the Emperor and Empress can change their affinities.
This battle is one where you’ll need to have a well-rounded set of Personas in your arsenal. On top of the Shadows switching up their resistances more than once, you have no choice but to party up with Akihiko and Junpei. It’s a great way to force you to get used to a new member’s abilities and think on your feet to exploit enemy weaknesses efficiently.
Repels Fire and Dark
Jin and Takaya promised you death if you kept opposing them, and they beefed up to try and gun you down for good this time around. As a counterbalance to their significant power surge, you will now face the Strega members one by one.
Jin’s fight is a decent challenge, mostly because of his high HP and ability to do a weakness scan on the party. Aside from all his grenades, Jin will boost himself with drugs that will massively increase his damage (despite poisoning him in the process.) This is a man that has no plans of making it out of this fight alive, and it makes it all the more compelling when you take the win.
Repels Ice
The Priestess is the first “real boss” you encounter, and it’s a stunning introduction. At this point, your party is still green and yet you must face a powerful enemy with no weaknesses. Plus, you have to go through small batches of lesser enemies before the main fight all while trying to stop the train from hurtling to your doom.
The “Bullet Train” vibe of this mission already adds that engrossing touch, but it’s intensified when you get slapped with a timer when facing the Priestess herself. She periodically speeds up the train throughout the fight, giving you less time to finish. Having that looming deadline makes this battle super exciting despite other full moon bosses having more abilities.
Underground Facility, Iwatodai Northern Harbor
Merged - Resists all attacks; Chariot - Resists Physical, Justice - Resists Magic
This isn’t the first time you get two shadows in one fight during the full moon, but Justice and Chariot are special in that they can merge and separate at will. This changes their affinities and attacks, making it essential to prioritize and coordinate your hits every round.
Whenever either Shadow gets low, they will merge into their tank form. It’s a cool mechanic that also makes this potentially one of the longest boss battles you will have in the game.
