10 Shocking Video Game Bait-And-Switches You'll Never Forget
6. Shadow Futaba - Persona 5
From the outside, Persona 5 looks like a bombastic, jazzy RPG about edgy Japanese school students and whilst some of that is truth it also handles some very big themes about injustice and emotional trauma.
Throughout the game, players invade the mind palaces of corrupt and twisted individuals to bring them to justice. Within these palaces are shadow versions of the villain themselves, a distilled representation of all their darkest desires. Whilst the waking version of the person hides their truth, their Shadow relishes in their greed, envy, lust and so on and, naturally, becomes the boss fight of each dungeon.
At the midpoint of the game, the Phantom Thieves are invited into the palace of Futaba Sakura, a young girl who is looking to have her heart changed after suffering with the blame of her Mother’s passing. Seemingly antagonistic at first, Shadow Futaba leads the group through the dungeon.
However, at the climatic moment, it’s revealed that this Shadow is in fact the positive side of her personality. As the group battles a twisted representation of Futaba’s mother, Shadow Futaba confronts the real girl to bring her out of her depression and guilt.
Out of all of the dungeons in Persona 5, Futaba’s holds a special place for doing something different with the established formula and introduces a new member of the party in a heartwarming way.