Niijima's Palace
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Niijima's Palace is a location in the Persona series, first appearing in Persona 5. It is the Palace of Sae Niijima. While located in the Metaverse, the Palace's real-world locus is the courthouse in Kasumigaseki, where Sae works as a prosecutor. The Palace is styled as a rigged casino.
Gameplay
Persona 5
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While Niijima's Palace is one of the later-game dungeons, a preview of the area occurs in the opening sequence. This sequence also serves as a tutorial for the basics of movement and combat, and a brief preview of the team members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts.
Stores
| Stock | Cost |
|---|---|
| Stock | Cost |
|---|---|
Encounters
Items
| Name | Arcana | Level | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Item | Location |
|---|---|
| Main Floor | |
| Staff Passageway | |
| Staff Passageway | |
| Dice Game Area - Staff Passageway | |
| Dice Game Area - Staff Passageway | |
| Slot Room | |
| Slot Room | |
| High Limit Lobby | |
| High Limit Lobby | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness |
| Item | Location |
|---|---|
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino |
Persona 5 Royal
During the opening sequence, the tutorial additionally includes the introduction of a new character, Violet, and how to use the new grappling hook mechanic to traverse Palaces.
The Palace layout has been adjusted to include three Will Seed locations, with a miniboss at the location of the third Will Seed.
Stores
| Stock | Cost |
|---|---|
| Stock | Cost |
|---|---|
Encounters
|
|
This section is a stub. You can help Megami Tensei Wiki by expanding it. |
| No reason provided. |
Items
| Item | Location |
|---|---|
| Main Floor | |
| Staff Passageway | |
| Staff Passageway | |
| Dice Game Area - Staff Passageway (Locked) | |
| Dice Game Area - Staff Passageway | |
| Dice Game Area - Staff Passageway | |
| Dice Game Area - Staff Passageway | |
| Slot Room | |
| Slot Room | |
| Slot Room | |
| High Limit Lobby (Locked) | |
| House of Darkness (Locked) | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness | |
| House of Darkness |
| Item | Location |
|---|---|
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino | |
| Breakable objects throughout Casino |
Game Appearances
Persona 5
At the start of the game, the protagonist infiltrates a casino. Upon being spotted by what appears to be a human security guard, it transforms into a Shadow. After the protagonist rips off its mask, the Shadow erupts, transforming into Moloch. The protagonist defeats it and escapes by shattering a glass window, but the alarm goes off, and he is quickly outnumbered and arrested by real police officers near the casino. He is taken to the police station for interrogation by Sae Niijima, where he recounts the events that make up the majority of the game.
As the story progresses, it's revealed that the casino is the Palace of Sae Niijima, shaped by her pain from losing her father and her distorted view of the justice system. Sae was forced to become independent while supporting her younger sister, Makoto Niijima. Her career as a prosecutor exposed her to a corrupt system, pushing her to manipulate cases to her advantage in order to maintain a sense of justice. The Phantom Thieves must infiltrate her Palace to prevent being framed for the murder of Kunikazu Okumura, a plot orchestrated by Goro Akechi.
Unlike previous Palaces, all of the Cognitive entities in Sae’s Palace appear as normal people, as Sae does not view others in a distorted way. Similarly to Futaba's Palace, the Metaverse clothing of the Phantom Thieves is not immediately triggered. It only activates once they enter the interior of the casino. This suggests that Sae, like Futaba, doesn’t initially perceive the Phantom Thieves as threats.
Sae’s Palace manifests as a casino, which is heavily rigged in favor of the house, symbolizing Sae’s desire to control and manipulate outcomes in her favor. It is guarded by Shadows resembling security guards and bunny girl waitresses. An LED bar at the top of the screen tracks the number of coins the protagonist holds, but only as long as the party is within the Palace. To progress to the upper floors, a member’s card must be obtained in the casino’s basement, which is filled with surveillance rooms. Breakable objects, such as golden vases with poker symbols, contain small amounts of coins. After acquiring the member’s card, the Phantom Thieves must earn 50,000 coins to obtain a high-limit card, which is impossible without neutralizing the rigged systems. To disable the rigging mechanisms, the group must navigate additional staff areas on the member’s floor. However, even after this is done, the high-limit floor is still inaccessible, and the party must attend one of Sae’s court cases to proceed.
The high-limit floor features a dark, oppressive environment with no easy escape and an arena that only allows the protagonist to enter, where they face multiple enemies at once. When the party collects the required 100,000 coins to proceed, Shadow Sae increases the amount needed tenfold in an attempt to slow them down. However, Akechi secretly lends them the coins, using a coin card that Futaba allegedly told him to discard. This allows the Phantom Thieves to reach the treasure hidden in the manager’s floor.
The Phantom Thieves send a calling card to Sae, and she goes on standby. When they infiltrate the Palace one final time, she challenges them to a rigged roulette game, but once exposed, she transforms into Leviathan and attacks them. After a fierce battle, the party defeats her. They persuade Shadow Sae to help them, but just as they do, a wave of real policemen floods the Palace. The protagonist uses himself as bait to be arrested, allowing his teammates to devise a plan to expose Akechi’s betrayal and thwart his plans.
In reality, the protagonist’s capture was a deliberate part of an elaborate plan orchestrated by his allies to divert the police’s attention. However, due to being drugged, the protagonist has no memory of the plan. Back in the present, Sae interrogates the protagonist, questioning him about the identities of his party members and confidants. The protagonist can either betray them or deny any involvement. If he denies the connections, he stalls long enough for Sae to be instructed by him to show his bugged phone to Akechi. Akechi then enters the Palace and assassinates a cognitive copy of the protagonist. If this plan succeeds, the news reports the protagonist’s death and capture, plunging the Phantom Thieves into temporary despair. However, Ryuji quickly rallies, saying, "We’ve got 'em," implying that the plan to deceive the conspiracy has worked. With the protagonist’s death avoided, he is taken to Café Leblanc, where the group exposes Shido as the mastermind.
If the Phantom Thieves have not secured the route to the treasure before November 18th, then, as with the deadline for Okumura, the protagonist will be arrested on the 20th following an anonymous tip that he is the leader of the Phantom Thieves. This false accusation is a result of the drugs administered by the police, and Sae leaves the interrogation room to give the protagonist time to recover. However, before he can fully recover, Akechi executes his plan, leading to a scene where the police believe the protagonist has committed suicide. If the deadlines for the first six Palaces are missed, the protagonist is then imprisoned in the Velvet Room for eternity by Igor, who condemns him for overestimating his abilities. The twin wardens also pass judgment, leaving him to spend the rest of his life in his cell, serving penance for his actions.
Persona 5 Royal
The appearance of the Palace stays the same in Persona 5 Royal with the only difference being the inclusion of Violet in the opening of the game.
Persona 5: The Phantom X
The Palace appears at the start of game but with a twist of an unknown figure blocking Joker's path preventing its escape.
Trivia
Nomenclature
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 Japanese
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嫉妬の賭場, Shitto no Toba ニイジマ・パレス, Niijima Paresu |
Casino of Envy/Jealousy Niijima Palace |