Persona 4 Bosses Guide: How to Defeat Every Main Story Boss

Persona 4 and its vastly superior expanded version, Persona 4 Golden, are two of the most beloved JRPGs of all time. Most players who play through the game to completion adore the relaxing world and characters that it offers, along with its intriguing murder mystery story.

This is helped by the intense bosses that you face in the game, who I will cover in this Persona 4 bosses guide.

The bosses in Persona 4 are the epitome of challenge. There are well over a couple dozen of them you’ll face in this massive JRPG calendar year from start to finish. Some of them are optional, while most of them are required for you to face as you explore the TV World.

Given that I have played this game twice, and relatively recently on Steam, I have everything you need to know to defeat every significant enemy in this Persona 4 bosses guide.

Bottom Line Up Front

There are more than 25 bosses that you’ll have the chance to fight in Persona 4 Golden. All of them are found in the various TV World dungeons that are spread throughout the game’s main story.

There are generally only a few bosses per dungeon, but there are so many dungeons in the game to make up for this fact. In addition to the required story bosses on various floors in each TV World dungeon, there are also optional bosses for you to battle and even a couple of endgame challenges for you to face.

Persona 4 Bosses Explained

The beauty of Persona 4 Golden is its world. You visit the fictional quiet countryside town of Inaba in Japan and have an entire calendar year to spend there. Over the course of the story, you find out about the serial murders that are happening in the small town where people are being thrown into televisions and die.

This TV World is filled with shadows, Personas, and other terrifying horrors. Players venture into the TV World throughout the Persona 4 Golden storyline to try and save people from becoming the next victim. It’s a harrowing adventure and one that is filled with an immense challenges.

After all, there is a serial killer on the loose who wants to see these people perish. So, it stands to reason that they will attempt to stop you from stopping them. That is why there are so many bosses that you’ll face in Persona 4 Golden, all of which will be broken down below.

All Persona 4 Bosses Guide

Let’s dive right into the heart of the matter. Below, you’ll find direct guides to every single main storyline boss that you face in Persona 4 Golden plus some of the optional bosses you’ll also face. With so many bosses in the game for you to take on, it can be a daunting task.

Thankfully, I have the solutions for them. Since there are so many bosses in Persona 4 Golden, I will mainly break down the top-level information you need to know. This will include details on the weaknesses the boss has, where to find them, what level they are, and tips for taking them down.

Please note that most of the information below is based on the Persona 4 Golden version of the game. After all, this is the version available on modern platforms these days. That said, there are a few changes for most of the main story bosses. Lastly, I should note that there is a spoiler warning in effect for all of the bosses ahead. Let’s get started.

Shopping District Boss

The first “dungeon” in Persona 4 Golden, if you can call it that, isn’t really a dungeon. The Shopping District is simply a location you visit in some cutscenes and a single boss battle that is also part of your introduction into the TV World. Regardless, this first boss fight is a boss nonetheless so we have it covered it here.

Shadow Yosuke Explained

• Location: Shopping District
• Level: 3
• Weaknesses: Electric

Shadow Yosuke is the first boss fight you’ll face in Persona 4 Golden. You don’t have the chance to grind out levels or prepare for equipment. Conversely, this is also one of the easiest bosses you’ll face in the game. After all, it’s mainly there to be a tutorial for you, if anything.

Note that Shadow Yosuke is resistant to light and dark elemental attacks, but you probably don’t even have access to those. Shadow Yosuke has a single wind elemental attack, and that’s it. Simply mash some Zio over and over against him to take advantage of his weakness, and you’ll be good to go here.

Yukiko’s Castle Bosses

Yukiko’s Castle is the first proper dungeon you visit in the TV World in Persona 4 Golden. Within this dungeon, you’ll face off against several bosses over the course of its floors. You’ll need adequate preparation and plenty of items, especially since you should optimally complete the entire dungeon in one go.

Shadow Chie

• Location: Yukiko’s Castle Floor 2
• Level: 6
• Weaknesses: Wind

Shadow Chie has the typical resistance of being immune to light and dark elements, like most of the other bosses in the game. However, she is also resistant to physical attacks, so don’t waste your time on that. The goal here is going to be to take full advantage of her weakness to wind.

Thankfully, you just so happen to have a solid wind companion on your team. This is where Yosuke can come in the clutch as he will be able to take advantage of her weakness to gain some extra turns. That said, be wary because he himself is also weak to her attacks.

Avenger Knight

• Location: Floor 5
• Level: 11
• Weaknesses: Fire

About halfway through the dungeon, you’ll take on Avenger Knight. This mid-level boss is a relatively straightforward fight. Watch out for the strong physical attacks it has and the poison that it is able to inflict. In the meantime, you want to take advantage of its fire weakness.

Since you don’t have Yukiko yet, you’ll want to ensure that Yu Narukami, the main protagonist you play as has a fire Persona on his side.

Shadow Yukiko

• Location: Floor 8
• Level: 15
• Weaknesses: Ice

Chie is the go-to companion due to her ice attacks like Bufu. You don’t want to use any fire elemental attacks on Shadow Yukiko because she is not only immune to them, but they will heal her. Watch out for any fire weaknesses, though, as she will use Agi rather often in the fight.

The key will be at least level 13, if not 14 or 15 when you take on this battle on the normal difficulty level. And if you have the chance to prepare in terms of equipment and items, be sure to do that, too.

Steamy Bathhouse Bosses

The next dungeon that you visit in Persona 4 Golden is the Steamy Bathhouse. This controversial dungeon features Shadow Kanji, the next person who seems to be on the serial murder list. There are a few bosses spread throughout this dungeon, culminating in the fight against Shadow Kanji.

Daring Gigas

• Location: Floor 7
• Level: 19
• Weaknesses: Light, Dark

This is one of the few bosses in all of Persona 4 Golden that is weak to Mudo and Hama attacks. Chances are, though, you probably don’t have those unless you have very specific Personas here. In that case, you are just going to want to brute force your way with the most potent attacks you have.

Just be sure to watch out for his high critical chances and physical attacks.

Shadow Kanji

• Location: Floor 11
• Level: 25
• Weaknesses: None

Shadow Kanji is one of the first tough bosses you’ll face in Persona 4 Golden. Not only is there no weakness of note, but he drains electric attacks at the same time. In addition, he has two minions, Tough Guy, and Nice Guy, that are helping him out in the battle.

What you’ll want to do is take out the minions as fast as possible and then use your best non-electrical attacks on Shadow Kanji to take this controversial boss out.

Marukyu Striptease Bosses

Marukyu Striptease is the next dungeon in Persona 4 Golden and another controversial one for its subject matter. You’ll face off against three main story bosses while exploring the several floors of this dungeon. Be careful with two back-to-back boss fights at the end of it.

Amorous Snake

• Location: Floor 7
• Level: 33
• Weaknesses: Fire

Your recently acquired companion, Yukiko, is going to be the key to this fight plus any Personas that Yu has that have fire attacks. Its weakness to fire is a great way to keep it down and out for most of the fight. Other than that, watch out for its severe physical attacks that will devastate the entire team.

Shadow Rise

• Location: Floor 11
• Level: 35
• Weaknesses: None

The main issue with Shadow Rise is that she is the boss with the most coverage so far. There are no weaknesses to take advantage of here. Worse still, she has access to nearly all elemental attacks you’ve seen in the game so far.

So no matter who you bring, she’ll gladly take full advantage of their weaknesses. You genuinely want to be at least level 35, if not around 40, at this point in the game. Use your most vital skills to take her down but be in for an actual test of your strength in the game so far.

Shadow Teddie

• Location: Floor 11 (this fight happens right after the Shadow Rise fight)
• Level: 35
• Weaknesses: None

Shadow Teddie’s worst part is that this boss fight happens right after the Shadow Rise one. You’ll want to ensure that you have recovered nicely from that tough fight and get ready for another challenging one. No weaknesses here; make sure not to have Chie on the team.

Nihil Hand is the primary attack that you’ll have to worry about. You’ll see Shadow Teddie charge up this attack ahead of time so you can defend from it pretty quickly, but still worth noting. Other than that, use your strongest non-ice attacks against Shadow Teddie and heal up often.

Void Quest Bosses

Void Quest is the next dungeon you visit in Persona 4 Golden, seemingly being Minecraft before Minecraft ever existed. This blocky, game-themed dungeon will have you chasing down the possible serial killer behind the murders in Inaba. Or maybe even the next victim? Find out by taking on these bosses.

Killing Hand

• Location: Floor 7
• Level: 42
• Weaknesses: None

Killing Hand is one of the more straightforward bosses. It isn’t hard to take down; the only issue with it is that it will summon other companions to fight alongside it. Simply use your strongest attacks against Killing Hand to take it out first so that it stops summoning other enemies, and you’ll be good to go.

Shadow Mitsuo

• Location: 10
• Level: 45
• Weaknesses: None

Shadow Mitsuo is another boss enemy who doesn’t budge in the slightest. There are no weaknesses for you to exploit, and, worse still; he is resistant to physical attacks. For the most part, Shadow Mitsuo will switch between forms during the boss fight, giving him access to more skills.

What you need to watch out for is his Shadow form having access to most skill types. This means that he can take advantage of your weaknesses. Thankfully, if you mow him down quickly with your best attacks, so long as you are at a high enough level, like 45 or more, it shouldn’t be too challenging.

Secret Laboratory Bosses

The Secret Laboratory is one of the more mysterious dungeons you’ll visit in the TV World. It is themed around Shadow Naoto, another possible victim of the serial killer. You can save Naoto and add another party member to your team by taking down these bosses.

Dominating Machine

• Location: Floor 4
• Level: 53
• Weaknesses: None

The Dominating Machine is another mini-boss that you fight in the middle of the dungeon. The key here is to ensure that you have been grinding enough fights to be at least level 52 or higher.

Other than that, this is one of the more straightforward fights. He has no weaknesses and tons of physical solid attacks to watch out for.

Shadow Naoto

• Location: Floor 9
• Level: 55
• Weaknesses: None

Shadow Naoto has no weaknesses of note but is resistant to fire attacks. So you will want to avoid those at all possible, so no bringing Yukiko to this fight. Naoto is a very strong Persona user, so the shadow version has access to nearly every elemental skill type, including their heavy versions.

What you will want to do is avoid using fire attacks and use anything else you have at your disposal that is the most potent version possible. Be sure to heal quickly, as Shadow Naoto will often exploit your weaknesses. Be sure to be at least level 55, if not higher, for this fight.

Heaven Bosses

Heaven is the beginning of the end, as this beautiful dungeon has you take on several endgame-level bosses. However, this isn’t the end of the game. Be sure to take down all of these bosses and make the right choices in the main story to reach the final dungeons in the game.

World Balance

• Location: Floor 7
• Level: 63
• Weaknesses: None

World Balance is one of the more standard mini-bosses you’ll fight. It has access to heavy elemental attacks for the four main elements you’ll need to watch out for. The benefit is that it doesn’t have a ton of health, so mash away at it with your best skills while healing up whenever necessary.

Kumino-sagiri

• Location: Floor 10
• Level: 65
• Weaknesses: None

Kumino-sagiri is one of the stronger bosses you’ll face, mainly due to its high level. It can be challenging to be at least level 65 here, but this is necessary. What you want to watch out for is the insanely versatile elemental coverage that she has.

If you can use Makarakarn or another similar item that will reflect magical damage, that will make up the difference in this fight. Just know that this boss will often remove that protection when you use it. Other than that, use your most vital skills against the boss, and you’ll win eventually.

Lost Okina

• Location: Floor 11
• Level: 67
• Weaknesses: None

Lost Okina is an optional boss that you can face in this dungeon. It comes after defeating the main boss above and returning to this dungeon. This boss is not so different from the previous one, simply being a little stronger. If you could take on that boss, you could defeat this one.

Simply use your strongest attacks that aren’t physical or ice.

Magatsu Mandala Bosses

Magatsu Mandala is, technically, one-half of a two-part dungeon in the TV World. This is near the end of the game, where you have to explore this massive dungeon. Magatsu Mandala is the first part, with a few random bosses to take on before getting to the second half of it.

Chaos Fuzz

• Location: Floor 3
• Level: 70
• Weaknesses: None

Chaos Fuzz is another straightforward mini-boss. The main issue here is that it is another summoner that will bring companions to the field. That said, Chaos Fuzz has almost no health at only 600, which is half of some of the previous mini-bosses.

Your focus should be to take it out first, so you don’t have to worry about its minions.

Envious Giant

• Location: Floor 6
• Level: 75
• Weaknesses: None

The Envious Giant is not a demanding boss but an annoying one. This mini-boss is resistant or immune to a whopping six elements, including fire, ice, electricity, wind, light, and dark. You’re going to have to use Almighty or physical attacks in this fight, or else it will take you a relatively long time.

Magatsu Inaba Bosses

Magatsu Inaba is the second half of the Magatsu TV World dungeon. This second part doesn’t have that many floors, but you are going to face a couple of rather challenging bosses here. Be sure to be prepared for some of the more challenging bosses in the main story.

Tohru Adachi

• Location: Floor 3
• Level: 73
• Weaknesses: None

The only immunity you need to worry about in this fight is Adachi’s resistance to physical attacks. Other than that, this is another Persona user who is capable of wielding all elemental attacks. You’re going to need to have coverage for each of these or at least be ready to heal up often.

Other than that, you want to be at least level 73 for this fight, preferably level 75 or higher. He has a lot of health, too, so this is going to be a grueling fight where you need to heal up whenever you can.

Ameno-sagiri

• Location: Floor 3 (right after the Tohru Adachi fight)
• Level: 75
• Weaknesses: None

Ameno-sagiri is pretty similar to the Adachi fight before. This one happens right after, so you need to be healed up and ready for it. The key here is going to be surviving against its strong attacks, healing up, and then dealing whatever your best attacks are to knock down its high 8000 health.

Hollow Forest Bosses

The Hollow Forest is the only dungeon on this list that is exclusive to Persona 4 Golden, which is presumably the version of the game you’re playing since this is the one available to most people and the vastly superior version. This optional dungeon has a couple of bosses to take down before the final dungeon in the story.

Gorgeous King

• Location: Floor 4
• Level: 77
• Weaknesses: Physical

Finally, we have another boss that is weak in something. Considering that it is either immune to or resistant to all elements, the physical is going to be your only choice here. It is a summoner, though, so watch out for its friends and then use physical attacks on Gorgeous King whenever you have the chance.

Heaven’s Giant

• Location: Floor 7
• Level: 77
• Weaknesses: Physical

Heaven’s Giant is reminiscent of the last boss in that it is weak to physical. Thankfully, it doesn’t summon other enemies, but it does take full advantage of your weaknesses. Other than that, though, this is roughly the same as the last fight.

Marie and Kusumi-no-Okami

• Location: Floor 10
• Level: 77
• Weaknesses: None

This is one of the more challenging fights in Persona 4 Golden, but also super easy if handled right. Kusumi-no-Okami repels everything but Almighty. The goal here is to use Almighty or use a break spell or item to remove the resistances. The goal is to damage this boss enough until the fight ends. You aren’t supposed actually to win this fight entirely.

Yomotsu Hirasaka Bosses

Yomotsu Hirasaka is the final dungeon in Persona 4 Golden. Only accessible on the final day of the game, this is where players find out the truth behind everything that happened during the last year in Inaba. This dungeon is quite tricky, with a final boss that is exceptionally challenging.

Here’s what you need to know to beat the entire game for good.

Neo Minotaur

• Location: Floor 3
• Level: 78
• Weaknesses: All elements

Neo Minotaur is a supremely easy mini-boss fight. It is a joke, honestly. All you need to do is use your best elemental attacks. If you have a Persona that is immune to physical, that will make this even more of a breeze. This is far too easy for the final dungeon.

Sleeping Table

• Location: Floor 6
• Level: 82
• Weaknesses: None

Sleeping Table is at least a little bit tougher than the last mini-boss. The only thing you really need to watch out for is the light instant-kill attack and the fire element. So long as you aren’t weak to those, this should be somewhat simple.

Izanami

• Location: Floor 9
• Level: 90
• Weaknesses: None

Izanami is one of the most challenging bosses in the game. As the final boss, she has access to everything and can even attack twice per turn later in the fight. The key here is not to use electric or physical attacks. Use your most substantial moves and then heal up as often as you can.

This is another fight that is going to be a grueler since there are two forms to Izanami. You basically have almost 12,000 health to go through across her two forms. For this fight, you definitely want to be at least level 90 or higher. If you can be near the max level of 99, though, it will be even easier.

Optional Endgame Bosses

Lastly, there are a couple of optional endgame-level bosses that you can face in Persona 4 Golden. One of them is available pretty much from the start of the game, at least in Golden that is, while the other will require you to play and beat the game once before taking her on.

Here’s what you need to know on how to unlock both optional endgame bosses in Persona 4 Golden and beat them.

Reaper

• Location: Anywhere (within chests)
• Level: 85
• Weaknesses: None

Reaper can be found in treasure chests randomly in Persona 4 Golden. You want to be at least level 75, if not near the max level, for this fight. Use your best skills while avoiding the high elemental attacks that he has. With 5000 health, it isn’t the worst if you are at least level 85; heal up often.

Margaret

• Location: Floor 11
• Level: 96
• Weaknesses: None

Margaret is the most formidable challenge in Persona 4 Golden and one of the most challenging bosses in the series. She is capable of all elemental attacks in their strongest forms, so be sure to have coverage for that. Don’t even attempt this without being max level on the New Game Plus playthrough with the best equipment.

She has no resistances or immunities, though, so you can at least go all out with your best attacks. She has 15,000 health, though, which is the most for any boss on this list, so this will require the most items that you can possibly have to recover HP and SP at will. This will take you a while, but I believe in you!

FAQs

Learn How to Defeat the Bosses in Another Persona Game

With all of that out of the way, you now have the necessary information to take on every single boss you’ll find in Persona 4 Golden. Be sure to refer back to this guide every once in a while as you play through the game, as it will give you quick details about how to take down a specific major enemy.

Since there are so many bosses in the game, it can be tough to keep up with every single one of them. Hopefully, this guide was able to simplify the matter by listing out everything you need to know about every single boss you come across in the main story of Persona 4 Golden.

But this is only for this fifth mainline game in the Persona series. There are many other titles you might want to check out, especially since Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden are now available on all modern platforms.

Thankfully, if you happen to check out Persona 3 Portable, which I highly recommend, we have you covered on how to defeat all of its bosses, too.

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Cody Perez

Cody is a writer who discovered the Persona series about 10 years ago. As a huge Pokemon fan growing up, he was recommended to check it out on his PSP. He started with the very first game and when in sequential order before catching up with Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden cemented his love for the series. He was proud to be able to eventually spread his passion into the Shin Megami Tensei series and be there in time for the launch of Persona 5, which is one of his favorite games of all time.

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