Persona 5 - How to Beat the Museum Palace Dungeon, Defeat Boss

Acting as the second proper Palace that the Phantom Thieves will come across in Persona 5, the Museum Palace Dungeon is governed by the famed artist Madarame, who has come under suspicion of plagirising the work of his past and present students. So allow us to walk you through the Dungeon in the quickest way possible via this Persona 5 Museum Palace Dungeon Guide.

Should you need help with any other areas of Persona 5, be sure to head over to our comprehensive Persona 5 guides hub page, detailing matters such as how to romance your fellow Phantom Thieves, as well as how to understand Mementos and Requests.

Persona 5 Madarame Palace Dungeon Guide

Starting in the month of May, the Palace Dungeon of Madarame has some similar rules to the Palace that belonged to Kamoshida. One in particular is that there is once again a time limit imposed on the Phantom Thieves to steal the heart of Madarame, before he presses legal charges against the group.

Aside from this, the Museum Palace Dungeon of Madarame is entirely uncharted territory for players up to this poin.

Madarame Palace Dungeon: First Infiltration

As you begin the Dungeon for the very first time, climb on top of the van parked just in front of the starting area, and over the wall behind. After this head right, away from the security forces on the left, and continue round the corner to climb on top of a line of sculptures. Make your way across these to a walkway, and then head towards the nearest roof of the main building, using the skylight to drop down into the Museum Dungeon itself.

Once inside, examine a few of the paintings on the wall to glean a few bits of plot knowledge, and then head through the larger exhibition room to the lobby of the building. From here, pick up a map that's conveniently sitting on a stand next to the main desk, and then head into the large circular room behind the lobby.

Head to the very back of the circular room and interact with the door, only to find that it's locked. Now return to the large statue in the centre of the room and interact with it, to be returned to the real world and conclude the initial infiltration.

Madarame Palace Dungeon: Second Infiltration

The Phantom Thieves will be placed back at the very start of the Dungeon, but don't worry, just take the exact same route as last time into the main building. You'll now find a bunch of laser barriers blocking off your path, but if you use the Mind's Eye ability (hold L1) you can see which ones can be passed through, at which time a button prompt will appear.

Once through this stage head into the next room, which will contain a bunch of guards as well as barriers. Stealthily work your way through the room, taking out one guard at a time from cover, and make sure to not take out any guards too close to the laser barriers, or you may set them off immediately after the fight.

After this encounter is over, retrace your steps to the large circular room with the statue from the previous infiltration, as the door at the back of the room can now be opened. Through the main door will be another large area full of twisting passages, but head immediately to the right to locate a useful Safe Room.

Once you've used to the Safe Room as an opportunity to save the game, head back out and head to the north west corner of the paths, running into more guards but thankfully no security barriers. After you're done with this section, turn left to open up a shortcut back to the main lobby, and then head back the other way to come to a staircase leading up to the next floor of the Museum Palace Dungeon.

Museum Palace Dungeon - Second Floor

When you're into the main room of the Second Floor, Morgana will trigger an alarm when the Phantom Thieves approach the golden vase in the middle of the room, separating the group between lasers. Jump on top of the green cage in the southeast corner and work your way round on the ledge until you're above a guard you can ambush. Take him down, then flip the switch found within that section of the room using the Mind's Eye to free Ann.

Climb back on top of the ledge and make your way round to Ryuji's side of the room, dropping down and using the Mind's Eye to find the crooked painting and flip the switch behind it, freeing Ryuji. Once done, find the pile of boxes in the room and climb on top of them to reach the vent, making your way through it to come out in the control room.

Try using the computer in the room and then open the door, spying on two guards who are discussing the change of password on the computer you just attempted to use. Either take the guards out or ignore then and return to the control room, using the password on the computer to free Morgana, and then reunite with your feline friend in the middle of the room.

Smash the golden vase and a Treasure Demon will reveal itself for the first time in Persona 5 thus far. These enemies flee fairly quickly and are resistant to every type of attack, but reward a ton of XP and Yen if they can be successfully defeated. After this encounter, follow the corridor round to the left to reach an impassable security barrier, and head through the gap in the wall on the right and take out the security guard patrolling in the next room.

Exit through the far end of the room to find yourself on the other side of the barrier, and head right to find another Safe Room. From here, head to the other end of the corridor to find an open area with more enemies, which you can either take out or ignore entirely. Either way, you'll have to use the Mind's Eye ability in order to find the crooked painting on the pillar in the northwest end of the room, flipping the switch behind it to release the barriers that were preventing your escape.

Head through the door on the opposite side of the room from which you entered, and examine the brightly colored door in the next room. Make your way back to the nearby Safe Room after finding that the door is impassable, and from here return to the real world.

Madarame Palace Dungeon: Third Infiltration

Although it's just you and Ryuji for this visit, the third infiltration is thankfully short, so make your way down the corridor after Ann and Morgana have opened the door in the real world, until you encounter the menacing Security Shadow.

This beast can put up a fairly tough fight thanks to its Skull Cracker ability, so make sure to use any physical evasion abilities against it if you can. After the fight you can disable the security systems, and you'll be reunited with Ann and Morgana, as well as Yusuke. Make your retreat, and fend off the beasts that Madarame sends after you, which shouldn't put up a huge fight against the combined might of the Phantom Thieves.

Madarame Palace Dungeon - Treasure Hall Puzzle

Head back to the most recent Safe Room and make your way through the security barriers, which are now handily disabled. Head immediately north and examine the huge Madarame statue, then afterwards find the map on the rack just behind it.

Follow the next passageway on the right, and the Phantom Thieves will find themselves in a large room with lots of security barriers as well as guards, posing quite the challenge. Take the guards out while their backs are turned and make sure to proceed through any security barriers using the Mind's Eye, and after this is complete examine the large painting on the wall that appears to be partially sunken into the floor.

As the group now find themselves inside the painting, head left and you'll find yourself in another painting entirely. Head left again, jumping over the rock in the middle of the picture, and jump out of the picture again once you've come to the very left end, finding yourself on a ledge that you can use to access a vent, which eventually comes out in a security room.

Attempt to activate the computer, and the Phantom Thieves will find that they are locked out and need a password. Head out of the room and spy on the two guards, and afterwards head back to that huge Madarame statue we found earlier. Examine it, and you'll find the password to use on the computer to turn off all the security beams.

Proceed ahead into the new area that has opened up just off of the large hall, and you'll find a Safe Room at the end. Make sure to rest up in here before heading upstairs to the next floor.

Madarame Palace Dungeon - Second Painting Puzzle, the Real Sayrui

It might be a new floor, but we're still faced with a puzzle involving a series of paintings. Head right once inside the first painting to arrive at the foot of Mount Fuji. From here, head up inside the archway to find yourself in a cave, which you should proceed to the right of and then jump out onto the ledge, activating the button and then jumping back into the cave painting.

Now make your way through the rear of the cave painting to find yourself back in the original painting with the camels. Head right once again into the painting with Mount Fuji, except this time continue heading right, into a painting with a boat. Jump out of painting near the net on the boat and hit the switch right there, then jumping down off the ledge and back into the original painting of the camels.

Head back to the painting of the cave once again, and this time head into the back of the cave, emerging in an entirely new painting which the group can now jump out of. The rest of the floor is simply running through a number of rooms, until the Phantom Thieves find themselves in a brand new area with lots of winding staircases.

Head up the first staircase and drop down to the right, ascending up the staircase right ahead of you and drop off once again straight after. Climb up the ledge and take out the guard patrolling the ledge, afterwards making your way through the archway with the blue light emanating from it.

Descend down the stairs and through another blue archway, and then descend down the next set of stairs until you find yourself faced with choosing the real painting between the two ones situated there, the correct one being the one on the right. Make your way through the archway that has just changed from blue to orange, and now choose the next real painting, in this case it's the one in closest proximity to the blue sofa.

Make your way through the next orange archway to find four more paintings of Sayrui, all of which you need to ignore. Instead, head left and drop down above the colored archway, making your way to the bottom of the steps to find the real painting waiting right there for you. Head back up the steps to the archway and you should find yourself in a familiar location. Proceed down the steps and through the new orange archway, and the group will be returned to a more normal setting.

Madarame Palace Dungeon - Main Treasure Hall

Head straight ahead towards where you can see Shadow Madarame, only to find that your entrance is blocked. Instead, head left to the handy Safe Room there, and then north to the control room, experimenting with all controls found there.

As the path to the west will now be open, head there and deal with the guard patrolling the area, as well as smashing a few treasure items found there. Continue following the corridor round to the north and then west, eventually finding another Safe Room after encountering another guard patrolling the area.

Head into the room situated next to the Safe Room, and examine the switch on the wall, climbing up the rafters afterwards and examining the hook hanging there. Return to the switch and use it, returning to the real world afterwards and making preparation to send out the Calling Card to the real Madarame.

Once you're ready to take on Shadow Madarame in his final form, head back to the most recent Safe Room and go flip the switch in the other room, setting off the heist. Once Morgana has grabbed the treasure, head up to the hook in the rafters and then proceed to make your escape through the window on the same level, afterwards descending down the various stairs until you reach the red archway.

If you need help with the final Shadow Madarame boss battle in the Museum Palace Dungeon, be sure to head to the next page in this guide covering the fight. Alternatively, our other guides on the game cover topics such as how to max out your Confidant/Social Links, as well as how to get a job for a steady stream of money. We've also got a complete guide to Persona 5 Test Answers.

Now that we've provided you with the quickest and easiest route through the Museum Palace Dungeon, the Phantom Thieves should have no problem causing a change of heart in Madarame.