Wakaba Isshiki

Wakaba Isshiki is a character in Persona 5.

Appearance

 * Persona 5: Supporting Character, Boss

Persona 5
Wakaba Isshiki was Futaba Sakura's mother and a prominent cognitive scientist. Futaba thought she was a benevolent mother even when Futaba had a fit during Wakaba's busiest time in her research, until Wakaba died in what appeared to be a traffic accident, but in reality was killed by Goro Akechi. Out of spite, he forged Wakaba's will, in which he claimed she regretted giving birth to Futaba. This revelation devastated Futaba and caused her to develop paranoid delusions of Wakaba's face overlaid on other people, constantly telling her how disappointed she was, which eventually drove her to become a shut-in with suicidal impulses. Futaba was later adopted by Sojiro Sakura, and took his surname.

Later when Futaba enters her own Palace, her shadow convinces her that the testament is a fake, resulting in Futaba's awakening to her Persona ability. Futaba helps the Phantom Thieves of Hearts defeat the false perception of her mother which takes the form of a gigantic and spiteful Sphinx. While Cognitive Wakaba proved too mobile with her capacity for flight in her demon form at first, Futaba realizes that the Palace was formed from her desires and focuses on her desire to save the people who helped give her a reason to live again, summoning a massive catapult that cripples the Sphinx and leaves her an easy target for the Phantom Thieves. After the battle, the image of a benevolent Wakaba appears before Futaba and confesses her love for her daughter then disappears.

Wakaba's death, false testament and the stealing of her research are revealed to be ordered by Masayoshi Shido for eliminating his enemies in an unconventional way.

Battle
"Cognitive Wakaba Isshiki" is formed from Futaba's false belief that her mother resented her for being an obstacle to her career. It takes the form of a Sphinx in keeping with the Egyptian theme of the Futaba Palace. The battle is fought in two rounds.

The first round is not winnable and the player should focus on defensive. She can inflict Daze and Distress which can be cured by Morgana and Makoto's status healing spells respectively. When the Sphinx rises to unapproachable distance, she will not return immediately in the next turn, so the player can do all the necessary healing and then guard in the subsequent turn.

In the second round, the player should assign any ally to maneuver the catapult. Except for Morgana who is not suitable to this task, the exact turns required to fire it depends on if that ally has previously controlled it because they would complain the ballista is too sturdy and adjusting it paralyzes their arms. When the Sphinx is crippled by the catapult arrow, focus on offensive with physical attacks and only cure the ailment if it is Distress. She will only recover from this state after three turns and then the player should repeat the whole process by assigning another ally to control the catapult.