Initiating Showtime in Persona 5 Royal
Showtime (ショウタイム, Shoutaimu)?, or Show Time in Japanese, is a battle mechanic in Persona 5 Royal and Persona 5 Strikers.
During the events of Royal, the Phantom Thieves of Hearts gain the ability to perform Showtimes from the Wishing Star they receive from Jose. Whenever a pair of Phantom Thieves discusses a new technique in the Star's presence, it glows and gives them the ability to use that technique. However, during the game's final act, the Wishing Star's power is exhausted transforming Morgana into a helicopter, and presumably the Phantom Thieves no longer have access to the Showtimes past the game's events.
In Strikers, there is no direct connotation nor explanation for the Showtimes, and are merely special techniques the Phantom Thieves use with their Personas.
Appearances[]
Profile[]
Persona 5 Royal[]
Showtimes are combination attacks performed between members of the Phantom Thieves. They can be unlocked after certain dates in the story, once the group meets at their hideout. Each character (with the exception of the protagonist) has a specialized Showtime, having another partner support them as back-up.
Showtimes are randomly triggered in battle, and can be accessed if:[1]
- A party member obtains a Baton Pass;
- A party member loses 50% of their health or lower;
- A party member faints;
- A party member recovers from a status ailment, Down, or being knocked out;
- The protagonist is dying;
- The protagonist is Downed;
- An enemy is Downed;
- An enemy is critically injured;
- Rarely, an enemy is afflicted with a status ailment, a defense debuff, or if a party member has an attack buff.
It is not necessary for both participants of a Showtime to be in the active party for that one to be usable; only one of them needs to be in. For example, Ann does not need to be in the active party for Yusuke to prompt their Showtime so long as he is in the party. Showtimes can be used while the party is being surrounded, even with an accompanying party member in reserve. No Showtime will be prompted if either participant is having an ailment.
Showtimes are similar to All-out Attacks in that they are Almighty type and can damage any enemy, although they only hit a single target and are considered Physical. The damage is mainly calculated by the party members' Level, and the enemy's Level and Endurance stat, but it ignores the user's stats or equipment. However, the damage can be increased through power-boosting skills and abilities, such as Tarukaja, Charge, and Baton Pass. This applies to Almighty-boosting traits and Passive skills as well.[1]
Showtime can generate Technical damage against enemies that have been inflicted with Dizzy or Sleep, but no party member will receive 1 More, although a Hold Up will be initiated if all enemies are Downed.
The Showtime animation can be skipped. If the party's Tactic is set to Act Freely, they will initiate Showtime without input.
If Showtime is used against a boss, the boss's model will not be displayed and the Showtime animation may use slightly different camera angles.[1]
| Pair | Color | Unlock Date |
|---|---|---|
| Morgana & Ann | June 21 | |
| Ryuji & Makoto | June 22 | |
| Yusuke & Ryuji | July 17 | |
| Ann & Yusuke | September 19 | |
| Haru & Morgana | September 20 | |
| Makoto & Haru | October 30 | |
| Akechi & the protagonist | January 2 | |
| Sumire & the protagonist | January 20, requires maxed Faith Confidant. |
List of Showtimes[]
Morgana & Ann[]
Morgana and Ann's Showtime, titled Gun with the Wind, is the first Showtime that is unlocked. It is unlocked on June 21. It is mandatory to do during a battle in Kaneshiro's Palace, where an Orthrus is used by Morgana to demonstrate the mechanic.
Morgana pulls out a large bouquet of roses for Ann. When they romantically jump towards each other, Ann reaches into the flowers and pulls out two SMGs and begins firing them in all directions. After a brief pose by the duo, they jump high into the air, where Ann begins shooting the guns downward on the enemy while Morgana pulls out a bomb and throws it. The two then pose in front of the explosion that follows.
The boss version is mostly the same, except some of the camera shots are modified so the boss cannot be seen, and the ending with Ann and Morgana posing in front of an explosion is excluded.
Ryuji & Makoto[]
Ryuji & Makoto's Showtime, titled Max Moxie, is unlocked on June 22.
Makoto and Ryuji are posing in front of the sun at sunset. Ryuji makes a reference to Fist of the North Star, but Makoto cuts him off and tells him to focus. The two begin dashing at the enemy and Makoto strikes through it. Ryuji then strikes with his club from above and then swings his club like a baseball bat and hits the enemy into Makoto, who will initiate a series of rapid punches to finish them. Afterward, Ryuji gives Makoto a grape soda, who crushes the can with her hands while Ryuji bows to her.
The boss version is completely different from the regular version. After jumping into the air, Ryuji uses his club to give Makoto an extra boost of height. Ryuji will then run towards the boss and hold it down with his foot. He teases the boss and then shows it Makoto diving down and performing a powerful earthquake punch in the ground, which hits Ryuji in the process.
Yusuke & Ryuji[]
Yusuke & Ryuji's Showtime, titled Inglorious Beefbowls, is unlocked on July 17.
A very hungry Ryuji sits at a table in the "Fox's Beef Bowl" restaurant. Yusuke then makes Ryuji the ultimate beef bowl, but before Ryuji can take a bite of it, the enemy bursts open the doors to the shop. Angry at the enemy for interrupting his meal, Ryuji and Yusuke begin shooting at the enemy with their guns. Ryuji then throws a grenade outside, which Yusuke shoots to detonate it and blow up the enemy. Once the enemy is down, Ryuji goes back to his beef bowl and begins eating it rapidly while Yusuke gets artistic inspiration from him.
The boss version is mostly unchanged, although some camera shots are shown from the boss's perspective so they can't be seen. The ending is also not included, instead cutting off after the grenade explosion.
Ann & Yusuke[]
Ann & Yusuke's Showtime, titled The Kabuki Kid, is unlocked on September 19.
In a traditional Japanese home, Yusuke and Ann do a pose then Yusuke jumps off. Ann does a bunch of poses with an umbrella before bringing out her whip. She then swings it all around causing a bunch of sheets to fly all over the place. Yusuke then does a quick slash of his sword that splits all of the sheets in half as well as the enemy. The two pose while the enemy gets hit by the slash.
The boss version has more sheets flying around to cover the boss, and the pose at the end is omitted.
Haru & Morgana[]
Haru & Morgana's Showtime, titled Drive Hard is unlocked on September 20.
After appearing under a spotlight, Haru and Morgana jump off a building. Morgana turns into his car form and begins driving on the road while Haru stands on top of him. Haru then fires a bunch of ammunition from her launcher into the enemy while Morgana drives himself into them. While Haru poses, she notices a fainted Morgana on the road and goes to check on him, but he laughs it off.
The boss version is unchanged except the ending is cut off, with the Showtime ending after Haru's grenade is seen flying into the boss.
Makoto & Haru[]
Makoto & Haru's Showtime, titled PTE ThwackDown, is unlocked on October 30.
Makoto and Haru enter a wrestling ring, and when the bell rings, they run towards the enemy. Makoto starts off with a lariat while Haru gives it a dropkick. Makoto then grabs a chair and smacks on the enemy, breaking the camera in the process. The two girls then run to opposite corners of the ring, and jump off the wires into the air. They rejoin each other in the air and dive into the enemy with a "Double Death Blow." The two then pose back-to-back.
The boss version features a few slight changes. The camera angles are modified so the boss cannot be seen. Haru also dives into the enemy at the start rather than doing a flying kick. The appearance of their "Double Death Blow" move is slightly different and the girls posing at the end is removed.
Akechi & the protagonist[]
Akechi and the protagonist's Showtime, titled Bladed Runners, can only be obtained during the Third Semester, on January 2, during a fight with Maruki's Warped Abyss enemy. Unlike other Showtimes, the Showtime itself is performed before actually being unlocked. It is officially "unlocked" on January 9, when the two reenter Maruki's Palace. The Showtime was originally an improvised move rather than being planned like the others.
In a dark, stormy city, on top of a building, Akechi uses his Berserk ability on himself before he proceeds to charge straight at the enemy. Meanwhile, the protagonist uses his grappling hook to jump across a bunch of vents and strike from above using his knife. After he does a single vertical slash, he jumps out of Akechi's way, who maniacally slashes the enemy continuously. Afterwards, the protagonist fires a single shot from his gun to finish the job while Akechi walks off, expressing disgust and disappointment at his enemy's weakness.
The boss version is mostly the same, but some camera angles are modified so the boss cannot be seen. The ending scene is also cut off.
Sumire & the protagonist[]
Sumire and the protagonist's Showtime, titled Dances with Thieves, can be obtained during or after January 20, on the first return to the hideout after maxing her Confidant. It is the only Showtime that requires a Confidant to be maxed out to unlock.
In a church, Sumire and the protagonist run up a basement into a chapel. The protagonist uses his grappling hook to swing himself and Sumire onto its ceiling, while the protagonist bombards the enemy with bullets. He then releases Sumire into the air and the camera pans to her eye, where Kasumi Yoshizawa in a gymnast outfit holds her hand out to Sumire and the duo perform a dance that ends up slashing the enemy with their blades before the protagonist returns to hold Sumire in his hands and dip her.
In the boss version, the floor of the chapel is unseen and the animation cuts out at Sumire and Kasumi slashing the boss with blades.
Persona 5 Strikers[]
Showtimes are powerful attacks performed by members of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts. Though they perform them individually compared to Royal, the characters are accompanied by their Personas. The protagonist can summon any of his Personas, not just Arsène.
Showtimes can only be used when the character's Showtime Gauge is filled in battle, activated by 
+
, in a similar enough manner to Warrior Specials of other Koei Tecmo games. Initiating Showtime will inflict a powerful attack on all enemies in the entire battle area, the type varying based on the skill type they specialize in. A few of the late-game Personas will instead have unique Showtimes based on signature skills that only they can use (with the exception of Metatron, whose skill is not unique to him.)
Before using Showtime, each of the colored backgrounds represent the members of the Phantom Thieves
- Ren Amamiya: Red with close-up-esque transition.
- Morgana: Dark blue with cat scratches that can rip the background.
- Ryuji Sakamoto: Yellow with a lightning bolt transition. The sides move up and down after the lightning animation.
- Ann Takamaki: Pink with three spotlights. Hearts appear in the watermark of the background when spotlights appear.
- Yusuke Kitagawa: Cyan with polygons. It shatters after the transition.
- Makoto Niijima: Gray with smoke transition.
- Haru Okumura: Purple with petal transition.
- Sophia: Scarlet with digital transition.
- Zenkichi Hasegawa: Dark gray with smokes in the bottom of the background.
Unlike in Royal where Showtimes are stronger than All-out Attacks, in Strikers, instead All-out Attacks are significantly stronger in comparison.
If the user is inflicted with Forget, they will be unable to trigger their Showtime.
The passive skill, Rebel Soul, improves the rate at which the user's Showtime Gauge is filled up. Switching party members via Baton Pass also improves the Showtime Gauge rate for the current player, albeit as a temporary boost, but the effects can be boosted via its respective BOND ability.
Trophies & Awards[]
| Trophy | Icon | Description | For | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| It's Showtime! | 
|
Performed a Showtime attack. | P5R trophy | 
|
| It's Showtime! | 
|
Activated Showtime. | P5S trophy |
|
Gallery[]
Persona 5 Royal[]
Persona 5 Strikers[]
Trivia[]
Persona 5 Royal[]
- If Morgana and Ann execute their Showtime, their Level Up and Party Stats portraits will change into the image stills in their Showtime.
- "Sayuri" can be seen hung on the wall during Yusuke and Ryuji's Showtime.
- As Futaba is a Navigator, she is the only Phantom Thief that doesn't have a Showtime.
- Showtimes are rendered in-game during combat, but in Thieves Den, they are pre-rendered in video format.
- Because of this, due to an oversight by the developers, the Thieves Den version of Ann and Morgana's Showtime contains a black cursor near the upper-left corner of the screen. This oversight remains in the 2022 remaster of the game.
- The achievements for activating Showtimes in the English versions of both Royal and Strikers are both named "It's Showtime!" In Japanese that doesn't apply, as the Royal achievement literally translates to "Showtime!" (ショータイム！*)? while Strikers' is "Splendid Show". (華麗なるショウ*)?
- All of the Showtime attacks are named after various films or television series:
| Characters | English names | Japanese names | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Showtime | Film/TV series | Showtime | Film/TV series | |
| Panther and Mona | Gun with the Wind | Gone with the Wind | Phantom Clothings and Machine Gun (怪盗服と機関銃, Kaitou Fuku to Kikan Juu)? | Sailor Suit and Machine Gun |
| Queen and Skull | Mad Moxie | Mad Max | Mad Mix (マッド・ミックス, Maddo Mikkusu)? | Mad Max |
| Fox and Skull | Inglorius Beefbowls | Inglourious Basterds | That Man did this for a Beef Bowl (その男、牛丼につき, Sono Otoko, Gyuudon ni tsuki)? | Violent Cop |
| Fox and Panther | The Kabuki Kid | The Karate Kid | Genroku Onna Kabuki (元禄女歌舞伎, Genroku Onna Kabuki)? | Zankoku, Ijō, Gyakutai Monogatari: Genroku Onna Keizu (An NSFW film from the 1960s) |
| Mona and Noir | Drive Hard | Die Hard | Best Night Kid (ベスト･ナイト･キッド, Besuto Naito Kiddo)? | The Karate Kid |
| Noir and Queen | PTE ThwackDown | WWE SmackDown | Last Countdown (ラスト･カウントダウン, Rasuto Kauntodaun)? | The Final Countdown |
| Crow and Joker | Bladed Runners | Blade Runner | From Hell Till Dawn (フロム・ヘル・ティル・ドーン, Furomu Heru Tiru Doun)? | From Dusk Till Dawn |
| Violet and Joker | Dances With Thieves | Dances with Wolves | Dances with Phantoms (ダンス・ウィズ・ファントム, Dansu Wizu Fantomu)? | Dances With Wolves |
- Unused data exists for showtimes between Mona and Skull, Skull and Panther, and Yusuke and Makoto, but they don't work in-game. In addition, there is also data referencing another showtime involving Akechi, though who he would perform this attack with is not stated and likely impossible to figure out due to a lack of data.[2]
- More unused data shows 'stickers' for every Showtime, though where these would appear in-game isn't clear. A ninth placeholder sticker exists, only displaying red Japanese characters translating to "Reserve" or "Reserved" (予備), implying the existence of a scrapped 9th Showtime.[3]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 SHOWTIMEについて, ペルソナ5ザ･ロイヤル総合攻略Wiki P5R攻略 Wiki*
- ↑ https://tcrf.net/Persona_5_Royal/Unused_Skills_and_Cards
- ↑ https://starfirexuchiha.tumblr.com/post/632878745058983936/p5r-unused-showtime-stickers