The boss of the Kyoto Jail in Persona 5 Strikers is one you’re probably going to either love or hate. It’s honestly one of my favorites just because of how different it is, but that will likely rile up a few people.
Specifically, it’s a mirror match: you, as Joker, have a one-on-one fight against Akane’s Joker — her cognitive vision of the Phantom Thieves. And don’t worry. Despite the cutscene, you don’t have to do one-on-ones as the other Phantom Thieves against their doppelgangers, too. Akane’s Joker is the only one you need to take on.
Unfortunately (for me, at least), there’s no EX refight for this boss either. This is the one and only time you’ll get to take this boss on, so enjoy it. (Or enjoy the fact that it’s over and you won’t have to do it again until New Game +, but that’s up to you.)
Persona 5 Strikers Kyoto Jail boss – Akane’s Joker
Drains: None
Nulls: None
Resists: None
Weak to: None
Akane’s Joker is an odd fight in a lot of ways, and not just because it’s a flat-out, one-on-one brawl — no strengths or weaknesses at all. Thankfully, Akane’s Joker also doesn’t have a Persona, so you don’t need to worry about that.
However, he more than makes up for this in other ways. He’s got every single one of your combos, a gun with unlimited ammo, the ability to use the environment just like you do, and he’s irritatingly good at dodging your attacks.
The best way to play this is defensively. Treat Akane’s Joker almost like a Dark Souls boss: watch for certain attacks or combos and then go nuts when he leaves an opening. His combos hit hard, but if you’ve been playing as Joker then you’ll already know how most of them will play out. If he catches you with one you’re probably not getting out of it, though, and they’ll take off a lot of health. Don’t be shy about using healing items.
Also, there’s a button-mashing QTE at the start and middle of the fight.
The ideal times to attack are when he finishes a combo, lands on the ground from something else, or performs a lunge attack. I found Personas to be of relatively little use here (seriously, Akane’s Joker dodges all the time) but if you’ve got one that resists Phys or Gun damage I imagine that’ll help out. The other way of using them is to use a Persona Attack in a combo: if you’re lucky you might even hit him with a status effect so you can follow up with a Technical.
Note that the environment can also be used to your advantage. Exploding a scooter when he’s nearby will knock him down and let you get in for a One More. If he’s spinning on a pole, a gunshot will knock him off it and leave him exposed for another One More.
