In the scene, Madarame begins by entering and observing Yusuke’s mother painting. He asks if she is okay to draw, referencing her unknown illness/medical condition. Yusuke’s mother assures Madarame that what she’s working on is a “special painting.” Madarame compliments her work, and Yusuke’s mother admits she’s surprised to be hearing praise from the usually strict and harsh artist. Madarame tells her she is one of his “first-class pupils.”
As Madarame starts to walk away, Yusuke’s mother collapses to the floor. She begs him to go fetch her some medicine, but Madarame does not leave.
A dialogue box pops up with an unknown voice saying, “The price you owe me, can only be paid with this painting!” Faz has explained that this text refers to another unused scene where a man threatens Madarame and demands for Yusuke’s mother’s painting as payment.
Following that voice flashback, Madarame decides to let Yusuke’s mother die. At the end of the scene, he can be seen smiling evilly.
Pan-hime and Faz have mentioned that they have discovered two other Madarame flashback scenes, as well as flashbacks for other palace rumors. Perhaps Atlus initially intended to add these kinds of backstory moments to all the palaces, similar to a mechanic in the game’s final January palace, where the Phantom Thieves must view flashbacks of the palace ruler as they infiltrate the palace.
However, this scene, in particular, would take away from the final reveal during Madarame’s boss battle, when he tells Yusuke about the true circumstances behind his mother’s death.
Regardless of the reasons why Atlus decided to cut it, the scene is now available to view online.
Persona 5 Royal is available now, exclusively for the PlayStation 4.
Source: YouTube
