10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Shin Megami Tensei Series

The Shin Megami Tensei series has grown to be one of the world’s largest and most popular RPG series of all time. With games spanning multiple consoles across four decades, the Shin Megami Tensei franchise has expanded into multiple series, spin-offs, and off-shoots. The sheer amount of content from the series ensures that there’s a perfect title for any player.




With nearly forty years to its name, the Shin Megami Tensei series has an impressive amount of history to its name. As unfortunate as it may be, it’s only logical then that some finer points of the series may have fallen through the cracks over the years. The following list compiles some of the more obscure facts about the Shin Megami Tensei series. So, whether this is a hacker’s first time summoning a digital devil, or if they already possess a vast army of spirits, they’ll be an expert in no time.


It’s One of the Oldest Franchises in Gaming History

Megami Tensei Famiom and MSX Gameplay


Title

Platform

Year of Release

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei

Famicom, MSX, PC-88, Sharp X68000, FM77

1987

Shin Megami Tensei

Super Famicom

1992

Shin Megami Tensei II

Super Famicom

1994

Jack Bros.

Virtual Boy

1995

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner

TV

1997

Shin Megami Tensei: Nine

Xbox

2002

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

PlayStation 2

2003

Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine

PC

2007

Related

Shin Megami Tensei: The Ultimate Guide to Devil Summoning Anime

With OVAs, series, and films to its name, the Shin Megami Tensei series has produced fantastic content for nearly all of its series and spin-offs.


The very first title in the series, Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Story, introduced players to a world overrun with devils of all sorts. As highschooler Akemi Nakajima, players were tasked with saving the world from the evil forces of Loki, Set, and even Lucifer himself. Megami Tensei took familiar dungeon-crawling concepts and adapted them by putting them into a modern science fiction story rather than traditional high fantasy.

The original Megami Tensei was developed by Namco and released for the Famicom. Released alongside in the same year was a version for the MSX, developed instead by Telenet Japan with support from Atlus. While both games were based on the same story, the Famicom version played nearly identically to Wizardry, while the MSX version was an isometric action RPG similar to Gauntlet and Ys.

The Shin Megami Tensei Series Can Trace Its Roots Back to a Novel

A Trilogy of Books Influenced an Entire Generation of Video Games

Digital Devil Story Novel


The Shin Megami Tensei series’ very first incarnation was from a trilogy of books written by Aya Nishitani. The stories written in the novels would serve as the direct inspiration and basis for the Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei games. When high schooler Akemi Nakajima is attacked by a vengeful classmate, he decides to go home and finish his Demon Summoning Program, a means to exact revenge on those who hurt him. But his program spirals out of his control as a host of devils begin to take over.

An OVA produced by ANIMATE would be released in 1987, adapting the same story as the novels and video game. The first Digital Devil Story novel is one of the most influential and seminal works in modern Japanese science fiction as it gave birth to one of the world’s most popular video game series of all time. If it hadn’t been for author Aya Nishitani, there would be no Shin Megami Tensei, no Persona, and no Digital Devil Summoner series, among many others.


Author Aya Nishitani Was Involved in the Development of the Original Megami Tensei Game

Sometimes Changes Make Adaptations Better

Aya Nishitani

The original Digital Devil Story was based on Aya Nishitani’s novel, which was as successful as it was due to his involvement with the development staff. The biggest hurdle the team faced in developing the game was overcoming the Famicom’s limited hardware space on individual cartridges. In order to circumvent this problem, the developers instead chose to focus on major plot points from the novel rather than adapt every single narrative beat.


One of the biggest omissions from the original novel was Akemi’s moral fiber. In the story, it was never quite clear if he was a protagonist or the antagonist of the story. While he did ultimately fight to stop the devils that overtook his program, Akemi also created the program to hurt his fellow classmates in the first place. Despite cutting this angle from the game, Nishitani’s involvement helped turn the game into the success it would become.

Shin Megami Tensei Has an Extremely Rare Virtual Boy Spin-Off

Even Devout Fans Likely Missed This Little-Known Title

Jack Bros. Virtual Boy Gameplay

Related

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Review – This is the Game SMT V Should Have Always Been

Vengeance salvages Shin Megami Tensei V’s underwhelming bones into an utterly fantastic RPG.


Jack Frost, the smiling blue and white mascot of the Shin Megami Tensei series, received his own spin-off game on the Nintendo Virtual Boy. One Halloween, while Jack was having fun romping around the human world, he lost track of time. Realizing that the portal back to his home world would close soon, Jack rushed off through a dangerous shortcut of mazes and monsters to get home.

Jack Bros. plays like a mix between The Legend of Zelda and a roguelike. Isometric hack-and-slash action is the name of the game, with plenty of monster-filled mazes to navigate. As Jack searches for keys to unlock the exit to deeper levels, he must contend with all sorts of traps and dangers along the way. Jack Bros. also has the honor of being exorbitantly expensive, having been released on Nintendo’s less-than-popular system.

Shin Megami Tensei: Nine is a Japanese Xbox Exclusive

An Attempt to Port Nine to PC Didn’t Work Out

Shin Megami Tensei Nine Combat


In an effort to expand the popularity of the Japanese Xbox market, Atlus took to developing an Xbox exclusive Shin Megami Tensei title. Despite its name, Shin Megami Tensei: Nine is not the ninth core SMT title to be released, but rather the eighth. Set within the second half of the original Shin Megami Tensei’s story and leading into Shin Megami Tensei II, Nine features Kei Azuma as he battles digital monsters known as “Noise.”

Nine plays similarly to previous SMT titles but includes many unique gameplay alterations. Combat is played out in real-time, with players having the option of issuing commands as needed. RTS segments exist as well, as Kei and his allies must complete hacking scenarios. Unlike previous SMT games, combat does not grant experience points; instead, equipped jewels alter characters’ stats and abilities.


Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Brought the Game Series to Live-Action Television

It’s Not Exactly Casual Viewing

A man and woman talking in the Devil Summoner TV series

Related

10 Hardest JRPGs, Ranked

If mind-bending mazes, party-crushing demons, and spunky ninjas are you’re after, these are the insanely difficult JRPG’s for you.

Released in 1997, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner was released on Japan’s TX Network. Billed as a late-night horror drama, Devil Summoner followed the same beats as the 1995 game of the same name. While it was only meant to receive 13 episodes, its positive reception with viewers prompted it to receive a second 13-episode season.


What makes Devil Summoner so interesting is how it incorporated elements of the video game while also going completely off the rails. The series is loaded with gratuitous sex and violence; while nothing explicitly NC-17 ever appears, the amount of sexualized feet, genital stepping, and blood definitely makes it a show for adults. Seeing a CG Jack Frost floating about is pretty cool, too!

DemiKids Toned the Series Down for Young Audiences

This Series Took a Page Out of Pokémon’s Book

DemiKids Gameplay

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children, or DemiKids as it’s known in the States, is Atlus’ take on the classic Pokémon formula. By playing as one of the titular DemiKids, players must travel through a whimsical fantasy world, recruiting and battling with other devils. Unlike previous SMT titles, DemiKids is specifically geared for younger players, with a much cuter and lighter tone than other games.


In typical Pokémon fashion, the DemiKids games were released as pairs. In order to collect each and every devil, players needed to trade with one another from game to game. The SMT series has always had a focus on collecting devils, predating Pokémon by many years, but the dedicated dual-release handheld games were an obvious nod to Nintendo’s popular monster-catching games.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Was the World’s First True Shin Megami Tensei Game

Localization Was a Challenge

Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne Combat

Related

10 Best Persona Games (Including Spin-Offs)

The Persona series has made its name completely recognizable in gaming. No wonder there are several installments at the ready for all tastes.


While the Virtual Boy’s Jack Bros. was the first official Shin Megami Tensei game to be released in North America, Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne was the first officially titled game released outside of Japan. From the earliest Famicom titles to the Super Famicom titles, and the Sega Saturn games that came later, not a single officially titled Shin Megami Tensei game had ever been officially released outside of Japan, apart from various spin-off titles.

There was a huge amount of pressure resting on Nocturne’s shoulders: failure to perform well in Western markets would have made it very difficult to localize future titles. Nocturne marked a large change for the series. It was the first core SMT title to be played in the third person, as opposed to the traditional first-person perspectives of previous titles. It featured a collaboration with Capcom, who approved the inclusion of their character Dante. It also utilized a cel-shaded graphical style that helped differentiate it from previous titles, as was the style at the time.


Religious Imagery and Themes Were the Hurdles That Kept the Series in Japan

Christian Iconography Plays Differently to a Western Audience

Shin Megami Tensei Religion

The biggest obstacle that prevented the Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei games from seeing releases outside of Japan was the rampant use of religious imagery and themes. While Japanese censors didn’t have issues with such content, Nintendo of America was famously strict with what it deemed suitable for Western players. From the use of crucifixes, to the names of demons and other characters, as well as the heavy subject material in their stories, the Megami Tensei games were just too mature for Western releases.


As the years went on and changes came to the video game industry, concerns about the religious content in the games were reduced. After the release and positive reception of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, more and more titles began to receive Western releases. The DS release of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor and the 3DS localizations of Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers and Shin Megami Tensei IV are all examples of how the series was able to finally take root in the West.

Exploring a Different Genre Proved Successful for the Franchise

For a series that is steeped in using computers to summon devils, it would only make sense to eventually develop a dedicated online experience. Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine is exactly that, serving as the series’ first and only MMO. Originally conceived as an online version of Nine following the closure of its online features, Imagine eventually became an MMO instead.


Set between Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II, Imagine allows players to assume the role of a Demon Buster, a person tasked with battling demons in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo. Imagine plays like most MMOs but with the central SMT focus of interacting with, recruiting, and battling demons. Imagine was a great success upon its release in Japan, and even received a US port, too. In 2021, Atlus filed a lawsuit against a fan company, Rekueimu Games, and members of a group called COMP_hack for re-hosting the game after it was taken offline and for creating a server emulator.

Leave a Comment