Shin Megami Tensei: 10 Things You Don’t Know About The Franchise

With Shin Megami Tensei V releasing soon, there are plenty of obscure facts about the franchise that new and casual fans should know but don’t.

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With Shin Megami Tensei V releasing on the Switch soon, many new fans are being introduced to this beloved RPG series. Starting from 1987, the Megami Tensei franchise has had releases on most consoles with multiple sub-series that focus on different characters and storylines.

But, since the franchise is so large with various video game genres and timelines, there are many hidden details and facts that most casual and new fans do not know about. These obscure aspects show how in-depth the series is, and the interesting legacy the newest game is a part of.

10 Started From A Science Fiction Novel

The franchise started in 1987 with Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, which was developed by Atlus and published by Namco for the Famicom. This game was based off a science fiction novel with the same name written by Aya Nishitani. While the novel is only the first of the Digital Devil Story trilogy, the game only adapts the first novel, and the video game sequel goes a different direction.

Both the game and the novel focus on a high school boy named Akemi Nakajima who develops a demon summoning program. After he is bullied by other students for rejecting a girl’s advances, he decides to use the demon summoning program to enact revenge on his classmates. But, things get quickly out of hand, and Nakajima and a transfer student, Yumiko Shirasagi, must save the world from demons.

9 All Games Share Similar Themes

While most of the games focus on different characters and settings from each other, they do share many common themes and attributes. For example, almost all of the games allow the player to negotiate with demons and recruit them as allies. Technology plays a big role in the narrative, and it is often the explanation for why the characters can interact with demons.

Also, there is typically an apocalypse that is either about to happen or has already happened, and the player will probably have to fight a god at least once. The games usually have different endings based on moral choices the player makes, which are separated into three main alignments: Law, Neutral, and Chaos.

8 Early Entries Not Localized Because Of Nintendo Guidelines

Although the franchise has existed since 1987, none of the games had official English localizations until 1995. The first game to finally be localized was Jack Bros., which was an action spin-off created for Nintendo’s Virtual Boy console. In this game, the player selects either Jack Frost, Jack Lantern, or Jack Skelton to use to get through the levels, and each of them have different abilities. As one of these “Jack Brothers,” the player must beat the levels within the short time limit before Halloween ends and the portal to the fairy world closes.

Before this, games in the series were not localized because of the religious imagery and topics. Since the games were on Nintendo consoles, they had to follow Nintendo’s guidelines, which were against the use of religious themes in the West at the time.

7 Started Modern Settings In RPGs

When video game RPGs started in the 1970s, they were heavily based on Dungeons and Dragons and other pen-and-paper RPGs. Because of this, these early video games used medieval-inspired fantasy settings. While popular classic RPG series such as Ultima, Wizardry, and Might and Magic usually had some science-fiction elements, they still did not use a modern setting. This was continued with other RPGs that would continue to be popular to this day such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

But, the SMT franchise was one of the first to do something different. Since the beginning, most of the games in the series have had modern settings with new technology, new cultural ideas, and urban landscapes. This choice has led to other well-known RPGs such as Danganronpa, The World Ends With You, and many others.

6 Had A Crossover With Fire Emblem

In 2015, Atlus and Nintendo worked together to create an RPG game that combined SMT and Fire Emblem. Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE is a Wii-U title that takes place in modern Tokyo and focuses on a group of teenagers who use creatures called Mirages, which are based on Fire Emblem characters. By merging with these Mirages and becoming Mirage Masters, they try to stop other Mirages from sucking energy from humans.

This game is considered by some to be one of the best Wii-U games, and it even was ported years later to the Switch and titled Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore. Similar to many SMT games, Mirages are like the demons that the main characters recruit to fight other demons.

5 Games Are Connected By Alternate Timelines

Besides some exceptions, each SMT game tends to have an entirely unique plot and cast of characters. Because of this, most of the SMT games can be played on their own without having prior knowledge of previous games.

Despite this, almost all the games are connected in some way. For example, the Persona series is an alternate universe where the events of SMT 1 did not happen, and there are hints in the games to suggest that the Persona games and the Devil Summoner games exist in the same universe.

4 The Digital Devil Saga Games Have Novels

Digital Devil Saga 1 and Digital Devil Saga 2 are RPGs for the PS2 that focus on a tribe called the Embryon that fights against other tribes in a strange world called the Junkyard. After a strange object opens and releases a bright light, the characters all gain the ability to turn into demons, and they must eat other people in order to survive.

Although Japanese author Yu Godai wrote the original first draft of the first game, she left the project for personal reasons, and the rest of the story was developed by other writers. But, she eventually wrote a light novel series, Quantum Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner, that revealed her own full version of the story.

3 Orgone Ghost Is Based On Orgone Energy

There are many different types of demons in the SMT franchise. Since the variety is a big selling point, the demons in the games have interesting origins that are usually based on different religions, cultures, and beliefs. But, because new demons are being added all the time, some of them only appear in one game.

One of these demons, Orgone Ghost, only appeared in Devil Summoner 1. The demon is based on a discredited pseudoscientific theory from Austrian doctor Wilhelm Reich that suggested that the universe is made up of an omnipresent living energy called “Orgone Energy.”

2 Michael Jackson Reference In SMT II

While most references in SMT are based on mythological or religious characters, sometimes recent historic icons also appear. In SMT II, the “King of Pop” himself, Michael Jackson, exists as an NPC.

The NPC, named “Mr. Thriller,” is dancing in a club with a bunch of dancing zombies. Although he is not named “Michael Jackson,” it is obvious who it’s supposed to be given the name, the dancing zombies, and the fact that his outfit is the same as the one he wore in the Thriller music video.

1 “Turn It Off” Rumor For SMT 1

Almost every popular video game franchise has a Creepypasta-esque rumor, and SMT is no different. There was a popular rumor among the Japanese fanbase that SMT 1’s intro can randomly freeze and display the words “Turn it off” repeatedly across the screen. While there was a video on the Japanese video sharing website Nico Nico Douga apparently showing this, it has since been debunked.

Although this rumor is probably not true, Atlus has acknowledged this popular horror story. In Persona 4 Arena, the words “Turn it off” would appear repeatedly at the bottom of the screen if the player attempted to play it before the game came out in Japan.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/shin-megami-tensei-hidden-facts-trivia-things-fans-dont-know/