| Shin Megami Tensei | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Shin_Megami_Tensei_The_First.jpg) Super Famicom box art, featuring the main characters and multiple demons from the game | |
| Developer(s) | Atlus |
| Publisher(s) | Atlus |
| Director(s) | Yōsuke Niino |
| Producer(s) | Hideyuki Yokoyama |
| Programmer(s) | Kouji Okada |
| Artist(s) | Kazuma Kaneko |
| Writer(s) |
|
| Composer(s) | Tsukasa Masuko |
| Series | Megami Tensei |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Shin Megami Tensei[a] is a role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus for the Super Famicom. Originally released in 1992 in Japan, it has been ported to multiple systems and eventually released in the West for iOS in 2014. It was released on the Virtual Console service in Japan on Wii in 2007 and on Wii U in 2013, as well as Nintendo Switch Online in 2020. It is the third game in the Megami Tensei series and the first in the central Shin Megami Tensei series. The gameplay uses first-person navigation of dungeons and turn-based battles against demons. The player can recruit demons as allies by talking to them rather than fighting them, and two to three demons can be fused to create new demons.
The story follows a player-named protagonist who lives in near-future Tokyo. When a portal to the realm of demons is opened accidentally by a scientist named Steven and is seized by Gotou, a military commander who believes that he can control the demons, the United States government orders a nuclear attack on Tokyo. Transported with two other supporting characters thirty years into the future, the protagonist finds the Earth ruined by a demon invasion, which is now the stage for an escalating conflict between the Order of Messiah and the Ring of Gaia, conflicting cults who wish to bring about kingdoms for their respective patron deities (YHVH and Lucifer). The story is influenced by moral decisions the protagonist makes, aligning him either with the Messians, the Ring of Gaia, or setting him up as an independent agent.
From the start of the production, Atlus staff saw Shin Megami Tensei as a chance to create a game with the company's brand on it. The staff saw it as a remake of the previous Megami Tensei game; because of this, they knew what was going to happen in the story, and the development went smoothly. The story went through multiple revisions, and many settings were inspired by the staff's personal lives. The character and demon designs were done by Kazuma Kaneko, who used mythical figures and multiple clothing styles in his designs. Critical and commercial reception for the game have been highly positive, and its success helped launch Atlus as a developer and publisher, along with popularizing the Megami Tensei series.
- ^ Carter, Chris (September 20, 2016). "Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse beginner's guide". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on November 20, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
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