Megami Tensei - WikiHQ

Megami Tensei, marketed internationally as Shin Megami Tensei (formerly Revelations), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed and published by Atlus, the franchise consists of multiple subseries and covers multiple role-playing video game genres including tactical role-playing, action role-playing, and massively multiplayer online role-playing. The first two titles in the series were published by Namco (now Bandai Namco Entertainment), but have been almost always published by Atlus in Japan and North America since the release of Shin Megami Tensei. For Europe, Atlus publishes the games through third-party companies.

The series was originally based on Digital Devil Story, a science fiction novel series by Aya Nishitani. The series takes its name from the first book's subtitle. Most Megami Tensei titles are stand-alone entries with their own stories and characters. Recurring elements include plot themes, a story shaped by the player's choices, and the ability to fight using and often recruit creatures (demons, Personas) to aid the player in battle. Elements of philosophy, religion, occultism, and science fiction have all been incorporated into the series at different times.

While not maintaining as high a profile as series such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, it is highly popular in Japan and maintains a strong cult following in the West, finding critical and commercial success. The series has become well known for its artistic direction, challenging gameplay, and music, but raised controversy over its mature content, dark themes, and use of Christian religious imagery. Additional media include manga adaptations, anime films, and television series.

In Japan, some games in the series do not use the "Megami Tensei" title, such as the Persona sub-series. Many of the early games in the series were not localized due to potentially controversial content including religious references, and later due to their age. English localizations have used the "Shin Megami Tensei" moniker since the release of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne in 2004.

Titles

Games

The first installment in the franchise, Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, was released on September 11, 1987. An enhanced version of the game titled Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance was released in June 2024 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

In addition to the main series, there are also numerous spin-offs. Shin Megami Tensei: Nine, was released for the Xbox in 2002. Originally designed as a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), it was later split into a dual single-player and multiplayer package, and the single-player version released first. The online version was delayed and eventually cancelled as the developers could not manage the required online capacities using Xbox Live.

Persona

The Persona series is the largest and most popular spin-off from the Megami Tensei series. Two action role-playing prequels set in 1920s Tokyo were also developed, which revolve around demon summoner Raidou Kuzunoha: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army was released in 2006, and Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon was released in 2008.

Gameplay

right|thumb|190px|Screenshot of the Press Turn system as it appears in Shin Megami Tensei IV. Allied demons include designs by [[Kazuma Kaneko.]]

The gameplay in the series has become notable for its high difficulty, along with several mechanics that have endured between games. The science fiction and fantasy elements are brought together and unified through the use of philosophical concepts, enabling a blending of concepts and aesthetics that might normally clash.

Soejima's first work for the series was as part of the digital coloring team for the first Devil Summoner. He later had minor roles in artwork and character design in the first Persona and Soul Hackers. He later did the secondary characters for the Persona 2 duology, and was also part of the team checking over the PlayStation ports of the first three Shin Megami Tensei games, as well as minor work on Nocturne. By October 2018, the Megami Tensei main series has shifted approximately 12.4 million packaged and digital copies (including DL of free-to-play titles) of games worldwide. In addition, the Persona sub-series sold 9.3million copies, bringing total franchise numbers to 21.7million units (including DL of free-to-play titles Excluding the Persona series, the Megami Tensei series had supplied 19.2 million copies by 2023, including free-to-play titles. , the Persona series has sold 22.6 million units worldwide. Based on a December 16, 2023 survey conducted by Nikkei Entertainment, the combined fanbase of the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series within Japan has an average age of 32 years, and a male-to-female ratio that skews 40:60.

Japanese website 4Gamer.net referred to the series as one of Japan's biggest role-playing franchises.

In a review of the Shin Megami Tensei series in Black Gate, Josh Bycer said "the Shin Megami Tensei series is very similar to Pokémon, in the use of an ever changing party roster. However Shin Megami Tensei did come first and is more mature, both in terms of design and storytelling."

Notes

References

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