Megami Tensei, known internationally as Shin Megami Tensei (previously called Revelations), is a Japanese video game series created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. The series is mainly developed and published by Atlus. It includes many subseries and covers different types of role-playing games, such as tactical role-playing, action role-playing, and massively multiplayer online role-playing. The first two games in the series were published by Namco (now Bandai Namco Entertainment). However, Atlus has published most games in Japan and North America since the release of Shin Megami Tensei. In Europe, Atlus works with other companies to publish the games.
The series began as a science fiction novel series called Digital Devil Story, written by Aya Nishitani. The name "Megami Tensei" comes from the subtitle of the first book. Most games in the series are self-contained, with their own stories and characters. Common features include themes that change based on player choices, the ability to fight and recruit creatures (such as demons or Personas) during battles, and the inclusion of ideas from philosophy, religion, mystical topics, and science fiction.
Although it is not as well-known globally as series like Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest, Megami Tensei is very popular in Japan and has a loyal fan base in the West. The series is praised for its artwork, difficult gameplay, and music. However, some games have faced criticism for their mature themes, dark stories, and use of Christian religious symbols. Other media related to the series include manga, anime movies, and TV shows.
In Japan, some games in the series do not use the "Megami Tensei" name, such as the Persona subseries. Many early games were not translated into English because of potentially controversial content, such as religious references, or because they were old. English versions of the games have used the name "Shin Megami Tensei" since the 2004 release of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.
Titles
The first game in the series, Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, was released on September 11, 1987. Later games in the series have mostly been separate from each other, except for shared themes and gameplay ideas. The Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei games form the main part of the series, while other games like Persona, Devil Children, and Devil Summoner are spin-offs that are part of the larger franchise. Some games are completely separate from the main series.
Two games were released for the Famicom: Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei in 1987 and Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II in 1990. These games have no connection in their stories, but they introduced the basic gameplay and story ideas that became important for the series. Three games were released for the Super Famicom: Shin Megami Tensei in 1992, Shin Megami Tensei II in 1994, and Shin Megami Tensei If… in the same year.
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne was released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2. A special version called the Maniax Edition was released in Japan and North America in 2004 and in Europe in 2005. The number "III" was removed for the North American release, and the title changed to Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call in Europe. Shin Megami Tensei IV for the Nintendo 3DS was released in Japan and North America in 2013, and in Europe in 2014 as a digital-only game. Another game in the same universe, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, was released for the 3DS in Japan in February 2016. Shin Megami Tensei V was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2021. An improved version, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, was released in June 2024 for multiple platforms, including Windows, Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox.
Other games in the franchise include spin-offs. Shin Megami Tensei: Nine was released for the Xbox in 2002. It was originally planned as a multiplayer online game but was later split into a single-player and multiplayer version. The multiplayer version was delayed and eventually canceled because the developers could not support it using Xbox Live. Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, a true multiplayer online game, was released for Windows in 2007 in Japan, 2008 in North America, and 2009 in Europe. The Western version was shut down in 2014 when the company managing it closed its online gaming department. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey was released for the Nintendo DS in Japan in 2009 and North America in 2010. Its Japanese service ended in 2016. A smartphone game, Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2, was released in 2018.
The Persona series is the most popular spin-off from the Megami Tensei series. The first Persona game, Megami Ibunroku Persona (known as Revelations: Persona outside Japan), was released in Japan and North America in 1996. The first Persona 2 game, Innocent Sin, was released in Japan in 1999. The second Persona 2 game, Eternal Punishment, was released in Japan and North America in 2000. Persona 3 was released in Japan in 2006, North America in 2007, and Europe in 2008. Persona 4 followed in Japan and North America in 2008 and Europe in 2009. Persona 5 was released in Japan on September 15, 2016, and in North America and Europe on April 4, 2017. The Persona series also includes spin-offs such as Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth and Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, fighting games like Persona 4 Arena and Arena Ultimax, and other games like BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, Persona 5 Tactica, Persona 5 Strikers, and rhythm games such as Persona 4: Dancing All Night. In the West, Persona 3 and 4 were called Shin Megami Tensei at first, but this name was removed for Persona 4 Arena and Persona 4 Golden to make the titles shorter.
The Devil Summoner subseries began in 1995 with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner. It was followed by Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers in 1997 and Soul Hackers 2 in 2022. Two prequels set in 1920s Tokyo were also made: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army in 2006 and Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon in 2008.
Other spin-offs include Digital Devil Saga (called Avatar Tuner in Japan), a duology released after Nocturne. It was designed to be easier to play. Atlus also made two tactical role-playing games for the DS called Devil Survivor and Devil Survivor 2, which were later expanded for the 3DS. Other subseries include Last Bible, a fantasy series for younger players; *
Common elements
The Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series share some common features despite taking place in different storylines. A key trait is their setting in modern-day Tokyo, a city in the present time. Many games include post-apocalyptic themes, which were chosen to make the series unique compared to other fantasy-based games that often used older versions of Tokyo. The Persona series is set entirely in this modern Tokyo environment, focusing on the experiences of young characters.
Shin Megami Tensei II is an early example of a game that differs from the usual setting. It takes place in a futuristic science fiction world while still including fantasy elements. The Last Bible series also moves to a full fantasy setting. More recent games, such as Strange Journey and Shin Megami Tensei IV, take place in different locations, like Antarctica or a medieval society separate from modern Tokyo. The Devil Summoner games are set in modern detective stories rather than post-apocalyptic settings.
The series title, "Reincarnation of the Goddess," is still used today as "True Goddess Metempsychosis." The word "metempsychosis" means the cycle of reincarnation, a theme found in many stories. The "reborn goddess" represents both a female character in each game and the changes a place undergoes during the story. Reincarnation is also part of the game’s story and mechanics. Fans often shorten the series name to "MegaTen." In Chinese, the Persona series is called "Nǚshén Yìwénlù," which translates to "Alternate Tale of the Goddess."
Gameplay in the series is known for its difficulty and lasting mechanics. Players can recruit demons to fight alongside them and combine two demons to create a stronger one. These systems appear in later Persona games. A key battle system, called the Press Turn system, was first introduced in Nocturne. This system rewards players with extra turns for hitting an enemy’s weakness or landing critical hits, but players may lose turns if attacks miss or are blocked. Some games use a Moon Phase System, where the moon’s phases or weather affect enemy behavior.
The first two Megami Tensei games had different layouts. The first used a 3D first-person perspective, while the second combined 3D battle views with 2D navigation. This change was made to prevent players from getting lost in large 3D environments. The 2D/first-person view continued until Nocturne, which switched to a third-person perspective to avoid a condition called "3D sickness" linked to first-person games. A first-person view returned in Strange Journey and was used in Shin Megami Tensei IV’s battles alongside 3D environments.
Each game explores how extraordinary events affect the ordinary world, though the two main series focus on different themes. Shin Megami Tensei centers on a protagonist gaining power to survive in a world ruled by powerful gods, while Persona focuses on relationships and group psychology. The protagonist is usually male in Shin Megami Tensei titles, though some games allow for a female lead or gender choice. The series includes elements from Gnosticism, world religions, science fiction, Jungian psychology, and subcultures like goth and cyberpunk. Philosophical ideas help blend these diverse themes.
Stories in the core Shin Megami Tensei games often involve fighting a tyrannical god. The series uses either traditional cutscenes and dialogue (as in Persona) or a minimalist, text-based style (as in Nocturne). A tradition is to focus on a single main character. Lucifer, a fallen angel who opposes God, appears in many forms. Since Shin Megami Tensei II, games use a morality-based system where player choices affect the story. Alignments were first defined as "Law" (God’s forces) and "Chaos" (Lucifer’s army). Later games added a "Neutral" route, allowing players to reject both sides. Some games are tied to specific alignments, such as Shin Megami Tensei II focusing on "Law" or Nocturne aligning most characters with "Chaos." Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse restricts players to "Neutral" while offering multiple endings. The three-tiered alignment system was used in Strange Journey and continued in Shin Megami Tensei IV.
Development and history
The Megami Tensei series started as an expansion of the Digital Devil Story series, which was a set of three science-fantasy novels written by Aya Nishitani in the 1980s. Nishitani and his publisher, Tokuma Shoten, managed this expansion. The game was created by Atlus and published by Bandai Namco (then called Namco). Although the team wanted to include as much of the original story as possible, the Famicom's limited technology made this difficult. The series was created by Kouji Okada (credited as Cozy Okada in English), Ginichiro Suzuki, and Ginichiro's son, Kazunari. The game was popular in Japan and started the Megami Tensei franchise, with a more ambitious sequel released in 1990. During the development of Shin Megami Tensei, the team aimed to create a Super Famicom game with the company's brand, but they also wanted to challenge the usual ideas in gaming. Despite this, they considered Shin Megami Tensei a remake of Megami Tensei II. In many earlier games, Atlus employees appeared as characters.
Most Megami Tensei games were developed by Atlus' R&D Department 1. Other companies also contributed, such as Multimedia Intelligence Transfer (Last Bible series), Lancarse (Strange Journey), CAVE (Imagine), Nex Entertainment (Nine), and Arc System Works (Persona 4 Arena). Until 2003, most games were handled by Okada, but when he left to start his own company, Gaia, Kazuma Kaneko became the series' creative director. Two main writers for the franchise are Shogo Isogai and Ryutaro Ito. Ito worked on Megami Tensei II, joining the team after development to write the script and help with debugging. Isogai's first work was the script for Shin Megami Tensei II. Ito also wrote the next game, If…, which was set in a school environment instead of large-scale settings. His last work for the series was the first Devil Summoner. Isogai worked on Shin Megami Tensei II, If…, and later on Devil Summoner games, Nocturne, and Strange Journey. The music for the first five main Megami Tensei titles was composed by Tsukasa Masuko. For Nocturne, Shoji Meguro, who had worked on earlier spin-off titles, was brought in. He later became famous for his work on the Persona series.
The art styles for Shin Megami Tensei and Persona were shaped by two artists: Kazuma Kaneko and Shigenori Soejima. Kaneko had a long history with the series, starting with the original Megami Tensei titles. His most famous work was on Shin Megami Tensei, where he designed character and demon sprites and promotional artwork. He also suggested many of the game's darker features, which helped define the series' identity. Before designing each demon, Kaneko researches their mythological backgrounds and uses that in his designs. His work was influenced by creatures and deities from world mythology and monsters from popular culture, like Godzilla. He also designed characters for the first three Persona games. Kaneko's style is described as "cold" and "stoic," and he focuses on line drawings, which are scanned for digital work.
Soejima first worked on the first Devil Summoner as part of the digital coloring team. He later helped with character design for the first Persona and Soul Hackers games. He designed secondary characters for Persona 2 and helped with PlayStation ports of the first three Shin Megami Tensei games. Kaneko chose Soejima as the lead designer for Persona 3 to give younger staff experience. Soejima faced challenges designing for Persona 3, as he had to refine his style and meet fan expectations. He later worked on Persona 3/FES, Portable, Persona 4, and Persona 5. His style is lighter than Kaneko's work on Shin Megami Tensei.
Other designers also contributed. For Nine, animator Yasuomi Umetsu designed characters to match the game's vision. Masayuki Doi, known for the Trauma Center series, became the main designer for Shin Megami Tensei IV, blending Japanese and Western fashion with elements from Star Wars. After IV's success, he designed demons for Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse and V. For Devil Survivor, Atlus hired Suzuhito Yasuda to design characters and attract a wider audience. Some monsters in the second Devil Survivor were designed by manga artist Mohiro Kitoh.
For many years, the Megami Tensei series was not released in Western countries due to religious themes and Nintendo's strict content rules. Later, older games were blocked from overseas release because of their age and Sony's approval policies. The first localized title was Jack Bros., and the first overseas RPG was the first Persona game. This helped Atlus' North American branch compete with other franchises like Final Fantasy. Okada mentioned that creature names were changed for overseas releases to make them more acceptable. Localization was difficult due to a small team and changes to Japanese culture and character backgrounds. These changes were later fixed in the PlayStation Portable re-release. The first Persona 2 title, Innocent Sin, was not localized due to limited staff and focus on the second title, Eternal Punishment.
Nocturne was the first Shin Megami Tensei game released overseas. After Nocturne, Atlus added the "Shin Megami Tensei" name to future titles to help market the games. Even though many original games did not use this name, it helped Atlus by grouping all localized titles under the same brand.
Reception
Before becoming popular in the West, the game was a major series in Japan, selling more than four million copies by 2003. Excluding the Persona series, the Megami Tensei series sold about 7.2 million copies by October 2017. By October 2018, the main Megami Tensei series had sold about 12.4 million copies worldwide, including both physical and digital versions (including free-to-play games). The Persona sub-series sold 9.3 million copies, bringing the total for the entire franchise to 21.7 million copies by 2018. Excluding the Persona series, the Megami Tensei series sold 19.2 million copies by 2023, including free-to-play titles. As of March 5, 2024, the Persona series had sold 22.6 million copies worldwide. A survey by Nikkei Entertainment on December 16, 2023, found that the combined fanbase of the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series in Japan has an average age of 32 years, with 40% male and 60% female.
Japanese website 4Gamer.net called the series one of Japan's largest role-playing game series. UGO Networks writer K. Thor Jensen said the first Megami Tensei game was the first to successfully use cyberpunk styles in video games, combining science fiction and the occult to create a unique cyberpunk world. Nintendo Power noted that Atlus often mixes "familiar gameplay" with unexpected settings in its games, using Persona as an example. Persona features "modern-day horror stories" and "teams of Japanese high-school students." The editor also said that Strange Journey used a similar system, calling it a "science-fiction makeover" of the series. In an article about Japanese and Western gaming culture, 1UP.com mentioned the Shin Megami Tensei series alongside Nippon Ichi Software's Disgaea series. Kurt Kalata wrote that these games may not sell many copies but have gained underground popularity and attracted many devoted fans. GameSpot writer Andrew Vestal called the series the third-largest RPG series in Japan after Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. IGN's Matt Coleman mentioned Nocturne in an article about the history of console RPGs, describing its content as "challenging stuff for a genre that used to focus on saving princesses and fighting evil."
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II and Shin Megami Tensei both appeared on Famitsu's 2006 "Top 100 Favorite Games of All Time" audience poll, ranked 58th and 59th, respectively. RPGFan's "Top 20 RPGs of the Past Decade" list was led by the two Digital Devil Saga games, followed by Persona 3 in second place and Persona 4 in fourth place. Kalata, writing for Gamasutra, called Nocturne one of the 20 essential RPGs for players of the genre. GameTrailers cited the Press Turn system as one of the best JRPG battle systems, specifically the version used in Shin Megami Tensei IV.
Alongside its critical acclaim, the series has faced controversy in Japan and overseas. Issues include its demon negotiation mechanic, depictions of suicide and cannibalism, religious criticism, the use of Christian and occult imagery, political references, depictions of homosexuality, and unusual demon designs. Specific examples were noted by Western journalists. The original release of Persona caused concern due to its religious themes. In 2007, 1UP.com gave Persona 3 the "Most controversial game that created no controversy" award, stating that its "suicide-initiated battles" and "student-teacher dating subplot" were more controversial than other games. GamesRadar listed the series on its "Controversies Waiting to Happen" list, noting that its niche status limited public backlash compared to other series with similar content. Kalata later traced the use of controversial content back to the Digital Devil Story novels, which depicted violence and rape by demons, saying such content became more disturbing in Megami Tensei II. A Chinese game regulation document in 2021 cited Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse as an example of unsuitable depictions of religious figures.
In a review of the Shin Megami Tensei series in Black Gate, Josh Bycer said the series is similar to Pokémon in its use of an ever-changing group of characters. However, he noted that Shin Megami Tensei came first and is more mature in both design and storytelling.