Shin Megami Tensei (universe)
| Shin Megami Tensei (universe) | |
|---|---|
 
| |
| Developer(s) | Atlus Arc System Works Cave Career Soft Lancarse Multimedia Intelligence Transfer Nex Entertainment Omega Force Sega |
| Publisher(s) | Atlus Namco Sega Aeria Games Deep Silver Koei Ghostlight Nintendo NIS America Square Enix Zen United |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing Monster-taming |
| Console/platform of origin | Famicom |
| First installment | Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (1987) 
|
| Latest installment | Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (2024) |
| Article on Wikipedia | Shin Megami Tensei (universe) |
The Shin Megami Tensei universe (女神転生), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed and published by Atlus, and owned by Sega, 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, 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.
Franchise Description[edit]
The Megami Tensei series began life as a media expansion of the Digital Devil Story series, a trilogy of science-fantasy novels written by Aya Nishitani during the 1980s. The media expansion was handled by Nishitani and his publisher Tokuma Shoten. The game was developed at Atlus and published by Bandai Namco. Although they wanted to incorporate as much of the original story as possible, the limited capabilities of the Famicom made this goal nearly impossible. The series' creators were Kouji Okada (credited as Cozy Okada in English), Ginichiro Suzuki, and Ginichiro's son Kazunari. The game proved popular in Japan, and effectively launched the Megami Tensei franchise, with its more ambitious sequel following in 1990. During the development of Shin Megami Tensei, which was driven by the concept of a Super Famicom game with the company's brand on it, the team slowly decided that they wanted to break the then-current gaming status quo using its aesthetic and content. Despite this attitude, the staff considered Shin Megami Tensei to be a remake of Megami Tensei II. In many of these earlier games, staff members at Atlus had cameos.
The Megami Tensei series has had many spinoffs, including Persona, Devil Summoner, Jack Bros., and Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, a crossover with Fire Emblem
Gallery[edit]
Media with elements appearing in the Super Smash Bros. series[edit]
Shin Megami Tensei[edit]
- Playable characters:
The skills used in Joker's down special when Arsène is present, Tetrakarn and Makarakarn, first appeared in this game.
Shin Megami Tensei If…[edit]
- Playable characters:
- Tetrakarn and Makarakarn’s ability to reflect damage first appeared in this game.
Trivia[edit]
- Dante appeared in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax making Smash Ultimate the 2nd game featuring both franchises
