Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II is a role-playing video game developed by Atlus and published by Namco for the Famicom. The second entry in the Megami Tensei series, the gameplay features the unnamed protagonist exploring a post-apocalyptic wasteland, battling and recruiting demons as they are pushed into taking part in a conflict between the demonic forces of Lucifer and the army of the One True God.

Gameplay
Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II is a role-playing video game in which players take the role of an unnamed man who explores the post-apocalyptic remains of Tokyo. Like its predecessor Megami Tensei II has players navigate dungeon environments in first-person, but between dungeons they also navigate an overworld from an overhead perspective. During their journey, the protagonist's party can visit shops and towns to gain additional story information and to purchase items using in-game currency. As they progress through the story, the protagonist is presented with morality-based dialogue options which influence how people respond to him and ultimately determine which ending is received.

The turn-based battles are triggered through random encounters. The player has several options, including fighting and fleeing from battle. The number of enemies are indicated by small sprites on the bottom of the battle screen. During their turn in combat, the protagonist and current companion can perform an action such as attacking using melee or ranged attacks such as magic, or use an item which can weaken the enemy or strengthen the player party. Upon successfully completing a battle, the party is rewarded with experience points, skill points, items and money. Skill points are assigned to the protagonist's attributes such as speed or magic, modifying future performance in battle.

In addition to fighting, the party can talk with demons they encounter, and through a negotiation process persuade them to join their party. Using a special location in the game world, players can fuse two different demons into a new demon, with the new demon inheriting skills from both its parents. The choices made by the protagonist during the story impact which demons can be recruited. The attitude of demons towards the player is governed by the moon phase, which cycles through eight phases from new to full.

Plot
The story is set in "20XX", 35 years after a nuclear apocalypse which devastates the world and permanently opens a portal to the demon world of Atziluth. Humanity is forced to survive in underground bunkers. Two such survivors, the protagonist and his friend, release a demon called Pazuzu from a video game. Pazuzu tells the two that they are destined messiahs who will save mankind. He grants the Hero the ability to summon and talk to demons, and his friend the gift of magic. Pazuzu gives them the mission of destroying the demon lords that have taken control of Tokyo, starting with Bael, the demon that sealed him inside Devil Busters. The heroes venture outside the shelter, and they are recognized as messiahs by the Church of Messiah. Upon reaching Tokyo Tower, however, the heroes find a witch who was also named a messiah by Pazuzu, but claims he has been manipulating them for his own gain. The friend refuses to believe that Pazuzu is using them. In order to progress in the story, the player has to side with the witch, causing the friend to leave and become his enemy. The Messiah and the witch travel around Tokyo and defeat the warring demon lords that attempt to take control of the city, disbanding the Cult of Deva in the process, and eventually kill Pazuzu himself. Meanwhile, the hero's friend frees Lucifer from the seal placed upon him in the previous game. Eventually, the heroes reach Bael, who kills the hero's friend as he attempts to fulfill Pazuzu's will. The hero avenges his friend, and when he defeats Bael the demon turns into a tiny frog: the player can choose to kill the frog or take it with them.

The Messians instruct the hero to use the Seven Pillars of Solomon, collected during his travels, at ground zero of the missile attacks in order to open a gateway to the demon world of Atziluth and defeat the demons once and for all. Once in the demon world, the heroes travel through several areas and defeat the ruling demon overlords. If the heroes are carrying Bael with them, they can choose to restore him into his true form, the god Baal. The god Izanagi also asks the heroes to rescue the goddess Izanami, who has been killed by the demons. After defeating all the overlords and managing to revive Izanami, the gods help the heroes travel to Lucifer's castle. If Bael has been restored into Baal, Lucifer explains that the demons are actually ancient gods cast into hell by the One True God, who is using the party to defeat his enemies, destroy both worlds and create a paradise where mankind will be under his rule forever. Lucifer offers to help the player prevent God's plans, and claims that Satan, who was responsible for the nuclear war, must be dealt with. The heroes then travel back to the human world to confront Satan. If they did not accept Lucifer's help and killed him instead, they defeat Satan and are then transported before God, who turns them into new deities and creates the Millennial Kingdom. If Lucifer is in their party, they have the chance to do battle with God. After defeating the god, he warns them that he will revive in time, and that without his help they have chosen a difficult path. Lucifer then returns to Atziluth with all the demons, sealing the rift between worlds and leaving humans to rebuild and recover from the war on their own.