|
Shin Megami Tensei V (JP) is the 5th mainline entry of the Shin Megami Tensei series of role-playing games. It is set to release on the Nintendo Switch exclusive on November 11th in Japan and November 12th in other countries. The game is said to have a direction between Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei IV.
Gameplay[]
The gameplay is the same like previous games of the series.
Plot[]
The protagonist, an ordinary high-school student, and his school friends Yuzuru Atsuta and Ichiro Dazai are caught up in a mysterious earthquake and transported to Da'at; an alternative apocalyptic version of Tokyo amidst an almighty battle between angels and demons. As he travels in this world, he shortly becomes overrun by demons and is nearly killed, only to be saved by a god-like being, Aogami. Together, they fuse into a Nahobino, a forbidden being that is neither human nor demon, but more so a deity. The protagonist traverses Da'at, clashes with a man named Shohei Yakumo and his demon partner Nuwa, and discovers a terminal that returns him and his friends to Tokyo. There, he learns that Yuzuru and fellow classmate Tao Isonokami are actually operatives of a clandestine international organization called Bethel focused on keeping humanity out of the war between angels and demons. Ichiro volunteers to join Bethel while the protagonist is conscripted due to his newfound powers as a Nahobino.
The next day, demons from Da'at invade the protagonist's high school and abduct several of the students. The protagonist and his friends launch a rescue mission, during which Ichiro's self-esteem issues lead to him latching on to Bethel's angelic leader Abdiel. The protagonist rescues most of the kidnapped students, but Tao sacrifices herself to defeat the demons' commander, who was searching for (and manipulating) a human to merge with so it could become a Nahobino. In the aftermath, Bethel Japan's leader Hayao Koshimizu orders the protagonist and his friends to join a Bethel siege on the demons' stronghold in defiance of Abdiel's orders. The protagonist makes his way through the castle and kills the demon's leader, Arioch.
Afterwards, it is revealed that the creator god is dead and that a Nahobino must take His throne. With their common enemy dead, the various factions of Bethel splinter in the hopes of taking the Creator's throne for themselves. Koshimizu reveals that his true identity is Tsukuyomi, leader of the Amatsukami, and that he desires to restore the world to the rule of the gods of old; he is joined by Yuzuru in this endeavor. Ichiro convinces Abdiel to join him in restoring the will of God to the world, while Shohei and Nuwa declare their intent to destroy the Creator's throne outright and leave humanity's fate in its own hands. The protagonist, joined by a reincarnated Tao, makes his way to the Temple of Eternity and may side with any of the three warring factions. In all cases, the other candidates for the throne are all slain and the protagonist is confronted by God's killer Lucifer for a final battle (unless he chooses to destroy the throne). After defeating him, the protagonist can reshape the world as he sees fit. If the protagonist elects to uphold God's order, he sacrifices humanity's freedom and self-determination to create a world of peace and harmony. If the protagonist elects to restore the old gods, he creates a world of freedom and potential that is wracked with strife and conflict. If the protagonist elects to destroy the throne, the conflicts that plague humanity and demonkind continue, although humanity's victory is inevitable. Additionally, if the protagonist has completed several optional sidequests and initially sided with Shohei, he can accept Nuwa's alternate proposal to create a world for humanity alone. The protagonist removes all demons and gods from the world, including Aogami, and restores his friends to life before overseeing his new creation from afar.
Development[]
The game was first shown during the Nintendo Switch presentation on January 12, 2017, but it was not given any name other than "Shin Megami Tensei HD Project". The teaser showed several classic demons including Jack Frost, Mara and Odin. The game then notoriously wasn't shown for multiple years. A Nintendo Direct Mini broadcasted on July 20 2020 then showed new footage alongside a broad release date stated to be during 2021. This announcement came alongside the reveal of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster.
Name[]
On October 23, 2017, a new trailer was released and the name "Shin Megami Tensei V" was officially used by Atlus. The game was said to have a much faster development time due to the Unreal Engine 4 being used.
Reception[]
Shin Megami Tensei V received "generally favorable reviews" according to Metacritic, and was nominated for best role-playing game at The Game Awards 2021, but lost to Tales of Arise.
Trivia[]
- Shin Megami Tensei V is the best-selling original Nintendo Switch game with an "M" rating by the ESRB, selling over 1 million copies.
External links[]
- Shin Megami Tensei V at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Shin Megami Tensei V at GameFAQs
| Shin Megami Tensei series | |
|---|---|
| Main series | Megami Tensei • Megami Tensei II • Kyūyaku Megami Tensei Shin Megami Tensei • II • if... • III • IV (Apocalyspe) • V |
| Majin Tensei series | Majin Tensei • Majin Tensei II • Blind Thinker |
| Devil Survior series | Devil Survivor (Overclocked) • Devil Survivor 2 (Record Breaker) |
| Last Bible series | Last Bible • Last Bible II • Last Bible III • Another Bible • New Testament • New Testament II • New Testament III |
| Persona series | Persona 3 • Persona 4 (Arena Ultimax) • Persona Q • Persona 5 (Persona 5 Strikers) • Persona Q2 |
| Devil Children series | Black Book & Red Book • White Book • Book of Light & Book of Dark • Book of Fire & Book of Ice • Puzzle de Call! • Messiah Riser |
| Other games | Jack Bros. • Strange Journey (Redux) • Soul Hackers • Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE (Encore) • Catherine • Raidou |
| Related | Atlus • Katsura Hashino • Kazuma Kaneko • Shoji Meguro • Kouji Okada • Shigenori Soejima • Monark |