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Category: Games
Sub-Category: RPG
Platform: Nintendo SNES/Game Boy Advance, PC-Engine, Sega-CD, PlayStation, iOS, Android
License: Proprietary
Interface: GUI
Wikipedia: Shin Megami Tensei
First release: October 30, 1992
Shin Megami Tensei – a Super Nintendo game released by Atlus on October 30, 1992. It inherited the game system from Namco’s Family Computer games Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei and Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II, but the setting was revised and created from scratch.
The setting was a modern city, and the hard-hitting style and scenario, which did not follow the typical morality-based ideology of punishment for evil, such as an ideological break with one’s allies, won the support of many users. As a result, works named Shin Megami Tensei were later produced as a series, becoming Atlus’ flagship title (for details on the relationship with the Megami Tensei series, see Shin Megami Tensei series). Furthermore, the Shin Megami Tensei series later became the catalyst for various spinoff works such as the Persona series. For more information on ported works, see below.
The game is set in Tokyo in 199X, in the near future of 1992, when the game was released. The game is modeled on modern Japan in the 1990s, such as Kichijoji’s arcade street, hospital, and Echo Building (later the Keio Kichijoji Station Building). It was a rare game in the RPG market at the time, where Western fantasy-style fictional worlds were the norm, and it gained popularity, with the first illustration book for the Megami Tensei series being released.
The game system inherits the features of the Family Computer version of Megami Tensei, such as the ability to make demons your allies through conversation and to fuse them together, but it has been further developed. In the previous game, it was not possible to make all demons your allies, such as “Demon Kings” and “Evil Gods,” with “EVIL” attributes, but in this game, most demons can be made your allies, under certain conditions.
In the “Cross Review” section of the game magazine Famicom Tsūshin, the Super Famicom version won the Platinum Hall of Fame, and the PlayStation version won the Silver Hall of Fame.
It was developed by Atlus and Yu Kikaku, the producer was Niino Yosuke, who worked on Quiz Marugoto The World for the PC Engine SUPER CD-ROM, the director was Okada Kouji, who worked on Labyrinth for the Family Computer released by Tokuma Shoten, the music was by Masuko Tsukasa, who worked on the Megami Tensei series, and the character designs were by Kaneko Kazuma, the same illustrator who worked on Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II.
It consists of 2D maps on the ground and 3D dungeons, but the 2D maps on the ground are drawn in a polygonal style, which was typical of computer graphics at the time.
