Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
Encyclopedia
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, known in Japan as , is a role-playing game for the Nintendo DS
. It was released in Japan
on 15 January 2009 and was released in North America on June 23, 2009. Its character designs are handled by Suzuhito Yasuda
. An enhanced port for the Nintendo 3DS
(titled Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked) was developed and was released in August 2011. The game's main theme song is "Reset" performed by Aya Ishihara and the 3DS version the main theme song is "Soul Survive" performed by Junko Minagawa; Haru's voice actress in Devil Survivor Drama CD.
. In combat situations, the player takes turns with the computer opponents to defeat enemies and satisfy certain mission objects such as helping innocent characters to escape the field safely, while avoiding conditions that will end the mission in failure. Both the player and computer control a number of squads composed of one leader and two supporting characters. In each turn, a squad can move and attack an enemy, and its individual members can perform one additional action such as healing the squad, buffing their attack, disabling an opposing squad, or for human characters, summoning a new demon to replace an unconscious one. When attacking an enemy, the game presents a more traditional role-playing game-style menu, allowing the player to select one action for each squad member, and the computer doing the same for its squad; combat is then resolved after this selection. Certain actions in combat can gain a specific squad member the ability to perform one additional combat round action after combat resolution, such as striking at an opponent's weakness. While any three members of the opposing squad can be targeted by combat actions, the leader remains strong while either of the two supporting units still retain health. However, if the leader is taken down to zero health, the entire squad becomes disabled even if the two supporting units remain healthy. For the player, they can earn more experience by first removing the supporting squad members before attacking the leader, but can also extend the length of battle and present more of a risk for surviving it. Defeating individual foes in battle gains experience points for the player and their units, and "macca", a form of currency used for the game. Completing a battle can earn additional experience and macca for all of the player's units, and completely revives any fallen units.
The player controls up to four squads, each led by one of the major human characters in the game with summoned demons as their supporting units; most of the enemies faced in the game are either squads of demons or a demon tamer with their owned summon demons. Each unit has up to seven abilities—three active ones that lead to combat actions, three passive ones that affect unit statistics, strengths, and weaknesses, and a final slot for a race-specific behaviors for demons, or for the human characters a means of buffing their squad at the start of a combat round. For demons, new abilities are learned either through leveling up, being trained a new ability by the player after defeating a certain number of enemies, or as a result of "fusion", inheriting the ability from one of the two demons used in the fusion. The player's human characters gain these by "skill cracking" abilities from the demons or other opponents they face; to crack a skill, the player must target a specific skill from a specific unit on the field for each human character before battle, and then defeat that unit with that character's squad. Once cracked, the player can assign these skills across all of their parties' human characters. In addition to demon fusion, the player can acquire new demons, up to 24 in total, by attempting to win demon auctions using the macca collected in battle.
Between combat, the player can explore several districts in Tokyo to either advance the plot by speaking to specific characters, discover new information, or take part in "free battles" that are not story-driven but can be used to improve the party's skills and experience. Certain story-based activities will advance the game's clock by a set amount of time, and may lead to other activities becoming no longer available or creating a new activity. The game's overall story is non-linear, and choices made earlier in the game may affect which characters and battles are available in the latter part of the game.
The enhanced version of Devil Survivor features an eighth day, which continues on from any of the six endings.
, deny power, communications, and food to those trapped within it; the chaotic situation created vigilantes of those trapped who try to take it on themselves to fight the demons or even on weaker humans. The protagonist and his friends discover their COMPs allow them to summon helpful demons to fight the aggressive ones, allowing them to survive the attacks. The protagonist also finds he has the ability to see a person's "death clock", representing how many days a person will have left to live. While he uses it to help himself and his friends to change their own fate, the protagonist realizes that everyone within the quarantine will die within seven days.
As they try to learn the mystery of the lockdown, they encounter several playable character allies: Keisuke Takagi, Atsuro's school friend who has a strong sense of justice; Midori Komaki, a cosplay
idol, personifying her role in protecting the innocent from demons; Eiji Kamiya, or "Gin", the manager of a local live music bar; Tadashi Nikaido, or "Kaido", the charismatic leader of the street gang, the "Shibuya Daemons"; Mari Mochizuki, an elementary school tutor seeking the demon that killed her lover; Misaki Izuna, a military officer overseeing the quarantine; Amane Kuzuryu, the daughter of the leader of the Shomonkai, a religious cult that seems to be behind the demon outbreak; and Black Frost, a demon that helps other weaker demons from ruthless human attacks after being saved by Midori. Other allies include: Yoshino Harusawa, or Haru, a singer who believes her song was responsible for the demon outbreak; Yasuyuki Honda, a company man trapped in the quarantine while his son, outside it, is undergoing a serious operation; and Shoji, a female journalist that had been investigating the events leading to the quarantine before it started.
Through their investigation, the protagonist and his allies find that the demon outbreak is a result of a planned battle between angels and demons, as a measure to judge the worthiness of mankind. If, after seven days, the demons are not stopped, the angels will destroy mankind. The Japanese government had been aware of this event for years, and had enacted the PSE Law
as a safeguard, which embedded remote-controlled electromagnetic devices in every consumer electronics; if the demons outbreak cannot be stopped, the government can use these devices at the last moment to destroy all living things within the quarantine, human and demon alike. As the plot goes on, the protagonist unintentionally involves himself in the battle for the Throne of Bel, making him a target for all other Demons that are in competition with him.
Depending on the path players take, the protagonist comes to learn that Naoya and himself are the reincarnations of the biblical Cain and Abel
, respectively. Naoya worked with the Shomonkai to create the programs to summon demons as to bring about this event, initially through the keyboard used by Aya, one of Haru's band members. The Shomonkai sought to bring the king of demons Belberith to the world in order for the demons to win the battle, and Naoya required the protagonist and his friends to survive long enough for this event to happen.
Numerous choices made by the player will affect his friends and allies, and there are several endings to the game, which include whether the player's goal is to simply escape the quarantine or to prevent the demon uprising. The latter can be accomplished several ways, including controlling demons as the Messiah, controlling demons as the Lord of Bel, controlling demons for humanity's sake, or erasing demons from Earth altogether.
Yuzu Tanikawa - The protagonist's childhood friend since elementary school, who struggles to deal with the strain of constant danger and wishes to run away from it all. She has a huge crush on Protagonist.
Atsuro Kihara - The protagonist's childhood friend who is a computer savvy. Although a genius, he hardly has a studious personality and is very gregarious. He wishes to control the demons, erasing their threat and benefiting mankind. In Overclocked during Naoya/Kaido 8th Day, it's revealed he has a crush on Yuzu
Midori Komaki - A famous and excitable cosplayer whose alias is Dolly. After receiving a COMP, she strives to save everyone from the demons, claiming that she is Magical Dolly, who administers magical punishment to demons.
Keisuke Takagi - Atsuro's old friend from middle school. Although he appears timid, he has a strong sense of justice and rightiousness, almost to a fault when he summoned Yama, the judge of the underworld.
Yoshino Harusawa - Also known as Haru, she is a famous singer who was previously in the band D-VA. She appears depressed and tends to rant because of her outlook on life. She seems interested with the Protagonist.
Mari Mochizuki - Atsuro's kind and caring tutor from middle school, who is now an elementary school nurse. She is looking for the killer who murdered her lover and teamed up with a vampire slayer named Kresnik.
Amane Kuzuryu - The mysterious yet charismatic maiden of the Shomonkai. She is one of few people who can summon demons without a COMP. She shares her goals with an angel named Remiel who lives inside her.
Tadashi Nikaido - Known as Kaido, he is the leader of a gang called the Shibuya Daemons. Although he appears intimidating, he is known to be quite helpful. He strives for world domination and has a lingering crush on Mari.
Eiji Kamiya - Also known as Gin, he is the owner of a bar called "Eiji" and acts as a guardian to Haru. He used to be uncaring about life, but met Aya, the lead singer of D-VA , and cared more. Gin continues to search for Aya, who went missing.
Naoya - The protagonist's cousin, who lived with the protagonist until a few years before the story. He wrote the Demon Summoning Program. He wishes for the protagonist to become the King of Bel and rebel against God.
Yasuyuki Honda - An office worker who is trying to escape the lockdown so he can be by his son's side during his operation. He teams up with Kaido during battles.
Misaki Izuna - A member of a special government unit that is attempting to rid of all the demons. She values her mission above all else and does not believe that the government's solution is just.
Shoji - A journalist who occasionally meets the protagonist and his friends. She is adept at gathering information. Her mentor was a friend of 10BIT, Atsuro's internet friend.
. Its music was composed by Takami Asano (of the band Godiego
), and its designs were illustrated by Suzuhito Yasuda. Atlus opened a teaser site for Devil Survivor, which revealed both the composer and the illustrator for the game. When asked whether Devil Survivor was inspired by The World Ends with You, Atlus stated that while it had similarities with The World Ends with Yous seven day limit and being set in modern day Japan, a lot of elements found in The World Ends with You have been seen in previous Shin Megami Tensei games he argues.
A drama CD for the game was released on August 26, 2009.
by Atlus
at E3 2010. It was later fully revealed as Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, and that it will be a port of this game. New features include added plot (there will be an 8th day as opposed to 7 in the original release), improved (higher-resolution) visuals, full voice acting, the ability to choose different difficulty settings, and more than 150 demons (an increase from the original game, which featured 130 demons). Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked was released in North America on August 23, 2011.
, was announced by Famitsu in March 2011, for the Nintendo DS, with planned release in Japan near E3 2011, and North American release in early 2012 for the Nintendo DS. Once again, character designs are handled by Suzuhito Yasuda
with monsters designed by Mohiro Kitoh
.
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
. It was released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on 15 January 2009 and was released in North America on June 23, 2009. Its character designs are handled by Suzuhito Yasuda
Suzuhito Yasuda
, is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator. He most recognized for illustrating the light novels series Durarara!! and Kamisama Kazoku both adapted into anime series, and for being the original creator of the manga series Yozakura Quartet which was also adapted into an anime series.- Biography...
. An enhanced port for the Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
(titled Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked) was developed and was released in August 2011. The game's main theme song is "Reset" performed by Aya Ishihara and the 3DS version the main theme song is "Soul Survive" performed by Junko Minagawa; Haru's voice actress in Devil Survivor Drama CD.
Junko Minagawa
is a Japanese voice actress affiliated with Haikyo. She is well known for voicing young boys, although she has done "feminine" lady roles, as well as flirtatious women. She has also sang some of the openings and endings of the anime Prince of Tennis as well as vocal tracks and singles for this...
Gameplay
Devil Survivor is a tactical role-playing gameTactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
. In combat situations, the player takes turns with the computer opponents to defeat enemies and satisfy certain mission objects such as helping innocent characters to escape the field safely, while avoiding conditions that will end the mission in failure. Both the player and computer control a number of squads composed of one leader and two supporting characters. In each turn, a squad can move and attack an enemy, and its individual members can perform one additional action such as healing the squad, buffing their attack, disabling an opposing squad, or for human characters, summoning a new demon to replace an unconscious one. When attacking an enemy, the game presents a more traditional role-playing game-style menu, allowing the player to select one action for each squad member, and the computer doing the same for its squad; combat is then resolved after this selection. Certain actions in combat can gain a specific squad member the ability to perform one additional combat round action after combat resolution, such as striking at an opponent's weakness. While any three members of the opposing squad can be targeted by combat actions, the leader remains strong while either of the two supporting units still retain health. However, if the leader is taken down to zero health, the entire squad becomes disabled even if the two supporting units remain healthy. For the player, they can earn more experience by first removing the supporting squad members before attacking the leader, but can also extend the length of battle and present more of a risk for surviving it. Defeating individual foes in battle gains experience points for the player and their units, and "macca", a form of currency used for the game. Completing a battle can earn additional experience and macca for all of the player's units, and completely revives any fallen units.
The player controls up to four squads, each led by one of the major human characters in the game with summoned demons as their supporting units; most of the enemies faced in the game are either squads of demons or a demon tamer with their owned summon demons. Each unit has up to seven abilities—three active ones that lead to combat actions, three passive ones that affect unit statistics, strengths, and weaknesses, and a final slot for a race-specific behaviors for demons, or for the human characters a means of buffing their squad at the start of a combat round. For demons, new abilities are learned either through leveling up, being trained a new ability by the player after defeating a certain number of enemies, or as a result of "fusion", inheriting the ability from one of the two demons used in the fusion. The player's human characters gain these by "skill cracking" abilities from the demons or other opponents they face; to crack a skill, the player must target a specific skill from a specific unit on the field for each human character before battle, and then defeat that unit with that character's squad. Once cracked, the player can assign these skills across all of their parties' human characters. In addition to demon fusion, the player can acquire new demons, up to 24 in total, by attempting to win demon auctions using the macca collected in battle.
Between combat, the player can explore several districts in Tokyo to either advance the plot by speaking to specific characters, discover new information, or take part in "free battles" that are not story-driven but can be used to improve the party's skills and experience. Certain story-based activities will advance the game's clock by a set amount of time, and may lead to other activities becoming no longer available or creating a new activity. The game's overall story is non-linear, and choices made earlier in the game may affect which characters and battles are available in the latter part of the game.
The enhanced version of Devil Survivor features an eighth day, which continues on from any of the six endings.
Plot
Devil Survivor is set in modern-day Tokyo. One day, the protagonist, a 17 year-old student, finds that he and his two friends, Atsuro Kihara, a computer hacker, and Yuzu Tanikawa, a whiny girl, have been given modified electronic device called COMPs by his older cousin Naoya. As they are exploring their purpose, an outbreak of demons occurs within Tokyo, and a large city area is quarantined by the Japanese Ground Self-Defense ForcesJapan Ground Self-Defense Force
The , or JGSDF, is the army of Japan. The largest of the three services of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, the Ground Self-Defense Force operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of Ichigaya, Tokyo. The present chief of ground staff is General Yoshifumi Hibako...
, deny power, communications, and food to those trapped within it; the chaotic situation created vigilantes of those trapped who try to take it on themselves to fight the demons or even on weaker humans. The protagonist and his friends discover their COMPs allow them to summon helpful demons to fight the aggressive ones, allowing them to survive the attacks. The protagonist also finds he has the ability to see a person's "death clock", representing how many days a person will have left to live. While he uses it to help himself and his friends to change their own fate, the protagonist realizes that everyone within the quarantine will die within seven days.
As they try to learn the mystery of the lockdown, they encounter several playable character allies: Keisuke Takagi, Atsuro's school friend who has a strong sense of justice; Midori Komaki, a cosplay
Cosplay
, short for "costume play", is a type of performance art in which participants don costumes and accessories to represent a specific character or idea. Characters are often drawn from popular fiction in Japan, but recent trends have included American cartoons and science fiction...
idol, personifying her role in protecting the innocent from demons; Eiji Kamiya, or "Gin", the manager of a local live music bar; Tadashi Nikaido, or "Kaido", the charismatic leader of the street gang, the "Shibuya Daemons"; Mari Mochizuki, an elementary school tutor seeking the demon that killed her lover; Misaki Izuna, a military officer overseeing the quarantine; Amane Kuzuryu, the daughter of the leader of the Shomonkai, a religious cult that seems to be behind the demon outbreak; and Black Frost, a demon that helps other weaker demons from ruthless human attacks after being saved by Midori. Other allies include: Yoshino Harusawa, or Haru, a singer who believes her song was responsible for the demon outbreak; Yasuyuki Honda, a company man trapped in the quarantine while his son, outside it, is undergoing a serious operation; and Shoji, a female journalist that had been investigating the events leading to the quarantine before it started.
Through their investigation, the protagonist and his allies find that the demon outbreak is a result of a planned battle between angels and demons, as a measure to judge the worthiness of mankind. If, after seven days, the demons are not stopped, the angels will destroy mankind. The Japanese government had been aware of this event for years, and had enacted the PSE Law
PSE law
The is the law that governs electrical appliance safety in Japan. PSE stands for Product Safety Electrical Appliance & Material. The formal name is . The most recent revision comes April 1, 2001. The PSE symbol can be found on appliances that are approved for use in Japan....
as a safeguard, which embedded remote-controlled electromagnetic devices in every consumer electronics; if the demons outbreak cannot be stopped, the government can use these devices at the last moment to destroy all living things within the quarantine, human and demon alike. As the plot goes on, the protagonist unintentionally involves himself in the battle for the Throne of Bel, making him a target for all other Demons that are in competition with him.
Depending on the path players take, the protagonist comes to learn that Naoya and himself are the reincarnations of the biblical Cain and Abel
Cain and Abel
In the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam only....
, respectively. Naoya worked with the Shomonkai to create the programs to summon demons as to bring about this event, initially through the keyboard used by Aya, one of Haru's band members. The Shomonkai sought to bring the king of demons Belberith to the world in order for the demons to win the battle, and Naoya required the protagonist and his friends to survive long enough for this event to happen.
Numerous choices made by the player will affect his friends and allies, and there are several endings to the game, which include whether the player's goal is to simply escape the quarantine or to prevent the demon uprising. The latter can be accomplished several ways, including controlling demons as the Messiah, controlling demons as the Lord of Bel, controlling demons for humanity's sake, or erasing demons from Earth altogether.
Characters
Protagonist - Referred to as the Hero, he is the main character of the story. His personality is shaped through the player's decisions.Yuzu Tanikawa - The protagonist's childhood friend since elementary school, who struggles to deal with the strain of constant danger and wishes to run away from it all. She has a huge crush on Protagonist.
Atsuro Kihara - The protagonist's childhood friend who is a computer savvy. Although a genius, he hardly has a studious personality and is very gregarious. He wishes to control the demons, erasing their threat and benefiting mankind. In Overclocked during Naoya/Kaido 8th Day, it's revealed he has a crush on Yuzu
Midori Komaki - A famous and excitable cosplayer whose alias is Dolly. After receiving a COMP, she strives to save everyone from the demons, claiming that she is Magical Dolly, who administers magical punishment to demons.
Keisuke Takagi - Atsuro's old friend from middle school. Although he appears timid, he has a strong sense of justice and rightiousness, almost to a fault when he summoned Yama, the judge of the underworld.
Yoshino Harusawa - Also known as Haru, she is a famous singer who was previously in the band D-VA. She appears depressed and tends to rant because of her outlook on life. She seems interested with the Protagonist.
Mari Mochizuki - Atsuro's kind and caring tutor from middle school, who is now an elementary school nurse. She is looking for the killer who murdered her lover and teamed up with a vampire slayer named Kresnik.
Amane Kuzuryu - The mysterious yet charismatic maiden of the Shomonkai. She is one of few people who can summon demons without a COMP. She shares her goals with an angel named Remiel who lives inside her.
Tadashi Nikaido - Known as Kaido, he is the leader of a gang called the Shibuya Daemons. Although he appears intimidating, he is known to be quite helpful. He strives for world domination and has a lingering crush on Mari.
Eiji Kamiya - Also known as Gin, he is the owner of a bar called "Eiji" and acts as a guardian to Haru. He used to be uncaring about life, but met Aya, the lead singer of D-VA , and cared more. Gin continues to search for Aya, who went missing.
Naoya - The protagonist's cousin, who lived with the protagonist until a few years before the story. He wrote the Demon Summoning Program. He wishes for the protagonist to become the King of Bel and rebel against God.
Yasuyuki Honda - An office worker who is trying to escape the lockdown so he can be by his son's side during his operation. He teams up with Kaido during battles.
Misaki Izuna - A member of a special government unit that is attempting to rid of all the demons. She values her mission above all else and does not believe that the government's solution is just.
Shoji - A journalist who occasionally meets the protagonist and his friends. She is adept at gathering information. Her mentor was a friend of 10BIT, Atsuro's internet friend.
Development
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor was published and developed by AtlusAtlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
. Its music was composed by Takami Asano (of the band Godiego
Godiego
is a popular band from Japan, consisting of the Mickie Yoshino, Yukihide Takekawa, Takami Asano, Steve Fox, and Tommy Snyder...
), and its designs were illustrated by Suzuhito Yasuda. Atlus opened a teaser site for Devil Survivor, which revealed both the composer and the illustrator for the game. When asked whether Devil Survivor was inspired by The World Ends with You, Atlus stated that while it had similarities with The World Ends with Yous seven day limit and being set in modern day Japan, a lot of elements found in The World Ends with You have been seen in previous Shin Megami Tensei games he argues.
Reception
Considered a "welcome addition" to the Shin Megami Tensei series by reviewers, it was praised for its unique battle system, storyline, and general art style compared to other games in the general RPG genre and the tactical RPG genre. The overall art style was generally praised, mostly for the monsters and demons "polished and full of subtle style". Also widely praised was the storyline and its six alternate endings, which allow for replayability. Although having innumerable biblical and mythological references, and an abnormally large amount of text, it has a solid storyline that is able to keep players engaged. The music was a "hit or miss, depending on your tastes." Reviews, like IGN, noted that the game has a "whole lot of depth, all of which fuse together to create one of the best RPGs of the year thus far."Drama CD
A drama CD for the game was released on August 26, 2009.
| Track listing | |
|---|---|
|
Legacy
A game tentatively given the same title as Devil Survivor was announced for the Nintendo 3DSNintendo 3DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
by Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
at E3 2010. It was later fully revealed as Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked, and that it will be a port of this game. New features include added plot (there will be an 8th day as opposed to 7 in the original release), improved (higher-resolution) visuals, full voice acting, the ability to choose different difficulty settings, and more than 150 demons (an increase from the original game, which featured 130 demons). Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked was released in North America on August 23, 2011.
Sequel
A sequel, Devil Survivor 2Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2, known in Japan as , is a role-playing game for the Nintendo DS. It is a sequel to the 2009 Nintendo DS role-playing game Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor...
, was announced by Famitsu in March 2011, for the Nintendo DS, with planned release in Japan near E3 2011, and North American release in early 2012 for the Nintendo DS. Once again, character designs are handled by Suzuhito Yasuda
Suzuhito Yasuda
, is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator. He most recognized for illustrating the light novels series Durarara!! and Kamisama Kazoku both adapted into anime series, and for being the original creator of the manga series Yozakura Quartet which was also adapted into an anime series.- Biography...
with monsters designed by Mohiro Kitoh
Mohiro Kitoh
is a Japanese manga artist. He was born in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, and graduated from the Nagoya Institute of Technology. Kitoh created the manga Shadow Star and Bokurano: Ours, both of which were adapted into anime series...
.