Research-backed game lineage

Shin Megami Tensei

Shin Megami Tensei is included in the Series Atlas after independent recognition and an authoritative game-by-game roster audit. Editions, simple ports, DLC, bundles, canceled projects, and cameo-only appearances are excluded.

15 curated games 1992–2021 release span 1 connected branch
Shin Megami Tensei coverShin Megami Tensei II coverShin Megami Tensei if... coverShin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner coverShin Megami Tensei II cover

Connected lineage

Lineage connections.

Genre profile

Primary-root profile.

The researched entries keep a consistent primary-root profile.

Observed shapeRPG15 researched entries
Primary roots
Frameworks

Subgenres representedJRPG 1

Entry points

Starting points.

Use the researched chronology, ratings, and remake relationships to select a starting title.

Chronological startShin Megami TenseiMainline · 1992Highest ratedShin Megami Tensei: Strange JourneyMainline · 2009Most recent mainlineShin Megami Tensei VMainline · 2021Remaster routeShin Megami Tensei IIRemaster · 2002

Release chronology

All researched entries.

Ordered by researched series position, then original release date. Ports, DLC, and duplicate editions are intentionally excluded.

15 games in this lineage

01 Shin Megami Tensei cover
Mainline1992

Shin Megami Tensei

The story follows a nameless protagonist who lives in near-future Tokyo. When a portal to the realm of demons is opened, United States officials order a nuclear attack on Tokyo. Transported with two other supporting characters thirty years into the future, the protagonist finds the Earth ruined by a demon invasion, which is now the stage for an escalating conflict between the Order of Messiah and the Ring of Gaea, conflicting cults who wish to bring about kingdoms for their respective patron deities (YHVH and Lucifer). The story is influenced by moral decisions the protagonist makes, aligning him either with the Order, the Ring of Gaea, or setting him up as an independent agent. The gameplay uses first-person navigation of dungeons and turn-based battles against demons. The player can recruit demons as allies by talking to them rather than fighting them, and two to three demons can be fused to create new demons.

Oct 30, 199270/100
02 Shin Megami Tensei II cover
Mainline1994

Shin Megami Tensei II

Fifty years have passed since the hero of Shin Megami Tensei followed the neutral path, defeated the leaders of Law and Chaos, and founded a state where followers of both ideologies could live freely. But his reign of freedom doesn't last long. The Messian faith gains power, expanding the Cathedral into a new enclosed environment named Tokyo Millennium. The Gaians rise up, but their rebellion is repressed by the Messians' elite warrior class, the Temple Knights. People flock into the encapsulated city, submitting themselves to the strict hierarchy imposed by the Messian Center, where only the privileged living in the Center district are safe from demonic assaults. A few years later, a retired arena fighter Okamoto rescues a man named Hawk, who was fighting for his life against a demon. He trains him to fight in the arena of the Valhalla district, hoping that he would win the tournament, which will grant them both citizenship in the Center district. When Hawk succeeds, he is brought before a Messian bishop, and learns the shocking truth about his own origins and the role he is supposed to play in the grand scheme of events. A new battle for a better future begins. Shin Megami Tensei II retains all the gameplay features of the previous game. The player is able to summon demons, fuse them to create more powerful ones, make them participate in battles, talk to random enemies and receive information from them, etc. The combat is turn-based, and the player explores the complex, maze-like dungeons from a first-person perspective view. Like in the first game, the Law, Chaos, and Neutral alignments play an important role: during the course of the game, the player will have to make choices that influence the alignment of the protagonist, steering the storyline into different directions. New features include a "magic succession" system, which allows demons to carry over their original magic spells when they are fused into new ones, a few additional spells and abilities, and the possibility to play at the casino and win unique items.

Mar 18, 199480/100
03 Shin Megami Tensei if... cover
Mainline1994

Shin Megami Tensei if...

Shin Megami Tensei If... is a RPG that was developed as a change from previous Shin Megami Tensei titles, focusing on a small-scale environment and threat rather than a large-scale environment as in previous titles.

Oct 28, 199455/100
04 Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner cover
Mainline1995

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner

This is the original 1995 Devil Summoner game on the Sega Saturn and was released only in Japan. It was later ported to PSP in 2005. Abandoning the post-apocalyptic themes of the original series, the story takes place in modern Japan. The player character is an unnamed college student who is attacked by demons along with his girlfriend; they are saved by the timely appearance of a suave demon-hunter named Kyouji. Shortly thereafter, Kyouji is found dead under suspicious circumstances. The protagonist is then trapped inside of a warehouse and murdered by a deranged killer named Sid. Rather than stay dead, the player finds himself in the reanimated body of the slain Kyouji, and escapes from the morgue. With the help of Kyouji's voice, which guides the player from inside his head, the main character joins up with Kyouji's female partner Rei in order to save the life of his girlfriend, who is still in danger.

Dec 25, 199575/100
06 Shin Megami Tensei II cover
Remaster2002

Shin Megami Tensei II

Following the remake of the first game, Shin Megami Tensei II is a revamped version of the original Super Famicom sequel with improved graphics and gameplay along with a new difficulty mode. The gameplay uses first-person navigation of dungeons and turn-based battles against demons. The player can recruit demons as allies by talking to them rather than fighting them, and two to three demons can be fused to create new demons.

Mar 20, 2002
07 Shin Megami Tensei if... cover
Remake2002

Shin Megami Tensei if...

Like the first two entries in the Shin Megami Tensei series, the spin-off with the mysterious title If... got its own remake. As in the other two cases, the graphics of the remade version have been redone from scratch, to match the 2D standard of 32-bit generation consoles. Interior locations are much more detailed, with visible furniture and other items in rooms that were empty or contains just a few objects in the original version. The 3D dungeons can now be navigated with smooth scrolling, unlike the "jumping" navigation of the earlier versions. The remake also has an additional difficulty level, dubbed "normal"; the original difficulty level is called "hard". The easier difficulty level also reduces the amount of random battles. Story, dialogues, layout of locations, and general gameplay remain unchanged in this version.

Dec 26, 2002
08 Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne cover
Mainline2003

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

In Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, the player takes on the role of a young boy who is caught up in The Conception while visiting his sick teacher, Yuko Takao, with his two classmates Chiaki Hayasaka and Isamu Nitta. The young boy is transformed into a demon known as the Demi-fiend and he must survive in the newly created Vortex World with the powers granted to him through Magatama.

Feb 20, 2003
09 Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner cover
Remaster2005

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner is a remaster of the original Sega Saturn game that introduces a new difficulty, rebalances combat mechanics, changes the interface to resemble that of Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, and adds quality of life features such as the Demon Compendium. Abandoning the post-apocalyptic themes of the original series, the story takes place in modern Japan. The player character is an unnamed college student who is attacked by demons along with his girlfriend; they are saved by the timely appearance of a suave demon-hunter named Kyouji. Shortly thereafter, Kyouji is found dead under suspicious circumstances. The protagonist is then trapped inside of a warehouse and murdered by a deranged killer named Sid. Rather than stay dead, the player finds himself in the reanimated body of the slain Kyouji, and escapes from the morgue. With the help of Kyouji's voice, which guides the player from inside his head, the main character joins up with Kyouji's female partner Rei in order to save the life of his girlfriend, who is still in danger.

Dec 22, 2005
10 Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine cover
Mainline2007

Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine

Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, formerly known as Megami Tensei Online: Imagine, was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game for Microsoft Windows personal computers. It is part of the Megami Tensei series, and was developed by CAVE under license from the series creator Atlus.

Apr 4, 200771/100
11 Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey cover
Mainline2009

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

In the near future, a mysterious, growing, black void appears at the Earth's southern pole. Unable to determine its cause and powerless to stop its deadly encroachment, humanity sends an elite team of explorers into the heart of the phenomenon, just as Strange Journey's look and feel represent a return to the heart of Shin Megami Tensei, bringing to mind the all-time classic Nocturne. With over 300 demons to bribe, coerce, and negotiate with to gain assistance in battle, Strange Journey is every bit the deep, rewarding RPG experience fans have come to expect from the SMT franchise, yet delivered with a fresh new sci-fi story that taps into mature themes of morality and introspection.

Oct 8, 200988/100
12 Shin Megami Tensei IV cover
Mainline2013

Shin Megami Tensei IV

Building on the styles of ATLUS' Persona, Devil Summoner, and Devil Survivor titles, SMTIV is the first true successor to 2004's Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. The story of SMTIV revolves around the Samurai, the sacred protectors of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado. As a newly appointed Samurai, players will struggle with factions that have nefarious designs on the world as they defend their home kingdom from a growing army of demons. Decisions players make throughout the course of the story will have lasting repercussions, as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

May 23, 201383/100
13 Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse cover
Mainline2016

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is a post-apocalyptic role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus for the Nintendo 3DS. It is set in the same universe as Shin Megami Tensei IV and forms part of the Shin Megami Tensei series, the central series of the Megami Tensei franchise.

Feb 10, 201679/100
14 Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux cover
Remake2017

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

The remake of the Nintendo DS game Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey with new additions, including a new story character. "A spatial distortion full of demons appeared in Antarctica, threatening to engulf the Earth in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. The United Nations responded by tasking a team of highly advanced specialists with piercing the anomaly and figuring out how to stop it from the source. Well, get ready to don your Demonica once again in this new expanded port: Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux. Expect new story content, additional endings, a new dungeon to explore, and more in the return of this sci-fi tinged SMT adventure."

Oct 26, 201784/100
15 Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - HD Remaster cover
Remaster2020

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - HD Remaster

200X. Everyday life suddenly came to an end. Tokyo is transformed into a world of demons following an anomaly known as the "Conception". This is the story of our protagonist's journey through a changed Tokyo in his new body, and of he and his friends' trials and tribulations as they seek to recreate the world. This Asian console and international PC version of the remaster cuts out the content from the expanded versions of the original game, making them available as optional DLC in select regions.

Oct 28, 202085/100
16 Shin Megami Tensei V cover
Mainline2021

Shin Megami Tensei V

Shin Megami Tensei V, the fifth numbered game of the Shin Megami Tensei series, is a role-playing video game set in modern-day Tokyo. It will feature returning gameplay elements from previous games, such as the ability to fuse demons, along with new mechanics.

Nov 12, 202184/100

Sources and method

Built from the public record.

Membership is researched from external official and independent sources. Mainline games, direct spin-offs, remakes, remasters, and standalone expansions are included; DLC, simple ports, duplicate editions, compilation-only duplicates, rumors, cancellations, and cameo-only crossovers are excluded.

  1. database Shin Megami Tensei collection — IGDB

    IGDB maintains a distinct collection record for Shin Megami Tensei and supplies the authoritative roster used for membership verification.

  2. reference List of video game franchises

    The independent catalog recognizes Shin Megami Tensei as a multi-game franchise and supports its inclusion in this major-series research sweep.