View source for Hero (Shin Megami Tensei)

{{Stub|series=SMT|type=character}}
{{Infobox Character
|displaytitle=Hero (''Shin Megami Tensei'')
|title= Hero
|jpname=ザ・ヒーロー
|jpmean=The Hero
|image=
<gallery>
SMT1 SFC Hero Artwork.png|SFC
SMT1 PCE Hero Artwork.png|CD-ROM²
SMT1 PS Hero Pre-Cataclysm Artwork.png|PS (Pre-Cataclysm)
SMT1 PS Hero Post-Cataclysm Artwork.png|PS (Post-Cataclysm)
</gallery>
|seoimage=SMT1 PS Hero Pre-Cataclysm Artwork.png
|names=Futsuo{{Exp|Early development name}}<br>Kazuya{{Exp|''[[Shin Megami Tensei Character Profile: Steven Report]]''}}
|dob=
|age=
|height=
|weight=
|bloodtype=
|relative=[[Hero's Mother|Mother]]<br>Unnamed father<br>[[Pascal]] (pet dog)
|school=
|occupation=
|affiliation=
|alignment=
|arcana=
|persona=
|race=[[Fiend]]{{Exp App|SMTif}}
|va=[[Hikaru Midorikawa]]{{Exp App|smt1|plat1=MCD|SMT4A}}
}}
The '''Hero''' is a playable character and the protagonist of {{Link|Game|smt1}}. During the game's early events, he receives the [[Demon Summoning Program]] from [[Stephen]] through his computer terminal and becomes embroiled in a power struggle between several parties over [[Tokyo 199X (Shin Megami Tensei)|Tokyo]].

The Hero does not have a default name in-game, and is referred to simply as the Hero in his other game appearances. During development of ''Shin Megami Tensei'', he was called '''Futsuo''' among the game's staff.<ref>{{Cite Interview|quote=金子：開発段階だと、ふつお（ヒーロー）、よしお（ロウヒーロー）、わるお（カオスヒーロー）、ヒロインはふつこ。|translquote=Kaneko: During the development stages, [they were named] Futsuo (hero), Yoshio (law hero), Waruo (chaos hero), and the heroine was called Futsuko.|publ=Kazuma Kaneko Works I|publisher=Shinkigensha|page=p. 2|url=[https://megatengaku.wordpress.com/readings/interviews/kazuma-kaneko-works-i-interview/ Kazuma Kaneko Works I – Interview]|archive=|published=|retrieved=October 18, 2023|site=Megatengaku.wordpress.com|type=}}</ref> In the short stories included in ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Character Profile: Steven Report]]'', he was given the name '''Kazuya'''.

==Profile==
{{Sectionstub}}

==Gameplay==
==={{Link|Game|SMT1}}===
The Hero initially begins with 5 points in each of his six main stats, with an additional 18 stat points for the player to invest into any stat of their choosing. He does not have any default equipment.

The Hero is the only human character in the game who is able to operate the [[COMP]] and summon Demons into his active party. Unlike the other party members, he is unable to learn or use any magic skills.

==={{Link|Game|SMTif}}===
{{Sectionstub}}
==={{Link|Game|SMT4A}}===
{{Sectionstub}}

==Game Appearances==
==={{link|game|smt1}}===
{{Sectionstub}}

==={{link|game|smt2}}===
{{Sectionstub|reason=Summary of other references to needed.}}
In the game's post-end, a man outside of [[Old Shinjuku]] indirectly references the Hero and the other two heroes by recounting how three men had came to Tokyo from the [[Diamond Realm]].<ref>{{Cite Game|quote=男：むかし3人の男が　金剛神界から　ここへ　やって来たそうだ |translquote=|title=Shin Megami Tensei II|developer=|publisher=|platform=|version=|lang=|transl=}}</ref>

==={{Link|Game|SMTif}}===
{{Sectionstub}}

==={{Link|Game|SMT4A}}===
{{Spoilers}}
During the [[Challenge Quest]] "[[Messiahs in the Diamond Realm]]", [[Stephen]] transported the Hero's soul to the [[Diamond Realm]] alongside the [[Demi-fiend]], [[Aleph]], and [[Flynn]]. Each of them met an unavoidable fate in their original worlds as a result of [[YHVH]]'s machinations; in the Hero's case, he was killed by ICBMs hitting Tokyo. [[Nanashi]] would eventually restore the bodies and memories of the four messiahs, culminating in a fight against Stephen himself. Once the battle was over, a portal opened in the Diamond Realm, allowing the Hero and the other messiahs to return to their original worlds.

==={{link|game|smti}}===
{{Sectionstub}}

==Trivia==
*In the PlayStation version of ''Shin Megami Tensei'', there exists two unused sprites of the Hero that are based on his PlayStation redesign.<ref>{{Cite Web|quote= The protagonist of the game was meant to get his own sprite at some point. However, unlike other sprites, it's based off the concept art of the protagonist by Kaneko. Another different unused sprite of the protagonist. Note there's two of them because it was supposed to be animated at some point.|translquote= |author= |url=[https://tcrf.net/Shin_Megami_Tensei_(PlayStation)]|archive= |published= May 30, 2022|retrieved= June 4, 2024|site= The Cutting Room Floor|type= }}</ref>
*In the English localization of ''Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse'', the Hero's [[Hunter Database]] entry states that he is 18 years old.<ref>{{Cite Game|quote='''Hunter Database - The Hero''' The 18-year-old protagonist of Shin Megami Tensei I. Once a normal high schooler, his destiny was forever changed when he found himself caught in a war between gods and demons.|title=Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse|developer=|publisher=|platform=|version=|lang=English|transl=}}</ref> However, his age is not mentioned at all in the original Japanese script.<ref>{{Cite Game|quote='''ザ・ヒーロー''' 《真・女神転生I》の主人公。元々は普通の高校生だったが、 神と悪魔の戦いに巻き込まれ、 運命の歯車を大きく狂わされた。|title=Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse|developer=|publisher=|platform=|version=|lang=Japanese|transl=}}</ref>

==Nomenclature==
The Hero's developmental name, Futsuo, may be a pun on 普通 ''futsū'', meaning "normal" or "neutral."
{{Names
|ja=ザ・ヒーロー<br>ふつお{{Exp|Early development name}}
|jaM=The Hero<br>Futsuo
|zhS= 
|zhSM=
|zhT= 
|zhTM=
|fr= 
|frM=
|de= 
|deM=
|it= 
|itM=
|ko= 
|koM=
|es= 
|esM=
}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
SMT1 PS Hero Sprite.png|Unused sprite of the Hero in ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (PlayStation)
SMT1 PS Hero Silhouette Sprite.png|Unused silhouette sprite of the Hero ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (PlayStation)
SMT2 Hero Statue Sprite.png|Sprite of the Hero's statue in ''Shin Megami Tensei II''
SMTif PS SMT1 Hero Sprite.png|Sprite of the Hero in ''Shin Megami Tensei if..'' (PlayStation)
SMTif_SMT1_Hero_Animated_Sprite.gif|Animated sprite of the Hero in ''Shin Megami Tensei if..'' (PlayStation)
SMT4A Hero Portrait Artwork.png|Portrait of the Hero in ''Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse''
SMT4A Hero Sprite.png|Sprite of the Hero in ''Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse''
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Playable Characters]]
[[Category:Protagonists]]
[[Category:Characters in Shin Megami Tensei (Game)]]
[[Category:Characters in Shin Megami Tensei II]]
[[Category:Characters in Shin Megami Tensei if...]]
[[Category:Characters in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse]]
[[Category:Characters in Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine]]