Devil Children Black Book and Red Book

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Devil Children Black Book and Red Book
Developer(s)	Multimedia Intelligence Transfer
Publisher(s)	Atlus
Genre	RPG
Platform(s)	Game Boy Color PlayStation PlayStation Network (PSOne Classic) Nintendo 3DS (Virtual Console)
Release	Game Boy Color Japan November 17, 2000 PlayStation Japan March 18, 2002 PlayStation Network Japan March 13, 2010 Nintendo 3DS Japan November 13, 2013

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Black Book and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Red Book are a pair of 2000 role-playing games for the Game Boy Color, and the first entries in the Devil Children series. They were developed by Multimedia Intelligence Transfer, published by Atlus, and released on November 17, 2000. A remastered compilation of both versions with updated graphics was released for the PlayStation on March 18, 2002.

To date, neither release of Black Book or Red Book have been officially released outside of Japan. The Game Boy Color version of Black Book received a fan translation and was released on July 28, 2021.

Blurb

仲魔(なかま)を増(ふ)やし、合体(がったい)で強(つよ)くしよう！ キミは全(ぜん)２５０以上(いじょう)のデビルに出会(であ)えるかな？

Nakama o fuyashi, gattai de tsuyoku shiyō! Kimi wa zen 250 ijō no Debiru o deaeru kana?

Collect more Demon partners and merge them together to make them stronger! Can you meet all 250+ Devils?

美(うつく)しいグラフィック！使(つか)いやすいシステム！ 新(しん)デビルの追加(ついか)！アニメと同(おな)じ声優(せいゆう)ボイス！ ”デビチル”がパワーアップで登場(とうじょう)だ！

Utsukushī gurafikku! Tsukai yasui shisutemu! Shin Debiru no tsuika! Anime to onaji seiyū boisu! "DebiChiru" ga pawā appu de tōjō da!

Beautiful graphics! Easy-to-use systems! New Devils added! The same voice actors as the anime! "DeviChil" is powered-up and ready to go!

Synopsis

The year is 2000. In conjunction with a worldwide economic recession, Earth is affected by a black airborne substance that has caused temperatures to plummet. Setsuna Kai and Mirai Kaname, both orphans, find their home of Harajuku blanketed with snow despite it being the middle of July.

One day, Setsuna receives a package in the mail containing a Vinecom and Deviliser, as well as the Messiah Horn which beckons a horde of Demons. Failing to take Setsuna's package, the Demons instead spirit his brother Nagahisa away to the world of Makai. Joined by Cool the Cerberus, Setsuna uses the Messiah Horn and departs for Makai in search of Nagahisa.

The next day, Mirai is given her own Vinecom and Deviliser by a strange boy named Yuki. A Demon disguised as a student attacks Mirai and takes her mother's memento, the Messiah Eye, but she reclaims with the help of Veil the Griffon. Like Setsuna, Mirei ventures to Makai in search of her missing father.

See full plot...

Gameplay

Bank

The game does not have an actual game over screen, and instead the player will teleport to the last healing location they visited. Unfortunately, the player's Macca amount will be halved in the process.

The bank serves to mitigate that, allowing the player to store and withdraw Macca as they see fit. The bank can be accessed either as its own building in towns, or as an ATM available in certain stores.

Types and Resistances

Demons in the game are divided in seven different types: Fire, Water, Earth, Metal, Wood, Sun, and Moon. The first five are based on the Chinese concept of Wuxing, also known as "The Five Elements," and the latter two on Yin & Yang. Each element is associated with a Type, which determines a demon's resistance.

Attacker	Defender
	Fire	Water	Earth	Metal	Wood	Sun	Moon
Fire	x 1	x 0.5	x 1	x 1.5	x 1	x 1	x 1
Water	x 1.5	x 1	x 0.5	x 1	x 1	x 1	x 1
Earth	x 1	x 1.5	x 1	x 1	x 0.5	x 1	x 1
Metal	x 0.5	x 1	x 1	x 1	x 1.5	x 1	x 1
Wood	x 1	x 1	x 1.5	x 0.5	x 1	x 1	x 1
Sun	x 1	x 1	x 1	x 1	x 1	x 1	x 1.8
Moon	x 1	x 1	x 1	x 1	x 1	x 1.8	x 1

Party

Battles are done in a 2 versus 2 format. The first party slot is always occupied by the protagonist's partner. The second slot is occupied by a demon ally of the player's choice.

Class

Each demon is divided in one of four classes: C (Common), E (Elite), G (General), and K (King).

In general, the higher a demon's class, the higher their base stats and the more powerful their skills will be when compared to other demons of the same level range and lower class.

Devil Riser and King Riser

In game, demons are stored as bullets inside magical guns, called Devil Riser and King Riser. The Devil Riser can hold up to six demons but cannot hold King-class demons. The King Riser can hold demons of any Class, but only three of them. Before battle, the player must choose which gun to use by equipping it.

Trainer

An NPC type available in towns after the player has reached Sand Land. The player may leave a demon with the Trainer for special training that will raise its stats. Which stats are raised depends on the course chosen: Stamina, Combat, Magic, or Muscle. The training is completed after the player has finished a set number of battles, depending on the intensity of the training chosen: Fast, Normal, or Thorough.

Intensity	No. of Battles	Price
Fast	8	♄1,000
Normal	15	♄2,000
Thorough	30	♄4,000

Stat	Stamina			Combat			Magic			Muscle
	Fast	Normal	Thorough	Fast	Normal	Thorough	Fast	Normal	Thorough	Fast	Normal	Thorough
HP	+ 8~12%	+ 12~15%	+ 15~20%	+ 5~8%	+ 8~12%	+ 12~15%	-	-	-	-	-	-
MP	-	-	-	-	-	-	+ 5~8%	+ 8~12%	+ 12~20%	-	-	-
Attack	-	-	-	+ 1~3	+ 3~5	+ 5~15	- 0~3	- 1~3	- 1~2	+ 3~5	+ 5~7	+ 7~20
Guard	-	-	-	+ 1~3	+ 3~5	+ 5~15	- 0~3	- 1~3	- 1~2	+ 3~5	+ 5~7	+ 7~20
Magic	- 0~3	- 0~3	- 1~2	- 0~3	- 0~3	- 1~2	+ 1~3	+ 3~5	+ 5~15	- 0~3	- 0~3	- 0~4
M Guard	-	-	-	- 0~3	- 0~3	- 1~2	+ 1~3	+ 3~5	+ 5~15	- 0~3	- 0~3	- 0~4
Speed	+ 2~5	+ 5~8	+ 8~10	-	-	-	-	-	-	- 0~3	- 0~3	- 0~4
Luck	+ 0~3	+ 0~3	+ 1~3	+ 0~3	+ 0~3	+ 1~3	+ 0~3	+ 0~3	+ 1~3	-	-	-

Demon Skills

All demons have six skills, with the last three in general being more powerful and/or rare. Demons who are recruited via negotiation only have access to their first three skills.

In Black Book, demons created via fusion gain access to their fourth skill. Unfortunately, there is no way to obtain the final two skills on that version of the game. In Red Book, fusing a demon with a copy of itself will increase its maximum HP and MP, as well as having a chance of unlocking the final three skills.

Fusion

Partner Fusion

The protagonist's demon partner can be fused with any non-Boss-race demon. Doing so will consume the second demon, strengthening the partner. The partner will gain experience points according to how strong the second demon is, and gain a +1 boost to a random stat. However, if the second demon is of a far lower level, no stat bonus will be gained.

Once the partner has accumulated enough experience, it will level up. Leveling up increases maximum HP and MP, and will grant a +1 boost to three random stats. The partner may only be strengthened up to five levels above the protagonist's level.

Black Book

Fusion in Black Book is generally the same as most games in the Megami Tensei franchise. Fusing two demons will create a third demon based on the average level of the two ingredients, and the Race will depend on the Race of the ingredient demons.

Mutant-race demons can only be created via fusion accident. Boss-race demons cannot be used in fusion. Fusions using God and Devil-race demons have higher chance of resulting in a fusion accident.

Black Book Fusion Table

Race	Mutant	Yoma	Drake	Specter	Ogre	Divine	Devil	God
God	Yoma	Ogre	Divine	Drake	Drake	Specter	Divine	-
Devil	Ogre	Drake	Divine	Yoma	Specter	Drake	-
Divine	Drake	Ogre	God	Yoma	Dog	-
Ogre	Specter	Devil	Yoma	Devil	-
Specter	Divine	Divine	Ogre	-
Drake	Devil	Devil	-
Yoma	God	-
Mutant	-

Red Book

Red Book uses a completely different fusion system than its counterpart, and also allows players to fuse demons with copies of themselves.

Fusing two copies of the same demon

Fusing two copies of the same demon will increase the maximum HP and MP of the first one. How much it can be increased is determined by the player's level.

This process also has a chance of unlocking a demon's final three skills, but it isn't guaranteed.

Some demons, once strengthened a set number of times via this method, will evolve into a stronger demon.

Fusing two different demons

Demons in Red Book have two different numerical values that are hidden from the player. They are called Base Value and Additional Value, the latter being always lower than the former. When fusing two different demons, the game will add the first demon's Base Value and the second demon's Additional Value together. The result of the fusion will be a demon of the same race as the first demon, whose Base Value is equal or higher than the value calculated during fusion.

For example, fusing a Nekhbet and a Nekomata, in this order will result in the following: the first demon in the fusion is the God-race Nekhbet, so the resulting demon will be of the God race. Nekhbet's Base Value is 8, and Nekomata's Additional Value is 3. As 8 + 3 = 11, the fusion will result in the demon Tatari Mokke, a God-race demon whose Base Value is 10.

However, there are cases where the resulting demon won't change. In this case, the second demon will be consumed in fusion, strengthening the first one just like in partner fusion.

Let's re-use the demons in the example above, but this time fuse them in the opposite order. The starting demon this time is the Devil-race Nekomata, so the resulting demon will be of the Devil race. Nekomata's Base Value is 9, and Nekhbet's Additional Value is 3. As 9 + 3 = 12, the resulting demon won't change since the next Devil-race demon, Ammut, has a base value of 14. The fusion will then result in a Nekomata with a +1 boost to a random stat.

Boss-race demons can only ever be used as the first ingredient in fusion, and fusing them with any demon will always result in the Boss-race demon being strengthened.

Version Differences

The protagonist is capable of riding their demon partner in demon-infested areas, which grants a faster walking speed at the cost of an increased encounter rate. Some obstacles can only be traversed when riding your partner, and the kind of obstacle differs depending on the game: Cool can walk on lava and reach blocked areas by digging underground, while Veil's ability to fly allows her to go over cliffs, water, and other kinds of special terrain such as slippery ice and moving sand. As both versions of the game share the same maps, certain areas and items can become harder or impossible to navigate or acquire depending on the version being played.

Some locations contain blue and pink doors next to each other that can only be opened by Setsuna and Mirai, respectively. Whatever items are located inside those doors can only be acquired on one version of the game.

The fusion system differs in both games. Mutant-race demons are only available via fusion accident in Black Book, but they appear in the wild in Red Book. The element of partner-exclusive skills that can be taught by a Trainer will change depending on the version: Fire in Black Book, and Wood in Red Book.

PlayStation

Upon booting the game, the player will be greeted by an opening sequence visually inspired by the anime adaptation, and then be prompted to select between playing Black Book, Red Book, or using the Webnet, which allows connecting two save files in the Memory Card to perform the same functions as connecting two GameBoy Color games via Link Cable. Each version of the game now allows for three separate save slots instead of just one.

Visually, the game's graphics were updated but remain a one-by-one recreation of all areas in the original versions. There is now voice acting, with talent from the anime adaptation reprising their roles, but no option to adjust the volume of background music and voice acting separately.

In the original versions of the game, it's possible to run in areas without demon encounters for increased speed, while in the PlayStation version the player will walk in those areas at running speed by default.

The game's story was left mostly unchanged, though the script, previously entirely in hiragana and katakana now contains kanji. However, kanji is still not available when selecting the protagonist's name. The only real alteration was changing the demons who kidnap Nagahisa from Petit Frosts into Jack Frosts.

Twenty new demons were added to the game, sixteen of which are available on both versions and two pairs that are exclusive to each version.

PlayStation-exclusive Demons

Name	Level	Version
Bunbuku Chagama	10	Both
Bakemogura	13	Both
Moai	19	Both
Kami wo Kure	20	Both
Jersey Devil	21	Both
Keukegen	22	Both
Cyborg Deka	23	Both
Brownie	24	Red Book
Kaguya-hime	26	Black Book
Zenki Goki	28	Both
Nautilus	29	Both
Abe no Seimei	32	Both
Rokurokubi	34	Both
Kiyohime	35	Both
Paramecium King	36	Both
A Bao A Qu	40	Both
Excalibur	46	Both
Jiang Ziya	50	Both
Zeus	60	Black Book
Amaterasu	60	Red Book

Development

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Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	真・女神転生 デビルチルドレン 黒の書 Shin Megami Tensei Debiru Chirudoren Kuro no Sho	True Goddess Reincarnation: Devil Children Black Book
	真・女神転生 デビルチルドレン 赤の書 Shin Megami Tensei Debiru Chirudoren Aka no Sho	True Goddess Reincarnation: Devil Children Red Book
	真・女神転生 デビルチルドレン 黒の書・赤の書PlayStation Shin Megami Tensei Debiru Chirudoren Kuro no Sho • Aka no Sho	True Goddess Reincarnation: Devil Children Black Book/Red Book