Alignment

Shin Megami Tensei IV's depiction of alignment with Walter representing Chaos and Jonathan representing Law, and Flynn having to choose between them

Alignment is a recurring mechanic in the Megami Tensei franchise and a representation of an individual's moral or idealistic attitude. It is predominately featured in the Shin Megami Tensei series as a significant gameplay and story mechanic, but is also featured in the Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei series, Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, and Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon as well.

Alignments are measured on a horizontal axis scale between Law, Neutral, and Chaos (occasionally abbreviated together as LNC). These three Alignments represent an individual's position relative to their core beliefs and way of life, with the Law-aligned favoring peace maintained by strict order and discipline; Chaos-aligned preferring freedom and self-serving individuality; and Neutral-aligned striking a balance between the two extremes. Additionally, there is also a vertical scale called Tendency that is predominately used for Demons: Light, Neutral, and Dark. These position spiritual affinity. Together, the Alignment and Tendency intersect to specify a Demon's complete orientation. Altogether there are nine possible Alignments.

Alignments are predominately used to categorize Demons, mainly in determining which Demons the protagonist can or cannot ally with. Alignments are also notably a staple mechanic of story progression in the Shin Megami Tensei series, where certain actions taken throughout a game will shift the protagonist's own Alignment between Law, Neutral, and Chaos. This will either determine the ending route taken or reward the protagonist for choosing a route that aligns with their final Alignment.

Outside of determining Demon recruitment and some small mechanics, Shin Megami Tensei if... and Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne do not have an Alignment system tied to their story progression; Nocturne instead has Reasons as an equivalent. Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse does not use the LNC scale in its story progression, but rather uses a Light-Dark scale.

Mechanics

Alignments are positioned on an axis between two scales: Law-Neutral-Chaos and Light-Neutral-Dark. From these, there are nine possible Alignments.

Alignments
Light-Law	Light-Neutral	Light-Chaos
Neutral-Law	Neutral-Neutral	Neutral-Chaos
Dark-Law	Dark-Neutral	Dark-Chaos

Each Demon Race is associated with a particular Alignment, wherein all members of that Race share that Alignment. This mainly determines which Demons can or cannot be allied with and summoned. In most games with Tendency, Dark-aligned Demons are unable to be recruited through Negotiation and must instead be fused. In Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II, this restriction is also imposed on Light-aligned Demons. In some Shin Megami Tensei series games, this limitation extends more widely, where Demons in general cannot be recruited or summoned into the party (if already allied with) if the protagonist's own Law-Chaos Alignment is on the opposite spectrum. Neutral Alignment does not impose this restriction for most Demons. Some games may also restrict equipment based on a character's Alignment as well.

In games where Alignment plays a role in story progression, the protagonist typically starts out as Neutral-aligned. Certain actions taken throughout the game will shift the protagonist's Alignment score toward either Law or Chaos, usually from making key decisions or siding with certain characters of a particular Alignment. Maintaining a balance between the two extremes puts the protagonist in Neutral. In most Shin Megami Tensei series games, the protagonist's final Alignment determines which ending route is taken past the game's penultimate point, leading to different story outcomes and bosses, and ultimately determining which ending is received. In Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, Shin Megami Tensei V, and the Canon of Creation in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, however, the protagonist is allowed to choose an ending route regardless of their final Alignment score, but will incur a penalty for choosing a route that does not match. The protagonist's Alignment cannot be changed once they have passed the penultimate point, effectively locking them to their final Alignment.

Mechanics by Game

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Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (Famicom)

Alignment in Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei primarily exists as a way of classifying demons and has only one axis ranging between GOOD and EVIL, with NEUTRAL being in the middle. Nakajima and Yumiko do not have an alignment.

GOOD-aligned demons are mainly demons created through fusion.

NEUTRAL-aligned demons mostly consist of races that the player can encounter in dungeons and recruit via the TALK command.

EVIL-aligned demons can also be encountered in dungeons but cannot be recruited or fused and serve a purely antagonistic role.

Defeating EVIL and NEUTRAL demons in combat will yield not only experience points, but also a specific type of reward depending on the demon's alignment - a Bead for NEUTRAL encounters and a set amount of Magnetite depending on the demon fought for EVIL encounters.

Shin Megami Tensei

Main article: Alignment (Shin Megami Tensei)

Shin Megami Tensei is the first game to have a heavy focus on Alignment, with every demon and playable character having a primary Alignment they belong to, these being Law, Neutral, or Chaos. Demons also have a secondary Alignment, which exists on a scale of Light, Neutral, and Dark.

The Hero will start off the game as Neutral-aligned, and depending on the actions the player chooses he can become Law, Chaos, or remain Neutral-aligned. Near the end of the game, his Alignment will be locked in and he will be set onto a route that corresponds to said Alignment that will provide different bosses and an ending. Aside from decisions made in the story or in sidequests that will push his Alignment to Law or Chaos, choices made in normal gameplay can influence Alignment as well, such as choosing to heal in Messian Churches or Gaean Ashrams, which will push the Hero a little towards Law and Chaos respectively. As Healing Ashrams are Neutral-aligned, the Hero will not be pushed toward any one side by healing there. An alternative way of drastically changing Alignment is presented near the end of the game via a minigame in Tokyo Destinyland, which involves going through a maze until you reach a room that will push the Hero in the direction of either Law or Chaos.

Alignment's role in gameplay is affecting what equipment the Hero can use, as many pieces of equipment are tied to Alignment, and also what demons he can recruit and summon. If the Hero is Law-aligned, he will be unable to summon or recruit Chaos-aligned demons, and conversely if he is Chaos-aligned, he will be unable to summon or recruit Law-aligned demons. Should a Law or Chaos-aligned Hero attempt to fuse a demon of the opposite Alignment, he will be warned that he will not be able to summon the result, though otherwise still be permitted to carry on with the fusion. If the Hero is Neutral-aligned, he will not be bound by these restrictions and be able to freely summon and recruit demons of any Alignment, though demons' secondary Alignment must still be taken into account. If a demon is Light or Dark-aligned, they cannot be recruited through negotiation, while any demon that is Neutral-aligned can.

The Hero's Alignment is never told to the player directly, and so there are three main methods of deducing what it is. Firstly, the avatar on the overworld map indicates his Alignment via which way it is spinning. If the avatar is spinning clockwise, the Hero is Law-aligned. If it is spinning counter-clockwise, he is Chaos-aligned. And if it wobbles in either direction without fully spinning, then he is Neutral-aligned. The second method is attempting to summon a Law or Chaos-aligned demon, as not being able to summon one of them will indicate you are the opposite Alignment. The final method is to go to a Messian Church or Gaean Ashram, where if you are of the opposing Alignment, you will be forced to pay an extra fee to heal there.

Shin Megami Tensei II

Alignment works exactly the same way as it does in Shin Megami Tensei. The only noticable differences is that Chaos-aligned players will not be allowed to enter Messian Churches at all. Law-aligned players may still pay a fee to heal at a Gaean Ashram. Alignment can also no longer be determined from looking at the overworld map avatar, as it will always be wobbling back and forth regardless of Alignment.

Another difference is that at the time the Alignment Lock is reached, as long as Aleph is not too far into one Alignment, any route can be chosen, which will then change his Alignment to that of the route chosen.

Shin Megami Tensei if...

Shin Megami Tensei if... lacks the focus on Alignment the two previous mainline games did. The Protagonist's Alignment is not related to the story whatsoever and is determined solely by what demons they have summoned. The Protagonist will be Neutral-aligned by default, and should they summon a Law or Chaos-aligned demon, their Alignment will change to match the demon's, making them unable to summon or recruit a demon of the opposite Alignment.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

The protagonist starts the game as a Neutral-aligned character. Periodically throughout the game dialogue options will be presented that will influence the protagonist's Alignment towards Law or Chaos, with their proper alignment being changed if the bias towards a particular Alignment is great enough. Alignment is indirectly told by the color of the Protagonist or a demon's name. Their name being white will mean that they are Neutral-aligned, being blue will mean they are Law-aligned, and being red will mean they are Chaos-aligned.

Upon initiating negotation the opinion of the demon being negotiated with is influenced by the Alignment of both it and the protagonist. A Law-aligned demon will start off with a favorable opinion of a Law-aligned protagonist and an unfavorable opinion of a Chaos-aligned protagonist, making negotiation easier and harder respectively. Conversely, a Chaos-aligned demon will start off with a higher opinion of the protagonist if he is Chaos-aligned and a lower opinion if he is Law-aligned, causing the same effect. If either the demon or the protagonist is Neutral-aligned, no change in opinion will happen before the negotiation takes place, making it have a standard difficulty.

A mechanic unique to Strange Journey that interacts with Alignment is the Demon co-op mechanic. If a member of the protagonist's party strikes a weakness of the opposing party while there are other members that share their Alignment, a demon co-op attack will be initiated. A demon co-op attack deals Almighty-element damage to all enemies that were hit by the attack that triggered it. The damage of a demon co-op attack scales with the amount of party members that participate in it, from a minimum of one to a maximum of three.

Certain extra missions are available only to the protagonist if he is of a certain Alignment.

When the Alignment Lock is reached, the Protagonist will be asked a series of questions that will lock his Alignment in and determine the route that will be played through for the end of the game. If the Protagonist is too far into either Law or Chaos, he will not be asked any questions and will be immediately locked into that respective route.

Shin Megami Tensei IV

Main article: Alignment (Shin Megami Tensei IV)

In Shin Megami Tensei IV, Alignment is once again influenced by choices presented throughout the main story as well as in side content such as quests and NPC dialogue. Flynn will start the game as Neutral and can only answer to choices in a Lawful or Chaotic fashion, pushing him towards Law or Chaos respectively. If the player balances these chocies, Flynn's Alignment can also settle on Neutral again rather than Law or Chaos. At the Alignment Lock, Flynn will make a final choice that will definitively determine his Alignment and so what route he will follow for the end of the game. There is also an extra choice that can be made regardless of Alignment that will lead to an ending titled the "Nothing" ending.

Aside from the different bosses, locations, and quests exclusive to a route, Alignment has no bearing on gameplay, as there is no Alignment-tied equipment like in previous games, and Flynn can freely recruit and summon any race regardless of Alignment with a few exceptions.

Flynn's alignment is never outright stated and the only way of finding out what it is currently is by talking to an NPC named "Cynical Man" at Hunter Association bars, who will comment on Flynn's demeanor, indirectly indicating what his alignment is. If he says Flynn is polite, Flynn is Law-aligned. If he says Flynn is hot-blooded, then Flynn is Chaos-aligned. And if he says that Flynn is "hard to get a handle on", Flynn is Neutral-aligned.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

Unlike it's predecessors, Alignment in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse operates on a scale of Light and Dark rather than of Law, Neutral, and Chaos. There is no middle path for Nanashi to follow, so he must decide solely between being Light-aligned or Dark-aligned. Nanashi's alignment does not affect gameplay like in Shin Megami Tensei IV, so he can freely summon and recruit any demon barring a few exceptions.

Halfway through the game, Nanashi is offered a choice between endings aligned to either Law or Chaos. They can be chosen regardless of his Alignment, though he can also reject them and continue on with the story.

When the route split is reached, Nanashi must choose between a Light-aligned path or a Dark-aligned path, which are titled the "Bonds" and "Massacre" routes respectively. Should Nanashi choose a path that contradicts his Alignment, he will be penalized. If Nanashi is Light-aligned but chooses to follow the Massacre route, he will lose all his items. If Nanashi is Dark-aligned but chooses to follow the Bonds route, he will lose all of the demons in his stock.

Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	属性 ALIGNMENT	Attribute Alignment