Plot:Shin Megami Tensei IV

This is a complete summary of Template:Gamelink’s plot and multiple endings. Be warned that spoilers are detailed below.

Beginning

Flynn has a series of strange dreams in his sleep. In his first dream, he is taunted by bodiless voices warning him that his decisions henceforth will bear consequence and create a new world. In the second, Flynn awakes to a burning city where a shadowed figure named Walter coaxes to join him in ushering a world of free-reign. In the third dream, Flynn then finds himself in a barren desert where another shadowed figure named Jonathan insists on maintaining a world of everlasting peace. Lastly, Flynn is approached by a young girl who begs him to revive her.

Flynn awakes to his childhood friend Issachar. Both men are Casualries in the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado who have left their home village to participate in the Gauntlet Rite at Mikado Castle; a required coming-of-age ceremony where all participants are tested if they are worthy of becoming Samurai, the kingdom’s soldiers. They hurry to Mikado Castle and are met with disdain by the city’s Luxurors, the kingdom’s affluent upper class, while seeking directions to the Rite. The pair eventually arrive at Aquila Plaza where the ceremony is being held beneath the giant statue of King Aquila, the founder of the kingdom and Samurai order. Each participant is instructed to wear a Gauntlet with a screen, which if their touch successfully engages, deems them as worthy of becoming a Samurai. Issachar is rejected during the Rite while Flynn passes the test, separating the two men as Flynn is whisked away to live his new life as a Samurai in Mikado Castle.

The following morning, Flynn meets the other new prentices: Isabeau, a strong-willed yet reserved Luxuror; Jonathan, a Luxuror who is docile and kind-hearted; Walter, a rough yet good-natured Casualry; and Navarre, an arrogant and hostile Luxuror. Both Jonathan and Walter faintly recall seeing Flynn in their dreams but do not pursue the matter. Commander Hope issues the prentices their training exercise: everyone is to descend into Naraku, an underground dungeon complex that lies beneath Mikado and is plagued by demons, and to complete a series of tasks there. Flynn is then shortly introduced to Burroughs, his Gauntlet’s navigational AI. With Burroughs’s guidance, Flynn completes all his training exercises and is declared the victor for having first completed the final task as a contest. While the other prentices all congratulate him, Navarre is humiliated and swears vengeance before storming off.

The next day the prentices are called to K’s Tavern to receive K’s lesson on Challenge Quests. Following a prior argument, Navarre proposes a challenge to see who can first complete all of the day’s Challenge Quests. Flynn finishes all of the quests, however as he returns to the tavern, he is approached by a suspicious Samurai who informs that Navarre has gone missing in Naraku and asks Flynn to covertly find him. During his search, Flynn is attacked twice by a hooded man and his demons. Jonathan and Isabeau come to Flynn’s aid after having deduced that the hooded man is actually a Samurai in leagues with Navarre to humiliate the Casualry prentices. Joined by Walter, the party follow Navarre’s trail to a Demon’s Domain that he had mistakenly fallen in. Inside they come across the young girl from Flynn’s dream as well as a man named Steven, who cryptically comments on the girl’s interest in the Samurai and their future roles. The Samurai find Navarre in the heart of the Domain and rescue him from the demon Alraune, eliminating the Domain in the process. Navarre loses his sanity from the experience and shortly retires from duty.

The Samurai are given a holiday following the incident. Jonathan suggests to Flynn and Walter that they visit the local bakery for breakfast. The baker there fervently raves to them about literature, which has started to suddenly appear in Mikado and has grown popular with the Casualry class. Rumors circulating between the Casualries and Luxurors speak that a figure known as the Black Samurai has been showing up all over the kingdom and distributing books. The Samurai are indifferent to the books and head to Lake Mikado to eat, where they meet Issachar about to head back home to Kiccigiorgi with a souvenir. The rest of the day passes without incident; however, at night the Samurai order awake to news that a fire has broke in the direction of Kiccigiorgi Village. The prentices beg Commander Hope to allow them to accompany the brigade as Kiccigiorgi is Flynn’s hometown, which Hope permits. They arrive by morning to find the entire village engulfed in flame after being raided by demons. Flynn and the others head into Kiccigiorgi Forest to look for survivors and learn that the village youth had been holding Sabbaths to discuss literature and were transformed into the demons attacking the village. As they rescue the last of the survivors, Hope informs them that the Black Samurai has been spotted in the forest and orders for their immediate capture.

The Samurai run into Issachar during their search, who has grown embittered by his rejection at the Rite and the Luxurors’ oppression. He reveals that he has also been turned into a demon and attacks Flynn. The party defeats him and continues their search deep into the forest where they finally find the Black Samurai, realizing that she is a woman clad in unusual armor. She offers the Samurai her books and affirms that she is spreading knowledge and wisdom to the kingdom. When they refute her offer, the Black Samurai tells them to go “to the underground” before making her escape by siccing her horde of Lilims, which manage to subdue the men with their Charm. Flynn blacks out during the fight and dreams of a barren wasteland where he again encounters Steven and the young girl, who once again begs Flynn to revive her. He awakes to the other prentices and they return to Mikado Castle.

Flynn is once again visited by the shadowed Walter and Jonathan in his dreams that night. Walter again asks Flynn to join him and urges that he hurry to the underground, while Jonathan insists that Flynn persevere and not go. The next morning, the Samurai order are called to an emergency meeting led by Hugo, the Abbot of the monastery, and his right-hand, Sister Gabby. Hugo announces the monastery’s suspicion that the Black Samurai is in leagues with the “Unclean Ones”, those said to dwell deep underground and who once attempted to invade Mikado before being repelled by King Aquila. The Samurai are thereby ordered to venture into the Unclean Ones’ country, believed to lie in the depths of Naraku, and find the Black Samurai. The announcement causes a stir as entering the deepest depths of Naraku is forbidden and, as the Unclean Ones’ country is also said to have many valued Mystic Relics, Isabeau suspects the monastery has an ulterior motive for this order. Despite their doubts of the mission, Flynn, Isabeau, Jonathan, and Walter all volunteer to find the Black Samurai.

As the party descends into Naraku, they encounter and fight the Minotaur, an ancient demon appointed by King Aquila to guard the depths. The caverns eventually lead the Samurai to the top floor of the Sky Tower which, to their surprise, overlooks a lit cityscape below while a vast ceiling of stone looms high above. After defeating Medusa who guarded the tower’s lower deck, the party lands in the city streets where some men run away in terror after mistaking them for Angels. A transmission from Abbot Hugo then informs the Samurai that they have reached Tokyo, the Unclean Ones’ country. To help the Samurai collect their bearings, he issues them a quest to find the Counter-Demon Force Base where more information may be gleaned.

Search for the Black Samurai

As Flynn and the Samurai begin their search for the Black Samurai and the Counter-Demon Force Base, they find their way to Ueno where they discover that Tokyo’s civilians have taken refuge in underground train stations from the demons above. There the party are introduced to the Hunter Association, an organization of Demon Hunters who take on errands for pay. They also overhear about the Ashura-kai, another organization keeping Tokyo’s districts safe from the demons and maintaining order in exchange for large payment sums. Flynn receives a tip from one of the Association’s patrons about the Force Base located in Kasumigaseki, but the way is now blocked due to the river bridge being destroyed. The patron however suggests that Flynn exterminates the Peallaidh that had taken over Shinobazu Pond after ousting the Kelpies there. The Samurai defeat Peallaidh and bring his head back to the grateful Kelpies gathered at the river, who then form a bridge for them to cross.

Advancing to Kasumigaseki, the party gains entry to the Counter-Demon Force Base below ground, finding it long abandoned and in disarray. Walter is startled to discover sets of armor identical to the Black Samurai’s, which Burroughs identifies as the Demonica armor that the Counter-Demon Force once wore. Burroughs’s data banks further yield that the Counter-Demon Force were active 25 years ago to combat the demons that suddenly appeared in Tokyo, but cannot ascertain whether the Black Samurai was among its roster. She accesses additional data from the base’s briefing room and sends it to Mikado’s monastery. A call from Sister Gabby passes along a message from Hugo that the Samurai are now formally asked to collect Tokyo’s Mystic Relics, much to Walter’s chagrin. Having scoured the base for all information, the Samurai leave to resume their search.

Flynn and the others arrive at Shinjuku where they are approached by a girl named Hikaru, recognizing them as the rumored “angels” said to have come from above. Hikaru knows of their search for the Black Samurai and passes a tip that she may be found in the Juraku Bookstore in Ikebukuro, but does not elaborate why she is helping the Samurai other than out of interest. Ikebukuro, however, is presently blocked by a barrier that requires the Jirae Talisman to dispel.

While investigating in Shinjuku, the Samurai learn that the Ashura-kai have been subduing demons by distributing pills known as Reds. But while the pills pacify the demons, rumors claim that the pills also turn people into demons. In Shinjuku Park, Flynn also finds the remains of a giant Cocoon there; one of the vessels that the Angels used 25 years ago to whisk away Tokyo’s children to the sky. Flynn accepts a job from the local Ashura-kai branch to exterminate the Corpses in east Shinjuku. As he defeats the last one, the party are then confronted by a furious Demon Hunter. Outraged by the Ashura-kai oppressing the people with their strict control, the Hunter ingests a Red and transforms into Dullahan. She is either killed or spared depending on Flynn’s choice. Having completed the task involving the Corpses, the Ashura-kai hand Flynn a new request: kill Kuebiko, who has taken residence in the Metropolitan Government Office. The Samurai accept the job with the promise of the Jirae Talisman as reward, however when they arrive, they turn conflicted as Kuebiko challenges the Ashura-kai’s right to force demons to leave. Depending on Flynn’s choice, he either fights Kuebiko or turns on the Ashura-kai and fights their Harpy horde. Regardless of his choice, the party receives the Jirae Talisman afterward.

At Ikebukuro, the party meets a woman named Kaga, a member of the Ring of Gaea which follows a philosophy of absolute strength and survival-of-the-fittest. Kaga and the other Ring members have been unable to reach Ikebukuro due to Xi Wangmu’s barrier around the city. Flynn dispels the barrier with the Jirae Talisman, which impresses Kaga, but she tells the group to stay out of their business as she and the other members leave to wrest Ikebukuro from Xi Wangmu’s control. The Samurai follow suit into Xi Wangmu’s Domain, but their attacks prove ineffective against the demon and her magic barrier. The Ring of Gaea then pour in and join the fight, but their attacks likewise also fail to pierce and they are each devoured by Xi Wangmu. Kaga approaches last and shows the demon no fear, swearing that she and the Ring of Gaea will never yield and continue to struggle against all odds. She is also devoured, however through the Ring of Gaea’s continued struggles inside Xi Wangmu’s stomach, they manage to weaken the demon enough for the Samurai to fight back. Xi Wangmu’s defeat frees Ikebukuro from her influence and the Samurai are left impressed by Kaga’s tenacity.

Resuming their search, Flynn and the others finally find the Black Samurai in Juraku Bookstore. She shows them no resistance and calmly asks what they now think of Tokyo, referring to it as a mirror of Mikado, which deeply offends Jonathan. The Samurai apprehend her and immediately take her back to the Kingdom of Mikado. Their triumphant success earns them the recognition of King Ahazuya and they are awarded the Third Order of Merit. Abbot Hugo congratulates the Samurai following the ceremony, but takes high praise in himself for having suggested the award ceremony. Confident that the people of Mikado will no longer succumb to the Black Samurai’s influence, he tasks the Samurai with finding more Mystic Relics. Walter angrily objects to the order but is stifled by Commander Hope. Hugo then excuses himself to prepare for the coming public execution of the Black Samurai at the Obelisk Plaza. Word around Mikado Castle adds that Casualries are encouraged to attend, as part of a coordinated scheme that the Black Samurai’s death will quell the unrest.

At the crowded execution, Hugo permits the Black Samurai to give her final words. She addresses the crowd before her and states they will find no love from God. Her words infuriate Hugo and he orders for her immediate execution. But as her mask is removed, her face is revealed to be identical to Sister Gabby’s and starts an uproar. The Black Samurai laughs that the Samurai have already realized the kingdom’s bias and swears she will resurrect as often as she is needed. She is then executed afterwards. Her parting words stay with the populace and encourages them to hold more Sabbaths.

Rescue at Kagome Tower

The following morning, Sister Gabby summons Flynn and his companions to the monastery for a confidential matter. Although wary of her striking resemblance to the Black Samurai, they nonetheless arrive to hear her request. Gabby implores the Samurai to hurry to Shinjuku Park where three of their allies are being held captive, adding that they are vital to the kingdom’s future.

The party make their way into Shinjuku Park and dispel its barricade with the Hexagram Rosary that Gabby entrusted to them. They find Kagome Tower on the other side, a stronghold heavily-guarded by the Ashura-kai and demons, including Murmur, Gemori, and Asmodeus who each guard a prisoner. The Samurai defeat the demons and free each of the prisoners from their birdcages, finding them badly enervated and wearing masks that blot out their memories but which can only be removed by a kindred spirit. Jonathan, Walter, and Isabeau each carry a prisoner back to the Kingdom of Mikado.

Back at the monastery, Gabby gives her thanks and assures that the three men will recover in time. She still does not divulge their identities and merely explains they were inconvenient to the demons, but again reassures that they are of great importance to the kingdom. She urgently switches the topic to inform that the Black Samurai’s body had suddenly disappeared while the party were away, claiming that eyewitness saw her resurrect and flee for Tokyo. Gabby asks that the Samurai yet again return to Tokyo and find her, this time with the express order to kill her. As the party prepare to leave on their mission, they are suddenly approached by a Samurai with a summons from the leader of the Ashura-kai, Tayama. Jonathan concludes that this turn of events is opportune to ask about the Black Samurai.

Black Samurai's Resurrection

The Samurai make their way to Shibuya, where Tayama requested them. Immediately upon their arrival, they receive a transmission from the man himself. Tayama reveals that he has taken a Samurai hostage as ransom and tells the party to head for Club Milton in the heart of Shibuya to hear the rest. The revelation deeply infuriates Jonathan as he worries for his fellow’s safety.

They arrive at Club Milton and meet its manager. He tasks the Samurai with killing Koga Saburo inside the club, who has been blocking the distribution of Reds in the district. The party manage to defeat Koga Saburo and the manager leaves to phone Tayama of their success, shortly informing them that he has agreed to see them in-person in the Hills building in Roppongi. The manager nonchalantly jokes about the unknown state of the hostage, prompting Jonathan to angrily grab and threaten him.

In the opulent Hills building, the party finally meet Tayama and find the hostage alive and well, though terrified. Tayama wants them to do him one more favor by killing Yuriko, the Ring of Gaea’s leader. He explains that Yuriko has been vying for control of the Yamato Perpetual Reactor, which supplies electricity to all of Tokyo. To further persuade the Samurai to his cause, he shows them the “future of Tokyo”: a group of children the Ashura-kai have been raising as part of a project to bring a utopia to Tokyo, adding that their safety would be threatened if the electricity was lost. Tayama further adds that the party will likely find the Black Samurai among the Ring of Gaea as well. Although uncertain whether to trust the Ashura-kai, the Samurai take the job with little else choice.

The group head for Ginza, where the Ring of Gaea are stationed. Flynn earns respect from the guard by beating him in a fight and is advised to take the Ring’s entrance test at Tsukiji Hongwanji. At the temple, each of the Samurai are given a lit candle and are instructed they must make their way to the temple’s sanctum alone without letting their candle go out. Flynn and the others successfully pass the trial, but as they enter the inner sanctum, their plot to kill Yuriko is uncovered and they are dropped through a trap floor. They find themselves in the Passage of Ethics and are told, through Yuriko’s mercy, that they are permitted to meet her. As they move through the passage, the group are confronted by split paths and a pair of voices asking them questions they must answer through the paths they choose. Walter and Jonathan are able to easily make their choices, though Isabeau falls to Flynn’s decision and worries that Yuriko is attempting to divide them.

At the end of the Passage of Ethics, the Samurai are shocked to discover that Lady Yuriko is actually the Black Samurai. She shows them her true identity as the demon Lilith. Jonathan swears to kill her for having cursed the kingdom, to which Lilith claims that it was not her books that transformed the people into demons but the natural result of them suppressing their desires. She asserts that they should instead turn their hatred to the kingdom’s stifling rules and expresses her wish to restore humans to their natural order. Her words cause strife between Jonathan and Walter which soon escalates in them crossing swords. Walter asks Lilith how to bring her ideal world and she tells them to go beneath the Hills building in Roppongi, where they will find “true evil” in an underground facility. Walter implores that the party leave Lilith alone until he has seen this evil for himself and departs.

Outside, the group find Walter speaking with Hikaru before taking off. Hikaru explains she was just telling him about Fujiwara at Cafe Florida in Shinjuku, who knows more about Roppongi's underground. She slips a Matchbox into Flynn’s hands before leaving, explaining it is the cafe’s proof of membership. The party find Walter outside the cafe unsuccessfully demanding to be let in and are permitted entry after Flynn shows the Matchbox. Inside they meet Fujiwara and his partner Skins, who both lead the Hunter Association, as well as Hikaru again. Fujiwara is pleased to finally make the Samurai’s acquaintance and asks them how they traversed Naraku. He also asks if they believe the people of Mikado and Tokyo could coexist, leading to his admission that they are considering emigrating to Mikado for a better life and asks the Samurai to tell their leaders when the time comes. Fujiwara gives a tip that a passage leading to Roppongi’s underground can be found in Midtown. Skins warns them that the Ashura-kai have a demon guarding the building, which brings Jonathan and Walter to a truce in banding together again.

At Midtown, Flynn fights Tenkai, one of the National Defense Divinities under the Ashura-kai’s control, who tests his resolve. The party also meets the angel Mastema, who was assigned to guard the building from thieves looking to steal the Reds; he opens the passage to their objective. The passage leads the Samurai to Reverse Hills, an upside-down mirror of Tayama’s Hills building, where they discover people–many of them children–are being held. As they make their way further in, they are horrified to realize the people are being kept to harvest their brain cells which are used to make the Reds. The Samurai then run across Yaso Magatsuhi, a National Defense Divinity used to spread a sedative gas around the facility. They are overcome by its gas and hallucinate before blacking out, later reawakening in Tayama’s office. Tayama angrily justifies his project as a means to an end for Tokyo’s necessary survival, but he allows the Samurai one last opportunity to kill Yuriko.

A transmission arrives from Abbot Hugo informing the party they are to urgently return to Mikado and make for the holy land, Shene Duque. When they arrive, they find a giant Cocoon there much like the remains found in Shinjuku Park and Sister Gabby waiting for them. She invites them into the Cocoon and introduces the new leaders of Mikado–the Heralds Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and finally herself as her true identity of Gabriel. It was thanks to the Samurai’s earlier efforts at Kagome Tower that the archangels were finally reunited and their power restored. Gabriel explains that she was assigned by God to watch over the people of Mikado as Sister Gabby and, through the archangels’ efforts, have now cleansed the kingdom of those distorted and its divisions. She refuses to listen to Fujiwara’s request and asserts that the party must not succumb to the Unclean Ones’ temptation and they are to resume their task of killing the Black Samurai.

Party's Separation

The entire experience cements Walter’s beliefs and he refuses to kill Lilith, reasoning that the kingdom is no different from Tayama’s tyranny. He decides to leave Mikado behind and tells Flynn he will wait at the barracks should he decide to join. Isabeau declines to join either side, worried for Fujiwara’s and Skins’s safety. Jonathan leaves to wait at the entrance to Naraku.

Whichever side that Flynn joins, Isabeau will decline to accompany them.