Shin Megami Tensei IV

Shin Megami Tensei IV
Developer(s)	Atlus
Publisher(s)	Atlus (JP, NA) Nintendo of Korea (KR)
Genre	RPG
Platform(s)	Nintendo 3DS
Release	Japan May 23, 2013 Atlus Best Collection October 8, 2015 Double Hero Pack April 19, 2018 United States of America July 16, 2013 Australia October 30, 2014 Europe October 30, 2014 South Korea November 9, 2013

Shin Megami Tensei IV is a 2013 role-playing game for the Nintendo 3DS, and the seventh entry in the Shin Megami Tensei. It was developed and published by Atlus and released on May 23, 2013 in Japan, and subsequently on July 16 in North America that same year. In South Korea, the game was published by Nintendo of Korea and released on November 9, 2013. In Europe and Australia, the game was released digitally on the Nintendo eShop on October 30, 2014.

A sequel, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2016. Both games were later re-released in Japan in a dual package, entitled Shin Megami Tensei IV & Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final - Double Hero Pack, on April 19, 2018.

Synopsis

Shin Megami Tensei IV follows Flynn, a Casualry living in the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado who begins having strange dreams of two men coaxing him to join their cause and a young girl begging to be revived. Flynn leaves to take the Gauntlet Rite at Mikado Castle, a coming-of-age ceremony where all participants are tested if they are worthy of becoming Samurai. Having been selected as one of the new prentices, Flynn is whisked away from his former life to now live as a Samurai where he is charged with keeping the kingdom safe from the demons in Naraku, an underground dungeon beneath the kingdom. There he meets and befriends fellow prentices Isabeau, Jonathan, and Walter.

However, growing unrest between the kingdom's impoverished Casualries and affluent Luxurors soon lead to incidents of Casualries transforming into demons by reading books rumored to be distributed by the Black Samurai, a masked individual clad in black. While investigating a village raid and failing to capture the Black Samurai, Flynn and the other Samurai are then tasked with descending down the depths of Naraku to find the culprit. Far below they discover the dystopian city of Tokyo, where citizens are locked in a ceaseless struggle against demons plaguing the city streets. Conflicts and interwoven secrets soon after confront the four Samurai as they begin their search.

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Gameplay

Shin Megami Tensei IV incorporates the staple gameplay mechanics originally introduced in in addition to a number of new mechanics added throughout the series. IV features both third-person perspective exploration in 3D-rendered environments, similar to Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, as well as exploration of the game's overhead overworld map. Battles take place in first-person perspective. Players control the Samurai Flynn in navigation and combat through the use of the Nintendo 3DS's dual split screen, with the top-screen displaying Flynn's current location and battles, while the bottom screen displays menu information, map data, and the party's status and battle commands. As in previous Shin Megami Tensei games, Flynn is able to recruit Demons through successful negotiation. Flynn can summon up to three demons into battle at a time, with more being kept in a reserve stock to be swapped as needed. In addition to his demons, Flynn is also accompanied by a partner character in some battles, who may either be Isabeau, Jonathan, or Walter as decided randomly at the start of a battle. Partner characters cannot be issued commands and instead act on their own accord after Flynn's party have finished all their turns. During certain events and routes, Flynn's partner may be limited to one of these characters or none at all.

IV reintroduces the Press Turn System, which originally debuted in Nocturne and was absent in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. This combat system adds an extra turn to the party's number of turns whenever Flynn or one of his demons skips their turn, strikes an enemy's weakness, or lands a critical hit. Conversely, two turns are lost if an attack is blocked, drained, or misses. The same also holds true when the opposing party performs any of these. IV introduces new elements to the Press Turn System by stacking extra turns as well as adding the Smirk condition, which a character may gain after striking a weakness, landing a critical hit, or evading or blocking an attack. Smirk temporarily bestows a number of boons to the character, which includes boosting current buffs, greatly increasing their hit rate and evasion, nullifying their weakness, and greatly increasing the likelihood of landing a critical hit on their next turn; though this will not add an extra turn. Also new to IV's combat are Horde battles, in which the party fights a collective group of enemies that gradually grow smaller as their health depletes. Hordes are especially prone to exploited weaknesses and critical hits, thereby making use of the game's Press Turn System. Flynn is able to acquire new skills through Whispered Skills, where a demon will offer to pass on any of its skills after learning them all, with the exception of passive skills and certain unique skills. If Flynn already knows the same skill a demon has, his skill's rank will increase, thereby slightly increasing its attack power and decreasing its MP cost.

If in the event that Flynn's entire party is defeated, he will be taken to the River Styx where, for a large Macca fee, he can pay Charon to revive his party at his last location just before his death. This fee will gradually increase throughout the course of the game. If Flynn does not have sufficient funds and chooses to be revived, his revival will be put on a tab and Charon will immediately collect the owed fee as soon as Flynn makes enough Macca. Charon can also be paid in Nintendo 3DS Play Coins as well. Refusing to be revived results in a game over.

IV brings back the equipment system from Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II, in which Flynn is able to equip an assortment of weapons, guns and bullets, headgear, armor, leggings, and accessories. In addition to increasing stats, these can also change attack patterns or bequeath elemental weaknesses or resistances. Flynn's current equipment will now also visibly change his outward appearance as well.

The game's menu is accessed through Flynn's Gauntlet, where he is able to perform a number of functions through its applications. Flynn can spend App Points, earned whenever he levels up, to unlock new app functions, add passive abilities, or expand his demon stock. Among the Gauntlet's available app functions include Demon Fusion and managing Challenge Quests, which can be completed for experience, Macca, and item rewards. Carried over from Strange Journey, IV reintroduces Special Fusions where a required selection of demons can be fused into an unique demon. Some demons, whether through normal or special fusion, must first be unlocked either by defeating them in battle or completing a Challenge Quest.

IV breaks away from the labyrinthine dungeon crawling seen in previous entries in favor of semi-open environments whose surroundings can be interacted with, such as climbing ladders, crawling through tunnels, and the like. However, IV also introduces Demon Domains which function as mazes with a boss at the end. During exploration, Flynn can search Relic Spots for Relics of varying rarity that can be sold. Some Relics are necessary for Challenge Quests as well. Unlike the random encounters found in previous games, IV instead introduces visible enemies that appear as moving silhouettes of blue pixels and will attack when Flynn nears close. This can result in surprise attacks if Flynn is ambused by one; however, Flynn can also inflict preemptive damage onto an opposing party if he strikes a demon first with his weapon.

As with previous Shin Megami Tensei games, IV features an integrated Alignment system based on the Law-Neutral-Chaos scale. This system ties with the game's story progression and revolves around Flynn's responses to characters as well as his actions taken during certain quests, which will increase his Alignment score towards either Law or Chaos. These decisions will ultimately determine the game's ending route. Unlike some previous games, IV does not impose any restrictions to equipment nor affect demon availability based on Flynn's current Alignment.

Updates

Only one update for Shin Megami Tensei IV was released and had to be downloaded through the Nintendo 3DS eShop. As of the eShop's closure on March 27, 2023, this update can no longer be downloaded.

Version	Release	Changes
StreetPass Update	United States of America July 16, 2013	Only made available for download through the Nintendo eShop. Enables players to StreetPass with the 3DS version of and Etrian Odyssey IV for App Points.

Downloadable Content

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Throughout 2013, a number of free and paid downloadable content was released in weekly waves following the game's launch in each region. These were released from July 16 to August 27, 2013 in North America. As of the Nintendo 3DS eShop's closure on March 27, 2023, it is no longer possible to purchase or download the game's downloadable content.

DLC Title	Image	Release	Price	Details	Notes
Auric Armor		United States of America July 16, 2013	—	GameStop preorder bonus.	Pre-order bonus Included in the limited edition pre-order set for GameStop customers
Prime Coat		United States of America July 16, 2013	—	Amazon preorder bonus.	Pre-order bonus Included in the limited edition pre-order set for Amazon customers
Power Hoodie		United States of America July 16, 2013	—	EB Games preorder bonus.	Pre-order bonus Included in the limited edition pre-order set for EB Games customers
Visage Pack		United States of America July 16, 2013	Free	Adds three Delivery Challenge Quests that each award the Fighting Spirit, Strange Grease, and Magical Glasses headgears.
White Samurai Apparel		United States of America July 16, 2013	$1.00 (NA)	Adds three Delivery Challenge Quests that each award the White Samurai armor set.
Experience of the Afterlife		United States of America July 16, 2013	$1.99 (NA)	Adds a Challenge Quest that sends Flynn to an area where high experience and experience-giving items can be gained in battle. Fairy Oread can also be unlocked for fusion.
Symbolic Equipment		United States of America July 23, 2013	$0.99 (NA)	Adds three Delivery Challenge Quests that each award the Freedom Armor set.
Underworld Money-Maker		United States of America July 23, 2013	$2.99 (NA)	Adds a Challenge Quest that sends Flynn to an area where a lot of Macca and valuable items for resale can be gained in battle. Beast Asterius can also be unlocked for fusion.
Death Has Its Applications		United States of America July 23, 2013	$2.99 (NA)	Adds a Challenge Quest that sends Flynn to an area where App Point-giving items can be gained in battle. Fiend Plasma can also be unlocked for fusion.
Overlord Equipment		United States of America July 30, 2013	$1.49 (NA)	Adds three Delivery Challenge Quests that each award the Overlord armor set.
Clipped Wings 1		United States of America July 30, 2013	$2.49 (NA)	Additional story Challenge Quest featuring a battle with Archangels Uriel and Raphael. Completion of this quest unlocks Heralds Uriel and Raphael for fusion.
Snake Scale Equipment		United States of America August 6, 2013	$1.49 (NA)	Adds three Delivery Challenge Quests that each award the Deity Scales armor set.
Clipped Wings 2		United States of America August 6, 2013	$2.49 (NA)	Additional story Challenge Quest featuring a battle with Archangels Gabriel and Michael. Completion of this quest unlocks Heralds Gabriel and Michael for fusion.
Ancient One of the Sun		United States of America August 13, 2013	$2.49 (NA)	Additional story Challenge Quest featuring a battle with Ancient of Days. Completion of this quest unlocks Godly Ancient of Days for fusion.
The Eternal Youth		United States of America August 21, 2013	$2.49 (NA)	Additional story Challenge Quest featuring a battle with Sanat Kumara. Completion of this quest unlocks Chaos Sanat Kumara for fusion.
Radiant Equipment		United States of America August 27, 2013	$1.49 (NA)	Adds three Delivery Challenge Quests that each award the Traje de Luces armor set.
For the Past... For the Future		United States of America August 27, 2013	$2.99 (NA)	Additional story Challenge Quest featuring a timed battle with Masakado. Completion of this quest unlocks Fury Masakado's Shadow for fusion.

Development

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Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning
Japanese	真・女神転生IV Shin Megami Tensei Fō	True Goddess Reincarnation IV
Korean	진 여신전생IV

Gallery

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