Kichijoji (Shin Megami Tensei)
Kichijoji is a location in Shin Megami Tensei. It is part of Tokyo and is the Hero's home neighborhood. It is where the game initially begins.
Gameplay
Kichijoji is a section of the Tokyo overworld in 199X. Due to a wide-scale police investigation, Kichijoji is barricaded from the rest of Tokyo. Kichijoji houses several places of interest within, including the Shopping Arcade, a local Hospital, and the Echo Building—the latter two serve as dungeons and are initially inaccessible at the beginning of the game.
Kichijoji is where the Hero's quest initially begins, following a dream where he, the Law Hero, and the Chaos Hero are named and their stats distributed. Over the course of the game, the Hero eventually meets the Law and Chaos Heroes in Kichijoji who join his party.
Places of Interest
Home
The Hero's house, known as Home[a], is where the Hero, his mother, and his pet dog Pascal all live. In the Hero's bedroom, he can choose to access his computer, save the game, or go to sleep and fully recover his HP along with any party members' present with him.
At the beginning of the game, the Hero receives the Demon Summoning Program for his COMP from Stephen's email, as well as help topics on negotiating with Demons. Later, after meeting the Heroine in his dreams, the Hero also receives another email from Stephen with an upgrade for the Automap feature.
Neighbor's House
The Neighbor's House[b] is where the neighboring doctor and his daughter live, immediately next door to the Hero's house. After the events at the Hospital, the daughter disappears and her father asks the Hero to find her, explaining that she had left for Shinjuku and has not been seen since.
Shopping Arcade
- Main article: Shopping Arcade
The Shopping Arcade is a small, indoor mall in central Kichijoji. It contains several retail outlets, most notably equipment stores, a drug store, and a cafe bar. When Demons start appearing in Tokyo, they can also be found inside the Shopping Arcade as well. After the events at the Hospital, the Hero encounters the Chaos Hero here being assaulted by Ozawa and his gang. He joins the party afterwards.
Inogashira Park
Inogashira Park[c] is the local park in southern Kichijoji. After the murder of a high school girl in the park, its entrance is initially barricaded by the police. When Demons start appearing in Tokyo, the barricade is lifted and the Hero meets an old man there. To test the Hero's strength, he sends him along with the Law and Chaos Heroes into a dream where they face Douman in the Echo Building, but are effortlessly defeated by him. The old man warns the Hero to be careful on his next encounter with Douman and disappears, henceforth allowing the Hero to enter Inogashira Park.
The park is the location of the Park Mansion[d], where a Cathedral of Shadows and a Healing Ashram can be accessed.
Kichijoji Station
Kichijoji Station[e] is closed off by the police due to the recent murder in Inogashira Park. It is unknown when the trains will resume service. This location is not present in the Game Boy Advance version of Shin Megami Tensei.
Hospital
- Main article: Hospital (Shin Megami Tensei)
The Hospital is located in southeast Kichijoji, initially locked down. After encountering the Old Man at Inogashira Park, the Hero is arrested by the police and is taken to a holding cell in the Hospital, where he meets the Law Hero and work together in breaking out. It is also where the party meets Stephen in-person, who gives the Hero a Demon Analyze upgrade to his COMP. The Hospital is the game's first dungeon and is where its first boss, Orias, is fought. The Hospital cannot be exited until the boss has been defeated.
Echo Building
- Main article: Echo Building
The Echo Building is located in southern Kichijoji and is the game's second dungeon. It is initially locked and requires an ID Card to access. The building is where a scientist, actually Douman in disguise, has been summoning Demons through a Terminal on the fifth floor. After his defeat, the party are able to use the building's Terminal, connecting them to the Research Lab in Sendagaya.
Encounters
After the Hero meets the Heroine in his dreams, Demons start appearing throughout Kichijoji as random encounters.
| Name | Race | Alignment | Level | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Items
| Item | Location |
|---|---|
| Treasure chest in Park Mansion. | |
| Treasure chest in Park Mansion. |
Game Appearances
Shin Megami Tensei
In his sleep, the Hero has a strange dream where entities introduce him to the Law Hero and Chaos Hero. He also meets Yuriko in his dream, a woman claiming to be his eternal partner. Woken up by his mother's nagging, the Hero checks his computer's email and receives the Demon Summoning Program from a sender named Stephen, claiming that Tokyo is about to be overrun by Demons. That same morning, Kichijoji is placed on lockdown following the murder of a high school girl at Inogashira Park, resulting in the entire neighborhood being completely barricaded off from the rest of Tokyo. While visiting the Shopping Arcade on an errand for his mother, the Hero hears rumors of a man brandishing a knife behind the Shopping Arcade's drug store, implied to be the murderer. When he goes to investigate, the man is revealed to actually be a Preta in disguise, who attacks the Hero before escaping.
Later that night, the Hero has another dream in his sleep where he again meets the Law and Chaos Heroes. They find the soul of the Heroine and save her from being sacrificed. Following the dream, Demons begin appearing throughout Tokyo. The Hero enters Inogashira Park and encounters an Old Man there who cryptically comments that the world's balance is about to collapse. As a test of the Hero's strength, he sends him along with the Law and Chaos Heroes into a dream of the nearby Echo Building. There the trio discover that a scientist has been summoning Demons from the Expanse through a Terminal. He transforms into his true identity Douman and attacks the party, easily defeating them. The Hero wakes up back in Inogashira Park and the Old Man warns him to be cautious on his next encounter with Douman.
While returning home, the Hero is arrested by the police on suspicion of being the Inogashira Park murderer. He is taken to a holding cell in Kichijoji's Hospital where he meets the Law Hero in-person, having also been imprisoned after fighting off Demons. The pair stage a breakout and soon discover the Hospital has also been holding other people captive. They meet Stephen in one of the cells, who explains to them the origins of the Demons and advises they find the director's office to unlock the Hospital exit. Discovering that the director is actually an Orias, they defeat him and unlock the exit.
Following the Hospital's events, the party find the Chaos Hero in the Shopping Arcade being assaulted by Ozawa and his gang. The Chaos Hero joins the party afterwards, determined to enact revenge against Ozawa. The party return to the Hero's house and discover that his mother has been devoured by Amanojaku, whom they defeat and retrieve its ID Card to the Echo Building. Pascal, the Hero's dog, also accompanies the party to the building.
At the Echo Building, the party once again face Douman in battle and triumph over him. Approaching the Terminal, Pascal is teleported by the device and goes missing. The party attempt to follow the dog and are connected to the Research Lab Terminal in Sendagaya where their quest continues.
Trivia
Nomenclature
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
 English
|
Kichijoji | |
 Japanese
|
キチジョウジ Kichijōji | Kichijoji |
吉祥寺 Shin Megami Tensei Character Profile: Steven Report Kichijōji |
Kichijoji | |
Gallery
Notes
- ↑ Japanese: 自宅One's Home, Hepburn Jitaku
- ↑ Japanese: 隣の家House Next Door, Hepburn Tonari no ie
- ↑ Japanese: イノガシラ公園Inogashira Park, Hepburn Inogashirakōen
- ↑ Japanese: イノガシラ公園の館Inogashira Park Pavilion, Hepburn Inogashirakōen no yakata
- ↑ Japanese: 吉祥寺駅Kichijoji Station, Hepburn Kichijōji-eki