Shin Megami Tensei if...

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Shin Megami Tensei if... is a 1994 role-playing game for the Super Famicom, and the third entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series. It was developed and published by Atlus and released on October 28, 1994. A remaster of the game featuring updated graphics and additional music was released for the PlayStation on December 26, 2002.

Shin Megami Tensei if... is a "side-story" to the first Shin Megami Tensei game,[a] but is still officially considered to be part of the mainline series as it shared the same developmental staff.[5][6] The game was later followed-up with Megami Ibunroku Persona, the first game in the Persona series.

To date, Shin Megami Tensei if... has not seen an official release outside of Japan. The Super Famicom version received a fan translation by the group Aeon Genesis and released on October 25, 2018.

Blurb

This begins with one young man. Hazama, a handsome boy possessing genius. He never mingled with the ordinary people, and was always alone. He obtained a Demon Summoning Program and soon came to rule the demon world. He then drew the world into the demon world. To start, he dragged Karukozaka High School, the school you attend, into the demon world. You fell into the world. And then, what you saw...

Synopsis

Karukozaka High School is dragged into the Makai by Ideo Hazama, who has crowned himself the Deity Emperor. The player character partners up with another student and together they collect a series of rings to undo the seal keeping the school trapped in the Expanse. If the player partners up with the hidden character Akira Miyamoto - unlocked on a second playthrough - then they escape through a manhole in the janitor's closet and become trapped in the Tower of Confinement, where Akira's soul is fused with that of Amon, and they must climb to the top of it to defeat Hazama.

Gameplay

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Gameplay is similar to that of Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II, seeing the player traverse 3D dungeons in a first-person perspective, and entering random battles with Demons who can be fought or negotiated with. Shin Megami Tensei if... differs from the previous mainline games in a couple of key ways: notably the lack of freely navigable overworld maps, and the addition of the Guardian system, which later was adapted into the Persona system. Also unlike the previous two games, the player's alignment has no influence on the story, and only limits what demons they can recruit and summon.


In place of the alignment-based progression, the player is able to choose a partner from three characters, each one taking a slightly different path through the game, with Yumi Shirakawa being the default, Reiko Akanezawa adding an extra dungeon and true final boss, and Shinji Kuroi visiting the World of Wrath instead of the World of Envy. Upon completing the game with any character, a fourth partner character, Akira Miyamoto becomes available, whose route contains an entirely unique plot, bosses, and dungeons. This route also possesses unique music in the PlayStation version.

Version Differences

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PlayStation

  • The Akira route has unique themes from the normal routes for battles, demon encounters, and leveling up, the battle theme being based on the theme from Shin Megami Tensei.
  • The soundtrack overall is presented in higher quality using the PlayStation's Sound Processing Unit.

iOS

Listings

Characters

Bosses

Demons

Guardians

Resistance Types

Skills

Items

Equipment

Locations

Development

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Nomenclature

Names in Other Languages
Language Name Meaning
Japanese 真・女神転生if... True Goddess Reincarnation if...

Gallery

Notes

  1. The specific word used in Japanese is "gaiden" (外伝), which can also translate to "spin-off."

References

  1. VC 真・女神転生if.... Retrieved December 3, 2023. nintendo.co.jp.
  2. ATLUS, 真・女神転生if…. Retrieved November 13, 2023. atlusnet.jp.
  3. 真・女神転生if…|Wii U|任天堂. Retrieved November 13, 2023. nintendo.co.jp.
  4. 懐かしの任天堂ハードのゲーム集|真・女神転生if…. Retrieved November 13, 2023. nintendo.co.jp.
  5. Translation: "Although 'Shin SJ' is classified as a 'Gaiden,' like 'Shin if,' it is not as far removed from the world as, for example, 'Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children,' which was created for a younger audience. The relationship between demons and humans is clearly more similar to that of the main series than the other works in the 'Persona' series. Although 'Shin SJ' is a gaiden, it was created by the same staff as the numbered series, so it is not surprising that it is a gaiden. It is therefore positioned as a work included in the history of the '25th anniversary' of the series." MegaTen Maniacs, Nobuyuki Shioda. Published by Atlus. p. 122.
  6. Page description: A chart showing all Megami Tensei franchise games released as of 2017, divided by series. The games Shin Megami Tensei if..., Shin Megami Tensei: Nine, and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey are all listed under the mainline Shin Megami Tensei line, indicating they are part of the mainline series of games. MegaTen Maniacs, Nobuyuki Shioda. Published by Atlus. p. 180.