History VideoGame / ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne

* EyeScream: In the cutscene in which the Demi-fiend receives the first magatama, it burrows into his body via his eye-socket.

* PeninsulaOfPowerLeveling: The Centre of the Conception and Where the Demifiend was Born, two extra dungeons added to the HD Remaster by the "Mercy and Expectation" DLC. The former has demons that drop bull statues that can be sold as VendorTrash if you need some extra macca. The latter has demons that drop Grimoires, RareCandy items that can help your party level up very quickly.

* EasierThanEasy: The original game only had Normal and Hard. The ''HD Remaster'' introduced Merciful mode, which, among other things, raises your damage output, decreases the damage you take, lowers encounter rate and raises your EXP and Macca gains. You can essentially auto-attack most bosses to death, and even the infamously difficult Matador can be beaten without much trouble. [[ItsEasySoItSucks The hardcore fans were not pleased to learn of its existence.]]

* EnergyWeapon: Divine Shot, Spiral Viper, Freikugel. Also, [[spoiler:Metatron's]] Fire of Sinai attack has him shoot lasers from his eyes.

** Completing the Amala Grave Run will cause an event where a Cereberus appears and will take you to his masters, Izanagi and Izanami. This is a reference to ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory''.

* LongSongShortScene: The world map for the pre-Conception world [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIt_GutBRKo gets its own unique track]], despite the fact you'll probably spend less than a minute there.

* WakeUpCallBoss: Matador again. Up to this point, none of the bosses are too much trouble if you play smart and target elemental weaknesses. Then comes Matador, who serves as a reminder of the strength of buffs and what will happen if you don't use them yourself.

* CasualHighDrop: Dante from the ''Videogame/DevilMayCry'' series has a cameo. One of his first appearances has him leaping from the top floor of the Mantra HQ skyscraper just before engaging the Demi-Fiend in battle. You can jump off the same roof too, but you and your party member's HP is brought down to 1 when you land. Amusingly, if Dante is in your party, [[DevelopersForesight he will not take any damage from the fall]].

** If you decide to recruit Dante, [[spoiler:as one to ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 2'', he has a trick coin that always lands heads]].

* BossBonanza: The Tower of Kagutsuchi has a pool of five bosses: [[spoiler:Ahriman]], [[spoiler:Noah]], [[spoiler:Baal Avatar]], [[spoiler:Kagutsuchi]], and [[spoiler:Lucifer]], with Thor as a miniboss in-between. Which ones you fight depends on the route you take; only one requires you to fight all six of them and, excluding [[spoiler:Lucifer]], only two other routes require you to fight the other five.

* PutOnABus: This is the only numbered ''Shin Megami Tensei'' game that doesn't feature [[GeniusCripple Stephen]].

-->[[spoiler:One more God rejected! Survive the fall from grace! Thou shalt not oppose the wrath of God!]]
** ''Oh dear God are the lyrics to the music ever.'' It's mostly [[JustifiedTrope justified]] too, as a.) it's not actually sung by a human, but rather an early Apple text-to-speech program, and b.) a ''very'' distorted radio filter is on top of the vocals. While there are many examples, the most prominent one is the "I'm the Lord and savior" line in the Fierce Battle theme is almost ''always'' quoted in lyrics as "I'm the bug inside you". It at least makes sense from the perspective of the Demi-Fiend, as there ''is'' a bug inside him. It's also not uncommon for people to misquote the lyrics to the normal battle theme.[[note]]The lyrics to said theme by the way are "My fate is a haunted curse, please I'm just a human being, Effort doesn't [[StealthPun press]] onto me, please make this a real world."[[/note]]

* BodyHorror: Many, many instances. [[spoiler:Chiaki and Isamu]]'s mutations are only the beginning. FridgeHorror kicks Fusion Errors and Sacrificial Fusion into this.

* BribingYourWayToVictory: The [=DLC=] maps were made for the exact purpose of making the Demi-Fiend extremely powerful, or extremely rich, depending on the map.

* GameWithinAGame: The BlockPuzzle game in Asakusa. [[ThatOneSidequest Prepare some aspirin.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* ImperfectRitual: At one point you meet a Baphomet who is preparing a ritual to summon the demon Mara, and a pair of Manikins who are pestering him to hurry up. If you side with the Manikins he'll do a quickened version of the summoning ritual, causing Mara to take the form of a BlobMonster instead of his [[GagPenis true form]].

* SerialKiller: Sakahagi. [[spoiler:The Fourth Kalpa reveals Futomimi was one while alive.]]

* StealthPun: [[spoiler:Metatron's]] animation while casting magic is a shrug. That makes it [[spoiler:a ShrugOfGod.]]

* BoringButPractical: Buff and Debuff skills aren't nearly as flashy as elemental magic, your typical KamehameHadoken, and so on, but there's a reason why "use buffs and debuffs" is considered one of the most important beginner tips for surviving the game.

* DownerBeginning: Less than about 20 minutes into the game, the world ends and begins anew and most of humanity is killed off. Very few other ''SMT'' games go from "click on New Game" to apocalypse in such a short period of time.

** You could say Isamu tries to be one - if you're actually listening to his ''very'' poorly thought out {{The Reason You Suck Speech}}es.]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Kagutsuchi gives one to you if you don't support a Reason. His speech during the True Demon Ending is particularly hateful.

* PeninisulaOfPowerLeveling: The Centre of the Conception and Where the Demifiend was Born, two extra dungeons added to the HD Remaster by the "Mercy and Expectation" DLC. The former has demons that drop bull statues that can be sold as VendorTrash if you need some extra macca. The latter has demons that drop Grimoires, RareCandy items that can help your party level up very quickly.

* EverybodysDeadDave: The only true humans that remain after the conception are Yuko, Chiaki, Isamu, Hikawa, Hijiri [[spoiler:or not in Hijiri's case]] and the protagonist (and even then only partly). Everyone else? If they aren't turned into pure Magatsuhi, they either get reincarnated into Manikins, the Vortex World equivalent of humans, who suffer from muscle spasms and are [[spoiler:unable to make their own Reasons unlike real humans]], or they get reincarnated into Souls, the Vortex World equivalent to ghosts, who are mostly friendly but are still unable to do much, being intangible spirits. [[spoiler:In most of the endings, all of them die too. Since you're not a human anymore, [[HumanitysWake the entire human race has died out]]]].

** And then we have horrors as Amaterasu's [[SignatureMove Godly Light]]. Yay, 80% of everyone's HP just vanished in a single blow! Not satisfied? How about Kagutsuchi's Vast Light and Infinite Light? Metatron's Fire of Sinai? Radiance for the top angels? Thunderclap?

** The hero of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' also was arrested for trespassing and had the option of killing the judge.

** The ritual for summoning Mara shows the four dolls used to open a portal to the Expanse in SMTII, but in the Japanese version, Baphomet is also reciting the names of God that appear in the intro of SMTI (presumably meant to be the Demon Summoning Program's code).
** Completing the Amala Grave Run will cause an event where a Cereberus appears and will take you to his masters, Izanagi and Izanami. This is a reference to Literature/DigitalDevilStory.
** If you decide to recruit Dante, [[spoiler:as one to ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry 2'', he has a trick coin that always lands heads]].

** Later in the game, one of the spirits in the main hospital lobby will say he never heard of a man named [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf Dr. Otsuki]]. Also, the magazine Chiaki is reading at the beginning has an picture of Nova (the virtual fortune-teller from If... whose questionaire will define your character's stat growth).
** The game has a "Beverage Buff" achievement much like ''VideoGame/Persona5''. But it's also a light jab at the tedium of that achievement in its home game -- here, you have a grand total of two working vending machines you can buy drinks from, both before the Conception happens, and they don't affect gameplay at all.

** Isamu. Even his GOD wears it! Not only that, it's even lampshaded in-universe where one of the manikins talks about Isamu for a bit and finishes off with "...That hat bugs me".

** In the other main games, you use portable technology (arm terminals and smartphones in particular) to summon demons. In this game, as a half-demon, there's no need for you to use tech to communicate with and summon demons.
** Unlike the other main games, which have all manners of equipment like body armor, swords, and guns, the only equipment you have are Magatamas.
** Rather than the traditional AlignmentBasedEndings, this one showcases FactionSpecificEndings where you can choose to side with one of three different philosophies, as well as two endings where you side with none and either [[spoiler:leave the Vortex World as is]] or [[spoiler:revert it back]], and an "ultimate" ending where [[spoiler:you become Lucifer's right hand]].

** Before the ''HD Remaster'', it was the only main game that was not available on a Nintendo platform.

** Dante will offer to join your party in the [[BonusLevelOfHell Fifth Kalpa]] for 1 Macca or half of your Macca. It depends on a [[LuckBasedMission coin flip]]... ''except'' if you've played ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'' and know that [[spoiler:he uses a double-sided coin]].

** There's two vending machines in the real world (one in the station, one in the hospital) and if you purchase drinks from both of them you get the "Beverage Buff" achievement. You can only get it before the Conception takes place, otherwise, you'll need a new playthrough for it.

* PointOfNoReturn: Once you enter the final dungeon or [[spoiler:use the elevator at the bottom of the Labyrinth of Amala]], your ending is set in stone.

* PsychologistTeacher: Yuko appears to be the perfect teacher: smart, strong, wise and confident. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, she suffers from crippling self-doubt and gets easily manipulated by both Hikawa and Aradia]].
** [[spoiler:She also naively thinks Aradia will give her a Reason. Problem? Conception gods ''don't'' give Reasons. As in ''at all''. '''''She's''''' the one who has to develop the inner philosophy to create the Reason, but her own self-confidence issues prevent her from doing so, and she is crushed when Hikawa humiliates her at the Diet Building and [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] how she has been doing nothing but run away from one thing or another and being used as Aradia's patsy. She has a HeroicBSOD there and is vaporized shortly after.]]

* RageAgainstTheHeavens: The [[spoiler:"True Demon"]] ending.

* ReforgedIntoAMinion: As per franchise standard, all bosses except Demonic Sponsors, the FinalBoss, the TrueFinalBoss, and a few others can be eventually forcibly recruited into your forces.

* SchmuckBait: In the Labyrinth of Amala, there are these two ghosts that heal you for [[SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity an exceedingly modest fee]]. [[spoiler:They drug you, kick you back to the Kalpa entrance and take a whole lot of your money (in case you thought of using them as a quick warp to a save point).]]

* SecretAIMoves: Plenty, but special mention goes to the extremely common (and extremely cheap) Beast Eye/Dragon Eye moves and their variants. These cost 1MP and give the enemy one and THREE extra turns respectively. It's quite possible to be doing well against a boss only to have them cast Dragon Eye (read: cheat) and slaughter you.
* SelfDestructiveCharge: Several enemies have suicidal explosive abilities. Leaving them to the brink of health will lead them to prefer killing themselves and blowing up as many of your team as they can instead of waiting patiently to die. Sometimes, they even damage their ''allies'' in the process.

* SocialDarwinist: Chiaki develops the vision of a world where beauty and strength are valued and the unworthy are purged, culminating in her Reason of Yosuga.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The final boss music is ''techno''. You'd expect something more orchestral or grandiose considering that [[spoiler:you're fighting an avatar of {{God}}]], though it does serve to underscore just how alien [[spoiler:Kagutsuchi]] is to the world.
** The techno music is actually quite appropriate for [[spoiler:a giant disco ball.]]

* StartOfDarkness: [[spoiler:For Isamu, it's an unused scene when, at Kabukicho Prison, he studies the Amala Drum in his cell and catches a message from Yuko to the Demi-Fiend, asking to be rescued from her imprisonment at the Obelisk. It was the catalyst that drove Isamu into a HeroicBSOD, driving home just how powerless he truly was and refusing contact with the Demi-Fiend, leading to the eventual birth of the Reason of Musubi. For Chiaki, it was her ill-thought assault on Sakahagi, a far deadlier foe and one she was not ready to deal with. She lost an arm during the encounter; the despair she generated managed to attract the dying spirit of Gozu-Tennoh, who acted as her PoisonousFriend in an attempt to create a worthy successor and foil of the Reason of Shijima. This culminated in the recreation of the Reason of Yosuga under Baal Avatar, and the massacre of the Manikins.]]

** Fiends can also pull you into an Alternate Dimension for Boss Battles through some sort of teleportation magic.
* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: Only one of the Reasons is going to be a reality in the end. Additionally, [[spoiler:this is the reason why Chiaki fights you if you sided with Yosuga.]]

* TurnsRed: Usually, when bosses start spamming Dragon Eye, you know they're almost dead.

* {{Ubermensch}}: Demi-fiend is the genuine Nietzschean version of this in every path except the bad ending. The game itself is an allegory to Nietzsche's novel ''Literature/AlsoSprachZarathustra''. This is probably the only straight version of Nietzsche's ideal outside of the novel itself.

** The limited edition of ''Devil Summoner: Raidō Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon'' includes a new version of ''Nocturne'', in which Raidou replaces Dante. [[NoExportForYou It was only released in Japan]] because Sony shot down the idea of porting that edition to the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable for Western audiences early on in the update process.

** Last Resort kills the user and deals almighty damage to everyone, allies included. Friendly fire isn't very welcome in an already tough game.

* ViciousCycle: The Conception itself.

* VoidBetweenTheWorlds: Seen as the Lady in Black explains the Conception. Worlds die in it, and worlds are born from it...

* WakingUpAtTheMorgue: After the Conception and your transformation into the Demi-fiend, you awaken in a hospital room.

* TheWorfEffect: [[spoiler:If you follow the Musubi Ending, you can see Isamu and Noah slowly dying on the floor. Isamu then remarks that he never knew Chiaki could be so strong.]]

* WorldOfHam: After the conception, demons fully embrace the ham.

* XanatosGambit: [[spoiler: Lucifer grants you the power of the Magatama as part of a combat test trial. It really doesn't matter ''what'' you do with it - ''literally anything you do with it'' [[XanatosGambit ends with a net gain for him]]. You go and make sure any of the three main Reasons wins, you prove the product is workable. You leave the Vortex World as-is, you spit on the Great Will's face. You restore the world as was, you spit on the Great Will's face ''and'' he gets a warrior that in due time will fight again against Him. You accept the offer to reach him in the Labyrinth's lowest level, he gets a worthy successor and new general...]]

* YouCantThwartStageOne: Practically the poster child.

** [[spoiler:Isamu]] fits the bill better. [[spoiler:His entire philosophy is based around doing everything by yourself, [[BodyHorror and his transformation is way more freaky than Chiaki's, what with friggin' faces growing out of him]].]]

** The pixie you meet in the medical centre at the start of the game [[TookALevelInBadass takes a level in badass]] if [[spoiler:she (or a demon made from fusing/evolving her) is still in your party when you visit the fifth kalpa of the labyrinth]].
** A couple of demons take huge level jumps when evolving, potentially getting you a couple of difficult-to-find demons for much less effort. The Pixie [[OlderThanTheyThink set a precedent with this]], as after an early evolution to High Pixie, it can jump from level 15 to the level 56 Queen Mab. Even more extreme is the otherwise unspectacular Lillim, who can evolve at level 12 to the level 80 Lillith. While Divine Water will hint these transformations exist, Demi-Fiend has to be within 4 levels of the evolved demon, so it's better to summon a Lillim/High Pixie from the compendium at that point. Of course [[GuideDangIt the game never communicates any of this]].

** Physical builds for the Demi-fiend. Early in the game, physical skills are thin on the ground, sacrificing HP to do more damage is extremely risky, physical attacks can't give extra Press Turns without a lucky critical, and a single resistance/immunity completely neuters damage output. Later in the game, some of the best skills run off physical stats, Pierce can bypass most defences, the HP cost is less of an issue with better healing spells in the party, and a certain combination of these is basically the only way to do more than tickle the TrueFinalBoss.
** Your initial Magatama is a MasterOfNone that can't even be fully mastered at first. That said, complete the BonusDungeon, and it gives you the game's [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity Plus One Skill]], Pierce.

* ManipulativeBastard: [[spoiler:Aradia. She lures Yuko with promises of giving her the power to remake the world and uses her as a pawn in a bid to become real in the new world birthed from the Conception; while supportive, she's not overtly concerned about her well-being and will often use her as an underling without explaining her the exact idea as to why she can't get a Reason from her. You could say Isamu tries to be one - if you're actually listening to his ''very'' poorly thought out {{The Reason You Suck Speech}}es.]] And of course, we can't forget about [[spoiler:Lucifer, or in this case, the blond boy and the old man. He forcibly turns you into a demon, removing your ability to create a Reason, then sends you on a quest to retrieve all of the Menorahs claiming that the Fiends stole them. It's a lie, of course. He gave the Menorahs to the Fiends himself to test if you're strong enough to aid him. Whether he's justified in his manipulations or not is up to you.]]

* TheMultiverse: Notable for being the first of the mainline Shin Megami Tensei-titled game which properly develops the concept instead of vaguely explaining its existence. As the player ventures through the Labyrinth of Amala, the Lady In Black eventually explains the Vortex World is only a single world in the vast river known as the Amala Universe (a fairly misleading translation - see LostInTranslation above), and whatever happens to this Vortex World does not affect billions of other universes outside of it. However, as previous games have implied (particularly ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'' and ''VideoGame/LastBible'') the Amala is ''a'' multiverse (a group of universes), and not ''the'' multiverse (the entirety of ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise). Future games would later reinforce this by showing there are groups of universes unrelated to the Amala (particularly ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' and especially ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'').

** When you enter the Cathedral of Shadows during a new Kagutsuchi with series mascot Cerberus in your party, and the music [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk1c2GrioYo& changes]] to the one used in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI''. You can also do this with Orthrus in the party for the ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' Cathedral music.

** The music used in Ginza was used in towns in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI''. Beelzebub's and Metatron's introduction themes are also the chaos and law themes of the same game.
** The Puzzle Boy music was originally used as the world map music before the missiles hit in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI''. The Fiends battle theme also comes from SMTI.
** The terminal theme is the same as ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'''s terminals.

** Dark Might gives its user guaranteed critical hits on a New Kagutsuchi. Available as soon as you leave the hospital as one of Jack Frost's starting skills. Can turn any boss that isn't resistant to physical attacks in a complete joke, as long as your entire party has the skill and you make sure of fighting during the New Moon. Bright Might, its Full Kagutsuchi parallel, works just as well, but appears slightly later from Bicorn.

** The Demon ending. Nothing changes, leaving the Vortex world in a state of chaos for all eternity. To further rub salt in the wound, [[NoFinalBossForYou God doesn't give you the satisfaction of fighting him out of sheer disgust for your cowardly actions.]]
** The True Demon ending is a subversion as, while the world is completely obliterated and the Demi-fiend casts away his humanity to transform into a complete demon, he does so of his own free will ''and'' becomes Lucifer's top dog for his troubles, so from his perspective, [[ProtagonistCenteredMorality it's actually a good ending]].

** The player himself will become this to Hikawa, [[spoiler:Isamu, or Chiaki]], if you ally with them sending you to focus on remaking the world while they hold down the fort. Hikawa even puts his former Dragon Samael at your command if you join with him. Ditto for the True Demon Ending, where the Demi-Fiend becomes one for [[spoiler:Lucifer]].
** Thor is this to Gozu-Tennoh, and later to [[spoiler:Chiaki if you didn't take that spot already]].

* ExtraTurn: This is the first game to have the Press Turn system, in which extra turns can be gained by exploiting enemy weaknesses. This same game also allows [[SecretAIMoves enemies, and ONLY enemies]], to generate extra turns for themselves with "Eye" skills.

* FisherKing: The various characters manifesting their Reasons changes the overall tone of the environment they're in. This is most noticeable in Mantra HQ, when its interior lighting turns from gold to a silvery blue once Chiaki realizes her Reason of Yosuga.

** In the ''Maniax'' version and the ''HD Remaster'', there are a handful of hints towards the fact that [[spoiler:The Blond Child and The Old Gentleman are both different forms of Lucifer.]]

*** The Blond Child shows a bit too much interest in the Demi-fiend's actions, namely whether or not he'll recreate the world or destroy it entirely, with some notable preference for the latter. [[spoiler: As the cycle of destruction and rebirth is instigated by the Great Will, who Lucifer hates with a burning passion, it makes sense that he'd want to give the Great Will the biggest middle finger he can. And what better way to do that than by messing with the Great Will's chances of creating a world blindly subservient to God?]]

** After beating the Girimehkala Sakahagi summons in Yoyogi Park, he claims to have used up too much power summoning it. Sure enough, datamining reveals he only has 46 MP at a point where random enemies can have nearly twice as much, meaning using even an unbuffed draining skill once will leave him with just his regular attack.

** [[spoiler:Isamu]]. The world he intends to create is based on doing everything by yourself and not relying on others, but he never does anything ''but'' ask for help from others.
** Hikawa too. For a guy supposedly interested in creating a world of stillness and silence, he sure stirs up a lot of chaos and disorder. (e.g. causing The Conception, stirring up and participating in a war between the Mantra and his own followers, the riot at Yoyogi Park, etc.) He's also very ''passionate'' about his vision for a passionless world. [[spoiler:If you follow the Reason of Shijima, he flat-out admits that he is just the ''baptist'' of the Reason of Shijima and that the Demi-Fiend is the true creator. His deity, Ahriman, god of the void who supposedly wants a world of stillness, initially treats the fight like a game, and once he starts losing, he loses his marbles and goes AxCrazy in an effort to kill you.]]
** Chiaki along with the other Reason seekers. [[spoiler:She winds up nearly failing to survive according to her own survival of the fittest philosophy, and only becomes powerful through the intervention of a demon that likewise was nearly destroyed. Further, in spite of her obsession with beauty, her transformation leaves her looking quite deformed by human standards...]].

** [[spoiler:Noah]] is one of the only two enemies in the game (the other being the TrueFinalBoss) to be resistant to almighty attacks. This is on top of being a BarrierChangeBoss.

* KillTheOnesYouLove: Most prevalent in any of the non-Reason endings, [[spoiler:where you put down Baal Avatar and Noah to prevent Chiaki and Isamu respectively from enacting their mad idea of paradise. However, you still have to go at least against one of them even when you agree with one of them.]]

* OneWingedAngel: The [[spoiler:three Reason]] bosses. The most notable of them is Baal Avatar, who is both aligned with the angels and has one large wing.
** Before these, [[spoiler:Chiaki]] and [[spoiler:Isamu]] both undergo transformations to power themselves up.
** In a more straight example, [[spoiler:Kagutsuchi transforms into a giant head for his second form.]]

** Taken into a broader context (i.e. the other ending possibilities), the three main Reasons fall under "Law." Yosuga is the "tyranny" aspect of Law and populated with holier-than-thou angels, the World of Stillness is the "mechanical perfection" aspect of Law and the World of Isolation is the "distant, impersonal" aspect of Law. All three are created by buying into the reason the world was blown up in the first place--in other words, playing through the avenues of fate set up by the Great Will. The Freedom and Demon endings are created by defying the rules. Quite ironically, Shijima, the closest to absolute Law, has Ahriman, a Tyrant (Dark-Chaos), as its champion. Musubi has Noah, a Vile (Dark-Law), and Yosuga has Baal Avatar, a Deity (Light-Law).

** Mot sometimes takes the above-mentioned cheat skills to [[UpToEleven its logical conclusion]]: at any time, it can begin to chain-cast "Beast Eye" while spamming Megidolaon and Makakaja, over and over and over. And then you die. (Found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=IT&hl=it&v=x5yjAjTibT8 here]])

** The battle against Samael (you fight him in a warped version of the Diet Building stained glass room, ''which keeps spinning impossibly on an invisible axis'') really stands out, though.
** The Fiend dimension to which you keep getting sucked to also counts, a red, barren strip of land under an eternally raging sky.

* BossBonanza: The Tower of Kagutsuchi has a pool of five bosses ([[spoiler:Ahriman, Noah, Baal Avatar, Kagutsuchi, and Lucifer]]) and a miniboss (Thor). Which ones you fight depends on the route you take, though only one requires you to fight all six of them and, excluding [[spoiler:Lucifer]], only two other routes require you to fight the other five.

** Inverted with Mithra; he normally reflects Physical attacks, but he does not have this immunity when you fight him.

** You get 65535 experience points after beating [[spoiler:Lucifer]]. This was the maximum amount of XP you could earn per battle in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' because of the variable type that was used in the game.
** Dante uses the same coin when playing Heads or Tails that he did in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'', [[spoiler:meaning if you pick heads, you always win the gamble.]]

* AbandonedHospitalAwakening: Not ten minutes into the game, you got implanted with a parasite that burrowed through your eye by an entity implied to be Chaos incarnate, slipping in and out of consciousness, before waking up to find yourself a demonic HalfHumanHybrid in the aforementioned AbandonedHospital implied to serve as the base of an ApocalypseCult. You wake up in the morgue, by the way.

* AbandonedHospitalAwakening: Not ten minutes into the game, you waken to find yourself a demonic HalfHumanHybrid in an AbandonedHospital implied to serve as the base of an ApocalypseCult. After being implanted with a parasite that burrowed through your eye by an entity implied to be Chaos incarnate. Oh, and you wake up in the morgue.

A third UpdatedRerelease, titled ''Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster'', released October 29, 2020 in Japan, and on May 25, 2021 worldwide, for UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch, UsefulNotes/PlayStation4 and UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows via UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}. It is primarily based on the ''Chronicle Edition'', with Raidou included as the GuestFighter by default. However the game also has a purchasable "Maniax Pack" [[DownloadableContent DLC]] to replace Raidou with Dante instead. The Steam version also reworks Raidou as free DLC and adds an option to play the original release of the game without the additions from the ''Maniax'' version.

* AbsurdlyHighLevelCap: You'll probably be in the 70's by the end of the game. The cap is 99... on the stat sheet. The ''actual'' level cap is 255. Your character hits 99 and just keeps going. Abusing this is the only way to master all the magatama, especially as the moves they impart have a minimum level cap to unlock.

* AllMythsAreTrue: Demons take the form of gods and other beings from a variety of real world religions.

* ApocalypseHow: The Earth is destroyed at the beginning with the Conception. [[spoiler:If God continues to have his way, he intends for a endless cycle of destruction and recreation of ''multiple'' universes within the Amala until all free will is completely gone.]] The Demi-fiend ''can'' [[spoiler:reverse Earth's destruction]] in one ending... or he can [[spoiler:destroy the entire universe and prevent countless others from being recreated by killing Kagutsuchi DeaderThanDead]] in another.

* BlindIdiotTranslation: An odd case through the fanbase side of things, the ever popular common Boss Battle theme has been titled by several fan uploads as ''Fierce Battle'' for years despite the soundtrack never having an official english release back then, its official Japanese name is 強制戦闘 (Kyousei Sentou) which means ''Forced Battle'', yet the "Fierce Battle" mistranslation was quite spread out.

** Mot sometimes takes the above mentioned cheat skills to [[UpToEleven its logical conclusion]]: at any time, it can begin to chain-cast "Beast Eye" while spamming Megidolaon and Makakaja, over and over and over. And then you die. (Found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=IT&hl=it&v=x5yjAjTibT8 here]])

** The map is the triangle button, while the menu is the square button. In other series you might expect the menu to be on the triangle with the map perhaps on the start or select buttons.

* DemotedToExtra: The classic Law and Chaos factions such as the Messians and Cult of Gaia, which are a major part of previous and future ''SMT'' installments, have surprisingly little involvement in the plot of ''Nocturne'', although Gozu-Tennoh [[spoiler:and later Chiaki]] could be considered the game's representatives for Chaos. It's stated in-game and by the spirits in the Labyrinth of Amala's Second Kalpa that the Cult and Messians battled each other at Yoyogi Park, but were wiped out thanks to Hikawa's mechanations.

** If you have conversation skills on certain demons and have them interact with with demons that they are canonically linked with you can get some [[https://youtu.be/6elodbFQd6w special dialogue unique to that pairing]]. One example of this would be having the Archangels speak with any of the lesser angels.

* DubNameChange: The original [=PS2=] localisation renamed the Menorahs as "Candelabra" (the broader classification of candle holders menorahs fall under), likely to avoid the landmine of Western audiences hearing that [[spoiler:Lucifer]] is handing out Jewish iconography to multiple demons to encourage them to fight each other. The ''HD Remaster'', however, reverts to the original intended name.

* EasierThanEasy: The original game only had Normal and Hard. The ''HD Remaster'' introduced Merciful mode, which, among other things, raises your damage output, decreases the damage you take, lowers encounter rate and raises your EXP and macca gains. You can essentially auto-attack most bosses to death, and even the infamously difficult Matador can be beaten without much trouble. [[ItsEasySoItSucks The hardcore fans were not pleased to learn of its existence.]]

* EvilVersusEvil: By the end of the game, the only major character left standing who can unquestionably be called good is [[spoiler:a Freedom-aligned Demi-fiend. Chiaki is a vicious social darwinist who wants to purge the weak, Isamu murders Hijiri in cold blood and would create a world of absolute isolationism, Hijiri himself becomes obsessed with power and knowledge and is implied to have been willing to commit the exact same crimes Isamu did had he been given the chance, Hikawa and even Takao are willing to blow up the universe to create their new world, Kagutsuchi wants to keep resetting this world (and countless others) until at least one is populated with mindless slaves of God, Lucifer's solution to the whole crisis is to destroy the system and potentially everything else along, a Demi-fiend aligned with any of the three Reasons or with Lucifer is willing to commit the same crimes as they are, and a Demi-fiend aligned with nobody is a DirtyCoward too weak-willed to see any vision for the world through.]]

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Following up from the Sakahagi example above, he apparently used up all his power trying to summone a demon, which translates to his embarassingly low MP count. Not once does the player ever come across such an issue when summoning demons in battle.

* HeadsOrTails: [[GuestFighter Dante]] retains this quirk from the second ''VideoGame/{{Devil May Cry|2}}'' game. He can be recruited for one macca if you know about [[spoiler:the TwoHeadedCoin.]]

** Raidou himself is as silent as the Demi-fiend, as his cat companion Gotou speaks on his behalf for most part.

** Skill wise, there's Pierce, which is one of the main reasons why physical builds are so powerful. It allows any physical attack to pierce through all enemy defenses for everything, except for reflects, which can make the Demi-fiend's HP-powered KamehameHadoken skills very powerful, especially when paired with Focus. You can get it by leveling up your first Magatama after completing the BonusDungeon, and if you want it on your demons, you'll need to get it from a special demon from a Shady Broker who resides behind a door that you can only open with Metatron (who's level 95).

* KillTheOnesYouLove: Most prevalent in the any of the non-Reason endings, [[spoiler:where you put down Baal Avatar and Noah to prevent Chiaki and Isamu respectively from enacting their mad idea of paradise. However, you still have to go at least against one of them even when you agree with one of them.]]

** Dante will offer to join your party in the [[BonusLevelOfHell Fifth Kalpa]] for 1 macca or half of your macca. It depends on a [[LuckBasedMission coin flip]]... ''except'' if you've played ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry2'' and know that [[spoiler:he uses a double-sided coin]].

** There's two vending machines in the real world (one in the station, one in the hospital) and if you purchase drinks from both of them you get the "Beverage Buff" achievement. You can only get it before the Conception takes place, otherwise you'll need a new playthrough for it.

* RedemptionDemotion: Recruited demons always join as the lowest level possible, making them forget skills they possessed normally; bosses fused have a fraction of the HP they normally have. Additionally there are several skills like Dragon Eye that you can never use.

* UselessUsefulSpell: Averted for most part. You're cruising for a bruising if you don't use [[StatusBuff buffs]] and debuffs during boss fights, and ailments can regularly come in handy with some tricky random encounters and even a few boss fights. That said...