History VideoGame / ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse

** Strength got rescued from its DumpStat status due to Physical skills now using Strength as the defining stat instead of Dexterity.

* SequelDifficultyDrop:
** While it still has its moments where carelessness and underpreparedness can get you killed, it's not as [[EarlyGameHell "kill you right out of the gate"]] as its predecessor. Additionally, the easy difficulty is available right off the bat and doesn't [[EasyModeMockery humiliate the player for it]] ''and'' there's free DLC that unlocks an EasierThanEasy difficulty, continuing after dying comes at no charge making death even more of [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist a slap on the wrist]], and your computer-controlled partners can be chosen and are less prone to [[ArtificialStupidity stupid]] moments that benefit enemies.
** Zig-zagged in that the boss fights in Apocalypse are harder than in ''IV'' due to the removal of ArtificialStupidity on both sides, higher MP costs and a severe lack of MP-recovery items, demons now having skill affinities (meaning you'll actually ''need'' to use the SquishyWizard types for some fights), the changes to Smirk status, various apps being tied to player level (such as MP regeneration, which means successive encounter battles can end a player low on MP), and more. In comparison to ''IV'', Apocalypse's difficulty remains even throughout the game, whereas ''IV'' was criticized for having a punishing start before a massive decline in difficulty once the player reached Tokyo. And unlike in ''IV'', the player can purchase an app that causes enemies 5 levels or more below the player to ignore them, meaning any random encounter that ''does'' pursue the player is an actual fight.

* ArmorPiercingAttack: The "pierce" modifier, bestowed by certain passives, skills or conditions, turns the relevant attacks into these. Unlike instances of pierce in previous games, piercing attacks in this game ignore ''all'' types of resistances, including reflecting shields.

** Pierce has been upgrated to bypass ''reflection''. This means your demons that can pierce with their moves can now spam said moves all day every day without fear of being HoistByTheirOwnPetard.

** Now that every demon has their own skill affinities that can give anywhere between 10% and 50% MP discount on skills, the MP costs of several powerful skills have become inflated to encourage people to use them on the right demons. Notably, skills like Debilitate and Doping went from costing a base 50 MP to 100 MP, making them prohibitively expensive to use on any demon without affinity for support skills. MP recovery items also heal much less than they used to in ''IV'' - your best MP restoration item only refills a static 150 MP instead of all MP.

* SequelDifficultyDrop: While it still has its moments where carelessness and underpreparedness can get you killed, it's not as [[EarlyGameHell "kill you right out of the gate"]] as its predecessor. Additionally, the easy difficulty is available right off the bat and doesn't [[EasyModeMockery humiliate the player for it]] ''and'' there's free DLC that unlocks an EasierThanEasy difficulty, continuing after dying comes at no charge making death even more of [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist a slap on the wrist]], and your computer-controlled partners can be chosen and are less prone to [[ArtificialStupidity stupid]] moments that benefit enemies.

** King Frost. He is the first real boss a player faces in the game (that isn't [[HopelessBossFight hopeless]] in any degree) and will butcher the unprepared. While the game gives you a head start with a tutorial on assist attacks (thereby effectively skipping his first turn), you're on your own after that, and one of the first few things he does is use Smile Charge, which not only neutralizes his fire weakness, but also causes his [[SignatureMove King Bufula]] to crit ''and'' apply a defense debuff to the party. This serves as a reminder on the importance of buffs and preparing specifically for bosses, as the game does provide a means to counter his Smile Charge if the player is diligent with fusing and recruiting.

* WasOnceAMan: The DLC involving Mikado has the entire kingdom turn into demons. [[spoiler:In a twist, it's revealed that them and their ancestors from the Cocoons were part of the angels experiments, revealing that the reason they turn into demons in the previous game is that they all have the Demon Gene.]]

* WhatTheHellHero: When you're summoned to Cafe Florida for a hearing with Fujiwara and Skins [[spoiler:due to being the one who unsealed the Divine Powers, you're treated to the ''very'' hateful words of fellow Hunters who are, to say the least, not pleased with your actions. After all, even if you were [[ButThouMust forced by Dagda]] to unseal the gods, what's to say that you can be trusted with anything else significant if he can just hijack your body again to do his bidding at the expense of the people of Tokyo? Fortunately, the two leaders are a lot more forgiving and willing to give you a second chance if you swear an oath. You can also tell Fujiwara and Skins exactly what you think of them... but outside of earning some Chaos karma points and praise from Skins, the result is the same.]]

->''"Imagine there's no heaven''
->''It's easy if you try''
->''No hell below us''
->''Above us only sky''
->''Imagine all the people''
->''Living for today"''
-->-- '''Lyrics to [[Music/JohnLennon Imagine]]'''

* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: [[spoiler:If Nanashi was a NiceGuy and chooses the Massacre Route, the game punishes you by having Navarre ''destroy all your consumable items that you currently have.'' You don't get them back after killing your partners just to hammer the point in.]]

** During the battle against [[spoiler: Merkabah]], the Hunters decide to charge at him midway through. Naturally, [[spoiler: Merkahbah]] responds by killing them effortlessly one by one. You're given three options during this, and one of the options is to tell the Hunters to stop charging at him, invoking this reaction and causing the Hunters to accuse Nanashi of being on [[spoiler: Merkabah's]] side. (One of them even throws a rock at you...). Ironically, this mistaken gratitude for betrayal disgusts [[spoiler: Merkabah]] so much that ''his Defense drops one stage'', making this one of the better options to choose.

'''Warning:''' Spoilers from ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'', especially its Neutral route, [[LateArrivalSpoiler will not be marked]]. Please tread carefully.

->''"Imagine there's no heaven''
->''It's easy if you try''
->''No hell below us''
->''Above us only sky''
->''Imagine all the people''
->''Living for today"''
-->-- '''Lyrics to [[Music/JohnLennon Imagine]]'''

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: The game features moon phases, but rather than being a repeating cycle like in past games, each of the eight moon phases (New Moon, 1/8 Moon, 2/8 Moon, etc), as well as [[spoiler:the Misoka Moon phase at the end of the game]], acts as a story chapter.

** [[spoiler:The Mastema from IV does not appear at, and all thatps revealed about him is that he's a mass produced Herald in YHVH's Universe like the lesser Heralds and Metatron. While he's still a special fusion, he has no plot role]].

* TheBigBadShuffle: Merkabah and Lucifer at first both appear to be the main villains at the same time, due to the game's message thae BothOrderAndChaosAreDangerous. However, one visit by Nanashi to the Ark later, the Divine Powers threaten to force-assimilate humanity into a new universe, forcing an [[EnemyMine ad hoc alliance]] between humanity, Merkabah, and Lucifer to stop them (and it's clear they're [[TeethClenchedTeamwork only working together as much as needed]] so they can get back to kicking each other's butts afterwards). [[spoiler:After they're apparently disposed of, the two Monotheists are once again the main villains...but defeating them allows the Divine Powers, who had faked their defeats to do a mass SoulSteal on humanity while they were caught up in the moment after Merkabah's and Lucifer's defeats. After they're taken care of for good, the game shines the spotlight on the true BigBad: YHVH.]]

* TheBigBadShuffle: Merkabah and Lucifer at first both appear to be the main villains at the same time, due to the game's message thae BothOrderAndChaosAreDangerous. However, one visit by Nanashi to the Ark later, the Divine Powers threaten to force-assimilate humanity into a new universe, forcing an [[EnemyMine ad hoc alliance]] between humanity, Merkabah, and Lucifer to stop them (and it's clear they're [[TeethClenchedTeamwork only working together as much as needed]] so they can get back to kicking each other's butts afterwards]]. [[spoiler:After they're apparently disposed of, the two Monotheists are once again the main villains...but defeating them allows the Divine Powers, who had faked their defeats to do a mass SoulSteal on humanity while they were caught up in the moment after Merkabah's and Lucifer's defeats. After they're taken care of for good, the game shines the spotlight on the true BigBad: YHVH.]]

* TheBigBadShuffle: Merkabah and Lucifer at first both appear to be the main villains at the same time, due to the game's message thae BothOrderAndChaosAreDangerous. However, one visit by Nanashi to the Ark later, the Divine Powers threaten to force-assimilate humanity into a new universe. [[spoiler:After they're apparently disposed of, the two Monotheists are once again the main villains...but defeating them allows the Divine Powers, who had faked their defeats to do a mass SoulSteal on humanity while they were caught up in the moment after Merkabah's and Lucifer's defeats. After they're taken care of for good, the game shines the spotlight on the true BigBad: YHVH.]]

* TheBigBadShuffle: Merkabah and Lucifer at first both appear to be these at the same time, due to the game's message thae BothOrderAndChaosAreDangerous. However, one visit by Nanashi to the Ark later, the Divine Powers threaten to force-assimilate humanity into a new universe. [[spoiler:After they're apparently disposed of, the two Monotheists are once again the main villains...but defeating them allows the Divine Powers, who had faked their defeats to do a mass SoulSteal on humanity while they were caught up in the moment after Merkabah's and Lucifer's defeats. After they're taken care of for good, the game shines the spotlight on the true BigBad: YHVH.]]

* NonStandardGameOver:
** Naturally, refusing Dadga's offer at the beginning enough times results in this.
** This also occurs if you try to side with the Divine Powers early on by going into Tsukiji Hongwanji/[[SpellMyNameWithAnS Konganji]] through the front door instead of sneaking in.

* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Even more than the last game. Whenever Nanashi dies, Dagda can revive him no strings attached and can then pick up where he left off. A stark contrast to Flynn having to bribe Charon each time he died. [[spoiler: Except in the Cosmic Egg. Save, save, save!]]

''Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse'' (''Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final'' in Japan) is a [[AfterTheEnd Post-Apocalyptic]] UrbanFantasy RPG in the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' franchise, developed by Creator/{{Atlus}} for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. As the title implies, it is a direct sequel to ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'', and begins at what is considered the endgame for the neutral route of that game.

* InformedAbility: Asahi and Hallelujah are the only party members that summon demons to fight in battle. Isabeau, Noizomi, and Gaston are said to be able to do the same [[spoiler: and make note of the fact that they could not when the Tokugawa Mandala is in place]], but never do. [[TropesAreNotBad Luckily, this means that ]] [[BadassNormal the latter trio's combat abilities are not hampered in the slightest]] [[spoiler: when the Mandala is in place.]]