Line #98 Headscratchers/DevilSurvivor


1	* Haru will die if monsters attack her, yet if you get a human thug's HP down to 0, he just runs away. Maybe it has to do with proximity of the COMP? (Haru's share of damage is minimized by you guys holding [=COMPs=] relatively near her. The thugs are holding [=COMPs=] themselves...)
2	** The party members aren't attempting to kill the thugs, just hurt them enough for them to give up their [=COMPs=]. The demons are explicitly attempting to kill Haru.
3	** Also, it is explicitly said that people without [=COMPs=] are MUCH more fragile that people with them.
4	* Wouldn't most of day 3 be avoided if MC and co just asked Midori to team up in the first place?
5	** Maybe, but that's assuming they could've kept Midori reined in -- considering her initial mindset, that's a ''big'' if. It takes a ''lot'' to get her to even ''consider'' other people's points of view. It'd be a full-time job keeping her from scampering off the instant you didn't live up to her standard of 'real heroes', ''and'' she'd be drawing all that hatred down on ''your'' heads from the start. Besides, they've got the whole YourDaysAreNumbered issue to deal with, and aren't exactly eager to pull others into ''that''. At least this way, she has some chance of avoiding being TheScrappy through CharacterDevelopment...
6	*** Agreed. Midori becomes completely delusional when she gets her hand on a COMP. The illusion she has is completely shattered when the very people she's trying to protect attempt to kill her. It's then, and only then, that she becomes reasonable again.
7	* Why did Naoya give [=COMPs=] to Gin and Keisuke? What part of his plan did they fit into exactly?
8	** Given that Naoya created the Laplace Mail, he's good at predicting what people are going to do. So this troper's guess is that he expected Gin & Keisuke to do exactly what they did: Have you collect information about [[spoiler: Aya]] (Gin), and help you survive (Keisuke).
9	* Yuzu uses "borked" at the start of day 6. Isn't she supposed to be computer illiterate?
10	** It's just slang, isn't it? She already uses LeetLingo; doesn't seem out of the question that she's heard "borked" before and picked it up. She's not describing anything beyond "Dang, it's broken, huh?"
11	*** ''Internet'' slang.
12	*** ...So? Yuzu uses the Internet; it's not unreasonable that she'd have picked that much up. Just because she's Atsuro's [[TheWatson Watson]] doesn't mean she's completely ''incapable'' of using or enjoying computers. You don't have to be a {{Geek}} to use slang, right?
13	*** Specially since all her e-mails are in leet speak.
14	*** Borked isn't internet slang. It's a generic slang for when someone messes up really bad.
15	* What happened to Honda at the end of the game? I know what happens to him in [[spoiler: Yuzu's route, wherein he goes insane.]] But what does he do in the other endings?
16	** On Gin's route (and possibly others), there is a time event battle where Honda [[spoiler: tries to break through the lockdown barricade with his demons]]. There seems to be a few choices you can make in this mission; I decided to [[spoiler: attack Honda and break his COMP]]. This just made him [[spoiler: run off, like most disarmed human enemies]], and it's unclear what happens to him after that.
17	*** Isn't that the timed battle agains angels, demons or both, before fighting Belial? The one before any routes are chosen? This makes it true in all routes (if you do defeat him there and take his comp, something not needed but that makes the battle easier), meaning he gets another one in Yuzu's route - and possibly on the others too.
18	*** If you beat all the demons and angels, but not him then the SDF will reinforce the barricade, he runs away, and you don't see him again.
19	*** Actually, after the battle, I saw him talking to [[spoiler: Loki]] and the two were obviously planning ''something'', but I never found out what.
20	*** I saw the same thing. SequelHook? Maybe? We never learn if his son's death in the Escape route is canon either, but then, we don't know if any of the routes are.
21	*** I think that his [[spoiler: son's death]] happens no matter what. He tries to go on the rampage in all routes, but only in Yuzu's route can his COMP summon when he's out.
22	** In Amane's route on the 8th day in Overclocked, Honda tries to escape with a COMP with help from Susano-O and we disarm him and he escapes. You bump into him later and he reluctantly gives you advice about Cain. He then explains that his son died during the lockdown, and he's very depressed. You thank him for the info, and he just kinda walks away. That's pretty much what happens with Honda, at least in Amane's route.
23	** Same in [=Naoya/Kaido=]'s route on the 8th day in Overclocked; he's still in the lockdown and you are able to get him to spread propaganda about how the angels are at fault for the whole lockdown in the first place and that the people should be wary of his promise to let them free if they bring him the Overlord. If you go to a timed event in Sunset Boulevard, you see him doing just that, and the people listen to him and believe in him before they decide to lie low.
24	* I got the Overlord/Chaos Ending, the only player character I ''know'' died was Keisuke, and my end party was Atsuro, Naoya, Kaido, and Mari. The only people I actually saw in the ending were Atsuro, Naoya, Midori, Kaido, and Yuzu (Mari is [[ChuckCunninghamSyndrome conspicuously absent]], probably because it's a route she wasn't specifically meant for and it didn't make that much sense for her to be in), but would is be safe to assume the other characters all at least survived?
25	** I got Overlord, saved Keisuke and got Black Frost. Mari makes a comment about how she wants to protect Tokyo in the final battle, as well as a chat with Kaido about how she wants to protect the people she loves and then has a more bland "You've really become the overlord." thing at the end, together with Black Frost who says something like "Now I get to be a powerful demon general! Hee-Ho!".
26	* What if someone in the lockdown happened to know smoke signals? What about flying demons, how do you prevent them from leaving the lockdown short of a giant globe?
27	** Antiaircraft batteries?
28	*** [[SarcasmMode Subtle.]]
29	** Helicopters are mentioned at some point.
30	** The Angels can fly too, and it's possible that some of the flying demons might feel happier sticking with corrupting mortals and/or waiting for their masters to show up so that they can severely outgun the angels.
31	** Honda mentions wanting to fly out of the lock down using a demon, but never attempts it, probably because of the aforementioned helicopters.
32	* Doesn't it bother anyone that the angels said that God would only take Mankind's freedom if it ''failed'' the ordeal, yet he does the same thing when you become his messiah, only with you as a middleman?
33	** That's the SMT God for you. And even then that's nicer than He usually is, since He didn't explicitly wipe out anyone not willing to follow him.
34	** Another interpretation is that, when you became the Messiah, God gave ''you'' the right to rule and guide humanity. Which would mean that ''you'' went all KnightTemplar on humanity instead.
35	** And yet another interpretation of the ending is that humanity didn't lose it's rights to free will, but because of kind leadership, everyone pretty much universally decided to be good. The fact that actually ''knowing'' that there are demons, a hell, and a God probably made a good deal of people jump into the Good sides boat as well.
36	*** It seems to be more of the angels calling for a harsher line with humanity, but the game ending makes it very clear that humanity isn't acting good out of kind leadership. Humanity is acting good out of terror of what will happen if they don't.
37	*** It's primary reference to humanity acting out of fear is the phrase "Fear of God," or something similar, which is considered a good thing by certain Christian groups (i.e. "So-and-so is a god-fearing individual")
38	*** That's a distinction without a difference. SMT more or less returns to the Old Testament roots when it comes to God, with a side order of {{Deconstruction}}. The God of the Old Testament wasn't someone you obeyed just because it was the right thing to do, or even because you'd get to go to Heaven instead of Hell, but because he'd turn you into a pillar of salt for the slightest disobedience if he was in a bad mood. Even in Devil Survivor, where he's less of an outright dick, in the Lawful ending you're taking on the role of "the absolute judge of mankind's sins." That's not a sunshine and rainbows job, that's a DarkMessiah.
39	** And I'll offer an additional interpretation, one which is even more confusing: God's actual opinion is never actually mentioned anywhere in the game. In fact, conversations seem to imply that it was the ''angels'' who wanted to take away Mankind's freedom, and God only set the trial up to appease the angels. By becoming the Messiah, it's not necessarily God you're aligning with, but the angels.
40	*** Yeah, but if the final email doesn't come from Metatron, then something ridiculous is going on, and Metatron is the Voice of God. Also, M comments on your decision, whatever it is, and holds no malice towards you if you take the King of Demons route. The angels, by contrast, ''do'' pass judgement on your decision if you try it, so M can't be speaking for the Angels in King of Demons, and therefore he isn't speaking for them in King of Saints.
41	** Becoming the Messiah ''is'' failing the test. Humanity had the opportunity to prove that they could be trusted to rule themselves. Instead, the MC ''chose'' to bring humanity under God's control. The only way for humanity to "succeed" in the Ordeal is to ScrewDestiny and TakeAThirdOption (Gin's or Atsuro's routes). The Overlord (Naoya's route) and Belberith (Yuzu's) also fail in the Ordeal, but they also become too powerful for God to overcome, forcing God to leave humanity in the bed that it's made for itself.
42	* It always bugs me that the party destroys any extra [=COMPs=] they get right from the beginning. Sure, it makes perfect sense once they're a few days in and can see how terribly COMP usage can go wrong, even by people who have the best intentions, but during the first couple of days you'd think they'd be glad to have a few extra that they could hand out to people like, say, that nice cop you run into during... I think it was the first save the citizen battle before you send him off to try and protect people for you without anything to help him stand a chance against the demons.
43	** Well, yes, redistributing [=COMPs=] to people you can trust is a good idea, but remember, you have to forge your first contract by [[DefeatMeansFriendship defeating the first demon the COMP summons]]. Not something most people would be keen on doing, and if you hand [=COMPs=] out during a combat situation, it could arguably make things worse.
44	** You pick up the [=COMPs=] that lie on the ground in red squares. You pick up a couple in the first red square fight very early on: this is where you get the one that Midori swipes. I think you also get the conversation choice 'Do you have a COMP?'/'Do you want a COMP?' with Gin during Day 4. Therefore, by this point, it appears you've got a couple of spare [=COMPs=], and you are willing to share them with any survivors who are both sane and smart (that's just Hero, Atsuro and Gin, more or less). The party destroys any extra ones they find. It's possible that demons controlled by [=COMPs=] taken from others don't obey the user (one COMP per person for example) so it's dangerous to keep them.
45	* Why is it an automatic game over if someone dies in the escort mission? Couldn't you just use a Recarm on them?
46	** Maybe it only works within your team, since the [=COMPs=] are assuming that people not on your team=enemies. After all, you probably wouldn't want to accidentally revive someone who wants to murder your guts.
47	*** In that case, why can you use the other healing skills/demon abilities on people not on your team?
48	*** My best guess is, in essence, the [=COMP=] has a backup saved and ready to be restored, so that its user or those in its user's party can be revived to the state they were in before battle began. Other people don't get their statuses saved to the party's backup, so it's impossible for the [=COMP=] to know that they weren't always a pile of ash, for example. For other healing skills, it has a basic reference on how the target's species is supposed to work, and can keep someone alive -it's easier to mend a bone than to revive a dead brain.
49	* Who the hell is Metatron anyway? Did I missed something in the game? I only did Naoya's route and if I understood correctly he's the one who sends you a mail at the end?
50	** Like a lot of SMT demons, he's from Judeo-Christian mysticism, so [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metatron Wikipedia is your friend on this one]]. Essentially, the Voice of God.
51	* Alright Mari, that cannot summon demons and has pitiful stats even after her Demo...er, AngelicPossession, sets off to kill Kudlak.And the MC's gang entrusts the only thing that can get him KilledOffForReal to her.Couldn't she just give the "powder" to MC?
52	** For some reason that's never really explained but has to do with the mythology it is has to be Kresnik who delivers the finishing blow.
53	** Pitiful stats? What version of Mari were ''you'' using? She's got more move than Yuzu and more magic than Midori. She's pretty much the best all-round caster in the game besides a specially built MC.
54	*** They're probably referring to Mari when she fights Kudlak, at that point her stats are pretty weak. It isn't exactly explained why she's much stronger in the routes where she joins your party.
55	** Plus, at the point where she fights Kudlak, ''she didn't have a COMP''. She gets one later on, if/when she joins up with you, but before then, she wasn't exactly in the best position to stand against demons, Kresnik or no Kresnik. Just being within range of ''your'' [=COMPs=] offers some protection, as they figured out with Haru early on, but she didn't have any experience, demons or skills of her own.
56	* On Day 2, right after chasing the policeman into the park, the demons are killed by Amane when she summons a Lakshmi, who the other [=NPCs=] claim "can't be a demon, it's a beautiful goddess". It's particularly jarring in NG+, as you can fuse Lakshmi by endgame, and it's not [[OnlyOne Unique]], meaning you could, if you so wanted, have an entire team of Lakshmi {{Mons}}. And yet people still fear and persecute you for taming demons.
57	** It helps that she's dressed like the same people that have been both telling people this would happen and (the ones not in the know AKA the lower grunts) who have also been trying to help the ordinary people with shelter at the park when not preaching to them.
58	* How the hell are you supposed to search for images of the main character on [[http://www.pixiv.net/ Pixiv]]? The one constant tag I see on images of him is "デビルサバイバー", but that means "Devil Survivor" and doesn't necessarily refer to the protagonist. (And no, don't say Danbooru or Gelbooru. Those sites don't have as many images.)
59	** That's...really the only tag you can see him in, unfortunately. You can type "shujinkou" (主人公), which is "protagonist", but that will net you all sorts of results, including the protagonists of Persona and Pokemon. You can try combining the tags together in the search bar, separating them with a space, but "デビルサバイバー" typically nets the most results. You can also find pictures on Photobucket, or look for artists on Pixiv. (seitamu and はすひこ have both drawn a lot of art of the protagonist.)
60	*** http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/index?tags=protagonist_%28devil_survivor%29 . If your googling for him try his real name [[spoiler:Abel]] and the game name, I found his cape doing that
61	* Why is it, when [[spoiler:Cain/Naoya]] continues to build up more hatred ''instead'' of reflecting on his sin, that God can't just say, [[spoiler:"Okay, he's not learning, and is planning to create a King of Bel to declare war on me. Maybe I should just let him go on his merry way, or just let him reincarnate normally in peace like his little brother,"?]] Really, he's a literal database of human history right now, and he's not planning on "repenting" any time soon. Why, then, can't this God just lighten up and lessen the sentence? As has been stated, this isn't even the standard SMT [[GodIsEvil Jerkass God]] who would screw with [[spoiler:Cain]] ForTheLulz. Yet he's ''still'' being punished, in the exact same way, even when [[spoiler:Cain starts using his sentence to ''start a war on the heavens themselves.'' '''With his own brother.''']]
62	** Your mileage may vary, but I don't think saying 'screw it, you aren't doing what's right and are actually doing things that are worse than what you originally were punished for, so let me lessen your sentence' is a good idea. God is giving [[spoiler:Cain/Naoya a chance at repentance which is supposed to run in parallel to how He is offering the whole of humanity a chance at repentance during the events of the game. In most of the endings bar Yuzu's and Naoya's, you wind up doing for sins not your own (i.e. making pacts with demons and causing "God's" ordeal in the first place) what Cain couldn't do for his - repenting.]]
63	** One [[WMG/DevilSurvivor theory]] suggests that he's an UnwittingPawn -- basically, his refusal to repent reinforces the theory that HumansAreBastards who don't deserve free will, because look at how ''he'' abuses it! He has the ability to repent, but ''chooses'' not to, instead lashing out at God. God could just erase him from existence and end the stalemate ''that'' way, but then we're firmly in [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope Slippery Slope]] territory; if He can wipe out [[spoiler: Cain]], why not do the same to ''everyone'' who refuses to follow Him?
64	** The theory is interesting but it begs the question: Why would He feel the need to 'prove to the universe' that humans were bastards? That doesn't seem necessary if his goal is to 'eliminate human free will', nor is it in keeping with His character. Metatron is God's agent, and Remiel is Metatron's agent. Remiel, more so than the other angels, is portrayed positively in the game and Remiel actively works towards helping humanity overcome the lockdown. Why would he do this if free will was something that humanity did not deserve? In particular, note that the angels outside of Metatron-Remiel are portrayed as high-and-mighty jerks. These angels all voted to [[spoiler: eliminate Tokyo and remove free will the second demons began emerging thanks to the Shomonkai,]] but Remiel tells us that God stayed their hand. Why would He do this if He didn't want to give us a fighting chance to prove ourselves worthy of our will? [[spoiler: Note, even in Amane's ending, no one says that free will is taken from humanity; crimes are judged, which may sound harsh at first until one remembers that governments judge crimes as well. The ending is far different from the mind-wiped humanity eternally singing songs to please the Lord in Strange Journey.]]
65	** God may not be the one using that argument; his more TautologicalTemplar angels are -- and as alluded to above, God can't simply smite [[spoiler: Cain]] because then his more HolierThanThou angels could argue "Well, you got rid of HIM for flouting your will; why not deal with all these ''other'' defiant mortals, too?" It may not be HIS theory that humans are all irredemnable bastards, but that of most angels...
66	* What do the characters fight with? I mean I know they use [=COMPs=] to fight the demons, and that they have spells and etc, but what sort of weapons do they use when you attack physically? Fists? Or are they holding weapons we can't see? If so, what weapons? Are they like the people in Persona and just use whatever?
67	** They punch demons, and perhaps Atsuro hits them with his bag. They're just that badass.
68	** They could just use whatever they can get their hands on. The way MC is brandishing his [=MP3=] player makes me think he uses it as a physical attack, but that's probably unlikely.
69	** I'm sorry, are you implying that punching a demon is ridiculous in a game where you beat a boss to death by hitting it with a cell phone strap?
70	* In the opening for Overclocked there's a blink and you'll miss it shot of an in-game battle against Gin. Can this actually happen?
71	** Yup. It happens in the original too. If you choose not to help Gin look for Aya and take Naoya's route, both Gin and Azuma will fight you in the battle against Remiel!Amane.
72	*** Weird, when I did Naoya's route he and Azuma didn't show up during that fight. I guess it only happens if you never open the Gin vs. Azuma fight.
73	** Also, one of the final shots is a close up of [[spoiler:a clearly insane Honda]], and yet the character's involvement in each of the 8th Days is fairly minimal.
74	** Possibly the one with [[spoiler: Honda]] involves the way he is during Yuzu's ending when [[spoiler: his son is revealed to be dead]]. Maybe he went insane from that?
75	** Yes, he goes insane during the 8th Day of Yuzu's route. He decides to look for strong demons that can revive his son. [[spoiler: He ends up getting killed by Belberith, though.]]
76	* Where the hell are Uriel/Raphael/Gabriel/Michael? It seems recently the standard Seraphim have been replaced with the newer ones. Was this intentional or...what?
77	** Metatron [[spoiler: attempts to summon them in the Overlord 8th Day. Though Abel summons Beldr, Belial, and several lesser demons to harm him enough to stop the process and force Metatron to retreat.]]
78	* Why on Earth did the Japanese government even come up with its [[spoiler: fry 'em all]] plan? Not only would it be absolutely useless outside of Tokyo but in such a tech savvy part of the world it couldn't be that unlikely that someone would figure it out.
79	** It was specifically to [[spoiler: counter land-based invasions from other countries]]. It wasn't ''originally'' meant to be [[spoiler: used against demons]].
80	*** The problem is that it's stupid even for a [[spoiler: conventional invasion]]. You couldn't use it to [[spoiler: defend Japan's borders or waters (the most important part of stopping an invasion)]], it would [[spoiler: kill off Japan's best and brightest]], it would only work in Japan itself and given how many technologically adept people there are in Japan it would be at best a matter of months before someone figured it out and after that... all you need to do is [[spoiler: open up some cheap appliance]] to find out if they're telling the truth or not. The plan was unworkable and doomed to discovery from the beginning.
81	* In the good path of Naoya's 8th day, what exactly is stopping you from just [[spoiler:breaking the enemy tamers' [=COMPs=], something you've been doing to enemy tamers the ''entire game'' up to this point]]?
82	** There's no point as [[spoiler:the Angels would either arrange for them to get new COMPs, or kill them for failing. If you're not going to kill them, fighting them is just a waste of time.]]
83	* Why does Remiel act so surprised that humans can't tell the difference between a demon possessing a human, and an angel possessing a human, when Kresnik didn't seem all that different from him?
84	** Remiel is an angel. Despite his kindness towards humanity, he would still find it offensive being compared to a demon.
85	* Whats up with the Eu version? Why did it take 18 months to bring over an already translated game where no new languges or content was added, other than game crashing bugs, which you think would have been noticed in the 18 month period? This isn't just complaining, I'm honestly wondering what they were doing? Is licensing this much bueracy? Did someone just mess up? Is nintendo trying to block rpgs or something? And what could they have done to the game that introduced 2 crippling bugs without adding or changing anything? And if this is Atlus's doing rather than Ghostlights, why is it only in there version? One theory I heard was that this was caused by someones lazyness, but wouldnt the lazy thing to do would be just to bring it over with no changes or modifications good or bad, which likely would have been quicker and cheaper to.
86	** Different markets, different laws, different production.
87	* Why is God such a [[GodIsEvil markedly]] [[KnightTemplar different character]] in the 8th days than he was in Devil Survivor? He never acted the same way as he did in previous games, it's doubtful it's even the same God, so why the sudden reversion to form?
88	** Because it's in character for him. God can appear nice and noble, but really not care about them. Like the Law Hero from the very first game, who was nothing but a pawn to him. It's ''always'' the same God that's never changed and Loki calls him by his name. It also seemed suspicious that God's favorite was able to absorb some of Bel, and Bels have one target for their hatred: God. Also, abandoning humanity is ''also'' in character for him as Lucifer outright says in another [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney game]] in the franchise that God will abandon humanity.
89	** Except it's pretty clearly a different God than the other SMT games. Why would old school YHVH give humanity the chance to end the lockdown on their own terms? He'd nuke the place at a moment's notice. Why would he send Remiel to help you end the lockdown if he was just the crazy, genocidal KnightTemplar of old? Remember, it was the angels who wanted to strip man of his freedom; God stayed their hands and gave humanity the opportunity to deal with the demons themselves.
90	** Because he can learn from his past mistakes. He uses a human for his own gain in one of the bonus EX Missions in Strange Journey, and then reveals his true identity afterwards and expecting the Protagonist to cooperate once he knows his story. The guy can ''learn''. What you're saying is basically WMG that he's not the same God just because he acts differently. Lucifer acts differently depending on the games as well, but its still the same guy.
91	** But he has nothing to gain by allowing the lockdown to happen if he wants mankind under his thumb, he does it because he wants humanity to be autonomous. If he was YHVH, he would blast Tokyo into smithereens the moment Jikoku was killed and then have the angels strip man of its freedom. Instead, he ordered them not to. What does he gain by assisting the protagonist in Gin's or Atsuro's route, where you banish or control the demons? If he wanted the protagonist to become the Messiah/King of Bel, why doesn't he just refuse to help in Gin's and Atsuro's routes and only assist in Amane's route? If he's the same YHVH, how is still even around what with [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]] and [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]] showing that [[spoiler: The Demi-Fiend destroyed the universe, and he's canonically in pieces in Strange Journey?]] He's clearly still all powerful in Devil Survivor. In other parts of this wiki, Devil Survivor's main page included, and this page itself, God's more amicable portrayal is noted several times, so I'm not the only person who noticed it.
92	** YHVH is not all powerful. He never was. He has to rely on humans to create Reasons because he can't do it himself. Even in the backstory for Devil Survivor it took a long time for him to even defeat the King of Bel. YHVH has more than likely learned ruling through fear will not benefit him in Devil Survivor, as its that kind of tyranny that leads to everyone hating him. The games have multiple endings and they tend not to say which ones are canon. The fact that it takes place in alternate worlds also helps. Not to mention his power is reliant on humans, so in both Overlord 8th Days he's shooting himself in the foot by making all mankind hate him, while making mankind sides with the Overlord. As long as humanity doesn't try to oppose him/leave those who oppose him in power like you do with Belberith in Yuzu's 8th Day he'll most likely let it slide. Its not like history won't repeat because humans never truly learn from their mistakes, they'll just have another one happen in the future. On top of there being plenty of ways for things to go wrong in Atsuro's route.
93	** That doesn't answer anything. Why does he help you out if he's just expecting humanity to screw things up again? If he wants to take control he can do it whenever he wants, whether or not the protagonist becomes the Messiah, and when the angels voted to strip man of freedom, God told them not to. Heck, just look above in this section. God has nothing to gain by helping you on Gin's and Atsuro's routes, but he does so anyway, If he wanted to take over, he would.
94	** Because that kind of plan to rule manking and strip them of freedom has been done before and ''failed horribly''. It's the kind of actions that would turn mankind away from him and deprive him of power, allowing strong demons that want a chance to strike at him to get a chance to do just that. Allowing the Status Quo to return would simply allow him to try again later with a future trial, instead of antagonizing humans and making them want to oppose him.
95	** By definition, any trial would bring opposition from humanity. Why would he set the stage of the trial and then give humanity a backdoor out of it if he ultimately wants to bend them to his will? If his power came from human faith, why does he try to destroy the world in Naoya's 8th day and abandon humanity in Yuzu's 8th Day? And that's not even getting into [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]] and [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]] showing [[spoiler: the Demi-Fiend destroyed the universe and YHVH himself is in pieces]]. If that's the case, how is he still around for Devil Survivor? There's just too many hoops to jump through if we assume the God here is the same YHVH from the other games in the series. Heck, even Lucifer is different from his MagnificentBastard self in his appearance as a {{Superboss}}, where he even says that God "gave light and blessings." Would the Lucifer we know ever say anything like that about YHVH?
96	** It's unknown when and where Devil Survivor takes place. The same for Nocturne and SJ. The games never state what chronological order most of these games come out in, there are no hoops to jump through. Nocturne according to official timelines is a alternate world at least from SMTI & II and its never stated what ending is canon. "Light & Blessings" doesn't necessary mean [[LightIsNotGood good things]]. Blessings can be a curse and light can bring suffering, not to mention in some games Lucifer plays up his role as a Prince of Darkness for his own amusement, and even his involvement in the war was just amusement cause Belberith seriously thought he could take on Lucifer and YHVH and he wanted to fight Abel, who he considers ''his'' child. You need to accept it's the same God and move on, because its always the same Lucifer and God is no different. Giving humanity a backdoor out means that humanity can get out of situation and not come out wanting to be his enemy, and he can always try at a later date. Especially since there can be humans with different beliefs in the next one. Also, God is not ''sane'', he has done things that are not rational before and unleashed several apocalypses when he's done it.
97	*** Also, read the Fridge Brilliance page for a more clear answer on Lucifer.
98	** There is literally nothing to indicate that it's the same God, especially since this is a series that's not big on intercontinuity beyond occasional references. If God did get his powers from belief, he wouldn't abandon humanity so easily, because then he'd be completely depriving himself. Instead he'd keep trying to make the protagonist the Messiah. It doesn't make any sense. You can't just say "he's crazy" and act like that's a good answer. If he wanted humanity under his thrall, there's no reason for there to be a backdoor. What sense is there in helping them solve it under their own terms and giving them freedom from His rule? If he wanted them under his control, he'd take it. Just check earlier in this page, or on Devil Survivor's main page: God's more amicable presentation is noted several times.
99	** The angels work for and only serve one God, they wouldn't serve a completely new God who comes out of nowhere unless their God told him to. God will also only stick with mankind until he gets fed up, which is the entire point of Lucifers speech in Strange Journey that ''he'' will never abandon mankind, unlike God. You seem to be missing the point, trying to impose his rule on mankind by force and ruthlessness hasn't worked before, so why would it work now? There are countless worlds out there. Things may not work out on this one, so he can simply go to another. I know how God is presented, but that doesn't mean he can't have ulterior motives. A being can act benevolent and helpful during certain routes, but reveal their true colors in another. God is no exception to this.
100	** Except the angels serve Yosuga, the Chaos equivalent, in Nocturne, with no indication that they've been ordered to do so. You also insist that God couldn't force the world under his rule because he's lost before, but that's what's going to happen if humanity fails the ordeal, something which is outright stated by Remiel to be something God doesn't want, as he wants them to remain autonomous (and for that matter, it's the ''Angels'' who wanted to take over humanity when God told them not to. Why would [[GodIsEvil ''YHVH'']] give his angels the ability to disagree with him?) If Atlus wrote God in Devil Survivor to be the same YHVH, or even on the same level as him, wouldn't they have done so when they originally released Devil Survivor back in 2009, or even hinted at it once?
101	** The three Reasons, including Yosuga, are approved by the Avatar of God Kagutsuchi, who is attempting to strip free will one bit at a time because that's Gods will. It's also heavily elitist, has a strict hierarchy, and the unworthy are eliminated by default, which are all things Angels approve of. They picked the one that they liked the most and supported it. The Angels like their God are flawed beings and this is a issue for them. While they can disagree with him, they are created to follow his orders regardless, which is why they don't like free will as it allows people to not follow him even when he tells them too. God is not a perfect being. He is a flawed entity just like everything else and his mood or desires can easily change.
102	** I find God's actions in the 8th Day to be completely in keeping with His actions in Day 1-7. He doesn't ''want'' to push the button on humanity, and His goal in the Ordeal is to bring Belberith under control, preferably by human action. In the Neutral endings, he's just glad that the player wrapped everything up in a neat package, even if he's not entirely happy with the Silent Revolution. But! On Amane's Day 8, Abel has voluntarily decided to bring humanity under God's rule (exercising his own free will) - God is happy, and He's still happy if the PC tells him "chill out, I got this." On Yuzu's Day 8, the Shomonkai won, and as far as God's concerned, humanity made their bed and they can lie in it. And on Naoya's Day 8, the King of Bel is using his power to ''actively rebel against God'', and God has no guarantee that the new Overlord isn't going to TakeOverTheWorld through terror and war - in ''this'' scenario, even ''Remiel'' is advocating for Plan B.
103	* Did the writers not try to differentiate between the end of the lockdown in Atsuro's route and Gin's? In both it claims that the government covered up the events of the lockdown and no one believed that demons were actually involved. The problem is that in Atsuro's ending it's made very clear that Japan gains a seat on the U.N. Security Council through the use of the demons' military power and that demon-based technology caused another industrial revolution. Not only would it be impossible to hide the existence of demons when Japan's military and industry is based on them, it doesn't even make sense to try.

Context Headscratchers / DevilSurvivor