Shin Megami Tensei II - Television Tropes & Idioms

The second game in the Shin Megami Tensei JRPG series and direct sequel to Shin Megami Tensei. It was released in Japan in 1994 for the Super Nintendo, with remakes coming out for the Playstation and Game Boy Advance in 2002 and 2003 respectively.

At the end of Shin Megami Tensei, the protagonist decided to create a world where the forces of Law and Chaos could exist freely, and people would have the freedom to make their own choices. Well one hundred years later and something has clearly gone wrong with that initial plan. Demons run freely throughout the wastelands of the world, the air is unbreathable and the only place where humans can live is an encapsulated city called Tokyo Millennium, run by the Messians.

The main character is Hawk, a amnesiac gladiator living in the Valhalla district of Tokyo Millennium. The citizens of Valhalla fight in a tournament for the prize of being allowed to live in the Center district, a place of luxury which is completely demon-free. Hawk wins the tournament and gains his citizenship in the Center, only to find out from the leader of the Messian religion that his true identity is Aleph, the prophesied Saviour of the human race who will bring about a paradise called the Thousand Year Kingdom.

Aleph is set to work by the Center eradicating demons in preparation for the Thousand Year Kingdom, but as he fights he bears witness to the various tragedies brought about by the Center's rule, eventually learning that the Thousand Year Kingdom necessitates the complete genocide of everyone outside of the Center. But then again, the alternative is allowing the last bastion of human life to be over-run by demons. Should Aleph fulfil his destiny and become the Thousand Year Kingdom's champion, or should he turn to the other side and bring down Tokyo Millennium?

Main characters:

Hawk/Aleph - The silent protagonist. The Designated Hero of the Messians. Using the Demon Summoning Program, he can converse with and recruit demons into his party.
Hiroko - A Temple Knight of the Messians. She meets Aleph whilst searching for a missing scientist and shares a immediate rapport with him. Eventually becomes your main female companion.
Beth - A Temple Knight of the Messians assigned to aid Aleph in establishing the Thousand Year Kingdom. She tells Aleph that she will be his "eternal partner"... and the last time someone called you that in a MegaTen game, things didn't work out so well.
Zayin - A Temple Knight of the Messians. He is completely devoted to the Center at the beginning of the game, but after witnessing some of the less moral acts that they commit, he begins to reconsider his allegiance.
Gimel - A quirky young man with a harp who rules over the beautiful forest of Arcadia. He seems to be unusually knowledgeable on Aleph and the Center, so can you trust him?
Daleth - An arrogant man who shows up and proclaims himself to be the true Saviour. Clearly, you're going to have to kick his ass.

Yes, the game is chock-full of religious symbolism, but this was before it became popular to oversaturate your work with it. It uses the same system as Shin Megami Tensei but refines several aspects, such as the fact that you can now access your minimap with a single button press rather than having to go through three menu screens. The graphics and environments have been improved, though the difficulty is still as high as ever. Also, several features that would go on to be mainstays in the Shin Megami Tensei series were added, such as fusion accidents and skill inheritance from "parent" demons.

Though the game was never released in the West, a group called Aeon Genesis has released a translation patch for the ROM

Tropes seen in this game:

After The End
Artificial Human - All of the main characters listed above, with the exception of Hiroko.
As Long As There Is Evil - YHVH. As long as one person continues to desire a Higher Power to believe in and rely upon, he can never truly be destroyed.
But Thou Must - For the first part of the game. Eventually you get the freedom to make your own choices.
Character Alignment - Measured by two axis: Law-Neutral-Chaos and Light-Neutral-Dark.
Crapsack World
Dark Messiah - Daleth. You can choose to make Aleph one of these too.
Designated Villain - Daleth, who was created specifically to oppose- and lose to- Aleph.
End Of The World Special
Fake Memories
Fate Worse Than Death - Well, what do you expect when you commit deicide?
Gattaca Babies
God - Actually identified as "YHVH".
God Is Evil - And how!
Heroic Sacrifice - Beth.
Hot Shounen Mom - Hiroko.
Karma Meter
Knight Templar - The Temple Knights of the Center.
Inside A Computer System - Arcadia.
Lotus Eater Machine - All of Arcadia.
Louis Cypher
Multiple Endings
Nintendo Hard
No Ontological Inertia - Both Satan and Lucifer crumble to dust after their creator is destroyed.
One Winged Angel - Zayin, upon discovering his true nature as Satan.
Order Versus Chaos
Rage Against The Heavens
Satan - aka God's Dragon.
Seinfeld Is Unfunny - Probably one of the first RPGs to use such heavy religious themes and employ the God Is Evil trope.
Thats No Moon - Mountains seen in Makai and underground is actually dragon Kuzuryu.
Wave Motion Gun - The Megiddo Arc.

Shin Megami Tensei I

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