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* HellOnEarth: ''Nocturne'', ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga 2'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''.
* HeroicMime: The main protagonists are almost always one of these. Which made ''Persona 2'' quite entertaining considering that the protagonists of ''Innocent Sin'' and ''Eternal Punishment'' only have dialogue in the game they're not starring in.
* HeroicMime: The main protagonists are almost always one of these. Which made ''Persona 2'' quite entertaining considering that the protagonists of ''Innocent Sin'' and ''Eternal Punishment'' only have dialogue in the game they're not starring in.
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* HeroicMime: The main protagonists are almost always
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* HobbesWasRight: The more tyrannical law paths, or the more cynical neutral paths, follow this line of thinking.
* HolyHandGrenade: "Hama" type spells; typically OneHitKill type spells.
* HolyHandGrenade: "Hama" type spells; typically OneHitKill type spells.
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* HumanResources: Magnetite/Magatsuhi/Red is an incredibly useful substance for dealing with demons, as it tastes great to them, even better than human flesh. [[spoiler:However, no matter how you call it, ''it's actually refined from human brains/souls''. Certain protagonists like Raidou mostly generate and use his own to offer to his demonic contracts, but other uses have demons either farming it from humans/humanoid facsimiles, or [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humans using captured POWs, captured civilians/slaves and children to use their conditioned neurological tissue to harvest it]]. In the last case, they also used an enslaved demon to help produce them better. Said demon being none other than a Magatsuhi from Japanese lore.]]
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* HumanResources: Magnetite/Magatsuhi/Red is an incredibly useful substance for dealing with demons, as it tastes great to them, even better than human flesh. [[spoiler:However, no matter how you call it, ''it's actually refined from human brains/souls''. Certain protagonists like Raidou mostly generate and use his their own to offer to his their demonic contracts, but other uses have demons either farming it from humans/humanoid facsimiles, or [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humans farming it by using captured POWs, captured civilians/slaves and children to use their the conditioned neurological tissue to harvest it]]. of captured POWs, captured civilians/slaves, and children]]. In the last case, they also used use an enslaved demon to help produce them better. Said better, said demon being none other than a Magatsuhi from Japanese lore.]]
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* HobbesWasRight: The neutral path essentially states this in the ending.
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* HobbesWasRight: The more tyrannical law paths, or the more cynical neutral path essentially states paths, follow this in the ending.line of thinking.
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* DolledUpInstallment: Minor example in the US releases: the ''Persona'' / ''Devil Survivor'' / ''Digital Devil Saga'' / ''Devil Summoner'' / etc games, while technically not part of the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series proper, were all released overseas under that title anyway starting in 2004, presumably because the series needs whatever name recognition it can get on this side of the pond. However, after Atlus made enough of a name for itself, the practice was completely starting with ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', and ''Persona 4: Golden'' in 2012.
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* DolledUpInstallment: Minor example in the US releases: the ''Persona'' / ''Devil Survivor'' / ''Digital Devil Saga'' / ''Devil Summoner'' / etc games, while technically not part of the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series proper, were all released overseas under that title anyway starting in 2004, presumably because the series needs needed whatever name recognition it can could get on this side of the pond. However, after Atlus made enough of a name for itself, the practice was completely abandoned starting with ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', and ''Persona 4: Golden'' in 2012.
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* ArtificialBrilliance: Something which contributes to the franchise's NintendoHard status. Enemy AI is capable of taking advantage of the ElementalRockPaperScissors system as much as the player iss, and many times they rely on status effects - which are extremely effective in this franchise - to paralyse the player. This is the reason why even in the late game low-level random encouters can easily kill you.
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* ArtificialBrilliance: Something which contributes to the franchise's NintendoHard status. Enemy AI is capable of taking advantage of the ElementalRockPaperScissors system as much as the player iss, is, and many times they rely on status effects - which are extremely effective in this franchise - to paralyse the player. This is the reason why even in the late game low-level random encouters can easily kill you.
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* {{Ambadassador}}: Most characters become this once they get the hang of demonic contracts and negotiation.
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* {{Ambadassador}}: Most characters become this once they get the hang of demonic contracts and negotiation. Demons won't join you if you are a lower level than them.
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* TheArtifact: The SMT version of Cerberus, excepting the ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'', ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' and ''VideoGame/Persona3'' incarnations, looks nothing like the Greek myth it's supposedly based on, looking more like a lion-maned wolf with a segmented, serpentine tail, and often with shell-like armor. This is because the [[Literature/DigitalDevilStory original novel, and the anime based upon it]], gave him this appearance, which was then followed by the Famicom ''Megami Tensei'' games. The first Super Famicom SMT game then paid homage to this design by [[CrutchCharacter allowing you to fuse Pascal, the protagonist's loyal Husky, with any demon in your stock]], resulting in a "Cerberus" very similar to the above. Many other games in the franchise continued in this vein, with minor differences between one another.
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* TheArtifact: TheArtifact:
** The SMT version of Cerberus, excepting the ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'', ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' and ''VideoGame/Persona3'' incarnations, looks nothing like the Greek myth it's supposedly based on, looking more like a lion-maned wolf with a segmented, serpentine tail, and often with shell-like armor. This is because the [[Literature/DigitalDevilStory original novel, and the anime based upon it]], gave him this appearance, which was then followed by the Famicom ''Megami Tensei'' games. The first Super Famicom SMT game then paid homage to this design by [[CrutchCharacter allowing you to fuse Pascal, the protagonist's loyal Husky, with any demon in your stock]], resulting in a "Cerberus" very similar to the above. Many other games in the franchise continued in this vein, with minor differences between one another.
** The SMT version of Cerberus, excepting the ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'', ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' and ''VideoGame/Persona3'' incarnations, looks nothing like the Greek myth it's supposedly based on, looking more like a lion-maned wolf with a segmented, serpentine tail, and often with shell-like armor. This is because the [[Literature/DigitalDevilStory original novel, and the anime based upon it]], gave him this appearance, which was then followed by the Famicom ''Megami Tensei'' games. The first Super Famicom SMT game then paid homage to this design by [[CrutchCharacter allowing you to fuse Pascal, the protagonist's loyal Husky, with any demon in your stock]], resulting in a "Cerberus" very similar to the above. Many other games in the franchise continued in this vein, with minor differences between one another.
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* ArtificialBrilliance: Something which contributes to the franchise's NintendoHard status. Using conventional tactics (IE attacking certain enemies' weaknesses) or certain game-breaking ones (such as reflecting everything) will cause enemies to respond in kind.
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* ArtificialBrilliance: Something which contributes to the franchise's NintendoHard status. Using conventional tactics (IE attacking certain enemies' weaknesses) or certain game-breaking ones (such Enemy AI is capable of taking advantage of the ElementalRockPaperScissors system as reflecting everything) will cause enemies much as the player iss, and many times they rely on status effects - which are extremely effective in this franchise - to respond paralyse the player. This is the reason why even in kind.the late game low-level random encouters can easily kill you.
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* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: The various Chaos factions generally strive to build a world where strength leads to freedom and being in charge. Opponents of Chaos argue that this unfairly makes the weak victims.
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* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: AsskickingLeadsToLeadership:
** The various Chaos factions generally strive to build a world where strength leads to freedom and being in charge. Opponents of Chaos argue that this unfairly makes the weakvictims.victims.
** Occasionally demons will volunteer to join you if they are close to defeat.
** The various Chaos factions generally strive to build a world where strength leads to freedom and being in charge. Opponents of Chaos argue that this unfairly makes the weak
** Occasionally demons will volunteer to join you if they are close to defeat.
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** In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', Amane is possessed by [[spoiler: not only Remiel, an angel, but Jezebel, a demon]].
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** In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', Amane is possessed by [[spoiler: not [[spoiler:not only Remiel, an angel, but Jezebel, a demon]].
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* DuelingMessiahs: You are always free to choose which faction you wish to support.
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* DuelingMessiahs: You are always free to choose which Each faction has its own human representative who is supposed to bring their faction to victory, typically referred in side materials to with monikers such as the "Law Hero" or "Chaos Hero" (they usually have their own names in-game though). They are usually former friends who have a massive falling out halfway through the game due their differing ideologies and become mortal enemies. They also try to recruit the main character to their cause, who in-game is reffered to as "the Messiah" (yes, this applies to multiple games). You can choose to side with one of them, or you wish to support.can kill them all.
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** [[DeityOfMortalCreation Entities created as a side effect of humankind's ability to change and warp reality]]. This is the most prominent type of demon category in the series: these demons are usually lifeforms composed of Magnetite (sometimes called Aether), the substance which permeates reality itself and exist in all of its phenomenons, which are normally undetectable to normal lifeforms but react to their psyche: will, thought, perception, instinct, emotion. What these demons have in common is how they are given identity and form by humans as living clusters of Magnetites, which are supposed to be formless as part of the fabric of reality, though the specifics vary [[note]]in some games like ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' humans don't innately affect the formless essence of reality and gained the ability through specific circumstances -- which can vary in scale such as to humans as a species, or only to specific individuals such as [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI Stephen]]; in others like ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'' humans possess it as an inherent trait[[/note]]. In other words, they are literally ''sentient droplets of reality itself'', to varying degrees of power and scale, with the capacity to twist and warp natural phenomenons in accordance to their natures and how much aspect of reality they embody. Thus, as long as humans continue to exist and shape reality in such a way which permits the existence of demons, they will never be truly gone; conversely, if humans ''are'' gone, then [[NoOntologicalInertia they would also go poof]].
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** [[DeityOfMortalCreation Entities created as a side effect of humankind's ability to change and warp reality]]. This is the most prominent type of demon category in the series: these demons are usually lifeforms composed of Magnetite (sometimes called Aether), the substance which permeates reality itself and exist in all of its phenomenons, which are normally undetectable to normal lifeforms but react to their psyche: will, thought, perception, instinct, emotion. What these demons have in common is how they are given identity and form by humans as living clusters of Magnetites, which are supposed to be formless as part of the fabric of reality, though the specifics vary [[note]]in vary. [[note]]In some games like ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' humans don't innately affect the formless essence of reality and gained the ability through specific circumstances -- which can vary in scale such as to humans as a species, or only to specific individuals such as [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI Stephen]]; in others like ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'' humans possess it as an inherent trait[[/note]].trait. In other words, they are literally ''sentient droplets of reality itself'', to varying degrees of power and scale, with the capacity to twist and warp natural phenomenons in accordance to their natures and how much aspect of reality they embody. Thus, as long as humans continue to exist and shape reality in such a way which permits the existence of demons, they will never be truly gone; conversely, if humans ''are'' gone, then [[NoOntologicalInertia they would also go poof]].[[/note]]
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* EvilerThanThou: All five "main" ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games have everyone trying to one-up each other.
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* EvilIsNotAToy: It's perfectly possible to gain immense power at little or no effort. On the other hand, [[FateWorseThanDeath the price]] makes it an iffy choice ''at best''.
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* EvilIsNotAToy: It's perfectly possible to gain immense power at little or no effort. On the other hand, [[FateWorseThanDeath the price]] makes it an iffy choice ''at best''. Usually of the "being possessed by the demon you sided with and having your body and soul devoured and will erased" varity.
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* FalseUtopia: A very real risk. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this franchise.
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* FalseUtopia: A very real risk. There Every side presents itself as a utopia, with its opposing sides pointing out the flaws of it.
** Law advertizes a world of peace and harmony, but the Law side believes in TheEvilsOfFreeWill; by "peace and harmony" they mean a stagnant humanity that only exists to worship YHMV and do literally nothing but that, while mercilessly killing anyone who deviates from that.
** Chaos advertizes a world of free will where everyone isno free to pursue what they desire with their own strength. This inevitably results in a strength-based segregation system of tyranny where the weak become slaves, food, or a combination of the above, and every moment is a struggle for survival for everyone.
** Neutral, which includes murdering all sides, includes well... ''murdering all sides''. Including former friends. And each time the cycle of "law and chaos will duke it out again" is only delayed; not to mention that societies ran by humans have their own issues.
** Usually alternative options, suchthing as a free lunch in this franchise.the White or the Divine Powers, will advertize ending the "law versus chaos" wars entirely, but such methods include wiping out the human race.
** Law advertizes a world of peace and harmony, but the Law side believes in TheEvilsOfFreeWill; by "peace and harmony" they mean a stagnant humanity that only exists to worship YHMV and do literally nothing but that, while mercilessly killing anyone who deviates from that.
** Chaos advertizes a world of free will where everyone is
** Neutral, which includes murdering all sides, includes well... ''murdering all sides''. Including former friends. And each time the cycle of "law and chaos will duke it out again" is only delayed; not to mention that societies ran by humans have their own issues.
** Usually alternative options, such
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* FightingYourFriend: Unfortunately, with the fate of the world in the line, ideological and philosophical differences will destroy the tightest friendships.
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* FightingYourFriend: Unfortunately, with the fate of the world in the line, ideological and philosophical differences will destroy the tightest friendships. In every game the "law hero" and "chaos hero" was a former friend or even a party member of the protagonist, and regardless of the route you have to kill at least one of them.
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* FromNobodyToNightmare: Even the greatest warriors and demons came from ''somewhere''. When GodsNeedPrayerBadly is in effect, this applies to ''gods'' too, up to and including YHVH himself.
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* FromNobodyToNightmare: Even the greatest warriors and demons came from ''somewhere''. Most protagonists are perfectly ordinary civilians prior to the beginning of their games. When GodsNeedPrayerBadly is in effect, this applies to ''gods'' too, up to and including YHVH himself.
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* FunctionalMagic: Comes in various flavors, depending on each game's mechanics and the demon involved.
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* FunctionalMagic: Comes in various flavors, depending on each game's mechanics and the demon involved. For example the Demon Summoning Program relies on a mix of Device Magic and ritual magic thrown in, and combat magic has a very strictly coded LanguageOfMagic system.
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'''[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei Main Page]]''' | '''Tropes A-M''' | [[ShinMegamiTensei/TropesNToZ Tropes N-Z]]
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[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: A-C]]
* AboveTheGods:
** The Great Will, first mentioned in ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'', YHVH describes himself as being a small part of an entity which controls infinite universes. It is described as a core being who is both responsible for reality being the way it is (''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV V]]'') and being ''reality itself'' (UpdatedReRelease for ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII''). It has various manifestations acting on its behalf across [[AlternateContinuity Alternate Continuities]], with YHVH being its most recurring one. Despite the prominent GodIsEvil tendencies of its agents, it is up to interpretation if any of that reflects its intentions, because each one is a manifestation of the very forces and laws governing the world(s) they operate in (and for many worlds, that includes [[DeityOfMortalCreation human perception]]). It is also a constant subject of {{Unreliable Narrator}}s who tend to describe it with various bias, with the Law faction typically claiming to act on its behalf.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' introduces the Great Reason (translated as the Axiom). It is described as both the origin of everything in ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'' set of universes (possibly even beyond), and the collective summation of all its components and entities. It is not sentient in a way lesser beings could really understand: its known actions are responses to the collective which makes up its whole. Despite its similarities with the Great Will, limited information both in and [[AllThereInTheManual out of universe]] makes it impossible to say for certain if these two are two names for the same entity or if they are distinct beings.
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The series has a habit of featuring Sewers big enough to house entire cities. Particular offenders include the Great Underpass of Ginza in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne'' and the Samsara Tunnels in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga''.
* AcademyOfAdventure: High schools in the series usually turn out to be built on a HellGate or a front for an AncientConspiracy.
* AdaptationalHeroism: The various demons change morality from one work to another to suit the story, but one who consistently gets this trope is Ishtar. In real-life Myth/MesopotamianMythology, she was an exceedingly unpleasant deity even in comparison to Old Testament YHVH who frequently killed people, sent natural disasters to them, or turned them into animals [[ItAmusedMe for fun]]. At one point in Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh she threatens to raise the dead and have them eat the living, in the earliest known reference to a ZombieApocalypse in human history. Her only totally altruistic quality was her love for her husband Tammuz (despite frequently cheating on him), whom she saved from [[EverybodyHatesHades Nergal]] every year to bring spring to the world. In SMT she's a helpful, nurturing mother goddess who is frequently abused by YHVH essentially just for being from a competing pantheon, and often ends up being forcibly turned into the demon Astaroth by Him.
* AffablyEvil: Most demons are happy to talk with you in the middle of a battle about their lives and interests; however, this won't stop them from tearing you limb from limb if you piss them off.
* AfterCombatRecovery: Victory Cry is a passive skill that restores the user's entire HP and MP/SP after winning a battle. Given that [[MagicIsRareHealthIsCheap MP/SP is meant to be difficult to recharge]] without leaving the current dungeon for the nearest TraumaInn, the skill is usually only available on late-game demons/Personas.
* AliceAllusion: Alice, the CuteGhostGirl who has been a RecurringCharacter since ''Shin Megami Tensei'', regularly makes {{Shout Out}}s to ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. The Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, Jabberwocky, Trump Soldier, and March Hare have also made appearances in the franchise.
* AlignmentBasedEndings: Many of the games have a choice between [[OrderVersusChaos Order, Chaos or Neutral]] endings. What each alignment ''means'' can vary, however, and some of the games mix the formula up and go for endings that don't directly match up with these alignments.
* AllMythsAreTrue: All mythical creatures from various folklore and religions are real in one form or another, including {{God}} and [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]].
* AllianceWithAnAbomination: The series has you forming contracts and summoning various supernatural beings from any and all kinds of mythologies. This ranges from weak [[TheFairFolk Pixies]] to [[{{Satan}} Satan and Lucifer]]. Some of the games even feature Lovecraftian monsters like Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep themselves.
* AlternateContinuity: The franchise has multiple continuities running through its numerous games.
** For the mainline series, ''SMT I'' and ''II'' occur in one universe, while ''Nocturne'', ''Strange Journey'', and ''IV'' (along with its pseudo-sequel ''IV: Apocalypse'') each occur in their own self-contained universes, with ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'' being {{Alternate Timeline}}s to each other connected via [[PlaceBeyondTime the Expanse]]. ''V'' has a lot of CallBack to ''Nocturne'' and like ''IV'' duology might be different universes in the same continuity (connected by [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds the Amala]]), but there are enough ContinuitySnarl to be read as its own continuity as well.
** ''SMT If...'', the original ''Devil Summoner'', ''Soul Hackers'', ''Persona 1'' ''Persona 2'', and ''Soul Hackers 2'' share continuity with each other, being a split timeline of the original ''SMT'' timeline. ''Persona 2'' has its own timeline split due to the events of ''Innocent Sin'', resulting in ''Eternal Punishment'': [[spoiler:the new timeline was supposed to overwrite the previous one, but as a result of Tatsuya refusing to forget his childhood memories, his spirit persists into the new world and becomes a ParadoxPerson, and the two realities become parallel universes]].
** ''Raidou Kuzunoha'' acts as a prequel to both ''SMT I'' and the original ''Devil Summoner'', existing in both continuities at once (the events of ''Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army'' likely having some effect on the timeline split).
** ''Giten Megami Tensei'' and ''SMT NINE'' are alternate continuties of ''SMTI'', sharing the same basic premise (a nuclear war caused by Thorman and Gotou) but incompatible with its plot and having their own lore. Similarly, ''SMT IMAGINE'' is a sequel to ''SMTI'', but incompatible with ''SMTII''.
** The original ''Megami Tensei'' continuity (''MT 1'', ''MT 2'' and the ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'' novels); the ''Majin Tensei'' strategy game continuity; the VideoGame/DragonQuest-esque ''VideoGame/LastBible'' continuity; the Franchise/{{Pokemon}}-esque ''VideoGame/DevilChildren''/''[=DemiKids=]'' continuity; then the ''Digital Devil Saga'' duology, ''Devil Survivor'', and ''Devil Survivor 2'' standalone games are all set in their own universes with little to no connection to the rest of the series. ''Digital Devil Saga'' has a few references to both ''Nocturne'' and ''SMT II'', but the game itself is completely self-contained and is not chronologically connected to either.
* AlternateSelf:
** Related to AlternateContinuity above, demons and gods and other entities with the same name from different continuities are existences completely independent from each other. Even incarnations of [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiYHVH YHVH]] and [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiLucifer Lucifer]] can vary wildly in history and personality. However, there are exceptions -- there are several hints implying, and in some cases outright confirming, that certain characters are in fact moving across different continuities. Outside of those few confirmed ones, deciding exactly which ones aren't subject to this trope are basically Headscratchers.
** This trope is also used to justify CharacterizationMarchesOn and DependingOnTheWriter. While most recurring demons and gods generally follow specific characterizations, that may change to fit with whatever themes to be explored in a game. This is most obvious with the demons who are involved with OrderVersusChaos conflicts: [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiForcesOfLaw the angels of Law]], [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiForcesOfChaos the forces of Chaos]], many of whom don't have as strict characterization as one might think. Gabriel for example, is a typical KnightTemplar and a male angel in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', but after being defeated and coming BackFromTheDead becomes [[OnlySaneMan the Only Sane Archangel]] and [[GenderBender a female angel]] in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', despite being explicitly set in the same world.
* {{Ambadassador}}: Most characters become this once they get the hang of demonic contracts and negotiation.
* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: The first SMT game to come to the US, ''Jack Bros.'' for the Virtual Boy, had realistic versions of the titular characters on the cover, rather then the cartoon ones seen in-game and on the Japanese cover.
* AnAesop:
** Being mindlessly extremist, especially when it means ignoring your own humanity, will almost certainly end in disaster. You cannot blindly follow someone, even your greatest hero, without thinking for yourself and questioning their actions when you don't feel comfortable with what they've done.
** Law/Order and Chaos must exist in a careful balance, as each becomes corrupt in the absence of the other, leading to the above situation involving extremists.
* AntiDebuff: Dekunda, a spell that removes all debuffs currently active on the user's party. Both players and enemies can use it.
* AntiGrinding: The TropeCodifier for getting less EXP from a given enemy as your level gets higher. This "diminishing returns" system has become a mainstay in modern {{Eastern RPG}}s.
* ApocalypseHow: As a franchise based around TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, it's covered many different levels of the Apocalypse, including a Planetary Societal Collapse in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI SMT I]]'', near Planetary Total Extinction in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII SMT II]]'', Universal Physical Annihilation in one ending of ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne Nocturne]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV SMT IV]]''. Many games also add EndOfTheWorldSpecial flavours to it.
* AreYouSureYouWantToDoThat: The franchise often asks this of you when confronting [[DifficultySpike Fiends]].
* ArmlessBiped: A number of demons, such as the reoccurring demon Take-Minakata and [[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Hayagriva]].
* ArmorPiercingAttack: The element Almighty is rarely ever completely defended against. Certain games have Pierce skills, which turn certain attack types into this. The "Hunt" skills in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' also ignore all sorts of immunities.
* TheArtifact: The SMT version of Cerberus, excepting the ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'', ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' and ''VideoGame/Persona3'' incarnations, looks nothing like the Greek myth it's supposedly based on, looking more like a lion-maned wolf with a segmented, serpentine tail, and often with shell-like armor. This is because the [[Literature/DigitalDevilStory original novel, and the anime based upon it]], gave him this appearance, which was then followed by the Famicom ''Megami Tensei'' games. The first Super Famicom SMT game then paid homage to this design by [[CrutchCharacter allowing you to fuse Pascal, the protagonist's loyal Husky, with any demon in your stock]], resulting in a "Cerberus" very similar to the above. Many other games in the franchise continued in this vein, with minor differences between one another.
** Likewise Loki, whose early appearance as a blue (or purple) scaly giant with fangs and a massive head of hair harks back to the OVA adaptation of the original novel. More recent games merely smoothed him out to purple skin instead of scales.
* ArtifactTitle: Only a few games in the "Goddess Reincarnation" series actually involve a reincarnated goddess: [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Izanami]] in ''Megami Tensei'', [[UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}} Sophia]] in ''Shin Megami Tensei: NINE'', [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Isis]] in ''Shin Megami Tensei Imagine'', [[MotherNature Mem Aleph]] in ''Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey'', maybe [[AdamAndOrEve Eve]] in ''Shin Megami Tensei I'', and ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'' has [[spoiler:Lady Danu through Nozomi in ''Rebirth of the Lady'', Amaterasu in ''Resurrection of the Koushoushin'', Ishtar in ''Ishtar, Goddess of Harvest'', and the "goddess of Tokyo" being resurrected on the Neutral path.]]
* ArtificialBrilliance: Something which contributes to the franchise's NintendoHard status. Using conventional tactics (IE attacking certain enemies' weaknesses) or certain game-breaking ones (such as reflecting everything) will cause enemies to respond in kind.
* ArtificialHuman: Many characters in the ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' were genetically engineered in test tubes, and the ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' games feature biological "digital clones".
* AsianLionDogs: The Shiisa has been a recurring monster that the party can recruit. They resemble both dogs and lions and are described as holy beings said to protect against ill-luck and evil spirits.
* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: Many antagonists can never be truly destroyed as long as certain negative aspects of humans remain.
** [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII YHVH]]: As long as even one person believes in the need for order and rules to be obeyed, ''or'' as long as one person believes in or desires a Supreme Being.
** [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV Lucifer]]: As long as humans long for freedom.
** [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Shinado]]: As long as despair exists.
** [[VideoGame/Persona2 Nyarlathotep]], [[VideoGame/Persona3 Erebus]], [[VideoGame/Persona4 Izanami]], [[VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax Kagutsuchi]], and [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/Persona5 Yaldabaoth]]]]: As long as humans are self-destructive, want to die, ignore the truth, or desire absolute order.
** [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney The Schwartzwelt]]: As long as humans carelessly abuse nature.
** [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV The White]]: As long as humans despair about being prisoners of some predetermined "fate".
* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: The various Chaos factions generally strive to build a world where strength leads to freedom and being in charge. Opponents of Chaos argue that this unfairly makes the weak victims.
* AttackAttackAttack: Most games have an "auto-battle" mode that has everyone in the party automatically use the basic "attack" command until either side achieves victory or auto-battle is canceled by the player. Some games let you customize auto-battle to a degree; for example, ''IV'' and ''IV: Apocalypse'' has the Auto-Pinpoint app that has party members use attacks that are confirmed to exploit enemy weaknesses, but you'll need to keep an eye on your members' MP to make sure they don't use it wastefully. Other games allow you to repeat the actions of your previous turn or battle.
* AttackReflector: The Reflect attribute. Tetrakarn and Makarakarn work like this for physical and magical attacks, respectively. Almighty damage, however, doesn't trigger them.
* AudienceShift: The ''Demi-Kids'' and ''Persona'' subseries' were specifically made to appeal to a different audience than the mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei''. While the mainline games are made for an older audience, the ''Demi-Kids'' series was effectively Atlus' take on ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' and was specifically made to appeal to kids. ''Persona'' meanwhile was meant to have a wider appeal and was designed to feel more familiar and relatable to the audience as opposed to the more fantastical and philosophical aspects of the mainline series.
* AutobotsRockOut: Many ''[=MegaTen=]'' games since ''Nocturne'' have a FinalBoss fight scored to an electric guitar ''rocking as hard as it can''.
* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: Every time Law and Chaos screw with Humanity, they risk a harsh lesson. In settings where GodsNeedPrayerBadly, gods learn exactly why antagonizing the species available for their existence is ''not'' a good idea. In settings where it is downplayed or averted, humans find a way to strike back in a way which ''hurts''.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Almighty spells bypass the usual ElementalRockPaperScissors system, and as such will deal damage without fear of being resisted or blocked. However, they also cannot hit weaknesses. To top it all off, Almighty attacks usually cost a lot of MP, so it's more efficient to just wail on the enemy with their weaknesses or even just elements they're neutral to.
* BadassNormal: Certain protagonists, notably ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII II]]'', couldn't even cast Magic, yet they end up dominating angels, demons and legends with nothing but swords and guns.
* {{Baphomet}}: A recurring demon in the franchise, being a member of the Vile race or [[Franchise/{{Persona}} the Devil Arcana]]. Baphomet typically are early-to-mid-games demons and learn [[PlayingWithFire Fire]], [[CastingAShadow Dark]], and [[StatusInflictionAttack ailments]] skills.
* BarrierChangeBoss: A staple of the series since ''Nocturne'' is that at least one boss in each game will be one of these. Examples in the main series include Noah in ''Nocturne'', [[spoiler:Jimenez, Demiurge, and Empty Mem Aleph]] in ''Strange Journey'', Seraph in ''IV'', and [[spoiler:Inanna]] in ''Apocalypse''.
* BasiliskAndCockatrice: Both Cockatrice and Basilisk are among the many [[{{Mon}} demons]] in the franchise. Both are separate monsters, but when it appears, the Cockatrice's in-game description often mentions that it is related to the Basilisk.
* {{Beelzebub}}: Beelzebub is a recurring demon/persona in the series. Design-wise, he had two designs: one is [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/7/7c/KazumaKaneko-Beelzebub.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090219082929 an anthropomorphic fly based on the image of the demon in the Dictionnaire Infernal]] while another is [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/0/03/Baal_Zabul.JPG/revision/latest?cb=20190328184406 a blue man with veins and a tigerskin]]. He is the powerful Tyrant demon that serves as the second-in-command of Lucifer. In the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series, he is usually a high-ranked or the ultimate Persona of The Devil [[TarotMotifs Arcana]].
* BefriendingTheEnemy: A mechanic in the main games. The player character can befriend demons and make them his allies to summon. Demon's are very fickle though. What works to befriend one demon won't work the same way each time, and if they aren't loyal enough to you they won't do what you say. The games follow GreyAndGrayMorality so while a demon's alignment might technically be considered "good"... it's really in a KnightTemplar [[LawfulNeutral sort of]] [[LawfulEvil way]]. Demons are always initially antagonistic towards you before they join you, and after you befriend a species of demon the rest of that species will go out of their way to give you gifts and avoid fights with you while telling you to "take care of their friend".
* BigBad:
** In the main ''SMT'' series and some spinoffs: YHVH, a {{Jerkass|God}} representation of {{God}} created out of the human desire for order and control [[GoneHorriblyRight no matter the cost]]. Besides being leader of the [[OrderVsChaos Law]] faction, YHVH is a LightIsNotGood KnightTemplar usually responsible for whatever CrapsackWorld you find yourself in.
** In the ''Persona'' continuity: [[TheHeartless the collective weakness]] in mankind's hearts, which inevitably forms into a GodOfEvil who's usually the ManBehindTheMan of the latest [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt world ending]] plot. Nyarlathotep, in particular, stands out due to being TheAntiGod to [[BigGood Philemon]]'s God, at least as far as the personifications-of-the-unconscious folks go, but he has been dormant since ''VideoGame/Persona2'' (as is Philemon, although the butterflies seen in the later games suggest that he's still around, just opts to be passive).
** The Tyrant race of obtainable demons is occupied largely by the {{Big Bad}}s of various divine pantheons. Recurrent members include [[Myth/NorseMythology Surt and Loki]], [[Myth/ChineseMythology Chi You]], [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology Nergal]], [[Myth/HinduMythology the Asuras]], [[Myth/AztecMythology the Tzitzimime]], and of course [[Literature/TheBible Lucifer himself]]. With enough Tyrants, you'll have your own personal BigBadEnsemble at your beck and call.
* {{Biodata}}: A key element of the franchise. Many games imply or outright state all matter, energy and phenomenons in the universe boil down to data-like existence, which are often compared to information or human thought in nature. This is main reason why spells, summoning, and other RealityWarper effects can be inserted into computers.
* BerserkButton: In games where you can negotiate with enemy demons, some demons come with possible answers for them that will instantly set off free turns for their party. For example, calling yourself a "Hee-Ho" in front of Jack Frost or Pyro Jack in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''.
* BittersweetEnding: Even though most ''[=MegaTen=]'' games end with you defeating the BigBad, you've usually been forced to sacrifice yourself or kill your friends after they suffered an EvilMakeover. Going for Law and Chaos generally goes towards the bitter side, while Neutral goes towards the middle.
* BlackBox: Analyzing the Demon Summoning Program is not an easy task due to the dozens of black boxes littered in its code, as [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney the crew of the Red Sprite]] learned. Aside from [[Literature/DigitalDevilStory Akemi Nakajima]] and [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI Stephen]], most of the people distributing the program are otherworldly entities (the Three Wise Men, the Anguished One, Naoya) with their own goals in mind. And even Nakajima and Stephen eventually AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Almost every powerful entity in the series operates under this; to the point where there are basically only one that is actually good (Philemon) and one that's actually evil (Nyarlathotep) by our understanding (and even Phil has severe issues with his chosen champions). All the others have mindsets so alien that trying to call them good or evil is a waste of time, as they don't think anything like humans. Yes, even YHVH. Bear note that the alignment system isn't good-evil, law-chaos, but law-chaos, light-dark, with the latter being a vague mishmash of how selfish you are, and how positively you are seen by real religions. Note that for chaos, since its ideal is everyone having the right to be selfish, its main characters being dark is a given, whereas, for law, this depicts a failed system. This alignment system is not consistent, however.
** This is even something of a mechanic when it comes to negotiating with demons, who sometimes can be won over with pretty "human" means by being kind, flattering, sucking up to, or outright bribing them, but other times some demons respond positively to being threatened, obviously lied to, or praising bloodshed and destruction.
** The blue and orange morality of demons is also a plot point in ''Strange Journey'', where the demons apparently believe they're doing captured humans a favor with their "experiments", which invariably involve killing people by removing their vital organs. According to notes, the demons are convinced they're just freeing the humans from their worldly cares and needs. This contrasts against what one faction of humans do later in the game, capturing and mutilating or killing demons, but just out of greed.
* BlueMeansCold: All ice spells have blue motifs. Whenever someone is frozen, they turn blue. Jack Frost, an ice demon, also wears blue.
* BoringButPractical:
** Life Stones. Unlike most other healing items, they always restore a fraction of HP rather than a fixed quantity, so while they're not the biggest healing items, they'll always be effective no matter the max HP of whoever you're healing. On top of that, in games involving demon negotiation, Life Stones are very common negotiation tokens, so it's never a bad idea to hoard them in case you need to bribe a demon into joining you; having one can make the difference between a demon joining you and "The demon suddenly attacked!"
** Stat buff spells in most games, particularly Rakukaja (raises party defense), Tarunda (lowers enemy party offense), and the Suku- (hit/evasion) spells (especially in games with the [[ExtraTurn Press Turn]] system). Get used to spamming them at the beginnings of boss fights, unless you want bosses like [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Matador]] to [[WakeUpCallBoss make you learn the hard way]].
** Dekaja just wipes away any buffs an enemy has. And yet it's one of the most important skills out there, especially against bosses who boost themselves up. While bosses may react by re-applying the buffs, a turn spent doing so is also a turn not spent attacking you.
** The series uses ElementalRockPaperScissors quite a bit. Every element, including basic physical attacks, has at least a few targets that are weak to it, resist it, nullify it, absorb it as health, or reflect it back at the attacker, and recklessly hitting an elemental immunity can sometimes result in a turn penalty. The exception to this is the Almighty element; nothing across the entire series resists Almighty damage (barring a few superbosses), and it can't be reflected by AttackReflector spells. However, nothing is weak to Almighty damage, the skills cost a lot of resources to cast, and you can't get {{critical hit}}s with most forms of Almighty attack (some games do have Almighty physical attacks). The result of all this is an element that provides unremarkable but consistent damage and effects, and is good for bypassing resistances, if you can keep up with its high cost.
** Physical skills tend to be this in games that employ MagicIsRareHealthIsCheap. In most games, these skills deduct [[CastFromHitpoints HP]] instead of SP to use, and it's easier to recover HP with items or healing spells than it is to recover SP since items that restore SP are scarce. This means that, against foes that don't resist physical, it becomes more efficient to use these skills plus healing items and save SP for buffs/debuffs (see above) and healing.
* BossBanter: Nearly all ''[=MegaTen=]'' bosses will talk to you during battle to drop new plot points, or explain their motivations, or illustrate how they're completely nuts. Starting with ''IV'', answering certain ways will have effects on the boss, either making them stronger or weaker.
* BossBonanza: The games are fond of pulling out multiple bosses in large, climactic dungeons.
* BossWarningSiren:
** Later games will give you a warning if you approach a door with a boss behind it, though earlier games tend to not grant this mercy.
** Traditionally, encounters with Fiends will be heralded by the game asking you if you "want to stay here". If you answer "yes", the game asks if you ''really'' want to stay. Say "yes" again and the battle will begin.
* BothOrderAndChaosAreDangerous: While both Law and Chaos have their good points, their representatives never have morally acceptable ways of achieving their goals, and will gladly use methods that have massive repercussions on the world, up to and including the mass murder of those who oppose them and brainwashing humanity into fitting their ideal mold. Players not fond of either side can [[OmnicidalNeutral kick both sides' asses]] to [[TakeAThirdOption establish a world of balance]]; sometimes this is treated as the GoldenEnding and others it is not so different from the other two options. In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', Krishna points out that Law and Chaos aren't ''inherently'' bad so much as their representatives, [[spoiler:both of which work for YHVH to create the illusion of conflict, with Lucifer set up as a [[FalseFlagOperation straw villain]] to make the Law side look better]].
* BottomlessBladder: The games rarely address everyday needs like eating, sleeping or using the bathroom while you're fighting gods and demons. ''VideoGame/Persona3'', ''VideoGame/Persona4'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'' are notable exceptions however, with "typical day" gameplay like sleeping, eating meals with friends and taking an extra bathroom break. Those activities can even affect the characters' stats.
* BottomlessMagazines: In games featuring firearms, you can equip yourself with different kinds of ammo, but that ammo will never run out no matter how much you use it. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'' (but not ''Persona 5 Royal'') avert this trope, however.
* BraggingRightsReward: Beating the toughest enemy in a ''[=MegaTen=]'' game will often net you abilities / equipment / party members you're already too powerful to need.
* BrainMonster: The demon Omoikane isn't evil, but is a floating brain with tentacles nevertheless.
* BreakoutCharacter: Of all the demons, there are three who have become popular enough with the fans to earn numerous notable appearances: [[AliceAllusion Alice]], [[GagPenis Mara]], and [[WakeUpCallBoss Matador]].
* BribingYourWayToVictory: Starting with ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', most games have DLC that allows you to quickly grind for power and resources.
* BrutalBonusLevel: Most ''[=MegaTen=]'' games have a BonusDungeon with tougher enemies than anywhere else in the game.
* ButtMonkey: Slimes. They're usually the by-product of failed summonings/fusions, and are generally among the first demons fought. It gets worse in the fourth game, where they're weak to ''physical attacks''.
* CastFromHitPoints: Physical attacks cost HP to use, except in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', ''VideoGame/Persona1'', and ''VideoGame/Persona2''. This is why physical attackers go hand in hand with tanks.
* CatsAreMagic: Magical cats or cat-like creatures appear in many games.
** The standard demon Nekomata. If a game has demons, she is in it.
** ''VideoGame/Persona2'' provides plenty of examples. The Shikigami disguised as a cat, Katsuya's Persona, the lucky cat statue that takes all your money (a Nekomata uses it as a front) and Lieutenant-General Zula, who is a talking cat.
** Schroendiger in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' is a magical sentient cat who knows more about the world than any other character and is implied to [[spoiler:be a future incarnation of Serph and Sera]].
** Gotou in the ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Raidou]] [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Kuzunoha]]'' games is the protagonist's talking cat companion and [[spoiler:ghost of the first Kuzunoha]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' brings this trope back to the series with party-member Morgana, who looks like a cartoon cat while in the Metaverse and a house cat out of it. [[spoiler:He is a Velvet Room attendant.]]
* CelestialParagonsAndArchangels: The highest-ranking angels under YHVH are members of the Herald and Seraph races, like the Four Archangels, Metatron the Voice of God, Satan the Accuser and Mastema the Flatterer. ArchangelUriel, ArchangelRaphael, ArchangelGabriel and ArchangelMichael are frequent bosses and major antagonists depending on the route.
* CityOfAdventure: A staple of the series! TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse, sometimes literally, but there's enough magic for everyone!
* ChangingOfTheGuard: While the demons generally remain the same, the most games feature a new main cast with each sequel.
* CharacterAlignment: [[invoked]] This plays a huge role in the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series. Each monster is classed on the [[OrderVersusChaos Law-Neutral-Chaos]] axis and the Light-Neutral-Dark axis. The former is the important one: monsters that are Chaotic will refuse to join you if the main character is Lawful and vice-versa. The alignment of the main character is determined by the type of monsters he summons (e.g. Lawful creatures will move your alignment towards Law), by his responses to philosophical questions asked at key points of the game and by whose dirty work (The Messians or the Gaians) he carries out. The ending of the game is determined by the final alignment of the main character.
** ''Megami Tensei I & II'' for the Famicom feature alignments along the axis of Good-Neutral-Evil.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' features an alignment system along the axis of both Light-Neutral-Dark and Law-Neutral-Chaos. It is the earliest known videogame to have an alignment system that directly affects the direction of the storyline and which of the MultipleEndings the player is given, through the choices and actions the player makes that alter the player character's alignment. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' uses the same kind of alignment system.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' the previous system of alignment is discarded in favor of three specific philosophies: Shijima (which is closest to Law but without the KnightTemplar tendencies), Musubi (Neutral, focusing on individuality and freedom of choice) and Yosuga (Chaos with a heavy dose of the elitism that Law was previously known for). However, Light-Neutral-Dark axis still exists in the form of Magatamas. The main character's title/family is defined by how many Magatamas of each alignment you have learned all skills from. Although it's mostly just a cosmetic change, there are three doors (one for each alignment) in the Labyrinth of Amala that will only open if you are on a specific alignment.
** This works a bit differently in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''. You can recruit demons of other alignments regardless of your character's alignment, but you'll have a harder time recruiting demons of the opposite alignment as yours (for instance, trying to recruit a Law-aligned demon when you're Chaos-aligned). However, the Light-Neutral-Dark axis plays a part in which demons you encounter and which you can recruit; Light-aligned demons are never encountered on the field, except through enemy searches and boss battles, and they cannot be recruited; Dark-aligned demons will refuse to talk to you at all times, regardless of your Law-Neutral-Chaos alignment, unless you have an App that lets you talk to demons during a Full Moon, and even then it's a coin flip (whether they like the answer you give them--the correct answer being different every time--and after that, whether they give you items, Macca, or--even rarer--join you).
* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
** The SocialDarwinist Chaos Ending from [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI SMTI]] is originally seen as a valid enough choice, given the BlackAndGreyMorality of the series, but as the world, in general, becomes slightly less [[CrapsackWorld crapsack]], it gets called out as evil far more explicitly; the supporter of its expy in ''Nocturne'' (though Reasons aren't based on alignments and actually follow [[GodIsEvil God's plan]]) is the only person explicitly called evil in that game. In other games like ''Devil Survivor'', it's virtually an ItsAWonderfulFailure montage.
** The original Neutral ending was a pro-human path that led to the destruction of both God and Lucifer (or their chief agents) and most of humanity in exchange for freeing the survivors from the meddling of higher powers (at least for a while). Later games, however, have softpedaled the omnicidal aspects and played up the humanist part, so "neutral" endings sometimes involve the restoration of the pre-apocalyptic state (so far as that's possible). In such cases, Chaos often adopts the omnicidal role, replacing "freedom from higher powers" with "freedom from God's order."
** Law has bounced back and forth between meaning "a world subjugated to God's will" and a straight-up WorldOfSilence that doesn't carry such theological implications. YHVH is now just as likely to be seen as separate from Law as he is the source of it, or else function as a GreaterScopeVillain who's above and beyond Law; only a couple of games actually present "submitting to God's will" as a valid choice. And then there's ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', where God is doing the best He can to ''avoid'' subjugating humanity (who are not making it easy for Him).
* CharacterMagneticTeam: Many demons may approach you and outright offer to join you with no more than a few questions asked.
* CharacterPortrait: More clearly seen in conversations in Persona games, but it's also featured in several other titles. Each character tends to have multiple portraits to match their mood.
* ChargedAttack: Many games have a skill called Charge or Focus that multiplies the power of the user's next physical attack by 200% or 250%, and a similar skill called Mind Charge or Concentrate that does the same for the next magic attack.
* ClimaxBoss: As a general rule of thumb, any boss that you fight immediately before an [[PointOfNoReturn alignment lock]] or as a consequence of locking in your alignment.
* ColonCancer: A number of titles have more than one subtitle in their [[DolledUpInstallment Western releases]], such as the various "Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner X: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. _____" installments. An instance of Atlus' newsletter even provides the page quote.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Law is blue and white; Chaos is red and black.
** PlayedWith in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'': strike team has red on their uniforms (except the protagonist) and science has blue. Zelenin is science, Jimenez is strike team. Take a wild guess what factions they each support in the end. Oddly enough, the protagonist wears white, which corresponds to Neutral.
* CombatPragmatist: It's not uncommon to come across random enemies or bosses that either gang up on you, spam completely unblockable attacks, or just won't ever encounter anywhere else.
* CombinationAttack:
** In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', you can trigger special attacks when the right combination of characters have the right combination of skills.
** In ''VideoGame/Persona2'' and ''VideoGame/Persona3'' you can unleash special attacks if you have the right combination of Personas among your party or in your main character's stock.
** ''VideoGame/Persona4 Golden'', ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'', and ''VideoGame/Persona5 Royal'' allow the player to perform unique attacks based on which characters are currently in the party.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', but in a very different way. If you hit a weakness, all the demons of your same alignment gang up on the opponent for extra damage.
* {{Combos}}: The Press Turn system the series is famous for giving you extra turns to attack the enemy if you strike its AchillesHeel.
* CompositeCharacter: Alice has two separate Alices as a reference for her character: [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Lewis Carroll's version]], and an obscure Scandinavian myth about a girl who died young and now [[ScareEmStraight kills children who misbehave]] so she can [[{{Yandere}} make them into her friends]]. Whether she is one or the other or both or even ''neither'' is generally left up to interpretation.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: And ''how!'' Generally shows up in two ways:
** The [[TurnsRed Beast Eye and Dragon Eye]] moves, which gives all enemies extra turns, [[UnusableEnemyEquipment and demons you control never have the chance to learn it]]. A variant called Guardian's Eye finally becomes learnable in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', but as the single most expensive spell in the game, at a whopping ''255'' MP, and on top of that, unlocking the spell requires acquiring a demon only available through beating the hardest DLC boss in the game.
** And physical skills, which are CastFromHitPoints when you use them, but enemies can use them willy-nilly.
* ConsummateLiar: A vital skill for any would-be demon summoners: learn to lie well, when, where and how.
* ContinuityNod:
** Occasionally a major character in one game will show up as an OptionalBoss or OptionalPartyMember in a later title. Alice for instance, who served as an antagonist who wanted to kill you in ''Shin Megami Tensei'', still regularly shows up complete with a skill called "Die For Me!" in newer games.
** A character from the Tokyo Revelation manga/OVA appears in a cameo as an older character in Giten Megami Tensei, suggesting that the two are related (and the world sadly still fell to demons).
* ContinuitySnarl: The ''Persona/Devil Summoner'' timeline is supposed to be an AlternateContinuity where the nuclear war of ''SMTI'' didn't happen. However there are several differences that cannot be accounted for as result of averting the apocalypse:
** The biggest one is that in the ''Persona'' timeline, Philemon and Nyarlathotep are the top dogs of the supernatural world, YHWH is nowhere to be seen, and the ruler of the Expanse is Zurvan instead of Lucifer (who only appears as a recruitable demon/Persona). The only hint for this is how Lucifer mentions in ''Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon'' about how Raidou could potentially create a world free from God.
** ''SMT If...'' shows that Stephen is responsible for creating the Demon Summoning Program in this continuity as well. However, in this continuity he didn't create the Tokyo terminals which lead to him being attacked by a demon, so it's not known under what circumstances he was left paraplegic and developed the program.
** ''SMTI, SMTII, Devil Summoner'', and ''Soul Hackers'' all claim that it's impossible to communicate with demons without the use of the Demon Summoning Program. This doesn't stop Raidou and all Persona characters from doing just that.
** ''Persona 3, 4'' and ''5'' have several differences in lore not only with the previous ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games but with each other as well.
* ContractualBossImmunity: Bosses are immune to OneHitKill spells, and they also can't be recruited in-battle or bribed into going away.
* CoolVsAwesome: Angels versus Demons is an understatement for the series. Since AllMythsAreTrue, think of the possibilities.
* CouncilOfAngels:
** Played straight in SMT 1, where [[spoiler:they become quite powerful allies if you're on the Law path, and attempt to stop you if you're on any other path; Seraph Michael serves as the game's final (or, on Neutral, possible final), hardest boss in that case]]. Also played perfectly straight in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', [[spoiler: where Remiel who serves Metatron and the Big Man himself are far less assholish than franchise standard and will help you out unless you're on on the blatantly chaotic routes]].
** Notably, from SMT 2 onward, [[spoiler:they practically become the ''cosmic {{Butt Monkey}}s'' of the franchise; in SMT 2 they're basically abandoned by God and are running Tokyo Millennium in a hilariously inept fashion and orchestrated the creation of the Messiah and crew in the first place, which blew up in their faces when Aleph ''caved their shit in''; then, in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga 2'', they show up as bonus bosses; talking about the events of SMT 2, no less: except now they've reincarnated as humans in a different universe and hunger for the blood and flesh of man just like any other demon. You'd think they'd give the Big Man the finger after all that, but they are planning to do ''everything they did before again''.]]
** In ''IV'', they are [[spoiler:the mysterious new rulers of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado, who as the Law authorities of the game, plan to throw Tokyo into a black hole so it can never taint their shiny paradise. Eventually, they fuse with Jonathan to summon Merkabah, an embodiment of God's will]].
* CrapsackWorld: ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' starts out a mild version of this, and gets a lot worse. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' has this as the default state since it follows the Neutral Path of the first game, though it can either get worse or better. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' starts out as this, which can be reversed or made even worse. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' has the potential to become this, which can be averted, although the gameplay setting is still basically this. The ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games are set in a CrapsaccharineWorld setting that can be made a CrapsackWorld, in the first half of the second game duology this actually does happen [[spoiler:in the ending, and despite efforts, it continues to be its own timeline]] though the second half averts it. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' has another case of CrapsaccharineWorld, and all endings see to it that illusion of being saccharine is broken. ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' can turn into this or be averted, depending on your choices.
* CreatorCameo:
** Both Cozy Okada and Kazuma Kaneko make cameo appearances in the first episode of the Devil Summoner live-action TV series.
** Several of the games' artists appear as shopkeepers in ''Persona 2''.
* CreatureBreedingMechanic: Demons can be fused with one another, or in some games simply sacrificed, to create new demons. As, after a while, the leveling requirements increase far too sharply for demons to remain useful, unlike the human characters, this is the only alternative to negotiating with more powerful creatures.
* CreepyChild: LouisCypher in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', Pharos in ''VideoGame/Persona3'', Alice in every game she appears in.
-->"Won't you please die for me?"
* {{Crossover}}:
** [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]] shows up in ''Nocturne'' and promptly attempts to kick your ass. Later on, though, you can talk him into signing on with you. In the second UpdatedRerelease of ''Nocturne'', Raidou Kuzunoha appears instead, for all kinds of continuity wackiness.
** And in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiLiberationDx2'', a slew of characters from other franchises have been added as summonable demons: VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} and her friend Jeanne, [[Manga/{{Berserk}} Guts]] (both in original flavor and Berserker Armor), Griffith, the Skull Knight, Schierke, Mozgus, and Zodd, [[Manga/GhostInTheShell Major Motoko Kusanagi]] and a Tachikoma, and [[Manga/{{TheSevenDeadlySins}} Meliodas]], Elizabeth, and Ban. Dante returns with V and Nero.
** Characters from ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'' appear in both ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiImagine'' and ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' (the latter of which was only included in the Japanese release).
* CrossoverCosmology:
** Sure, you can summon Joan of Arc, Kali, Amaterasu, and Quetzalcoatl to beat the crap out of Lucifer, Loki, a Vampire, and Ra.
** In ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon'', bring an Asura into battle against a Mahakala. They'll have an interesting discussion about the fact that they're the ''same god'', just from two different eras, then agree to fight it out to determine which is more deserving.
* CuteAndPsycho: Many demons, like Pixie, Jack Frost or Alice, look extremely cute, but are also somewhat mentally unstable.
* CuteMonsterGirl: Majority of the female demons. Not all of them, though.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: D-F]]
* DarkIsEvil: ZigZagged: The Light-Dark alignment axis refers to a given demon's typical ''depiction'' in its originating myths, not necessarily how they actually ''are''.
* DarkIsNotEvil: A major offender of this trope. To counter the CrapsackWorld, you have the option to ally with TheDarkSide in order to produce a peaceful world. ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' stands out for one of its endings running on this trope.
* DeconstructorFleet: A very odd case, in that they [[{{Deconstruction}} tear apart]] every trope related to {{Mon}}s... [[UnbuiltTrope while still being]] the TropeMaker.
** One of the core deconstructions of the series is presenting the God of the Old Testament ''without'' any kind of OmniscientMoralityLicense. The usual result is unambiguously [[GodIsEvil maltheistic]], though a couple of games leave that conclusion up to the player.
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' also stands out, showing what would really happen in your typical {{Mons}} series when random bystanders (including children) suddenly gain the ability to command powerful demons. The answer: '''very bad things'''.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Well, not exactly "friendship", since most of the time you're making contracts with demons, not befriending them, but in most games in the series, defeating a boss demon gives you the ability to fuse them, once your level is high enough.
* DegradedBoss: Former bosses may return as EliteMooks. This may cost them their best moves, but occasionally they also wind up being recruitable. This is occasionally [[InvertedTrope inverted]], with buffed-up versions of normal enemies showing up as sub-bosses.
* DeityOfHumanOrigin: Or DemonOfHumanOrigin, as "demon" is usually a term to refer to all supernatural entities. In many games, humans can transform into demons or gods through various circumstances (with certain games sometimes distinguishing gods from demons).
** In ''VideoGame/Persona1'', [[BigBad Kandori]]'s goal is to become one of these. [[spoiler:He gets it, but it turns out to be nothing of worth to him.]]
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', the Demi-Fiend transforms into a demon due to the Magatama, parasitic entities which transform the human body into a demon while retaining the human heart. Humans can also become demons via absorbing Magatsuhi, a spiritual substance created as a byproduct from the flow of emotions and souls, [[spoiler:which Isamu and Chiaki undergo after their FaceHeelTurn]].
** In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', the Atma virus infects human beings down to their very souls, allowing them to metaphysically transform into their "demonic" selves known as Atma Avatars, at the cost of suffering from HorrorHunger for Magnetites (which are similar to Magatsuhi mentioned above, and abundant within complex living beings like humans and demons).
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', humans can also become demons when merged with the formless essence which demons are composed of. This process can happen in a variety of different ways: a human can be ''[[BodyHorror physically merged]]'' with a demon; a human can be slowly exposed and filled with the essence so they can gradually adjust both body and mind into a demon; [[spoiler:and in ''[[UpdatedReRelease Redux]]'', the essence can be refined into a mystical fruit which can transform a human into an immortal, demon-like but not quite demonic entity]].
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'', it is clarified the Magnetite which exists in all things react to will and emotion, which can also trigger a demonic transformation in the right circumstances. In the latter, [[spoiler:the protagonist also manages to be the Creator God of a new universe devoid of demons and gods (except himself) in one ending]].
** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'' ''[[UpdatedReRelease Royal]]'', [[spoiler:Maruki ''almost'' manages to become a god by gaining the focal point of all cognitive powers in Mementos, and permitting his Persona Azathoth/Adam Kadmon to incarnate through himself. He's not finished his ascension yet, and is defeated by the Phantom Thieves before he could complete it.]]
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', a god and a demon has a crucial difference. [[spoiler:Gods were the original entities who rose from humanity, and capable of interacting with the laws of the universe which centered on the Throne of Creation as part of the Mandala system placed by the Great Will. When the One God of Law took the seat of Creator, he took out the Knowledge in all other gods, the essence which allowed gods to interact with the laws of the universe and potentially take the Throne, turning them into demons. Lucifer's act of stealing the Fruits of Knowledge and distributing them to humanity made it so demons would need to fuse with the human carrying their corresponding Knowledge to once again become a god as they originally were, which is now known as Nahobino.]] The central conflict of the latter half of the game [[spoiler:is about replacing the God of Law, who [[GodIsDead was killed by Lucifer sometime before the story begins]]. Several characters either want to attain the same power or actually achieve it in pursuit of the Throne. Three of the game's endings see the protagonist become the world's new creator deity]].
* DeityOfMortalCreation:
** Early games often mention how demons and gods can be brought down and transformed into different identities due to shifting beliefs, notably ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' (and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII II]]'' by extension). Lucifer even explains at the end of the game how he will return exactly when humans need him again. ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy'' in particular, which is a prequel to ''SMT I'', has the main antagonist manipulate the Japanese army to ''create'' a god via DeusEstMachina (and a lot of questionable methods).
** In number of continuities (notably ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', the former being in the same continuity as the aforementioned ''Raidou Kuzunoha'') it is made explicit demons and gods are born, given shape, and powered by human belief and concepts, due to humanity's supernatural ability to change reality. ''Apocalypse'' in particular has "gods" as originally shapeless natural phenomenon (like wind and lightning) which were given form and identity by human religions. As a consequence, in these continuities it's generally impossible to permanently kill a god as long as humans still practice, or are aware of, or still affected by the thoughts which birthed those gods, with many defeated gods declaring they'll be back AsLongAsThereIsEvil.
** This trope is also inverted for specific entities and worlds. ''VideoGame/LastBible'', ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'', ''Persona'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' all state (sometimes in [[AllThereInTheManual side materials]]) there are gods or precursor-like beings who preceded or even responsible for human existence. Many games such as ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' also has various characters, even ''enemies of God'', claim God created humanity, though it is often unclear if they refer to [[DemiurgeArchetype YHVH]] or [[AboveTheGods the Great Will]].
* DemonicPossession:
** The Heroine in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' is possessed by a whole lot of demons at one point, as you have to enter her psyche and clear out the ringleader (the spider Arachne) in order to save her. Naturally, you burst in on Arachne just as she's about to take full control of the girl.
** Aradia takes over Yuko's body in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne''. Only, she's a goddess. A fake goddess. [[FantasyKitchenSink It's kinda complicated]].
** Nemissa possesses Hitomi in ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'', giving a makeover and PowersViaPossession. Subverted in that Nemissa leaves when she realizes it's necessary and Hitomi still has pretty much control over herself. Later, [[spoiler:Spooky]] is taken over by Satanael, who later decides to take on the party... by ''blowing his way out of the victim's body''. '''''And he doesn't make it all the way out.''''' Near the end, [[spoiler:Kadokura is also possessed and transformed by Manitou.]]
** In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', this is what happens to people who can't control their Atma Avatars, they lose their human identity and believe they truly are the mythological figures they represent, making it a horrific combo between Type 1 and 2. The first cases were the [[LightIsNotGood Four Seraphs]], [[KnightTemplar Metatron]] and [[Myth/HinduMythology Meganada]].
** In ''VideoGame/Persona1'', Toro is possessed by his Persona. Which looks like a demonic penis, by the way. [[spoiler:Kandori suffers a similar fate, being transformed by Nyarlathotep into a giant Buddha head.]]
** In ''VideoGame/Persona2'', there is the "Possessed" status effect, in which certain demons blow themselves up to possess a party member, replacing their moveset with the demon's. Those afflicted by Joker Curse also qualify (as the curse gives them Joker as a Persona). The UpdatedReRelease of ''Eternal Punishment'' clarifies how a human possessed by a Persona forcefully given to them would typically transform and become a demonic incarnation of said Persona.
** In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', Amane is possessed by [[spoiler: not only Remiel, an angel, but Jezebel, a demon]].
** In ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'', [[spoiler:Elizabeth tries to use Zeus as a Persona, but she ends up being possessed instead]].
** In ''VIdeoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax'', [[spoiler:the Malevolent Entity Hi-no-Kagutsuchi plans to possess Sho as a vessel, as gods from the collective consciousness are reliant on humanity's existence without one, so he can enact his OmnicidalManiac goals]].
* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: Most of the less than nice guys from mythology (Lucifer, Beelzebub, Surt, Loki, Mara, Arioch, etc) are classified as Maou (lit. Demon King), which is localized as Tyrant.
* DevelopersForesight: What makes the {{Superboss}}es so difficult is this. OptionalBoss generally has some kind of anti-cheese feature built in so you ''have'' to fight them in a "fair" fight. Otherwise, expect them to either give unavoidable 9999 damage to you or, in some battle systems such as the Press Turn system, spam powerful (and by powerful, we mean Megidolaon is the weakest possible) Almighty moves each turn.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: As most games are {{Fantasy Kitchen Sink}}s with {{Dialogue Tree}}s and negotiation systems, you'll usually have a lot of chances to taunt or insult monsters, demons and gods to their faces. Some games have it as PracticalTaunt moves so you can do it ''on command''.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Many [=MegaTen=] games end with mere humans beating supposedly [[TheOmnipotent omnipotent]] gods. Cthulhu itself also appears in ''SMT II'', ''SMT if...'', and ''Persona 2'', so you can also punch out an EldritchAbomination ''repeatedly''!
* DimensionalTraveller: There are notably different levels of this trope applicable across the franchise.
** In most continuities, demons are a mass of energy and information which generally reside in AnotherDimension before being summoned to the physical world through magic rituals. In other words, any demon crafty or powerful enough to force an independent manifestation in the physical world without relying on being summoned first is this trope by default. A recurring example is Lucifer, [[LouisCypher who often shows up in a human form]] without being prompted or summoned.
** In certain continuities, notably ''Nocturne'', ''Soul Hackers''/''Raidou Kuzunoha'', and ''IV'' duology, demons can freely traverse between universes through the [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds Amala Network]] (Nocturne), [[PlaceBeyondTime Akarana Corridor]] (Raidou) or Makai/Expanse (IV and Apocalypse). This also applies to any human who has learned the means to access and move across them safely.
** The "Messiahs in the Diamond Realm" DLC and side materials of ''Apocalypse'' confirm there are a ''scant few'' individuals who transcend so far beyond dimensions and laws, they can travel between continuities and thus are the same persons across the entire franchise. Stephen implies that, while moving between a single set of connected universes is doable for demons and humans given the means [[note]]IV and Apocalypse main game repeatedly have the protagonists move between parallel universes through Yamato Reactor, with and without Stephen's assistance[[/note]], movement between distinct continuities (universes with no intrinsic connection, differing laws and origins) is normally impossible for most beings, as Stephen mentions he had to bend "the Reason" in the natural order (translated to "immutable rules" in English) to allow the protagonists of mainline games to meet in the Diamond Realm [[note]]while Stephen has no need to do so when transporting Flynn or Nanashi across the Expanse to a parallel universe[[/note]].
* DiscOneNuke: Exploiting [[RandomDrop random demon or skill mutations]] or even just knowing which demon to level up to cover certain weaknesses in many of the games' fusion and level-up systems can net you high-level skills or fairly powerful demons extremely early in a playthrough.
* DivineConflict: In the main series, the protagonists get involved in conflicts between either gods and demons, or they versus the human race. This is usually due to HumansAreBastards, JerkassGods, GodIsEvil, and less commonly GaiasVengeance.
* DolledUpInstallment: Minor example in the US releases: the ''Persona'' / ''Devil Survivor'' / ''Digital Devil Saga'' / ''Devil Summoner'' / etc games, while technically not part of the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series proper, were all released overseas under that title anyway starting in 2004, presumably because the series needs whatever name recognition it can get on this side of the pond. However, after Atlus made enough of a name for itself, the practice was completely starting with ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', and ''Persona 4: Golden'' in 2012.
* {{Doppelganger}}: A [[CharacterAlignment Dark-Chaos]] [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demon]] that can be fused in ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''. It appears as a shadowy, [[SlasherSmile grinning]] version of TheProtagonist. The Kageboushi in ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon'' fills a similar roll, though he cannot be recruited.
* DoppelgangerSpin:
** Used in both ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' ([[spoiler:where you can use the shadow cast by a full moon to suss out the real one]] and ''Digital Devil Saga'' (which you can suss out the real one with the help of your WaifProphet).
** In ''Persona 2'', you can do this by attempting to run. The camera will then FOCUS ON THE REAL ONE as she taunts you. Oops...
* DoubleEdgedBuff:
** Several games have the skill "Taunt", which can lower the enemies' defense but in return increases their attack.
** The Sleep ailment more often than not restores the HP and SP of those afflicted by it.
* DoubleEntendre: [[GagPenis Mara]] ''lives'' to make subtle and not-so-subtle dick jokes. Even his ''stats'' are a double entendre in some games (''VideoGame/Persona3'' Mara, for example, belongs to the Tower arcana, is weak to ice, and has the strongest pierce-type attack in the game.)
* DoubleUnlock: Defeating certain bosses grants you the privilege of fusing them, if you can find the specific component demons that make them up. It's possible for a player to beat a given game without ever fusing a boss demon, due to the extra deliberate effort required to get the demons needed.
* DragonInChief: YHVH loves having these. God might be the (at least nominal) leader of the forces of Law, but he generally only shows up in person on very few occasions.
** ''Megami Tensei II'': Satan/[[spoiler:Mr. Suzuki.]]
** ''Shin Megami Tensei'': Michael.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei II'': Satan/[[spoiler:Zayin]] again. [[spoiler:Michael thinks he's remained this, but not this time.]]
** ''Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne'': Kagutsuchi for the main game, [[spoiler:Metatron]] for the Labyrinth of Amala.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey'': The Three Wise Men. [[spoiler:Maybe.]]
** ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'': [[spoiler:Either Gabriel, who later becomes a part of Merkabah, or Mastema, though if it is the latter, then YHVH is actually good this time around, and Gabriel is the BigBad for Law. In Blasted Tokyo, it's Pluto, followed by the Ancient of Days after the former's defeat.]]
** ''Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse'': [[spoiler:Merkabah gets the role until it's revealed that both Merkabah and Lucifer, through their fused form Satan, are both this until the fusion]].
* DragonsAreDivine: The main ''SMT'' games and numerous spinoffs count draconic deities among its number, including Otohime and Huang Long. In IV, you are offered a side quest where you can directly say a dragon is divine for Chaos points.
* DuelingMessiahs: You are always free to choose which faction you wish to support.
* DungeonCrawler: The early games are classic examples of dungeon crawlers from the first-person perspective. Later games have elements that would be used in the third-person perspective.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** In the SNES games, you need to pay Macca just to ''summon your demons from your COMP'', and they continuously use up Magnetite in order to survive outside of the COMP. This was dropped in later games, where you can summon your demons without any charge and keep them out as long as their HP doesn't hit 0.
** Older games in the series are in first person perspective. This was dropped during the PSX era, but started making a resurgence in some recent games.
** Some of the earlier localizations in the series, namely those of ''VideoGame/Persona1'' and VideoGame/LastBible, were given the title "Revelations" ("Revelations: Persona" and "Revelations: The Demon Slayer" respectively), perhaps suggesting that this was originally intended to be the localized MarketBasedTitle for the franchise as a whole. This was eventually dropped in favor of simply using "Shin Megami Tensei".
* EarnYourHappyEnding: The good endings with no alien effects on humanity and life itself are generally presented as [[GuideDangIt the hardest to get]]. In many ways this is nominal only, since while they may involve additional bosses, they are not generally much harder. Obviously this also depends on whether you really interpret them as the best endings.
* EarthWindJuxtaposition:
** ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'': Argilla naturally resists Earth attacks while she is weak to Wind attacks (called Force in-game). Likewise, Gale resists Force but is weak to Earth. This pattern also holds true for many, ''many'' enemies; if something resembles a bird, there's a good chance it resists Force and is weak to Earth.
** ''VideoGame/Persona2'': The above pattern holds true in this game as well, as Personas with Earth-element attacks and resistances tend to be weak to Wind-element and vice-versa. Interestingly, Ulala's first Persona Callisto is Earth-element, while her Ultimate Persona Astraea is Wind-element; and their resistances switch accordingly.
* EatTheSummoner: There have been a handful of cases that highlight that EvilIsNotAToy. Summoners unable to defeat the demons they summon were killed in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and Harada's idiotic attempt to create an altar to supply him with demon servants ended in his death in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII''.
* EldritchAbomination: Demons as a whole. Though the franchise uses it as an umbrella term for all supernatural entities, it is emphasized ever since the earliest works and games that demons are supernatural because ''they are violations to reality as humans comprehend it''. As a whole, demons (and indeed, other supernatural entities not classified as one) in the franchise come in 3 different categories, each hitting points of this trope in different ways:
** [[DeityOfMortalCreation Entities created as a side effect of humankind's ability to change and warp reality]]. This is the most prominent type of demon category in the series: these demons are usually lifeforms composed of Magnetite (sometimes called Aether), the substance which permeates reality itself and exist in all of its phenomenons, which are normally undetectable to normal lifeforms but react to their psyche: will, thought, perception, instinct, emotion. What these demons have in common is how they are given identity and form by humans as living clusters of Magnetites, which are supposed to be formless as part of the fabric of reality, though the specifics vary [[note]]in some games like ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' humans don't innately affect the formless essence of reality and gained the ability through specific circumstances -- which can vary in scale such as to humans as a species, or only to specific individuals such as [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI Stephen]]; in others like ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'' humans possess it as an inherent trait[[/note]]. In other words, they are literally ''sentient droplets of reality itself'', to varying degrees of power and scale, with the capacity to twist and warp natural phenomenons in accordance to their natures and how much aspect of reality they embody. Thus, as long as humans continue to exist and shape reality in such a way which permits the existence of demons, they will never be truly gone; conversely, if humans ''are'' gone, then [[NoOntologicalInertia they would also go poof]].
** Similar yet distinct from the above is the reverse: [[NatureSpirit naturally formed living phenomenons]]. In some games humans don't seem to shape the essence of reality into demons (at least not actively), yet the processes which give rise to demons ''still happen anyway'' [[note]]usually because there are forces ''other'' than humanity which had dictated reality first; games like ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'' have [[GodIsEvil God]], other games have [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute counterparts]] like [[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Brahman]], ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'' has [[spoiler:previous generations of advanced civilization which were wiped by the Schwarzwelt, and also [[GaiasVengeance the Earth itself]]]], ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' has alien {{Reality Warper}}s; ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV V]]'' also implies there are worlds which are ''inherently structured'' to give rise to demons, no matter what[[/note]]. These demons are a fair bit different from the above type in a number of ways. While they have similar traits and can harness power from humans, they are closer to being true lifeforms: though the ''genesis'' of these demons [[NiceJobBreakingItHero could be affected or catalyzed by humans]], their ''continued existence'' [[OntologicalInertia are not]]. Thus, these demons are ''very'' prone to KillAllHumans. On the other hand, individual demons of this type can be killed and won't come back naturally -- though new demons of similar natures might still spawn. It is also possible for demons of the above category to become this one. In ''Persona'', demons and gods who possess and incarnate within a human would not disappear even if humans are no more to create cognition; [[spoiler:Hi-no-Kagutsuchi tries to do exactly that]]. ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'' also have the Divine Powers planning to use human souls to essentially become an axiom in reality, while [[spoiler:Vishnu-Flynn]] and [[spoiler:Satan]] use FusionDance with powerful humans to ''wield'' Observation to their advantage.
** Distinguished from the above two: [[OutsideContextProblem entities who are neither humans who can affect the essence of reality, nor demons who are formed from said essence,]] but [[RealityWarper warp reality nonetheless]]. A lot less prominent category, entities of this type are usually [[StarfishAlien aliens]] (''Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. The Lone Marebito'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'', ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}: [[UpdatedReRelease Full Body]]'') or primordial [[CosmicEntity cosmic entities]] (''VideoGame/LastBible'', ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'', ''VideoGame/Persona3'', ''[[UpdatedReRelease Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker]]''). Some games seem to imply certain incarnations of YHVH are also this type of being (particularly those stated to have created humans, like ''Nocturne'' and ''Strange Journey''), assuming it is indeed YHVH and not [[AboveTheGods the Great Will]] (which exists as PowersThatBe on a YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm levels, even for the most powerful entities in the franchise).
* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Played straight and averted. Usually, basic elemental types (i.e., ones that specialize in only one element) usually have a weakness to the opposing element (ice vs. fire, electricity vs. wind, light vs. dark). However, at higher levels, demons usually have a variety of weaknesses and strengths (ex. Black Frost, despite being a Jack Frost, has strengths against both ice AND fire). This results in bosses having a bit of trial-and-error as you have to test out each type to see what works and what doesn't.
* ElementalTiers: Sometimes there are the [[ElementalEmbodiment 'Element' race]]. They always have [[DishingOutDirt Erthys]] as the weakest, then [[BlowYouAway Aeros]], then [[MakingASplash Aquans]], and [[PlayingWithFire Flaemis]] with the highest level. Sometimes they are followed by Paracelsus' elementals, but the element order stays the same, with Gnome as the weakest, followed by Syplh, Undine, and Salamander. Not that their levels matter much, since they're usually fusion fodder.
* EliteTweak: No demon is perfect. But every demon can be perfected. Ditto for Persona.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: If the world hasn't already ended before the game started, then it's about to.
* EndOfTheWorldSpecial: Power and how you choose to use it is one of the big themes of the series. Up to and including what kind of world you wish to create AfterTheEnd.
* EnemyWithin: See DemonicPossession above. In worlds where DeityOfMortalCreation applies, you can technically consider ''every'' demon and god as this trope for humanity.
* EnergyEconomy: Macca is usually understood as edible to demons, and justifies why it is necessary to summon them from the Compendium.
* EveryManHasHisPrice: Mostly. Most demons will very willingly sell themselves with some crafty negotiation. Some races, though, will never see this as an option. In some situations such as IV this is averted with Law demons (i.e. angels) who are so dedicated to their cause you cannot recruit them, though they may join you when on the verge of death.
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: ''Everything''. This is no joke: when your ''very intrusive thoughts'' could manifest somehow and kill you, you know everything else will.
* EvilerThanThou: All five "main" ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games have everyone trying to one-up each other.
* EvilIsEasy: More often than not, it's the reason people side with the Law and Chaos factions. On one hand, the angels are backed by The Almighty, thus their will is God's Will, and God's Will is absolute regardless of how deplorable it may seem. If they believe humanity needs to follow one single God to prosper for the sake of humanity's peace and happiness at the cost of their free will, so be it. On the other, those that claim to be providing leaders might not have the strength to provide what they promised, and if they do, there's no guarantee that you'll receive it. Sometimes, the only way to get what you want and need is by force. After all, the strong consuming the weak is the natural order of the world, so why go against it? By following either of these philosophies, you'll be able to skip certain bosses or even get them to join you on the spot. [[WeUsedToBeFriends Just don't expect your friends to follow them as well.]]
* EvilIsNotAToy: It's perfectly possible to gain immense power at little or no effort. On the other hand, [[FateWorseThanDeath the price]] makes it an iffy choice ''at best''.
* EvilMakeover: Word of advice: don't get [[FusionDance too attached]] to ''anyone''.
* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: Standard Law justification for their side of things.
* EvilVersusEvil: OrderVersusChaos. Messians versus Gaians. YHVH versus Lucifer. The big question is who, if any, will you side with? Whether they are evil, or merely reflect the reality of a dark grey universe, is up to you however.
* {{Expy}}: The Djinn enemy is a carbon copy of the Genie in ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''.
* ExtraTurn: A staple of the series beginning with ''Nocturne'':
** ''Nocturne'', ''Digital Devil Saga'', ''IV'', ''IV: Apocalypse'' and ''V'' use the Press Turn system, where each side gets a number of turns equal to the number of members in the party, maybe more depending on the player completing a NewGamePlus sidequest or the party in question consisting of a boss who gets two or more turns for themselves. Exploiting an enemy's weakness or scoring a CriticalHit will turn an existing "full-turn" icon, if any, into a "half-turn" instead of using up any turns, though if only half-turns remain then one will be used up. Some bosses can use skills that turn an existing full turn into multiple half-turns, such as Dragon Eye, Beast Eye, and Psycho Rage, [[SecretAIMoves none of which can ever be obtained by the player]]. ''IV'' does allow the player to get Guardian's Eye, but it requires beating the ultimate DLC boss and Guardian's Eye costs a whopping ''255 MP'' to cast!
** ''Devil Survivor'' and its sequel allow either party during a skirmish to obtain up to one extra turn per member also through weaknesses and crits, but can also gain extra turns simply by nullifying (or better) opponents' attacks. During the Extra Turn phase, parties cannot gain Extra Turns again, except in ''Devil Survivor 2'' where the Omega race of demons allows parties to obtain "Double Extra" turns.
** ''Persona 3'' and onward allow an attacker to gain "1 More" turn through weakness exploits and crits. Doing either knocks down the target, and simply hitting a knocked-down target will not cause another 1 More; the attacker needs to keep hitting standing opponents to gain more turns.
* TheFairFolk: Many demons have their designs based on these, as well as their personalities. ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games like to remind you every so often that you are definitely ''not'' dealing with human beings.
* FairySexy: Pixie, Titania, Hua Po, Sylph.
* FallenAngel: ''Many''. Lucifer, the entire Literature/ArsGoetia, Grigori, Mithras and others are this to a greater or lesser degree. Kazfiel is unique in that he still is Law and part of the Herald/Divine races while Samael switches between Law and Chaos since [[RiddleForTheAges his true alignment is a mystery]].
* FalseUtopia: A very real risk. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this franchise.
* FantasyKitchenSink: More notably explored in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', with the various factions and alliances everyone pulls in the road to ultimate power, though ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' is also a very good example with the Mothers and the demon lords.
* FateWorseThanDeath: These are not happy games. The suffering is not restricted to the bad guys, or bad endings. Neither is pain expected to end with mere ''death''.
* FightingYourFriend: Unfortunately, with the fate of the world in the line, ideological and philosophical differences will destroy the tightest friendships.
* FinalBoss: The main series is well known for its multiple routes having different Final Bosses. Just to list numbered ones:
** ''Shin Megami Tensei I'': [[spoiler:Asura]] on Law, [[spoiler:Michael]] on Chaos. On Neutral, you get to choose who to fight first and second.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei II'': [[spoiler:YHVH]]. In a grand subversion of preceding and succeeding formula, all routes, no matter what you do, have you fight him.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne'': [[spoiler:Kagutsuchi]], with the game using NoFinalBossForYou on one route and TrueFinalBoss ([[spoiler:Lucifer]]) on another.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'': [[spoiler:Kenji and the Yamato Perpetual Reactor]] on NonStandardGameOver, [[spoiler:Merkabah]] on Chaos, and [[spoiler:Lucifer]] on Law and Neutral.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse'': [[spoiler:Merkabah]] on Chaos, [[spoiler:Lucifer]] on Law, and [[spoiler:YHVH]] on the other routes.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei V'': [[spoiler:Lucifer]] in all endings, though [[spoiler:he gets powered up on the secret fourth ending]].
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Even the greatest warriors and demons came from ''somewhere''. When GodsNeedPrayerBadly is in effect, this applies to ''gods'' too, up to and including YHVH himself.
* FullCircleRevolution: A series staple. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' in particular emphasize how it really doesn't matter whether you choose Law, Chaos, or Neutral; eventually, a new guy who longs for whatever it is you gave up will turn up, dethrone you or wait until you are gone, then kick back everything you made back into nothing. It's pretty much the reason OrderVersusChaos can never end.
* FunctionalMagic: Comes in various flavors, depending on each game's mechanics and the demon involved.
* FusionDance: Demons/Personas as a rule either level exceedingly slowly or simply do not have the necessary gumption to last for long given the brutal form of SortingAlgorithmOfEvil the games tend to favor. So the series has, as noted above, a fusion system in which two or more participant demons are merged into a single one, allowing the resulting demon to inherit better stats and moves they would not have otherwise learned from their "parents". Most of the time, these take place in specialized places (the Cathedral of Shadows (a classic mainstay of the series), [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy the]] [[VideoGame/DevilSummoner Gouma-Den]], or [[Franchise/{{Persona}} the Velvet Room]]). However, there are a number of occasions in which a Demon Fusion Program has been used with compatible portable technology to fuse demons in the field (with the [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Demonica battlesuit]], [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2 as a cellphone app]], [[VideoGame/SoulHackers and with]] [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV the COMP]]).
** ''Persona'' games before ''3'' have a Fusion System based on collecting base Persona cards from random battles and using those to create stronger Personas. Of note, too; both demons in the main series and Personas occasionally demonstrate an interest borne out of curiosity or powerlust in fusion. The imagery used in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiImagine'' suggests the fused demons are outright killed in fusion, but in other media, it looks more like they unravel and the pieces fuse together.
** Mitama Fusions are used solely to power up a demon by increasing its stats or to impart specific moves to it, and do not change the demon.
** Elemental Fusions move a demon up or down the ranks of its race. Stronger Elements can move a demon up to two ranks above.
** Sacrificial Fusions in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' involve two demons and a sacrifice. The resulting demons inherit even better stats than if fused normally and can receive moves from all three participants. There are also some demons that can only be created this way.
** Special Fusions in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' always involve three or more demons. The recipes are fixed and cannot accept similar substitutes.
** Triangle, Cross, Pentacle and Hexagram Spread Fusions are also present in the latter ''Persona'' games. ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' even has an example of [[SerialEscalation Dodecagon Fusion]].
** Aside from inter-demon fusion, the trope can also be applied in certain games when demons can be fused into various forms of weaponry, such as the first two games of the main franchise. ''Persona 3'' has the Weapon Fusion system, in which new armaments can be created by fusing Personas into Nihil weapons. Both Raidou games feature demon forging, though only the first involves actually fusing the demon with the blade.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' explores this trope's dark, dark places: the EvilCounterpart of the Investigation Project, Jack's Squad, never got the transmission to get the series signature fusion program or demon summoning program. So they just made do with what they had: instead of keeping their demons in their Demonicas, they just locked and trussed them in cells, and for fusion, they tore them to pieces and started checking what clicked with what. It's little surprise their results mostly involve BodyHorror abominations.
* FusionDissonance: Every game that has fusion mechanics usually have resultant demons that don't resemble their components except for some inherited skills. You can fuse a goddess, TheDevil, and a dragon then end up with a penis monster among other possibilities. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZEq6DG9ZP4 Seriously]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: G-I]]
* GagPenis:
** Used frequently in many of the demons. Witness the [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080707022822/megamitensei/images/0/09/MaraSMT.jpg Mara]], [[http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090618224005/megamitensei/images/4/43/PENDRAGON.png Pendragon]], [[http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Mishaguji Mishaguji]], [[http://images.wikia.com/megamitensei/images/0/0d/Yamm.jpg Ym]], and of all things, [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080806040827/megamitensei/images/0/0e/Cthulhu2.jpg Cthulhu]].
** Then there is [[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/SMTNocturne/Update%2021/76-night_incubus.jpg Incubus]], who seems to find every woman and female demon in the game sexy. It's his job, after all.
* GaidenGame: ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' for the main series. ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'' also started as gaiden games under the ''Megami Ibunroku'' / ''Alternate Tales of the Goddess'' moniker, before developing into full fledged spinoff series of their own.
* GameOverMan: Several games, such as ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' have Charon, the ferryman to the afterlife, greeting you upon death. In some games, he will offer to bring you back to life if you have the Macca or [[Platform/Nintendo3DS Play Coins]] to pay his offer.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Numerous cases across the franchise, but the most persistent example is how the gameplay elements of player characters, party members and demons don't necessarily represent their abilities or traits in the story itself. An obvious example would be how demons tend to have strict caps on how many skills they can carry in gameplay, whereas in the story they have a myriad number of abilities ''far'' beyond what its gameplay statistics suggest, such as being lifeforms made out of energy and information (in most continuities), or abilities reflecting their mythical roots (i.e Nebiros being an expert necromancer).
* GatelessGhetto: Each game has a different justification for it. Police blockades, magical barriers, the city being the last place standing or simply not having any reason to leave have all been used in different capacities.
* GlobalCurrency: Macca in most of them, usually games not set in modern-day Japan.
* GlobalCurrencyException: Gemstones. Special traders pop every now and then and sell rare items in exchange for gems you may be given as gifts or as battle spoils, and there is no way to just pay regular money for it. ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' has the antique shop owner, who offers Persona-boosting items and Social Links-related paraphernalia, and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' has the Gem Trader, who sells a wide selection of items and even stat-boosting demons. ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon'' has Case Files requesting gems, and they can be used in fusion to power up the resulting demon. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' has Saint Germain's shop, which sells some of the most overpowered consumables in the game - if you're willing and able to pay him with your precious gemstones.
* {{God}}:
** Generally implied to be present in the games, but rarely shows up in person. YHVH shows up as ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'' [[spoiler:as the TrueFinalBoss]], ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' [[spoiler:as the FinalBoss]], (arguably) again in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'' [[spoiler:as the FinalBoss]], ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV IV]]'' [[spoiler:as a DLC boss]], and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'' [[spoiler:as the FinalBoss]].
** Various forms of Hoshigami (Starhair in English) are the creators of their respective universes in the ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' series, filling the role of God. [[spoiler:Brahman]] has that role in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', [[spoiler:Polaris and the administrators who come before or after him]] fulfil a somewhat similar funcion in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2''.
* GodAndSatanAreBothJerks:
** God is a vain tyrant who only cares about humans if they're worshipping Him and loves to hand out [[FateWorseThanDeath Fates Worse Than Death]]. Lucifer is a ManipulativeBastard who's a big fan of SocialDarwinism and anarchy. Some portrayals of them are less extreme or more sympathetic than others, but those are few and far between.
** [[Franchise/{{Persona}} Philemon and Nyarlathotep]] aren't much better. Nyarlathotep is a classical villain who wants to see humanity destroy itself, but even Philemon, who gives humans their Personas to fight back, does little more than observe. [[SarcasmMode He wouldn't want to lose a bet over something small like helping an entire species, after all]].
* GodIsEvil: To the point YHVH's form in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' used to be that trope's ''page image''. Note that YHVH is considered so corrupt in some games, even his loyal followers tend to want to get rid of him, seeing him as a detriment to a peaceful world. The creators have stated God is not the ultimate source of evil, but him being this trope is a sign of a greater error going in the fabric of reality. Still, with him showing up as the FinalBoss in more than one game, one can't help but think the impression is being reinforced. That said, this trope is subject to DependingOnTheWriter across the games: see [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiYHVH his character page]] for more in-depth details.
** The Great Will blurs this. While the various [[AlternateSelf alternate selves]] of God appearing across continuities are all aspects of the Great Will and tend to lean on this, the fact some of them are decidedly ''not'' this trope (''VideoGame/LastBible'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' ''[[UpdatedReRelease Redux]]'') makes it hard to tell if the Great Will is anything like any of its avatars.
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: A main staple, to justify DeityOfMortalCreation being so prevalent in the games.
** In at least ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' continuity (''II'', ''Devil Summoner'', ''Soul Hackers'', ''Raidou Kuzunoha'' and ''Persona'' -- all of which are either in the same timeline or {{Alternate Timeline}}s), ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'' continuity, and perhaps more: demons, angels, monsters, and spirits only exist because people remember and believe in them. Oddly, at least in ''II'', if the supernatural creatures believe hard enough, they create duplicates of other supernatural entities: with the Archangels believing in a False YHVH.
** This has some interesting bearing in the game. In general, the more people in RealLife that believe in a particular god/demon/angel/etc., the stronger they are in any given game. God, Lucifer, and the Archangels [[ArchangelMichael Michael]], [[ArchangelGabriel Gabriel]], Raphael and Uriel are obvious examples, but Shiva and Vishnu, both primary gods in Hindu (which remains one of the oldest active religions in the world) are also among the strongest. Exceptions do exist, like Metatron (less than one-quarter of one percent of the world's population are Jewish) being among the strongest.
** This trope is typically averted in spinoff series (''VideoGame/LastBible'', ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'') where demons and gods have distinct origins than in main series. ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'' downplays this as gods and demons instead emerge from "the will of the Earth", and thus don't require humans to exist (though they can still benefit from human worship), [[spoiler:and averts it entirely with an incarnation of God who predates humankind]]. ''VideoGame/Persona3'' averts this with Nyx, a CosmicEntity predating complex life on Earth.
* GoldenMeanFallacy: A constant staple of the games tends to be that while Law and Chaos are based on real philosophies, they tend to get strawmanned into oblivion. And while Neutral endings hint at the various flaws that remain from trying to forge a middle path, such as the God-vs-Lucifer conflict only being ''[[ForeverWar temporarily]]'' [[ViciousCycle stopped]], this tends to get shown in-game only indirectly, whereas the flaws of Law and Chaos are placed front and center. And it will often have a strangely light grey tone relative to the dark grey tones of Law and Chaos.
* TheGoomba: The lowest level members of the Fairy and Jirae races tend to be the first recruitable demons encountered in the mainline games, with the exception of the ''IV'' duology. These two tend to be Pixie and Knocker, but ''II'' uses High Pixie for the former and ''Nocturne'' uses Kodama for the latter.
* GrandfatherClause: The games are based around the idea that you are the only person who ultimately decide [[OrderVsChaos what is right and wrong]]. To convey this, there is almost always a SilentProtagonist as the MC. Where this trope comes in is the fact that even in games where they are ''fully voiced'' only the MC is silent. The adaptations are the only ones to avert this, [[{{Justified}} since it would be extremely awkward to watch an action anime where only grunts are given and no conversation elsewhere]].
* GreatWhiteFeline: Byakko/Bai Hu is a demon and Persona in the series, based on the White Tiger of the West from the Chinese Constellations.
* GreyAndGrayMorality: One of the biggest draws of the franchise is its ''incredibly'' grey conflict. All three alignments - Law, Neutral and Chaos - all have their positive and negative representatives, alongside their good and bad aspects. Law and Chaos at its worst tend to be ''very'' forceful [[WithUsOrAgainstUs in regards to their ideology]], but [[VillainHasAPoint they consistently raise good points in regards to their ideals]], especially when you consider the normally-optimistic Neutral endings to prolong the conflict until either Law or Chaos wins. There are ''very'' few exception to this rule, notably ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' since that game takes place in a unique universe where [[spoiler:Law and Chaos are puppets of YHVH - and even then, it ''also'' definitively proves Neutral can be just as extreme as Law and Chaos]]. At the end of the day, the game encourages you to choose the path you agree with the most, above all else.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Varies by continuity, but in general many problems within each game can be chalked up to YHVH -- or rather, agents of the Great Will in general. They are often the ones responsible for any given world being the way they are, including the conflict between Law and Chaos plaguing everything. This is especially so in ''Nocturne'' and in ''Apocalypse''.
* GuardianEntity: Many, but one of the most prominent one is Masakado for various incarnatons of Tokyo across the series.
* GuideDangIt:
** If you want to get certain skills on certain demons, you WILL need to consult several fusion charts and skill charts (doing it the old-fashioned way of chart-making is practically a SelfImposedChallenge).
** Getting the best ending of any given game by yourself is a SelfImposedChallenge. Well, unless said game does ''not'' have MultipleEndings, which is a rarity.
* HalfHumanHybrid: There a fair number of examples across the games, with varying levels of nature, practicality, and risks.
* HarderThanHard: Maniac mode in the modern games. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck It's the subtitle]] of the UpdatedRerelease of Nocturne.
* HappinessInSlavery: ''No.'' You can order demons whatever you want, but they ''will'' hate you if you cross certain lines. Loyalty in ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'' works alongside the same lines; demons have an affinity for certain attacks; allowing them to use it will increase their loyalty, telling them to use moves they hate will reduce it. The National Defense Divinities ''loathe'' both the Ashura-Kai and the Ring of Gaea, and are overjoyed at their own destruction, so the damn fools won't get to use them anymore as their mooks.
* HeadlessHorseman: Appear irregularly as a headless knight sans horse. A noteworthy example is a female Dullahan that shows up as a mid boss in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' during a Challenger Quest.
* HealerSignsOnEarly: Expect one of your first party members, be it human, demon, or otherwise, to have some healing capacity. Pixie is a common example between many games.
* HealingBoss: The more NintendoHard games tend to have bosses who use healing.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'':
*** Mara is a puzzle boss who can cast Diarahan (which fully restores a single target's HP) whenever he pleases. It's not really much of a puzzle though: if you made it this far into the game you ''know'' what the answer is. Because it's the same way you beat ''every'' boss in this game: buff your offense and debuff his defense to the degree that you can kill him before he has a chance to use it.
*** Daisoujou has the ability to steal life and mana from the party through its Meditation spell.
*** Clotho of the Moirae sisters is able to cast Dia, Diarama and Mediarama on herself and her sisters.
** During the fight with the Angel trio, Uriel and Raphael both have the single-target full-health Diarahan spell.
*** The Trumpeter's Holy Melody restores the target to full HP. It will always aim it at the character with the lowest percentage of HP, so the fight can become a PuzzleBoss where you want to avoid it casting on itself and force it to cast it on one of your party instead.
*** Baal Avatar is able to summon minions who will happily heal her fully if you inflict a certain amount of damage on her without killing her outright.
*** Lucifer in the Maniax Chronicles Edition starts with well over 60,000 HP. On hard mode, he will cast Diarahan when he gets below 20,000, fully restoring his HP. On normal mode though, he will only cast Diarama, which at this point in the game is tantamount to wasting a turn. You should be dealing the amount of damage he just healed many times over with one attack.
** ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'': The superboss of the first game ([[spoiler:Demi-Fiend]]) will have one of his demons cast Mediarahan to fully heal their entire party the first time he gets below half HP. And since all of them are immune to status effects, you can't prevent it. The second game's superboss ([[spoiler:Satan]]) will also use Diarahan when his HP gets close to death, to punish you ''hard'' if you can't finish him off.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'': The DLC superboss Demi-fiend will cast Mediarahan when he gets below half HP, fully healing his entire party. You can skip him doing this if you manage to inflict the charm status on him before putting him beneath that threshold, though.
* HelloInsertNameHere: Most of the protagonists in the series are nameless until you name them. However, there are many notable instances of playing with this trope. For instance, [[VideoGame/Persona2 Tatsuya]] and [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV Flynn]] have default names that can be changed, while Maya and [[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Serph]] are stuck with those. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' names the protagonist "Hawk" and doesn't let you change his name until certain plot points are revealed, and lets you use default names for every main character, which actually shifts your alignment towards Law.
* HellOnEarth: ''Nocturne'', ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga 2'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''.
* HeroicMime: The main protagonists are almost always one of these. Which made ''Persona 2'' quite entertaining considering that the protagonists of ''Innocent Sin'' and ''Eternal Punishment'' only have dialogue in the game they're not starring in.
** Some games work skillfully around this. In ''Digital Devil Saga'', Serph is a HeroicMime because [[spoiler:he's based on the understanding Sera had on the real Serph. That is to say, she knew nothing about the real Serph]]. In ''Persona 3'' and ''4'', the protagonists' arcanas are TheFool. One aspect of TheFool is chaos and creativity; in short, this means they are free to choose any personality they want.
* HobbesWasRight: The neutral path essentially states this in the ending.
* HolyHandGrenade: "Hama" type spells; typically OneHitKill type spells.
* HotterAndSexier: ''Giten Megami Tensei'' is a bit of an odd duck in the series in that it's a mid-90s PC exclusive and as such has [[{{Hgame}} has more freedom to show rather risque imagery.]] It has explicit sexual content, very intense gore, and [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs some highly unsettling combinations thereof]]. Particularly infamous is the scene where [[spoiler: Yuuka]], semi-nude, is ''very'' graphically dismembered, decapitated and devoured by demons [[note]]She gets better after [[TitleDrop reincarnating as a goddess]][[/note]].
* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: The Biblical four (White Rider, Red Rider, Black Rider, and [[GrimReaper Pale Rider]]) are a fixture throughout the series along with a couple other figures from the Literature/BookOfRevelation, serving as {{Superboss}}es and potentially allied demons, if you can beat them. They're often hard to find and ''always'' hard to beat. Strangely for an apocalyptic series, they tend to never be directly involved in the plots, instead showing up as optional side bosses.
* TheHorseshoeEffect: Law and Chaos aren't as different as they'd like to think. ''Especially'' where their methods are concerned.
* HumanityOnTrial: ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', and ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2''. Sometimes we ''deserve'' to be tried.
* HumanResources: Magnetite/Magatsuhi/Red is an incredibly useful substance for dealing with demons, as it tastes great to them, even better than human flesh. [[spoiler:However, no matter how you call it, ''it's actually refined from human brains/souls''. Certain protagonists like Raidou mostly generate and use his own to offer to his demonic contracts, but other uses have demons either farming it from humans/humanoid facsimiles, or [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humans using captured POWs, captured civilians/slaves and children to use their conditioned neurological tissue to harvest it]]. In the last case, they also used an enslaved demon to help produce them better. Said demon being none other than a Magatsuhi from Japanese lore.]]
* HumansAreFlawed: A very important aspect of the OrderVersusChaos conflict. After all, both sides are only trying to help... each in their own way. Even when humans choose a balance they will likely crave the extremism of Law or Chaos eventually, resetting the conflict to begin anew.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: While the demons are ObviouslyEvil, sometimes humans commit horrible atrocities that [[EvenEvilHasStandards even the most bloodthirsty of demons get squicked out by]]. Two examples include [[spoiler:Captain Jack]] from ''Strange Journey'', who dabbles in experimenting on unwilling demons ''en masse'' as well as [[spoiler:kidnapping a human and trying to fuse them with a demon]], and [[spoiler:Tayama the Ashura-kai ringleader]] in ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'', who [[spoiler:has his henchmen kidnap Tokyo dwellers (especially critics of the Ashura-kai) and extract neurotransmitters from them to make demon-quelling Red Pills]].
* HuMons:
** Several of the demons you can fuse or recruit are based on humans or demigods from various mythologies. They, therefore, resemble humans with clothing and weapons symbolic of their role in mythology.
** Exaggerated in the [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI first]] [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII two]] SNES games; [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness the heroes could recruit]] humans, who can be ordered around in battle like any other demon [[note]]Not to be mistaken with the human party members, who join and leave at plot-relevant intervals[[/note]]. These humans are special because fusing them with a demon gives a random demon within a certain level range ([[AntiFrustrationFeatures the player can see the result of the fusion before ordering and can cancel, so they can try again and again until finding the desired demon]]).
* HurricaneOfPuns: ''Everything'' about Mara. Mara is a demon from Buddhism that used various temptations on the Buddha to prevent him from achieving enlightenment. However, ''mara'' is also a slang term for "penis" in Japanese, which is fitting because it is generally shaped like one. It's common for Mara's attacks to have the ''Pierce'' trait, or the fire attribute, and the demon being weak to ice cold. In the Persona games its arcana will inevitably be Tower. And in Shin Megami Tensei ''IV'', ''Apocalypse'', and ''V'', most of the dialogue surrounding it will involve penis puns. His base skill set in ''V'' includes Hell Thrust, Toxic Spray and Slumber Vortex.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Law's standard justification for several genocides. Note that when not committing genocide, Law points tend to be awarded by saving lives and helping people, and they tend to speak out against harms or selfishness. They simply think that at certain times you can help far more people in long term by killing selectively chosen ones.
* IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace: But you will wind up going there anyway. Even if it's the stuff of your darkest nightmares.
* IncapableOfDisobeying: As a general rule, demons that were contracted, summoned, or fused through the Demon Summoning Program are incapable of disobeying their summoner.
** The original ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' and ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'' are an exception; demons will rarely follow your orders if told to do something they don't want to do.
* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: Though some games at least have the decency to at least put some color variations.
* InfallibleBabble: In all the games, talking to the random [=NPCs=] scattered around will reveal quite a bit about the plot and future events of each game, usually long before the game actually brings them up. In some occasions, talking with everyone is the only way to progress.
* InfernalParadise: Utopia has that name for a ''reason''.
* InherentInTheSystem: Try as you might, whatever you do is, at best, creating sandcastles, because there will always be people who disagree with whatever ending you pick and who will overthrow whatever order (or chaos) you create, and even restoring the old, un-destroyed world doesn't protect it from destruction in the future. The only other option anyone's come up with is [[spoiler: destroying ''[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt everything]]'']].
* InfinityPlusOneSword: Many ultimate GameBreaker abilities and equipment require a lot of work to get. Examples from [[Franchise/{{Persona}}]] are in their own page.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'': Hinokagutsuchi, the best sword in the game, obtainable through fusion only. Requires a total of sixty-seven demons and several fusable swords to walk through each step. As the sword can also be fused with various demons to produce the best gun and the best armor for Hiroko, you need EIGHT of them for a full equipment list.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne''
*** Masakados Magatama: Find all 24 Magatama, beat an extra BrutalBonusLevel (Bandou Shrine) and ''four'' {{Optional Boss}}es.
*** [[ArmorPiercingAttack Pierce]] skill: beat the massive BrutalBonusLevel (Labyrinth of Amala) ''before'' entering TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.
*** Extra Press Turn: beat the ''even harder'' Grave Run (ending all Grave Battles in the Labyrinth with a qualifying Press Turn count).
** ''Digital Devil Saga'': Amala Ring: beat one of the hardest {{Superboss}}es in RPG history.
** ''Digital Devil Saga 2'': Magatama Ammo: complete a series of PopQuiz RandomEncounters, then beat a boss in the TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'': The best swords and guns for each alignment (though Neutral doesn't have its own specific gun) are obtained from alignment-exclusive EX Missions. ''Redux'' does this one better by having even stronger equipment be found from its own superbosses in its unique BonusDungeon.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'': [[spoiler:Masakado's Shadow]], obtained by beating the boss of the final DLC quest. He boasts, among other things, "Curse Thy Enemy", which inflicts Almighty damage to all enemies and ''counts as a weakness'', and "Guardian's Eye", a 255-MP (!!) spell which grants three blinking Press Turns.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'': The Fiends of [[BonusDungeon Twisted Tokyo]] drop incredibly powerful weaponry and accessories... [[RandomlyDrops if you're lucky]].
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'':
*** Shiva and his absurdly strong skills can be yours to use if you manage to defeat him... but he's a level 96 {{Superboss}} when you can beat the game at around level 85.
*** The Demi-Fiend's Essence (from his own DLC) is earned by beating him, giving the Nahobino immunity to everything except Almighty, or access several unique absurdly strong skills. He's also the toughest fight in the game.
* InstakillMook: The series has several spells - and thus {{Mook}}s - of this type.
** [[LightEmUp Hama]], [[CastingAShadow Mudo]] and their variants. Any mook can have them as soon as you start the game, and yes, they are very effective. Hama is usually owned by Divine (read "Angel") type enemies, while Mudo belongs to ghosts, hell-themed demons, etc. However, Hama gets [[{{Nerf}} Nerfed]] in a few games.
** Any enemy that can deal the "Stone" [[StatusEffects status ailment]], which [[TakenForGranite petrifies an opponent.]] If anyone inflicted with it is hit by a physical, [[DishingOutDirt Earth]] or [[BlowYouAway Force]] attack, they die.
** Many - usually late-game - enemies have the following pattern: a skill that inflicts a status effect, and a second skill that kills anyone who has it.
* IntercontinuityCrossover: A few games have overtly featured characters from a different continuity in a major role.
* InterfaceSpoiler: Many across the franchise, but one stands out. If you encounter [[DiscOneFinalDungeon what appears to be the final dungeon]] or [[DiscOneFinalBoss what appears to be the final boss]], go look through some possible fusions, especially special fusions. If you see resultant demons can still have tens of levels higher than you, what you think is the final challenge most likely ''isn't''. Rarely does a game in this series end with you and your demons/Personas below level 70-80.
* ItIsBeyondSaving: You will be presented arguments to convince you any given faction is responsible for this. Who you believe, of course, is your business and no one else's.
* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: In almost every single game you'll end up ascending a tall tower, or at least a very long multi-floor dungeon.
* ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure: The Law faction, more often than not, decides to nuke the hell out of those that disagree with it. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' is particularly famous for this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: J-M]]
* JesusTaboo: For its use of nearly every mythological character, Jesus is almost never mentioned or relevant. Admittedly [[GodIsEvil YHVH]] and [[{{Satan}} his dragon]] lean closer to the view Judaism has on the two (except for the "evil" bit) and Judaism doesn't have the same conception of Messiah, though they employ Catholic arch-angels.
** Aleph from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' was made to be the {{expy}} of Jesus, and they even made sure he had a virgin mother.
** Lyrics in ''Nocturne'''s boss theme mention a sacrificing of the son of God.
** The closest the series gets to Jesus is in ''VideoGame/Persona3'', the Persona Messiah, who is a representation of the MessianicArchetype as a whole.
** The demon [[http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Agony Agony]] represents a long-haired, visibly wounded man bound by barbed wire to a large wooden cross. However, comprehensively, it only appeared in the first ''Devil Summoner'' game, which has never been translated or even gotten out of Japan.
* KarmaMeter: The mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games have an alignment stat that changes based on the decisions you make, and determines which path the story will take near the end. They are modified or removed entirely for spin-offs.
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: The mechanics of each game tend to give out various bonuses for hitting enemy weaknesses or landing Critical Hits, such as Extra Press Turns or a free Almighty attack.
* KillTheOnesYouLove: Many games with alignment routes have you killing off friends who don't align with you.
* KnightTemplar: Pretty much everyone aligned with Law, [[spoiler:Remiel and Amane]] from ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' being some of the few exceptions. Sometimes it gets so bad that the Law ending doesn't even involve siding directly with the force of Law in game proper.
* LawyerFriendlyCameo:
** Jack Frost in other series. In ''Shin Megami Tensei II'', "Mr. Thriller" aka Music/MichaelJackson can be met dancing in a disco and talking about how much he loves toys and children. You can also fight and recruit CaptainErsatz versions of Film/{{Beetlejuice}} (Betelgeuse) and Literature/{{Christine}} (Chris The Car).
** In the first 2 ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games, you're given the Demon Summoning Program by a wheelchair-bound man with glasses and gray hair. He calls himself "Stephen". Any resemblance to a famous scientist is surely coincidental.
** In many games, the Jinn looks a lot like Genie from Disney's version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''.
* TheLegionsOfHell: Due to the Law faction's tendency to keep other demons away from the real world, Chaos factions generally lie in wait for their chance to rise again. Almost every game depicts them successfully doing so.
* LightIsGood: ZigZagged: The Light-Dark alignment axis refers to a given demon's typical ''depiction'' in its originating myths, not necessarily how they actually ''are''.
* LighterAndSofter: As mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei'' is pretty dark, it's not too hard for its spin-offs to achieve this trope.
** The ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' series, where the demons, gods and spirits are redesigned as more kid-friendly [[RuleOfCute cute]] versions. For instance, [[ScyllaAndCharybdis Scylla]] goes from a dog-headed sea monster to a cute little girl walking a bunch of puppies.
** The ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' series overall has the look and feel of a Saturday Morning Cartoon where cool and suave protagonists manage to thwart the plans of equally charismatic villains with (usually) no major betrayals and the world saved at the end of the day. While, obviously, the content is darker than said cartoons, the characters such as Nemissa and Raidou Kuzunoha are not out of place in a Shonen Manga or western comic book, with the former humorously failing at being the NinetiesAntiHero prevalent at her time, while Raidou tends to maintain his sense of justice. Driving the point are the openings [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gez-DOsC3Ko of Soul Hackers]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHtaqROGDOY Raidou Kuzunoha]] which would fit right in with shows on something like ''Toonami'' and let you know you're in for a DenserAndWackier, action-packed and lighter ''SMT'' adventure this time around.
** The ''Persona'' series, as you're usually SavingTheWorld with ThePowerOfFriendship, instead of [[TheFellowshipHasEnded watching your friends turn on you]] [[AfterTheEnd after the world's already been destroyed]]. Certain games, however, do avert this.
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' has multiple good endings and focuses on the more positive aspects of the series' theme of choice. It's like facing a ''Shin Megami Tensei'' situation with ''Persona'' protagonists. It's still fairly grim though, especially when compared to ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'', which in itself is a LighterAndSofter successor to the first game.
** ''Jack Bros'', the Virtual Boy SpinOff, is probably the lightest and softest of the bunch, as it focuses on Pyro Jack, Jack Frost and Jack Skeleton trying to return to the fairy world before time runs out.
* LimitedMoveArsenal: Most ''[=MegaTen=]'' games give your party members a limited number of skill slots, and force them to permanently forget old skills to make room for new ones. ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' and humans in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' do have the option to re-equip old abilities from a skill pool though.
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Inverted in most ''SMT'' games since the Platform/PlayStation2 era. Magic is far more useful at lower levels than physical attacks, as it can be used to exploit enemies' [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental weaknesses]]. However, higher-level physical skills that give you {{Armor Piercing Attack}}s, more {{Critical Hit}}s and CounterAttack abilities can make a late game physical build much deadlier than a magic one, especially once you begin encountering tougher enemies with [[NoSell few or no elemental weaknesses]].
* LivingStructureMonster: In ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' the demon [[http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110601200238/megamitensei/images/e/e6/Orcus.JPG Orcus]] appears as a brick [[HellGate gateway]] to {{Hell}} (if you look closely, a plaque reading "GO TO HELL" is attached to it) with part of a horned head visible at the top.
* LostInTranslation: To the point it might be impossible to list all of the examples without its own page.
** Many, ''many'' concepts in the original Japanese language don't or can't be conveyed after translation, which potentially results in misconceptions:
*** 宇宙 is commonly translated as "the universe", which is accurate in most cases but misleading in a few notable cases: the entity known as 宇宙の大いなる意志 (localized as "great will of the universe") exists as PowersThatBe in ''multiple'' universes and across different continuities; it would have been more appropriately translated as "cosmos".
*** 龍脈 is commonly translated as "Dragon Stream" which is again generally accurate, but can't convey the original Taoist conception that it is tied to the flow of life energy in Earth itself, and that it is possible for said life energy to flow out of their ordinary paths like a ruptured blood vessel. In fact, its literal translation "Dragon Veins" would be more accurate in most cases, as it connects to related concepts (龍穴 or Dragon Wounds, which is instead translated as "Leyline Fount") more easily.
** Interestingly, this trope is also ''inverted'' in one case. In Japanese, Makai or 魔界 (lit. Demon World) is always used to refer to an AlternateDimension where demons are born, no matter the game. This is despite the fact they aren't connected, and might have significant differences from game to game. For example, Makai of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' can be safely entered by a human (though requires special means), whereas Makai of ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' instantly kills any human who enters it. Similarly, in most games Makai is explicitly linked to the physical world of a single universe, whereas in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', Makai is ''also'' the space between universes. Notably, the non-Japanese releases make an effort to correct this, in that games with a Makai being fairly distinct from the norm have specific names rather than simply "Makai" or "Demon World": ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' calls it "Alien Dimension", ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' calls it "Expanse", ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'' calls it "Netherworld" or "Da'at". In short, instead of losing meaning upon translation, they instead ''gain'' proper distinctions.
** There are also a number of regular {{Pun}}s which don't make it through translation:
*** "Luster Candy" is the ultimate buff skill in some games. In Japanese, this is a play on the three individual buffs -- ''Ra''kukaja (defense), ''Su''kukaja (accuracy/evasion), and ''Ta''rukaja (attack) -- but the joke falls apart with a direct translation.
*** In Japanese, allied demons have been historically referred to as 仲魔, which is a made-up pun based on the word 仲間, meaning "ally". Both words are pronounced the same ("nakama"), but the former replaces one of the kanji with the kanji for "demon". English translations generally refer to them simply as "demon partners" or even just "demons", foregoing the pun.
* LouisCypher: Shows up in all the mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games, and ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon''. Loki takes the schtick and runs with it in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor''. Satan has his own example with Zayin.
* {{Lunacy}}: The waxing and waning of the moon is a key gameplay feature in every game. The fuller the moon is, the more damage your attacks do, the more likely an accident is to occur during fusion, and the crazier the monsters act. During a full moon, they're practically drunk off those moonbeams, which makes for entertaining conversation. There are also some abilities that are more or less effective depending on the phase of the moon. Certain games have their own quirks:
** ''VideoGame/Persona3'' has important storyline events [[spoiler:(the attack of the Greater Shadows)]] occur during a full moon.
** There's a period of time in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' where the main character would take damage during a full moon. This is because [[spoiler:of his psychic link to the Heroine, whose reincarnated self is currently undergoing torture from a demon that has invaded her mind. The full moon makes him feel her pain]]. This is solved [[spoiler:by rescuing her]].
** In ''Digital Devil Saga'', there's a 50% chance during every new moon- [[CallARabbitASmeerp excuse us,]] MIN Solar Noise that your characters will be cured of any ailments that they are suffering from. Also, the selling price of Cells is at its highest during MAX Solar Noise. In the sequel, ''Digital Devil Saga 2'', there is a chance during 7/8 or MAX Solar Noise- sorry, ''Solar Data'' that you will enter battle in Berserk Form.
** You can guarantee that you get the best items from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'''s Mystical Chests by opening them during a full Kagutsuchi phase. The drop rate of Gems is also highest at this point. The moon does not appear in Nocturne because, along with the rest of the world, [[AfterTheEnd it has been destroyed.]] What the game tracks, instead, is the brightening and darkening of Kagutsuchi. Hence, Nocturne is one of the few games with a good reason for why the "moon"'s phase changes every few steps you take, as opposed to taking days to change phase.
** One Sub App in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' lets you speak to demons during the Full Moon (something otherwise impossible). Because they're drunk on the moonlight, they don't really know what they're saying, and will ask bizarre questions. You have a 50/50 chance of impressing them or pissing them off; impressing them can earn you rewards up to and including instantly recruiting them: this is the ''only'' way to recruit Dark demons.
* MadScientist: [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI Ste]][[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII phen]], [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII Dr. Harada]] and [[VideoGame/SoulHackers Dr.]] [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Vic]][[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon tor]] all qualify.
* MadScientistLaboratory: Every single incarnation of the Gouma-Den.
* MagicallyBindingContract: A staple in the franchise. Generally, when a demon decides to join a summoner as an ally during negotiations, a contract between the demon and the summoner is formed that can usually be broken upon the summoner's death. Note that the contract is ''binding'' on the fact that a contracted demon is IncapableOfDisobeying the summoner. Demons summoned though fusion are also placed under a similar contract.
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Every game has at least one, but the protagonists of the first two SMT games deserve mention because they can't use any form of Magic.
* TheMagicComesBack: Many games in the franchise has this in some capacity. Explained in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' by Mother Echidna as a result of the demons returning from the banishment imposed by YHVH. [[DoNotGoGentle They're not leaving again without a fight]].
* MagicFromTechnology: The premise of the original ''Digital Devil Story'' was that computer code could replicate a summoning ritual, and the concept has been core to the series ever since. Demon summoners throughout the franchise usually carry around [[MagiTek a device]] -- arm-mounted [=COMPs=] in the original games, pistol-mounted [=GUMPs=] in the ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' subseries, Platform/NintendoDS-shaped [=COMPs=] in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', the [[PoweredArmor Demonica]] in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' and a cellphone application in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse''-- that runs the Demon Summoning Program and allows the user to summon and control their {{Mons}}. And in certain games like ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and the aforementioned IV duology, it outright gives the user access to magic spells of their own.
* MagicIsRareHealthIsCheap: As an extension of this, there are skills that cast from MP and those that CastFromHitPoints. The latter can put you in danger, but are more economical since HP is easier to recover than PP. Some games downplay this by having Chakra Drops {{Randomly Drop|s}} from even low-level demons, so you'll always have a steady supply, although HP restoration will always be more available.
* {{Makara}}: Makaras are fish with the head and hind legs of a deer. They're usually classified as dragons, but on occasion are grouped with snakes. Its alignment is Light-Chaos and it usually makes use of ice-related moves.
* MarketBasedTitle: In the West, from ''Nocturne'' to around ''Persona 4 Arena'', the games were all branded under the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' label. In Japan, though every game is considered a [=MegaTen=] title, they aren't marketed as such.
* MarkOfTheBeast: Tatsuya's brand and [[spoiler:Kandori's black eyeballs]] in ''Persona 2'', the Demi-Fiend's tattoos in ''Nocturne'', everyone who uses Atma Avatar in ''Digital Devil Saga'', Nanashi's own tattoos ''Apocalypse''.
* MascotMook: Jack Frost. He's even the official mascot of Atlus itself, making this a literal example of the trope.
* MasterOfNone: Demons/Personas with perfectly balanced stats are fairly common and are typically not a good thing, as they tend to be weak at both physical and magic attacks; it's often better to have a collection of demons who specialize in either.
* MechanicalLifeforms: The hardiest and most powerful Angels tend to be shown as entirely robotic. Being obsessive creatures of Law, this makes it a case of FridgeBrilliance.
* MercyRewarded: In some games, if you have almost wiped out an enemy team, with only one enemy remaining, he can throw in the towel and beg for mercy. Grant it, and he can either leave with no more fuss, demonstrate his thanks with some trinket or cash, decide you're cool enough to sign up with, or invoke ISurrenderSuckers and go for a last stab.
* MergingMachine: The Cathedral of Shadows/The Velvet Room/The Gomou-Den.
* MergingMistake: It is possible for a fusion to end in a "fusion accident". While the specific results vary, it usually results in you getting a completely different demon than what it really should have been. In some cases, you can only get access to certain demons through a fusion accident like Zealot demons or Fool Personas in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}''.
* MetalSlime: Very often.
** The Fiends in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI''.
** Alice in the first Persona.
** The Omoikane in ''Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2''.
** The Kudan in ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy''. Kageboushi in [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy the sequel]].
** The Golden Shadows in ''Personas 3 and 4.''
** Mitamas in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'' serve the same purpose as they did in IV (Each drop useful items depending on which one of the four you're facing: Saki Mitama drops sellable items, Nigi Mitama gives you Glory, Ara Mitama gives you demon exp items and Kusi Mitama gives you Nahobino exp items) but unlike IV, appear in the game proper as rare encounters as opposed to only appearing in DLC exclusive areas specifically sold to make the game easier. They block every element except for one random element and ''resist Almighty'' just to make sure you can't cheese them without playing on their terms.
* MetaphoricallyTrue: What most villains believe and try to achieve in this series aren't inherently wrong. Generally however, they twist it into radical variations which obviously bring nothing but suffering to others.
* MonTech: [=COMPs=] are handheld or wrist-mounted computer devices used to transport and summon demons via the Demon Summoning Program.
* {{Mons}}: This series is the [[TropeMaker Trope]] ''[[TropeMaker Maker]]'', as ''[[VideoGame/MegamiTensei Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei]]'' was the first video game to involve the player taming monsters and using them for combat. Nearly every game serves as a DarkerAndEdgier occult {{Deconstruction}} of {{Mons}}, even though the franchise predates ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', the TropeCodifier. [[http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Digital_Devil_Story:_Megami_Tensei by ten years]]. This also makes {{Mon}}s itself an UnbuiltTrope.
* MonsterCompendium: The Demonic Compendium is a very important part in almost every game since ''Nocturne'', allowing you not only to view the stats of all the demons you've ever registered in it, but also serves as a repository of information, with tons of lore for each demon (all of it perfectly valid and backed by a lot of literature in the artbooks) and the ability to resummon those you've fused away for a fee. The Persona Compendium from ''Persona 3'' and beyond serves the same purpose.
* MonsterLord: The ''Maoh'', or the translated [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Tyrant]], demon race.
* MouthOfSauron: Metatron for YHVH, Beelzebub for Lucifer. Igor and Kandori Takahisa fill the role to a degree for Philemon and Nyarlathotep.
* MultiBoobage: Mostly played for demon designs invoking FanDisservice, like Satan, Diana, or Tiamat.
* MultipleEndings: Many of the games change the ending based on factors such as your alignment or other choices you made in the plot.
* TheMultiverse: Initially mentioned sparsely over the course of the franchise, before eventually becoming a series staple.
** One of the earliest titles in the franchise, ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'' has the FinalBoss claim it is but one part of a greater entity which controls countless universes. Likewise, ''VideoGame/LastBible'' has the TrueFinalBoss mention the same, and further elaborates many worlds are being born and destroyed out there unrelated to its own will. ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' similarly has different incarnations of Hoshigami creating different universes.
** ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'' finally explores the concept: the UpdatedRerelease goes in detail to explain the game's world is just one universe out of billions of others in a vast river known as the Amala. These other universes may or may not be the previous games or even subsequent games, including sub-series of the franchise; given there are a number of hints and references which imply connections across different continuities (such as events of ''II'' being referenced in ''Digital Devil Saga'') it naturally leads to ''lots'' of {{Fanon}} about just how the different universes fit together.
** However, as prior games like ''Last Bible'' and ''Devil Children'' explicitly have distinct continuities with multiple universes each, this suggests Amala is simply another continuity with its set of universes and not ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise as a whole. Later games (such as ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' and subsequently ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'') reinforce this, more or less confirming the franchise consists of multiple groups of multiverses, generally distinguished by different forms of PlaceBeyondTime or VoidBetweenTheWorlds binding the universes together (''Nocturne'' has Amala, ''VideoGame/SoulHackers''/''Raidou Kuzunoha'' has Akarana Corridor, ''IV'' duology has the Expanse); or different supreme entities governing reality (''Devil Children'' has the Hoshigami, ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' has Brahman, ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' has Canopus).
* MyRulesAreNotYourRules: No matter which game it is: if an enemy uses physical attacks which normally would cost it HP, he won't have to pay the price.
** Not true in the ''Devil Survivor'' series, since enemy stats are displayed "face-up" to the player.
** Also not true in ''IMAGINE'', where only demons with a specific feature null HP costs (some of which, such as Hecatoncheires, can be used by players). Most, if not all, bosses have this feature, though. This also turns some boss-like enemies such as Hell Biker (from the 39th floor of the ''Denshi Kairo'' special dungeon) rather funny to fight when it starts spending more HP than the player is actually causing him.
** Nor is it true in the ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' games, where you will see their HP Bars actually drop when they use HP Costing attacks, and occasionally they will actually suicide with it.
** The only way to deny enemy demons the ability to abuse this is getting their HP lower than the cost of the attack: even though they don't pay the cost, ''they still have to have enough to pay it for it to work''.
* MythologyGag: Cerberus is usually portrayed in the series with one head because that's how he was described in the original ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'' novel. Boomerangs back to accuracy in ''Digital Devil Saga'', doubling as a series in-joke.
[[/folder]]
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[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: A-C]]
* AboveTheGods:
** The Great Will, first mentioned in ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'', YHVH describes himself as being a small part of an entity which controls infinite universes. It is described as a core being who is both responsible for reality being the way it is (''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV V]]'') and being ''reality itself'' (UpdatedReRelease for ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII''). It has various manifestations acting on its behalf across [[AlternateContinuity Alternate Continuities]], with YHVH being its most recurring one. Despite the prominent GodIsEvil tendencies of its agents, it is up to interpretation if any of that reflects its intentions, because each one is a manifestation of the very forces and laws governing the world(s) they operate in (and for many worlds, that includes [[DeityOfMortalCreation human perception]]). It is also a constant subject of {{Unreliable Narrator}}s who tend to describe it with various bias, with the Law faction typically claiming to act on its behalf.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' introduces the Great Reason (translated as the Axiom). It is described as both the origin of everything in ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'' set of universes (possibly even beyond), and the collective summation of all its components and entities. It is not sentient in a way lesser beings could really understand: its known actions are responses to the collective which makes up its whole. Despite its similarities with the Great Will, limited information both in and [[AllThereInTheManual out of universe]] makes it impossible to say for certain if these two are two names for the same entity or if they are distinct beings.
* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: The series has a habit of featuring Sewers big enough to house entire cities. Particular offenders include the Great Underpass of Ginza in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne'' and the Samsara Tunnels in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga''.
* AcademyOfAdventure: High schools in the series usually turn out to be built on a HellGate or a front for an AncientConspiracy.
* AdaptationalHeroism: The various demons change morality from one work to another to suit the story, but one who consistently gets this trope is Ishtar. In real-life Myth/MesopotamianMythology, she was an exceedingly unpleasant deity even in comparison to Old Testament YHVH who frequently killed people, sent natural disasters to them, or turned them into animals [[ItAmusedMe for fun]]. At one point in Literature/TheEpicOfGilgamesh she threatens to raise the dead and have them eat the living, in the earliest known reference to a ZombieApocalypse in human history. Her only totally altruistic quality was her love for her husband Tammuz (despite frequently cheating on him), whom she saved from [[EverybodyHatesHades Nergal]] every year to bring spring to the world. In SMT she's a helpful, nurturing mother goddess who is frequently abused by YHVH essentially just for being from a competing pantheon, and often ends up being forcibly turned into the demon Astaroth by Him.
* AffablyEvil: Most demons are happy to talk with you in the middle of a battle about their lives and interests; however, this won't stop them from tearing you limb from limb if you piss them off.
* AfterCombatRecovery: Victory Cry is a passive skill that restores the user's entire HP and MP/SP after winning a battle. Given that [[MagicIsRareHealthIsCheap MP/SP is meant to be difficult to recharge]] without leaving the current dungeon for the nearest TraumaInn, the skill is usually only available on late-game demons/Personas.
* AliceAllusion: Alice, the CuteGhostGirl who has been a RecurringCharacter since ''Shin Megami Tensei'', regularly makes {{Shout Out}}s to ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. The Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, Jabberwocky, Trump Soldier, and March Hare have also made appearances in the franchise.
* AlignmentBasedEndings: Many of the games have a choice between [[OrderVersusChaos Order, Chaos or Neutral]] endings. What each alignment ''means'' can vary, however, and some of the games mix the formula up and go for endings that don't directly match up with these alignments.
* AllMythsAreTrue: All mythical creatures from various folklore and religions are real in one form or another, including {{God}} and [[{{Satan}} Lucifer]].
* AllianceWithAnAbomination: The series has you forming contracts and summoning various supernatural beings from any and all kinds of mythologies. This ranges from weak [[TheFairFolk Pixies]] to [[{{Satan}} Satan and Lucifer]]. Some of the games even feature Lovecraftian monsters like Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep themselves.
* AlternateContinuity: The franchise has multiple continuities running through its numerous games.
** For the mainline series, ''SMT I'' and ''II'' occur in one universe, while ''Nocturne'', ''Strange Journey'', and ''IV'' (along with its pseudo-sequel ''IV: Apocalypse'') each occur in their own self-contained universes, with ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'' being {{Alternate Timeline}}s to each other connected via [[PlaceBeyondTime the Expanse]]. ''V'' has a lot of CallBack to ''Nocturne'' and like ''IV'' duology might be different universes in the same continuity (connected by [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds the Amala]]), but there are enough ContinuitySnarl to be read as its own continuity as well.
** ''SMT If...'', the original ''Devil Summoner'', ''Soul Hackers'', ''Persona 1'' ''Persona 2'', and ''Soul Hackers 2'' share continuity with each other, being a split timeline of the original ''SMT'' timeline. ''Persona 2'' has its own timeline split due to the events of ''Innocent Sin'', resulting in ''Eternal Punishment'': [[spoiler:the new timeline was supposed to overwrite the previous one, but as a result of Tatsuya refusing to forget his childhood memories, his spirit persists into the new world and becomes a ParadoxPerson, and the two realities become parallel universes]].
** ''Raidou Kuzunoha'' acts as a prequel to both ''SMT I'' and the original ''Devil Summoner'', existing in both continuities at once (the events of ''Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army'' likely having some effect on the timeline split).
** ''Giten Megami Tensei'' and ''SMT NINE'' are alternate continuties of ''SMTI'', sharing the same basic premise (a nuclear war caused by Thorman and Gotou) but incompatible with its plot and having their own lore. Similarly, ''SMT IMAGINE'' is a sequel to ''SMTI'', but incompatible with ''SMTII''.
** The original ''Megami Tensei'' continuity (''MT 1'', ''MT 2'' and the ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'' novels); the ''Majin Tensei'' strategy game continuity; the VideoGame/DragonQuest-esque ''VideoGame/LastBible'' continuity; the Franchise/{{Pokemon}}-esque ''VideoGame/DevilChildren''/''[=DemiKids=]'' continuity; then the ''Digital Devil Saga'' duology, ''Devil Survivor'', and ''Devil Survivor 2'' standalone games are all set in their own universes with little to no connection to the rest of the series. ''Digital Devil Saga'' has a few references to both ''Nocturne'' and ''SMT II'', but the game itself is completely self-contained and is not chronologically connected to either.
* AlternateSelf:
** Related to AlternateContinuity above, demons and gods and other entities with the same name from different continuities are existences completely independent from each other. Even incarnations of [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiYHVH YHVH]] and [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiLucifer Lucifer]] can vary wildly in history and personality. However, there are exceptions -- there are several hints implying, and in some cases outright confirming, that certain characters are in fact moving across different continuities. Outside of those few confirmed ones, deciding exactly which ones aren't subject to this trope are basically Headscratchers.
** This trope is also used to justify CharacterizationMarchesOn and DependingOnTheWriter. While most recurring demons and gods generally follow specific characterizations, that may change to fit with whatever themes to be explored in a game. This is most obvious with the demons who are involved with OrderVersusChaos conflicts: [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiForcesOfLaw the angels of Law]], [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiForcesOfChaos the forces of Chaos]], many of whom don't have as strict characterization as one might think. Gabriel for example, is a typical KnightTemplar and a male angel in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', but after being defeated and coming BackFromTheDead becomes [[OnlySaneMan the Only Sane Archangel]] and [[GenderBender a female angel]] in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', despite being explicitly set in the same world.
* {{Ambadassador}}: Most characters become this once they get the hang of demonic contracts and negotiation.
* AmericanKirbyIsHardcore: The first SMT game to come to the US, ''Jack Bros.'' for the Virtual Boy, had realistic versions of the titular characters on the cover, rather then the cartoon ones seen in-game and on the Japanese cover.
* AnAesop:
** Being mindlessly extremist, especially when it means ignoring your own humanity, will almost certainly end in disaster. You cannot blindly follow someone, even your greatest hero, without thinking for yourself and questioning their actions when you don't feel comfortable with what they've done.
** Law/Order and Chaos must exist in a careful balance, as each becomes corrupt in the absence of the other, leading to the above situation involving extremists.
* AntiDebuff: Dekunda, a spell that removes all debuffs currently active on the user's party. Both players and enemies can use it.
* AntiGrinding: The TropeCodifier for getting less EXP from a given enemy as your level gets higher. This "diminishing returns" system has become a mainstay in modern {{Eastern RPG}}s.
* ApocalypseHow: As a franchise based around TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, it's covered many different levels of the Apocalypse, including a Planetary Societal Collapse in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI SMT I]]'', near Planetary Total Extinction in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII SMT II]]'', Universal Physical Annihilation in one ending of ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiNocturne Nocturne]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV SMT IV]]''. Many games also add EndOfTheWorldSpecial flavours to it.
* AreYouSureYouWantToDoThat: The franchise often asks this of you when confronting [[DifficultySpike Fiends]].
* ArmlessBiped: A number of demons, such as the reoccurring demon Take-Minakata and [[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Hayagriva]].
* ArmorPiercingAttack: The element Almighty is rarely ever completely defended against. Certain games have Pierce skills, which turn certain attack types into this. The "Hunt" skills in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' also ignore all sorts of immunities.
* TheArtifact: The SMT version of Cerberus, excepting the ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'', ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' and ''VideoGame/Persona3'' incarnations, looks nothing like the Greek myth it's supposedly based on, looking more like a lion-maned wolf with a segmented, serpentine tail, and often with shell-like armor. This is because the [[Literature/DigitalDevilStory original novel, and the anime based upon it]], gave him this appearance, which was then followed by the Famicom ''Megami Tensei'' games. The first Super Famicom SMT game then paid homage to this design by [[CrutchCharacter allowing you to fuse Pascal, the protagonist's loyal Husky, with any demon in your stock]], resulting in a "Cerberus" very similar to the above. Many other games in the franchise continued in this vein, with minor differences between one another.
** Likewise Loki, whose early appearance as a blue (or purple) scaly giant with fangs and a massive head of hair harks back to the OVA adaptation of the original novel. More recent games merely smoothed him out to purple skin instead of scales.
* ArtifactTitle: Only a few games in the "Goddess Reincarnation" series actually involve a reincarnated goddess: [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Izanami]] in ''Megami Tensei'', [[UsefulNotes/{{Gnosticism}} Sophia]] in ''Shin Megami Tensei: NINE'', [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Isis]] in ''Shin Megami Tensei Imagine'', [[MotherNature Mem Aleph]] in ''Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey'', maybe [[AdamAndOrEve Eve]] in ''Shin Megami Tensei I'', and ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'' has [[spoiler:Lady Danu through Nozomi in ''Rebirth of the Lady'', Amaterasu in ''Resurrection of the Koushoushin'', Ishtar in ''Ishtar, Goddess of Harvest'', and the "goddess of Tokyo" being resurrected on the Neutral path.]]
* ArtificialBrilliance: Something which contributes to the franchise's NintendoHard status. Using conventional tactics (IE attacking certain enemies' weaknesses) or certain game-breaking ones (such as reflecting everything) will cause enemies to respond in kind.
* ArtificialHuman: Many characters in the ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' were genetically engineered in test tubes, and the ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' games feature biological "digital clones".
* AsianLionDogs: The Shiisa has been a recurring monster that the party can recruit. They resemble both dogs and lions and are described as holy beings said to protect against ill-luck and evil spirits.
* AsLongAsThereIsEvil: Many antagonists can never be truly destroyed as long as certain negative aspects of humans remain.
** [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII YHVH]]: As long as even one person believes in the need for order and rules to be obeyed, ''or'' as long as one person believes in or desires a Supreme Being.
** [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV Lucifer]]: As long as humans long for freedom.
** [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Shinado]]: As long as despair exists.
** [[VideoGame/Persona2 Nyarlathotep]], [[VideoGame/Persona3 Erebus]], [[VideoGame/Persona4 Izanami]], [[VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax Kagutsuchi]], and [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/Persona5 Yaldabaoth]]]]: As long as humans are self-destructive, want to die, ignore the truth, or desire absolute order.
** [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney The Schwartzwelt]]: As long as humans carelessly abuse nature.
** [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV The White]]: As long as humans despair about being prisoners of some predetermined "fate".
* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: The various Chaos factions generally strive to build a world where strength leads to freedom and being in charge. Opponents of Chaos argue that this unfairly makes the weak victims.
* AttackAttackAttack: Most games have an "auto-battle" mode that has everyone in the party automatically use the basic "attack" command until either side achieves victory or auto-battle is canceled by the player. Some games let you customize auto-battle to a degree; for example, ''IV'' and ''IV: Apocalypse'' has the Auto-Pinpoint app that has party members use attacks that are confirmed to exploit enemy weaknesses, but you'll need to keep an eye on your members' MP to make sure they don't use it wastefully. Other games allow you to repeat the actions of your previous turn or battle.
* AttackReflector: The Reflect attribute. Tetrakarn and Makarakarn work like this for physical and magical attacks, respectively. Almighty damage, however, doesn't trigger them.
* AudienceShift: The ''Demi-Kids'' and ''Persona'' subseries' were specifically made to appeal to a different audience than the mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei''. While the mainline games are made for an older audience, the ''Demi-Kids'' series was effectively Atlus' take on ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' and was specifically made to appeal to kids. ''Persona'' meanwhile was meant to have a wider appeal and was designed to feel more familiar and relatable to the audience as opposed to the more fantastical and philosophical aspects of the mainline series.
* AutobotsRockOut: Many ''[=MegaTen=]'' games since ''Nocturne'' have a FinalBoss fight scored to an electric guitar ''rocking as hard as it can''.
* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: Every time Law and Chaos screw with Humanity, they risk a harsh lesson. In settings where GodsNeedPrayerBadly, gods learn exactly why antagonizing the species available for their existence is ''not'' a good idea. In settings where it is downplayed or averted, humans find a way to strike back in a way which ''hurts''.
* AwesomeButImpractical: Almighty spells bypass the usual ElementalRockPaperScissors system, and as such will deal damage without fear of being resisted or blocked. However, they also cannot hit weaknesses. To top it all off, Almighty attacks usually cost a lot of MP, so it's more efficient to just wail on the enemy with their weaknesses or even just elements they're neutral to.
* BadassNormal: Certain protagonists, notably ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII II]]'', couldn't even cast Magic, yet they end up dominating angels, demons and legends with nothing but swords and guns.
* {{Baphomet}}: A recurring demon in the franchise, being a member of the Vile race or [[Franchise/{{Persona}} the Devil Arcana]]. Baphomet typically are early-to-mid-games demons and learn [[PlayingWithFire Fire]], [[CastingAShadow Dark]], and [[StatusInflictionAttack ailments]] skills.
* BarrierChangeBoss: A staple of the series since ''Nocturne'' is that at least one boss in each game will be one of these. Examples in the main series include Noah in ''Nocturne'', [[spoiler:Jimenez, Demiurge, and Empty Mem Aleph]] in ''Strange Journey'', Seraph in ''IV'', and [[spoiler:Inanna]] in ''Apocalypse''.
* BasiliskAndCockatrice: Both Cockatrice and Basilisk are among the many [[{{Mon}} demons]] in the franchise. Both are separate monsters, but when it appears, the Cockatrice's in-game description often mentions that it is related to the Basilisk.
* {{Beelzebub}}: Beelzebub is a recurring demon/persona in the series. Design-wise, he had two designs: one is [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/7/7c/KazumaKaneko-Beelzebub.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20090219082929 an anthropomorphic fly based on the image of the demon in the Dictionnaire Infernal]] while another is [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/0/03/Baal_Zabul.JPG/revision/latest?cb=20190328184406 a blue man with veins and a tigerskin]]. He is the powerful Tyrant demon that serves as the second-in-command of Lucifer. In the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series, he is usually a high-ranked or the ultimate Persona of The Devil [[TarotMotifs Arcana]].
* BefriendingTheEnemy: A mechanic in the main games. The player character can befriend demons and make them his allies to summon. Demon's are very fickle though. What works to befriend one demon won't work the same way each time, and if they aren't loyal enough to you they won't do what you say. The games follow GreyAndGrayMorality so while a demon's alignment might technically be considered "good"... it's really in a KnightTemplar [[LawfulNeutral sort of]] [[LawfulEvil way]]. Demons are always initially antagonistic towards you before they join you, and after you befriend a species of demon the rest of that species will go out of their way to give you gifts and avoid fights with you while telling you to "take care of their friend".
* BigBad:
** In the main ''SMT'' series and some spinoffs: YHVH, a {{Jerkass|God}} representation of {{God}} created out of the human desire for order and control [[GoneHorriblyRight no matter the cost]]. Besides being leader of the [[OrderVsChaos Law]] faction, YHVH is a LightIsNotGood KnightTemplar usually responsible for whatever CrapsackWorld you find yourself in.
** In the ''Persona'' continuity: [[TheHeartless the collective weakness]] in mankind's hearts, which inevitably forms into a GodOfEvil who's usually the ManBehindTheMan of the latest [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt world ending]] plot. Nyarlathotep, in particular, stands out due to being TheAntiGod to [[BigGood Philemon]]'s God, at least as far as the personifications-of-the-unconscious folks go, but he has been dormant since ''VideoGame/Persona2'' (as is Philemon, although the butterflies seen in the later games suggest that he's still around, just opts to be passive).
** The Tyrant race of obtainable demons is occupied largely by the {{Big Bad}}s of various divine pantheons. Recurrent members include [[Myth/NorseMythology Surt and Loki]], [[Myth/ChineseMythology Chi You]], [[Myth/MesopotamianMythology Nergal]], [[Myth/HinduMythology the Asuras]], [[Myth/AztecMythology the Tzitzimime]], and of course [[Literature/TheBible Lucifer himself]]. With enough Tyrants, you'll have your own personal BigBadEnsemble at your beck and call.
* {{Biodata}}: A key element of the franchise. Many games imply or outright state all matter, energy and phenomenons in the universe boil down to data-like existence, which are often compared to information or human thought in nature. This is main reason why spells, summoning, and other RealityWarper effects can be inserted into computers.
* BerserkButton: In games where you can negotiate with enemy demons, some demons come with possible answers for them that will instantly set off free turns for their party. For example, calling yourself a "Hee-Ho" in front of Jack Frost or Pyro Jack in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''.
* BittersweetEnding: Even though most ''[=MegaTen=]'' games end with you defeating the BigBad, you've usually been forced to sacrifice yourself or kill your friends after they suffered an EvilMakeover. Going for Law and Chaos generally goes towards the bitter side, while Neutral goes towards the middle.
* BlackBox: Analyzing the Demon Summoning Program is not an easy task due to the dozens of black boxes littered in its code, as [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney the crew of the Red Sprite]] learned. Aside from [[Literature/DigitalDevilStory Akemi Nakajima]] and [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI Stephen]], most of the people distributing the program are otherworldly entities (the Three Wise Men, the Anguished One, Naoya) with their own goals in mind. And even Nakajima and Stephen eventually AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Almost every powerful entity in the series operates under this; to the point where there are basically only one that is actually good (Philemon) and one that's actually evil (Nyarlathotep) by our understanding (and even Phil has severe issues with his chosen champions). All the others have mindsets so alien that trying to call them good or evil is a waste of time, as they don't think anything like humans. Yes, even YHVH. Bear note that the alignment system isn't good-evil, law-chaos, but law-chaos, light-dark, with the latter being a vague mishmash of how selfish you are, and how positively you are seen by real religions. Note that for chaos, since its ideal is everyone having the right to be selfish, its main characters being dark is a given, whereas, for law, this depicts a failed system. This alignment system is not consistent, however.
** This is even something of a mechanic when it comes to negotiating with demons, who sometimes can be won over with pretty "human" means by being kind, flattering, sucking up to, or outright bribing them, but other times some demons respond positively to being threatened, obviously lied to, or praising bloodshed and destruction.
** The blue and orange morality of demons is also a plot point in ''Strange Journey'', where the demons apparently believe they're doing captured humans a favor with their "experiments", which invariably involve killing people by removing their vital organs. According to notes, the demons are convinced they're just freeing the humans from their worldly cares and needs. This contrasts against what one faction of humans do later in the game, capturing and mutilating or killing demons, but just out of greed.
* BlueMeansCold: All ice spells have blue motifs. Whenever someone is frozen, they turn blue. Jack Frost, an ice demon, also wears blue.
* BoringButPractical:
** Life Stones. Unlike most other healing items, they always restore a fraction of HP rather than a fixed quantity, so while they're not the biggest healing items, they'll always be effective no matter the max HP of whoever you're healing. On top of that, in games involving demon negotiation, Life Stones are very common negotiation tokens, so it's never a bad idea to hoard them in case you need to bribe a demon into joining you; having one can make the difference between a demon joining you and "The demon suddenly attacked!"
** Stat buff spells in most games, particularly Rakukaja (raises party defense), Tarunda (lowers enemy party offense), and the Suku- (hit/evasion) spells (especially in games with the [[ExtraTurn Press Turn]] system). Get used to spamming them at the beginnings of boss fights, unless you want bosses like [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Matador]] to [[WakeUpCallBoss make you learn the hard way]].
** Dekaja just wipes away any buffs an enemy has. And yet it's one of the most important skills out there, especially against bosses who boost themselves up. While bosses may react by re-applying the buffs, a turn spent doing so is also a turn not spent attacking you.
** The series uses ElementalRockPaperScissors quite a bit. Every element, including basic physical attacks, has at least a few targets that are weak to it, resist it, nullify it, absorb it as health, or reflect it back at the attacker, and recklessly hitting an elemental immunity can sometimes result in a turn penalty. The exception to this is the Almighty element; nothing across the entire series resists Almighty damage (barring a few superbosses), and it can't be reflected by AttackReflector spells. However, nothing is weak to Almighty damage, the skills cost a lot of resources to cast, and you can't get {{critical hit}}s with most forms of Almighty attack (some games do have Almighty physical attacks). The result of all this is an element that provides unremarkable but consistent damage and effects, and is good for bypassing resistances, if you can keep up with its high cost.
** Physical skills tend to be this in games that employ MagicIsRareHealthIsCheap. In most games, these skills deduct [[CastFromHitpoints HP]] instead of SP to use, and it's easier to recover HP with items or healing spells than it is to recover SP since items that restore SP are scarce. This means that, against foes that don't resist physical, it becomes more efficient to use these skills plus healing items and save SP for buffs/debuffs (see above) and healing.
* BossBanter: Nearly all ''[=MegaTen=]'' bosses will talk to you during battle to drop new plot points, or explain their motivations, or illustrate how they're completely nuts. Starting with ''IV'', answering certain ways will have effects on the boss, either making them stronger or weaker.
* BossBonanza: The games are fond of pulling out multiple bosses in large, climactic dungeons.
* BossWarningSiren:
** Later games will give you a warning if you approach a door with a boss behind it, though earlier games tend to not grant this mercy.
** Traditionally, encounters with Fiends will be heralded by the game asking you if you "want to stay here". If you answer "yes", the game asks if you ''really'' want to stay. Say "yes" again and the battle will begin.
* BothOrderAndChaosAreDangerous: While both Law and Chaos have their good points, their representatives never have morally acceptable ways of achieving their goals, and will gladly use methods that have massive repercussions on the world, up to and including the mass murder of those who oppose them and brainwashing humanity into fitting their ideal mold. Players not fond of either side can [[OmnicidalNeutral kick both sides' asses]] to [[TakeAThirdOption establish a world of balance]]; sometimes this is treated as the GoldenEnding and others it is not so different from the other two options. In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', Krishna points out that Law and Chaos aren't ''inherently'' bad so much as their representatives, [[spoiler:both of which work for YHVH to create the illusion of conflict, with Lucifer set up as a [[FalseFlagOperation straw villain]] to make the Law side look better]].
* BottomlessBladder: The games rarely address everyday needs like eating, sleeping or using the bathroom while you're fighting gods and demons. ''VideoGame/Persona3'', ''VideoGame/Persona4'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'' are notable exceptions however, with "typical day" gameplay like sleeping, eating meals with friends and taking an extra bathroom break. Those activities can even affect the characters' stats.
* BottomlessMagazines: In games featuring firearms, you can equip yourself with different kinds of ammo, but that ammo will never run out no matter how much you use it. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'' (but not ''Persona 5 Royal'') avert this trope, however.
* BraggingRightsReward: Beating the toughest enemy in a ''[=MegaTen=]'' game will often net you abilities / equipment / party members you're already too powerful to need.
* BrainMonster: The demon Omoikane isn't evil, but is a floating brain with tentacles nevertheless.
* BreakoutCharacter: Of all the demons, there are three who have become popular enough with the fans to earn numerous notable appearances: [[AliceAllusion Alice]], [[GagPenis Mara]], and [[WakeUpCallBoss Matador]].
* BribingYourWayToVictory: Starting with ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', most games have DLC that allows you to quickly grind for power and resources.
* BrutalBonusLevel: Most ''[=MegaTen=]'' games have a BonusDungeon with tougher enemies than anywhere else in the game.
* ButtMonkey: Slimes. They're usually the by-product of failed summonings/fusions, and are generally among the first demons fought. It gets worse in the fourth game, where they're weak to ''physical attacks''.
* CastFromHitPoints: Physical attacks cost HP to use, except in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', ''VideoGame/Persona1'', and ''VideoGame/Persona2''. This is why physical attackers go hand in hand with tanks.
* CatsAreMagic: Magical cats or cat-like creatures appear in many games.
** The standard demon Nekomata. If a game has demons, she is in it.
** ''VideoGame/Persona2'' provides plenty of examples. The Shikigami disguised as a cat, Katsuya's Persona, the lucky cat statue that takes all your money (a Nekomata uses it as a front) and Lieutenant-General Zula, who is a talking cat.
** Schroendiger in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' is a magical sentient cat who knows more about the world than any other character and is implied to [[spoiler:be a future incarnation of Serph and Sera]].
** Gotou in the ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Raidou]] [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Kuzunoha]]'' games is the protagonist's talking cat companion and [[spoiler:ghost of the first Kuzunoha]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' brings this trope back to the series with party-member Morgana, who looks like a cartoon cat while in the Metaverse and a house cat out of it. [[spoiler:He is a Velvet Room attendant.]]
* CelestialParagonsAndArchangels: The highest-ranking angels under YHVH are members of the Herald and Seraph races, like the Four Archangels, Metatron the Voice of God, Satan the Accuser and Mastema the Flatterer. ArchangelUriel, ArchangelRaphael, ArchangelGabriel and ArchangelMichael are frequent bosses and major antagonists depending on the route.
* CityOfAdventure: A staple of the series! TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse, sometimes literally, but there's enough magic for everyone!
* ChangingOfTheGuard: While the demons generally remain the same, the most games feature a new main cast with each sequel.
* CharacterAlignment: [[invoked]] This plays a huge role in the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series. Each monster is classed on the [[OrderVersusChaos Law-Neutral-Chaos]] axis and the Light-Neutral-Dark axis. The former is the important one: monsters that are Chaotic will refuse to join you if the main character is Lawful and vice-versa. The alignment of the main character is determined by the type of monsters he summons (e.g. Lawful creatures will move your alignment towards Law), by his responses to philosophical questions asked at key points of the game and by whose dirty work (The Messians or the Gaians) he carries out. The ending of the game is determined by the final alignment of the main character.
** ''Megami Tensei I & II'' for the Famicom feature alignments along the axis of Good-Neutral-Evil.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' features an alignment system along the axis of both Light-Neutral-Dark and Law-Neutral-Chaos. It is the earliest known videogame to have an alignment system that directly affects the direction of the storyline and which of the MultipleEndings the player is given, through the choices and actions the player makes that alter the player character's alignment. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' uses the same kind of alignment system.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' the previous system of alignment is discarded in favor of three specific philosophies: Shijima (which is closest to Law but without the KnightTemplar tendencies), Musubi (Neutral, focusing on individuality and freedom of choice) and Yosuga (Chaos with a heavy dose of the elitism that Law was previously known for). However, Light-Neutral-Dark axis still exists in the form of Magatamas. The main character's title/family is defined by how many Magatamas of each alignment you have learned all skills from. Although it's mostly just a cosmetic change, there are three doors (one for each alignment) in the Labyrinth of Amala that will only open if you are on a specific alignment.
** This works a bit differently in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''. You can recruit demons of other alignments regardless of your character's alignment, but you'll have a harder time recruiting demons of the opposite alignment as yours (for instance, trying to recruit a Law-aligned demon when you're Chaos-aligned). However, the Light-Neutral-Dark axis plays a part in which demons you encounter and which you can recruit; Light-aligned demons are never encountered on the field, except through enemy searches and boss battles, and they cannot be recruited; Dark-aligned demons will refuse to talk to you at all times, regardless of your Law-Neutral-Chaos alignment, unless you have an App that lets you talk to demons during a Full Moon, and even then it's a coin flip (whether they like the answer you give them--the correct answer being different every time--and after that, whether they give you items, Macca, or--even rarer--join you).
* CharacterizationMarchesOn:
** The SocialDarwinist Chaos Ending from [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI SMTI]] is originally seen as a valid enough choice, given the BlackAndGreyMorality of the series, but as the world, in general, becomes slightly less [[CrapsackWorld crapsack]], it gets called out as evil far more explicitly; the supporter of its expy in ''Nocturne'' (though Reasons aren't based on alignments and actually follow [[GodIsEvil God's plan]]) is the only person explicitly called evil in that game. In other games like ''Devil Survivor'', it's virtually an ItsAWonderfulFailure montage.
** The original Neutral ending was a pro-human path that led to the destruction of both God and Lucifer (or their chief agents) and most of humanity in exchange for freeing the survivors from the meddling of higher powers (at least for a while). Later games, however, have softpedaled the omnicidal aspects and played up the humanist part, so "neutral" endings sometimes involve the restoration of the pre-apocalyptic state (so far as that's possible). In such cases, Chaos often adopts the omnicidal role, replacing "freedom from higher powers" with "freedom from God's order."
** Law has bounced back and forth between meaning "a world subjugated to God's will" and a straight-up WorldOfSilence that doesn't carry such theological implications. YHVH is now just as likely to be seen as separate from Law as he is the source of it, or else function as a GreaterScopeVillain who's above and beyond Law; only a couple of games actually present "submitting to God's will" as a valid choice. And then there's ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', where God is doing the best He can to ''avoid'' subjugating humanity (who are not making it easy for Him).
* CharacterMagneticTeam: Many demons may approach you and outright offer to join you with no more than a few questions asked.
* CharacterPortrait: More clearly seen in conversations in Persona games, but it's also featured in several other titles. Each character tends to have multiple portraits to match their mood.
* ChargedAttack: Many games have a skill called Charge or Focus that multiplies the power of the user's next physical attack by 200% or 250%, and a similar skill called Mind Charge or Concentrate that does the same for the next magic attack.
* ClimaxBoss: As a general rule of thumb, any boss that you fight immediately before an [[PointOfNoReturn alignment lock]] or as a consequence of locking in your alignment.
* ColonCancer: A number of titles have more than one subtitle in their [[DolledUpInstallment Western releases]], such as the various "Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner X: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. _____" installments. An instance of Atlus' newsletter even provides the page quote.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Law is blue and white; Chaos is red and black.
** PlayedWith in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'': strike team has red on their uniforms (except the protagonist) and science has blue. Zelenin is science, Jimenez is strike team. Take a wild guess what factions they each support in the end. Oddly enough, the protagonist wears white, which corresponds to Neutral.
* CombatPragmatist: It's not uncommon to come across random enemies or bosses that either gang up on you, spam completely unblockable attacks, or just won't ever encounter anywhere else.
* CombinationAttack:
** In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', you can trigger special attacks when the right combination of characters have the right combination of skills.
** In ''VideoGame/Persona2'' and ''VideoGame/Persona3'' you can unleash special attacks if you have the right combination of Personas among your party or in your main character's stock.
** ''VideoGame/Persona4 Golden'', ''VideoGame/PersonaQ2NewCinemaLabyrinth'', and ''VideoGame/Persona5 Royal'' allow the player to perform unique attacks based on which characters are currently in the party.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', but in a very different way. If you hit a weakness, all the demons of your same alignment gang up on the opponent for extra damage.
* {{Combos}}: The Press Turn system the series is famous for giving you extra turns to attack the enemy if you strike its AchillesHeel.
* CompositeCharacter: Alice has two separate Alices as a reference for her character: [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Lewis Carroll's version]], and an obscure Scandinavian myth about a girl who died young and now [[ScareEmStraight kills children who misbehave]] so she can [[{{Yandere}} make them into her friends]]. Whether she is one or the other or both or even ''neither'' is generally left up to interpretation.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: And ''how!'' Generally shows up in two ways:
** The [[TurnsRed Beast Eye and Dragon Eye]] moves, which gives all enemies extra turns, [[UnusableEnemyEquipment and demons you control never have the chance to learn it]]. A variant called Guardian's Eye finally becomes learnable in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', but as the single most expensive spell in the game, at a whopping ''255'' MP, and on top of that, unlocking the spell requires acquiring a demon only available through beating the hardest DLC boss in the game.
** And physical skills, which are CastFromHitPoints when you use them, but enemies can use them willy-nilly.
* ConsummateLiar: A vital skill for any would-be demon summoners: learn to lie well, when, where and how.
* ContinuityNod:
** Occasionally a major character in one game will show up as an OptionalBoss or OptionalPartyMember in a later title. Alice for instance, who served as an antagonist who wanted to kill you in ''Shin Megami Tensei'', still regularly shows up complete with a skill called "Die For Me!" in newer games.
** A character from the Tokyo Revelation manga/OVA appears in a cameo as an older character in Giten Megami Tensei, suggesting that the two are related (and the world sadly still fell to demons).
* ContinuitySnarl: The ''Persona/Devil Summoner'' timeline is supposed to be an AlternateContinuity where the nuclear war of ''SMTI'' didn't happen. However there are several differences that cannot be accounted for as result of averting the apocalypse:
** The biggest one is that in the ''Persona'' timeline, Philemon and Nyarlathotep are the top dogs of the supernatural world, YHWH is nowhere to be seen, and the ruler of the Expanse is Zurvan instead of Lucifer (who only appears as a recruitable demon/Persona). The only hint for this is how Lucifer mentions in ''Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon'' about how Raidou could potentially create a world free from God.
** ''SMT If...'' shows that Stephen is responsible for creating the Demon Summoning Program in this continuity as well. However, in this continuity he didn't create the Tokyo terminals which lead to him being attacked by a demon, so it's not known under what circumstances he was left paraplegic and developed the program.
** ''SMTI, SMTII, Devil Summoner'', and ''Soul Hackers'' all claim that it's impossible to communicate with demons without the use of the Demon Summoning Program. This doesn't stop Raidou and all Persona characters from doing just that.
** ''Persona 3, 4'' and ''5'' have several differences in lore not only with the previous ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games but with each other as well.
* ContractualBossImmunity: Bosses are immune to OneHitKill spells, and they also can't be recruited in-battle or bribed into going away.
* CoolVsAwesome: Angels versus Demons is an understatement for the series. Since AllMythsAreTrue, think of the possibilities.
* CouncilOfAngels:
** Played straight in SMT 1, where [[spoiler:they become quite powerful allies if you're on the Law path, and attempt to stop you if you're on any other path; Seraph Michael serves as the game's final (or, on Neutral, possible final), hardest boss in that case]]. Also played perfectly straight in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', [[spoiler: where Remiel who serves Metatron and the Big Man himself are far less assholish than franchise standard and will help you out unless you're on on the blatantly chaotic routes]].
** Notably, from SMT 2 onward, [[spoiler:they practically become the ''cosmic {{Butt Monkey}}s'' of the franchise; in SMT 2 they're basically abandoned by God and are running Tokyo Millennium in a hilariously inept fashion and orchestrated the creation of the Messiah and crew in the first place, which blew up in their faces when Aleph ''caved their shit in''; then, in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga 2'', they show up as bonus bosses; talking about the events of SMT 2, no less: except now they've reincarnated as humans in a different universe and hunger for the blood and flesh of man just like any other demon. You'd think they'd give the Big Man the finger after all that, but they are planning to do ''everything they did before again''.]]
** In ''IV'', they are [[spoiler:the mysterious new rulers of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado, who as the Law authorities of the game, plan to throw Tokyo into a black hole so it can never taint their shiny paradise. Eventually, they fuse with Jonathan to summon Merkabah, an embodiment of God's will]].
* CrapsackWorld: ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' starts out a mild version of this, and gets a lot worse. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' has this as the default state since it follows the Neutral Path of the first game, though it can either get worse or better. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' starts out as this, which can be reversed or made even worse. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' has the potential to become this, which can be averted, although the gameplay setting is still basically this. The ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games are set in a CrapsaccharineWorld setting that can be made a CrapsackWorld, in the first half of the second game duology this actually does happen [[spoiler:in the ending, and despite efforts, it continues to be its own timeline]] though the second half averts it. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' has another case of CrapsaccharineWorld, and all endings see to it that illusion of being saccharine is broken. ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' can turn into this or be averted, depending on your choices.
* CreatorCameo:
** Both Cozy Okada and Kazuma Kaneko make cameo appearances in the first episode of the Devil Summoner live-action TV series.
** Several of the games' artists appear as shopkeepers in ''Persona 2''.
* CreatureBreedingMechanic: Demons can be fused with one another, or in some games simply sacrificed, to create new demons. As, after a while, the leveling requirements increase far too sharply for demons to remain useful, unlike the human characters, this is the only alternative to negotiating with more powerful creatures.
* CreepyChild: LouisCypher in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', Pharos in ''VideoGame/Persona3'', Alice in every game she appears in.
-->"Won't you please die for me?"
* {{Crossover}}:
** [[VideoGame/DevilMayCry Dante]] shows up in ''Nocturne'' and promptly attempts to kick your ass. Later on, though, you can talk him into signing on with you. In the second UpdatedRerelease of ''Nocturne'', Raidou Kuzunoha appears instead, for all kinds of continuity wackiness.
** And in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiLiberationDx2'', a slew of characters from other franchises have been added as summonable demons: VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} and her friend Jeanne, [[Manga/{{Berserk}} Guts]] (both in original flavor and Berserker Armor), Griffith, the Skull Knight, Schierke, Mozgus, and Zodd, [[Manga/GhostInTheShell Major Motoko Kusanagi]] and a Tachikoma, and [[Manga/{{TheSevenDeadlySins}} Meliodas]], Elizabeth, and Ban. Dante returns with V and Nero.
** Characters from ''Literature/{{Durarara}}'' appear in both ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiImagine'' and ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' (the latter of which was only included in the Japanese release).
* CrossoverCosmology:
** Sure, you can summon Joan of Arc, Kali, Amaterasu, and Quetzalcoatl to beat the crap out of Lucifer, Loki, a Vampire, and Ra.
** In ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon'', bring an Asura into battle against a Mahakala. They'll have an interesting discussion about the fact that they're the ''same god'', just from two different eras, then agree to fight it out to determine which is more deserving.
* CuteAndPsycho: Many demons, like Pixie, Jack Frost or Alice, look extremely cute, but are also somewhat mentally unstable.
* CuteMonsterGirl: Majority of the female demons. Not all of them, though.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: D-F]]
* DarkIsEvil: ZigZagged: The Light-Dark alignment axis refers to a given demon's typical ''depiction'' in its originating myths, not necessarily how they actually ''are''.
* DarkIsNotEvil: A major offender of this trope. To counter the CrapsackWorld, you have the option to ally with TheDarkSide in order to produce a peaceful world. ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' stands out for one of its endings running on this trope.
* DeconstructorFleet: A very odd case, in that they [[{{Deconstruction}} tear apart]] every trope related to {{Mon}}s... [[UnbuiltTrope while still being]] the TropeMaker.
** One of the core deconstructions of the series is presenting the God of the Old Testament ''without'' any kind of OmniscientMoralityLicense. The usual result is unambiguously [[GodIsEvil maltheistic]], though a couple of games leave that conclusion up to the player.
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' also stands out, showing what would really happen in your typical {{Mons}} series when random bystanders (including children) suddenly gain the ability to command powerful demons. The answer: '''very bad things'''.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Well, not exactly "friendship", since most of the time you're making contracts with demons, not befriending them, but in most games in the series, defeating a boss demon gives you the ability to fuse them, once your level is high enough.
* DegradedBoss: Former bosses may return as EliteMooks. This may cost them their best moves, but occasionally they also wind up being recruitable. This is occasionally [[InvertedTrope inverted]], with buffed-up versions of normal enemies showing up as sub-bosses.
* DeityOfHumanOrigin: Or DemonOfHumanOrigin, as "demon" is usually a term to refer to all supernatural entities. In many games, humans can transform into demons or gods through various circumstances (with certain games sometimes distinguishing gods from demons).
** In ''VideoGame/Persona1'', [[BigBad Kandori]]'s goal is to become one of these. [[spoiler:He gets it, but it turns out to be nothing of worth to him.]]
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', the Demi-Fiend transforms into a demon due to the Magatama, parasitic entities which transform the human body into a demon while retaining the human heart. Humans can also become demons via absorbing Magatsuhi, a spiritual substance created as a byproduct from the flow of emotions and souls, [[spoiler:which Isamu and Chiaki undergo after their FaceHeelTurn]].
** In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', the Atma virus infects human beings down to their very souls, allowing them to metaphysically transform into their "demonic" selves known as Atma Avatars, at the cost of suffering from HorrorHunger for Magnetites (which are similar to Magatsuhi mentioned above, and abundant within complex living beings like humans and demons).
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', humans can also become demons when merged with the formless essence which demons are composed of. This process can happen in a variety of different ways: a human can be ''[[BodyHorror physically merged]]'' with a demon; a human can be slowly exposed and filled with the essence so they can gradually adjust both body and mind into a demon; [[spoiler:and in ''[[UpdatedReRelease Redux]]'', the essence can be refined into a mystical fruit which can transform a human into an immortal, demon-like but not quite demonic entity]].
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'', it is clarified the Magnetite which exists in all things react to will and emotion, which can also trigger a demonic transformation in the right circumstances. In the latter, [[spoiler:the protagonist also manages to be the Creator God of a new universe devoid of demons and gods (except himself) in one ending]].
** In ''VideoGame/Persona5'' ''[[UpdatedReRelease Royal]]'', [[spoiler:Maruki ''almost'' manages to become a god by gaining the focal point of all cognitive powers in Mementos, and permitting his Persona Azathoth/Adam Kadmon to incarnate through himself. He's not finished his ascension yet, and is defeated by the Phantom Thieves before he could complete it.]]
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', a god and a demon has a crucial difference. [[spoiler:Gods were the original entities who rose from humanity, and capable of interacting with the laws of the universe which centered on the Throne of Creation as part of the Mandala system placed by the Great Will. When the One God of Law took the seat of Creator, he took out the Knowledge in all other gods, the essence which allowed gods to interact with the laws of the universe and potentially take the Throne, turning them into demons. Lucifer's act of stealing the Fruits of Knowledge and distributing them to humanity made it so demons would need to fuse with the human carrying their corresponding Knowledge to once again become a god as they originally were, which is now known as Nahobino.]] The central conflict of the latter half of the game [[spoiler:is about replacing the God of Law, who [[GodIsDead was killed by Lucifer sometime before the story begins]]. Several characters either want to attain the same power or actually achieve it in pursuit of the Throne. Three of the game's endings see the protagonist become the world's new creator deity]].
* DeityOfMortalCreation:
** Early games often mention how demons and gods can be brought down and transformed into different identities due to shifting beliefs, notably ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' (and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII II]]'' by extension). Lucifer even explains at the end of the game how he will return exactly when humans need him again. ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy'' in particular, which is a prequel to ''SMT I'', has the main antagonist manipulate the Japanese army to ''create'' a god via DeusEstMachina (and a lot of questionable methods).
** In number of continuities (notably ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', the former being in the same continuity as the aforementioned ''Raidou Kuzunoha'') it is made explicit demons and gods are born, given shape, and powered by human belief and concepts, due to humanity's supernatural ability to change reality. ''Apocalypse'' in particular has "gods" as originally shapeless natural phenomenon (like wind and lightning) which were given form and identity by human religions. As a consequence, in these continuities it's generally impossible to permanently kill a god as long as humans still practice, or are aware of, or still affected by the thoughts which birthed those gods, with many defeated gods declaring they'll be back AsLongAsThereIsEvil.
** This trope is also inverted for specific entities and worlds. ''VideoGame/LastBible'', ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'', ''Persona'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' all state (sometimes in [[AllThereInTheManual side materials]]) there are gods or precursor-like beings who preceded or even responsible for human existence. Many games such as ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' also has various characters, even ''enemies of God'', claim God created humanity, though it is often unclear if they refer to [[DemiurgeArchetype YHVH]] or [[AboveTheGods the Great Will]].
* DemonicPossession:
** The Heroine in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' is possessed by a whole lot of demons at one point, as you have to enter her psyche and clear out the ringleader (the spider Arachne) in order to save her. Naturally, you burst in on Arachne just as she's about to take full control of the girl.
** Aradia takes over Yuko's body in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne''. Only, she's a goddess. A fake goddess. [[FantasyKitchenSink It's kinda complicated]].
** Nemissa possesses Hitomi in ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'', giving a makeover and PowersViaPossession. Subverted in that Nemissa leaves when she realizes it's necessary and Hitomi still has pretty much control over herself. Later, [[spoiler:Spooky]] is taken over by Satanael, who later decides to take on the party... by ''blowing his way out of the victim's body''. '''''And he doesn't make it all the way out.''''' Near the end, [[spoiler:Kadokura is also possessed and transformed by Manitou.]]
** In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', this is what happens to people who can't control their Atma Avatars, they lose their human identity and believe they truly are the mythological figures they represent, making it a horrific combo between Type 1 and 2. The first cases were the [[LightIsNotGood Four Seraphs]], [[KnightTemplar Metatron]] and [[Myth/HinduMythology Meganada]].
** In ''VideoGame/Persona1'', Toro is possessed by his Persona. Which looks like a demonic penis, by the way. [[spoiler:Kandori suffers a similar fate, being transformed by Nyarlathotep into a giant Buddha head.]]
** In ''VideoGame/Persona2'', there is the "Possessed" status effect, in which certain demons blow themselves up to possess a party member, replacing their moveset with the demon's. Those afflicted by Joker Curse also qualify (as the curse gives them Joker as a Persona). The UpdatedReRelease of ''Eternal Punishment'' clarifies how a human possessed by a Persona forcefully given to them would typically transform and become a demonic incarnation of said Persona.
** In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', Amane is possessed by [[spoiler: not only Remiel, an angel, but Jezebel, a demon]].
** In ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'', [[spoiler:Elizabeth tries to use Zeus as a Persona, but she ends up being possessed instead]].
** In ''VIdeoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax'', [[spoiler:the Malevolent Entity Hi-no-Kagutsuchi plans to possess Sho as a vessel, as gods from the collective consciousness are reliant on humanity's existence without one, so he can enact his OmnicidalManiac goals]].
* DemonLordsAndArchdevils: Most of the less than nice guys from mythology (Lucifer, Beelzebub, Surt, Loki, Mara, Arioch, etc) are classified as Maou (lit. Demon King), which is localized as Tyrant.
* DevelopersForesight: What makes the {{Superboss}}es so difficult is this. OptionalBoss generally has some kind of anti-cheese feature built in so you ''have'' to fight them in a "fair" fight. Otherwise, expect them to either give unavoidable 9999 damage to you or, in some battle systems such as the Press Turn system, spam powerful (and by powerful, we mean Megidolaon is the weakest possible) Almighty moves each turn.
* DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu: As most games are {{Fantasy Kitchen Sink}}s with {{Dialogue Tree}}s and negotiation systems, you'll usually have a lot of chances to taunt or insult monsters, demons and gods to their faces. Some games have it as PracticalTaunt moves so you can do it ''on command''.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Many [=MegaTen=] games end with mere humans beating supposedly [[TheOmnipotent omnipotent]] gods. Cthulhu itself also appears in ''SMT II'', ''SMT if...'', and ''Persona 2'', so you can also punch out an EldritchAbomination ''repeatedly''!
* DimensionalTraveller: There are notably different levels of this trope applicable across the franchise.
** In most continuities, demons are a mass of energy and information which generally reside in AnotherDimension before being summoned to the physical world through magic rituals. In other words, any demon crafty or powerful enough to force an independent manifestation in the physical world without relying on being summoned first is this trope by default. A recurring example is Lucifer, [[LouisCypher who often shows up in a human form]] without being prompted or summoned.
** In certain continuities, notably ''Nocturne'', ''Soul Hackers''/''Raidou Kuzunoha'', and ''IV'' duology, demons can freely traverse between universes through the [[VoidBetweenTheWorlds Amala Network]] (Nocturne), [[PlaceBeyondTime Akarana Corridor]] (Raidou) or Makai/Expanse (IV and Apocalypse). This also applies to any human who has learned the means to access and move across them safely.
** The "Messiahs in the Diamond Realm" DLC and side materials of ''Apocalypse'' confirm there are a ''scant few'' individuals who transcend so far beyond dimensions and laws, they can travel between continuities and thus are the same persons across the entire franchise. Stephen implies that, while moving between a single set of connected universes is doable for demons and humans given the means [[note]]IV and Apocalypse main game repeatedly have the protagonists move between parallel universes through Yamato Reactor, with and without Stephen's assistance[[/note]], movement between distinct continuities (universes with no intrinsic connection, differing laws and origins) is normally impossible for most beings, as Stephen mentions he had to bend "the Reason" in the natural order (translated to "immutable rules" in English) to allow the protagonists of mainline games to meet in the Diamond Realm [[note]]while Stephen has no need to do so when transporting Flynn or Nanashi across the Expanse to a parallel universe[[/note]].
* DiscOneNuke: Exploiting [[RandomDrop random demon or skill mutations]] or even just knowing which demon to level up to cover certain weaknesses in many of the games' fusion and level-up systems can net you high-level skills or fairly powerful demons extremely early in a playthrough.
* DivineConflict: In the main series, the protagonists get involved in conflicts between either gods and demons, or they versus the human race. This is usually due to HumansAreBastards, JerkassGods, GodIsEvil, and less commonly GaiasVengeance.
* DolledUpInstallment: Minor example in the US releases: the ''Persona'' / ''Devil Survivor'' / ''Digital Devil Saga'' / ''Devil Summoner'' / etc games, while technically not part of the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' series proper, were all released overseas under that title anyway starting in 2004, presumably because the series needs whatever name recognition it can get on this side of the pond. However, after Atlus made enough of a name for itself, the practice was completely starting with ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', and ''Persona 4: Golden'' in 2012.
* {{Doppelganger}}: A [[CharacterAlignment Dark-Chaos]] [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Demon]] that can be fused in ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''. It appears as a shadowy, [[SlasherSmile grinning]] version of TheProtagonist. The Kageboushi in ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon'' fills a similar roll, though he cannot be recruited.
* DoppelgangerSpin:
** Used in both ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' ([[spoiler:where you can use the shadow cast by a full moon to suss out the real one]] and ''Digital Devil Saga'' (which you can suss out the real one with the help of your WaifProphet).
** In ''Persona 2'', you can do this by attempting to run. The camera will then FOCUS ON THE REAL ONE as she taunts you. Oops...
* DoubleEdgedBuff:
** Several games have the skill "Taunt", which can lower the enemies' defense but in return increases their attack.
** The Sleep ailment more often than not restores the HP and SP of those afflicted by it.
* DoubleEntendre: [[GagPenis Mara]] ''lives'' to make subtle and not-so-subtle dick jokes. Even his ''stats'' are a double entendre in some games (''VideoGame/Persona3'' Mara, for example, belongs to the Tower arcana, is weak to ice, and has the strongest pierce-type attack in the game.)
* DoubleUnlock: Defeating certain bosses grants you the privilege of fusing them, if you can find the specific component demons that make them up. It's possible for a player to beat a given game without ever fusing a boss demon, due to the extra deliberate effort required to get the demons needed.
* DragonInChief: YHVH loves having these. God might be the (at least nominal) leader of the forces of Law, but he generally only shows up in person on very few occasions.
** ''Megami Tensei II'': Satan/[[spoiler:Mr. Suzuki.]]
** ''Shin Megami Tensei'': Michael.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei II'': Satan/[[spoiler:Zayin]] again. [[spoiler:Michael thinks he's remained this, but not this time.]]
** ''Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne'': Kagutsuchi for the main game, [[spoiler:Metatron]] for the Labyrinth of Amala.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey'': The Three Wise Men. [[spoiler:Maybe.]]
** ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'': [[spoiler:Either Gabriel, who later becomes a part of Merkabah, or Mastema, though if it is the latter, then YHVH is actually good this time around, and Gabriel is the BigBad for Law. In Blasted Tokyo, it's Pluto, followed by the Ancient of Days after the former's defeat.]]
** ''Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse'': [[spoiler:Merkabah gets the role until it's revealed that both Merkabah and Lucifer, through their fused form Satan, are both this until the fusion]].
* DragonsAreDivine: The main ''SMT'' games and numerous spinoffs count draconic deities among its number, including Otohime and Huang Long. In IV, you are offered a side quest where you can directly say a dragon is divine for Chaos points.
* DuelingMessiahs: You are always free to choose which faction you wish to support.
* DungeonCrawler: The early games are classic examples of dungeon crawlers from the first-person perspective. Later games have elements that would be used in the third-person perspective.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness:
** In the SNES games, you need to pay Macca just to ''summon your demons from your COMP'', and they continuously use up Magnetite in order to survive outside of the COMP. This was dropped in later games, where you can summon your demons without any charge and keep them out as long as their HP doesn't hit 0.
** Older games in the series are in first person perspective. This was dropped during the PSX era, but started making a resurgence in some recent games.
** Some of the earlier localizations in the series, namely those of ''VideoGame/Persona1'' and VideoGame/LastBible, were given the title "Revelations" ("Revelations: Persona" and "Revelations: The Demon Slayer" respectively), perhaps suggesting that this was originally intended to be the localized MarketBasedTitle for the franchise as a whole. This was eventually dropped in favor of simply using "Shin Megami Tensei".
* EarnYourHappyEnding: The good endings with no alien effects on humanity and life itself are generally presented as [[GuideDangIt the hardest to get]]. In many ways this is nominal only, since while they may involve additional bosses, they are not generally much harder. Obviously this also depends on whether you really interpret them as the best endings.
* EarthWindJuxtaposition:
** ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'': Argilla naturally resists Earth attacks while she is weak to Wind attacks (called Force in-game). Likewise, Gale resists Force but is weak to Earth. This pattern also holds true for many, ''many'' enemies; if something resembles a bird, there's a good chance it resists Force and is weak to Earth.
** ''VideoGame/Persona2'': The above pattern holds true in this game as well, as Personas with Earth-element attacks and resistances tend to be weak to Wind-element and vice-versa. Interestingly, Ulala's first Persona Callisto is Earth-element, while her Ultimate Persona Astraea is Wind-element; and their resistances switch accordingly.
* EatTheSummoner: There have been a handful of cases that highlight that EvilIsNotAToy. Summoners unable to defeat the demons they summon were killed in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and Harada's idiotic attempt to create an altar to supply him with demon servants ended in his death in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII''.
* EldritchAbomination: Demons as a whole. Though the franchise uses it as an umbrella term for all supernatural entities, it is emphasized ever since the earliest works and games that demons are supernatural because ''they are violations to reality as humans comprehend it''. As a whole, demons (and indeed, other supernatural entities not classified as one) in the franchise come in 3 different categories, each hitting points of this trope in different ways:
** [[DeityOfMortalCreation Entities created as a side effect of humankind's ability to change and warp reality]]. This is the most prominent type of demon category in the series: these demons are usually lifeforms composed of Magnetite (sometimes called Aether), the substance which permeates reality itself and exist in all of its phenomenons, which are normally undetectable to normal lifeforms but react to their psyche: will, thought, perception, instinct, emotion. What these demons have in common is how they are given identity and form by humans as living clusters of Magnetites, which are supposed to be formless as part of the fabric of reality, though the specifics vary [[note]]in some games like ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' humans don't innately affect the formless essence of reality and gained the ability through specific circumstances -- which can vary in scale such as to humans as a species, or only to specific individuals such as [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI Stephen]]; in others like ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'' humans possess it as an inherent trait[[/note]]. In other words, they are literally ''sentient droplets of reality itself'', to varying degrees of power and scale, with the capacity to twist and warp natural phenomenons in accordance to their natures and how much aspect of reality they embody. Thus, as long as humans continue to exist and shape reality in such a way which permits the existence of demons, they will never be truly gone; conversely, if humans ''are'' gone, then [[NoOntologicalInertia they would also go poof]].
** Similar yet distinct from the above is the reverse: [[NatureSpirit naturally formed living phenomenons]]. In some games humans don't seem to shape the essence of reality into demons (at least not actively), yet the processes which give rise to demons ''still happen anyway'' [[note]]usually because there are forces ''other'' than humanity which had dictated reality first; games like ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'' have [[GodIsEvil God]], other games have [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute counterparts]] like [[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Brahman]], ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'' has [[spoiler:previous generations of advanced civilization which were wiped by the Schwarzwelt, and also [[GaiasVengeance the Earth itself]]]], ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' has alien {{Reality Warper}}s; ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV V]]'' also implies there are worlds which are ''inherently structured'' to give rise to demons, no matter what[[/note]]. These demons are a fair bit different from the above type in a number of ways. While they have similar traits and can harness power from humans, they are closer to being true lifeforms: though the ''genesis'' of these demons [[NiceJobBreakingItHero could be affected or catalyzed by humans]], their ''continued existence'' [[OntologicalInertia are not]]. Thus, these demons are ''very'' prone to KillAllHumans. On the other hand, individual demons of this type can be killed and won't come back naturally -- though new demons of similar natures might still spawn. It is also possible for demons of the above category to become this one. In ''Persona'', demons and gods who possess and incarnate within a human would not disappear even if humans are no more to create cognition; [[spoiler:Hi-no-Kagutsuchi tries to do exactly that]]. ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'' also have the Divine Powers planning to use human souls to essentially become an axiom in reality, while [[spoiler:Vishnu-Flynn]] and [[spoiler:Satan]] use FusionDance with powerful humans to ''wield'' Observation to their advantage.
** Distinguished from the above two: [[OutsideContextProblem entities who are neither humans who can affect the essence of reality, nor demons who are formed from said essence,]] but [[RealityWarper warp reality nonetheless]]. A lot less prominent category, entities of this type are usually [[StarfishAlien aliens]] (''Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. The Lone Marebito'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'', ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}: [[UpdatedReRelease Full Body]]'') or primordial [[CosmicEntity cosmic entities]] (''VideoGame/LastBible'', ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'', ''VideoGame/Persona3'', ''[[UpdatedReRelease Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker]]''). Some games seem to imply certain incarnations of YHVH are also this type of being (particularly those stated to have created humans, like ''Nocturne'' and ''Strange Journey''), assuming it is indeed YHVH and not [[AboveTheGods the Great Will]] (which exists as PowersThatBe on a YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm levels, even for the most powerful entities in the franchise).
* ElementalRockPaperScissors: Played straight and averted. Usually, basic elemental types (i.e., ones that specialize in only one element) usually have a weakness to the opposing element (ice vs. fire, electricity vs. wind, light vs. dark). However, at higher levels, demons usually have a variety of weaknesses and strengths (ex. Black Frost, despite being a Jack Frost, has strengths against both ice AND fire). This results in bosses having a bit of trial-and-error as you have to test out each type to see what works and what doesn't.
* ElementalTiers: Sometimes there are the [[ElementalEmbodiment 'Element' race]]. They always have [[DishingOutDirt Erthys]] as the weakest, then [[BlowYouAway Aeros]], then [[MakingASplash Aquans]], and [[PlayingWithFire Flaemis]] with the highest level. Sometimes they are followed by Paracelsus' elementals, but the element order stays the same, with Gnome as the weakest, followed by Syplh, Undine, and Salamander. Not that their levels matter much, since they're usually fusion fodder.
* EliteTweak: No demon is perfect. But every demon can be perfected. Ditto for Persona.
* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: If the world hasn't already ended before the game started, then it's about to.
* EndOfTheWorldSpecial: Power and how you choose to use it is one of the big themes of the series. Up to and including what kind of world you wish to create AfterTheEnd.
* EnemyWithin: See DemonicPossession above. In worlds where DeityOfMortalCreation applies, you can technically consider ''every'' demon and god as this trope for humanity.
* EnergyEconomy: Macca is usually understood as edible to demons, and justifies why it is necessary to summon them from the Compendium.
* EveryManHasHisPrice: Mostly. Most demons will very willingly sell themselves with some crafty negotiation. Some races, though, will never see this as an option. In some situations such as IV this is averted with Law demons (i.e. angels) who are so dedicated to their cause you cannot recruit them, though they may join you when on the verge of death.
* EverythingTryingToKillYou: ''Everything''. This is no joke: when your ''very intrusive thoughts'' could manifest somehow and kill you, you know everything else will.
* EvilerThanThou: All five "main" ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games have everyone trying to one-up each other.
* EvilIsEasy: More often than not, it's the reason people side with the Law and Chaos factions. On one hand, the angels are backed by The Almighty, thus their will is God's Will, and God's Will is absolute regardless of how deplorable it may seem. If they believe humanity needs to follow one single God to prosper for the sake of humanity's peace and happiness at the cost of their free will, so be it. On the other, those that claim to be providing leaders might not have the strength to provide what they promised, and if they do, there's no guarantee that you'll receive it. Sometimes, the only way to get what you want and need is by force. After all, the strong consuming the weak is the natural order of the world, so why go against it? By following either of these philosophies, you'll be able to skip certain bosses or even get them to join you on the spot. [[WeUsedToBeFriends Just don't expect your friends to follow them as well.]]
* EvilIsNotAToy: It's perfectly possible to gain immense power at little or no effort. On the other hand, [[FateWorseThanDeath the price]] makes it an iffy choice ''at best''.
* EvilMakeover: Word of advice: don't get [[FusionDance too attached]] to ''anyone''.
* TheEvilsOfFreeWill: Standard Law justification for their side of things.
* EvilVersusEvil: OrderVersusChaos. Messians versus Gaians. YHVH versus Lucifer. The big question is who, if any, will you side with? Whether they are evil, or merely reflect the reality of a dark grey universe, is up to you however.
* {{Expy}}: The Djinn enemy is a carbon copy of the Genie in ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''.
* ExtraTurn: A staple of the series beginning with ''Nocturne'':
** ''Nocturne'', ''Digital Devil Saga'', ''IV'', ''IV: Apocalypse'' and ''V'' use the Press Turn system, where each side gets a number of turns equal to the number of members in the party, maybe more depending on the player completing a NewGamePlus sidequest or the party in question consisting of a boss who gets two or more turns for themselves. Exploiting an enemy's weakness or scoring a CriticalHit will turn an existing "full-turn" icon, if any, into a "half-turn" instead of using up any turns, though if only half-turns remain then one will be used up. Some bosses can use skills that turn an existing full turn into multiple half-turns, such as Dragon Eye, Beast Eye, and Psycho Rage, [[SecretAIMoves none of which can ever be obtained by the player]]. ''IV'' does allow the player to get Guardian's Eye, but it requires beating the ultimate DLC boss and Guardian's Eye costs a whopping ''255 MP'' to cast!
** ''Devil Survivor'' and its sequel allow either party during a skirmish to obtain up to one extra turn per member also through weaknesses and crits, but can also gain extra turns simply by nullifying (or better) opponents' attacks. During the Extra Turn phase, parties cannot gain Extra Turns again, except in ''Devil Survivor 2'' where the Omega race of demons allows parties to obtain "Double Extra" turns.
** ''Persona 3'' and onward allow an attacker to gain "1 More" turn through weakness exploits and crits. Doing either knocks down the target, and simply hitting a knocked-down target will not cause another 1 More; the attacker needs to keep hitting standing opponents to gain more turns.
* TheFairFolk: Many demons have their designs based on these, as well as their personalities. ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games like to remind you every so often that you are definitely ''not'' dealing with human beings.
* FairySexy: Pixie, Titania, Hua Po, Sylph.
* FallenAngel: ''Many''. Lucifer, the entire Literature/ArsGoetia, Grigori, Mithras and others are this to a greater or lesser degree. Kazfiel is unique in that he still is Law and part of the Herald/Divine races while Samael switches between Law and Chaos since [[RiddleForTheAges his true alignment is a mystery]].
* FalseUtopia: A very real risk. There is no such thing as a free lunch in this franchise.
* FantasyKitchenSink: More notably explored in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', with the various factions and alliances everyone pulls in the road to ultimate power, though ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' is also a very good example with the Mothers and the demon lords.
* FateWorseThanDeath: These are not happy games. The suffering is not restricted to the bad guys, or bad endings. Neither is pain expected to end with mere ''death''.
* FightingYourFriend: Unfortunately, with the fate of the world in the line, ideological and philosophical differences will destroy the tightest friendships.
* FinalBoss: The main series is well known for its multiple routes having different Final Bosses. Just to list numbered ones:
** ''Shin Megami Tensei I'': [[spoiler:Asura]] on Law, [[spoiler:Michael]] on Chaos. On Neutral, you get to choose who to fight first and second.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei II'': [[spoiler:YHVH]]. In a grand subversion of preceding and succeeding formula, all routes, no matter what you do, have you fight him.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne'': [[spoiler:Kagutsuchi]], with the game using NoFinalBossForYou on one route and TrueFinalBoss ([[spoiler:Lucifer]]) on another.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'': [[spoiler:Kenji and the Yamato Perpetual Reactor]] on NonStandardGameOver, [[spoiler:Merkabah]] on Chaos, and [[spoiler:Lucifer]] on Law and Neutral.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse'': [[spoiler:Merkabah]] on Chaos, [[spoiler:Lucifer]] on Law, and [[spoiler:YHVH]] on the other routes.
** ''Shin Megami Tensei V'': [[spoiler:Lucifer]] in all endings, though [[spoiler:he gets powered up on the secret fourth ending]].
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Even the greatest warriors and demons came from ''somewhere''. When GodsNeedPrayerBadly is in effect, this applies to ''gods'' too, up to and including YHVH himself.
* FullCircleRevolution: A series staple. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' in particular emphasize how it really doesn't matter whether you choose Law, Chaos, or Neutral; eventually, a new guy who longs for whatever it is you gave up will turn up, dethrone you or wait until you are gone, then kick back everything you made back into nothing. It's pretty much the reason OrderVersusChaos can never end.
* FunctionalMagic: Comes in various flavors, depending on each game's mechanics and the demon involved.
* FusionDance: Demons/Personas as a rule either level exceedingly slowly or simply do not have the necessary gumption to last for long given the brutal form of SortingAlgorithmOfEvil the games tend to favor. So the series has, as noted above, a fusion system in which two or more participant demons are merged into a single one, allowing the resulting demon to inherit better stats and moves they would not have otherwise learned from their "parents". Most of the time, these take place in specialized places (the Cathedral of Shadows (a classic mainstay of the series), [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy the]] [[VideoGame/DevilSummoner Gouma-Den]], or [[Franchise/{{Persona}} the Velvet Room]]). However, there are a number of occasions in which a Demon Fusion Program has been used with compatible portable technology to fuse demons in the field (with the [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Demonica battlesuit]], [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2 as a cellphone app]], [[VideoGame/SoulHackers and with]] [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV the COMP]]).
** ''Persona'' games before ''3'' have a Fusion System based on collecting base Persona cards from random battles and using those to create stronger Personas. Of note, too; both demons in the main series and Personas occasionally demonstrate an interest borne out of curiosity or powerlust in fusion. The imagery used in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiImagine'' suggests the fused demons are outright killed in fusion, but in other media, it looks more like they unravel and the pieces fuse together.
** Mitama Fusions are used solely to power up a demon by increasing its stats or to impart specific moves to it, and do not change the demon.
** Elemental Fusions move a demon up or down the ranks of its race. Stronger Elements can move a demon up to two ranks above.
** Sacrificial Fusions in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' involve two demons and a sacrifice. The resulting demons inherit even better stats than if fused normally and can receive moves from all three participants. There are also some demons that can only be created this way.
** Special Fusions in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' always involve three or more demons. The recipes are fixed and cannot accept similar substitutes.
** Triangle, Cross, Pentacle and Hexagram Spread Fusions are also present in the latter ''Persona'' games. ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' even has an example of [[SerialEscalation Dodecagon Fusion]].
** Aside from inter-demon fusion, the trope can also be applied in certain games when demons can be fused into various forms of weaponry, such as the first two games of the main franchise. ''Persona 3'' has the Weapon Fusion system, in which new armaments can be created by fusing Personas into Nihil weapons. Both Raidou games feature demon forging, though only the first involves actually fusing the demon with the blade.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' explores this trope's dark, dark places: the EvilCounterpart of the Investigation Project, Jack's Squad, never got the transmission to get the series signature fusion program or demon summoning program. So they just made do with what they had: instead of keeping their demons in their Demonicas, they just locked and trussed them in cells, and for fusion, they tore them to pieces and started checking what clicked with what. It's little surprise their results mostly involve BodyHorror abominations.
* FusionDissonance: Every game that has fusion mechanics usually have resultant demons that don't resemble their components except for some inherited skills. You can fuse a goddess, TheDevil, and a dragon then end up with a penis monster among other possibilities. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZEq6DG9ZP4 Seriously]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder: G-I]]
* GagPenis:
** Used frequently in many of the demons. Witness the [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080707022822/megamitensei/images/0/09/MaraSMT.jpg Mara]], [[http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20090618224005/megamitensei/images/4/43/PENDRAGON.png Pendragon]], [[http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Mishaguji Mishaguji]], [[http://images.wikia.com/megamitensei/images/0/0d/Yamm.jpg Ym]], and of all things, [[http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080806040827/megamitensei/images/0/0e/Cthulhu2.jpg Cthulhu]].
** Then there is [[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/SMTNocturne/Update%2021/76-night_incubus.jpg Incubus]], who seems to find every woman and female demon in the game sexy. It's his job, after all.
* GaidenGame: ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' for the main series. ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'' also started as gaiden games under the ''Megami Ibunroku'' / ''Alternate Tales of the Goddess'' moniker, before developing into full fledged spinoff series of their own.
* GameOverMan: Several games, such as ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' have Charon, the ferryman to the afterlife, greeting you upon death. In some games, he will offer to bring you back to life if you have the Macca or [[Platform/Nintendo3DS Play Coins]] to pay his offer.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Numerous cases across the franchise, but the most persistent example is how the gameplay elements of player characters, party members and demons don't necessarily represent their abilities or traits in the story itself. An obvious example would be how demons tend to have strict caps on how many skills they can carry in gameplay, whereas in the story they have a myriad number of abilities ''far'' beyond what its gameplay statistics suggest, such as being lifeforms made out of energy and information (in most continuities), or abilities reflecting their mythical roots (i.e Nebiros being an expert necromancer).
* GatelessGhetto: Each game has a different justification for it. Police blockades, magical barriers, the city being the last place standing or simply not having any reason to leave have all been used in different capacities.
* GlobalCurrency: Macca in most of them, usually games not set in modern-day Japan.
* GlobalCurrencyException: Gemstones. Special traders pop every now and then and sell rare items in exchange for gems you may be given as gifts or as battle spoils, and there is no way to just pay regular money for it. ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' has the antique shop owner, who offers Persona-boosting items and Social Links-related paraphernalia, and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' has the Gem Trader, who sells a wide selection of items and even stat-boosting demons. ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon'' has Case Files requesting gems, and they can be used in fusion to power up the resulting demon. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' has Saint Germain's shop, which sells some of the most overpowered consumables in the game - if you're willing and able to pay him with your precious gemstones.
* {{God}}:
** Generally implied to be present in the games, but rarely shows up in person. YHVH shows up as ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'' [[spoiler:as the TrueFinalBoss]], ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' [[spoiler:as the FinalBoss]], (arguably) again in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'' [[spoiler:as the FinalBoss]], ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV IV]]'' [[spoiler:as a DLC boss]], and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'' [[spoiler:as the FinalBoss]].
** Various forms of Hoshigami (Starhair in English) are the creators of their respective universes in the ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' series, filling the role of God. [[spoiler:Brahman]] has that role in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', [[spoiler:Polaris and the administrators who come before or after him]] fulfil a somewhat similar funcion in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2''.
* GodAndSatanAreBothJerks:
** God is a vain tyrant who only cares about humans if they're worshipping Him and loves to hand out [[FateWorseThanDeath Fates Worse Than Death]]. Lucifer is a ManipulativeBastard who's a big fan of SocialDarwinism and anarchy. Some portrayals of them are less extreme or more sympathetic than others, but those are few and far between.
** [[Franchise/{{Persona}} Philemon and Nyarlathotep]] aren't much better. Nyarlathotep is a classical villain who wants to see humanity destroy itself, but even Philemon, who gives humans their Personas to fight back, does little more than observe. [[SarcasmMode He wouldn't want to lose a bet over something small like helping an entire species, after all]].
* GodIsEvil: To the point YHVH's form in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' used to be that trope's ''page image''. Note that YHVH is considered so corrupt in some games, even his loyal followers tend to want to get rid of him, seeing him as a detriment to a peaceful world. The creators have stated God is not the ultimate source of evil, but him being this trope is a sign of a greater error going in the fabric of reality. Still, with him showing up as the FinalBoss in more than one game, one can't help but think the impression is being reinforced. That said, this trope is subject to DependingOnTheWriter across the games: see [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiYHVH his character page]] for more in-depth details.
** The Great Will blurs this. While the various [[AlternateSelf alternate selves]] of God appearing across continuities are all aspects of the Great Will and tend to lean on this, the fact some of them are decidedly ''not'' this trope (''VideoGame/LastBible'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' ''[[UpdatedReRelease Redux]]'') makes it hard to tell if the Great Will is anything like any of its avatars.
* GodsNeedPrayerBadly: A main staple, to justify DeityOfMortalCreation being so prevalent in the games.
** In at least ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' continuity (''II'', ''Devil Summoner'', ''Soul Hackers'', ''Raidou Kuzunoha'' and ''Persona'' -- all of which are either in the same timeline or {{Alternate Timeline}}s), ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'' continuity, and perhaps more: demons, angels, monsters, and spirits only exist because people remember and believe in them. Oddly, at least in ''II'', if the supernatural creatures believe hard enough, they create duplicates of other supernatural entities: with the Archangels believing in a False YHVH.
** This has some interesting bearing in the game. In general, the more people in RealLife that believe in a particular god/demon/angel/etc., the stronger they are in any given game. God, Lucifer, and the Archangels [[ArchangelMichael Michael]], [[ArchangelGabriel Gabriel]], Raphael and Uriel are obvious examples, but Shiva and Vishnu, both primary gods in Hindu (which remains one of the oldest active religions in the world) are also among the strongest. Exceptions do exist, like Metatron (less than one-quarter of one percent of the world's population are Jewish) being among the strongest.
** This trope is typically averted in spinoff series (''VideoGame/LastBible'', ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'') where demons and gods have distinct origins than in main series. ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'' downplays this as gods and demons instead emerge from "the will of the Earth", and thus don't require humans to exist (though they can still benefit from human worship), [[spoiler:and averts it entirely with an incarnation of God who predates humankind]]. ''VideoGame/Persona3'' averts this with Nyx, a CosmicEntity predating complex life on Earth.
* GoldenMeanFallacy: A constant staple of the games tends to be that while Law and Chaos are based on real philosophies, they tend to get strawmanned into oblivion. And while Neutral endings hint at the various flaws that remain from trying to forge a middle path, such as the God-vs-Lucifer conflict only being ''[[ForeverWar temporarily]]'' [[ViciousCycle stopped]], this tends to get shown in-game only indirectly, whereas the flaws of Law and Chaos are placed front and center. And it will often have a strangely light grey tone relative to the dark grey tones of Law and Chaos.
* TheGoomba: The lowest level members of the Fairy and Jirae races tend to be the first recruitable demons encountered in the mainline games, with the exception of the ''IV'' duology. These two tend to be Pixie and Knocker, but ''II'' uses High Pixie for the former and ''Nocturne'' uses Kodama for the latter.
* GrandfatherClause: The games are based around the idea that you are the only person who ultimately decide [[OrderVsChaos what is right and wrong]]. To convey this, there is almost always a SilentProtagonist as the MC. Where this trope comes in is the fact that even in games where they are ''fully voiced'' only the MC is silent. The adaptations are the only ones to avert this, [[{{Justified}} since it would be extremely awkward to watch an action anime where only grunts are given and no conversation elsewhere]].
* GreatWhiteFeline: Byakko/Bai Hu is a demon and Persona in the series, based on the White Tiger of the West from the Chinese Constellations.
* GreyAndGrayMorality: One of the biggest draws of the franchise is its ''incredibly'' grey conflict. All three alignments - Law, Neutral and Chaos - all have their positive and negative representatives, alongside their good and bad aspects. Law and Chaos at its worst tend to be ''very'' forceful [[WithUsOrAgainstUs in regards to their ideology]], but [[VillainHasAPoint they consistently raise good points in regards to their ideals]], especially when you consider the normally-optimistic Neutral endings to prolong the conflict until either Law or Chaos wins. There are ''very'' few exception to this rule, notably ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' since that game takes place in a unique universe where [[spoiler:Law and Chaos are puppets of YHVH - and even then, it ''also'' definitively proves Neutral can be just as extreme as Law and Chaos]]. At the end of the day, the game encourages you to choose the path you agree with the most, above all else.
* GreaterScopeVillain: Varies by continuity, but in general many problems within each game can be chalked up to YHVH -- or rather, agents of the Great Will in general. They are often the ones responsible for any given world being the way they are, including the conflict between Law and Chaos plaguing everything. This is especially so in ''Nocturne'' and in ''Apocalypse''.
* GuardianEntity: Many, but one of the most prominent one is Masakado for various incarnatons of Tokyo across the series.
* GuideDangIt:
** If you want to get certain skills on certain demons, you WILL need to consult several fusion charts and skill charts (doing it the old-fashioned way of chart-making is practically a SelfImposedChallenge).
** Getting the best ending of any given game by yourself is a SelfImposedChallenge. Well, unless said game does ''not'' have MultipleEndings, which is a rarity.
* HalfHumanHybrid: There a fair number of examples across the games, with varying levels of nature, practicality, and risks.
* HarderThanHard: Maniac mode in the modern games. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck It's the subtitle]] of the UpdatedRerelease of Nocturne.
* HappinessInSlavery: ''No.'' You can order demons whatever you want, but they ''will'' hate you if you cross certain lines. Loyalty in ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'' works alongside the same lines; demons have an affinity for certain attacks; allowing them to use it will increase their loyalty, telling them to use moves they hate will reduce it. The National Defense Divinities ''loathe'' both the Ashura-Kai and the Ring of Gaea, and are overjoyed at their own destruction, so the damn fools won't get to use them anymore as their mooks.
* HeadlessHorseman: Appear irregularly as a headless knight sans horse. A noteworthy example is a female Dullahan that shows up as a mid boss in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' during a Challenger Quest.
* HealerSignsOnEarly: Expect one of your first party members, be it human, demon, or otherwise, to have some healing capacity. Pixie is a common example between many games.
* HealingBoss: The more NintendoHard games tend to have bosses who use healing.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'':
*** Mara is a puzzle boss who can cast Diarahan (which fully restores a single target's HP) whenever he pleases. It's not really much of a puzzle though: if you made it this far into the game you ''know'' what the answer is. Because it's the same way you beat ''every'' boss in this game: buff your offense and debuff his defense to the degree that you can kill him before he has a chance to use it.
*** Daisoujou has the ability to steal life and mana from the party through its Meditation spell.
*** Clotho of the Moirae sisters is able to cast Dia, Diarama and Mediarama on herself and her sisters.
** During the fight with the Angel trio, Uriel and Raphael both have the single-target full-health Diarahan spell.
*** The Trumpeter's Holy Melody restores the target to full HP. It will always aim it at the character with the lowest percentage of HP, so the fight can become a PuzzleBoss where you want to avoid it casting on itself and force it to cast it on one of your party instead.
*** Baal Avatar is able to summon minions who will happily heal her fully if you inflict a certain amount of damage on her without killing her outright.
*** Lucifer in the Maniax Chronicles Edition starts with well over 60,000 HP. On hard mode, he will cast Diarahan when he gets below 20,000, fully restoring his HP. On normal mode though, he will only cast Diarama, which at this point in the game is tantamount to wasting a turn. You should be dealing the amount of damage he just healed many times over with one attack.
** ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'': The superboss of the first game ([[spoiler:Demi-Fiend]]) will have one of his demons cast Mediarahan to fully heal their entire party the first time he gets below half HP. And since all of them are immune to status effects, you can't prevent it. The second game's superboss ([[spoiler:Satan]]) will also use Diarahan when his HP gets close to death, to punish you ''hard'' if you can't finish him off.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'': The DLC superboss Demi-fiend will cast Mediarahan when he gets below half HP, fully healing his entire party. You can skip him doing this if you manage to inflict the charm status on him before putting him beneath that threshold, though.
* HelloInsertNameHere: Most of the protagonists in the series are nameless until you name them. However, there are many notable instances of playing with this trope. For instance, [[VideoGame/Persona2 Tatsuya]] and [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV Flynn]] have default names that can be changed, while Maya and [[VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga Serph]] are stuck with those. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' names the protagonist "Hawk" and doesn't let you change his name until certain plot points are revealed, and lets you use default names for every main character, which actually shifts your alignment towards Law.
* HellOnEarth: ''Nocturne'', ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga 2'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney''.
* HeroicMime: The main protagonists are almost always one of these. Which made ''Persona 2'' quite entertaining considering that the protagonists of ''Innocent Sin'' and ''Eternal Punishment'' only have dialogue in the game they're not starring in.
** Some games work skillfully around this. In ''Digital Devil Saga'', Serph is a HeroicMime because [[spoiler:he's based on the understanding Sera had on the real Serph. That is to say, she knew nothing about the real Serph]]. In ''Persona 3'' and ''4'', the protagonists' arcanas are TheFool. One aspect of TheFool is chaos and creativity; in short, this means they are free to choose any personality they want.
* HobbesWasRight: The neutral path essentially states this in the ending.
* HolyHandGrenade: "Hama" type spells; typically OneHitKill type spells.
* HotterAndSexier: ''Giten Megami Tensei'' is a bit of an odd duck in the series in that it's a mid-90s PC exclusive and as such has [[{{Hgame}} has more freedom to show rather risque imagery.]] It has explicit sexual content, very intense gore, and [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs some highly unsettling combinations thereof]]. Particularly infamous is the scene where [[spoiler: Yuuka]], semi-nude, is ''very'' graphically dismembered, decapitated and devoured by demons [[note]]She gets better after [[TitleDrop reincarnating as a goddess]][[/note]].
* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: The Biblical four (White Rider, Red Rider, Black Rider, and [[GrimReaper Pale Rider]]) are a fixture throughout the series along with a couple other figures from the Literature/BookOfRevelation, serving as {{Superboss}}es and potentially allied demons, if you can beat them. They're often hard to find and ''always'' hard to beat. Strangely for an apocalyptic series, they tend to never be directly involved in the plots, instead showing up as optional side bosses.
* TheHorseshoeEffect: Law and Chaos aren't as different as they'd like to think. ''Especially'' where their methods are concerned.
* HumanityOnTrial: ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', and ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2''. Sometimes we ''deserve'' to be tried.
* HumanResources: Magnetite/Magatsuhi/Red is an incredibly useful substance for dealing with demons, as it tastes great to them, even better than human flesh. [[spoiler:However, no matter how you call it, ''it's actually refined from human brains/souls''. Certain protagonists like Raidou mostly generate and use his own to offer to his demonic contracts, but other uses have demons either farming it from humans/humanoid facsimiles, or [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humans using captured POWs, captured civilians/slaves and children to use their conditioned neurological tissue to harvest it]]. In the last case, they also used an enslaved demon to help produce them better. Said demon being none other than a Magatsuhi from Japanese lore.]]
* HumansAreFlawed: A very important aspect of the OrderVersusChaos conflict. After all, both sides are only trying to help... each in their own way. Even when humans choose a balance they will likely crave the extremism of Law or Chaos eventually, resetting the conflict to begin anew.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: While the demons are ObviouslyEvil, sometimes humans commit horrible atrocities that [[EvenEvilHasStandards even the most bloodthirsty of demons get squicked out by]]. Two examples include [[spoiler:Captain Jack]] from ''Strange Journey'', who dabbles in experimenting on unwilling demons ''en masse'' as well as [[spoiler:kidnapping a human and trying to fuse them with a demon]], and [[spoiler:Tayama the Ashura-kai ringleader]] in ''Shin Megami Tensei IV'', who [[spoiler:has his henchmen kidnap Tokyo dwellers (especially critics of the Ashura-kai) and extract neurotransmitters from them to make demon-quelling Red Pills]].
* HuMons:
** Several of the demons you can fuse or recruit are based on humans or demigods from various mythologies. They, therefore, resemble humans with clothing and weapons symbolic of their role in mythology.
** Exaggerated in the [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI first]] [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII two]] SNES games; [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness the heroes could recruit]] humans, who can be ordered around in battle like any other demon [[note]]Not to be mistaken with the human party members, who join and leave at plot-relevant intervals[[/note]]. These humans are special because fusing them with a demon gives a random demon within a certain level range ([[AntiFrustrationFeatures the player can see the result of the fusion before ordering and can cancel, so they can try again and again until finding the desired demon]]).
* HurricaneOfPuns: ''Everything'' about Mara. Mara is a demon from Buddhism that used various temptations on the Buddha to prevent him from achieving enlightenment. However, ''mara'' is also a slang term for "penis" in Japanese, which is fitting because it is generally shaped like one. It's common for Mara's attacks to have the ''Pierce'' trait, or the fire attribute, and the demon being weak to ice cold. In the Persona games its arcana will inevitably be Tower. And in Shin Megami Tensei ''IV'', ''Apocalypse'', and ''V'', most of the dialogue surrounding it will involve penis puns. His base skill set in ''V'' includes Hell Thrust, Toxic Spray and Slumber Vortex.
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Law's standard justification for several genocides. Note that when not committing genocide, Law points tend to be awarded by saving lives and helping people, and they tend to speak out against harms or selfishness. They simply think that at certain times you can help far more people in long term by killing selectively chosen ones.
* IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace: But you will wind up going there anyway. Even if it's the stuff of your darkest nightmares.
* IncapableOfDisobeying: As a general rule, demons that were contracted, summoned, or fused through the Demon Summoning Program are incapable of disobeying their summoner.
** The original ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' and ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'' are an exception; demons will rarely follow your orders if told to do something they don't want to do.
* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: Though some games at least have the decency to at least put some color variations.
* InfallibleBabble: In all the games, talking to the random [=NPCs=] scattered around will reveal quite a bit about the plot and future events of each game, usually long before the game actually brings them up. In some occasions, talking with everyone is the only way to progress.
* InfernalParadise: Utopia has that name for a ''reason''.
* InherentInTheSystem: Try as you might, whatever you do is, at best, creating sandcastles, because there will always be people who disagree with whatever ending you pick and who will overthrow whatever order (or chaos) you create, and even restoring the old, un-destroyed world doesn't protect it from destruction in the future. The only other option anyone's come up with is [[spoiler: destroying ''[[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt everything]]'']].
* InfinityPlusOneSword: Many ultimate GameBreaker abilities and equipment require a lot of work to get. Examples from [[Franchise/{{Persona}}]] are in their own page.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'': Hinokagutsuchi, the best sword in the game, obtainable through fusion only. Requires a total of sixty-seven demons and several fusable swords to walk through each step. As the sword can also be fused with various demons to produce the best gun and the best armor for Hiroko, you need EIGHT of them for a full equipment list.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne''
*** Masakados Magatama: Find all 24 Magatama, beat an extra BrutalBonusLevel (Bandou Shrine) and ''four'' {{Optional Boss}}es.
*** [[ArmorPiercingAttack Pierce]] skill: beat the massive BrutalBonusLevel (Labyrinth of Amala) ''before'' entering TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.
*** Extra Press Turn: beat the ''even harder'' Grave Run (ending all Grave Battles in the Labyrinth with a qualifying Press Turn count).
** ''Digital Devil Saga'': Amala Ring: beat one of the hardest {{Superboss}}es in RPG history.
** ''Digital Devil Saga 2'': Magatama Ammo: complete a series of PopQuiz RandomEncounters, then beat a boss in the TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'': The best swords and guns for each alignment (though Neutral doesn't have its own specific gun) are obtained from alignment-exclusive EX Missions. ''Redux'' does this one better by having even stronger equipment be found from its own superbosses in its unique BonusDungeon.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'': [[spoiler:Masakado's Shadow]], obtained by beating the boss of the final DLC quest. He boasts, among other things, "Curse Thy Enemy", which inflicts Almighty damage to all enemies and ''counts as a weakness'', and "Guardian's Eye", a 255-MP (!!) spell which grants three blinking Press Turns.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'': The Fiends of [[BonusDungeon Twisted Tokyo]] drop incredibly powerful weaponry and accessories... [[RandomlyDrops if you're lucky]].
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'':
*** Shiva and his absurdly strong skills can be yours to use if you manage to defeat him... but he's a level 96 {{Superboss}} when you can beat the game at around level 85.
*** The Demi-Fiend's Essence (from his own DLC) is earned by beating him, giving the Nahobino immunity to everything except Almighty, or access several unique absurdly strong skills. He's also the toughest fight in the game.
* InstakillMook: The series has several spells - and thus {{Mook}}s - of this type.
** [[LightEmUp Hama]], [[CastingAShadow Mudo]] and their variants. Any mook can have them as soon as you start the game, and yes, they are very effective. Hama is usually owned by Divine (read "Angel") type enemies, while Mudo belongs to ghosts, hell-themed demons, etc. However, Hama gets [[{{Nerf}} Nerfed]] in a few games.
** Any enemy that can deal the "Stone" [[StatusEffects status ailment]], which [[TakenForGranite petrifies an opponent.]] If anyone inflicted with it is hit by a physical, [[DishingOutDirt Earth]] or [[BlowYouAway Force]] attack, they die.
** Many - usually late-game - enemies have the following pattern: a skill that inflicts a status effect, and a second skill that kills anyone who has it.
* IntercontinuityCrossover: A few games have overtly featured characters from a different continuity in a major role.
* InterfaceSpoiler: Many across the franchise, but one stands out. If you encounter [[DiscOneFinalDungeon what appears to be the final dungeon]] or [[DiscOneFinalBoss what appears to be the final boss]], go look through some possible fusions, especially special fusions. If you see resultant demons can still have tens of levels higher than you, what you think is the final challenge most likely ''isn't''. Rarely does a game in this series end with you and your demons/Personas below level 70-80.
* ItIsBeyondSaving: You will be presented arguments to convince you any given faction is responsible for this. Who you believe, of course, is your business and no one else's.
* ItsAllUpstairsFromHere: In almost every single game you'll end up ascending a tall tower, or at least a very long multi-floor dungeon.
* ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure: The Law faction, more often than not, decides to nuke the hell out of those that disagree with it. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' is particularly famous for this.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: J-M]]
* JesusTaboo: For its use of nearly every mythological character, Jesus is almost never mentioned or relevant. Admittedly [[GodIsEvil YHVH]] and [[{{Satan}} his dragon]] lean closer to the view Judaism has on the two (except for the "evil" bit) and Judaism doesn't have the same conception of Messiah, though they employ Catholic arch-angels.
** Aleph from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' was made to be the {{expy}} of Jesus, and they even made sure he had a virgin mother.
** Lyrics in ''Nocturne'''s boss theme mention a sacrificing of the son of God.
** The closest the series gets to Jesus is in ''VideoGame/Persona3'', the Persona Messiah, who is a representation of the MessianicArchetype as a whole.
** The demon [[http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Agony Agony]] represents a long-haired, visibly wounded man bound by barbed wire to a large wooden cross. However, comprehensively, it only appeared in the first ''Devil Summoner'' game, which has never been translated or even gotten out of Japan.
* KarmaMeter: The mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games have an alignment stat that changes based on the decisions you make, and determines which path the story will take near the end. They are modified or removed entirely for spin-offs.
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: The mechanics of each game tend to give out various bonuses for hitting enemy weaknesses or landing Critical Hits, such as Extra Press Turns or a free Almighty attack.
* KillTheOnesYouLove: Many games with alignment routes have you killing off friends who don't align with you.
* KnightTemplar: Pretty much everyone aligned with Law, [[spoiler:Remiel and Amane]] from ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' being some of the few exceptions. Sometimes it gets so bad that the Law ending doesn't even involve siding directly with the force of Law in game proper.
* LawyerFriendlyCameo:
** Jack Frost in other series. In ''Shin Megami Tensei II'', "Mr. Thriller" aka Music/MichaelJackson can be met dancing in a disco and talking about how much he loves toys and children. You can also fight and recruit CaptainErsatz versions of Film/{{Beetlejuice}} (Betelgeuse) and Literature/{{Christine}} (Chris The Car).
** In the first 2 ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games, you're given the Demon Summoning Program by a wheelchair-bound man with glasses and gray hair. He calls himself "Stephen". Any resemblance to a famous scientist is surely coincidental.
** In many games, the Jinn looks a lot like Genie from Disney's version of ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}''.
* TheLegionsOfHell: Due to the Law faction's tendency to keep other demons away from the real world, Chaos factions generally lie in wait for their chance to rise again. Almost every game depicts them successfully doing so.
* LightIsGood: ZigZagged: The Light-Dark alignment axis refers to a given demon's typical ''depiction'' in its originating myths, not necessarily how they actually ''are''.
* LighterAndSofter: As mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei'' is pretty dark, it's not too hard for its spin-offs to achieve this trope.
** The ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' series, where the demons, gods and spirits are redesigned as more kid-friendly [[RuleOfCute cute]] versions. For instance, [[ScyllaAndCharybdis Scylla]] goes from a dog-headed sea monster to a cute little girl walking a bunch of puppies.
** The ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' series overall has the look and feel of a Saturday Morning Cartoon where cool and suave protagonists manage to thwart the plans of equally charismatic villains with (usually) no major betrayals and the world saved at the end of the day. While, obviously, the content is darker than said cartoons, the characters such as Nemissa and Raidou Kuzunoha are not out of place in a Shonen Manga or western comic book, with the former humorously failing at being the NinetiesAntiHero prevalent at her time, while Raidou tends to maintain his sense of justice. Driving the point are the openings [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gez-DOsC3Ko of Soul Hackers]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHtaqROGDOY Raidou Kuzunoha]] which would fit right in with shows on something like ''Toonami'' and let you know you're in for a DenserAndWackier, action-packed and lighter ''SMT'' adventure this time around.
** The ''Persona'' series, as you're usually SavingTheWorld with ThePowerOfFriendship, instead of [[TheFellowshipHasEnded watching your friends turn on you]] [[AfterTheEnd after the world's already been destroyed]]. Certain games, however, do avert this.
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' has multiple good endings and focuses on the more positive aspects of the series' theme of choice. It's like facing a ''Shin Megami Tensei'' situation with ''Persona'' protagonists. It's still fairly grim though, especially when compared to ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'', which in itself is a LighterAndSofter successor to the first game.
** ''Jack Bros'', the Virtual Boy SpinOff, is probably the lightest and softest of the bunch, as it focuses on Pyro Jack, Jack Frost and Jack Skeleton trying to return to the fairy world before time runs out.
* LimitedMoveArsenal: Most ''[=MegaTen=]'' games give your party members a limited number of skill slots, and force them to permanently forget old skills to make room for new ones. ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' and humans in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' do have the option to re-equip old abilities from a skill pool though.
* LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards: Inverted in most ''SMT'' games since the Platform/PlayStation2 era. Magic is far more useful at lower levels than physical attacks, as it can be used to exploit enemies' [[ElementalRockPaperScissors elemental weaknesses]]. However, higher-level physical skills that give you {{Armor Piercing Attack}}s, more {{Critical Hit}}s and CounterAttack abilities can make a late game physical build much deadlier than a magic one, especially once you begin encountering tougher enemies with [[NoSell few or no elemental weaknesses]].
* LivingStructureMonster: In ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' the demon [[http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110601200238/megamitensei/images/e/e6/Orcus.JPG Orcus]] appears as a brick [[HellGate gateway]] to {{Hell}} (if you look closely, a plaque reading "GO TO HELL" is attached to it) with part of a horned head visible at the top.
* LostInTranslation: To the point it might be impossible to list all of the examples without its own page.
** Many, ''many'' concepts in the original Japanese language don't or can't be conveyed after translation, which potentially results in misconceptions:
*** 宇宙 is commonly translated as "the universe", which is accurate in most cases but misleading in a few notable cases: the entity known as 宇宙の大いなる意志 (localized as "great will of the universe") exists as PowersThatBe in ''multiple'' universes and across different continuities; it would have been more appropriately translated as "cosmos".
*** 龍脈 is commonly translated as "Dragon Stream" which is again generally accurate, but can't convey the original Taoist conception that it is tied to the flow of life energy in Earth itself, and that it is possible for said life energy to flow out of their ordinary paths like a ruptured blood vessel. In fact, its literal translation "Dragon Veins" would be more accurate in most cases, as it connects to related concepts (龍穴 or Dragon Wounds, which is instead translated as "Leyline Fount") more easily.
** Interestingly, this trope is also ''inverted'' in one case. In Japanese, Makai or 魔界 (lit. Demon World) is always used to refer to an AlternateDimension where demons are born, no matter the game. This is despite the fact they aren't connected, and might have significant differences from game to game. For example, Makai of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' can be safely entered by a human (though requires special means), whereas Makai of ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' instantly kills any human who enters it. Similarly, in most games Makai is explicitly linked to the physical world of a single universe, whereas in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', Makai is ''also'' the space between universes. Notably, the non-Japanese releases make an effort to correct this, in that games with a Makai being fairly distinct from the norm have specific names rather than simply "Makai" or "Demon World": ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' calls it "Alien Dimension", ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' calls it "Expanse", ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'' calls it "Netherworld" or "Da'at". In short, instead of losing meaning upon translation, they instead ''gain'' proper distinctions.
** There are also a number of regular {{Pun}}s which don't make it through translation:
*** "Luster Candy" is the ultimate buff skill in some games. In Japanese, this is a play on the three individual buffs -- ''Ra''kukaja (defense), ''Su''kukaja (accuracy/evasion), and ''Ta''rukaja (attack) -- but the joke falls apart with a direct translation.
*** In Japanese, allied demons have been historically referred to as 仲魔, which is a made-up pun based on the word 仲間, meaning "ally". Both words are pronounced the same ("nakama"), but the former replaces one of the kanji with the kanji for "demon". English translations generally refer to them simply as "demon partners" or even just "demons", foregoing the pun.
* LouisCypher: Shows up in all the mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games, and ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon''. Loki takes the schtick and runs with it in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor''. Satan has his own example with Zayin.
* {{Lunacy}}: The waxing and waning of the moon is a key gameplay feature in every game. The fuller the moon is, the more damage your attacks do, the more likely an accident is to occur during fusion, and the crazier the monsters act. During a full moon, they're practically drunk off those moonbeams, which makes for entertaining conversation. There are also some abilities that are more or less effective depending on the phase of the moon. Certain games have their own quirks:
** ''VideoGame/Persona3'' has important storyline events [[spoiler:(the attack of the Greater Shadows)]] occur during a full moon.
** There's a period of time in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' where the main character would take damage during a full moon. This is because [[spoiler:of his psychic link to the Heroine, whose reincarnated self is currently undergoing torture from a demon that has invaded her mind. The full moon makes him feel her pain]]. This is solved [[spoiler:by rescuing her]].
** In ''Digital Devil Saga'', there's a 50% chance during every new moon- [[CallARabbitASmeerp excuse us,]] MIN Solar Noise that your characters will be cured of any ailments that they are suffering from. Also, the selling price of Cells is at its highest during MAX Solar Noise. In the sequel, ''Digital Devil Saga 2'', there is a chance during 7/8 or MAX Solar Noise- sorry, ''Solar Data'' that you will enter battle in Berserk Form.
** You can guarantee that you get the best items from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'''s Mystical Chests by opening them during a full Kagutsuchi phase. The drop rate of Gems is also highest at this point. The moon does not appear in Nocturne because, along with the rest of the world, [[AfterTheEnd it has been destroyed.]] What the game tracks, instead, is the brightening and darkening of Kagutsuchi. Hence, Nocturne is one of the few games with a good reason for why the "moon"'s phase changes every few steps you take, as opposed to taking days to change phase.
** One Sub App in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' lets you speak to demons during the Full Moon (something otherwise impossible). Because they're drunk on the moonlight, they don't really know what they're saying, and will ask bizarre questions. You have a 50/50 chance of impressing them or pissing them off; impressing them can earn you rewards up to and including instantly recruiting them: this is the ''only'' way to recruit Dark demons.
* MadScientist: [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI Ste]][[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII phen]], [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII Dr. Harada]] and [[VideoGame/SoulHackers Dr.]] [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Vic]][[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon tor]] all qualify.
* MadScientistLaboratory: Every single incarnation of the Gouma-Den.
* MagicallyBindingContract: A staple in the franchise. Generally, when a demon decides to join a summoner as an ally during negotiations, a contract between the demon and the summoner is formed that can usually be broken upon the summoner's death. Note that the contract is ''binding'' on the fact that a contracted demon is IncapableOfDisobeying the summoner. Demons summoned though fusion are also placed under a similar contract.
* MagicallyIneptFighter: Every game has at least one, but the protagonists of the first two SMT games deserve mention because they can't use any form of Magic.
* TheMagicComesBack: Many games in the franchise has this in some capacity. Explained in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'' by Mother Echidna as a result of the demons returning from the banishment imposed by YHVH. [[DoNotGoGentle They're not leaving again without a fight]].
* MagicFromTechnology: The premise of the original ''Digital Devil Story'' was that computer code could replicate a summoning ritual, and the concept has been core to the series ever since. Demon summoners throughout the franchise usually carry around [[MagiTek a device]] -- arm-mounted [=COMPs=] in the original games, pistol-mounted [=GUMPs=] in the ''VideoGame/DevilSummoner'' subseries, Platform/NintendoDS-shaped [=COMPs=] in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', the [[PoweredArmor Demonica]] in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' and a cellphone application in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse''-- that runs the Demon Summoning Program and allows the user to summon and control their {{Mons}}. And in certain games like ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and the aforementioned IV duology, it outright gives the user access to magic spells of their own.
* MagicIsRareHealthIsCheap: As an extension of this, there are skills that cast from MP and those that CastFromHitPoints. The latter can put you in danger, but are more economical since HP is easier to recover than PP. Some games downplay this by having Chakra Drops {{Randomly Drop|s}} from even low-level demons, so you'll always have a steady supply, although HP restoration will always be more available.
* {{Makara}}: Makaras are fish with the head and hind legs of a deer. They're usually classified as dragons, but on occasion are grouped with snakes. Its alignment is Light-Chaos and it usually makes use of ice-related moves.
* MarketBasedTitle: In the West, from ''Nocturne'' to around ''Persona 4 Arena'', the games were all branded under the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' label. In Japan, though every game is considered a [=MegaTen=] title, they aren't marketed as such.
* MarkOfTheBeast: Tatsuya's brand and [[spoiler:Kandori's black eyeballs]] in ''Persona 2'', the Demi-Fiend's tattoos in ''Nocturne'', everyone who uses Atma Avatar in ''Digital Devil Saga'', Nanashi's own tattoos ''Apocalypse''.
* MascotMook: Jack Frost. He's even the official mascot of Atlus itself, making this a literal example of the trope.
* MasterOfNone: Demons/Personas with perfectly balanced stats are fairly common and are typically not a good thing, as they tend to be weak at both physical and magic attacks; it's often better to have a collection of demons who specialize in either.
* MechanicalLifeforms: The hardiest and most powerful Angels tend to be shown as entirely robotic. Being obsessive creatures of Law, this makes it a case of FridgeBrilliance.
* MercyRewarded: In some games, if you have almost wiped out an enemy team, with only one enemy remaining, he can throw in the towel and beg for mercy. Grant it, and he can either leave with no more fuss, demonstrate his thanks with some trinket or cash, decide you're cool enough to sign up with, or invoke ISurrenderSuckers and go for a last stab.
* MergingMachine: The Cathedral of Shadows/The Velvet Room/The Gomou-Den.
* MergingMistake: It is possible for a fusion to end in a "fusion accident". While the specific results vary, it usually results in you getting a completely different demon than what it really should have been. In some cases, you can only get access to certain demons through a fusion accident like Zealot demons or Fool Personas in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}''.
* MetalSlime: Very often.
** The Fiends in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI''.
** Alice in the first Persona.
** The Omoikane in ''Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2''.
** The Kudan in ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy''. Kageboushi in [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy the sequel]].
** The Golden Shadows in ''Personas 3 and 4.''
** Mitamas in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'' serve the same purpose as they did in IV (Each drop useful items depending on which one of the four you're facing: Saki Mitama drops sellable items, Nigi Mitama gives you Glory, Ara Mitama gives you demon exp items and Kusi Mitama gives you Nahobino exp items) but unlike IV, appear in the game proper as rare encounters as opposed to only appearing in DLC exclusive areas specifically sold to make the game easier. They block every element except for one random element and ''resist Almighty'' just to make sure you can't cheese them without playing on their terms.
* MetaphoricallyTrue: What most villains believe and try to achieve in this series aren't inherently wrong. Generally however, they twist it into radical variations which obviously bring nothing but suffering to others.
* MonTech: [=COMPs=] are handheld or wrist-mounted computer devices used to transport and summon demons via the Demon Summoning Program.
* {{Mons}}: This series is the [[TropeMaker Trope]] ''[[TropeMaker Maker]]'', as ''[[VideoGame/MegamiTensei Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei]]'' was the first video game to involve the player taming monsters and using them for combat. Nearly every game serves as a DarkerAndEdgier occult {{Deconstruction}} of {{Mons}}, even though the franchise predates ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', the TropeCodifier. [[http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Digital_Devil_Story:_Megami_Tensei by ten years]]. This also makes {{Mon}}s itself an UnbuiltTrope.
* MonsterCompendium: The Demonic Compendium is a very important part in almost every game since ''Nocturne'', allowing you not only to view the stats of all the demons you've ever registered in it, but also serves as a repository of information, with tons of lore for each demon (all of it perfectly valid and backed by a lot of literature in the artbooks) and the ability to resummon those you've fused away for a fee. The Persona Compendium from ''Persona 3'' and beyond serves the same purpose.
* MonsterLord: The ''Maoh'', or the translated [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Tyrant]], demon race.
* MouthOfSauron: Metatron for YHVH, Beelzebub for Lucifer. Igor and Kandori Takahisa fill the role to a degree for Philemon and Nyarlathotep.
* MultiBoobage: Mostly played for demon designs invoking FanDisservice, like Satan, Diana, or Tiamat.
* MultipleEndings: Many of the games change the ending based on factors such as your alignment or other choices you made in the plot.
* TheMultiverse: Initially mentioned sparsely over the course of the franchise, before eventually becoming a series staple.
** One of the earliest titles in the franchise, ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'' has the FinalBoss claim it is but one part of a greater entity which controls countless universes. Likewise, ''VideoGame/LastBible'' has the TrueFinalBoss mention the same, and further elaborates many worlds are being born and destroyed out there unrelated to its own will. ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' similarly has different incarnations of Hoshigami creating different universes.
** ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'' finally explores the concept: the UpdatedRerelease goes in detail to explain the game's world is just one universe out of billions of others in a vast river known as the Amala. These other universes may or may not be the previous games or even subsequent games, including sub-series of the franchise; given there are a number of hints and references which imply connections across different continuities (such as events of ''II'' being referenced in ''Digital Devil Saga'') it naturally leads to ''lots'' of {{Fanon}} about just how the different universes fit together.
** However, as prior games like ''Last Bible'' and ''Devil Children'' explicitly have distinct continuities with multiple universes each, this suggests Amala is simply another continuity with its set of universes and not ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise as a whole. Later games (such as ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' and subsequently ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'') reinforce this, more or less confirming the franchise consists of multiple groups of multiverses, generally distinguished by different forms of PlaceBeyondTime or VoidBetweenTheWorlds binding the universes together (''Nocturne'' has Amala, ''VideoGame/SoulHackers''/''Raidou Kuzunoha'' has Akarana Corridor, ''IV'' duology has the Expanse); or different supreme entities governing reality (''Devil Children'' has the Hoshigami, ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' has Brahman, ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' has Canopus).
* MyRulesAreNotYourRules: No matter which game it is: if an enemy uses physical attacks which normally would cost it HP, he won't have to pay the price.
** Not true in the ''Devil Survivor'' series, since enemy stats are displayed "face-up" to the player.
** Also not true in ''IMAGINE'', where only demons with a specific feature null HP costs (some of which, such as Hecatoncheires, can be used by players). Most, if not all, bosses have this feature, though. This also turns some boss-like enemies such as Hell Biker (from the 39th floor of the ''Denshi Kairo'' special dungeon) rather funny to fight when it starts spending more HP than the player is actually causing him.
** Nor is it true in the ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' games, where you will see their HP Bars actually drop when they use HP Costing attacks, and occasionally they will actually suicide with it.
** The only way to deny enemy demons the ability to abuse this is getting their HP lower than the cost of the attack: even though they don't pay the cost, ''they still have to have enough to pay it for it to work''.
* MythologyGag: Cerberus is usually portrayed in the series with one head because that's how he was described in the original ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'' novel. Boomerangs back to accuracy in ''Digital Devil Saga'', doubling as a series in-joke.
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