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[[Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei Main Page]] | [[ShinMegamiTensei/TropesAToM Tropes A-M]] | '''Tropes N-Z'''
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[[folder: N-R]]
* NamedWeapons: Very often you will have the chance to collect some legendary weaponry.
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}} [[UpdatedRerelease FES]]'' takes it further with Weapon Fusion. You can find "Void," "Nihil," or "Origin" weapons which you can slap a Persona on to in order to create swords or spears with very good stats and additional effects. But if you use a Persona whose weapon is well-known by itself, then whatever base weapon you use, regardless of type (knives, bows, whatever) will become this legendary weapon. For instance, fusing Odin and obtaining Gungnir, Thor and Mjolnir, Shiva and Pinaka, Cú Chulainn and Gae Bolg, Siegfried and Balmung... though there are exceptions: Lucifer is not known to wield a grail or a blade in traditional depictions, yet it results in Lucifer Grail ([[LostInTranslation changed to Lucifer Blade in English]]), and Metatron most certainly never has a gun called Metatronius in any religious literature.
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: As odd as it sounds, the reason Law tends to kill large amounts of people in many of the games is because they want to prevent as many deaths as possible. It just so happens that the best way to do this is to create a utopia that the process of creation involves clearing out anyone who can threaten it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Neither Law nor Chaos likes it when you decide to go for Neutral. Averted somewhat in that they will often be nicer to you than if you chose the other side.
* NeutralNoLonger: Very often, events will conspire to try and force you to take a side, giving alignment points. Neutrality is a luxury you can't always afford.
* NewGamePlus: Most of the recent games include extra content only available on a second run. You can also carry over a varying amount of content from your previous run, such as your money, Demon/Persona Compendium, and even your experience level, although some games like ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' give you the option of wiping most of your content for a challenge.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Happens with some regularity, though probably the most nightmarish instance comes from a single quote in the Akarana Corridor: "''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI The Ambassador]] [[NukeEm has launched]] [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII the ICBMs!]]''"
* NintendoHard: Even modern ''[=MegaTen=]'' games use classic RPG tropes that can make a player want to cry.
** High {{Random Encounter|s}} rates.
** [[BackStab Surprise attacks]] causing [[OneHitKill one turn kills]].
** Enemies with OneHitKill spells.
** Enemy weaknesses requiring TrialAndErrorGameplay to discover.
* NonElemental: Almighty. One of the reasons why it's generally impossible to defend oneself against any attacks of this attribute.
* NonIndicativeName: The {{Mons}} in the series are generally collectively known as "demons" for convenience despite many of them being, mythologically, the precise opposite of demons (i.e angels, Gods, and sometimes even humans). English text in the Japanese versions tends to call them "devils" instead, which is even less descriptive of some of the creatures' natures. Justified, since the series use [[ShownTheirWork the original meaning of the word "daemon", which simply means spiritual being]].
* NoPointsForNeutrality: Averted. Neutral is one of the three alignment factions; while Law represents YHVH and angels, and Chaos represents Lucifer and demons, Neutral generally represents Humanity, a force not inherently bound by Law's rules or Chaos's machinations. This is one of the reasons (other than GodsNeedPrayerBadly) why humans are so important to both sides.
* NoSell: In many ways. Null means this, Absorb means this ''plus'' recovery, Reflect means this plus your opponent taking damage you should suffer.
** Many enemies will have these stacked up to truly ridiculous levels. Save up enough money, experience, fuse and grind up for the right demons/personas, and you can EliteTweak your own -- sometimes, it is possible to fuse demons or personas which no-sell everything but Almighty effects. Still, though the games permit enough skill customization so enough effort can effectively render any glaring weakness moot, the NintendoHard difficulty usually means that, of course, [[NintendoHard some bosses]] will still make your life hell unless you completely and utterly overpower them, [[SerialEscalation and sometimes even that is not enough]].
*** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' has the Masakados Magatama, an accessory for the PlayerCharacter which not only gives a ''massive'' bonus to all stats except Luck, it comes with immunities to NoSell ''everything'' except for Almighty. This gets carried over to ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', in which he appears as an excruciatingly difficult superboss: [[OhCrap he still has the same immunities]] [[note]]However, it does not block Gun or Earth damage, as ''Nocturne'' [[MythologyGag doesn't have those elements]]. Again, [[ExactWords "the same immunities"]][[/note]].
*** And in ''Digital Devil Saga'' you can have the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Null Attack]] passive skill, which has the same effect as the Masakados minus the stat boosts. [[DevelopersForesight Not like it's gonna help you]] against most of the optional bosses, as they all have some variations of Almighty moves as their main forms of attack, and the protagonist of ''Nocturne'' will actually ''insta-kill you before your first turn'' if you have ''any'' no-sell whatsoever.
*** In ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' sub-series, every game since ''VideoGame/Persona3'' has the Omnipotent Orb, an accessory which has the same effect as Null Attack. However, equipping it against the Velvet Room Attendants serving as the ultimate optional bosses will just result in them punishing you with repeated 9999 damage Megidolaons for an instant game over.
** It's been a tradition since ''Nocturne'' to have a boss who no-sells or at least highly resists everything except Almighty, which they occasionally ''also resist''. This boss is usually a strong optional boss, such as Lucifer in ''Nocturne'', Masakado's Shadow in ''IV'', [[spoiler:YHVH and Stephen]] in ''Apocalypse''. The ''Persona'' sub-series also follows the tradition: while the Velvet Room Attendants are always BarrierChangeBoss, they also always have a phase where they null absolutely everything except Almighty.
*** A notable example is the final boss of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', who has an action which will completely NoSell ''everything'' ('''Almighty''' included) you can throw at it. And since it's random, it is perfectly possible for the guy to spam it.
*** Even worse with this, however, is [[NighInvulnerable Beldr]] from ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor''. Even on a NewGamePlus, ''everything'' you throw at him will fail, all the time, except his ''lone'' WeaksauceWeakness, getting punched in the face with a ''cellphone strap''. This essentially makes every single spell and every single ''character'' in your entire team useless, '''except''' for the "Devil's Fuge" attack which replaces the main character's normal attack. [[NintendoHard Good luck.]]
*** And ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' gives us Benetnasch who {{No Sell}}s EVERYTHING your main characters can do and is only attackable by your demons. [[SarcasmMode Yay, fun]]. The UpdatedReRelease also adds Arcturus, who is essentially Beldr 2.0 and is only harmable by a certain character's normal attack -- [[spoiler:Yamato with Dragon Stream]].
** Fittingly, the games since ''Nocturne'' also begin to provide ways of overcoming {{No Sell}}s. In ''Nocturne'' itself, it's the passive skill Pierce: it allows physical attacks to slice past defenses, hitting them full on instead of being lessened, nulled, or absorbed (''not'' reflections, however). ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' also has this skill, though it's much easier to get.
** ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV IV]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse IV: Apocalypse]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV V]]'' all add Pierce passives for elemental spells as well, and the latter two makes them even more powerful as Repel no longer stops Pierce cold. The ''Persona'' sub-series doesn't have Pierce skills, but they instead have "Element Break" spells, which completely removes the resistances of enemy party to a specific element.
** ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'', ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'' all have humans, the PlayerCharacter included, be naturally immune to Light-elemental attacks. The immunity can be removed (often becoming a ''weakness'') by certain armor, however.
* {{Nue}}: The Nue is a recurring Wilder Race demon that has appeared in the series since the first game. Its appearance has varied in-between installments, but they are universally seen as having a tiger-like pelt, a serpent's tale and some simian characteristics, whether it is a baboon face or a gorilla-esque posture.
* NukeEm:
** Almighty, again. In the cases where it is not shown as an essence of pure light, the symbol for it is the standard Nuke symbol. This is [[OhCrap not inaccurate]].
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', Thor's Hammer is a ''huge'' cluster of nukes. Pointed in your general direction. The Megiddo Arc in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' also counts.
** In the early ''Persona'' games, Nuclear was another element, separate from Almighty, albeit more powerful than FireIceLightning. This returns in ''VideoGame/Persona5''.
* NumberedSequels: With the ''Devil Summoner'' spin-off series being the only exception.
* OddOrganUpTop: Though Creator/{{Atlus}} wouldn't admit it's intentional, it has several [[GagPenis phallic]] examples in [[https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Mara Mara]], [[https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Ym Ym]], and, [[https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Mishaguji Mishaguji]] (who is depicted to be either {{snake|sAreSinister}}-like or humanoid depending on the specific work). ''[[TooMuchinformation Do not]]'' spare a thought if these function as intended but the designs are justified for these demons/deities associated with either temptation, fertility, or both in their original myths. Ym is also a deity of agriculture so his head must be meant to represent root crops (''yam'', geddit?)... but [[VisualPun who are we kidding]]?
* OddlyNamedSequel: Though usually they explain what it's all about.
* OlympusMons: Several extremely powerful demons are able to be recruited or fused throughout the series, including top members of the [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse]], [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Egyptian]], [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Japanese]] pantheons and [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Outer Gods]]. And then there's the case of recruiting [[{{Pun}} the Olympians themselves]].
* OnceAnEpisode:
** The main series has each numbered game has Beelzebub as a {{Superboss}}.
** With the exception of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', the mainline games also like to have you [[WeUsedToBeFriends fight former allies at the end of the games]], [[FallenHero mostly because they've fallen so far]], [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie they've turned into monsters]]. Both [[HeWhoFightsMonsters figuratively]] and [[TranshumanAbomination literally]].
** ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' has its own examples in its page.
* OneGameForThePriceOfTwo:
** The ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' (''[[MarketBasedTitle Demi Kids]]'' for the two that came to the US) games. Also, ''Digital Devil Saga'' comes in two parts. Same with ''Persona 2''.
** ''Persona 2'' initially averted this (somewhat) in the U.S. in that the only one that originally came westside was [[SequelFirst the second one]], Eternal Punishment. While Innocent Sin has now been released in the U.S. via the PSP port, Atlus still has yet to announce Eternal Punishment's PSP port for U.S. release. So the trope is both straight and averted, since you need two systems that are of different generations to play both games. And that's only if you can ''find'' Eternal Punishment.[[note]]As of 25 Feb. 2013, Eternal Punishment is available as a "PS One Classic" through Platform/PlayStationNetwork, compatible with the PSP.[[/note]]
* OneHitKO:
** Light and Darkness spells. They come in two orders each, one more likely to connect than the other. It is possible to find variations of them all that are capable of hitting all enemy targets, setting up for a TotalPartyKill on either side.
** Downplayed in ''IV: Apocalypse'', where Light and Dark skills now do damage like other elemental spells, with only their instant-kill properties triggering if the user casts one of these spells while under Smirk status. In fact, some ''bosses'' have Light or Dark as a weakness; [[ContractualBossImmunity they just won't die instantly even if the spell they're weak to is Smirk-cast]].
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', Light and Dark spells follow the same general rule as IV Apocalypse, where they deal damage, but as smirk isn't a feature, they can instead only instant kill on weakness strikes. Additionally, a proper third tier (severe level) was added to these spells: Hamabarion and Mudobarion.
** The ''Persona'' games (except 3 and 4) give the Bless/Light and Curse/Dark elements both normal damage spells and instant-kill spells.
* OneManArmy: The franchise has several instances of this trope, both played straight and deconstructed:
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', the Demi-Fiend kills absolutely everyone and everything, without any allies other than a handful of demons he recruits.
** Lupa and Varin in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' can - and have - taken down each other's tribes by themselves.
--->'''Lupa:''' I will buy you some time.\\
'''Cielo:''' Against all dose guys!? Now I know you crazy!\\
'''Lupa:''' You do not understand. I was the leader of my tribe. You are the ones in danger.\\
'''Gale:''' What do you mean?\\
'''Lupa:''' The Wolves fell to Varin alone.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' has the protagonist doing the work of an entire military squad. While it is routinely mentionied that there are other soldiers out on the field, they often turn out to be {{Red Shirt}}s while you make most of the big breakthroughs, like defeating every end-of-sector boss.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', the OmnicidalNeutral ending turns Nanashi into exactly that. By the end [[spoiler:he is the only one left alive]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona1'': Reiji Kido (Chris in the Revelations localization) begins the game by storming SEBEC headquarters by himself. He spends the first part of the game fighting by himself the same enemies that give your four-or-five man band so much trouble, and you find him no worse for the wear. What happens to him depends on what choices you make; if you follow the GuideDangIt steps to recruit him, he's still in tip-top shape when he joins the party, but if you don't recruit him, you'll find him again a few dungeons later collapsed on the floor because it got too much for him to handle (or he ran out of medicine).
** ''VideoGame/Persona2: Eternal Punishment'':
*** Tatsuya Suou spends two thirds of the game wrecking the Tenchu army (including their mechs, at least two Bosses and a gigantic military vessel) all by himself. The whole thing is further elaborated in his scenario in the PSP remake, where the player finds out exactly what he's been fighting. Lampshaded by the main cast several times:
---->'''Baofu:''' He has way more experience than you guys, and some guts... Heck, we'd be in his way.
*** Baofu himself killed 25 mafia hitmen prior to the events of the game, and halfway through he successfully storms their main headquarters all by himself. Right up until he runs to the MiniMecha, that is.
*** Deconstructed by Katsuya, who attempts to do this against the {{Corrupt Cop}}s, up until he comes face to face with the special units. The party reaches him in time to help him, but after the fight he admits that this was reckless of him and he wouldn't have been able to win by himself.
* OneSteveLimit: Generally, you cannot have more than one of any given demon in your team. In certain games like ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' series this only applies to certain demons, generally unique individuals over species e.g. [[Myth/NorseMythology Thor and Odin]].
* OptionalBoss: Most of the games have at least one insanely difficult optional boss. The most notable is Beelzebub, who appears in all four numbered games as one of the strongest bosses, and the entire Fiend race, who generally put up a much greater fight than another enemy or boss in the area.
* OrderIsNotGood: This franchise is one of the main users of the trope, to the point it makes people think the Law side may even be worse than Chaos because suppressing freedom and the genocides are usually done for the sole purpose of satisfying a tyrant.
* OrderVersusChaos: A CentralTheme to the main games, recurring still in spin-offs. Law tends to be [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-meaning]] but very KnightTemplar about the whole thing. Chaos strongly emphasises freedom but in the form of a brutal MightMakesRight anarchy. Neutrality focuses on [[{{Ubermensch}} self-empowerment]] and the [[HumansAreSpecial potential of humanity]], as opposed to reliance on a greater force for guidance.
** Of course, [[HumansAreBastards Neutrality isn't completely good]]. [[spoiler:The fact that [[ViciousCycle most of the time the Neutral Ending brings back the world as it used to be doesn't help either]].]]
** The classic Chaos has more or less split into two belief systems in later games. As mentioned under CharacterizationMarchesOn, the SocialDarwinist aspects are seen as more or less outright evil, while the RageAgainstTheHeavens aspect is usually shown in a more [[AntiHero antiheroic]] light.
* OriginalGeneration: There are a handful of demons not directly taken from mythology. The most prominent examples are the [[MascotMook Jack Frost]] variants, [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Black Frost]], [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVSTheSoullessArmy Raiho]], [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Frost Ace and Demonee-Ho]]. Other examples include Hell Biker (based on the Hells Angels) and the titular Soulless Army of ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVSTheSoullessArmy'' (which reappear in the sequel).
* OrganDrops: In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', this is an excellent way to grind for macca. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' has certain demons drop edible meats, though the trope is very much lessened from ''Strange Journey''. ''Persona 3'' has certain items you can take from Shadows remains.
* {{Orochi}}: Usually a major boss in games where he appears, and possible to fuse after defeat. They refer to him by the full mythological version of his name "Yamata-No-Orochi".
* OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous: Many of the top level demons of the sides will be this, often having genitals of a sex they are never referred to as, among other sexual ambiguity, such as changing sex in the process of transformation.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: [[ShownTheirWork True to the original definition of the word 'daemon']], the definition is as broad as possible: basically, legendary monsters, mythical deities, and even certain historical humans of ''all'' kinds -- good, evil, ''whatever'' -- they're all called demons here, even the angels and the God they serve.
* OurHippocampsAreDifferent: Kelpies have been depicted as hippocamps in a few games, notably ''VideoGame/LastBible III'' and ''VideoGame/LastBible Special''. The former is a heraldic interpretation, while the latter is close to the Classical creature, looping tail included. The ''Last Bible'' versions of the kelpie are preceded by the one in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', which looks like the interpretation of the hippocamp from ''Manga/SaintSeiya'': four-legged but with a finned tail. The last instance of a hippocamp-like kelpie in the series is in ''[[VideoGame/DevilChildren DemiKids]]'', where if allied it gets the name Mermount.
* OurMonstersAreWeird: Where can we even start with this one?
* PawprintStamping: One of the summonable personas in-game is a little black cat named Neko Shogun. It dresses as a samurai, and its outfit includes a red flag with a black pawprint on it.
* PercentBasedValues: Multiple:
** From the very first game, Life Stones recover 30% of the user's total health.
** In most games, physical skills require a percentage of HP as their cost. This can be a double-edged sword; on the one hand, the more your health increases the more the cost increases. On the other hand, you can use extremely powerful skills right from the beginning of the game (on NewGamePlus).
* PinballSpinoff: Oddly enough, as a cell phone game only released in Japan.
* PointOfNoReturn: Annoyingly done in the first few games; more modern games tend to be more forgiving.
* PostModernMagik: Ancient summoning rituals and spells? Who needs 'em when you can program them into a handy app for your cell?
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Especially prevalent in the later ''Persona'' games, and present to some degree in ''Apocalypse''
* PowersAsPrograms: Fused demons or Personas inherit at least some of the skills the "parent" demons had. Learning to exploit this can lead to {{Disc One Nuke}}s and {{Game Breaker}}s. This is also a vital part in fusing for its ability to impart priceless immunities and strengths to new demons. ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' games amp this by literally allowing you to slap any powers you want on anyone, only restricting you with the spell's stat point requirement.
* PowerUpgradingDeformation: Whenever you choose to blend demon and human in any way, expect this to be a likely result, with only a few exceptions.
* {{Pun}}: These might be gritty games, but lame jokes persist nonetheless. The most recurring one being Ja-aku Frost (Woolseyed but LostInTranslation as Black Frost), the SuperpoweredEvilSide of resident MascotMook Jack Frost. "Ja-aku" (邪悪) means "evil" and also a transliteration of Jack.
* PracticalTaunt: Most of the games have a "Taunt" spell, which increases enemy attack power while significantly lowering their defense.
* PragmaticPansexuality: Practically a requirement. To successfully recruit demons, you have to resort in anything and everything, and that includes seducing them. Keep in mind that most of them are beast-like or creepy, or both.
* PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo: ''A lot''.
** In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', you can fight [[spoiler:the [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Demi-Fiend]]]]. Possibly the hardest {{Superboss}} in the history of Japanese RPG.
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' has an appearance from [[spoiler:Black Frost]] from the first ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor''. To drive home the fact that it's not just any [[spoiler:Black Frost]], you get this exchange:
--->[[spoiler:Black Frost: [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor The messenger of love and justice is here! Time for some magical punishment! ]]★]]\\
[[spoiler:MC: *choosing the first dialogue option* Frosty!]]\\
[[spoiler:Black Frost: ... Ho? What're you saying, ho? You've got me confused with somebody else!]]
** The Platform/PlayStation port of ''[[VideoGame/SoulHackers Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers]]'' includes a battle against the protagonist from the very first ''Devil Summoner'' game. The enhanced 3DS port also includes Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV, Raido Kuzunoha the XIV, and the freaking ''[[TransformingMecha Soulless God]]'' from the Platform/PlayStation2 ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Devil]]'' ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Summoner]]'' games.
** All but two of the playable characters in the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'' make at least a brief appearance in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'', and several party members from both games show up in the "Who's Who" TV show in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''.
** The FightingGame Sequel for ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', features Aigis, Akihiko, and Mitsuru from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' as a few of the combatants. Its direct sequel, ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax'' adds Yukari, Junpei, and Ken as well.
** The female protagonist of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'' appears in the first two ''Persona'' games as "Tamaki Uchida". Additionally, Kyouji Kuzunoha from the original ''Devil Summoner'' is implied to be the one possessing Daisuke Todoroki in ''Persona 2''.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', [[spoiler:''all'' of the previous mainline games protagonists show up as GuestPartyMember in the Messiahs of the Diamond Realm DLC]].
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Demi-Fiend]] is the ultimate DLC boss. The DLC is even named "Return of the True Demon".
* PrinciplesZealot: When taking into account that Law endings are identified as creating utopias that last indefinitely into the future, Neutral is often interpreted as this by them. Due to being unwilling to kill people to get there, even though doing so would result in less suffering in the long run.
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Frequent. Lucifer is usually the one who spearheads this movement, but not always; it depends on the game. In ''Nocturne'' [[spoiler:the Demi-fiend is now the one who leads it, if the True Demon ending is canon]]. In Apocalypse, [[spoiler:it happens twice over where you face Satan, who was in control of YHVH's armies, only for him to turn and aid you in doing it to YHVH himself]].
* {{Raiju}}: Raijus appear frequently as beast-like creatures made of lightning.
* RainbowSpeak: Chronologically, ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' was the first game in this franchise to use Rainbow Speak, only using it for rumors. All subsequent games after that use variations of it, even UpdatedReRelease of older games where they were not strictly necessary.
* RareCandy: Incenses. They come for all stats, though, befitting the NintendoHard nature of the games, they are quite rare.
** In both ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' games, you can get All Incenses from Fenrirs, which increase all stats.
** In ''Nocturne'' you can [[SaveScumming save-scum]] them by getting nine Lucky Tickets at the shop by buying stuff at 1000 macca intervals, save, and then buy at a tenth interval at the store. The owner will give you three boxes to choose from; sometimes they may have an incense inside, depending if you open it on a certain Kagutsuchi phase. You can also get Incenses from golden chests, also depending on Kagutsuchi phase.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: The first hint that certain human characters isn't quite human after all is this. For ''one'' example: how hasn't Stephen aged in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', set ''decades'' after the previous game?
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Extremely common, seeing as this series is about choosing and enforcing a path you believe in, expect the ones who don't agree with you to belittle you. Same goes for everyone.
* RecurringElement: To an utterly '''absurd''' degree. Part of what makes the franchise so expansive (and often confusing) is that there are a huge amount of recurring elements from game to game, and they aren't ''always consistent'', with some elements being changed slightly or significantly between works, or some being more prominent than others in specific games, while only a few remain the same.
** Elements which remain consistent include:
*** The vast majority of the Demon Compendium is generally transplanted wholesale between games, but the only demons who appear in ''all'' games, and always with the exact same appearance, are Creator/{{Atlus}} mascots [[MascotMook Jack Frost]] and its close relatives.
*** The Demon Summoning Program, the concept of inserting the ritual to summon demons into technology to shorten the process, is the very basis of the franchise itself. It appears in not just all the mainline SMT games barring ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'', but also in ''VideoGame/MegamiTensei'' and ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'', both ''Majin Tensei'' games, the [[VideoGame/DevilSummoner first]] [[VideoGame/SoulHackers two]] ''Devil Summoner'' games, and both ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2''.
*** The Sanskrit and Japanese-based spell naming convention as well as the tiered scale system: [[FireIceLightning Agi, Bufu, Zio]] (weak), Agilao, Bufula, Zionga (medium), and Agidyne, Bufudyne, Ziodyne (heavy) for the three indispensable elementals; [[HolyHandGrenade Hama]] and [[{{Curse}} Mudo]] for Expel and Curse (or Light and Dark) {{One Hit Kill}}s; [=Raku/Taru/Suku=]-[=nda/kaja=] for buffs and debuffs; and the prefix "Ma" for multi-target vs. single-target spells (Mazionga, Masukukaja, etc.).
*** Demon (or Persona) fusion to improve your forces has been the core and purpose of every single game in the franchise since the very first one. Related to this, certain fusion recipes always remain the same among games, such as Shiva being a result of fusing Rangda and Barong.
** Meanwhile, elements which are subject to changes include:
*** Demon origin and physiology. In most games, demons are lifeforms made out of Magnetite or Aether (sometimes called Magatsuhi in specific games), a normally unobservable substance within all things which react to human thoughts and gather in human bodies. How much humans influence the nature of demons vary: [[DeityOfMortalCreation sometimes demons are entirely sustained by human thought]], other times humans merely influenced demons but is not strictly needed for continued existence. Other games like ''VideoGame/LastBible'' and ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' forego this concept entirely, with demons being depicted as supernatural entities independent from humanity.
*** Makai or Demon World is a plane of existence comprising of data or information and Magnetite where demons reside, a form of AnotherDimension linked to the physical world. The nature of this "information plane" often vary between continuities, which result in different phenomena occurring across the games; for example, in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'', the information realm was formed as a result of development of sentient life on Earth, whereas in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'', the information plane exists prior to and governs the physical universe. In most games Makai is usually implied or stated to be linked to a single universe (notably as late as ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV''), whereas in ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'', Makai is also a form of VoidBetweenTheWorlds which connect universes born from splits in timeline. Perhaps not coincidentally, some games localise Makai with names other than Demon World, as the Makai depicted in those continuities are too distinct from the norm despite the shared Japanese name.
*** Characterizations of major figures like YHVH, Lucifer, and many others often change DependingOnTheWriter to suit whatever themes to be explored in any particular game, and in fact it's not until ''Nocturne'' that demons begin to adopt a general characterization for each and every demon. Even then, that ''will'' change if a game's story demands it; for example, ''Apocalypse'' makes use of an interpretation of Vishnu as supreme god in Hindu, rather than a part of Trimurti with Brahma and Shiva like he usually is depicted. Likewise, alignments and factions of demons often fluctuate in many aspects from game to game.
*** The collective consciousness is often implied if not outright stated to exist in many games as the origin of gods, demons, and the information plane where they reside. However, how exactly it came into being and how much influence it has on the physical universe it was formed in vary between continuities. In games such as ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' and ''Apocalypse'', the collective unconscious can subvert reality itself; in contrast for games such as ''Nocturne'', it is stated to exist but incapable of influencing reality to a significant degree, to the point only the ''idea'' of Personas and Shadows exist as minor demons.
*** Given the franchise runs on AlternateContinuity and TheMultiverse, how the principles of Kabbalah can be applied to understanding the world also vary across the games. What is considered Ein Sof (the ultimate underlying origin so far removed from all of creation to the point it can be considered non-existent from the perspective of the created), or the 10 Sefirot (the structure of how the divine creative energy is expressed to form and sustain creation) in one world might not necessarily apply to another, even if both are within the same continuity; there is no single interpretation applicable to all of them.
*** The cycle of death and reincarnation is implied to be present in many games, but its nature and rules might change from game to game. In some games, it applies to individual human souls and demons. In others, it applies to entire ''universes''. Whether or not the cycle exists as a fundamental process of reality in and of itself, or simply artificially set in place by powerful beings also vary; in certain games, the cycle of transmigration is considered so intrinsic to reality, [[spoiler:escaping it turns you into a godlike being who can transcend dimensions]], with entities as powerful as YHVH even forced to go the extra mile if he wants to kill souls of problematic individuals permanently.
* RecurringExtra: Numerous examples: from OriginalGeneration demons like Jack Frost [[LongList and his relatives]] or [[AliceAllusion Alice]], to background characters like the master of the Cathedral of Shadows, the owner of Rag's Shop, Charon, and to an extent, Stephen.
* RedOniBlueOni:
** Chaos and law tend to be this for red and blue respectively. They even have the appropriate color pallets.
** Meta example: To contrast ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'''s demonic red palette, ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' uses angelic blue. Even the storylines are slightly different from each other, but their {{Golden Ending}}s are on opposite sides.
* ReforgedIntoAMinion: Almost every boss and miniboss can be subject to this. Once you've killed them once, you have the right to summon them at an adequate level.
* RefusingParadise: It is possible to reject Law's paradise in lieu of working towards creating one.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Machines that develop human thoughts and feelings are often featured in [=MegaTen=] games. This includes Aigis and Labrys in the ''Persona'' series, [[spoiler:Rasputin]] from the ''Devil Summoner'' games, and the Innocents in ''IMAGINE''.
* RocBirds: Roc (sometimes Rukh) is frequently a demon in the series and its spinoffs. It is usually a member of the Avian or Flight race, and is usually portrayed as a giant bird with a rocky skin texture to emphasize its size, making it look like a flying mountain.
* RomanticFusion:
** You can have Hindu god Shiva and his wife Parvati as {{Mon}}s in your party. In many games, fusing both of them will result in the demon Ardha, who is basically Shiva and Parvati combined together. This is also usually the only way to get Ardha in your party.
** Near the end of ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', [[spoiler: Serph and Sera]] died but their souls fused, forming the intersex [[spoiler: Seraph]]. Futhermore, his/her Atma Avatar is Ardha.
* RouteBoss: Long story short: If you're Law-aligned, you kill all the Chaotic leaders. If you're Chaos-aligned, you kill all the lawful leaders. If you're Neutral, you kill ''everyone''.
* RuleOfSymbolism: If a demon looks extremely weird, chances are that oddity is actually an obscure reference to its mythical origins.
* RunningGag:
** Belphegor and toilets. It started in ''VideoGame/Persona2'' where Belphegor (along with cosplay girl Ixquic and a bunch of mooks) were all hiding in a bathroom stall, and the poor demon hasn't escaped toilet seats since. He is ALWAYS depicted sitting on a toilet seat.
** The Jack demons {{Leaning On|The Fourth Wall}} or outright BreakingTheFourthWall to lampshade their mascot status. Or the protagonist's protagonist status. Or the fact that you're playing a video game. Hell, sometimes their mere existence is treated as a gag.
** [[StarterMon Pixie]] inexplicably knowing the Megido spells. It started with ''Persona 2 Eternal Punishment'' (where Megido replaced the Media spell of the ''Innocent Sin'' version), but it truly became famous with the Super Pixie in ''Nocturne'' and all her subsequent appearances.
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[[folder: S-T]]
* TheSacredDarkness: The Lady race features Black Maria, who is based off an interpretation of the Virgin Mary with black skin, and is stated to be a holy mother of the dark. Likewise, the demon Alciel, the "Black Sun", or "King of Gehenna" has added commentary in the Compendium saying darkness is a part of rebirth.
* SacrificialRevivalSpell: In some entries in the series, the Recarmdra spell will revive all fallen party members at the cost of killing the caster.
* SadlyMythcharacterized: Some demon designs tend to be more symbolic. Instead of reflecting what the mythological character physically appeared as in their myths, the demon designs incorporates aspects of the myths themselves into them. While often [[ShownTheirWork showing their work]], the results are still at odds with usual physical depictions:
** [[MascotMook Cerberus]] is a DoubleSubversion. They are depicted as some sort of lion-wolf with only one head, instead of the three headed canine, in all but three games, due to their portrayal in the original ''Literature/{{Digital Devil Story}}'' novels and anime [[AdaptationDisplacement from which the video games took off]]. But the version with one head is actually the original portrayal. Later portrayals emphasized multiple heads, while varying on the actual number. The idea that they has 3 heads specifically did not sink in until the Renaissance. Therefore, while the 3 headed version is iconic, the one headed version is more accurate but thus unusual.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' featured several unusual demon and boss designs. Of note is Lucifer. In IV he looks like a bald man with white skin (actually being a leather bodysuit) and a red outfit. In ''Apocalypse'', he resembles a man with very dark grey skin dressed in shining gold and residing on a golden sun throne. His wings are actually the twelve rays of light from his sun throne. He also lacks the empathy for Humanity and most of his ability to manipulate people. [[spoiler:The duology's incarnation is actually a part of Satan. In previous games and Judaic tradition, the two were considered separate beings, and in Christian tradition, Lucifer is believed to have taken the identity of Satan after his fall.]]
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' also has Odin, who is depicted as a Gold and Blue Ultraman-like humanoid without the beard (although [=MegaTen's=] other incarnations of Odin usually don't have facial hair to begin with, and would still fall under AmazingTechnicolorPopulation with his purple skin).
** Some of the angels also play with the trope. While several of them go for the WingedHumanoid depiction, and others subvert it by using Talmudic depictions, Metatron and his twin Sandalphon are depicted as more machine than man. Symbolic of YHVH's desires for absolute control over humanity. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' extends the mechanical aspect to the four Archangels, but goes for a more [[EldritchAbomination eldritch aesthetic]], with faces not on their heads but on other parts of the body. All of them angelic demons are usually fanatical followers of YHVH and his [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill ideology]].
* TheSandman: A recurring demon in the series and its spin-offs. His flavour text usually identifies him as a faerie from German folklore who puts humans to sleep with his magic sand and sits on the eyelids of anyone who resists.
* {{Satan}}: Different forms of the Devil regularly show up over the series:
** Lucifer works in direct opposition to God, typically as leader of Chaos factions in the OrderVersusChaos games, and as two different Personas in ''Persona'' games (Lucifer his FallenAngel self, and Helel from before his fall from grace).
** The entirely separate Satan takes after his Old Testament (more specifically Literature/BookOfJob) depiction, who serves as God's [[TheDragon Dragon]] in OrderVersusChaos games, and as a Judgement-class Persona in ''Persona'' games.
* SatanIsGood: Zigzagged. Lucifer is one of the franchise's most recurring characters and has been subject to DependingOnTheWriter more than any other character, while Satan is less recurring but has likewise gone through CharacterizationMarchesOn from his earliest appearances. See [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiLucifer Lucifer]] and [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiForcesOfLaw Satan]]'s folders in their respective pages for details.
* SaveGameLimits: You typically can only save at set points, such as Terminals. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' breaks tradition by letting you save ''anywhere''.
* SaveScumming: Considering that ''IV'' [[RocketTagGameplay has no defense stat and as such enemies can and will rapidly eat you for breakfast]], you'll be thankful you can.
* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: A number of the protagonists are high school students and occasionally get caught up in events while still in their school uniforms.
* SchmuckBait: Atlus likes to bait you into taking silly risks. A notable example is before the Daisoujou fight in ''Nocturne''. The boss uses powerful light and dark type (OneHitKill) attacks, but directly before the fight, the player has access to a magatama that boosts strength by 10, while making the player weak to light and dark attacks. With a stat cap of 40, naturally it seems like a good idea, but then [[OhCrap you're promptly punished]].
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: One possible response you can get from a demon when you do something for them or answer one of their questions is that the demon becomes angry and leaves. Irritating if you were trying to get something from the demon or get them to join you, but much better than [[BerserkButton eliciting a free round for their party]].
* SecretAIMoves: One of the most notable comes in ''Nocturne'' and ''Digital Devil Saga'' in the form of two moves (''Beast Eye'' and ''Dragon Eye'') that gives the enemy free actions for a puny mana cost. For the most part, only bosses have it, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and you can't learn it]]. ''Videogame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' lets you FINALLY learn a special version called Guardian's Eye...but [[BraggingRightsReward it requires a demon only obtainable from the last and most difficult DLC boss battle]], can only be inherited through an extremely limited form of fusion, and [[AwesomeButImpractical costs an absurd 255 MP]].
* SeekingUltimateStrength: The Chaos alignment in all games can be summarized as MightMakesRight. The motives of faction leaders typically involve ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil, but Chaos-aligned heroes (Dahn, Jimenez, Walter, Nikaido, Keita) seek to become ever stronger specifically so they would never feel oppression or threat.
* SelfDestructiveCharge: Some enemies, if pushed, will try to invoke TakingYouWithMe through a massive explosion, sometimes even hurting their own allies in the process.
* SequelNumberSnarl: There is a notable difference between the mainline series and the numbered series. While the numbered series only includes ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', the mainline series also includes ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse''. The Famicom games and ''NINE'' are occasionally added to the mainline list, but are less consistent than the others.
* SexSells: Aeria started advertising the MMORPG with this using demons. To be fair, a few of the demons are attractive, but [[FanDisservice others...]]
* ShoutOut: The games reference to a huge amount of other creators' work and general culture from around the world.
** UsefulNotes/CarlJung: His psychological research is a major thematic influence for the franchise, particularly in the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series.
** ''Megami Tensei II'' has a chainsaw-wielding maniac called [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Friday]]. A PaletteSwap of the same monster is named [[Literature/TheShining Redrum]]. Other enemies (which also appear in ''Giten Megami Tensei'') are named [[Music/DeepPurple Highway Star]] and [[Music/{{Impellitteri}} Interipelli]]
** ''SMT II'' features monsters based on [[Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors Audrey]], [[Film/{{Beetlejuice}} Betelgeuse]], [[Literature/{{Christine}} Chris the Car]], and several Creator/HPLovecraft gods. There's also a fighter named [[WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends Thomas the Tank]]. Another enemy is called Franchise/{{Terminator}}. While he's not a robot, he wields the same weapons as the T-800 (an AR-18 and a SPAS-12).
** ''Devil Summoner'' features a brainless zombie called [[Literature/TheWizardOfOz Scarecrow]]. The Aerophant demon is based on a obscure book of doctored photos called ''Fauna'', in addition to the obvious ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' reference with the feather on its nose.
** ''Persona 1'' has a demon named [[Literature/{{Carrie}} Carrie]].
** The Cosmo Zombie from ''Soul Hackers'' is based on the famous "Alien Autopsy" video, as well as the Series/{{TheXFiles}} episode that referenced it.
** ''Persona 2'' has even more references to Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos, particularly in Tatsuya's scenario.
* ShownTheirWork: The Demonic Compendium for every single game in the series, including spinoffs, contains an accurate overview of each demon's background and origin, and the sources pulled from are ''diverse'' to say the least. If you don't have a degree in mythological studies, playing through a bunch of the games and reading the entire Compendium for each would give you one hell of a head start.
** Additionally, many of the demon designs (at least those by Kazuma Kaneko) are profusely illustrated and almost always have tiny details that reveal a lot about the demons. For instance, examining Incubus' artwork reveals a small bolt chained to his ankle. Succubus, on the other hand, has a similar chain, with a matching nut...
* SignatureMove: ''Many''. Notable in that they are only very rarely passable to other monsters / Personas through fusion inheritance, limiting you to using that specific demon if you really want to use the move.
** [[AliceAllusion Alice]] has the destructive "Die For Me!" attack: the deadliest Curse/Mudo-type OneHitKill move.
** The equivalent Hama move ("Die For Me!" counts as Mudo) is "Samsara", traditionally possessed by Daisoujou.
** Metatron has Fire of Sinai, a rain of [[LightIsNotGood Almighty-type holy fire]].
** Beelzebub has Death Flies, a swarm of, again, Almighty-type monstrous black flies that either fully devour you in one go or leave you half-eaten with very little hope to survive.
** Huang Long has ''Celestial Ray''. Huge Almighty damage and random StatusEffects.
** Surt, the fire giant from Myth/NorseMythology has his signature Fire spell Ragnarok. Sometimes, Loki, Thor and Odin join in the fun with Niflheim, Thunder Reign and Panta Rhei.
** Mara and "Maralagidyne". [[GagPenis Oh, yuck.]]
** From ''VideoGame/Persona2'', we have everyone and their dog. The entry for this trope in that page has ''thirty two names in it''.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has at least one for every boss, but special mention goes to the protagonist's ''[[spoiler:Sinful Shell]]''.
** Every Fiend has a signature move in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'': Matador has [[SuperSpeed Red Capote]] and [[SliceAndDiceSwordsmanship Andalucia]], Daisojou has Preach and [[LifeDrain Meditation]], Hell Biker has [[WeaponizedExhaust Hell Exhaust and Hell Burner]], White Rider has [[BoomHeadshot God's Bow]], Red Rider has [[AxCrazy Terrorblade]], Black Rider has [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Soul Divide]], Pale Rider has [[PlagueMaster Pestilence]], the Harlot has [[MightyRoar Beast Roar]] and Trumpeter has [[OneHitKO Evil Melody]] and [[HealThyself Holy Melody]]. Others examples are Skadi ([[DishingOutDirt Earthquake]]), Amaterasu ([[LightIsNotGood Godly Light]]), Dante (his entire moveset), Pazuzu ([[BlowYouAway Wet Wind]]) Kurama Tengu ([[LightEmUp Starlight]]), Mada ([[TheAlcoholic Intoxicate]]), Valkyrie ([[DareToBeBadass Soul Recruit]]), Mithra ([[WithUsOrAgainstUs Death Pact]]) and Dionysius ([[AlcoholHic Wine Party]]). Each of the Conception gods has at least one: Ahriman has Hell's Call and Apocalypse, Noah has Domination and Baal Avatar has Bael's Bane.
** In ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'', the Fiends all get a renamed Meditation and at least one of their skills from ''Nocturne'' in addition to new ones for David and the DLC Fiend: Haunting Rhapsody for David, Andalusia for Matador, God's Bow for White Rider, Blade of Terror for Red Rider, Soul Divide for Black Rider, Pestilence for Pale Rider, Evil Melody for Trumpeter, Death Lust and Babylon Goblet for Mother Harlot, and Zenki's Axe, Goki's Water Wall, and Peacock's Incantation for En no Ozuno.
** On a different angle, many of the Demi-fiend exclusive attacks can be seen like this. Highlights include Freikugel, Magma Axis, Gaea Rage, and Deadly Fury.
** Many bosses have signature moves that are pretty relevant to the mythology behind them. Harihara has Chaturbuja, Vaikunta and Three Worlds (changed to Reincarnate in English), Brahman has Brahma Sutra and Izanami has Thousand Curses. For the Law and Chaos heroes, [[spoiler: Jimenez]] and [[spoiler: Zelenin]] have Left Hand and Right Hand respectively. Belial has Sodom's Fire/Fire of Gomorrah, and Nebiros has Necromancy, while Lilith has Temptation.
** The ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' bosses have some of these. For instance, Hayagriva has Fire Storm and Skewer, Camazotz has the Guard ability and later on, Zotzilaha Bane, Usas has Seraph Lore, Rahu has Dragon Quake and Dragon Thrash, Cerberus has Pyriphlegethon, Varin Omega has Hunger Wave.
* SimplifiedSpellcasting: Sure, really, you could actually use the lengthy, difficult and tedious ritual to summon demons and bind them into your service and/or use magic... but really, once you have the whole thing into a handy smartphone app, why bother?
* SinisterStingrays: Forneus, which is designed to resemble a manta ray. The artist states this is because manta rays on occasion are referred to as "devil fish".
* SlainInTheirSleep: Some games have Sleep status, in which the victim is unable to act for a random number of turns. Some of those games also have a skill, usually named Eternal Rest, which delivers OneHitKill to any sleeping targets.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Mostly set on the further ends of Cynical. {{God}} is usually an [[GodIsEvil evil bastard]], everyone sane is trying to use you to further their personal goals ([[UnwittingPawn which you will inevitably fall for]], [[ButThouMust whether you like it or not]]) and [[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou everything else is trying to kill you]]. The more idealistic settings (like ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games) are usually AWorldHalfFull, however. The series has gradually gotten more and more idealistic as time has gone by; in newer games, you really can EarnYourHappyEnding if you don't lose hope. Even before that, most of the endings which continue to the sequels the relatively uplifting (by the franchise's standards) neutrality endings.
* {{Soaperizing}}: ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and its sequel games ''VideoGame/Persona4'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'', while still [=RPGs=], add DatingSim [[LevelUpAtIntimacy5 elements]]. These games are [[CashCowFranchise INSANELY]] popular, and Persona 3 was the mainstream English market introduction to the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise.
* SoundtrackDissonance: Averted as far as genre goes. Whereas most RPG's use orchestral and symphonic music for their soundtracks, [=MegaTen=] uses rock and more modern sounds for its. Turns out to work pretty well considering [=MegaTen=] is usually in a modern setting or, at its worst, {{Cyberpunk}}.
* SpellLevels: The series uses a basic form of suffixes and prefixes, but early games do not have an in-game manual for these. ''Learning to use them correctly is critical''.
** The main attack spells in the series are a slew of elements, commonly Ice (Bufu), Fire (Agi), Electricity (Zio) and, depending on the game, either Wind (Garu) or Force (Zan). There's also Psychological (Psy), Nuclear (Frei), Earth (Magna/Tera), Gravity (Gry) and Water (Aqua). These basic elements have three tiers, basic (no suffix), medium (a variety of suffixes), and powerful (-dyne). ''V'' adds in a fourth tier with a suffix (-barion). Most of these can also have the Ma- prefix, which denotes that it hits the entire enemy party. Depending on the game's mechanics and the enemies at hand, this may or may not be desirable.
** The basic OneHitKill spells, Hama (Light/Expel) and Mudo (Darkness/Death) can also have the Ma- prefix, with or without the -on suffix, which denotes a better chance of hitting the enemy. There is a third tier, but they're generally exclusive to certain demons and thus do not follow the naming convention (Samsara or Judgment Light for Light, Die for Me! for Darkness). ''V'' introduces third tier spells for those elements (-barion), but those inflict damage in addition to having a chance of instantly killing enemies weak to those elements.
** The basic healing spell, Dia, comes with two possible suffixes: -rama, more heal, and -rahan, full heal. The Ma- prefix comes back as Me-.
** The basic buff and debuff spells are ''only'' suffixes and prefixes: Taru- is physical attacks, Maka- is magical attacks, Raku- is defense, Sama- is magical defense, Suku- is speed, and De- removes stat changes. -kaja stands for buffs, -unda or -nda are debuffs. Depending on the mechanics of the game, they may or may not affect the entire party. If the latter is true, however, they also make use of the Ma- prefix.
** The basic Almighty attack is Megido, and it comes with two suffixes: -la ([[ThisIsGonnaSuck run for your life]]) and -laon ([[NukeEm prepare for complete obliteration]]). Still, there ''are'' even deadlier Almighty spells, such as Black Viper, Morning Star, and Jihad/Antichthon. However, the only one that retains the naming convention, the most obscenely overpowered of them all, is Lucifer's exclusive [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor Megidoladyne]].
** -karn are one-time Reflect moves, Tetra- being any physical, and Makara- being any magical excluding Almighty and StatusEffects. Whether used as an item or as a move, it may affect only the user or the entire party depending on the game's mechanics. Both the demons with the move and the items are few and far between, and ''very expensive'' all around.
** Recarm is the basic revival skill, and Samarecarm revives at full life. Recarmdora / Recarmdra / Recarmloss variably fully heals all allies, revives all fallen allies, or heals and clears ailments, at the cost of either killing the caster or invoking HPToOne.
** Beyond this, there are a number of special attacks with other names. Still, those are the basics.
** As an addendum, the names of the moves have mythological context. For general spell names origins: "Agi" and "Bufu" comes from Sanskrit "Agni" and "bRhattuhinazarkara", the latter roughly means "great clumps of ice". "Zio" comes from Norse god Tyr, who had the nickname "Tivisco". "Garu" is a shortening of Hindu[=/=]Buddhist Garuda. "Hama" and "Mudo" come from Japanese (or, in the case of the latter, Spanish as well), and are rooted in Shinto exorcism. "Magna", "Tera", and "Aqua" come from Latin "magma", "terra", and "aqua". "Frei" comes from German folklore of the "Freischütz", a "freeshooter" who has a contract with the devil. "Dia" is Greek for "song". "Recarm" is a corruption of "reincarnation". "Megido" is from Biblical "Megiddo" (as in the root of "armageddon"). As you might guess, there are ''even more'' origins after this.
* SpiritualSuccessor: There's a Konami-made smartphone game in Japan called ''Dragon Collection'' that's immensely popular. Its stable of monster cards is, shall we say suspiciously similar to the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' cast, and the old ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' spinoffs in particular.
* StatusEffects: Almost all standard effects are present across numerous games.
* StatusInflictionAttack: There are normal spells or physical attacks capable of inflicting StatusEffects, and chains of these are possible, leading to easy {{Game Breaker}}s. There's too many individual examples to count, but in general:
** In most games, any Ice attack has a chance of freezing the enemy. And attacking a frozen enemy is an automatic CriticalHit and ExtraTurn.
** Ditto for Electricity attacks, which has a chance to shock, which sometimes also guarantees crits.
** In fewer games, Fire attacks can inflict burn status.
** Then there are more specific attacks which do this as part of the description. For example, the infamous Terror Fortune from ''VideoGame/Persona2'', on top of its massive damage, can inflict ''every'' status effect in the game.
* TheStoic: Law characters are often depicted as this. Sometimes to a fault, showing up acting robotic, or occasionally being actual robots.
* StoppedNumberingSequels: Zigzagged. The mainline series switches between numbered sequels and OddlyNamedSequel (If..., NINE, IMAGINE, Strange Journey).
* StoryBranchFavoritism: The games makes it a point that only you can decide which path is right, and there are no wrong answers, particularly when it comes to picking between Law, Neutral, or Chaos. However, many games make no attempt to hide the fact that it wants you to go certain routes, usually Neutral: Law often leads to a theocratic dictatorship where the Messians / angels / God / whatever hold all the cards, Chaos often leads to an anarchy of total freedom where the only rule is strength (i.e. "if you happen to be weak, you were not meant for this world"), while Neutral has the message of "look, order and freedom are important, and the angels and demons are both hungry for power so let's tear both down and create a fairly reasonable society". The games sometimes do warn neutrality is only a temporary relief from the Law-Chaos conflict in the grand scheme of things, but even then Neutral is still often presented as the most morally reasonable path. Finally, Neutral tends to be the most complete in terms of content, with more bosses (naturally, since you made enemies of both Law and Chaos, whereas Neutral representatives don't really hold any malice towards you if you side with either of those two), sidequests, items (Masakado items are often Neutral-only and the resident InfinityPlusOneSword), and lore. However, it is important to note this isn't always the case, with some games (notably ''Nocturne'') encouraging or offering most content in other alignments.
* StoryBranching: A number of ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games have branching paths where you choose between Law, Chaos, or Neutral allegiance. Some, like ''Nocturne'' and the ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' series, have more choices beyond these classic three paths.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Many female demons are outright MsFanservice, and many male demons are guilty of providing {{Fanservice}} this way too.
* SummonMagic: Arguably how [=COMPs=] function in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', the Personas in the ''Persona'' series, Naomi's spells in VideoGame/SoulHackers, the Demon Summoning Program in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', the Nicaea app in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2''...
* SummoningArtifact: Technology is often treated in this capacity in the games, though certain games add in the need to acquire certain ritualistic items to summon certain demons.
* SummoningRitual: Shown occasionally. Mekata's ruined ritual in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', Mara's summoning in ''Nocturne'' and the Seraph summoning in ''Strange Journey'' are some examples. Taken into a broader context, the summoning and fusion technology ''is'' this ever since the first ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'', as you are tributing lesser demons in exchange for a more powerful one turning up to serve you. When viewed like this, it's little surprise hexagrams (traditional summoning emblems) have been used as the franchise brand logos.
* SupernaturallyDeliciousAndNutritious: Again, Red, Magatsuhi, Magnetite. All of them are largely the same. ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' put its own spin on this concerning Magnetite and mentions all things have the substance in them, and that living creatures eat each other to obtain Magnetite and survive. Humans and Demons require the most Magnetite to survive, so they have to eat far more, which is why Demons eat other demons/humans since they have the most Magnetite.
* SuperpowerMeltdown: One of the ''many'' reasons for which human/demon fusions are considered to be temporary {{Emergency Transformation}}s at best.
* SuperWristGadget: [=COMPs=] in the series often feature some sort of wrist-mounted device. In earlier games, this takes the form of wrist-mounted keyboards connected to back-mounted computers with head-mounted displays. Later games feature more ergonomic designs, but are still arm-mounted: in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', for instance, the COMP resembles a gauntlet, with functions similar to a smartphone and even the ability to let the wearer cast magic learned from demons.
* TakenForGranite: A recurring ailment, and a continuous source of NightmareFuel in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', where the vast majority of Humanity is now a huge statuary.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: The standard method of recruitment in [=MegaTen=] games, though bribery, flattery and sometimes even ''dancing'' can play a part.
* TautologicalTemplar: All three sides (Law, Neutral and Chaos) want to help, want only the best for Mankind. Generally only Neutral more or less realizes it may not be, and may not ''need'' to be, perfect.
* TeleportationMisfire: The series proper began with a teleportation experiment gone wrong, in which a demon was accidentally dragged to the mortal realm.
* ThematicSeries: ''Devil Survivor''. The two games are in separate continuities, and ''2'' has no real connection to the main ''SMT'' mythos at all, but they share themes of fighting for survival in a LovecraftLite universe, as well as questions of how other beings react to humanity attaining the power to summon demons. This can be applied to most games in the franchise as direct story sequels are rare, even between games which explicitly share continuity.
* ThemeNaming: The above-mentioned SpellLevels.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: One of the main reasons of why ThePowerOfFriendship is so necessary in certain games. ''Finally'' averted in ''VideoGame/Persona5 Royal'' with Takuto Maruki.
* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: You decide the fate of the world. But other people are still ''not'' gonna let you [[TheRival steal "their" thunder]], without a fight.
* ThreadsOfFate: The Moirae are all depicted with a single thread; appropriately enough Clotho holds the spool, Lachesis looks like she's measuring it and Atropos holds the scissors.
* TimedMission: Two of the three Towers in ''VideoGame/Persona1'' 's Snow Queen Quest. The Priestess full moon shadow in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. The final DLC battle against Masakado in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV IV]]''. The last part of Okumura's Palace in ''VideoGame/Persona5''.
* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse:
** All of the mainline games (save ''Strange Journey) must be set in some kind of Tokyo, which is where the battle between God and Lucifer's forces will be fought. Many spinoffs do so, as well.
** Exaggerated in ''Nocturne'', where due to the Conception reducing the entire universe into a singularity, embryonic state, Tokyo is warped into ''the literal'' universe as the Vortex World.
* TotalitarianUtilitarian: This is pretty much the main staple of Law's ideology across the entire series. While their final outcome goal is not to have a totalitarian society, but merely a peaceful one where no one suffers greatly because they are [[IgnoranceIsBliss kept ignorant of their suffering]], they can and will restrict freedom at any time they think it has benefits towards reaching this goal. Often cutting to the chase by mass genocide and brainwashing people into acting how they want them to.
* TranshumanTreachery: The ''vast'' amount of demon-human hybrids created by FusionDance present in the series are so blinded by their new powers they start allowing their ego and fanaticism to taint their judgment ''very'' quickly. There is very little if any mental deterioration, they just get drunk on power and proceed to jump off the slippery slope. After a while, their best answer to any problem is to blast the hell out of it.
* TraumaInn: Present in most games. But incredibly likely to make you bleed Macca (or Yen, depending on the game) at an accelerated pace, in any form.
* TropeMaker: The first game series with [[{{Mon}} recruitable monsters]].
* TrueCompanions:
** This trope is a major plot point and gameplay element in ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games. Making friends gives you ''actual'' power.
** The ''Devil Survivor'' games also have a great focus on the bonds between people. Trying to save as many people as you can unlocks as many endings as possible. Bonus points to Atsuro from the first game, who ''will'' accompany the MC no matter what he chooses, even if it goes completely against his own philosophy.
* UltimateBlacksmith: Certain fusion masters (the Master for Cathedral of Shadows, Dr. Victor) have a good claim to the title due to the sheer quality of the weaponry they provide.
* UnbuiltTrope: Often referred to as a DarkerAndEdgier Franchise/{{Pokemon}}, but in reality it's more like Franchise/{{Pokemon}} is a LighterAndSofter [=MegaTen=].
* TheUnfettered: Many antagonists are usually extreme degrees of this trope, whether they are humans or demons.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: U-Y]]
* {{Unicorn}}: Appears as a recruitable demon/Persona.
* UpdatedRerelease: The ''Devil Survivor'' games get remade for the 3DS, with full voice acting, and in the case of ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2 : Record Breaker'', more animated cutscenes. Other games given this treatment include ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', and all of the main Persona games.
* UrbanRuins: ''Shin Megami Tensei'' uses this trope often. Most of the time it happens because the city is going through HellOnEarth, and in the mainline games, it's Tokyo.
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2 its sequel]] actually take place [[FinalBossNewDimension almost]] entirely in Tokyo which has been given this treatment through HellOnEarth.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Generally averted. Buffs and debuffs are invaluable for surviving boss attacks, ailments are effective in disabling otherwise deadly random encounters (along with some minor bosses!) and instant-kill moves can exploit weaknesses and take a lot of bite out of deadly enemies (barring ContractualBossImmunity). That said, it's not foolproof, and some skills will fall into this trope. How it happens varies depending on game.
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: The standard assumption of the Law alignment.
* VerbalTic: A number of demons exhibit distinct speech characteristics: some are intelligent and eloquent, others are thuggish and direct, some [[NoIndoorVoice SPEAK IN ALL CAPS]] and some in [[Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate ToRGo]] [[MemeticMutation sPEeCh]]. And then there's the ver-hee recognizable speech pattern of [[MascotMook Jack Frost]] and his fell-ho Jacks and Frosts, hee-ho!
* VerbalJudo: A key part of demon negotiation.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: It would be easier to list games which ''doesn't'' use this trope.
* ViciousCycle: Oh, yes. The rise and fall of gods being the main staple, especially in games where GodsNeedPrayerBadly. Even those which don't entirely run on it still have fun things like [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne the Conception]] or [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney the Schwartzwelt]].
* VisualPun: Many of the demons and monsters in this series have designs in this manner, the most infamous one is [[GagPenis Mara]].
* VirtualSidekick:
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'': Tico, the face of the website Nicaea, is an AI that acts as an assistant to the user of the website - including the player characters. The users can pick Tico's gender, with the two versions having completely different personalities, and they offer tutorials for how to summon demons, inform you of who is going to die today and how, and [[WhatTheHellHero can call you out on your more questionable decisions]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'':
*** EMMA is an application that's initially presented as a more effective form of Siri and nearly everyone in Japan has it. Not only can it perform internet searches as asked and has highly advanced speech recognition software, but it can actually give the optimal option for any given situation. In fact, some people treat is as the sidekick of their lives and leave ''all'' decisions on it. Originally, the only unusual trait it has is that it can access Jails in the Metaverse via keywords. However, as the game progresses, it's revealed that EMMA is more than just an app; it's a self-aware AI and that [[spoiler:its purpose to essentially remove free will and emotions from the massses by making all their decisions for them, per its creator's orders]].
*** Sophia is a rather unusual case in that while in the Metaverse, she has a (meta)physical presence and serves as a party member along with the rest of the Phantom Thieves. In the real world, since she has no robotic body, she inhabits Joker's smartphone and can perform any task that EMMA can. Sophia at first [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove cannot understand emotions]], but she wishes to learn, and the Phantom Thieves are more than happy to help her along the way. [[spoiler:Eventually she awakens to a Persona]].
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'': Every mystical gauntlet - an artifact that every candidate must activate to become samurai - comes with an AI named Burroughs, whose main job is MissionControl. [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}} when she's eventually revealed to be the goddess of Tokyo]].
* WasOnceAMan: Certain demons used to be human:
** [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Spirits are the restless souls of the dead.]]
** [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Undead are zombies]], corpses animated through either magic, being possessed by a disembodied demon, or simply because the soul refuses to leave.
** Haunts are humans who reincarnated as demons after dying (according to ''Devil Summoner'', this is the result of spending too much time in Hell). Pretas, [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier ghouls]], [[OurLichesAreDifferent liches]], and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]] are examples of Haunts.
** Several Raptors and Femmes are stated to be former humans, although this could be simply their mythological background rather than their true origin.
** Madmen and certain members of the Foul race, are [[DemonicPossession living humans possessed by demons]].
** Therians, such as [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]], are [[TransformationOfThePossessed possessed humans who transform back and forth]] (most likely according to the phases of the moon since that's what powers demons).
** Demonoids are artificial demons created by mutating and modifying humans or animals. These last 3 examples share the particularity of being immune to Hama spells, indicating that they are still biological beings rather than true demons.
** Several Fiends are stated to be former humans in ways similar to Undead and Haunts, and their Japanese name translates to "Demon Human". However, ''Giten Megami Tensei'' is the only game that depicts all of its Fiends as transformed humans, other games just specify them as demons of death and misfortune as well.
** Aleister Crowley turns into a demon called Mega Therion when you meet him in ''SMTII'', although the transformation method is obscure. He also shows up as a more human-looking demon in ''Persona 1'', along with other famous wizards in the Magician arcanum (Cornelius Agrippa, Faust, Grigori Rasputin, and Wilbur Whateley). Rasputin being a demon is also a bit of a [[ContinuitySnarl]], since the first ''Raidou Kuzunoha'' game which takes place in the same continuity depicts him as a cyborg from a future AlternateTimeline.
** In a more benevolent way, Heroes and Generals are historical figures who became guardian spirits after death, Taira no Masakado being the most notable as the guardian deity of Tokyo.
* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: A frustratingly high number of these games will give you a game over if your main character gets knocked out, regardless of whether this should make sense in all of them or not. Mudo and Hama spells are particularly devastating in that respect as some of the games give the player almost no recourse against them early on.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Everyone, really. Sadly, it's not easy to change the world and even harder to make sure everyone gets what they want. Given the diametrically opposite beliefs warring in the series and the depths they're willing to plumb, most of the time, your only option is to do what you believe is best for everyone. Of course... so will everybody else.
* WeirdCurrency: Macca in most games, as it's revealed in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIMAGINE'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', despite looking like slightly odd coins stamped in a metal similar to bronze, it's actually a form of PureEnergy edible to demons. Lucifer's subordinate Lucifuge Rofocale is apparently in charge of the minting process.
* WeirdMoon:
** In most games that feature moon phases, the moon goes through sixteen different phases, and advances through each phase every few steps you take.
** ''Persona 3'' plays the moon phases more realistically, using actual moon phase data for 2009 and 2010 rather than the traditional mechanic of going through the entire cycle in a matter of a few minutes. However, it has its own oddities: [[spoiler:the Moon is where EldritchAbomination Nyx resides in.]]
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' brings back the system of having moon phase advance with the story, but due to using eighths for the moon phases, it takes a mere nine days to reach full moon instead of two weeks. [[spoiler:Then it turns into the red "Misoka Moon" for the endgame, which is also a requirement for the Cosmic Egg to hatch a new universe.]]
* TheWeirdSisters: The Fates - Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos - are separate demons that can be recruited. In some games, the three can be fused together in a special process to produce Norn, which is depicted as three goddesses united around a clock.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: As a general rule of thumb, most games have a group of friends that falls apart after the alignment lock and ends up fighting each other to the death. ''Persona'' games tend to avert this, but not always -- BigBadFriend is also a possibility.
* WindIsGreen: The name of the element is Force, but it's typically represented by a green tornado icon and the animations for Force skills will tend to have a green tint to them.
* WithUsOrAgainstUs: Most of the time, you will be forced against Law or Chaos factions if you choose their opposite, or ''both'' if you go Neutral. Given almost all of these games literally have the fate of the world hinging on choices made, it's logical that they are not going to change their minds without some ''damn'' convincing gab.
* WhatIf: Literally embodied in a game called ''Shin Megami Tensei If''. Beyond that, ''Devil Summoner'' series is also based around a WhatIf which ties into the aforementioned game, as the branching point which leads to either the ''Devil Summoner/Persona'' continuity or the first ''Shin Megami Tensei'' game. ''If'' presents a what-if question, and ''Devil Summoner'' is the answer to it. On top of all this, ''Raidou Kuzunoha'' exist as prequels to ''Devil Summoner'', which provide a historical WhatIf scenario, hinging, at least in part, on the Taisho period lasting longer than it did in our world.
* WhatTheHellPlayer: Demons will often call you "the real demon" when you toss them into a fusion.
* WorldOfBadass: Most games offer you only three options. You start as a Badass. [[TookALevelInBadass You become a Badass]]. [[YetAnotherStupidDeath You die]]. Choose.
* WorldOfHam: ''Every'' demon tries to out-ham each other. One could almost say power levels in this universe directly correlate to the demon's hamminess.
* WorldOfJerkass: Pretty much every game has its share of assholes.
* WorldOfSilence: Law gets accused of wanting this by Chaos in almost every game, though the accuracy varies. For example, in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' Hikawa (who caused the world to get so screwed up and become the Vortex World in the first place) refers to his reason openly as this, though in practice it is not as extreme as it sounds. In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' [[spoiler:this is the kind of world Izanami thinks the apathetic humans want]].
* YetAnotherStupidDeath: Many a gamer have been humbled after moments of hubris. Common ways of dying: getting back attacked and having your weaknesses exploited endlessly, getting hit by a Hama or Mudo spell, using the wrong skill at a crucial moment because you weren't paying enough attention, being able to always counter with a physical attack for ludicrous damage and then being glanced by a lowly demon that repels physical attacks.
* YinYangBomb:
** The entire point of ''VideoGame/DevilChildren: Book of Light'' and ''Book of Dark'' for the GBA.
** Daisoujou in ''Nocturne'' loves using Mahamaon/Mamudoon for instant game overs if you don't have some kind of protection. He also already starts with both Mahamaon and Mamudoon when you fuse him.
** ''Persona 3 FES'' gives us Messiah, an explicit reference to, well, UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}. Thanks to the personas required for the fusion and the inheritance rules, Messiah ''will'' inherit Die For Me!, which will actually be ''his most useful skill'', despite an inherent weakness to darkness. Thanatos, the top Death-arcana persona, is weak to light but learns Mahamaon -- presumably so the player can later have Messiah inherit it, but most delete it... and many plot twists later, the irony is delicious.
** [[{{Bifauxnen}} Naoto]] [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} Shirogane]] has a Persona which uses both [[LightEmUp Hama]] and [[CastingAShadow Mudo]] skills.
* {{Youkai}}: Some of the demons in the series come from here.
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: Certain demons must be defeated for the right of summoning them as minions. In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', you gain several stat points when destroying the Bel demons, as you are essentially consuming the demon and adding its powers to your own. It's also a key Junkyard rule in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', and its breakdown in favor of ThePowerOfFriendship and simple ambition is a major plot point.
[[/folder]]
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[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder: N-R]]
* NamedWeapons: Very often you will have the chance to collect some legendary weaponry.
** ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}} [[UpdatedRerelease FES]]'' takes it further with Weapon Fusion. You can find "Void," "Nihil," or "Origin" weapons which you can slap a Persona on to in order to create swords or spears with very good stats and additional effects. But if you use a Persona whose weapon is well-known by itself, then whatever base weapon you use, regardless of type (knives, bows, whatever) will become this legendary weapon. For instance, fusing Odin and obtaining Gungnir, Thor and Mjolnir, Shiva and Pinaka, Cú Chulainn and Gae Bolg, Siegfried and Balmung... though there are exceptions: Lucifer is not known to wield a grail or a blade in traditional depictions, yet it results in Lucifer Grail ([[LostInTranslation changed to Lucifer Blade in English]]), and Metatron most certainly never has a gun called Metatronius in any religious literature.
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: As odd as it sounds, the reason Law tends to kill large amounts of people in many of the games is because they want to prevent as many deaths as possible. It just so happens that the best way to do this is to create a utopia that the process of creation involves clearing out anyone who can threaten it.
* NeutralityBacklash: Neither Law nor Chaos likes it when you decide to go for Neutral. Averted somewhat in that they will often be nicer to you than if you chose the other side.
* NeutralNoLonger: Very often, events will conspire to try and force you to take a side, giving alignment points. Neutrality is a luxury you can't always afford.
* NewGamePlus: Most of the recent games include extra content only available on a second run. You can also carry over a varying amount of content from your previous run, such as your money, Demon/Persona Compendium, and even your experience level, although some games like ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' give you the option of wiping most of your content for a challenge.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Happens with some regularity, though probably the most nightmarish instance comes from a single quote in the Akarana Corridor: "''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI The Ambassador]] [[NukeEm has launched]] [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII the ICBMs!]]''"
* NintendoHard: Even modern ''[=MegaTen=]'' games use classic RPG tropes that can make a player want to cry.
** High {{Random Encounter|s}} rates.
** [[BackStab Surprise attacks]] causing [[OneHitKill one turn kills]].
** Enemies with OneHitKill spells.
** Enemy weaknesses requiring TrialAndErrorGameplay to discover.
* NonElemental: Almighty. One of the reasons why it's generally impossible to defend oneself against any attacks of this attribute.
* NonIndicativeName: The {{Mons}} in the series are generally collectively known as "demons" for convenience despite many of them being, mythologically, the precise opposite of demons (i.e angels, Gods, and sometimes even humans). English text in the Japanese versions tends to call them "devils" instead, which is even less descriptive of some of the creatures' natures. Justified, since the series use [[ShownTheirWork the original meaning of the word "daemon", which simply means spiritual being]].
* NoPointsForNeutrality: Averted. Neutral is one of the three alignment factions; while Law represents YHVH and angels, and Chaos represents Lucifer and demons, Neutral generally represents Humanity, a force not inherently bound by Law's rules or Chaos's machinations. This is one of the reasons (other than GodsNeedPrayerBadly) why humans are so important to both sides.
* NoSell: In many ways. Null means this, Absorb means this ''plus'' recovery, Reflect means this plus your opponent taking damage you should suffer.
** Many enemies will have these stacked up to truly ridiculous levels. Save up enough money, experience, fuse and grind up for the right demons/personas, and you can EliteTweak your own -- sometimes, it is possible to fuse demons or personas which no-sell everything but Almighty effects. Still, though the games permit enough skill customization so enough effort can effectively render any glaring weakness moot, the NintendoHard difficulty usually means that, of course, [[NintendoHard some bosses]] will still make your life hell unless you completely and utterly overpower them, [[SerialEscalation and sometimes even that is not enough]].
*** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' has the Masakados Magatama, an accessory for the PlayerCharacter which not only gives a ''massive'' bonus to all stats except Luck, it comes with immunities to NoSell ''everything'' except for Almighty. This gets carried over to ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', in which he appears as an excruciatingly difficult superboss: [[OhCrap he still has the same immunities]] [[note]]However, it does not block Gun or Earth damage, as ''Nocturne'' [[MythologyGag doesn't have those elements]]. Again, [[ExactWords "the same immunities"]][[/note]].
*** And in ''Digital Devil Saga'' you can have the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Null Attack]] passive skill, which has the same effect as the Masakados minus the stat boosts. [[DevelopersForesight Not like it's gonna help you]] against most of the optional bosses, as they all have some variations of Almighty moves as their main forms of attack, and the protagonist of ''Nocturne'' will actually ''insta-kill you before your first turn'' if you have ''any'' no-sell whatsoever.
*** In ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' sub-series, every game since ''VideoGame/Persona3'' has the Omnipotent Orb, an accessory which has the same effect as Null Attack. However, equipping it against the Velvet Room Attendants serving as the ultimate optional bosses will just result in them punishing you with repeated 9999 damage Megidolaons for an instant game over.
** It's been a tradition since ''Nocturne'' to have a boss who no-sells or at least highly resists everything except Almighty, which they occasionally ''also resist''. This boss is usually a strong optional boss, such as Lucifer in ''Nocturne'', Masakado's Shadow in ''IV'', [[spoiler:YHVH and Stephen]] in ''Apocalypse''. The ''Persona'' sub-series also follows the tradition: while the Velvet Room Attendants are always BarrierChangeBoss, they also always have a phase where they null absolutely everything except Almighty.
*** A notable example is the final boss of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'', who has an action which will completely NoSell ''everything'' ('''Almighty''' included) you can throw at it. And since it's random, it is perfectly possible for the guy to spam it.
*** Even worse with this, however, is [[NighInvulnerable Beldr]] from ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor''. Even on a NewGamePlus, ''everything'' you throw at him will fail, all the time, except his ''lone'' WeaksauceWeakness, getting punched in the face with a ''cellphone strap''. This essentially makes every single spell and every single ''character'' in your entire team useless, '''except''' for the "Devil's Fuge" attack which replaces the main character's normal attack. [[NintendoHard Good luck.]]
*** And ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' gives us Benetnasch who {{No Sell}}s EVERYTHING your main characters can do and is only attackable by your demons. [[SarcasmMode Yay, fun]]. The UpdatedReRelease also adds Arcturus, who is essentially Beldr 2.0 and is only harmable by a certain character's normal attack -- [[spoiler:Yamato with Dragon Stream]].
** Fittingly, the games since ''Nocturne'' also begin to provide ways of overcoming {{No Sell}}s. In ''Nocturne'' itself, it's the passive skill Pierce: it allows physical attacks to slice past defenses, hitting them full on instead of being lessened, nulled, or absorbed (''not'' reflections, however). ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' also has this skill, though it's much easier to get.
** ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV IV]]'', ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse IV: Apocalypse]]'', and ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV V]]'' all add Pierce passives for elemental spells as well, and the latter two makes them even more powerful as Repel no longer stops Pierce cold. The ''Persona'' sub-series doesn't have Pierce skills, but they instead have "Element Break" spells, which completely removes the resistances of enemy party to a specific element.
** ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'', ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'' all have humans, the PlayerCharacter included, be naturally immune to Light-elemental attacks. The immunity can be removed (often becoming a ''weakness'') by certain armor, however.
* {{Nue}}: The Nue is a recurring Wilder Race demon that has appeared in the series since the first game. Its appearance has varied in-between installments, but they are universally seen as having a tiger-like pelt, a serpent's tale and some simian characteristics, whether it is a baboon face or a gorilla-esque posture.
* NukeEm:
** Almighty, again. In the cases where it is not shown as an essence of pure light, the symbol for it is the standard Nuke symbol. This is [[OhCrap not inaccurate]].
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', Thor's Hammer is a ''huge'' cluster of nukes. Pointed in your general direction. The Megiddo Arc in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' also counts.
** In the early ''Persona'' games, Nuclear was another element, separate from Almighty, albeit more powerful than FireIceLightning. This returns in ''VideoGame/Persona5''.
* NumberedSequels: With the ''Devil Summoner'' spin-off series being the only exception.
* OddOrganUpTop: Though Creator/{{Atlus}} wouldn't admit it's intentional, it has several [[GagPenis phallic]] examples in [[https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Mara Mara]], [[https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Ym Ym]], and, [[https://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Mishaguji Mishaguji]] (who is depicted to be either {{snake|sAreSinister}}-like or humanoid depending on the specific work). ''[[TooMuchinformation Do not]]'' spare a thought if these function as intended but the designs are justified for these demons/deities associated with either temptation, fertility, or both in their original myths. Ym is also a deity of agriculture so his head must be meant to represent root crops (''yam'', geddit?)... but [[VisualPun who are we kidding]]?
* OddlyNamedSequel: Though usually they explain what it's all about.
* OlympusMons: Several extremely powerful demons are able to be recruited or fused throughout the series, including top members of the [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse]], [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Egyptian]], [[Myth/JapaneseMythology Japanese]] pantheons and [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Outer Gods]]. And then there's the case of recruiting [[{{Pun}} the Olympians themselves]].
* OnceAnEpisode:
** The main series has each numbered game has Beelzebub as a {{Superboss}}.
** With the exception of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', the mainline games also like to have you [[WeUsedToBeFriends fight former allies at the end of the games]], [[FallenHero mostly because they've fallen so far]], [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie they've turned into monsters]]. Both [[HeWhoFightsMonsters figuratively]] and [[TranshumanAbomination literally]].
** ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' has its own examples in its page.
* OneGameForThePriceOfTwo:
** The ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' (''[[MarketBasedTitle Demi Kids]]'' for the two that came to the US) games. Also, ''Digital Devil Saga'' comes in two parts. Same with ''Persona 2''.
** ''Persona 2'' initially averted this (somewhat) in the U.S. in that the only one that originally came westside was [[SequelFirst the second one]], Eternal Punishment. While Innocent Sin has now been released in the U.S. via the PSP port, Atlus still has yet to announce Eternal Punishment's PSP port for U.S. release. So the trope is both straight and averted, since you need two systems that are of different generations to play both games. And that's only if you can ''find'' Eternal Punishment.[[note]]As of 25 Feb. 2013, Eternal Punishment is available as a "PS One Classic" through Platform/PlayStationNetwork, compatible with the PSP.[[/note]]
* OneHitKO:
** Light and Darkness spells. They come in two orders each, one more likely to connect than the other. It is possible to find variations of them all that are capable of hitting all enemy targets, setting up for a TotalPartyKill on either side.
** Downplayed in ''IV: Apocalypse'', where Light and Dark skills now do damage like other elemental spells, with only their instant-kill properties triggering if the user casts one of these spells while under Smirk status. In fact, some ''bosses'' have Light or Dark as a weakness; [[ContractualBossImmunity they just won't die instantly even if the spell they're weak to is Smirk-cast]].
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', Light and Dark spells follow the same general rule as IV Apocalypse, where they deal damage, but as smirk isn't a feature, they can instead only instant kill on weakness strikes. Additionally, a proper third tier (severe level) was added to these spells: Hamabarion and Mudobarion.
** The ''Persona'' games (except 3 and 4) give the Bless/Light and Curse/Dark elements both normal damage spells and instant-kill spells.
* OneManArmy: The franchise has several instances of this trope, both played straight and deconstructed:
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', the Demi-Fiend kills absolutely everyone and everything, without any allies other than a handful of demons he recruits.
** Lupa and Varin in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' can - and have - taken down each other's tribes by themselves.
--->'''Lupa:''' I will buy you some time.\\
'''Cielo:''' Against all dose guys!? Now I know you crazy!\\
'''Lupa:''' You do not understand. I was the leader of my tribe. You are the ones in danger.\\
'''Gale:''' What do you mean?\\
'''Lupa:''' The Wolves fell to Varin alone.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'' has the protagonist doing the work of an entire military squad. While it is routinely mentionied that there are other soldiers out on the field, they often turn out to be {{Red Shirt}}s while you make most of the big breakthroughs, like defeating every end-of-sector boss.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', the OmnicidalNeutral ending turns Nanashi into exactly that. By the end [[spoiler:he is the only one left alive]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona1'': Reiji Kido (Chris in the Revelations localization) begins the game by storming SEBEC headquarters by himself. He spends the first part of the game fighting by himself the same enemies that give your four-or-five man band so much trouble, and you find him no worse for the wear. What happens to him depends on what choices you make; if you follow the GuideDangIt steps to recruit him, he's still in tip-top shape when he joins the party, but if you don't recruit him, you'll find him again a few dungeons later collapsed on the floor because it got too much for him to handle (or he ran out of medicine).
** ''VideoGame/Persona2: Eternal Punishment'':
*** Tatsuya Suou spends two thirds of the game wrecking the Tenchu army (including their mechs, at least two Bosses and a gigantic military vessel) all by himself. The whole thing is further elaborated in his scenario in the PSP remake, where the player finds out exactly what he's been fighting. Lampshaded by the main cast several times:
---->'''Baofu:''' He has way more experience than you guys, and some guts... Heck, we'd be in his way.
*** Baofu himself killed 25 mafia hitmen prior to the events of the game, and halfway through he successfully storms their main headquarters all by himself. Right up until he runs to the MiniMecha, that is.
*** Deconstructed by Katsuya, who attempts to do this against the {{Corrupt Cop}}s, up until he comes face to face with the special units. The party reaches him in time to help him, but after the fight he admits that this was reckless of him and he wouldn't have been able to win by himself.
* OneSteveLimit: Generally, you cannot have more than one of any given demon in your team. In certain games like ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' series this only applies to certain demons, generally unique individuals over species e.g. [[Myth/NorseMythology Thor and Odin]].
* OptionalBoss: Most of the games have at least one insanely difficult optional boss. The most notable is Beelzebub, who appears in all four numbered games as one of the strongest bosses, and the entire Fiend race, who generally put up a much greater fight than another enemy or boss in the area.
* OrderIsNotGood: This franchise is one of the main users of the trope, to the point it makes people think the Law side may even be worse than Chaos because suppressing freedom and the genocides are usually done for the sole purpose of satisfying a tyrant.
* OrderVersusChaos: A CentralTheme to the main games, recurring still in spin-offs. Law tends to be [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-meaning]] but very KnightTemplar about the whole thing. Chaos strongly emphasises freedom but in the form of a brutal MightMakesRight anarchy. Neutrality focuses on [[{{Ubermensch}} self-empowerment]] and the [[HumansAreSpecial potential of humanity]], as opposed to reliance on a greater force for guidance.
** Of course, [[HumansAreBastards Neutrality isn't completely good]]. [[spoiler:The fact that [[ViciousCycle most of the time the Neutral Ending brings back the world as it used to be doesn't help either]].]]
** The classic Chaos has more or less split into two belief systems in later games. As mentioned under CharacterizationMarchesOn, the SocialDarwinist aspects are seen as more or less outright evil, while the RageAgainstTheHeavens aspect is usually shown in a more [[AntiHero antiheroic]] light.
* OriginalGeneration: There are a handful of demons not directly taken from mythology. The most prominent examples are the [[MascotMook Jack Frost]] variants, [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Black Frost]], [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVSTheSoullessArmy Raiho]], [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Frost Ace and Demonee-Ho]]. Other examples include Hell Biker (based on the Hells Angels) and the titular Soulless Army of ''VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVSTheSoullessArmy'' (which reappear in the sequel).
* OrganDrops: In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', this is an excellent way to grind for macca. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' has certain demons drop edible meats, though the trope is very much lessened from ''Strange Journey''. ''Persona 3'' has certain items you can take from Shadows remains.
* {{Orochi}}: Usually a major boss in games where he appears, and possible to fuse after defeat. They refer to him by the full mythological version of his name "Yamata-No-Orochi".
* OtherworldlyAndSexuallyAmbiguous: Many of the top level demons of the sides will be this, often having genitals of a sex they are never referred to as, among other sexual ambiguity, such as changing sex in the process of transformation.
* OurDemonsAreDifferent: [[ShownTheirWork True to the original definition of the word 'daemon']], the definition is as broad as possible: basically, legendary monsters, mythical deities, and even certain historical humans of ''all'' kinds -- good, evil, ''whatever'' -- they're all called demons here, even the angels and the God they serve.
* OurHippocampsAreDifferent: Kelpies have been depicted as hippocamps in a few games, notably ''VideoGame/LastBible III'' and ''VideoGame/LastBible Special''. The former is a heraldic interpretation, while the latter is close to the Classical creature, looping tail included. The ''Last Bible'' versions of the kelpie are preceded by the one in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', which looks like the interpretation of the hippocamp from ''Manga/SaintSeiya'': four-legged but with a finned tail. The last instance of a hippocamp-like kelpie in the series is in ''[[VideoGame/DevilChildren DemiKids]]'', where if allied it gets the name Mermount.
* OurMonstersAreWeird: Where can we even start with this one?
* PawprintStamping: One of the summonable personas in-game is a little black cat named Neko Shogun. It dresses as a samurai, and its outfit includes a red flag with a black pawprint on it.
* PercentBasedValues: Multiple:
** From the very first game, Life Stones recover 30% of the user's total health.
** In most games, physical skills require a percentage of HP as their cost. This can be a double-edged sword; on the one hand, the more your health increases the more the cost increases. On the other hand, you can use extremely powerful skills right from the beginning of the game (on NewGamePlus).
* PinballSpinoff: Oddly enough, as a cell phone game only released in Japan.
* PointOfNoReturn: Annoyingly done in the first few games; more modern games tend to be more forgiving.
* PostModernMagik: Ancient summoning rituals and spells? Who needs 'em when you can program them into a handy app for your cell?
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Especially prevalent in the later ''Persona'' games, and present to some degree in ''Apocalypse''
* PowersAsPrograms: Fused demons or Personas inherit at least some of the skills the "parent" demons had. Learning to exploit this can lead to {{Disc One Nuke}}s and {{Game Breaker}}s. This is also a vital part in fusing for its ability to impart priceless immunities and strengths to new demons. ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' games amp this by literally allowing you to slap any powers you want on anyone, only restricting you with the spell's stat point requirement.
* PowerUpgradingDeformation: Whenever you choose to blend demon and human in any way, expect this to be a likely result, with only a few exceptions.
* {{Pun}}: These might be gritty games, but lame jokes persist nonetheless. The most recurring one being Ja-aku Frost (Woolseyed but LostInTranslation as Black Frost), the SuperpoweredEvilSide of resident MascotMook Jack Frost. "Ja-aku" (邪悪) means "evil" and also a transliteration of Jack.
* PracticalTaunt: Most of the games have a "Taunt" spell, which increases enemy attack power while significantly lowering their defense.
* PragmaticPansexuality: Practically a requirement. To successfully recruit demons, you have to resort in anything and everything, and that includes seducing them. Keep in mind that most of them are beast-like or creepy, or both.
* PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo: ''A lot''.
** In ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', you can fight [[spoiler:the [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Demi-Fiend]]]]. Possibly the hardest {{Superboss}} in the history of Japanese RPG.
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' has an appearance from [[spoiler:Black Frost]] from the first ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor''. To drive home the fact that it's not just any [[spoiler:Black Frost]], you get this exchange:
--->[[spoiler:Black Frost: [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor The messenger of love and justice is here! Time for some magical punishment! ]]★]]\\
[[spoiler:MC: *choosing the first dialogue option* Frosty!]]\\
[[spoiler:Black Frost: ... Ho? What're you saying, ho? You've got me confused with somebody else!]]
** The Platform/PlayStation port of ''[[VideoGame/SoulHackers Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers]]'' includes a battle against the protagonist from the very first ''Devil Summoner'' game. The enhanced 3DS port also includes Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV, Raido Kuzunoha the XIV, and the freaking ''[[TransformingMecha Soulless God]]'' from the Platform/PlayStation2 ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsTheSoullessArmy Devil]]'' ''[[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Summoner]]'' games.
** All but two of the playable characters in the original ''VideoGame/{{Persona 1}}'' make at least a brief appearance in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'', and several party members from both games show up in the "Who's Who" TV show in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}''.
** The FightingGame Sequel for ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'', ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', features Aigis, Akihiko, and Mitsuru from ''VideoGame/{{Persona 3}}'' as a few of the combatants. Its direct sequel, ''VideoGame/Persona4ArenaUltimax'' adds Yukari, Junpei, and Ken as well.
** The female protagonist of ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'' appears in the first two ''Persona'' games as "Tamaki Uchida". Additionally, Kyouji Kuzunoha from the original ''Devil Summoner'' is implied to be the one possessing Daisuke Todoroki in ''Persona 2''.
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'', [[spoiler:''all'' of the previous mainline games protagonists show up as GuestPartyMember in the Messiahs of the Diamond Realm DLC]].
** In ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Demi-Fiend]] is the ultimate DLC boss. The DLC is even named "Return of the True Demon".
* PrinciplesZealot: When taking into account that Law endings are identified as creating utopias that last indefinitely into the future, Neutral is often interpreted as this by them. Due to being unwilling to kill people to get there, even though doing so would result in less suffering in the long run.
* RageAgainstTheHeavens: Frequent. Lucifer is usually the one who spearheads this movement, but not always; it depends on the game. In ''Nocturne'' [[spoiler:the Demi-fiend is now the one who leads it, if the True Demon ending is canon]]. In Apocalypse, [[spoiler:it happens twice over where you face Satan, who was in control of YHVH's armies, only for him to turn and aid you in doing it to YHVH himself]].
* {{Raiju}}: Raijus appear frequently as beast-like creatures made of lightning.
* RainbowSpeak: Chronologically, ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' was the first game in this franchise to use Rainbow Speak, only using it for rumors. All subsequent games after that use variations of it, even UpdatedReRelease of older games where they were not strictly necessary.
* RareCandy: Incenses. They come for all stats, though, befitting the NintendoHard nature of the games, they are quite rare.
** In both ''VideoGame/{{Persona 2}}'' games, you can get All Incenses from Fenrirs, which increase all stats.
** In ''Nocturne'' you can [[SaveScumming save-scum]] them by getting nine Lucky Tickets at the shop by buying stuff at 1000 macca intervals, save, and then buy at a tenth interval at the store. The owner will give you three boxes to choose from; sometimes they may have an incense inside, depending if you open it on a certain Kagutsuchi phase. You can also get Incenses from golden chests, also depending on Kagutsuchi phase.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: The first hint that certain human characters isn't quite human after all is this. For ''one'' example: how hasn't Stephen aged in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', set ''decades'' after the previous game?
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Extremely common, seeing as this series is about choosing and enforcing a path you believe in, expect the ones who don't agree with you to belittle you. Same goes for everyone.
* RecurringElement: To an utterly '''absurd''' degree. Part of what makes the franchise so expansive (and often confusing) is that there are a huge amount of recurring elements from game to game, and they aren't ''always consistent'', with some elements being changed slightly or significantly between works, or some being more prominent than others in specific games, while only a few remain the same.
** Elements which remain consistent include:
*** The vast majority of the Demon Compendium is generally transplanted wholesale between games, but the only demons who appear in ''all'' games, and always with the exact same appearance, are Creator/{{Atlus}} mascots [[MascotMook Jack Frost]] and its close relatives.
*** The Demon Summoning Program, the concept of inserting the ritual to summon demons into technology to shorten the process, is the very basis of the franchise itself. It appears in not just all the mainline SMT games barring ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'', but also in ''VideoGame/MegamiTensei'' and ''VideoGame/MegamiTenseiII'', both ''Majin Tensei'' games, the [[VideoGame/DevilSummoner first]] [[VideoGame/SoulHackers two]] ''Devil Summoner'' games, and both ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2''.
*** The Sanskrit and Japanese-based spell naming convention as well as the tiered scale system: [[FireIceLightning Agi, Bufu, Zio]] (weak), Agilao, Bufula, Zionga (medium), and Agidyne, Bufudyne, Ziodyne (heavy) for the three indispensable elementals; [[HolyHandGrenade Hama]] and [[{{Curse}} Mudo]] for Expel and Curse (or Light and Dark) {{One Hit Kill}}s; [=Raku/Taru/Suku=]-[=nda/kaja=] for buffs and debuffs; and the prefix "Ma" for multi-target vs. single-target spells (Mazionga, Masukukaja, etc.).
*** Demon (or Persona) fusion to improve your forces has been the core and purpose of every single game in the franchise since the very first one. Related to this, certain fusion recipes always remain the same among games, such as Shiva being a result of fusing Rangda and Barong.
** Meanwhile, elements which are subject to changes include:
*** Demon origin and physiology. In most games, demons are lifeforms made out of Magnetite or Aether (sometimes called Magatsuhi in specific games), a normally unobservable substance within all things which react to human thoughts and gather in human bodies. How much humans influence the nature of demons vary: [[DeityOfMortalCreation sometimes demons are entirely sustained by human thought]], other times humans merely influenced demons but is not strictly needed for continued existence. Other games like ''VideoGame/LastBible'' and ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' forego this concept entirely, with demons being depicted as supernatural entities independent from humanity.
*** Makai or Demon World is a plane of existence comprising of data or information and Magnetite where demons reside, a form of AnotherDimension linked to the physical world. The nature of this "information plane" often vary between continuities, which result in different phenomena occurring across the games; for example, in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney Strange Journey]]'', the information realm was formed as a result of development of sentient life on Earth, whereas in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'', the information plane exists prior to and governs the physical universe. In most games Makai is usually implied or stated to be linked to a single universe (notably as late as ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV''), whereas in ''IV'' and ''Apocalypse'', Makai is also a form of VoidBetweenTheWorlds which connect universes born from splits in timeline. Perhaps not coincidentally, some games localise Makai with names other than Demon World, as the Makai depicted in those continuities are too distinct from the norm despite the shared Japanese name.
*** Characterizations of major figures like YHVH, Lucifer, and many others often change DependingOnTheWriter to suit whatever themes to be explored in any particular game, and in fact it's not until ''Nocturne'' that demons begin to adopt a general characterization for each and every demon. Even then, that ''will'' change if a game's story demands it; for example, ''Apocalypse'' makes use of an interpretation of Vishnu as supreme god in Hindu, rather than a part of Trimurti with Brahma and Shiva like he usually is depicted. Likewise, alignments and factions of demons often fluctuate in many aspects from game to game.
*** The collective consciousness is often implied if not outright stated to exist in many games as the origin of gods, demons, and the information plane where they reside. However, how exactly it came into being and how much influence it has on the physical universe it was formed in vary between continuities. In games such as ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' and ''Apocalypse'', the collective unconscious can subvert reality itself; in contrast for games such as ''Nocturne'', it is stated to exist but incapable of influencing reality to a significant degree, to the point only the ''idea'' of Personas and Shadows exist as minor demons.
*** Given the franchise runs on AlternateContinuity and TheMultiverse, how the principles of Kabbalah can be applied to understanding the world also vary across the games. What is considered Ein Sof (the ultimate underlying origin so far removed from all of creation to the point it can be considered non-existent from the perspective of the created), or the 10 Sefirot (the structure of how the divine creative energy is expressed to form and sustain creation) in one world might not necessarily apply to another, even if both are within the same continuity; there is no single interpretation applicable to all of them.
*** The cycle of death and reincarnation is implied to be present in many games, but its nature and rules might change from game to game. In some games, it applies to individual human souls and demons. In others, it applies to entire ''universes''. Whether or not the cycle exists as a fundamental process of reality in and of itself, or simply artificially set in place by powerful beings also vary; in certain games, the cycle of transmigration is considered so intrinsic to reality, [[spoiler:escaping it turns you into a godlike being who can transcend dimensions]], with entities as powerful as YHVH even forced to go the extra mile if he wants to kill souls of problematic individuals permanently.
* RecurringExtra: Numerous examples: from OriginalGeneration demons like Jack Frost [[LongList and his relatives]] or [[AliceAllusion Alice]], to background characters like the master of the Cathedral of Shadows, the owner of Rag's Shop, Charon, and to an extent, Stephen.
* RedOniBlueOni:
** Chaos and law tend to be this for red and blue respectively. They even have the appropriate color pallets.
** Meta example: To contrast ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'''s demonic red palette, ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'' uses angelic blue. Even the storylines are slightly different from each other, but their {{Golden Ending}}s are on opposite sides.
* ReforgedIntoAMinion: Almost every boss and miniboss can be subject to this. Once you've killed them once, you have the right to summon them at an adequate level.
* RefusingParadise: It is possible to reject Law's paradise in lieu of working towards creating one.
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: Machines that develop human thoughts and feelings are often featured in [=MegaTen=] games. This includes Aigis and Labrys in the ''Persona'' series, [[spoiler:Rasputin]] from the ''Devil Summoner'' games, and the Innocents in ''IMAGINE''.
* RocBirds: Roc (sometimes Rukh) is frequently a demon in the series and its spinoffs. It is usually a member of the Avian or Flight race, and is usually portrayed as a giant bird with a rocky skin texture to emphasize its size, making it look like a flying mountain.
* RomanticFusion:
** You can have Hindu god Shiva and his wife Parvati as {{Mon}}s in your party. In many games, fusing both of them will result in the demon Ardha, who is basically Shiva and Parvati combined together. This is also usually the only way to get Ardha in your party.
** Near the end of ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', [[spoiler: Serph and Sera]] died but their souls fused, forming the intersex [[spoiler: Seraph]]. Futhermore, his/her Atma Avatar is Ardha.
* RouteBoss: Long story short: If you're Law-aligned, you kill all the Chaotic leaders. If you're Chaos-aligned, you kill all the lawful leaders. If you're Neutral, you kill ''everyone''.
* RuleOfSymbolism: If a demon looks extremely weird, chances are that oddity is actually an obscure reference to its mythical origins.
* RunningGag:
** Belphegor and toilets. It started in ''VideoGame/Persona2'' where Belphegor (along with cosplay girl Ixquic and a bunch of mooks) were all hiding in a bathroom stall, and the poor demon hasn't escaped toilet seats since. He is ALWAYS depicted sitting on a toilet seat.
** The Jack demons {{Leaning On|The Fourth Wall}} or outright BreakingTheFourthWall to lampshade their mascot status. Or the protagonist's protagonist status. Or the fact that you're playing a video game. Hell, sometimes their mere existence is treated as a gag.
** [[StarterMon Pixie]] inexplicably knowing the Megido spells. It started with ''Persona 2 Eternal Punishment'' (where Megido replaced the Media spell of the ''Innocent Sin'' version), but it truly became famous with the Super Pixie in ''Nocturne'' and all her subsequent appearances.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: S-T]]
* TheSacredDarkness: The Lady race features Black Maria, who is based off an interpretation of the Virgin Mary with black skin, and is stated to be a holy mother of the dark. Likewise, the demon Alciel, the "Black Sun", or "King of Gehenna" has added commentary in the Compendium saying darkness is a part of rebirth.
* SacrificialRevivalSpell: In some entries in the series, the Recarmdra spell will revive all fallen party members at the cost of killing the caster.
* SadlyMythcharacterized: Some demon designs tend to be more symbolic. Instead of reflecting what the mythological character physically appeared as in their myths, the demon designs incorporates aspects of the myths themselves into them. While often [[ShownTheirWork showing their work]], the results are still at odds with usual physical depictions:
** [[MascotMook Cerberus]] is a DoubleSubversion. They are depicted as some sort of lion-wolf with only one head, instead of the three headed canine, in all but three games, due to their portrayal in the original ''Literature/{{Digital Devil Story}}'' novels and anime [[AdaptationDisplacement from which the video games took off]]. But the version with one head is actually the original portrayal. Later portrayals emphasized multiple heads, while varying on the actual number. The idea that they has 3 heads specifically did not sink in until the Renaissance. Therefore, while the 3 headed version is iconic, the one headed version is more accurate but thus unusual.
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' featured several unusual demon and boss designs. Of note is Lucifer. In IV he looks like a bald man with white skin (actually being a leather bodysuit) and a red outfit. In ''Apocalypse'', he resembles a man with very dark grey skin dressed in shining gold and residing on a golden sun throne. His wings are actually the twelve rays of light from his sun throne. He also lacks the empathy for Humanity and most of his ability to manipulate people. [[spoiler:The duology's incarnation is actually a part of Satan. In previous games and Judaic tradition, the two were considered separate beings, and in Christian tradition, Lucifer is believed to have taken the identity of Satan after his fall.]]
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' also has Odin, who is depicted as a Gold and Blue Ultraman-like humanoid without the beard (although [=MegaTen's=] other incarnations of Odin usually don't have facial hair to begin with, and would still fall under AmazingTechnicolorPopulation with his purple skin).
** Some of the angels also play with the trope. While several of them go for the WingedHumanoid depiction, and others subvert it by using Talmudic depictions, Metatron and his twin Sandalphon are depicted as more machine than man. Symbolic of YHVH's desires for absolute control over humanity. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' extends the mechanical aspect to the four Archangels, but goes for a more [[EldritchAbomination eldritch aesthetic]], with faces not on their heads but on other parts of the body. All of them angelic demons are usually fanatical followers of YHVH and his [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill ideology]].
* TheSandman: A recurring demon in the series and its spin-offs. His flavour text usually identifies him as a faerie from German folklore who puts humans to sleep with his magic sand and sits on the eyelids of anyone who resists.
* {{Satan}}: Different forms of the Devil regularly show up over the series:
** Lucifer works in direct opposition to God, typically as leader of Chaos factions in the OrderVersusChaos games, and as two different Personas in ''Persona'' games (Lucifer his FallenAngel self, and Helel from before his fall from grace).
** The entirely separate Satan takes after his Old Testament (more specifically Literature/BookOfJob) depiction, who serves as God's [[TheDragon Dragon]] in OrderVersusChaos games, and as a Judgement-class Persona in ''Persona'' games.
* SatanIsGood: Zigzagged. Lucifer is one of the franchise's most recurring characters and has been subject to DependingOnTheWriter more than any other character, while Satan is less recurring but has likewise gone through CharacterizationMarchesOn from his earliest appearances. See [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiLucifer Lucifer]] and [[Characters/ShinMegamiTenseiForcesOfLaw Satan]]'s folders in their respective pages for details.
* SaveGameLimits: You typically can only save at set points, such as Terminals. ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' breaks tradition by letting you save ''anywhere''.
* SaveScumming: Considering that ''IV'' [[RocketTagGameplay has no defense stat and as such enemies can and will rapidly eat you for breakfast]], you'll be thankful you can.
* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: A number of the protagonists are high school students and occasionally get caught up in events while still in their school uniforms.
* SchmuckBait: Atlus likes to bait you into taking silly risks. A notable example is before the Daisoujou fight in ''Nocturne''. The boss uses powerful light and dark type (OneHitKill) attacks, but directly before the fight, the player has access to a magatama that boosts strength by 10, while making the player weak to light and dark attacks. With a stat cap of 40, naturally it seems like a good idea, but then [[OhCrap you're promptly punished]].
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: One possible response you can get from a demon when you do something for them or answer one of their questions is that the demon becomes angry and leaves. Irritating if you were trying to get something from the demon or get them to join you, but much better than [[BerserkButton eliciting a free round for their party]].
* SecretAIMoves: One of the most notable comes in ''Nocturne'' and ''Digital Devil Saga'' in the form of two moves (''Beast Eye'' and ''Dragon Eye'') that gives the enemy free actions for a puny mana cost. For the most part, only bosses have it, [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard and you can't learn it]]. ''Videogame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'' lets you FINALLY learn a special version called Guardian's Eye...but [[BraggingRightsReward it requires a demon only obtainable from the last and most difficult DLC boss battle]], can only be inherited through an extremely limited form of fusion, and [[AwesomeButImpractical costs an absurd 255 MP]].
* SeekingUltimateStrength: The Chaos alignment in all games can be summarized as MightMakesRight. The motives of faction leaders typically involve ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil, but Chaos-aligned heroes (Dahn, Jimenez, Walter, Nikaido, Keita) seek to become ever stronger specifically so they would never feel oppression or threat.
* SelfDestructiveCharge: Some enemies, if pushed, will try to invoke TakingYouWithMe through a massive explosion, sometimes even hurting their own allies in the process.
* SequelNumberSnarl: There is a notable difference between the mainline series and the numbered series. While the numbered series only includes ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiV'', the mainline series also includes ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIf'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse''. The Famicom games and ''NINE'' are occasionally added to the mainline list, but are less consistent than the others.
* SexSells: Aeria started advertising the MMORPG with this using demons. To be fair, a few of the demons are attractive, but [[FanDisservice others...]]
* ShoutOut: The games reference to a huge amount of other creators' work and general culture from around the world.
** UsefulNotes/CarlJung: His psychological research is a major thematic influence for the franchise, particularly in the ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' series.
** ''Megami Tensei II'' has a chainsaw-wielding maniac called [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Friday]]. A PaletteSwap of the same monster is named [[Literature/TheShining Redrum]]. Other enemies (which also appear in ''Giten Megami Tensei'') are named [[Music/DeepPurple Highway Star]] and [[Music/{{Impellitteri}} Interipelli]]
** ''SMT II'' features monsters based on [[Theatre/LittleShopOfHorrors Audrey]], [[Film/{{Beetlejuice}} Betelgeuse]], [[Literature/{{Christine}} Chris the Car]], and several Creator/HPLovecraft gods. There's also a fighter named [[WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends Thomas the Tank]]. Another enemy is called Franchise/{{Terminator}}. While he's not a robot, he wields the same weapons as the T-800 (an AR-18 and a SPAS-12).
** ''Devil Summoner'' features a brainless zombie called [[Literature/TheWizardOfOz Scarecrow]]. The Aerophant demon is based on a obscure book of doctored photos called ''Fauna'', in addition to the obvious ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}'' reference with the feather on its nose.
** ''Persona 1'' has a demon named [[Literature/{{Carrie}} Carrie]].
** The Cosmo Zombie from ''Soul Hackers'' is based on the famous "Alien Autopsy" video, as well as the Series/{{TheXFiles}} episode that referenced it.
** ''Persona 2'' has even more references to Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos, particularly in Tatsuya's scenario.
* ShownTheirWork: The Demonic Compendium for every single game in the series, including spinoffs, contains an accurate overview of each demon's background and origin, and the sources pulled from are ''diverse'' to say the least. If you don't have a degree in mythological studies, playing through a bunch of the games and reading the entire Compendium for each would give you one hell of a head start.
** Additionally, many of the demon designs (at least those by Kazuma Kaneko) are profusely illustrated and almost always have tiny details that reveal a lot about the demons. For instance, examining Incubus' artwork reveals a small bolt chained to his ankle. Succubus, on the other hand, has a similar chain, with a matching nut...
* SignatureMove: ''Many''. Notable in that they are only very rarely passable to other monsters / Personas through fusion inheritance, limiting you to using that specific demon if you really want to use the move.
** [[AliceAllusion Alice]] has the destructive "Die For Me!" attack: the deadliest Curse/Mudo-type OneHitKill move.
** The equivalent Hama move ("Die For Me!" counts as Mudo) is "Samsara", traditionally possessed by Daisoujou.
** Metatron has Fire of Sinai, a rain of [[LightIsNotGood Almighty-type holy fire]].
** Beelzebub has Death Flies, a swarm of, again, Almighty-type monstrous black flies that either fully devour you in one go or leave you half-eaten with very little hope to survive.
** Huang Long has ''Celestial Ray''. Huge Almighty damage and random StatusEffects.
** Surt, the fire giant from Myth/NorseMythology has his signature Fire spell Ragnarok. Sometimes, Loki, Thor and Odin join in the fun with Niflheim, Thunder Reign and Panta Rhei.
** Mara and "Maralagidyne". [[GagPenis Oh, yuck.]]
** From ''VideoGame/Persona2'', we have everyone and their dog. The entry for this trope in that page has ''thirty two names in it''.
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has at least one for every boss, but special mention goes to the protagonist's ''[[spoiler:Sinful Shell]]''.
** Every Fiend has a signature move in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'': Matador has [[SuperSpeed Red Capote]] and [[SliceAndDiceSwordsmanship Andalucia]], Daisojou has Preach and [[LifeDrain Meditation]], Hell Biker has [[WeaponizedExhaust Hell Exhaust and Hell Burner]], White Rider has [[BoomHeadshot God's Bow]], Red Rider has [[AxCrazy Terrorblade]], Black Rider has [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Soul Divide]], Pale Rider has [[PlagueMaster Pestilence]], the Harlot has [[MightyRoar Beast Roar]] and Trumpeter has [[OneHitKO Evil Melody]] and [[HealThyself Holy Melody]]. Others examples are Skadi ([[DishingOutDirt Earthquake]]), Amaterasu ([[LightIsNotGood Godly Light]]), Dante (his entire moveset), Pazuzu ([[BlowYouAway Wet Wind]]) Kurama Tengu ([[LightEmUp Starlight]]), Mada ([[TheAlcoholic Intoxicate]]), Valkyrie ([[DareToBeBadass Soul Recruit]]), Mithra ([[WithUsOrAgainstUs Death Pact]]) and Dionysius ([[AlcoholHic Wine Party]]). Each of the Conception gods has at least one: Ahriman has Hell's Call and Apocalypse, Noah has Domination and Baal Avatar has Bael's Bane.
** In ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'', the Fiends all get a renamed Meditation and at least one of their skills from ''Nocturne'' in addition to new ones for David and the DLC Fiend: Haunting Rhapsody for David, Andalusia for Matador, God's Bow for White Rider, Blade of Terror for Red Rider, Soul Divide for Black Rider, Pestilence for Pale Rider, Evil Melody for Trumpeter, Death Lust and Babylon Goblet for Mother Harlot, and Zenki's Axe, Goki's Water Wall, and Peacock's Incantation for En no Ozuno.
** On a different angle, many of the Demi-fiend exclusive attacks can be seen like this. Highlights include Freikugel, Magma Axis, Gaea Rage, and Deadly Fury.
** Many bosses have signature moves that are pretty relevant to the mythology behind them. Harihara has Chaturbuja, Vaikunta and Three Worlds (changed to Reincarnate in English), Brahman has Brahma Sutra and Izanami has Thousand Curses. For the Law and Chaos heroes, [[spoiler: Jimenez]] and [[spoiler: Zelenin]] have Left Hand and Right Hand respectively. Belial has Sodom's Fire/Fire of Gomorrah, and Nebiros has Necromancy, while Lilith has Temptation.
** The ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' bosses have some of these. For instance, Hayagriva has Fire Storm and Skewer, Camazotz has the Guard ability and later on, Zotzilaha Bane, Usas has Seraph Lore, Rahu has Dragon Quake and Dragon Thrash, Cerberus has Pyriphlegethon, Varin Omega has Hunger Wave.
* SimplifiedSpellcasting: Sure, really, you could actually use the lengthy, difficult and tedious ritual to summon demons and bind them into your service and/or use magic... but really, once you have the whole thing into a handy smartphone app, why bother?
* SinisterStingrays: Forneus, which is designed to resemble a manta ray. The artist states this is because manta rays on occasion are referred to as "devil fish".
* SlainInTheirSleep: Some games have Sleep status, in which the victim is unable to act for a random number of turns. Some of those games also have a skill, usually named Eternal Rest, which delivers OneHitKill to any sleeping targets.
* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: Mostly set on the further ends of Cynical. {{God}} is usually an [[GodIsEvil evil bastard]], everyone sane is trying to use you to further their personal goals ([[UnwittingPawn which you will inevitably fall for]], [[ButThouMust whether you like it or not]]) and [[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou everything else is trying to kill you]]. The more idealistic settings (like ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games) are usually AWorldHalfFull, however. The series has gradually gotten more and more idealistic as time has gone by; in newer games, you really can EarnYourHappyEnding if you don't lose hope. Even before that, most of the endings which continue to the sequels the relatively uplifting (by the franchise's standards) neutrality endings.
* {{Soaperizing}}: ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and its sequel games ''VideoGame/Persona4'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'', while still [=RPGs=], add DatingSim [[LevelUpAtIntimacy5 elements]]. These games are [[CashCowFranchise INSANELY]] popular, and Persona 3 was the mainstream English market introduction to the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' franchise.
* SoundtrackDissonance: Averted as far as genre goes. Whereas most RPG's use orchestral and symphonic music for their soundtracks, [=MegaTen=] uses rock and more modern sounds for its. Turns out to work pretty well considering [=MegaTen=] is usually in a modern setting or, at its worst, {{Cyberpunk}}.
* SpellLevels: The series uses a basic form of suffixes and prefixes, but early games do not have an in-game manual for these. ''Learning to use them correctly is critical''.
** The main attack spells in the series are a slew of elements, commonly Ice (Bufu), Fire (Agi), Electricity (Zio) and, depending on the game, either Wind (Garu) or Force (Zan). There's also Psychological (Psy), Nuclear (Frei), Earth (Magna/Tera), Gravity (Gry) and Water (Aqua). These basic elements have three tiers, basic (no suffix), medium (a variety of suffixes), and powerful (-dyne). ''V'' adds in a fourth tier with a suffix (-barion). Most of these can also have the Ma- prefix, which denotes that it hits the entire enemy party. Depending on the game's mechanics and the enemies at hand, this may or may not be desirable.
** The basic OneHitKill spells, Hama (Light/Expel) and Mudo (Darkness/Death) can also have the Ma- prefix, with or without the -on suffix, which denotes a better chance of hitting the enemy. There is a third tier, but they're generally exclusive to certain demons and thus do not follow the naming convention (Samsara or Judgment Light for Light, Die for Me! for Darkness). ''V'' introduces third tier spells for those elements (-barion), but those inflict damage in addition to having a chance of instantly killing enemies weak to those elements.
** The basic healing spell, Dia, comes with two possible suffixes: -rama, more heal, and -rahan, full heal. The Ma- prefix comes back as Me-.
** The basic buff and debuff spells are ''only'' suffixes and prefixes: Taru- is physical attacks, Maka- is magical attacks, Raku- is defense, Sama- is magical defense, Suku- is speed, and De- removes stat changes. -kaja stands for buffs, -unda or -nda are debuffs. Depending on the mechanics of the game, they may or may not affect the entire party. If the latter is true, however, they also make use of the Ma- prefix.
** The basic Almighty attack is Megido, and it comes with two suffixes: -la ([[ThisIsGonnaSuck run for your life]]) and -laon ([[NukeEm prepare for complete obliteration]]). Still, there ''are'' even deadlier Almighty spells, such as Black Viper, Morning Star, and Jihad/Antichthon. However, the only one that retains the naming convention, the most obscenely overpowered of them all, is Lucifer's exclusive [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor Megidoladyne]].
** -karn are one-time Reflect moves, Tetra- being any physical, and Makara- being any magical excluding Almighty and StatusEffects. Whether used as an item or as a move, it may affect only the user or the entire party depending on the game's mechanics. Both the demons with the move and the items are few and far between, and ''very expensive'' all around.
** Recarm is the basic revival skill, and Samarecarm revives at full life. Recarmdora / Recarmdra / Recarmloss variably fully heals all allies, revives all fallen allies, or heals and clears ailments, at the cost of either killing the caster or invoking HPToOne.
** Beyond this, there are a number of special attacks with other names. Still, those are the basics.
** As an addendum, the names of the moves have mythological context. For general spell names origins: "Agi" and "Bufu" comes from Sanskrit "Agni" and "bRhattuhinazarkara", the latter roughly means "great clumps of ice". "Zio" comes from Norse god Tyr, who had the nickname "Tivisco". "Garu" is a shortening of Hindu[=/=]Buddhist Garuda. "Hama" and "Mudo" come from Japanese (or, in the case of the latter, Spanish as well), and are rooted in Shinto exorcism. "Magna", "Tera", and "Aqua" come from Latin "magma", "terra", and "aqua". "Frei" comes from German folklore of the "Freischütz", a "freeshooter" who has a contract with the devil. "Dia" is Greek for "song". "Recarm" is a corruption of "reincarnation". "Megido" is from Biblical "Megiddo" (as in the root of "armageddon"). As you might guess, there are ''even more'' origins after this.
* SpiritualSuccessor: There's a Konami-made smartphone game in Japan called ''Dragon Collection'' that's immensely popular. Its stable of monster cards is, shall we say suspiciously similar to the ''Shin Megami Tensei'' cast, and the old ''VideoGame/DevilChildren'' spinoffs in particular.
* StatusEffects: Almost all standard effects are present across numerous games.
* StatusInflictionAttack: There are normal spells or physical attacks capable of inflicting StatusEffects, and chains of these are possible, leading to easy {{Game Breaker}}s. There's too many individual examples to count, but in general:
** In most games, any Ice attack has a chance of freezing the enemy. And attacking a frozen enemy is an automatic CriticalHit and ExtraTurn.
** Ditto for Electricity attacks, which has a chance to shock, which sometimes also guarantees crits.
** In fewer games, Fire attacks can inflict burn status.
** Then there are more specific attacks which do this as part of the description. For example, the infamous Terror Fortune from ''VideoGame/Persona2'', on top of its massive damage, can inflict ''every'' status effect in the game.
* TheStoic: Law characters are often depicted as this. Sometimes to a fault, showing up acting robotic, or occasionally being actual robots.
* StoppedNumberingSequels: Zigzagged. The mainline series switches between numbered sequels and OddlyNamedSequel (If..., NINE, IMAGINE, Strange Journey).
* StoryBranchFavoritism: The games makes it a point that only you can decide which path is right, and there are no wrong answers, particularly when it comes to picking between Law, Neutral, or Chaos. However, many games make no attempt to hide the fact that it wants you to go certain routes, usually Neutral: Law often leads to a theocratic dictatorship where the Messians / angels / God / whatever hold all the cards, Chaos often leads to an anarchy of total freedom where the only rule is strength (i.e. "if you happen to be weak, you were not meant for this world"), while Neutral has the message of "look, order and freedom are important, and the angels and demons are both hungry for power so let's tear both down and create a fairly reasonable society". The games sometimes do warn neutrality is only a temporary relief from the Law-Chaos conflict in the grand scheme of things, but even then Neutral is still often presented as the most morally reasonable path. Finally, Neutral tends to be the most complete in terms of content, with more bosses (naturally, since you made enemies of both Law and Chaos, whereas Neutral representatives don't really hold any malice towards you if you side with either of those two), sidequests, items (Masakado items are often Neutral-only and the resident InfinityPlusOneSword), and lore. However, it is important to note this isn't always the case, with some games (notably ''Nocturne'') encouraging or offering most content in other alignments.
* StoryBranching: A number of ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games have branching paths where you choose between Law, Chaos, or Neutral allegiance. Some, like ''Nocturne'' and the ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' series, have more choices beyond these classic three paths.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Many female demons are outright MsFanservice, and many male demons are guilty of providing {{Fanservice}} this way too.
* SummonMagic: Arguably how [=COMPs=] function in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'', the Personas in the ''Persona'' series, Naomi's spells in VideoGame/SoulHackers, the Demon Summoning Program in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', the Nicaea app in ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2''...
* SummoningArtifact: Technology is often treated in this capacity in the games, though certain games add in the need to acquire certain ritualistic items to summon certain demons.
* SummoningRitual: Shown occasionally. Mekata's ruined ritual in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII'', Mara's summoning in ''Nocturne'' and the Seraph summoning in ''Strange Journey'' are some examples. Taken into a broader context, the summoning and fusion technology ''is'' this ever since the first ''Literature/DigitalDevilStory'', as you are tributing lesser demons in exchange for a more powerful one turning up to serve you. When viewed like this, it's little surprise hexagrams (traditional summoning emblems) have been used as the franchise brand logos.
* SupernaturallyDeliciousAndNutritious: Again, Red, Magatsuhi, Magnetite. All of them are largely the same. ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'' put its own spin on this concerning Magnetite and mentions all things have the substance in them, and that living creatures eat each other to obtain Magnetite and survive. Humans and Demons require the most Magnetite to survive, so they have to eat far more, which is why Demons eat other demons/humans since they have the most Magnetite.
* SuperpowerMeltdown: One of the ''many'' reasons for which human/demon fusions are considered to be temporary {{Emergency Transformation}}s at best.
* SuperWristGadget: [=COMPs=] in the series often feature some sort of wrist-mounted device. In earlier games, this takes the form of wrist-mounted keyboards connected to back-mounted computers with head-mounted displays. Later games feature more ergonomic designs, but are still arm-mounted: in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'', for instance, the COMP resembles a gauntlet, with functions similar to a smartphone and even the ability to let the wearer cast magic learned from demons.
* TakenForGranite: A recurring ailment, and a continuous source of NightmareFuel in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', where the vast majority of Humanity is now a huge statuary.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: The standard method of recruitment in [=MegaTen=] games, though bribery, flattery and sometimes even ''dancing'' can play a part.
* TautologicalTemplar: All three sides (Law, Neutral and Chaos) want to help, want only the best for Mankind. Generally only Neutral more or less realizes it may not be, and may not ''need'' to be, perfect.
* TeleportationMisfire: The series proper began with a teleportation experiment gone wrong, in which a demon was accidentally dragged to the mortal realm.
* ThematicSeries: ''Devil Survivor''. The two games are in separate continuities, and ''2'' has no real connection to the main ''SMT'' mythos at all, but they share themes of fighting for survival in a LovecraftLite universe, as well as questions of how other beings react to humanity attaining the power to summon demons. This can be applied to most games in the franchise as direct story sequels are rare, even between games which explicitly share continuity.
* ThemeNaming: The above-mentioned SpellLevels.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: One of the main reasons of why ThePowerOfFriendship is so necessary in certain games. ''Finally'' averted in ''VideoGame/Persona5 Royal'' with Takuto Maruki.
* ThereCanBeOnlyOne: You decide the fate of the world. But other people are still ''not'' gonna let you [[TheRival steal "their" thunder]], without a fight.
* ThreadsOfFate: The Moirae are all depicted with a single thread; appropriately enough Clotho holds the spool, Lachesis looks like she's measuring it and Atropos holds the scissors.
* TimedMission: Two of the three Towers in ''VideoGame/Persona1'' 's Snow Queen Quest. The Priestess full moon shadow in ''VideoGame/Persona3''. The final DLC battle against Masakado in ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV IV]]''. The last part of Okumura's Palace in ''VideoGame/Persona5''.
* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse:
** All of the mainline games (save ''Strange Journey) must be set in some kind of Tokyo, which is where the battle between God and Lucifer's forces will be fought. Many spinoffs do so, as well.
** Exaggerated in ''Nocturne'', where due to the Conception reducing the entire universe into a singularity, embryonic state, Tokyo is warped into ''the literal'' universe as the Vortex World.
* TotalitarianUtilitarian: This is pretty much the main staple of Law's ideology across the entire series. While their final outcome goal is not to have a totalitarian society, but merely a peaceful one where no one suffers greatly because they are [[IgnoranceIsBliss kept ignorant of their suffering]], they can and will restrict freedom at any time they think it has benefits towards reaching this goal. Often cutting to the chase by mass genocide and brainwashing people into acting how they want them to.
* TranshumanTreachery: The ''vast'' amount of demon-human hybrids created by FusionDance present in the series are so blinded by their new powers they start allowing their ego and fanaticism to taint their judgment ''very'' quickly. There is very little if any mental deterioration, they just get drunk on power and proceed to jump off the slippery slope. After a while, their best answer to any problem is to blast the hell out of it.
* TraumaInn: Present in most games. But incredibly likely to make you bleed Macca (or Yen, depending on the game) at an accelerated pace, in any form.
* TropeMaker: The first game series with [[{{Mon}} recruitable monsters]].
* TrueCompanions:
** This trope is a major plot point and gameplay element in ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'' games. Making friends gives you ''actual'' power.
** The ''Devil Survivor'' games also have a great focus on the bonds between people. Trying to save as many people as you can unlocks as many endings as possible. Bonus points to Atsuro from the first game, who ''will'' accompany the MC no matter what he chooses, even if it goes completely against his own philosophy.
* UltimateBlacksmith: Certain fusion masters (the Master for Cathedral of Shadows, Dr. Victor) have a good claim to the title due to the sheer quality of the weaponry they provide.
* UnbuiltTrope: Often referred to as a DarkerAndEdgier Franchise/{{Pokemon}}, but in reality it's more like Franchise/{{Pokemon}} is a LighterAndSofter [=MegaTen=].
* TheUnfettered: Many antagonists are usually extreme degrees of this trope, whether they are humans or demons.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: U-Y]]
* {{Unicorn}}: Appears as a recruitable demon/Persona.
* UpdatedRerelease: The ''Devil Survivor'' games get remade for the 3DS, with full voice acting, and in the case of ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2 : Record Breaker'', more animated cutscenes. Other games given this treatment include ''VideoGame/SoulHackers'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', and all of the main Persona games.
* UrbanRuins: ''Shin Megami Tensei'' uses this trope often. Most of the time it happens because the city is going through HellOnEarth, and in the mainline games, it's Tokyo.
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' and [[VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2 its sequel]] actually take place [[FinalBossNewDimension almost]] entirely in Tokyo which has been given this treatment through HellOnEarth.
* UselessUsefulSpell: Generally averted. Buffs and debuffs are invaluable for surviving boss attacks, ailments are effective in disabling otherwise deadly random encounters (along with some minor bosses!) and instant-kill moves can exploit weaknesses and take a lot of bite out of deadly enemies (barring ContractualBossImmunity). That said, it's not foolproof, and some skills will fall into this trope. How it happens varies depending on game.
* UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans: The standard assumption of the Law alignment.
* VerbalTic: A number of demons exhibit distinct speech characteristics: some are intelligent and eloquent, others are thuggish and direct, some [[NoIndoorVoice SPEAK IN ALL CAPS]] and some in [[Film/ManosTheHandsOfFate ToRGo]] [[MemeticMutation sPEeCh]]. And then there's the ver-hee recognizable speech pattern of [[MascotMook Jack Frost]] and his fell-ho Jacks and Frosts, hee-ho!
* VerbalJudo: A key part of demon negotiation.
* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: It would be easier to list games which ''doesn't'' use this trope.
* ViciousCycle: Oh, yes. The rise and fall of gods being the main staple, especially in games where GodsNeedPrayerBadly. Even those which don't entirely run on it still have fun things like [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne the Conception]] or [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney the Schwartzwelt]].
* VisualPun: Many of the demons and monsters in this series have designs in this manner, the most infamous one is [[GagPenis Mara]].
* VirtualSidekick:
** ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'': Tico, the face of the website Nicaea, is an AI that acts as an assistant to the user of the website - including the player characters. The users can pick Tico's gender, with the two versions having completely different personalities, and they offer tutorials for how to summon demons, inform you of who is going to die today and how, and [[WhatTheHellHero can call you out on your more questionable decisions]].
** ''VideoGame/Persona5Strikers'':
*** EMMA is an application that's initially presented as a more effective form of Siri and nearly everyone in Japan has it. Not only can it perform internet searches as asked and has highly advanced speech recognition software, but it can actually give the optimal option for any given situation. In fact, some people treat is as the sidekick of their lives and leave ''all'' decisions on it. Originally, the only unusual trait it has is that it can access Jails in the Metaverse via keywords. However, as the game progresses, it's revealed that EMMA is more than just an app; it's a self-aware AI and that [[spoiler:its purpose to essentially remove free will and emotions from the massses by making all their decisions for them, per its creator's orders]].
*** Sophia is a rather unusual case in that while in the Metaverse, she has a (meta)physical presence and serves as a party member along with the rest of the Phantom Thieves. In the real world, since she has no robotic body, she inhabits Joker's smartphone and can perform any task that EMMA can. Sophia at first [[WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove cannot understand emotions]], but she wishes to learn, and the Phantom Thieves are more than happy to help her along the way. [[spoiler:Eventually she awakens to a Persona]].
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV'': Every mystical gauntlet - an artifact that every candidate must activate to become samurai - comes with an AI named Burroughs, whose main job is MissionControl. [[spoiler:{{Subverted|Trope}} when she's eventually revealed to be the goddess of Tokyo]].
* WasOnceAMan: Certain demons used to be human:
** [[OurGhostsAreDifferent Spirits are the restless souls of the dead.]]
** [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Undead are zombies]], corpses animated through either magic, being possessed by a disembodied demon, or simply because the soul refuses to leave.
** Haunts are humans who reincarnated as demons after dying (according to ''Devil Summoner'', this is the result of spending too much time in Hell). Pretas, [[OurGhoulsAreCreepier ghouls]], [[OurLichesAreDifferent liches]], and [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]] are examples of Haunts.
** Several Raptors and Femmes are stated to be former humans, although this could be simply their mythological background rather than their true origin.
** Madmen and certain members of the Foul race, are [[DemonicPossession living humans possessed by demons]].
** Therians, such as [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]], are [[TransformationOfThePossessed possessed humans who transform back and forth]] (most likely according to the phases of the moon since that's what powers demons).
** Demonoids are artificial demons created by mutating and modifying humans or animals. These last 3 examples share the particularity of being immune to Hama spells, indicating that they are still biological beings rather than true demons.
** Several Fiends are stated to be former humans in ways similar to Undead and Haunts, and their Japanese name translates to "Demon Human". However, ''Giten Megami Tensei'' is the only game that depicts all of its Fiends as transformed humans, other games just specify them as demons of death and misfortune as well.
** Aleister Crowley turns into a demon called Mega Therion when you meet him in ''SMTII'', although the transformation method is obscure. He also shows up as a more human-looking demon in ''Persona 1'', along with other famous wizards in the Magician arcanum (Cornelius Agrippa, Faust, Grigori Rasputin, and Wilbur Whateley). Rasputin being a demon is also a bit of a [[ContinuitySnarl]], since the first ''Raidou Kuzunoha'' game which takes place in the same continuity depicts him as a cyborg from a future AlternateTimeline.
** In a more benevolent way, Heroes and Generals are historical figures who became guardian spirits after death, Taira no Masakado being the most notable as the guardian deity of Tokyo.
* WeCannotGoOnWithoutYou: A frustratingly high number of these games will give you a game over if your main character gets knocked out, regardless of whether this should make sense in all of them or not. Mudo and Hama spells are particularly devastating in that respect as some of the games give the player almost no recourse against them early on.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Everyone, really. Sadly, it's not easy to change the world and even harder to make sure everyone gets what they want. Given the diametrically opposite beliefs warring in the series and the depths they're willing to plumb, most of the time, your only option is to do what you believe is best for everyone. Of course... so will everybody else.
* WeirdCurrency: Macca in most games, as it's revealed in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIMAGINE'' and ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', despite looking like slightly odd coins stamped in a metal similar to bronze, it's actually a form of PureEnergy edible to demons. Lucifer's subordinate Lucifuge Rofocale is apparently in charge of the minting process.
* WeirdMoon:
** In most games that feature moon phases, the moon goes through sixteen different phases, and advances through each phase every few steps you take.
** ''Persona 3'' plays the moon phases more realistically, using actual moon phase data for 2009 and 2010 rather than the traditional mechanic of going through the entire cycle in a matter of a few minutes. However, it has its own oddities: [[spoiler:the Moon is where EldritchAbomination Nyx resides in.]]
** ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' brings back the system of having moon phase advance with the story, but due to using eighths for the moon phases, it takes a mere nine days to reach full moon instead of two weeks. [[spoiler:Then it turns into the red "Misoka Moon" for the endgame, which is also a requirement for the Cosmic Egg to hatch a new universe.]]
* TheWeirdSisters: The Fates - Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos - are separate demons that can be recruited. In some games, the three can be fused together in a special process to produce Norn, which is depicted as three goddesses united around a clock.
* WeUsedToBeFriends: As a general rule of thumb, most games have a group of friends that falls apart after the alignment lock and ends up fighting each other to the death. ''Persona'' games tend to avert this, but not always -- BigBadFriend is also a possibility.
* WindIsGreen: The name of the element is Force, but it's typically represented by a green tornado icon and the animations for Force skills will tend to have a green tint to them.
* WithUsOrAgainstUs: Most of the time, you will be forced against Law or Chaos factions if you choose their opposite, or ''both'' if you go Neutral. Given almost all of these games literally have the fate of the world hinging on choices made, it's logical that they are not going to change their minds without some ''damn'' convincing gab.
* WhatIf: Literally embodied in a game called ''Shin Megami Tensei If''. Beyond that, ''Devil Summoner'' series is also based around a WhatIf which ties into the aforementioned game, as the branching point which leads to either the ''Devil Summoner/Persona'' continuity or the first ''Shin Megami Tensei'' game. ''If'' presents a what-if question, and ''Devil Summoner'' is the answer to it. On top of all this, ''Raidou Kuzunoha'' exist as prequels to ''Devil Summoner'', which provide a historical WhatIf scenario, hinging, at least in part, on the Taisho period lasting longer than it did in our world.
* WhatTheHellPlayer: Demons will often call you "the real demon" when you toss them into a fusion.
* WorldOfBadass: Most games offer you only three options. You start as a Badass. [[TookALevelInBadass You become a Badass]]. [[YetAnotherStupidDeath You die]]. Choose.
* WorldOfHam: ''Every'' demon tries to out-ham each other. One could almost say power levels in this universe directly correlate to the demon's hamminess.
* WorldOfJerkass: Pretty much every game has its share of assholes.
* WorldOfSilence: Law gets accused of wanting this by Chaos in almost every game, though the accuracy varies. For example, in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'' Hikawa (who caused the world to get so screwed up and become the Vortex World in the first place) refers to his reason openly as this, though in practice it is not as extreme as it sounds. In ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}'' [[spoiler:this is the kind of world Izanami thinks the apathetic humans want]].
* YetAnotherStupidDeath: Many a gamer have been humbled after moments of hubris. Common ways of dying: getting back attacked and having your weaknesses exploited endlessly, getting hit by a Hama or Mudo spell, using the wrong skill at a crucial moment because you weren't paying enough attention, being able to always counter with a physical attack for ludicrous damage and then being glanced by a lowly demon that repels physical attacks.
* YinYangBomb:
** The entire point of ''VideoGame/DevilChildren: Book of Light'' and ''Book of Dark'' for the GBA.
** Daisoujou in ''Nocturne'' loves using Mahamaon/Mamudoon for instant game overs if you don't have some kind of protection. He also already starts with both Mahamaon and Mamudoon when you fuse him.
** ''Persona 3 FES'' gives us Messiah, an explicit reference to, well, UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}}. Thanks to the personas required for the fusion and the inheritance rules, Messiah ''will'' inherit Die For Me!, which will actually be ''his most useful skill'', despite an inherent weakness to darkness. Thanatos, the top Death-arcana persona, is weak to light but learns Mahamaon -- presumably so the player can later have Messiah inherit it, but most delete it... and many plot twists later, the irony is delicious.
** [[{{Bifauxnen}} Naoto]] [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} Shirogane]] has a Persona which uses both [[LightEmUp Hama]] and [[CastingAShadow Mudo]] skills.
* {{Youkai}}: Some of the demons in the series come from here.
* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: Certain demons must be defeated for the right of summoning them as minions. In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'', you gain several stat points when destroying the Bel demons, as you are essentially consuming the demon and adding its powers to your own. It's also a key Junkyard rule in ''VideoGame/DigitalDevilSaga'', and its breakdown in favor of ThePowerOfFriendship and simple ambition is a major plot point.
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