History YMMV / DevilSurvivor

* LuckBasedMission: Fighting Kudlak the second time, by virtue of being an EscortMission of the worst kind. Mari herself is entirely useless, able to do single-digit damage and only heal herself seven times, but the real lynchpin is Kaido. He shows up closer to the middle of the map, and almost every demon is attracted to him. Unless you've got your entire team set up for rapid movement, there's a good chance that by the second turn when you can reach him he'll be dead or dying. Then more demons spawn in after a few are defeated, and of course they also home in on him. It might not be as bad if he had any sort of healing prowess, but his only healer is most of the time killed off in the first or second sortie, leaving him completely reliant on your healing.

Why is this attack so bad, you may wonder? First: It's [[NonElemental Almighty]], meaning ''nothing'' can resist, null or reflect it. Secondly, it's a ''field attack'', which means that it hits '''every single one of your teams.''' Thirdly, it can and WILL be promptly unleashed without warning if the BonusBoss thinks you're not giving it your all. [[FourIsDeath Fourth, and lastly,]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill it's power rises by 50% EVERY time he uses it.]] This attack is already strong enough at base power that it's pretty much a OneHitKill if you don't have max or nearly maxed MAG, and even then, at level 99 you'd still probably lose half your health or so, but it'll eventually REALLY become a OneHitKill once he uses it enough times. So the solution is, defeat the BonusBoss before he can use it enough times... Which is only consistently possible with a GameBreaker strategy.

* CompleteMonster:
** Game: [[BigBad Belberith]] is a Demon Lord and the cause of almost all disasters in the game. A demon who inherited the power and memories of the original [[TheOldGods King of Bel]], Belberith [[RageAgainstTheHeavens swore revenge against God]]. To do this, he waged war against other demons who inherited the power of Bel and manipulated the Founder of the Shomonkai, making him believe that he was going to protect humanity from God's Ordeal. Under his orders, the Shomonkai causes the weakening of the Barrier between worlds leading to demons to escape to Tokyo, forcing the Japanese Army to lock the city to prevent a worldwide demonic spread, something which causes the death of hundreds of civilians. When he is summoned to the Human world by the Founder sacrificing his own life, Belberith confesses his real intentions, taking revenge on God by killing "[[KillAllHumans all his children]]" and mocking the Founder for believing in him. In Yuzu's 8th day in ''[[UpdatedRerelease Overclocked]]''. Belberith shows his sadism by killing his newest servant after he asked when Belberith would revive his family and then gloating about how he truly did " reunite him with his family".
** Manga, by Satoru Matsuba: Beldr proves to be [[AdaptationalVillainy far worse than his game counterpart]]. A Bel that [[EmotionEater feeds off grief and despair]], Beldr [[EstablishingCharacterMoment introduces himself]] by [[YourSoulIsMine draining the souls]] of a group of innocents that the heroes previously saved. When Atsuro finds out that Beldr is seemingly invulnerable, Beldr attempts to slowly burn him alive in response. After [[TheProtagonist Kazuya]] buys time for the others to escape, Beldr tortures him to near death, talking about the pleasure he takes in Kazuya's hopelessness. When Kazuya escapes, Beldr goes on a killing spree for the next day before going to the cemetery. Beldr then attempts to drain the souls of over 300 innocent civilians to fully revive himself, intending to escape the Yamanote circle and turn the rest of the world into an apocalypse so that everyone will feel grief.

** Like in the game, Naoya orchestrates nearly every event in the story by creating the Demon Summoning Program. The reincarnation of Cain, Naoya attempts to convince his cousin and reincarnation of Abel, Katsuya, to overthrow God. Naoya manipulates Kazuya into partaking in the Battle of Bel by promising to answer a question of his if he defeats Beldr, and later, forces a confrontation between Kazuya and Jezebel by risking Amane’s life. When the heroes reach the server to send the demons back to the demon world, they find out that Naoya set it up so that only their demons will be sent back. When Naoya arrives, he has Loki brutally beat Kazuya in an attempt to get him consumed by hatred, and lead to Kazuya declaring war on God. Even when defeated, Naoya points out that he made progress to overthrow God next reincarnation now that Abel is the king of Bel.

* MagnificentBastard:
** Game: Naoya is {{The Protagonist}}'s cousin, the mastermind behind the story and [[spoiler:the biblical Cain]]. Creating the Demon Summoning Program, Naoya shares it with the Shomonkai, knowing they will use it to break the barrier between worlds and causing a divine crises. Keeping himself secure during the demonic invasion of Tokyo, Naoya allows his cousin free choice though tries to convince him to become the King of Bel. Having prepared himself for multiple scenarios and never losing his sarcastic, calm demeanour even in the the catastrophe of God’s Ordeal, Naoya manages to win in one way or another in almost all routes, only truly being defeated if his cousin sides with God and the angels.
** Manga, by Satoru Matsuba:
*** Like in the game, Naoya orchestrates nearly every event in the story by creating the Demon Summoning Program. The reincarnation of Cain, Naoya attempts to convince his cousin and reincarnation of Abel, Katsuya, to overthrow God. Naoya manipulates Kazuya into partaking in the Battle of Bel by promising to answer a question of his if he defeats Beldr, and later, forces a confrontation between Kazuya and Jezebel by risking Amane’s life. When the heroes reach the server to send the demons back to the demon world, they find out that Naoya set it up so that only their demons will be sent back. When Naoya arrives, he has Loki brutally beat Kazuya in an attempt to get him consumed by hatred, and lead to Kazuya declaring war on God. Even when defeated, Naoya points out that he made progress to overthrow God next reincarnation now that Abel is the king of Bel.
*** The manga interpretation of Belial is far more cunning this his game counterpart. A master of illusions, Belial hypnotizes Haru into using her singing to summon a never ending swarm of demons. While he and his forces overwhelm the heroes, he uses his illusions to gently convince Haru into committing suicide so that he can gain her ability, nearly succeeding until she notices the heroes attempts to save her. When Kazuya attempts to absorb Belial’s soul after seemingly killing him, Belial uses his illusions to weaken Kazuya’s mind in an attempt to consume his soul from the inside. When defeated, [[GracefulLoser Belial accepts it with dignity]], and tells Kazuya that he’s more than willing to lend him his aid.

* MagnificentBastard: Naoya is {{The Protagonist}}'s cousin, the mastermind behind the story and [[spoiler:the biblical Cain]]. Creating the Demon Summoning Program, Naoya shares it with the Shomonkai, knowing they will use it to break the barrier between worlds and causing a divine crises. Keeping himself secure during the demonic invasion of Tokyo, Naoya allows his cousin free choice though tries to convince him to become the King of Bel. Having prepared himself for multiple scenarios and never losing his sarcastic, calm demeanour even in the the catastrophe of God’s Ordeal, Naoya manages to win in one way or another in almost all routes, only truly being defeated if his cousin sides with God and the angels.

** Beldr might be nigh invulnerable, Jezebel annoying, Belial unbelievably strong, but Babel's second form tops them all.Besides its high HP and virtually unlimited MP, it has the most powerful spell up to that point, Dual Shadow for a chance to use it ''twice in a row'' (which very few parties, if at all, can survive). And on top of that every single turn it will use a special move to heavily damage and '''silence''' all your characters, and shift elemental weakness.Seriously, anything except for a ZergRush of your best mages with Elec spells and physical with Pierce is destined to end up in failure.

** It should be noted that this mission is pacified massively if you petrify Kudlak, at which point you can just let Mari slap him until he dies.

** Manga: Beldr proves to be far worse than his game counterpart. A Bel that feeds off grief and despair, Beldr introduces himself by draining the souls of a group of innocents that the heroes previously saved. When Atsuro finds out that Beldr is seemingly invulnerable, Beldr attempts to slowly burn him alive in response. After [[TheProtagonist Kazuya]] buys time for the others to escape, Beldr tortures him to near death, talking about the pleasure he takes in Kazuya’s hopelessness. When Kazuya escapes, Beldr goes on a killing spree for the next day before going to the cemetery. Beldr then attempts to drain the souls of over 300 innocent civilians to fully revive himself, intending to escape the Yamanote circle and turn the rest of the world into an apocalypse so that everyone will feel grief.

** Manga: Beldr proves to be far worse than his game counterpart. A Bel that feeds off grief and despair, Beldr introduces himself by draining the souls of a group of innocents that the heroes previously saved. When Atsuro finds out that Beldr is seemingly invulnerable, Beldr attempts to slowly burn him alive in response. After [[TheProtagonist Kazuya]] buys time for the others to escape, Beldr tortures him to near death, talking about the pleasure he takes in Kazuya’s hopelessness. When Kazuya escapes, Beldr goes on a killing spree for the next day before going to the cemetery. Beldr then attempts to drain the souls of over 300 innocent civilians to fully revive himself, intending to escape the Yamamoto circle and turn the rest of the world into an apocalypse so that everyone will feel grief.

* CompleteMonster: [[BigBad Belberith]] is a Demon Lord and the cause of almost all disasters in the game. A demon who inherited the power and memories of the original [[TheOldGods King of Bel]], Belberith [[RageAgainstTheHeavens swore revenge against God]]. To do this, he waged war against other demons who inherited the power of Bel and manipulated the Founder of the Shomonkai, making him believe that he was going to protect humanity from God's Ordeal. Under his orders, the Shomonkai causes the weakening of the Barrier between worlds leading to demons to escape to Tokyo, forcing the Japanese Army to lock the city to prevent a worldwide demonic spread, something which causes the death of hundreds of civilians. When he is summoned to the Human world by the Founder sacrificing his own life, Belberith confesses his real intentions, taking revenge on God by killing "[[KillAllHumans all his children]]" and mocking the Founder for believing in him. In Yuzu's 8th day in ''[[UpdatedRerelease Overclocked]]''. Belberith shows his sadism by killing his newest servant after he asked when Belberith would revive his family and then gloating about how he truly did " reunite him with his family".

* ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'':

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Yuzu tends to be divisive due to her character arc which involves escaping from the conflict. The expansion to it added in ''Overclock'' made things harder for her considering she has one of the weakest voice actors to some people. That being said, her characterization in other routes garners less criticism.

** The game also includes a shoutout to one of Atlus's previous Woolseyisms. At one point Yuzu sends you an email saying "i wana [[VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} goho-m]]"

* MagnificentBastard: Naoya.

* AccidentalInnuendo: The game does this itself when describing the Gigolo in Naoya's profile as a "[[CampGay flamboyant man]]", immediately followed by "[[HoYay What could their relationship be?]]" The fact that Gigolo is [[spoiler: unambiguously revealed to be gay on one path]] doesn't help.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:

* BreatherLevel The fourth day as a whole. While it starts with a major turning point for Keisuke, none of what happens in the day measures up to Beldr the previous day or the fact that numerous character arcs have a climax on the fifth day.
* DemonicSpiders:

* DracoInLeatherPants: Naoya created the demon summoning program, traps the protagonist and his friends in the lockdown, [[spoiler: is Cain]], is completely ruthless against anybody who stands against him in the Law or Inhuman Overlord path, and plans to [[spoiler: turn the protagonist into the King of Demons in order to start a war against God]]. Ask the fangirls, and Naoya is a huggable [[TheWoobie Woobie]] who can do no wrong, and is frequently [[HoYay slashed]] with the protagonist. [[UpdatedRerelease Overclocked]] elaborates on his history and presents him more sympathetically, but his more ambiguous actions during the lockdown are often swept under the rug by his fans.

** [[spoiler: Loki]], as he reveals when talking to Yuzu.
--> "You think you're pretty hot, don't you? I don't care about you! My love is for [[HelloInsertNameHere [Protagonist]]]!

* {{Narm}}: The various sounds the demons make in cutscenes tend to act more like NightmareRetardant than NightmareFuel. A good example is Beldr, who you’d expect to have full voice-acting and to be a BadassBaritone. Instead he just… moans. It also makes you wonder how the characters are able to understand demons in the first place.
* NightmareFuel:
** This is [=MegaTen=], so it's kind of par for the course. Of particular note is [[spoiler: Keisuke's death scene if you fail to stop Kaido from murdering him. The fact that it plays out with small sprites instead of "glorious 3D" is probably the ''only'' thing preventing the game from getting an automatic M rating just for this scene... but the cutesy sprites only serve to make the scene ''worse'' on some levels.]]
** And then there's [[spoiler: Belberith. Oh god, [[EldritchAbomination twisted combo-demon Belberith]]. Even ''worse'' if you're a veteran SMT player and can pick out the component demons that form him.]]

** Then there's the [[spoiler: microchips placed inside every electronic device in Tokyo, designed to all go off at the government's command, basically [[TheTokyoFireball turning the city into a giant microwave oven]]]]. Once again, Atsuro is the one to find out this ''wonderful'' info. Now, read [[spoiler:the FCC compliance notice on the back of '''YOUR DS''', if you live in the USA. "(2) [T]his device must accept any interference received, ''including interference that may cause undesired operation''."]]

** Especially notable is [[spoiler: the second fight with Kudlak. Not only do you have to keep him from fleeing, but you have to make sure the [=NPCs=] in battle don't die, ''and'' a specific NPC [[OnlyICanKillHim has to land the ending blow]] or else it's heavily implied the character in question gets KilledOffForReal by her DemonicPossession. Not helping matters is the fact she averages roughly 30 damage at a time, whereas her target will knock her down to near-death ''every time'']]. Note that only the death of the [=NPCs=] results in a Game Over, but any of the undesired results may warrant resetting.

** [[spoiler: Some view Naoya this way in Amane's ending. Some of the characters even feel sorry for him.]]

** ''Especially'' [[spoiler: Honda]], and '''''even more so''''' in [[spoiler: Yuzu's 8th Day]].
* {{Woolseyism}}:
** Atsuro calls Yuzu "Yoohoo" in the English version. In the Japanese version it's "Sodeko" ("sleeve girl") which is a visual pun on the kanji of her name. Obviously that wouldn't work in English, although it sounds a bit weird when Yuzu complains that some people think that Yoohoo's her real name (which works better with the real-sounding Sodeko).

** In the manga, Atsuro gets shattered by the revelation that Kaido, an AxCrazy DeathSeeker has come to understand his former best friend in a couple of minutes' meeting than he ever did in years. Kazuya gently telling him he does not have to force himself to smile after failing to avert Keisuke's death breaks his mask.

Why is this attack so bad, you may wonder? First: It's [[NonElemental Almighty]], meaning ''nothing'' can resist, null or reflect it. Secondly, it's a ''field attack'', which means that it hits '''every single one of your teams.''' Thirdly, it can and WILL be promptly unleashed without warning if the BonusBoss thinks you're not giving it your all. [[FourIsDeath Fourth, and lastly,]] [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill it's power rises by 50% EVERY time he uses it.]] This attack is already strong enough at base power that it's pretty much a OneHitKill if you don't have max or nearly maxed MAG, and even then, at level 99 you'd still probably lose half your healt or so, but it'll eventually REALLY become a OneHitKill once he uses it enough times. So the solution is, defeat the BonusBoss before he can use it enough times... Which is only consistently possible with a GameBreaker strategy.

** Beldr might be nigh invulnerable, Jezebel annoying, Belial unbelievably strong, but Babel's second form tops them all.Besides its high HP and virtually unlimited MP, it has the most powerful spell up to that point, Dual Shadow for a chance to use it ''twice in a row'' (which very few parties, if at all, can survive).And on top of that every single turn it will use a special move to heavily damage and '''silence''' all your characters, and shift elemental weakness.Seriously, anything except for a ZergRush of your best mages with Elec spells and physical with Pierce is destined to end up in failure.

* BreatherBoss: Kudlak, while having the annoying gimmick of having to let an NPC land the finishing blow on him all the while you have to keep Dia flunkies from getting to him, is quite simple compared to what came before him and can't take much punishment AND is vulnerable to status inflictions.