Welcome to the Chiyoda region of Tokyo. Chiyoda is about the heart of the Tokyo metropolis and home to many of the key government ministries and establishments such as the Diet Building and Supreme Court as well as sights of interest like the Imperial Palace, Yasukuni Shrine, Tokyo Dome, the Bugeikan arena, Hibiya Park from the Devil Survivor days, and in the eastern Kanda district where we pop out is the Holy Resurrection Cathedral, called St. Nicholas Cathedral in-game after the saint who founded it. There’s a lot packed in to Chiyoda!
If you keep heading west following the Kanda River you’ll eventually see a guy on the map who’ll explain how to reach Tokyo Station and Kasumigaseki if you talk to him. It’s appreciated since for the most part the game’s pretty vague in its directions and a lot of players had difficulty getting around. I never had too much trouble finding my way around the city in this game outside of a few instances, but it could definitely stand to mark out destinations more clearly, something that Apocalypse did improve on. It wasn’t just American and other foreign players too, apparently even a number of Japanese players had trouble with it since y’know, Tokyo isn’t actually the center of the universe in reality. Despite the name of the last update I have read some amusing anecdotes of players turning to Google Maps and similar sources to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B. I guess this wasn’t as much of an issue with prior games having less detailed maps?
I noticed a number of the demons that appear here, namely Quicksilver, Bifrons, and Raiju, are weak to Force, so Zan-users should eat well here. Once you’re done mapping out as much of the area as possible you wanna head due south from where the directions guy is and you’ll eventually see the large green area of the Imperial Palace gardens to your left/Flynn’s right. Opposite is the brick facade of Tokyo Station and we can actually enter it, or at least one of its underground Yaesu Passage. It’s a quiet, gloomy place without much going on apart from housing some more of those red warrior monks. Here we can learn that they’re part of the Ring of Gaea, the third big faction of Tokyo after the Hunters and the Ashura-kai and a new take on the Gaian cult that originated in the very first Shin Megami Tensei. These guys have made Ginza their turf and since they value strength like any good Chaos acolyte you apparently can’t even walk the streets there without their approval, illustrated by a monk standing guard at the back of the area with two Momunofu demons who’ll turn Flynn away should he approach. That’ll be for another time, then.
While the Imperial Palace is marked as a location that we can examine there’s no point to doing it as it’s mentioned to be sealed by some great power. Fortunately our destination of Kasumigaseki is right next to it. Kasumigaseki is where a lot of Japan’s federal ministries are located and the patch that we’re visiting is a small stretch of road called Sakurada Way that runs between the Ministry of Justice and the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. There’s not much here aside from some relics but there are three curious elevators that we can examine on the sides of the road. Two of them are locked down and inaccessible, but the third is being guarded by a pair of Ashura-kai thugs. Initially they tell the apprentices to simply run along, but once they realize that we’re the same “angels” who appeared at the Skytree they summon a demon mini-boss and tell us to take this message back to God on the surface: “You don’t mess with the Ashura-kai!”
Tsuchigumo
HP
- 1140
- Weak to Ice and Force; Reflects Elec
- Poison Claw - Deals moderate Physical damage and may poison one enemy.
- Zionga - Deals moderate Elec damage to one enemy.
Not much to this battle, just a matter of piling on the damage. The apprentices are less interested in the demon itself as they are in the Tokyoite version of a Gauntlet, a small thin box otherwise known as a “smartphone”. The two thugs flee when their giant spider is squashed leading Jonathan to airily state that “The Unclean Ones must have their own errands.”
Winning earns us a Megido Stone.
With the thugs gone we can access the elevator which leads to a short passageway (which includes a broken vent you can climb through to reach a chest containing a Balm of Rising next to the Police Department) then another elevator ride to what appears to be an underground bunker. There are five doors here, all but two locked. One of the unlocked ones happens to be a Terminal, and just like the one in Ueno we’re greeted by a Domain and someone saying, “Hey, you can’t come in here!” It’s the Terminal Guardian once again, now dressed like a trucker and referred to as “Guard-like man”. He starts to go into his introductory spiel then suddenly stops when he recognizes Flynn and growls that this time he’ll bury us in a back alley, and he’s brought along a whole horde to do it!
Pixie Horde
HP
- 1015
- Nulls Light and Dark
- Stun Needle - Deals Gun damage and may bind one enemy.
- Agilao - Deals moderate Fire damage to one enemy.
- Maragi - Deals Fire damage to all enemies.
- Sukukaja - Raises Speed.
- Diarama - Restores 300 HP.
It’s a whole horde of Pixies and High Pixies. Diarama gives it quite a bit of longevity since it has no weaknesses to dogpile…well, if you stay away from AOE attacks that is, and there’s no reason to. Walter was complete garbage this fight, whiffing every single time his turn came up. When the horde goes down the Terminal Guardian runs off shaking his fist and swearing that things won’t go like this next time.
Winning earns us a Bead.
The Kasumigaseki Terminal gets added to the network and now we can go ahead and enter the one other unlocked door. Immediately we come face-to-face with a familiar-looking suit of armor and Walter exclaims, “Damn me! It’s the Black Samurai!” before realizing that he’s actually looking at an empty suit of armor on display. We seem to be in some kind of locker room. Now that they can see the armor close up Isabeau notes that the vambrace looks a lot like their Gauntlets and even Burroughs agrees. She scans the armor and tells the apprentices that it’s known as a Demonica as we the players already know, worn by the Counter-Demon Force that was established to exterminate demons after they suddenly appeared in Tokyo in the past. Jonathan asks if the Black Samurai happens to be one of them, but our AI navigator doesn’t have any insight there. Walter then calls out that he’s found some relics and we gain the Lock Steyr, a weak gun that nonetheless can hit all enemies at once, an ID card, and all three pieces of the Black Demonica set, so now you too can cosplay as a member of Jack’s Squad. The Black Demonica armor strengthens Flynn against instant death by granting a resistance to Dark while opening up a Force weakness. With the ID Card Lv. 1 item we can open up the other doors in the bunker. One room’s completely empty, but another has a Chakra Drop we can pick up.
The big door at the head of the bunker leads to what Burroughs says was the Counter-Demon Force’s briefing room and that it feels familiar to her for some reason. She goes on to download any important information there is available and forwards it to the Monastery, thereby completing Find the Military Base and earning us 3000 macca. The occasion is marked by Gabby contacting the group to praise them, and then passing along a request from Hugo to retrieve specific relics, the details of which will be on the blackboard in K’s Tavern, meaning more delivery stuff. Once she signs off Walter chafes at Hugo using the Samurai as his personal errand boys but Jonathan has a more positive outlook on things, telling his friend that the relic-hunting will only enrich the lives of the people of Mikado in the end. Walter isn’t that convinced though. Isabeau though gets the last word in, trying to steer the group back in the direction of their main objective of hunting the Black Samurai by saying if only there was a large place where Unclean Ones gathered…
As soon as this scene ends you can turn right around and go back into the briefing room to read a bit of lore off of an old PC. Namely the files available reveal that twenty-five years ago people started gaining the ability to summon demons due to the franchise-recurring Demon Summoning Program being installed on people’s computers and smartphones. As in the original Shin Megami Tensei game and Devil Survivor 1 (which was basically a stealth remake of Shin Megami Tensei I until the Bels came into the picture) this led to a demon outbreak going by some snippets from online bulletin boards leading to the Counter-Demon Force being founded by Japan’s Defense Minister Tamagami. As we can see from the fact that Tokyo is now buried underground with the demons and fifteen-hundred years have passed above things did not seem to go very well to put it lightly.
As Gabby said there are indeed a handful of new requests on K’s blackboard from the Monastery, all of them asking for specific relics that we don’t have. Instead there are a chunk of new quests, mostly from Ueno, that we can take on:
Mikado Quest 12 - Isis’s Search for the Coffin
This was another quest that was issued by a demon. We want to go to a formerly-empty side room in the Second Stratum where the Egyptian goddess Isis wants to meet with us. So in Egyptian mythology there was an incident where Seth tore Osiris, Isis’s husband, to shreds and here it seems that he went a step further by tossing the sarcophagus containing his remains deep within Naraku. Fortunately Isis knows where it is, at a spot behind a waterfall down on the Fourth Stratum. So our job is to retrieve it but once we do there’s a catch: Seth will start pursuing us. He’ll manifest in the form of a red bird apparition and make a beeline for Flynn and whatever you do you do not want him to catch you. Like with Little Timmy Flynn can’t do anything because he’s escorting the coffin, plus Seth is much, much more powerful than anything we’ve faced yet and can decimate the team easily. His go-to move is Maziodyne so for the love of all things good don’t bring in demons or equipment weak to it. Just run. If the coffin’s HP gets depleted (and it takes like only two hits to do so) Flynn’ll drop it and you’ll have to go all the way back to the Fourth Stratum for it. You have to really get in the zone here for many of Naraku’s twists and turns are easy to get caught on and Seth will sometimes spawn right in front of you. I actually barely made it back to the goal with him being only a second away from jumping me. The reward from Isis is five Strength Incenses.
Ueno Quest 4 - Competition for Blood
Despite the name of this quest we’re not going to be partaking in any blood sports today (that comes later). Instead the black market guy is looking for four samples of Strix Blood. Strixes are found as common enemies in the Kasumigaseki bunker and the first reward are “Daily Commodities”, a collection of relics that are worth 4718 macca, which is quite a bit more than I was expecting! Also there are two more LED Lightbulbs included that we can turn in for that particular quest. I think these generic relic rewards are randomized a bit. The Ueno black market will also start selling Demon Sneak armor which makes Flynn outright immune to Dark but he pays for it dearly with a Fire and Light weakness. I guess it would come in handy for the David quest if you put it off this long, but as it stands I see no reason to buy it now.
Ueno Quest 5 - The Secret to Durable Clothing
More blood for the Ueno black market blood god! This time the bloodthirsty merchant wants a sample of Orcus Blood from the demon of the same name which can be found in Minami Senju. Minami Senju is part of the general wasteland that lies north of the Skytree, across the Sumida River. By now that snide boatman Hunter will agree to ferry Flynn across the river for 500 macca, then back again for another two-hundred to make it a 700 macca round trip. Lots of empty land is up here with nothing of note aside from a relic farm point at some ruined housing and a chest containing a valuable Bead Chain (fully restores the whole party’s HP). Orcus is an uncommon encounter out here (though you have to make sure you’re actually in the section of the map marked as Minami Senju on the UI and it’s a rather small area) and despite the fact that he’s all by himself, Lv. 25, and sporting the more intimidating black gate design that originated in Strange Journey he’s a complete pushover. I cooked him with Fire and Elec attacks before he got a chance to do anything so I’m not even bothering to count him as a mini-boss. Turning in the Orcus Blood nets us some relics totaling up to 2703 macca and the black market starts selling the Soldier Enma armor which is basically the same as the Demon Sneak armor above just swap out the additional Fire weakness for a Gun one.
Ueno Quest 6 - Samurai and Hunters United
This one happens to be the second in the recurring Nozomi questline. This time around we’re to meet her in a little side room, apparently called the Ambassador Cafe, in Ameyoko Way where she tells us that she’s been trying to put together a team to take on the demon Asura that’s rampaging in the north. Unfortunately we’re the only ones who’ve heeded her call but since Flynn’s apparently starting to gain a reputation as a “Hunter-Samurai” she feels like he’ll be enough and joins the party. For the remainder of this mission she’ll fulfill the same partner role that Jonathan, Walter, and Isabeau usually do. Her moveset includes Zanma, Mabufu, Dia, and basic gunfire. Seems pretty balanced.
To find Asura we have to return to the Jouhoku Region, the wasteland across the river to the north of Ueno. There’s a red apparition on the world map towards the very tippity-top near the chest that had the Bead Chain in it. Save and dive right in.
Asura
HP
- 1944
- Weak to Ice; Resists Physical, Light, and Dark; Reflects Fire; Nulls Gun and Force
- Javelin Rain - Deals moderate Physical damage to all enemies.
- Maragion - Deals moderate Fire damage to all enemies.
Gun and Force make up most of Nozomi’s damage output. Asura nullifies both of those. You see the problem here. This battle is Fake Difficulty at its finest due to her pulling a Walter vs. the Minotaur and constantly giving Asura smirks, also thwarting your attempts to hit his weakness in the process. The two attacks he has are nothing to sneeze at either (we’ll be seeing a lot of Javelin Rain in the future) and his physicals even hit multiple times thanks to the whole multiple limbs deal. I used Tarunda and Fang Breaker to try to blunt his offense as quickly as possible and it’s also best to try to get some demons out there that resist Physical as Resist Physical is available by now.
Oblivious to the fact that she was doing her darnedest to get Flynn killed Nozomi whistles in awe and admits that Asura probably would’ve eaten her if she were alone. Well, maybe she does actually have some self-awareness. She heads off after telling Flynn to show her some pictures he’s taken the next time they meet and our reward is the Silver Mars, an Ancient Greek-style helmet buffs Strength and Magic by a bit while lowering Agilitiy and Luck by another bit.
And that’s a wrap for this side job session. Next time we keep delving deeper into Tokyo.
Compendium
- Goblin
- Broadly speaking, goblins are very common creatures in both European myth, fairy tales, and the fantasy genre. They\'re usually grotesque beings of small stature and foul temperaments with an eye for riches and mischief.
- Bifrons
- The forty-sixth demon of the Goetia, Bifrons teaches occult sciences to those who summon him. He is sometimes associated with the Roman god of gateways and beginnings, Janus, and can magically teleport corpses and light candles on graves, hence the candelabrum he\'s holding in his art.
- Zombie Cop
- A simple, zombified police officer. Despite being one of the undead he still wields his gun and has no reservations on using it. This demon\'s name was possibly inspired by a 1988 move of the same name.
- Kabuso
- A shape-shifting spirit said to be seen in Japan\'s Ishikawa prefecture, Kabuso often take the form of otters or felines and enjoy playing tricks on humans and talking their ears off.
- Momunofu
- A race of ancient warriors who served the primeval Japanese god Arahabaki. They are thought to be the inspiration for the mythic folklore hero Momotaro and for an old name for the samurai, momomofu.
- Tsuchigumo
- Literally meaning \"earth spider\", Tsuchigumo were giant spider yokai with human-like faces who burrowed into the dirt to pounce on and eat humans and today one of the Japanese words for \"tarantula\" is otsuchigumo or \"great earth spider\". It\'s speculated that the name came from a derogatory term for those who refused to swear fealty to the Japanese emperor, tsuchigomori - \"those who hide in the dirt\".
- Ame no Uzume
- The Japanese goddess of the dawn who was married to Sarutahiko, the leader of the earthly gods and a god of strength in his own right. When Amaterasu dimmed the world by hiding herself away inside a cave Ame no Uzume lured her out by putting on a dance show and positioning a mirror that entranced the goddess long enough for other gods to seal the cave shut.
- Azumi
- The Azumi were a tribe of water gods who were descended from the line of Izanagi. The Azumi people, who lived in southern Japan around the 11th century BC, were a tribe of fishermen and seafarers who took their name from the gods.
- High Pixie
- High Pixies are just that, a higher-ranked pixie who has command over the lesser pixies and is responsible for reining their antics in and keeping them out of danger.
- Patrimpas
- Patrimpas, more commonly known as Potrimpo, is a god of the sea and growing crops from the general Baltic region of Europe. His name might be derived from the Lithuanian word trempti which means \"to stomp\" which scholars speculate could be linked to a fertility ritual where the participants stomped their feet to frighten off evil spirits and ensure a successful harvest.
- Suparna
- Another name for the legendary Hindu bird creature Garuda. In fact in Nocturne a Suparna could evolve into a Garuda, as they are two separate demons in the Megami Tensei \'verse.
- Isis
- The Egyptian mother goddess, the sister and wife of Osiris, whom she reassembled after his dismemberment by Seth. During the New Kingdom period her influence in the pantheon gradually grew until she eclipsed numerous other gods, and she is still worshipped even today by certain neopagan cults.
- Seth
- The Egyptian god of the desert, war, and general disorder, brother to Osiris and Isis, and father to Anubis. Seth was known for his jealousy towards Osiris, even going so far to dismember him in one myth, and later had a rivalry with his grandson Horus which exhibited itself through innocent means such as boat racing and more icky means such as attempted rape. These qualities made him a prime target for demonization after Egypt was conquered by foreign empires during the late BC era as an evil storm deity.
- Horkos, Orcus
- A death god that punished those who broke oaths. He is often depicted as having a pig\'s head due to it being the animal that was most often sacrificed to him. As of Strange Journey Atlus has split this demon into two entities representing its Roman and Greek incarnations: The pig-like design goes to Horkos, while Orcus becomes a demonic gate to reflect how the god\'s visage was often carved above the entrances to Eutruscan tombs.
- Gu Huo Niao
- A humanoid bird-monster from both Chinese and Japanese (where it\'s known as \"Kokakucho\") who kidnaps baby girls and raises them as its own, transforming them into Gu Huo Niaos themselves. They are sometimes said to be born from the spirits of women who died during childbirth.
- Asura
- Violent, triple-bodied deities who appear in numerous Asian religions. In Hinduism and Buddhism they are seen as embodying violence and vice, but in Japanese Buddhism and Zoroastrianism they are more positive and are forces for good, though in the case of the former they can be just as varied in personality as humans are.
- Mithras
- Mithras was a sun god, thought to be derived from the Zoroastrian figure Mitra, worshipped by the adherents of the mysterious Roman Mithraism cult. What little is known about their worship is that bulls and sheep were often sacrificed to the god, hence the dagger that he\'s depicted as holding, and he was said to be born as a full-grown adult by springing from a boulder.
- Phoenix
- The phoenix is bird figuring in many eastern mythologies and religions, from Egypt, Phoenicia, all the way to India, China, and Japan. In all versions the phoenix is a very long-lived bird who has a natural lifespan of around a thousand years and will combust into a blaze of fire when it dies. Afterwards it will be reborn from its own ashes as a chick, meaning that it is effectively immortal. It can even heal others by shedding tears onto their wounds.
