"People aren't strong enough to live without a goal. Everyone wants something. No matter how small the desire...It gives them the strength to carry on. But...if every desire is fulfilled, what's left to strive for? When one wishes have being granted, the only thing that awaits...is a bottomless solitude; an eternal emptiness. Then wouldn't be better if one choose not to ascend the stairs of desire? That way...one's dream are kept alive. [...] I...kept ascending that stair to destroy this worthless world...But it no longer matters. Right now...nothing is beyond my grasp. Hah, the winds of solitude and emptiness blow within me...Such is a god's lot."
—Takahisa Kandori, Persona
A long runner, Shin Megami Tensei and its various spin-off series, have produced many devilishly smart villains.
Sections by release date.
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Main Series
Examples
- Stephen, creator of the Demon Summoning Program, is a enigmatic and polite scientist set on helping humanity. Initially appearing trying to prevent the apocalypse after accidentally opening the gates to the Demon World, Stephen spreads the Demon Summoning Program to humans, especially helping Adam's reincarnation and Aleph and trying to convince them to choose Neutrality to protect humanity as it is. Eventually, Stephen's research makes him Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence and allows him to travel between worlds. Manifesting himself to the samurai Flynn, Stephen guides him to stop the apocalyptic plans of the White and encourages him to resurrect the Goddess of Tokyo, whose fragment was preserved inside Flynn's gauntlet. When the Divine Powers threaten Tokyo, Stephen disguises himself as Dr. Matsuda to aid demon hunters. If Nanashi decides to follows Dagda's goal to recreate the world without reincarnating the demons, Stephen manipulates humanity's armies to their deaths at Nanashi's hands to test his resolve. After the massacre, Stephen continues to aid Nanashi and warns him to avoid making the same mistakes as other Gods before departing after Nanashi's victory, fascinated with the possibility of a world where humanity rules everything.
- Shin Megami Tensei I: Lucifer, King of the Abyss, under the alias of Louis Cyphre, calls himself a part of YHVH that was discarded. He was behind Lilith's actions throughout the game in an attempt to convince the reincarnation of Adam to follow the violent Darwinist path of Chaos, helping and congratulating him if he does and trying to trick him to his death if he doesn't, completely avoiding direct confrontation in all the routes. Several years later, while watching Aleph in his disguise, Lucifer prepares for the rebirth of his hated enemy Satan in an attempt to save his realm from its annihilation at the orders of YHVH. Failing to prevent Satan's rebirth, Lucifer intends to use the dragon Kuzuryu, given to him by YHVH Himself, to destroy the highly populated city Tokyo Millenium and its new Eden. He partially does so in the Chaos route before fighting against Satan and YHVH Himself, freeing humanity and demonhood from His rule after destroying the biggest human population centers of the post-apocalyptic world. More affable than in the past, Lucifer seeks to protect his people as its affable king while still carrying out his ideology of freedom over all.
- Shin Megami Tensei II: Zayin was created artificially as part of the Project Messiah in order to be the Messiah's bodyguard, but his destiny was to be much more. Introduced as a loyal Temple Knight working for the Center, capital of the totalitarian and hypocritical Tokyo Millennium, Zayin eventually discovered their murderous corruption thanks to his time with Aleph and decided to rebel against it, broadcasting the truth and gaining a loyal following in the religious district of Holytown. Forced by The Elders—actually corrupt archangels—into going to the Center after they threatened Holytown, Zayin is captured and then freed after Aleph defeats them. Building a new Eden—filled with people whose "knowledge" was erased—alongside the archangel Gabriel, Zayin is revealed to be actually a part of Satan, God's instrument to judge all creatures. Embracing his role, Satan prepares to destroy both the human and demon worlds, leaving only the peaceful people of Eden to build the Millennium Kingdom, managing to doing it in the Law route before ending his judgement by judging his creator, God Himself. Having finished his holy duty, Satan leaves the future to Aleph and Hiroko before returning to the soil from where he was created.
- Nocturne: Lucifer orchestrates events to ensure the Player Character becomes the commander of his demon army. Turning him into a Demifiend after the Conception, Lucifer manipulates the protagonist into investigating the Amala Labyrinth, hoping to make him fight other powerful Friends to test his strength before sending a feared demon hunter after them. If the Deminfiend chooses to break the cycle of the Conception, Lucifer congratulates him, before testing his power in a personal battle. When the Demifiend survives the fight, Lucifer graciously accepts him as the commander of his demon army and rejoices at the thought of beginning the war with what he calls the "Real Enemy". Ever gracious, if the Demifiend chooses any other route than breaking the cycle, Lucifer discretely steps aside and leaves the story, out of respect for his freewill. Manipulative to the core yet gracious and stylish, Lucifer proves himself to be one of the franchise's most dangerous and intelligent plotters.
- Shin Megami Tensei IV: Mastema is a angel who follows God's Will "in his own way" and disagrees with the Four Archangels and their plans to destroy Tokyo after creating the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado alongside them, preferring to keep the civilizations distanced instead. In the past, as shown in the DLC Clipped Wings, Mastema—disguised as a human named M—works with a powerful demon hunter to seal three of the Four Archangels and spares Gabriel, allowing her to return to Mikado. Staying in Tokyo to protect its population from demons, Mastema works with the ruthless Asura-Kai and guards their Red Pill factories, knowing full well about the People Farms used for the creation of the Pills, which Mastema considers the only thing protecting Tokyo from chaos. When the Asura-Kai's leader Tayama dies and Tokyo becomes a battlefield again, Mastema warns Flynn about the consequences of his ideals, even sympathizing with his plight, while making plans for the future except on the Law Route, where Mastema dies fighting against Flynn.
- Shin Megami Tensei V: Lucifer defeated the Creator 18 years ago and ascended to a new form after forcing God to use his last forces to create a false Tokyo. Then, Lucifer boasts of his victory to the surviving angels and quietly watches as the demons override the efforts of Bethel and attack humans. In his new form, Lucifer discovers the reality of the Mandala Cycle and decides to break it to reach complete freedom. Allowing the existence of new Nahobinos and causing Bethel to fracture when they discover the truth, Lucifer also pushes the loyalist angel Abdiel into becoming a Fallen Angel to participate in the Divine Conflict. When the protagonist finally challenges Lucifer to become the new Supreme God, Lucifer congratulates him regardless of his choice and dies saying that the new world would surely be free.
Persona sub-series
Examples
- Persona: SEBEC Mikage-cho branch head Takahisa Kandori creates the DEVA system, intending to use it to become God. When Kandori accidentally ends up manifesting Maki Sonomura's mind into the entire town of Mikage-cho, he manipulates Aki, the manifestation of Maki's rage, into trusting him and using Aki to reach his goal of becoming God. When confronted by the heroes, Kandori allows himself to be beaten so that he might "experience" death, graciously accepting his fate. Getting resurrected to help with the plans of Nyarlathotep in the sequel, Kandori becomes one of the highest ranking members of the New World Order despite his lack of interest in advancement. A mere human who managed to become a god because of his own intelligence, Kandori stands out as a true genius in the Persona franchise and is easily one of its most diabolical characters.
- Persona 2's "Eternal Punishment": Baofu is an infamous extortionist and rumormonger in the underground who desires justice for those who wronged him. Actually a former prosecutor named Kaoru Saga, when the law system failed to bring to justice Minister Tatsuzou and his lover was killed in retaliation by the Tien Tao Lien, Baofu grew cynical and resorted to illicit means for revenge, faking his death to create an underground network to disrupt their plans, while using his Persona to enact vigilantism towards them. Getting in contact with Maya's group, Baofu worked with them to stop JOKER with ulterior motives to use them to reach Tatsuzuo and Yung Pao. Using his experience as a Persona user and his network, Baofu is able to smoothly guide the group into his personal agenda, achieving the justice he sought for and finding closure to his personal conflict.
- Persona 5:
- Royal: Takuto Maruki is the mastermind behind the events of the third term. When his girlfriend Rumi fell into a coma, Maruki awakened to a Persona that granted him the ability to alter other people's cognitions and used his power to help Rumi, and later others, cope with their trauma. Among his patients is Sumire Yoshizawa, who later believes herself to be her older sister Kasumi thanks to Maruki's power. While at Shujin, Maruki uses his natural charm to get the members of the Phantom Thieves to open up their heart's desires to him. During the Day of Reckoning, Maruki gains the ability to change reality itself and uses it to create a stagnant reality where everyone has what they want. When the Phantom Thieves discover his involvement in the new reality, Maruki is briefly able to lure Sumire to his side and drives her Persona berserk to fight the rest of the Thieves. Later during the final battle, Maruki uses sheer will power to prevent his Palace from immediately collapsing. After Joker saves him from falling to his death, Maruki expresses admiration for the young man for always keeping his head up.
- Strikers: The seemingly peppy Kuon Ichinose is actually a brilliant AI researcher who created Sophia and EMMA to better understand and help humanity. Unable to answer Sophia's question on what a human heart is, Ichinose focuses her efforts entirely on EMMA's directive to give all of humanity their desires before handing EMMA to Akira Konoe for him to spread EMMA's influence in Japan, leading to the creation of Jails and human desires being stolen throughout. Ichinose allies herself with the Phantom Thieves, having them unknowingly keep tabs on EMMA's progress before becoming an obstacle for them as they try to stop EMMA, brainwashing Sophia to turn against the Phantom Thieves and attempting to wipe them out herself. Only failing due to Sophia's bond with the Phantom Thieves overriding her brainwashing, Ichinose is convinced by Sophia to turn against EMMA, helping them destroy her creation before parting ways with the Phantom Thieves to go on her own journey, asking Sophia to come with her.
Sub-series Spinoffs
Examples
- Last Bible III:
- Ben-Shoah is a survivor from Blantica who seeks to rebuild his society and prevent its mistakes by controlling Gea usage. Becoming part of the Council of the Polisian States, Ben-Shoah ends the Polisian War by creating the Phelesteau Tower to farm the Gea of eternally sleeping people caught in a pleasant dream. Initially sparing the Shadow Walkers after sealing their unconvenient memories until Alek Mecenas rebels, Ben-Shoah orders their persecution and hires the cruel Banipal, causing innocent deaths and exiles. Meanwhile, Ben-Shoah consolidates his power by using fake news and organizing events to show his charming personality to the public, going so far as to liberate prisioners after the heroes win a tournament. When the Polisian Council rejects Ben-Shoah's proposal to invade the Magoku Kingdom, he rallies a mob to become dictator and promises to not let any Polisian die, fulfilling his promise by using the Archweapon to annihilate Magoku's best warriors and force them to surrender, succeeding at taking over the world. Even after the destruction of the Arch-Weapon, Ben-Shoah takes it as a minor setback until a repentant Polisian Councilmen helps the heroes to defeat him.
- Alek Messenas starts as a member of the Shadow Walkers, war heroes of the Polisian States. In the past, Alek discovered the truth behind the Phelesteau System and got his memories sealed for years until the seal was accidentally broken. Rebelling against the Polisian States, Alek's family is murdered during a assasination attempt, making him travel to the Gate of the Underworld to obtain power and have his revenge. Becoming a vengeful spirit, Alek would form a demon army that would challenge the Demon Lords and use his recently murdered Shadow Walker friends as his generals. Now deciding to take revenge on humanity as a whole, Alek would succeed at stealing the Book of Belial and invade the Mortal World, stunning Lucifer himself. Alek's demon army would then proceed to depopulate the planet while Alek boasts of his victory and challenges humans to defy him. When Ciel defeats him, Alek accepts his second death and congratulates the "Children of the Force".
- Digital Devil Saga: Jenna Angel is the research director of the Karma Society, a MegaCorp dedicated to finding a cure for Cuvier Syndrome, a mystical petrifying disease sent by the god Brahman as a judgment on human cruelty. Having lost her boyfriend David Gale to the disease, Jenna subjects her own daughter Sera, a powerful mystic, to painful experiments that enable her to communicate with Brahman. When Brahman instead accelerates the plague after witnessing the crimes of Jenna's sadistic subordinate Serph Sheffield, Jenna invents a counter-virus that turns humans into demons, making them immune to Cuvier Syndrome at the cost of endowing them with an all-consuming hunger. Wishing to distribute demonic powers to everyone equally, Jenna clashes with the Society's CEO, Margot Cuvier, who wishes to give them only to the loyal, Jenna manipulates the heroes into crippling Cuvier's power base, then massacres Cuvier and her minions. Jenna does not relent even when Gale, reborn as a living AI, calls her out, instead killing him just as she had everyone else who had gotten in the way of the world she desired.
- Devil Survivor sub-series:
- Devil Survivor: Naoya is the Player Character's cousin, the mastermind behind the story and 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.
- Devil Survivor 2: Yamato Hotsuin is the young and determined leader of JPs. Trained since his childhood, Yamato develops a merit-based Social Darwinist worldview which he applies to his own life. When Polaris's trial begins and Japan is invaded for the Septentrione, Yamato leads JPs and ensures its survival, recruiting useful civilians while ignoring most of them. Willing to sacrifice and risk his allies if needed, Yamato eventually reveals his goal: to survive Polaris's trial and ask her to rebuild the world into his ideal meritocracy, where class, race and gender would be ignored in favor of merit. Yamato also tries to convince the Player Character to follow him while allowing him to choose otherwise. Sacrificing himself to save the protagonists—including his ideological rival Ronaldo—after acknowledging their merit in Ronaldo's route and committing suicide after losing in Anguished One's, Yamato always fights until the very end except on Daichi's route, where his friendship with the protagonist makes him accept his defeat. If the protagonist joins him, Yamato successfully leads his team to victory, creating a world where merit rules, the so-called useless ones are discriminated against and Yamato and his retinue rule over all.
- Soul Hackers 2: Raven, aka "Iron Mask", is a traumatized veteran from Yatagarasu overseeing the Komodori Orphanage and motivated to create a world without conflict by using the Covenants. To do this, Raven murdered the original Iron Mask and stole his identity to join the Phantom Society and use his knowledge of Yatagarasu to organize an operation that kills Arrow—Raven's top student—and the majority of Covenant holders. While heroine Ringo revives the majority of his victims, Iron Mask kills the legendary Mangetsu Kuzunoha and orders the demon Zenon to devour his body to prevent Ringo from resurrecting him. When Ringo's team decides to attack Iron Mask during a Full Moon, when Zenon is at his weakest, Iron Mask lures them into a trap before torturing Ringo to force her sister Figue to give her Covenant, failing only thanks to a combination of Figue's unique nature and Mangetsu's hidden discoveries. Ultimately, the unmasked Raven asks the protagonists to avoid involving the Orphanage on their fight and dies congratulating Arrow for surpassing him and Milady for avenging her lover.
Other Media
Examples
- Persona: Be Your True Mind by Shinshu Ueda:
- Takahisa Kandori is just as brilliant as his game counterpart. President of the Japanese branch of SEBEC, Kandori—influenced by his other-self Nyarlathotep, creates the DEVA system, intending to use it to become God and judge humanity to—in his mind—save the world. Using Maki Sonomura for his experiments, Kandori causes her identity to split and befriends Aki, the personification of Maki's vengeful side, eventually treating her as his adoptive daughter. Using Aki, Kandori starts his rise to godhood, dragging his own city to a bizarre dimension created by Maki's subconscious mind. Keeping himself above all the attempts of the heroes to stop him, Kandori eventually succeeds in reaching godhood before doubting his own actions in a philosophical speech before Nyarlathotep takes control of him. Ruthless yet philosophical and capable of loving a shadow as his own daughter, Kandori manages to take advantage of Nyarlathotep's defeat and die as himself, apologizing for his actions and helping the heroes as much as he can, telling them the truth behind Maki Sonomura, asking her to confront her real self and avoid suffering the same fate as him.
- Exclusively from this manga adaptation, Kazuya Toudou is the ghost of Naoya's long-deceased brother. Actually Naoya's other-self, born from his guilt at the death of his brother, Kazuya allies with the powerful Aki with the intention of killing Naoya and taking his place to become a living human. Constantly following him, Kazuya tricks Naoya's friends into believing that he is him while driving Naoya away from them, aids Aki into driving Chisato Kasai into despair before trying to convince Aki to kill her while being impressed at her negative answer, and saves Eriko Kirishima from Kandori himself out of amusement and subconscious affection. Being betrayed by a broken and revengeful Aki despite their friendship, Kazuya is forgiven by Naoya, with them mutually accepting each other. Sarcastic and always ready with a trick to overcome all odds, Kazuya truly is Naoya's most personal foe.
- Devil Survivor 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, Kazuya, 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, Belial accepts it with dignity, and tells Kazuya that he’s more than willing to lend him his aid.
- Devil Survivor 2: The Animation: Even more ruthless than his game version, Yamato Hotsuin keeps his determination to change the world. The lonely young heir of JPs, Yamato's determination called the attention of the rebellious septentrione Alcor, who wanted to make him his "Shining One" due to his strong personality and protect humanity from the apocalyptic Polaris's trial. Rejecting the offer, Yamato plans to use Polaris to re-create the world into a meritocracy, where people such as himself would lead humanity to a utopia. Preparing for the apocalypse, Yamato recruits useful and promising survivors from civilian backgrounds, including Hibiki Kuze and his friends. Impressed at Hibiki's potential, Yamato becomes fond of him, even receiving Hibiki's Death Clip—something that only friends of the future potential victim would receive—and saving his life multiple times. Allowing Hibiki to leave JPs, Yamato kills his Friendly Enemy Alcor after his loyal right hand sacrificed herself. Reaching Polaris as one of the two remaining humans, Yamato loses against Hibiki, smiling as he dies in his arms. After the world is restored, Yamato reconciles with Hibiki, accepting his ideological defeat. Willing to sacrifice both civilians and soldiers in his quest for his ideal world, Yamato never gives up.
