Megami Tensei
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Megami Tensei (Japanese:女神転生, often abbreviated as MegaTen) is a Japanese computer role-playing game series, and is one of the major franchises of the genre in its native country. Megaten games are generally set in a contemporary Japan plagued with supernatural events and demonic creatures. One of the most important features of these games is the ability for the player to make moral choices that affect the game's storyline and the ending. The games are published by Atlus, with the exception of the Famicom games, which were published by Namco.
Megaten games are full of mythological references: gods and creatures from Norse, Celtic, Judeo-Christian, Egyptian, Chinese, Hindu and Japanese mythologies are featured, waiting to be battled or recruited by the player.
The main series (the Shin games, some other Megaten games have been released to the US) has long been passed up for US release. However, Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne Maniacs (the director's cut edition) and Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner have both seen a stateside release. Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner 2 was also recently released in the U.S.
Megami Tensei translates to "Reincarnation of the Goddess", or more accurately, "Goddess Metempsychosis". The heroine of the first game was actually an incarnation of the Shinto goddess Izanami. This story feature does not occur in the other games, despite having the same name.
Shin Megami Tensei (真女神転生) is often translated as "Reincarnation of the True Goddess" the Shin in the case being a pun on the shin (新 "new") used in the titles of many SNES games the same way Super is in English.
Majin Tensei (魔神転生)(one of the spinoffs) can be translated as "Reincarnation of the Demon God".
Kyuuyaku Magami Tensei (the Super Famicom remake of the original two MegaTen games) translates to "The Old Testament to the Resurrection of the Goddess".
It should be noted that "Reincarnation" is a simplified version of what "Tensei" actually refers to. The Buddhist term that the word refers to is "Rinne", while a satisfactory Western (specifically, Greek) equivalent, "Metempsychosis", has been used in some English-language media. Both words mean the cycle of life, death, and reincarnation found in some Eastern religions.
[edit] List of games
- Famicom
- SFC
- Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei (SFC remake of Megami Tensei & Megami Tensei 2)
- Shin Megami Tensei
- Shin Megami Tensei II
- Shin Megami Tensei if...
- PlayStation 2
- Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
- Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniacs (Director's Cut) (Released into the US as Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, released into Europe as Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call)
- Xbox
- Shin Megami Tensei: NINE (The "NINE" refers to the nine alignments in Megami Tensei games)
- PC
- Shin Megami Tensei Online: IMAGINE
The first Shin Megami Tensei was ported to the PC Engine Super CD, Mega CD, PlayStation and Game Boy Advance. Shin Megami Tensei II was ported to the PlayStation and Game Boy Advance. And Shin Megami Tensei If... also came out on the PlayStation.
[edit] Spin-offs
Several sub-series were created from the original material. They are:
- Devil Summoner
- Devil Summoner
- Devil Summoner II : Soul Hackers
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army (It should be noted that, although it shares the Devil Summoner name with the previous games, it is not a continuation thereof, and should be considered a new series.)
- Persona
- Megami Ibunroku Persona (Revelations: Persona in North America)
- Persona 2 Tsumi (Innocent Sin)
- Persona 2 Batsu (Eternal Punishment) (Persona 2: Eternal Punishment in North America)
- Persona 3
- Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible
- Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible (Revelations: The Demon Slayer in North America)
- Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible II
- Last Bible III
- Majin Tensei
- Giten Megami Tensei Mokushiroku
- Devil Children
- Devil Children: Kuro no Ka / Aka no Ka (Black Book and Red Book, respectively)
- Devil Children: Shiro no Ka (White Book)
- Devil Children: Hikari no Ka / Yami no Ka (DemiKids: Light Version / Dark Version)
- Devil Children: Puzzle de Call
- Devil Children: Honoo no Ka / Hi no Ka (Ice Book and Fire Book, respectively)
- Devil Children: Messiah-lyzer
- Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
- Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (In Japan this is Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner and is considered a spin-off.)
- Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2
- Jack Bros.
[edit] External links
- Atlus USA, Inc.
- Atlus Japan
- Hardcore Gaming 101 - Megami Tensei/Shin Megami Tensei
- Aeon Genesis Translation Proclamation This fan-translation group has released IPS patches for the first two games in the main Shin Megami Tensei series, as well as the spin-off Another Bible. The patches are available from their website, although the ROMs are not.
- Megaten Wiki
- Devil Summoner III : Kuzunoha Raidou official website
- Megami Tensei Gashapon Collections
- Digital Devil Database General Megaten Site
