The Megami Tensei series of games has been the bread and butter for developer and once-publisher Atlus. The series as a whole spans a wide range of themes, tones, and gameplay focuses. You have most of the Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei series, which sets you loose in destroyed, futuristic or modern versions of Tokyo to befriend or otherwise destroy demons for one reason or another, and then you have Persona , a spin-off series that usually follows the adventures of a group of high schoolers as they – well, as they walk around and befriend or otherwise destroy demons that come in the form of egoic shadows. It’s a surreal, mature, and wonderful franchise with some of the most hardcore fans in the world.
Western fans will be overjoyed to learn that Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final will be coming our way this year as Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse . Why the name change? Well, apparently so it would make “sense, sound good, and look good on the box.” You didn’t ask for this explaination, but you’re getting it (via VGChartz ):
“First, there was the issue of length. Because of the way the logo appears in the game, we couldn’t make the subtitle too long. So that cut out things like “In the Shadow of Mikado” and other compound titles. Then we had another design issue: To highlight the duality of the chaos/law aspects of the game, the Japanese designers turned the “A” in “Final” to a mash-up of a peace and anarchy symbol. It’s a cool juxtaposition and a simple yet striking little addition to the logo. But that means we had to make sure there was an “A” in the subtitle too. Sure, “A” is a common vowel, but it’s still a restriction.”
There you have it. SMT IV released in Japan on February 10 and initial reviews from Famitsu awarded the game a 35/40. There’s no official Western release date as of now.