History VideoGame / ShinMegamiTenseiIV

** It gets a little more... complicated... than that. On the one hand the extreme factions of Law and Chaos have some [[NiceGuy very]] [[WellIntentionedExtremist decent]] [[AntiVillain people]], if [[LawfulGood Jonathan]] and [[ChaoticGood Walter]] are any indication. On the other hand, the normally optimistic Neutral had some very reprehensible people in that alignment like Law or Chaos, if [[spoiler: Tayama or [[OmnicidalNeutral The White]] both fall into Neutral,]] which is very possible.

* GoMadFromTheRevelation: This is what the [[spoiler:Black Samurai's Literature]] does. Basically, [[spoiler: Casualries who read it ultimately build up so much resentment at all the Luxuror-crafted barricades to full happiness that they go demonically insane with rage. ''[[BalefulPolymorph Literally]]'' demonic. Although the literature itself isn't actually magical, what with being such things as ''No Longer Human'' by Osamu Dazai; in other words, ''real world'' literature. Meanwhile, even the Luxurors only get histories, legends, and fairy-stories. In other words, all Mikado ''has'' for books is propaganda.]]

* GodWasMyCoPilot: [[spoiler: Sister Gabby is the Archangel Gabriel, and the three men in Kagome Tower are Uriel, Raphael and Michael. Lilith as the Black Samurai might also count.]]

* OrwellianEditor: [[spoiler: When the Archangels [[TyrantTakesTheHelm take over Mikado]], they don't just try to extirpate those who read Literature, but they also try to expunge all reference to Aquila, starting with the Obelisk. The apparent goal is to suggest that ''every'' good thing Mikado's ever known is because of God and his angels, without any human involvement.]] They succeed in the Law ending, but you barge into the place in the middle of it all in the Neutral path and convince the people to [[spoiler:join you in Tokyo]] instead.

** [[spoiler: Purgatorio,]] A late-game dungeons, features sections that flip the player and camera upside down, but the map keeps its original orientation. This results in the map apparently being "backwards" relative to the actual area, making an already labyrinthine zone even more difficult to navigate.

* ActingForTwo: The English and Japanese voice actors for Jonathan and Walter are shared with [[spoiler:the alignment leader they fuse to create, Merkabah and Lucifer respectively.]]

* DifficultySpike: Arguably ''inverted'' during the climax of the game. By this point of the game, it's very easy to build a team that is resistant to near everything your opponents can throw, and aside from some gimmicks or accidentally hitting your opponents resistance, it's really easy to not lose Press Turns. Some [[BonusBoss Bonus Bosses]] notwithstanding. [[note]]Most Bonus Bosses have ArtificialBrilliance set so should you have a demon who can waste their turns in any form, they will get mad and start spamming Antichthon or other similar Almighty attacks to level the whole party.[[/note]]

* YearOutsideHourInside: [[spoiler: Apparently how time works between Tokyo and Mikado. The world outside had centuries pass as the Earth recovered from the ICBM strike, and the local Akira surfaced in time to find God's Chosen flocking back to the reborn world; Fujiwara mentions he was a kid living around Shinjuku five years after the formation of the Firmament...but then again Fujiwara is the former minister of defense for Japan in disguise, who formed the Counter-Demon Force. It's implied this is either because of the Yamato Perpetual Reactor's black hole-manipulation properties, dilating time in Tokyo, or Masakado slowing time with Guardian's Eye to allow those below the chance to live.]]

* SequelDifficultyDrop: While it's still possible to get wrecked due to ambushes and poor preparation, the game is considerably easier than ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', requiring less LevelGrinding to defeat bosses and having comparatively straightforward dungeons. The cheap cost of TraumaInn services and the "save anywhere" feature also help ease in players who are either new to the series or have a sour taste in their mouth from previous mainline games. Yes, the lack of a defense stat means enemy attacks can hit very hard now, but so do yours, so boss battles go a ''lot'' faster.

** [[SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker The Joker's]] [[Film/TheDarkKnight Dark Knight incarnation]] is hanging out with the Ashura-kai and Demons at Club Milton in Tokyo.

** In the backstory, [[spoiiler:the nuke that blew up Tokyo struck during the daytime. This is confirmed in Masakado's DLC fight, where you get to see Tokyo in the daytime...along with that big missile of mass murder descending from the sunlit sky, before going off to [[GetAHoldOfYourselfMan slap some sense into an insane Masakado]] as the game's ultimate challenge.]]

* DaylightHorror: [[spoiler:Blasted Tokyo, which is a DeathWorld where there is a desert where Tokyo once stood, massive craters mark where major Tokyo districts used to be, the poisonous atmosphere infects and eventually kills humans exposed to it, and demons roam the land killing off humans who dare to wander outside the Shinjuku shelter. Yes, the sun shines on this Tokyo thanks to the lack of a Firmament, but that's the reason the missiles were able to blow Tokyo to pieces.]]

* DeathWorld: Tokyo essentially fits this bill after it gets sealed off ([[spoiler: the rest of the world was nuked except for the incarnation in Infernal Tokyo]]). Demons that attack on sight are everywhere, and the only way to keep them from killing you is if you kill them first or through negotiation. You could also feed them a Red, but [[spoiler: if you're outside of the Ashura-Kai's protective circle, you'll be [[HumanResources made into them]].]] There are poisonous lakes around the city and with no sun, growing food is difficult, and the lack of natural game forces people to hunt and kill demons for food. [[spoiler: Blasted Tokyo is even worse off as the air is toxic, the water is lethal and the poison has a 100% kill rate, while the land is a desert filled with demons that are trying to wipe out the unclean in God's name. Infernal Tokyo on the other hand is an eternal war zone between clans of Demonoids fighting for power, with Tokyo's infrastructure, while at least recognizable unlike in Blasted Tokyo, in various states of sheer disrepair.]]

** In the members-only Ginza shops, you can buy Almighty Rounds, which are your one infinite-use means of inflicting Almighty damage. However, they are horrendously expensive ([[AdamSmithHatesYourGuts and even more so on Master difficulty]], where they cost ''1.3 million'' Macca!) and they have an attack power of 20, which is weaker than even the first bullets you come across.

--> '''Isabeau''': What I'm reading is called 'Manga.' It takes place in a fictional kingdom called 'France'.

--> '''Jonathan''': If that were to happen, you would be [[spoiler:[[MeaningfulName King Akira of the Eastern Kingdom of...]] eh?!]]

* YouBastard: [[spoiler:"...[[TearJerker Of course. Sorry]]. There's no way you would be doing [[ApocalypseHow this]] if you didn't understand the [[OmnicidalManiac consequences]]."]] Followed soon after by [[spoiler:"Congratulations...on completing your objective."]]

* YouHaveResearchedBreathing: Demons can't use attack/healing items unless they have a ''Knowhow'' spell; never mind the fact that some of them are carrying items [[FridgeLogic despite not knowing how to use them.]]
** It's quite logical for a creature to pick up things that catch their eye despite not knowing how to use them, like how birds pick up shiny things.

* BlandNameProduct: The Ginza area is full of it, starting with Luis Wilton (Louis Vuitton).

* BookEnds: A minor example: Early in the game, right after you reach Tokyo, you have to off a belligerent Pellaidh who stole a pond from a group of Kelpies. In the Chaos ending, [[spoiler:if you take time to explore the mess that is Mikado and travel to the lake, you'll see Pellaidh and a bunch of Kelpies arguing over who gets to live in the lake]].

* BrokenAesop: The White trying to convince the hero to flip the table would be a pretty devastating, self-aware critique on just how [[CrapsackWorld Crapsack]] the SMT-verse is, and how it indeed can cause DarknessInducedAudienceApathy. However, their methods of trying to convey this message kind of fall flat: the [[spoiler: [[BadFuture Bad Futures]] they send you to not only have genuinely likable characters, but they're arguably only marginally worse than the present, and by the end of both you're made them better places by putting the [[NiceGuy Akiras]] in charge. On the other hand, both worlds represent the logical end to the machinations of Law and Chaos, and both are just as bad as the other for different reasons.]] Then again, it could be an in-verse case of AccidentalAesop; no matter how bad things seem to be, [[WorldHalfFull there's always a way of making it ever so slightly better.]]
** Burroughs herself will [[spoiler:comment on how screwed up the White is, so it doesn't seem like the player is expected to find their arguments compelling, to say the least.]]

* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: The {{Final Boss}}es are at level 99. Several high-end {{Bonus Boss}}es such as Astaroth, [[spoiler:Beelzebub]], and the Fiends, range from level 80 to 90 despite being more difficult. It's easily possible for a player to expect easy fights from the NewGamePlus bonus bosses due to having parties that can easily smash the final bosses, only to meet Charon about five turns later.

** The first two major boss fights are against the Minotaur and Medusa, the first two bosses in ''{{VideoGame/Megami Tensei}}''.
*** Also like in that game you begin [[spoiler:by climbing down a tower.]]

*** [[spoiler:Sister Gabby is also clad in white and blue: the color scheme for the Order of Messiah, the Law faction in the first two games.]]

* DancinInTheRuins / WhileRomeBurns: [[spoiler:The Chaos path ends with you surveying the destruction of the old Eastern Kingdom of Mikado from the castle's battlements, wholly knowing the Tokyo natives will leave their cage for the clean world outside and that the old society will die, and with the angels dead and demons running rampant, the result will be a hardened populace where only the strongest will survive, where you will rule as king until someone else comes.]]

* DiscOneFinalDungeon: Camp Ichigaya is the last major facility you travel through before [[spoiler:you activate the Yamato Perpetual Reactor and get whisked to the AlternateTimeline versions of Tokyo.]] It's also where you face the...

** Not long after you get into the World Map, you can reach Ikebukuro area and fight demons that are far stronger than you are, while still being beatable. By staying here and killing some of these demons (such as Zhen), you can get a couple of levels before actually getting to the point where you need to go to Ikebukuro. Ironically, many players find this by accident thanks to the [[ScrappyMechanic annoying World Map]].

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: When learning skills through demon whispers many personality types are laden with {{DoubleEntendre}}s including disappointment with it [[SpeedSex being over already]] likewise some demons react to recruitment like seduction.

-->...''Shin Megami Tensei IV'' requires you to humiliate yourself. To unlock easy mode, you must die, watch the game mock you via cutscene, then pay about half your cash. Then you must die again and get another verbal lashing that ends with easy mode being unlocked.''

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: Much like all ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games, ''SMT IV'''s plot revolves around a demonic apocalypse.
-->'''Walter:''' This world is finished.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: Demons are against robbing people and pimping, apparently.

* EvilLaugh: Ask [[MadScientist Mido]] who he is, and without fail, he will do this.

* FakeDifficulty: In the "Samurai and Hunters United" Quest, you have to defeat Asura before he gets around to killing your GuestStarPartyMember who, by game mechanics, is controlled by AIRoulette. The problem is the demon {{No Sell}}s two of the three actions your ally can take (at least the third will actually hit [[KillItWithIce Asura's weakness]]), and is highly likely to Smirk when he does, which means that if he uses his hit-all physical attack, he's all-but assured to critical you. Meaning this quest relies on how often your ally doesn't screw you over, and when they do, how often the enemy doesn't screw you over. Though if you go in with Tetrakarn, you can make it a case of HoistByHisOwnPetard... which is then a case of TrialAndErrorGameplay.
** It doesn't help that there's even a bit of LuckBasedMission in here. If Asura gets to go first, he might just hit your ally ''twice in a row'' with his physical attack--which can potentially fell them right away.
* FalseUtopia: East Mikado all things considered isn't a bad place to live... if you ignore the classism, [[CorruptChurch tyrannical priests]], brainwashing, hordes of ravenous demons living under the capital, and the fact that, by all appearances, all the entertainment is propaganda.

* FeatherMotif

* PiecesOfGod: [[spoiler:Minako's collecting souls of powerful demons that originate from Ishtar, hoping to revive her by consuming the three largest - Astaroth's, Mother Harlot's, and Asherah's. After consuming the three she takes a Red Pill, sacrificing her body, mind and soul to revive her. She succeeds, and Ishtar even comments there's still a piece of Minako's mind within her.]]

* RedemptionDemotion: Most boss demons, when you acquire them, are a cut above other demons of similar level, with the interesting exception of [[spoiler: the Ancient of Days]]. This is largely due to his greatly reduced HP as a playable demon, and the fact that he has two weaknesses. Two weaknesses doesn't mean much to a demon with 17,000 HP, but to a demon with only 500 HP it's positively crippling. Many veteran players advise new ones to train him until he gets the skill Spirit Focus, which triples the power of magical attacks, and then fuse him away.

* RedHerring: People who have played VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney probably [[spoiler: took notice of the Black Samurai outfit]] and concluded that [[spoiler: it was LouisCypher again]], especially since it's revealed that [[spoiler: the Black Samurai is a woman, just as Lucifer was in Strange Journey]]. Turns out that's way off, the [[spoiler: Black Samurai is actually ''Lilith'']] and [[spoiler: Lucifer]] doesn't even [[spoiler: appear until pretty far into the game]].

* RoboSpeak: [[spoiler:Pluto]] sounds like it's voiced by a computer rather than a person, and even starts to "glitch" out when defeated. As does [[spoiler: Ancient of Days.]]

* SaveGameLimits: Mostly averted! As long as you have access to the Gauntlet menus, you can save at any time, as opposed to only being allowed to save at Terminals like in previous games. However, like with ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStrangeJourney'', you only have two save slots as opposed to the much higher save slot capacities of ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games on consoles and [[UsefulNotes/{{PlayStationPortable}} PSP]] [[UsefuLNotes/PlaystationVita family]] devices, which can make going for specific alignment routes (especially Neutral) exceptionally annoying.

* ShootTheDog: Early-game, you have to put down [[spoiler: Issachar, Flynn's old pal who's become a demon.]]

** Some of the lines in [[spoiler: Blast and Infernal]] Tokyo seem to indicate that the story is based on one. In particular, [[spoiler: Blasted Tokyo Akira says that, due to the Samurai helping them, he'll build a new kingdom and call it the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado after their home and Jonathan points out this would make him [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Aquila]], the first king of their kingdom]].
** Jonathan and Walter's question on whether they had met Flynn before indicates this as well, meaning that [[spoiler: Blasted and Inferal Tokyo]] are things that happened in previous cycles.

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The game's cover makes it clear that Walter eventually sides with Chaos and Jonathan with Law.
** Though a savvy player should be able to tell at a glance who represents what. Walter looks like a rebel and Jonathan looks very prim and proper. The game will also make it ''extremely clear'' which is which within the first half hour, mostly with what they appear to say in your dreams.

* UndeadChild: [[spoiler: A young girl appears at the beginning of the game and asks for someone to revive her. She appears briefly through the story.]]

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: During the boss battle with [[spoiler:Isabeau]] in the non-Neutral routes, you can pick some pretty hurtful responses during their BossBanter questions. And the game will ''reward'' you for doing so, either in the form of decreasing the boss's stats or cancelling all of their Press Turns.

** RainbowPimpGear: Some combinations of gear inevitably result in this. One of the clothing sets is even a bright, multi-colored goalie hockey uniform.

* VoiceOfTheLegion: Dantalion, with both male and female voices.
** As well as every other demon.

--> '''Isabeau''': What I'm reading is called 'Manga.' It takes place in a fictional kingdom called 'France'. [[note]] To clarify, the setting had, until this point, been in an entirely fictional world entirely removed from ours. This line clarifies that this is indeed our Earth, and from there the terrible secrets of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado unravel one by one.[[/note]]

* DumpStat: Strength and Dexterity only increase your standard attacks and attacks of those types, whereas Magic increases the power of all spells; thanks to LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards, it might be better to focus on that stat when leveling up your character. Having 100 Strength, however, allows you to get the InfinityPlusOneSword on the Neutral route...
** It's actually more of an inversion of LinearWarriorsQuadraticWizards, magic starts strong and remains strong as long as you keep pumping points into the magic stat, but for physical, if you keep pumping dexterity for physical skill damage, luck for reliable crits, and agility for more hits on multi-hit skills and accuracy, then a physical build will end up winning in damage because magic lacks skills that have both high hit counts and good damage, and still getting press turns because of the crits. The only thing a physical build lacks early on is the stats and skills required to get that kind of damage.

The [[http://www.atlus.com/smt4/ official English site]]. Two manga spinoffs have been made called ''Shin Megami Tensei IV -Prayers-'', which features Jonathan and a new character Asuma as the main characters, and ''Shin Megami Tensei IV DEMONIC GENE'', which features Walter and Xena as the main characters.