Shin Megami Tensei IV on 3DS (Korean version), Atlus JRPG in a post-apocalyptic demon-infested Tokyo. Recruit demons, choose your alignment and explore multiple endings. Deep and demanding. An SMT masterpiece.
Your verdict
Category
Simulation1 player16+
Description
A Samurai from Mikado explores a post-apocalyptic world above and below his fortress where demons are invading reality. Published by Atlus, released in Japan in May 2013. Turn-based battles with recruitable and fusible demons, explorable open world, multiple endings based on alignments. Japan exclusive.
Shin Megami Tensei IV review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
4/5
Story
★★★★★
"Captivating"
Two worlds are stacked vertically and the whole artwork follows from it. Above, a kingdom of parchment, knights and pale stone, lit like an illumination; below, a gutted metropolis, hanging cables, blackened concrete, dead neon. The samurai moving between the two wear armour of medieval appearance mounted on obviously modern equipment, a contradiction that sums up the story before it begins.
The writing mixes industrial rhythms with spoken voices. Loops of metallic percussion, saturated bass and cold pads form the base, over which fragments of whispered or declaimed speech surface, often unintelligible, giving the impression of a transmission picked up by mistake. The kingdom's zones, by contrast, return to an organ and choirs of a deliberately outdated classicism.
The hero is a commoner promoted by examination, and that promotion is the real subject. The kingdom that ennobles him rests on a strict hierarchy where you are born of the dregs or of the nobility, where reading is forbidden to most, and where the truth about the world below is a state secret. Understanding that lie means choosing between the order that raised you and those it crushes in order to stand.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"Mild"
Addictiveness
"Captivating"
Difficulty
"Difficult"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Exploring a post-apocalyptic world above and below the fortress of Mikado unfolds a JRPG dense with exploration and demon negotiation. The ample main quest, demon fusion and multiple endings stretch the adventure over long hours. That depth, signed Atlus, earns the title a stubborn reputation among Shin Megami Tensei fans.
The Taiwanese edition of Shin Megami Tensei IV, in Japanese language with local markings, is among the franchise's rarest Asian regional variants. Taiwanese print well below the JP pressing, with collector focus on the local packaging and its place in an exhaustive Asian SMT collection.
Is Shin Megami Tensei IV still worth playing in 2026?
Released in 2013 on 3DS and known in the West as Shin Megami Tensei IV, Atlus' project extends the great post apocalyptic RPG series, where a samurai tips from a medieval kingdom into an underground Tokyo ravaged by demons. The turn based combat built on the Press Turn system, which rewards exploiting weaknesses, demon fusion and the freedom of moral alignment install a demanding strategy and a cold atmosphere. The choices leading to multiple endings feed the replay value. The abrupt difficulty and the austerity put off. A dark and deep Japanese RPG, recommended for demanding fans of the genre.
