Alignment

Alignment is a generalization of the ideals of the characters in context, and refers to the factions that they represent in the universe of their series.

Most Megami Tensei games have some form of the staples, Law, Neutral, and Chaos, to represent different routes the player can take even if each faction is not explicitly stated as such. Additionally, in the classic styled entries, demons have alignments to determine a level of affinity with the player depending on the protagonist' own alignment.

In general, the alignment of a demon is measured by two attributes:
 * 1) Light - Neutral - Dark
 * 2) Law - Neutral - Chaos

In total, there are nine possible alignments a demon can have:
 * Light-Law | Light-Neutral | Light-Chaos
 * Neutral-Law | Neutral-Neutral | Neutral-Chaos
 * Dark-Law | Dark-Neutral | Dark-Chaos

Appearances

 * Shin Megami Tensei
 * Shin Megami Tensei II
 * Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
 * Shin Megami Tensei: IMAGINE
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
 * Shin Megami Tensei IV

Shin Megami Tensei
Human characters also possess alignments. There are certain items that can only be equipped to a character of the correct alignment, and the Messian (Law) or Gaian (Chaos) churches will charge more money if the Hero is of an opposing alignment. Demons will also refuse to join the Hero if his alignment directly opposes theirs.

The alignment of the Hero is determined by a number of factors. During the course of the game he is asked several philosophical questions (e.g.: "Your mother has been possessed by a demon and pleads with you to end her suffering. Do you kill her?"), the answers to which affects his alignment. Summoning demons will alter the Hero's alignment slightly towards the alignment of the demon summoned. Most importantly, the Hero will be given tasks by both the Law and Chaos factions in the game. Completing one of these tasks will heavily alter the Hero's alignment in favor of the respective faction, while completing both will keep him on the Neutral alignment. The alignment of the Hero directly affects the ending of the game.

Law
This alignment is associated with God, order and peace. In the game it is represented by the Messian religion, and the colors blue and white. The Law alignment promotes order and safety, but taken to an extreme it leads to dictatorship and elitism. The main goal of the Law factions in the game is to establish the Thousand Year Kingdom, a paradise on Earth ruled over by God. The truth is that only a select few who are judged worthy would be allowed to live in the Thousand Year Kingdom, while everyone else would be killed. Those who do live in the Thousand Year Kingdom would be subjected to its strict, absolute laws.

Neutral
Also known as "Balance", this alignment accepts the need for laws to govern the world but not at the cost of personal freedom. It rejects the concept of relying on Lawful or Chaotic powers to focus instead on personal empowerment, refinement, individuality and the inherent strength of Mankind. Although presumed to be the most idealistic alignment by many, it is also the hardest alignment to attain because of its isolationist nature, destroying everything in your way and even standing against former friends. The "canon" neutral endings of many of the games are also depicted as often leading directly into the problems that arise in the next games, the best example being Shin Megami Tensei II.

Chaos
The alignment is associated with Lucifer, freedom and war. In the game it is represented by the Gaian religion, and the colors red and black. This alignment promotes freedom of choice, thought and action above all else in stark contrast to the controlling nature of the Law alignment. However, this freedom can lead to a vast amount of suffering and anarchy, leading the world into a primal state of unsuppressed vice and survival of the fittest. The main goal of the Chaos factions is to crush the Messian forces opposing them and attain complete and total power over Tokyo.

Light
Light demons are deities that are usually worshiped in their religions. However, Light does not equal "good", just as "Dark" does not automatically mean "evil" in this series.

Neutral
Neutral demons are minor gods and supernatural creatures from myths or others that fall between the lines and are neither good or evil. The vast majority of demons in the series are Neutral.

Dark
Dark Demons are generally evil gods or devils, reviled by whatever religion believes in them.

Reasons
The Reason is a school of thought or philosophy intended to become the core belief in a new world. Every time the Conception comes to pass, a Reason is selected for Kagutsuchi to release its powers and revive the world according to one of these visions. A god embodying the Reason must be brought forth into the Vortex World by the power of Magatsuhi and a champion of the same pitted against Kagutsuchi, an extension of the Great Will, to be tested and acknowledged as the Master of Reason, worthy of raising the new world.

While they are not alignments per the description, they are the embodiments of the actions, manifestations and results that all alignments can take, through either both planned and intended or through corruption by extremity, hypocrisy, and arrogance, from any sort of degree it can influence, from a societal level to even a universal law, from a subtle and changeable state to a passive occurrence. There are, if not, subtle examples throughout the Shin Megami Tensei series, being a "Lawful Yosuga", shown in Shin Megami Tensei II, to the "Chaotic Shijima", from the Ozawa ruled Shinjuku in Shin Megami Tensei, and even to the rejection of both.

Shijima
Shijima is a Reason of Serenity, a world in which every being is one with each other and God - a Universe devoid of free will, with a single unified consciousness governing its acts along the guidelines set by the Universe itself, with no passion, no conflict. Individuality is obliterated in favor of a collective inner peace equalizing all beings with God himself. It is a lawful, nihilistic Reason with strong similarities to the concept of Nirvana.

Musubi
Musubi is a Reason of the Selfhood, a myriad of worlds, each containing a single person, unable to hinder or help any other worlds beyond his or her own, a diminutive god capable of altering reality as he or she wishes to become its own Heaven or Hell in the space they are given to thrive. This is a neutral, solitary Reason based upon the philosophy of René Descartes, as embodied by the axiom: "I think, therefore, I am."

Yosuga
Yosuga is a violent, classist Reason which postulates the needlessness of certain things in the world - namely, the weakest. This Reason emphasizes class position and survival, becoming a testing ground for a purely Darwinist state - a constant fight for evolution and power, with fear and paranoia running rampant as the world continually attempts to test and weed out the "impurities" in its society.

Rejection
It is possible to reject all Reasons, leading to three possible outcomes in the game. Aradia is the key catalyst for two of them - she will ask whether the Demi-fiend fears rejection and ridicule for his choice or the punishment the choice of freedom will cost him. If he fears, the world will remain as it is until the next Conception, as the Demi-fiend will have proved himself as a weak-spirited person unable to correlate to either Reason but yet incapable of imposing his own will to create his own world. Should he acknowledge he no longer fears either punishment or ridicule, he will instead recreate the old world as it was, as a person who has mastered his own destiny and has decided to return to a world of endless opportunities to make his mark known.

A third, possible alternative exists: to reach the Fifth Kalpa of the Labyrinth of Amala and meet with the Old Man - to decide to willingly destroy the cycle of death and rebirth, ending the possibility of the emergence of a new world forever and instead commencing the countdown for the final battle of all time - the end of the Universe.

Light
It's rare to encounter Light demons in battle and can only be found in a few optional dungeons. Being chief gods, they are unwilling to submit to the Demi-fiend's commands, and will not join his team or even negotiate with him. However, they can be fused and tend to be more powerful than their Dark counterparts.

Neutral
Neutral demons can be recruited normally through negotiations and are of use, instead of just being ingredients for better demons.

Dark
They appear quite frequently, though not as often as Neutral demons. Dark demons are very difficult to recruit, but some can be recruited under special circumstances.

Shin Megami Tensei: IMAGINE
Alignments function the same as they do in Shin Megami Tensei. Law follows the beliefs of the Order of Messiah, while Chaos follows the beliefs of the Cult of Gaea.

The alignment of the player's Devil Buster primarily affects the amount of Magnetite required to summon the demons at his or her disposal. Demons will still join the player regardless of their alignment, but opposing alignments will cost the player a much greater amount of Magnetite to summon.

It can also exclude them from using equipment available strictly to those of a particular alignment or from accepting some quests at all. For acts and some dungeons, characters of certain alignments may have to pay more for access or will fight different bosses entirely.

Trivia
The concept of alignment is based on the Dungeons and Dragons alignments. In the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) fantasy role-playing game, Alignment is a categorization of the ethical (Law/Chaos axis) and moral (Good/Evil axis) perspective of people, creatures and societies. The earliest edition of D&D allowed players to choose among three alignments when creating a character: Lawful, implying honor and respect for society's rules; Chaotic, implying the opposite; and Neutral, meaning neither. Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) introduced a second axis of Good, Neutral and Evil, offering a combination of nine alignments.The D&D Basic Set retained the system of three alignments, keeping it through the D&D Rules Cyclopedia.