Devil Survivor

Devil Survivor, having the regular Shin Megami Tensei prefix in North America and the Megami Ibunroku prefix in Japan (女神異聞録デビルサバイバー, ~ Debiru Sabaiba), is a role-playing game for the Nintendo DS. Its character designs are handled by Suzuhito Yasuda of Yozakura Quartet fame. The theme song for the game is "Reset". An enhanced port has been released for the 3DS on August 23th, 2011, titled Devil Survivor Overclocked.

Release Dates

 * Japan: January 15, 2009
 * North America: June 23, 2009

Day Before An End to the Ordinary
Devil Survivor is set in modern-day Tokyo. One day, the protagonist, a 17 year-old student, finds that he and his two friends, Atsuro Kihara, a computer hacker, and Yuzu Tanikawa, a spirited fighter, have been given modified electronic device called COMPs by his older cousin Naoya.

1st Day: Tokyo Lockdown
As they are exploring their purpose, an outbreak of demons occurs within Tokyo, and a large city area is quarantined by the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces, deny power, communications, and food to those trapped within it; the chaotic situation created vigilantes of those trapped who try to take it on themselves to fight the demons or even on weaker humans. The protagonist and his friends discover their COMPs allow them to summon helpful demons to fight the aggressive ones, allowing them to survive the attacks. The protagonist also finds he has the ability to see a person's "death clock", representing how many days a person will have left to live. While he uses it to help himself and his friends to change their own fate, the protagonist realizes that everyone within the quarantine will die within seven days.

2nd Day: Any Way Out
As they try to learn the mystery of the lockdown, they encounter several playable character allies: Keisuke Takagi, Atsuro's school friend who has a strong sense of justice; Midori Komaki, a cosplay idol, personifying her role in protecting the innocent from demons; Eiji Kamiya, or "Gin", the manager of a local live music bar; Tadashi Nikaido, or "Kaido", the charismatic leader of the street gang, the "Shibuya Daemons"; Mari Mochizuki, an elementary school tutor seeking the demon that killed her brother; Misaki Izuna, a military officer overseeing the quarantine; Amane Kuzuryu, the daughter of the leader of the Shomonkai, a religious cult that seems to be behind the demon outbreak; and Black Frost, a demon that helps other weaker demons from ruthless human attacks after being saved by Midori. Other allies include: Yoshino Harusawa, or Haru, a singer who believes her song was responsible for the demon outbreak; Yasuyuki Honda, a company man trapped in the quarantine while his son, outside it, is undergoing a serious operation; and Shoji, a female journalist that had been investigating the events leading to the quarantine before it started.

3rd Day: Beldr
The Japanese government had been aware of this event for years, and had enacted the PSE Law as a safeguard, which embedded remote-controlled electromagnetic devices in every consumer electronics; if the demons outbreak cannot be not stopped, the government can use these devices at the last moment to destroy all living things within the quarantine, human and demon alike.

5th Day: Revelations
Through their investigation, the protagonist and his allies find that the demon outbreak is a result of a planned battle between angels and demons, as a measure to judge the worthiness of mankind. If, after seven days, the demons are not stopped, the angels will destroy mankind. As the plot goes on, the protagonist unintentionally involves himself in the battle for the Throne of Bel, making him a target for all other Demons that are in competition with him.

Depending on the path players take, the protagonist comes to learn that Naoya and himself are the reincarnations of the biblical Cain and Abel, respectively. Naoya worked with the Shomonkai to create the programs to summon demons as to bring about this event, initially through the keyboard used by Aya, one of Haru's band members. The Shomonkai sought to bring the king of demons Belberith to the world in order for the demons to win the battle, and Naoya required the protagonist and his friends to survive long enough for this event to happen.

Numerous choices made by the player will affect his friends and allies, and there are several endings to the game, which include whether the player's goal is to simply escape the quarantine or to prevent the demon uprising. The latter can be accomplished several ways, including controlling demons as the Messiah, controlling demons as the Lord of Bel, controlling demons for humanity's sake, or erasing demons from Earth altogether.

Excluding "Desperate Escape", all endings will require you to defeat the remaining three of the Four Devas, and Jezebel (Who is also excluded in "Silent Revolution"), as well as the demons Beelzebub, Belberith, and Babel.

Desperate Escape
Desperate Escape ending is triggered when you choose to talk to Yuzu at the end of the sixth day, or if you fail to save Haru. You will have to defeat Gigolo, who is revealed to be the demon Loki, and finally defeat the angels who are led by Amane and Izuna. The escape succeeds, but Honda's son dies and Honda reveals that all COMP users now have free rein over the world. This is usually considered the "Bad Ending"

King of Demons
King of Demons ending is triggered when you choose to talk to Naoya at the end of the sixth day. Choosing this path will cause Yuzu, Midori, and Keisuke to leave your party, but you will be joined by Naoya and Kaido. You receive word that the deadline for the government's final option has been moved up to noon; Naoya negotiates with Fushimi and successfully convinces him to move the deadline back two hours. You have to defeat Jezebel, one of Belberith's servants and is residing in Amane, by connecting a COMP to Amane's mind. After subduing the Remiel and the Shomonkai members guarding Amane and defeating Jezebel, the party proceeds to the Hills building, where they are confronted by Anael, Sariel, and Beelzebub. Following these battles, the party ascends the building and faces Belberith and Babel. The protagonist gains the power of the King of Bel, and all over the city people are left fearing for the future as he rallies the demons to prepare for a war with God...

Kingdom of Saints
Kingdom of Saints ending is triggered when you choose Amane's route at the end of the sixth day. After you've defeated the Four Devas and Belberith you summon Babel. After you've defeated it you become the King of Bel then the Messiah. In the Overclocked remake, during the eighth day you fight Honda who is crazed because his son died. His anger summons Susanoo the guardian deity of Japan. After you've defeated Honda a god appears. It is Okuninushi the creator of Japan and unless you convince Naoya to forgive God he will destroy the country. In the end, the protagonist and Naoya team up to defeat Okuninushi. After that the lockdown is lifted and the protagonist will continue his duty as the Messiah. When this path is over you can fuse Metatron in the Cathedral of Shadows.

Silent Revolution
Silent Revolution ending is triggered when you talk to Atsuro at the end of the sixth day. You must defeat Naoya who will agree to change the server. You will NOT fight Jezebel in this route because Amane will explain that Jezebel has suddenly disappeared (implying that she either ran away, or was killed by Belberith). You will then fight the Belberith and summon Babel. Defeating Babel will allow you to command it to operate based on the new server, which will allow only selected forces, such as the military, police, or government, to control the demons.

Song of Hope
Song of Hope ending is triggered when you talk to Gin at the end of the sixth day. After defeating the Four Devas and Belberith, you must protect Haru and control Atsuro so that both will reach the server and summon Babel. Defeating Babel 's first form will send the demons back into the demon world, making them unusable when battling Babel's second form. If the player has succeeded in recruiting Black Frost in this ending, then Black Frost will disappear as well.

Characters

 * Protagonist - Referred to as the Hero, he is the main character of the story. His personality is shaped through the player's decisions.
 * Yuzu Tanikawa - The protagonist's childhood friend since elementary school, who struggles to deal with the strain of constant danger and wishes to run away from it all.
 * Atsuro Kihara - The protagonist's childhood friend who is a computer savvy. Although a genius, he hardly has a studious personality and is very gregarious. He wishes to control the demons, erasing their threat and benefiting mankind.
 * Midori Komaki - A famous and excitable cosplayer whose alias is Dolly. After receiving a COMP, she strives to save everyone from the demons, claiming that she is Magical Dolly, who administers magical punishment to demons.
 * Keisuke Takagi - Atsuro's old friend from middle school. Although he appears timid, he has a strong sense of justice and rightiousness, almost to a fault when he summoned Yama, the judge of the underworld.
 * Yoshino Harusawa - Also known as Haru, she is a famous singer who was previously in the band D-VA. She appears depressed and tends to rant because of her outlook on life.
 * Mari Mochizuki - Atsuro's kind and caring tutor from middle school, who is now an elementary school nurse. She is looking for the killer who murdered her lover and teamed up with a vampire slayer named Kresnik.
 * Amane Kuzuryu - The mysterious yet charismatic maiden of the Shomonkai. She is one of few people who can summon demons without a COMP. She shares her goals with an angel named Remiel who lives inside her.
 * Tadashi Nikaido - Known as Kaido, he is the leader of a gang called the Shibuya Daemons. Although he appears intimidating, he is known to be quite helpful. He strives for world domination and has a lingering crush on Mari.
 * Eiji Kamiya - Also known as Gin, he is the owner of a bar called "Eiji" and acts as a guardian to Haru. He used to be uncaring about life, but met Aya, the lead singer of D-VA, and cared more. Gin continues to search for Aya, who went missing.
 * Naoya - The protagonist's cousin, who lived with the protagonist until a few years before the story. He wrote the Demon Summoning Program. He wishes for the protagonist to become the King of Bel and rebel against God.
 * Yasuyuki Honda - An office worker who is trying to escape the lockdown so he can be by his son's side during his operation. He teams up with Kaido during battles.
 * Misaki Izuna - A member of a special government unit that is attempting to rid of all the demons. She values her mission above all else and does not believe that the governement's solution is just.
 * Shoji - A journalist who occasionally meets the protagonist and his friends. She is adept at gathering information. Her mentor was a friend of 10BIT, Atsuro's internet friend.

Gameplay
Devil Survivor can be described one part visual novel, one part turn-based strategy RPG. Most of the story takes place by the player selecting events from a map, with an in-game clock dictating how much "time" is left to make decisions. Naturally, most of the plot-critical or character-focused events consume time, with 30 in-game minutes consumed per event. The player's choices throughout the game will influence when certain events can be accessed, and for how long, ultimately influencing the outcome of the plot.

Battles
Battles occur on a grid-based map, somewhat similar to the first 2 Persona games. However, the player must first dispatch up to 4 teams of (up to) 3, each containing one leader and up to 2 demons. Prior to dispatching, the player has the opportunity to view the enemies on the field (and their skills and elemental affinities) and customise teams to best combat them.

Then, each team on both sides takes turns moving and attacking any teams in range. A move bar is displayed for the team that's taking their turn - each action the team does, be it attacking, moving, or using out-of-battle skills, will consume more of the bar, increasing the time the team needs to wait for their next turn. Teams that get attacked will also have their next turns delayed.

Combat uses the Extra Turn Battle system, similar to many other games in the Shin Megami Tensei series. However, the Extra Turn does not take effect immediately once earned - the combatant has to wait for all combatants to have acted before they can use it. Once combat begins, certain participating combatants may already have "Extra Turn" displayed, depending on combat initiative. Hitting weaknesses or getting critical hits thus not only earns the combatant an Extra Turn, but may also deprive enemies of their own Extra Turns. Likewise, having attacks resisted, nulled, absorbed, or reflected will rob your own Extra Turns and/or grant them to enemy combatants. No more than one Extra Turn can be obtained during combat.

Teams consist of the team leader positioned in the center, and members flanking the leader. The leader takes less damage than the members, but if the team leader is defeated, combat ends immediately and the leader's team is removed from the map. However, this also halves EXP and Macca earned from team members that are still alive. Likewise, reviving the team leader will replace the team on the battlefield, along with any members that were still alive.

Demon Fusion
Fusing of demons is significantly different compared to other Shin Megami Tensei games as well. Each demon can only learn up to 3 Command and 3 Passive Skills, rather than up to 8 different skills in other games. In exchange for reduced flexibility, the player is able to control the skills passed on to demons during fusion. However, inherited skills can only be placed in empty skill slots, as preset or learnt skills cannot be overwritten. Certain demons are also Unique, which means that the player can only have one copy of said demon at any one time, and would need to fuse it off if another one were to be made.

Macca Bonus
After the system is introduced, the player can receive bonuses or penalties to earned Macca depending on how well they performed in battle. Stealing Extra Turns and defeating multiple enemies in a single move, for example, increases earned Macca, while hitting enemy immunities and taking casualties in combat decreases it.

Reception
Devil Survivor has received mostly positive reviews praising its unique gameplay, intriguing story with suspense and meaningful decisions and high variety of character customization.