Alice is said to be based on Lewis Carroll's (Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson's) character from his famous story Alice in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass. The character Alice herself is said to be taken from Alice Pleasance Liddell, a little girl who was close to Carroll.
However, she is maybe instead based on a myth of an Aryan girl who died at a young age. When Alice died and became a spirit, she gained extreme magical power that drove her insane. Alice was used to scare Scandinavian children into behaving, or else Alice would visit them at night and kill them so that she may become "friends" with them.
A young girl possessing formidable magic powers, she is taken care of by her "uncles," the Red Count and the Black Baron, both of whom care for her deeply.
Shin Megami Tensei
Alice was a girl that died, but was resurrected as a ghost by the Red Count (Belial) and the Black Baron (Nebiros), both of whom Alice identifies as her "uncles." Belial and Nebiros, the rulers of Roppongi after the destruction of Tokyo, created a barrier around the city to prevent demons from attacking, but at the same time, murdered all the citizens so that they could control their spirits and prevent them from leaving Alice. One of these unfortunate citizens was the protagonist's former neighbor, who shared her name with the game's heroine.
Upon the protagonist's interaction with Alice, Alice requests the protagonist play with her and get her a Hiranya. When the protagonist confronts Alice, she asks whether the protagonist would "die for her" and join the citizens of Roppongi. Should the protagonist decline, he is forced to fight both Belial and Nebiros in separate battles. Alternatively, even should the protagonist agree, he will not die, bemusing Alice and forcing them to fight both Belial and Nebiros. In either event, the protagonist defeats Belial and Nebiros, resulting in the power that binds Alice to this world fading away, as well as Alice herself vanishing.
Shin Megami Tensei II
Any time a Magical Chest is opened during the full moon, there is a 1/128 chance that Alice will appear and ask for the gem contained within. She will attack Aleph should they refuse to give it to her.
Shin Megami Tensei: if...
Like in Shin Megami Tensei II, if Tamaki Uchida opens a Magical Chest during a full moon, there's a 1/128 chance that Alice will appear and ask for the gemstone within. Should Tamaki answer no, Alice attacks her. Defeating Alice awards the protagonist with one of the five strongest weapons of the game.
In the PlayStation remake, Alice appears on the 3rd floor of Karukozaka High School during full moons. She will ask if the protagonist and their partner would like to be her friends, which of them would like to play with her and if they are willing to die for her. The chosen character will die, giving the protagonist a quick way of gaining new Guardians.
Shin Megami Tensei: 20XX Devil's Colosseum
Alice is a level 54 Fiend. She can only be summoned by fusion, and the protagonist must defeat Sanctity before Alice can be fused.
Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE
The ability to fuse Alice can be acquired through turning in Essences of Yetzirah to the researcher in the Shinjuku Babel cathedral. She is a special triple fusion of Pixie, Kodama and Lilim. One of the mountable demons within the game, her mount animation has her taking a player's hand and leading them while skipping. All variations of Alice learn the Mad Tea Party area of effect ailment skill and players equipping her soul-stone are able to cast it.
She is a reoccurring boss within the game, though not appearing through summon orb fights like most of the other fiends in game. She appeared first in the All in the Hopeless Afternoon series of event quests where players met NPCs possessed by Belial and Nebiros who helped summon her. Players eventually had to face off against her multiple times before finally coming to the conclusion of that storyline. During the seventh anniversary event, she was the final boss of the medium difficulty instance within the Soul Prison. There she defeats Frost Ace with puppets of Jeanne D'Arc, Yoshitsune and Tokisada.
She appears as an NPC in Suginami where she sets off the Foreign Country in the Woods series of quests, which end with a prolonged boss fight against a very powerful version of her. Alice also is an extremely rare boss that completely nulls all affinities within Ikebukuro's Zoushigiya Cemetery. She was added as part of the second wave of Abyss Tower bosses, where players were able to loot an upgrade plug-in allowing them to fuse a variant with greater fire resistance and her unique Die for Me! skill, a death affinity skill with a high chance of instant death.
Shin Megami Tensei: Synchronicity Prologue
Alice acts as boss of 3rd stage. She tries to make friends with both of Jacks, but, in according with series tradition, asks them to die for her. She also can be fought during 5th stage boss-rush section, but this time she has no dialogue.
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Alice returns as a midlevel demon of the Fiend Race. She can be summoned after the protagonist finishes the EX Mission, Catch that Rabbit, in Sector Fornax and after reaching Level 39 with the Fiend Converter. Originally, she posts the mission herself to ensure the capture of the "rabbit," upon which, in a reference to Carroll's Alice, the protagonist pursues the rabbit across several holes until cornered. Once this happens, Alice, if allowed, will begin brutalizing the rabbit until stopped by the protagonist and confronted. Upon defeat, she will fade.
She is the only demon with the "Die for Me!" spell, and using her D-Source is the only way to pass this skill down. The Hare of Inaba, the "rabbit" she was pursuing, (and tries to skin, dump in saltwater, and later eat, in a reference to his own mythology) upon her defeat, sadly says she was once a human girl beloved by demons who was unexpectedly driven insane by the magics she inherited from them, sympathizing with her despite her immense sadism. He also notes both he and Alice were nothing but memories doomed to forever wander, repeating the cycle of pain and death endlessly, until the protagonist defeated Alice and allowed both the Hare and Alice to move on.
As she lies in defeat, she complains of feeling sleepy as she fades, and upon being summoned through fusion, reacts as if she were being jolted awake from a dream, sleepily asking for her Uncles Red and Black.
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Alice can be obtained as a special fusion involving the demons Poltergeist, Hairy Jack, High Pixie and Nadja. She retains her "Die for Me!" skill and is the most powerful member of the Undead Race. She also has a unique voice set.
Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
"A ghost who appears as a small blonde girl. She seems young, but her magic powers are formidable. She is either the ghost of an English girl who died a sad death, or an evil spirit from a fevered writer's mind."
—Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse compendium
Alice can be fused through a special fusion of Black Frost, Nadja, Hairy Jack and High Pixie. She can teach Nanashi the Dream Needle, Energy Drain and Dekunda skills through her Demon Whisper. Her Die for Me! skill cannot be passed on in any way. Alice benefits from learning Darkness, ailment and Gun skills.
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army
"A ghost who appears as a young blonde girl. She seems young, but her magic powers are formidable. Some say she is the ghost of a poor English girl who died an unfortunate death."
—Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army devil chart
Alice is a secret demon of the Pagan Order and can only be obtained through fusion after defeating her and obtaining the Staff of Death valuable.
In order to meet her, Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV must first hear a rumor from the blonde girl in the Shin-Sekai Soda Joint describing telephone booths around the capital. He must then check the public phone in Tsukudo-Cho near the shrine with Belial in the party. Next, he must check the phone in Harumi-Cho with a Nebiros in the party. Finally, with both demons in the party, Raidou must answer the phone in Ginza-Cho, which will call Alice up from hell.
During battle Alice will wander the field casting Petra and Mudo while being supported by two Jubokko and two powered up Obariyon demons. She will summon more as they are defeated. As Alice has the Curse skill, attacking her directly with melee attacks will generally do equal damage to Raidou as what she is receiving. The Obariyons will move to destroy Raidou or his demons if they are afflicted with the Stone status. After being defeated, Belial and Nebiros will present Raidou with the Staff of Death to fuse Alice in the Gouma-Den
At the Gouma-Den, Alice can be summoned through identical fusion by fusing two demons of the same order from the Frost Order, Volt Order or Skill Order where the average of the two demons' levels is approximately 25-30. One example is Jack Frost and Raja Naga, or Raidou can fuse Nekomata with a Leanan Sidhe that has learned Mind Boost to pass it on to Alice in order to improve her Petra skill.
Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
Alice appears as a Case File boss for the Chaos-Alignment exclusive "One Girl's Happiness" case. First, Raidou must complete the two "My Wish" cases. Later, a request from "Uncle Red and Uncle Black" will appear in the Case Files section. They have lost Alice and come to Raidou for help finding her. Raidou must then speak to two girls by the Tamonten Shrine in Tsukudo-Cho. According to them, there's a rumor that a blue-eyed foreign girl lingers in the back stall of a bathroom in their school. The girl will ask a person if they will be her friend, and if somebody agrees then she will kill them. The girl who explains the rumor reveals that she said no and that the girl is still haunting her. Alice will then appear and pose the same question to Raidou. Regardless of the answer, a battle will initiate. Upon victory, Belial and Nebiros will appear and trap Alice's soul in a Staff of Death. They then give Raidou the Staff of Death, asking him to revive Alice through fusion. Fusion of Alice is then enabled.
Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku
Alice is a demonoid (man-made demon) created by Dr. Hirasawa that escaped from Hirasawa's Lab along with a large number of Trump Soldiers. Dr. Hirasawa requested Kazumi Yamada to help him look for Alice while he is taking care of Kazumi's younger sister Mei. Kazumi finally found Alice at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel, where he is called "Prince" by Alice and prevented from leaving the place. Alice hosts tea parties everyday and enjoys the happiness all day long. Ayato Katsuragi investigates the place after hearing rumors from residents in Yebisu Garden Place about a young girl's laughing voice coming from the Shinagawa Prince Hotel. Alice warmly welcomes Ayato with a tea party. However, Kazumi requests Ayato to escape with him from the place. Alice discovers their plan and bursts out crying, which leads all the Trump Soldiers and March Hares in the building to attack the party. Eventually, Alice reveals her true form and fights Ayato and Kazumi on the 9th floor. After her defeat, Kazumi decides to bring her body back to Dr. Hirasawa and leaves Ayato.
Megami Ibunroku Persona
"A mysterious girl. Her name and features resemble the protagonist of Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." She's an original demon in the Megami Tensei series, first appearing in Shin Megami Tensei. Afterwards, she kept appearing in other games of the franchise as a rare demon."
—Persona World
Alice is a Fiend order demon and a rare encounter in Deva Yuga, Avidya World or the very last level of the Mikage Ruins. She drops the "Pagan King" Totem upon defeat, which allows the summoning of Beelzebub for Reiji Kido's exclusive use.
Persona 2: Innocent Sin
Alice only appears in the secret areas of the Abandoned Factory, which can only be reached after the party has read every note in the factory (allowing the Legendary Katana and Legendary Gloves to be acquired). She appears inside a chest after reading a note in the Executive Suite, where she drops the Karma Ring accessory which grants +100 attack, and appears as a random encounter in the Liquid Waste Disposal, where she drops Linden Amulets, which grant +80 defense and magic defense.
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Alice appears both as a demon and as a Persona of the Lovers Arcana. The demon version of Alice is a rare encounter in the last area of the Bomb Shelter. In order to acquire her Material Card, the party must first make a contract with Alice and then make her Joyful once with a character who has the Carma Ring equipped. Alice will then remark that the party member's Carma Ring looks identical to her own Karma Ring and give the Champion Card to them. The Carma Ring can be obtained either by importing save data from Innocent Sin or returning a MAX RankJunnosuke Kuroda. In the American release, the only available method is the latter.
"An original demon appearing in "Eternal Punishment." Since she appears as Alice's replacement, she's believed to be Alice herself transformed rather than someone else. Her figure is the same as Alice's, but she wears a black one-piece dress and her hair is upright."
—Persona World (Dark Alice)
An even rarer and stronger form of Alice, known as "Dark Alice" can also be encountered in the last area of the Bomb Shelter. Unlike the normal Alice, Dark Alice cannot be negotiated with.
Persona 3
Alice appears as a Persona of the Death Arcana in Persona 3, she can be summoned once the protagonist reaches Lv. 56 or above. Furthermore, Alice's fusion prerequisite requires the protagonist to perform a cross-spread fusion in the Velvet Room using Pixie, Lilim, Narcissus and Nata Taishi.
Alice is also the only Persona that can naturally learn the most powerful Darkness skill throughout the game, aptly named "Die for Me!" (a reference to Alice's question towards the protagonist of Shin Megami Tensei). Upon execution, soldiers of the Queen Of Hearts will appear from the sky with spears drawn and pointed to the ground, skewering every single target. Despite seemingly trying to deviate from the Lewis Carroll reference using the in-game descriptions, this attack proves that Alice was undoubtedly based on none other than the main character in the story Alice in Wonderland.
Due to her unique ability to learn Die for Me! and her very high Magic stat, Thanatos, the strongest Persona of the Death Arcana, usually does not cause Alice to become obsolete upon access.
One of Elizabeth'srequests entails the protagonist to show her an Alice with the skill Megido. This can be easily accomplished by fusing Decarabia and Oberon together to get a Nata-Taishi with the Megido skill, then use that Persona in the cross-spread fusion.
Persona 4
"A ghost who appears as a young blonde girl. She seems young, but has formidable magic powers. Some say she's the ghost of a poor English girl who died an unfortunate death."
—Persona 4 compendium
Alice returns as a high level Persona of the Death Arcana. In reference towards her role in Shin Megami Tensei, Alice's summoning requires the protagonist to perform a special fusion using Belial and Nebiros. She cannot be found in Shuffle Time. As with Persona 3, her ultimate skill "Die for Me!" is not passable to other Personas.
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth
Alice appears in Persona Q similarly to Persona 4, as a level 58 Persona of the Death Arcana which can be summoned by fusingNebiros and Belial. She starts with the ability to curse enemies with Evil Smile and inflict heavy almighty damage with Megidola. She gains her signature skill, "Die for Me!," at level 59.
Persona 5
"A mysterious blond girl. She is quite powerful, despite her looks. Some say she is the ghost of a girl who died a sad death. Others say she is a spirit born from someone's imagination."
—Persona 5 background
Alice is the ultimate Persona of the Death Arcana and can only be obtained through fusion in the Velvet Room once the Death Confidant with Tae Takemi has been completed. She requires a special fusion of Nebiros and Belial. Alice is the first Persona to learn Mudo Boost. Alice is also one of four Personas to learn the Survival Trick skill. When itemized through Electric Chair execution, Alice yields a Mamudoon skill card. Fusing Alice requires a special fusion of Nebiros and Belial, both of which can be found in the Depths of Mementos.
Her signature "Die For Me!" skill has a new animation involving living teddy bears acting as suicide bombers which rush the enemies. In conjunction with the Mudo Boost she has by default, "Die for Me!" has an even greater chance at succeeding than it already does. In line with the two prior entries, "Die for Me!" retains its status as a unique skill to Alice and cannot be passed on through fusion.
The Animation
Alice is one of the Personas summoned by Ren to fight Shadow Shido. Initially looked down on by him, she evaded his attacks and damaged him to the point that he changes form by striking him with a Megidolaon.
Royal
Alice's Trait is Just Die, which reduces the cost of instant death skills to zero.
Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
Alice can only be accessed by obtaining the Bunny Doll key item from Special Screening #44, "A.I.G.I.S. Upgrade." Like in many prior games, Alice can only be fused using Belial and Nebiros.
Devil Children White Book
"An innocent female demon with an overbearing personality."
—Devil Database
Alice appears as the strongest demon of the Ghost race, only available if the game is being played on a Game Boy Advance. In the Ice Expanse, there is a hidden path to the left of the entry gate that passes by the outer wall of Loch Village and leads to the top of a mountain. Alice will be blocking the way, telling Masaki Kuzuha that the entrance to Loch Village is not there. If the protagonist talks to her after beating the game, Alice will remark that the game is being played on a Game Boy Advance and move out of the way. She can be found on the top of the mountain, where she'll join the party after being talked to.
Devil Survivor 2
"A ghost who appears as a small blonde girl. She seems young, but her magic powers are formidable. She is either the ghost of an English girl who died a sad death, or an evil spirit from a fevered writer's mind."
—Devil Survivor 2 compendium
Alice appears as the ultimate bonus boss on the 7th Day at 12:30, provided the party has already defeated Belial and Nebiros earlier on during the playthrough.
During the fight, Alice comes accompanied with both Belial and Nebiros, along with several powered-up teams from the fights with the previous 2 bosses. Belial will constantly use Gomorrah Fire to damage one of the party's teams, while Nebiros will revive fallen demon teams and even switch bodies with any living ones if he is defeated. The party only needs to defeat Alice to end the battle, but if Belial and Nebiros are both defeated before Alice, they will be revived after a few turns.
Alice herself sports a few dangerous attacks. Outside battle, she will use Vitality Drain, inflicting Almighty damage to all enemy teams within 6 squares of her, and healing her for the same amount. Her signature in-battle skill, "Die for Me!," will also inflict Almighty damage equal to 100% of each target's HP and MP, effectively killing them unless they have Anti-Almighty or Endure, or are protected by Hero's Mark or Hero's Proof. From time to time, Alice will also use her Unearthly Form to allow Belial or Nebiros to move again right after her.
As Alice herself lacks any form of Physical resistance, Physical attacks are the most efficient way of defeating her. Utilize Asura Destiny and Critical-boosting effects to easily earn Double Extras in order to deal more damage to Alice. Combining Winged Flight with Evil Flow allows any team to easily reach her on their first turn, thus making it entirely possible to defeat Alice before any enemy team has a chance to even move. Passive Skills that restore HP and/or MP are also valuable as it allows the team to have a chance to heal should they manage to endure a casting of the "Die for Me!" skill.
Defeating Alice will earn the player the Alice Vanquisher title, along with unlocking her, Belial and Nebiros for fusion in the Cathedral of Shadows. Alice can only be fused using Belial and Nebiros, as a reference to their roles. She appears as the strongest member of the Fiend race. In the original game, she's the only Fiend in the game to naturally possess the Unearthly Form Racial Skill. In Record Breaker, however, Mother Harlot also possesses the same skill.
Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2
"A ghost who appears as a small blonde girl. Contrary to how she looks, her magical powers are formidable. Some say she is the ghost of an English girl who suffered a gruesome death. Others claim she was born from the twisted desires of a disturbed writer's mind, alas not even she can recall the truth."
The Shin Megami Tensei Alice shares many physical similarities with the Disney Alice, such as the blue dress and the blonde hair.
Due to the overwhelming support of both theories, it is easy to assume both are valid and that she is a hybrid of both figures. That both are valid seems to be the case though, since the Strange Journey compendium hints at both.
Her signature move "Die For Me!" seems to draw inspiration from the book, as it features spear-wielding card soldiers. Furthermore, her Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE attack, "Mad Tea Party," takes further inspiration from the book as it references the chapter in which the protagonist met the Mad Hatter and March Hare.
As a subtle nod to the original Shin Megami Tensei, Alice in Shin Megami Tensei II and if... is shown holding two dolls resembling the Red Count and the Black Baron.
In Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku, Alice has 2 different designs for inside and outside of battle.
In Persona 4, when taking part in the "Miss" Yasogami High Beauty Pageant, Teddie cosplayed as her while in his human form and won. Teddie also wears this costume in Persona 4 Golden, Persona 4 Arena, Persona 4 Arena Ultimax, Persona 4 Dancing All Night, Persona 4 The Animation, and Persona Q2. A DLC costume for the Mii characters in Super Smash Bros: Ultimate also references this, being a Teddie mask, with blonde hair, wearing a dress.
In Devil Survivor 2, she briefly quotes the Lewis Carroll poem Jabberwocky.
In Persona 4 Arena, for console versions, there is a Trophy/Achievement that can be unlocked if the player performs 30 Fatal Counters in either Arcade Mode or Online mode. The Trophy/Achievement is named after her signature move "Die for Me!"
In 2017, Alice was voted as the second most popular demon in the Megami Tensei series.