Asura

Asura's SMT concept artwork by Kazuma Kaneko.

Asura, also known as Asura Oh (アスラおう^?) is a demon in the series.

History

Asuras are entities that take on varying roles in the Asian religions.

In the old Vedic religion, they were simply gods of moral/social phenomenon who regularly competed with the Devas, who were gods of natural phenomenon.

In Hinduism, they are fanatical, demon-like entities associated with carnal and materialistic pleasures, and often thirsted for violence, opposed to the more peace-inclined Devas. There are many kings and rulers of the Asura, but the Megami Tensei series' Asura Lord is based on Virocana, the king of the asuras who, alongside Indra, searched for the secret of enlightenment.

In Buddhism, they are the lowest rank of deities and are jealous gods addicted to various malign passions, while said to be one of the four unhappy births, being representative of a human being incapable of peace and always angered with the world, while also seeking strife and violence. In Japanese Buddhism, they are demigods, or semi-blessed beings. Powerful protectors of Buddhism, yet fierce and quarrelsome, they are partly good and partly evil, like humans. Their realm is believed to be a world of strife said to be located on the ocean floor. Some say Ashura was an Indian royal who converted to Buddhism. In other traditions, Ashura was a sun goddess who was feared for bringing droughts. The leaders of the Asuras were called Asurinda or Asurendra ("Asura Lord"). The principal leaders are Vemacritin (also called Vepacitti), Rahu (also called Veroca, Verocana, or Virocana), and Paharada. The appearance of the Megami Tensei series' Asura is most likely based on the Japanese Buddhist depiction of the Asuras.

However, in Zoroastrianism, Asura is known as Ahura, and are depicted as the forces of good, led by Ahura Mazda. In fact, the Indo-Iranians, the term asura (or in this case ahura) originally referred to divine beings on par with the gods. After the Aryans went their separate ways from the Iranians, the asuras came to be seen as rival gods, eventually even demonic. The struggle between the devas and the asuras possibly reflects the conflict between the tribes who worshiped a pantheon led by the god Indra and the tribes who worshiped the gods called the asuras.

Appearances

• Megami Tensei: Vile Race
• Megami Tensei II: Vile Race
• Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei: Vile Race
• Shin Megami Tensei: Tenma Race, Final boss (Law and Neutral paths)
• Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey: Tyrant Race
• Shin Megami Tensei IV: Fury Race
• Last Bible as Ashura
• Another Bible: Tyrant Race
• Last Bible III
• Majin Tensei: Deity Race
• Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon: Pyro Order
• Persona 3 / FES / Portable: Sun Arcana
• Persona 4 / Golden: Sun Arcana
• Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Sun Arcana
• Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner: Demon class title
• Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner 2: Demon class title
• Devil Survivor / Overclocked: Deity Race
• Devil Survivor 2: Deity Race

Profile

Megami Tensei II

Near the end of the final dungeon, the hero and his party encounter Asura. If the hero recruited Lucifer, Asura is turned back into Ahura Mazda, his true form and joins the party. Otherwise, he will fight the hero.

Shin Megami Tensei

As the one responsible in leading the forces of the Ring of Gaea in order to intervene in God's summoning on the Basilica and bringing forth a world of freedom under the demons (and, for some, a world of survival of the fittest), Asura stands in his chambers located on the heart of the last floor basement of the Basilica as the last enemy and final boss fight the protagonist must face on Law and Neutral alignments; while serving as a non-playable ally if he is Chaos aligned, providing aid in the attainment of the "Devil Ring"--a valuable item needed for the final showdown against Michael to become available. In contrast to this, Asura's own throne room is inaccessible unless the player have the "Angel Ring" in his possession, but only if he follows the Law route. No item is required in the Neutral path.

He poses as the leader of the Gaean army that have taken control of the inferior part of the Basilica, and serves as the most powerful servant of Lucifer on Earth, guiding his demon generals on the complete obliteration of the Messian faction alongside the Chaos Hero and his female partner Rie.

After encountering the hero, Asura mocks him. Stating that "to have betrayed one who cared about [him] (referring to the Chaos Hero) in order to follow the orders of one who has done nothing for [him]", he is truly a "shining example of a servant of God". With that said, Asura proceeds to engage the heroes in the final battle, where he is slain and the balance of the world finally restored.

It is interesting to note that, according to him, he is actually Ahura Mazda, cursed by God to be the demon Asura.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

"A violent group of demons in Hindu lore. They were very powerful and caused the gods great trouble. They are a strict group and attack anyone who runs counter to their ideals. They were originally gods of light who were worshiped in Persia. The Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda was one of them."

—Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Compendium

Asura appears as the violent demon lord of Sector Delphinus, initially as a mass of Formless demons scattered through Delphinus. These could possess crew members and manifest a form of violent insanity until Zelenin and the Protagonist intervened using special energy guns to drive the demons away. The fleeting demons began coalescing in giant hives around Delphinus' higher levels. When a sizable number of them had been destroyed, they gathered in a giant stone statue of Asura, recreating their massive form.

Asura is a violent demon who seeks to "polish" the human spirit by having it devolve into a state of savage barbarism. Fittingly, his signature attack is Asura Roga, an attack that leads the targets to develop the Rage ailment, which causes them to mindlessly attack any target in the battlefield: themselves, the enemy, or their own allies. After being destroyed, he leaves behind his rare forma and Delphinus' Rosetta.

Asura later returns in Sector Fornax, in which he appears as an invisible demon which can hurt the Protagonist with impunity unless he has the upgraded Enemy Search program. Upon being discovered, he manifests a Formless demon to attack while he hurries to Fornax' basements to shed his shape and assume his true form - Asherah.

Shin Megami Tensei IV

Asura appears in the Challenge Quest, Samurai and Hunters United. He has been attacking humans in the region and this has lead Nozomi to make a Quest for aid to fight him in the Jouhoku region. He appears as a red foe on the map. Arrogant and prideful, he tells Flynn to know his place as a human and that he'll send him to the land of the dead. As his body starts to crumble at the end of the battle, he expresses his surprise at being defeated by a human.

Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs King Abaddon

"The king of India's Asura tribe, known as Maha Virocana. In Buddhism, he is known as The Great Sun God. As the god of light and fire, Asura is said to have the power to lead the entire universe to good."

—Gouma-Den Devil Chart

Asura appears as an optional boss in Raidou Kuzunoha Vs King Abaddon. Provided that the player has completed all other quests by the Yatagarasu and provided that Raidou's alignment is Lawful, the Case File "A critical request" shall open up for the player in Chapter 7.

The player must go through the Akarana Corridor to find Asura. Asura will explain that he wishes to leave to go to an alternate space-time where the forces of Chaos have waged war upon God. He explains that his current form as Dainichi Nyorai is not his true form and that he is Ahura Mazda. Raidou must choose if he dares to challenge Asura and then after the fight he must decide Asura's fate. As the player, you can choose to allow Asura to go join the armies of Chaos so that he may pursue his desire in once again becoming Ahura Mazda or to have him return to being Dainichi Nyorai.

Gouto will comment about the potential ramifications Raidou's decision could have on their world.

Persona 3

"The king of Asura in Hindu myth. His name is Maha Vairocana (One Who Shines On All). In Buddhism, he is known as Dainichi Nyorai."

—Persona 3 Compendium

Asura is the ultimate Persona of the Sun Arcana. He can only be summoned after completing the Akinari Kamiki Social Link. A hexagon spread with the Personas Yatagarasu, Quetzalcoatl, Jatayu, Horus, Suparna and Vishnu is required to obtain him. He is the only Persona that learns the passive skill Unshaken Will, which grants the user immunity to all ailments except poison. The skill itself can be passed on to other Personas and is available as a Skill Card in Persona 3 Portable.

FES / Portable

"Divine weapon made from a holy bone."

—Vajra Description

Asura can be fused with any kind of Nihil weapon to obtain Vajra, a Knife-type weapon with an attack value of 450 and a hit rate of 100. It boosts all stats by +10.

Persona 4

Asura is the ultimate persona of the Sun Arcana. He is only available after completing either the Ayane Matsunaga Social Link and receiving the Handmade Ticket from her or completing the Yumi Ozawa Social Link and receiving the Annotated Script depending on whether you chose the Drama Club or Music club for your cultural activity. Much like in Persona 3 he is the only persona that learns Unshaken Will, which nullifies all mental ailments (doesn't cover Silence, Poison, Dizzy or Exhustion). Like the majority of skills exclusive to certain Personas, Unshaken Will cannot be passed on via fusion, making Asura the only Persona that can possibly nullify all ailments if the appropriate nulls are fused onto him.

Digital Devil Saga series

Asura does not actually appear in both games, but as a demon title given to the boss demons initially "tuned" in the virtual battlefield, Junkyard, because the digital world is constructed under the "Asura Project" for selecting battle AI. In the second game, another group of demons which initially tuned in the "real world" is classified as "Yaksa" in contrast to the Asura demons. Even though many demons exit the Junkyard to the "upper realms", they still retain the Asura title during boss battles, such as Agni and Hayagriva.

In the novel Quantum Devil Saga, all "High Atmas", which are unique to individuals and stronger compared to the "Lesser Atmas", are classified as either "Asura" in the game. This explains the reason that most non-boss or lesser-boss Atmas use the generic species titles instead of "Asura" to denote their lesser status.

Devil Survivor 2

"A violent group of demons in Hindu lore. They are very powerful and caused the gods much grief.
They are a strict group who attacks anyone that runs counter to their ideals. They were originally gods of light who were worshipped in Persia. The Zoroastrian god Ahura Mazda was one of them."

—Devil Survivor 2 Compendium

Asura is unlocked by reaching Fate rank 3 with the Anguished One. It is also the strongest member of the Deity race.

Stats

Megami Tensei

Race Level HP EXP Macca MAG Vile 62 1517 255 255 80 Strength Intelligence Hit Agility Defense Location 19 18 19 20 19 Infini Palace List of Spells Curse 2 Maragidyne Pulinpa

Megami Tensei II

Race Level HP MP CP Vile 100 1203 Formations MAG Macca Item Drops 1 200 3200 - Stamina Intelligence Attack Agility Luck Defense 24 28 34 25 13 26 List of Spells Zandyne Mediarahan Tentarafoo

Kyūyaku Megami Tensei

Megami Tensei

Race Level HP MP VIT INT STR SPD LUC DEF Vile 62 195 80 35 18 17 20 20 20 CP NOA EXP Macca MAG Location - 2-4 1488 240 124 Infini Palace List of Spells Skill Cost Effect Pulinpa 3 MP Inflicts Panic (2 enemies, Mind-type) Maragidyne 10 MP Massive Fire damage (all enemies) Curse Extra Chance of instant death (1 enemy)

Shin Megami Tensei

Boss

Race Alignment Level HP MP Tenma Chaos 110 10000 400 MAG NOA ATK ACC DEF EVA M.ATK M.EFC 2200 5-8 221 40 136 35 43 41 St 40 In 36 Ma 38 Vi 40 Ag 30 Lu 38 Resistances Reflects Death. Immune to Gun, Ice, Elec, Nerve, Expel, Magic, Bind, Needle. Resists Fire, Dex. List of Skills Skill Effect Megidolaon Hits a group of enemies with strong non-elemental damage. Maragion Attack multiple enemies with strong flames. Diarama Restores one ally's HP by roughly 100.

Summonable Ally (PCE)

Race Alignment Level HP MP Tenma Chaos 116 999 340 CP NOA ATK ACC DEF EVA M.ATK M.EFC 74 - 223 35 107 28 32 30 St 40 In 27 Ma 29 Vi 24 Ag 25 Lu 20 List of Skills Skill Cost Effect Maragion 9 MP Attack multiple enemies with strong flames. Mazionga 12 MP Strikes multiple enemies with strong lightning. Megido 15 MP Hits a group of enemies with non-elemental damage.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

Race Alignment Level HP MP Strength 28 Magic 29 Vitality 31 Agility 27 Luck 26 Tyrant Dark-Chaos 42 370 197 Attack Type Single Foe/1/Physical/None - - Reflect Weak - Reflect Strong Strong - Poison Paralyze Stone Strain Sleep Charm Mute Fear Bomb Rage - - - - - - - - - - Natural Skills Maragion Binding Cry Deathbound D-Source Skills Agidyne Phys Boost Fire Boost Password K90Yn%B4eKo48uE4 ZuE47V-49xMvZOD5

Shin Megami Tensei IV

Boss

Race Level HP MP Strength 52 Dexterity 47 Magic 39 Agility 43 Luck 37 Fury 30 1944 ∞ Phys Gun Fire Ice Elec Force Light Dark Resist Null Repel Weak - Null Resist Resist Ailment Resistance Resist: Poison, Panic, Sleep, Bind, Sick Normal Attack List of Skills Skill Effect Maragion Medium fire damage to all foes. Javelin Rain Medium physical damage to all foes.

Summonable Ally

Race Level HP MP Strength 61 Dexterity 54 Magic 43 Agility 49 Luck 40 Fury 43 501 99 Phys Gun Fire Ice Elec Force Light Dark Resist - Repel Weak - - Resist Resist Ailment Resistance None Normal Attack Physical, 1-3 hits, one enemy Required quest Samurai and Hunters United List of Skills Skill Cost Effect Level Titanomachia 30 MP Heavy physical damage to all foes. High critical but low accuracy. Innate Maragion 20 MP Medium fire damage to all foes. Innate Null Gun Auto Nullifies gun damage. 44 Phys Pleroma Auto Boosts physical attack by 25%. 45

Last Bible

Level HP MP NOA DEF STR INT END SPD LUC 85 1800 255 1 29 25 29 29 23 List of Skills Skill Cost Effect Heal 3 25 MP Large HP recovery for one character Impact 2 8 MP Force damage to a group of enemies

Last Bible III

Level HP MP ATK DEF STR INT END SPD LUC 58 866 200 150 65 24 24 22 17 20 Equipment Equips All Card Location Laguna List of Skills Maragion Diarahan

Majin Tensei

Race Level HP MP Mv Range Mv Type Atk Type CP Deity 77 790 763 7 Flat 33 Strength Magic Technique Defense Agility Luck 28 28 25 23 7 5 Magic Skills Skill Cost Power Range Target Effect Mazio 18 MP 35 2 Multi Medium Elec damage Mazionga 36 MP 70 2 Multi Heavy Elec damage

Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon

A Critical Request

Order Level HP St Ma Vi Lu Item drop Pyro 80 20000 40 32 25 12 - Reflects Absorbs Block Resists Weak Frail - Death Gun/Fire/Ice/Elec - - Force List of Skills Skill Effect Rush Light Phys dmg, dash attack +Dizzy(Low) Maragidyne Heavy Fire dmg to an area. Stun: Long Tetrakarn Reflect Phys attacks for a short time. All allies Marin Karin Light Mind dmg to an area +Charm(Med)

Summonable Ally

Order Level HP St Ma Vi Lu Conversation Investigation Pyro 75 774 26 30 22 16 Brainwash Ignite Reflects Absorbs Block Resists Weak Frail - Fire Gun, Death Phys, Elec, Force - - List of Skills Skill Cost Effect Level Maragidyne 28 MAG Heavy Fire dmg to an area. Stun: Long Innate Tetrakarn 40 MAG Reflect Phys attacks for a short time. All allies 76 Flare Slash 110 MAG Ultra Fire dmg to all. Stun: Short Type: Blade 77 Agni's Blessing Passive Boosts all stats by 3 Max Loyalty

Persona 3

Arcana Level Strength 62 Magic 60 Endurance 58 Agility 56 Luck 57 Sun 85 Inherit Reflects Absorbs Block Resists Weak Fire Light Fire - - Dark Skill Card Unshaken Will (Lv ?) List of Skills Skill Cost Effect Level Agidyne 12 SP Deals heavy Fire damage to one foe. Innate Akasha Arts 19% HP Deals heavy Strike damage 1x to 2x to all foes. Innate Unshaken Will Passive Protects user from mental ailments. Innate Tetrakarn 55 SP Barrier that reflects physical damage 1x per ally. 87 Megidolaon 85 SP Deals severe Almighty damage to all foes. 88 Spell Master Passive Halves SP cost for magic skills. 91

Persona 4

Arcana Level Strength 59 Magic 57 Endurance 51 Agility 50 Luck 48 Sun 86 Inherit Reflects Absorbs Block Resists Weak Fire - - Fire, Light Ice Wind List of Skills Skill Cost Effect Level Maragidyne 22 SP Deals heavy Fire damage to all foes. Innate Primal Force 20% HP Deals severe Phys damage to 1 foe. Innate Marakukaja 24 SP Increases party's Defense for 3 turns. Innate Mahamaon 34 SP Light: medium chance of instant kill, all foes. (40% chance) 88 High Counter Passive 20% chance of reflecting Phys attacks. 89 Spell Master Passive Halves SP cost for magic skills. 90 Unshaken Will Passive Protects user from Rage/Fear/Silence/Enervation/Confusion. 92

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth

Arcana Level HP + SP + Inherit Extract Fragment Sun 86 250 62 - Shura Instincts Asura Bone List of Skills Skill Cost Effect Level Shura Instincts Passive High chance of Shura Tensei when battle starts. [Attack up, HP down each turn] Innate Primal Force 178 HP A heavy Stab attack, ignoring target's resistances and buffs. (1 Enemy) Innate Light Wave 186 HP A severe Bash attack. (1 Enemy) 87 Maragidyne 64 SP A heavy Fire attack. (All Enemies) 88 Shura Revert 8 SP Ends Shura Tensei, restoring moderate HP. 89 Fire Amp Passive Raise Fire attack strength. 90 God's Bash Passive Raise Bash attack strength. 91 Absorb Fire Passive Absorb damage from Fire attacks. 92

Devil Survivor

Race Level HP MP Strength 25 Magic 21 Vitality 21 Agility 20 Deity 71 736 184 Racial / Auto Skill Phys Fire Ice Elec Force Mystic Awakening - Absorb - Resist - - Command Skills Megidolaon Didst thou call me, Asura the deity? Let me spew fire over this war-ridden world... I shall entrust thee with my power... Hear my wish: Take over the world...!

Overclocked

Race Level HP MP Strength 28 Magic 23 Vitality 23 Agility 22 Deity 80 824 206 Racial / Auto Skill Phys Fire Ice Elec Force Mystic Awakening - Absorb - Resist - - Command Skills Megidolaon Didst thou call me, Asura the deity? Let me spew fire over this war-ridden world... I shall entrust thee with my power... Hear my wish: Take over the world...!

Devil Survivor 2

Race Level HP MP Strength 27 Magic 23 Vitality 23 Agility 20 Deity 77 800 200 Racial / Auto Skill Phys Fire Ice Elec Force Curse Enlightenment - Absorb - Resist - - Command Skills Megidolaon Inferno* I am known as Deity Asura. Canst thou control my kind? How wilt thou reshape the power of my kind? We shall see.

Gallery

Asura as seen in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

Asura in Kyuyaku Megami Tensei (MTII)

Asura in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

Asura as he appears in Devil Survivor

Asura as seen in Devil Survivor 2