Demons (悪魔, Akuma)? are entities serving as both enemies and potential allies, and a key feature of the Megami Tensei franchise. In the Japanese version of many games, demons allied with the player are called 仲魔 (nakama), a pun on 仲間 nakama (companion) and 魔 ma (demon).
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In the Megami Tensei franchise, "demon" refers to any supernatural entity who can bring harm to humans, interfere with human lives, or violate natural laws in any way. As such this definition includes conventional malevolent demons, folktale creatures, deities, urban legends, and Judeo-Christian angels.
Although fundamentally classified as demons, angels tend to differentiate themselves from demons, and likewise the rest of demons tend to (though not always) view them as separate. Angels also includes demons who have submitted to God's Covenant and become His servants. For that matter, even God Himself can be classified as a demon, depending on His origins and constitution in a given game.
Biologically speaking, "demons" are entities who entirely consist of Magnetite (depending on the game, it might be called Aether, Magatsuhi, Solar Data, etc.). Magnetites are the most basic, fundamental substance which all things in reality are composed (i.e. physical matter and energy are clusters of Magnetites structured in a specific way, which result in matter and energy).
"Demons" are what happens when a cluster of Magnetites are shaped and structured into a sentient spiritual phenomenon, rather than a physical structure which enables life (like humans and other organisms). This is why they violate natural laws of reality, and their Magic is in essence the capacity to rewrite reality in a way not unlike a computer program editing codes which govern a virtual sandbox. This is also why the rituals to summon a demon can be simplified into a program.
The process by which demons are born vary across the Megami Tensei Multiverse, especially between different Megami Tensei sub-series. Demons in certain set of universes might possess characteristics not present in others, due to various factors in their respective worlds of origin. Likewise, the Expanse, the realm where demons are born or generally reside in, may possess different traits from game to game. The demon's appearance, affinities, and moveset can sometimes differ between sub-series or in a specific game.
Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse[]
"Once a term used to describe the anthropomorphized versions of natural phenomena or, in certain cultures, minions of evil. Presently used to describe the non-terrestrial life-forms that appeared after God's Plan. The term encompasses a variety of creatures across a spectrum of cultural backgrounds.
There are over fifty known demon races, identified by appearances and origin
Modern reports of demons place their emergence in the 1980s, though at the time their presence was so low that they were often dismissed as urban legend. After the incident with the Yamato Perpetual Reactor in which a gate to the Expanse was created, the demon population surged. Following God's Plan, reports of humans turning into demons also began to surface, although the cause for this remains unknown. One theory asserts that the magnetite found naturally in all humans is somehow able to react to will and desire, sometimes triggering said transformation. If true, this theory would mean that all humans are then capable of becoming demons. The bulk of this theory comes from reports about human consumption of Reds, but because evidence of Red-induced transformation into demons are so rare, the theory remains speculative at best.
*More Data Needed"
Persona series[]
Demons mostly appear as enemies in earlier Persona games. Whenever a supernatural force blurs the line between reality and the Collective Unconsciousness, demons can emerge into reality. While they can be negotiated, there is normally no option to recruit them through negotiation; instead dialogues can convince demons to give items which could assist Fusion of new Personas for the party to use. Some Personas also have special conversations toward specific demons, usually depending on their mythological relationship.
Humans can turn into demons if their psyches are overwhelmed by their Personas (be it their own or artificially given). If a person has their psyche forcibly removed, implanting a Persona into the soulless body would also result in demonic transformation. The former case often happens with the Joker infection, while the latter case is seen in Shiori Miyashiro, whose metamorphosis into the demon Wendigo is documented by Takahisa Kandori and the New World Order.
In Tatsuya's Scenario, Igor explains demons and gods are modelled after the archetypes in the realm of the collective unconscious known as Kadath Mandala. Countless different identities and interpretations of identities can arise as deities and demons, as well as Personas within human hearts.
Starting from Persona 3, most Persona games remove the presence of demons in supernatural scenarios, being mostly replaced by Shadows.
Last Bible series[]
Known as monsters (魔獣, Majū)? they are a race of creatures who exist independently of humanity. They are creations of Lasabelak, the Lord of Creation, in his efforts to impose order into the primordial chaotic source known as the Force. Unlike other sub-series, demons in this game are not implied to be born of human belief or emotions.
Devil Children series[]
Demons are entities residing across the countless worlds in the Devil Children 'verse, created alongside humans and angels by various incarnations of the creator goddess Hoshigami.
The power, lifespan, and whether they are part of a race of demons with the same name or an individual varies from demon to demon. Unlike other sub-series, demons appear to be a biological to a certain extent; capable of reproduction with other demons or with humans, resulting in the Devil Children. Demons also sometimes have a gem which contains their own souls, allowing for the demon to be resurrected using means such as Relic Fusion. Like Last Bible, demons are not implied to be born from human belief or emotions.
Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner series[]
The Atma virus is an informational virus which turns humans into avatar tuners, entities capable of transforming themselves into demonic entities provided they can imprint the Solar Data of those specific demons onto themselves.
Every avatar tuner also possesses a "true self," a demon identity existing within the data of their human soul itself. These demons are able to dominate their original human personalities and take the place of their host, while others find either coexistence or identity crisis with their human hosts.
It is later revealed the data of the entire reality in the Digital Devil Saga verse exist within, and are managed, by Brahman within the Sun. All of existence, all souls and all the data they exist and subsist of are recycled as they undergo the cycle of life and death, which is why the data comprising existence is called Solar Data.
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A staple gameplay feature of the series is the ability to negotiate with and/or recruit demons as allies and party members, usually through the use of a COMP with the Demon Summoning Program installed; many demons will request Items or Macca in exchange for their services. In some games, most summoned demons require Magnetite in order to maintain their corporeal forms; without a constant supply they will lose HP with each step. To gain much more stronger demons or the demon the player desires, players can fuse demons they have in their party. There are also some games that allow a special conversation to happen between two demons. This happens if the talker and the target usually have a mythological connection from stories told in real life (such as Barong and Rangda), the talker and target having a similar design (such as Decarabia and Kaiwan), or if the two have connections based from the "in-lore" information given by Atlus (such as Jack Frost and Pyro Jack).
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