This article is about a game mechanic. For the demon race, see Kishin. |
"You mustn't cross this river yet. There is still a light within you, trying to protect you. It will now reveal itself to you at these shores so it can aid you. Behold..."
A Guardian (ガーディアン, Gaadian)? is a mechanic in Shin Megami Tensei: if....
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"In the Expanse, you folks from another world can't die. Normally, if you die, the soul of a demon without physical form will enter your body. That soul will save your body from death and grant you power. They're like guardian angels-- well, just Guardians. However, your guardian will change depending on how your body lived its life up until death. If you die a meaningless death, you'll only be able to use a meaninguless demon, you see? Only those that value their life and laugh in the face of death will be able to wield the true power of a Guardian. You see?"
It is a guardian spirit that aids the human characters in the party. At the end of every battle, a character will gain Guardian Points to fill their Guardian Gauge (press X on the character's status screen to cycle between character and Guardian stats). Every time a character dies, they will receive a new Guardian based on how full the Guardian Gauge was. If the Gauge is yellow, the new Guardian will be weaker. If the Gauge is red, the new Guardian will be stronger. The fuller the Gauge is beyond the point it turns red, higher the chance that the new Guardian will be more than one rank above the old one.
If the Guardian has a stat higher than its host, that stat will receive a bonus. If the opposite is true, then that stat will be reduced. With the exception of the protagonist, human characters can learn the spells of their current Guardians, but not skills (both physical and magic). If a character has all of their skill slots full and gains a new Guardian, some of the new skills will overwrite the old ones without any control from the player.
Trivia[]
- The Guardian System was later refined and used as basis for Personas.
- It is stated by an NPC in if… that all humans who die while in the Expanse will invariably be revived by a Guardian demon's soul. This, however, does not account for various cases of zombification done on members of Karukozaka High School, nor cases such as Shin Megami Tensei II or the Monochrome Forest of Shin Megami Tensei IV.
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See also[]
Hazama's Chapter - Manga - Kahn - Novel | |
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Characters | |
Playable | Tamaki Uchida - Yumi Shirakawa - Shinji Kuroi - Reiko Akanezawa - Akira Miyamoto - Amon - Ideo Hazama |
Non-playable | Nova - Akiko Yano - Ryuichi Sakamoto - Kayama - Katsuhiko Sato - Otsuki - Chefei - Zurvan |
Locations | |
General | Karukozaka High School - River Styx |
Expanse | World of Pride - Gluttony - Sloth - Envy - Wrath - Greed - Tower of Confinement - Inner World |
Archives | |
Terminology | Guardian - Expanse - Moon Phase System - Sword fusion |
Lists | Guardians - Demons - Bosses (Hazama's Chapter) - Skills - Items |