The Kobold is a sprite of German folklore. Although usually invisible, a kobold can materialise in the form of an animal, fire, a human being, and a mundane object. The most common depictions of kobolds show them as humanlike figures the size of small children. Kobolds who live in human homes wear the clothing of peasants; those who live in mines are hunched and ugly; and kobolds who live on ships smoke pipes and wear sailor clothing.
Dog-like kobolds, like the design used for most games of the Megami Tensei franchise, originate with a description of the creatures in early Dungeons & Dragons products, which were influential on many fantasy works from Japan starting in the early '80s.
"Origin: Germany. Fairies that appear as tiny people in legends. Kobolds dwell in mines and are said to change the ores there. Thus, the ore they create is known as 'cobalt.' Kobolds are generally good-natured spirits, but get brutal revenge if insulted."
—Shin Megami Tensei A-Mode DDS Dictionary
Tokyo Revelation[]
Several kobolds are summoned by Akito Kobayashi using a lesbian orgy early on in Tokyo Revelation, where they possess the girls and attempt to capture Saki Yagami. After they fail thanks to the ninjas Marika Kusaka and Takehiko Kuki, they return to their masters Gagyson and Akito. Akito later uses them to help capture one of the ninjas and Saki by surprise, but eventually stop following his orders after getting the girl and beat him up on Gagyson's orders. They are then sacrificed in the summoning ritual used to bring Ose to earth.
Shin Megami Tensei II[]
Along with Pixie, Kobolds are not seen as enemies in Shin Megami Tensei II. They are, however, NPCs in the Underworld.
Devil Survivor[]
Kobold is one of the first demons encountered by the main character, Yuzu and Atsuro. He is the first demon that allies itself with the main character.
Devil Survivor 2[]
"A German fairy commonly depicted as a small creature with doglike face. They appear in mines and switch out valuable minerals for useless one, thus acting as the namesake for cobalt."
—Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Compendium
Kobold is summoned from Joe's app. Being the first demon that he must contract, it proves to be too strong for him and he retreats, dragging the party into his battle and forcing them to seal the contract by happenstance.
The Animation[]
Shortly after the subway crash, Hibiki and Daichi examine the area only to find several hostile Kobold roaming around and eating the corpses and attacking the survivors. It is presumed that those Kobold are summoned from the miasma created by the dead Nicaea users' cellphones.
.jpg "Kobold in the Devil Survivor 2 The Animation (manga).jpg (48 KB)")