In Hinduism, Krishna is the eighth avatar of Vishnu, the Preserver. Described as a blue-skinned young boy playing a flute, he battled many demons and waged war alongside a man called Arjuna. He is a famous deity in the Mahabharata and he is believed to have written the Bhagavad Gita.
"A divine hero of Hindu mythology. He is the eighth avatar of Vishnu, who is said to appear whenever the world is at risk. Name is sometimes translated as "all-attractive." Raised by cow herders. As a boy, he would play his flute, causing women to flock to him. As an adult, he became a great tactician. Shot in the back of the leg by mistake by a hunter named Jara."
—Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse compendium
Krishna interrupts the war between the forces of God and Lucifer as the representative and main leader of the Divine Powers. The two rebuff the interruption of the war by the gods to instigate a three-way war between Monotheism, Polytheism, and Danu's fairies (who wish humanity to not be dependent on gods). He intends to manipulate everyone to achieve his objectives. At the beginning of the game, he is sealed within an ark in Kanda-no-yashiro in Tokyo, but Odin manipulates Nanashi and Asahi (with a little help from Dagda, if Nanashi attempts to negate Odin's manipulations) into freeing him. He immediately sets out to convince Flynn to join them as his "Kalki," his own version of the Godslayer. His ultimate goal is to use Inanna to power the Cosmic Egg and force a rebirth of the universe, with himself or one of his compatriots at the center-thus supplanting YHVH as the Creator and permanently claiming the new universe for Polytheism. He has a messiah complex and an extremely patronizing view of humans, seeing them as expendable in his goal of universal salvation.
To unlock him for fusion, Nanashi must return to Kanda-no-yashiro after defeating Vishnu-Flynn and Krishna will then lend Nanashi his power to fuse him.
Battle
Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
Krishna will present himself to Nanashi and company after they reach the center of the Tsukiji Konganji temple and witness Odin being defeated by Flynn. He will attempt to prevent the party from leaving and attack them directly.
Krishna will start by using regular attacks, Combat Tara, Zandyne and Ziodyne. After a few turns, he will start using Dream Raga or Venomous Raga to inflict multiple status ailments and debuffs on the party (thankfully, no more than once per turn). The party can make use of Dekaja and Dekunda to remove his debuffs on the party or buffs to himself. Silent Prayer will also remove all buffs and debuffs. Having Navarre as a partner can grant access to Nanashi's party automatically. However, having Hallelujah as the main partner will prevent the more debilitating ailments from taking hold thanks to his Warding Shout skill, ensuring that the party can work to level the playing field before Krishna's next turn.
If any party members remain afflicted with ailments, Krishna will frequently use Moxagita, which inflicts heavy Almighty damage to those with ailments. However, it will always miss party members with no ailments. Furthermore, as long as one party member is suffering from at least one ailment, Krishna will not use Venomous Raga or Dream Raga. This means it can be very helpful to leave one party member with a minor ailment (such as poison), so Krishna doesn't use his dangerous Raga attacks, and keeps losing press turns when he uses Moxagita.
Krishna is weak to Darkness skills, and a Pisaca can be obtained from Ikebukuro and be made to exploit this. Tiamat can also be found in Tsukiji Konganji and can grant access to the Silent Prayer skill. Alice excels in this fight due to her resistance to all ailments, as well as her Die For Me! and High Dark Pleroma skills.
During the battle, Krishna will attempt to convince Nanashi to stop fighting him, offering his hand to Nanashi, with the outcome varying based on Nanashi's decision.
> Will you lay down your sword and take Krishna's hand?
Take his hand
Dagda does not approve Nanashi +Tarukaja/Makakaja x3
In older Japanese, the name for the color blue is the same as the one for the color green: Ao (青, Ao)?, so in a certain sense, he's still "blue-skinned."
Unlike most other demons in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse which have distorted voices, Krishna's voice is the same as a human.
Gallery
Krishna's concept art in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
The Avatar's Hat DLC equipment in Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
