"I can sense it, Samurai... you and I both tread a bloody path. Since our roads have crossed here, now is the time for wicked bloodshed... Draw your blade and make war with Death, the red knight stained with blood!"
"When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.” And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him."
—Revelation 6:3-4.
The Red Rider, or Red Horseman, is the second of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, also named War. He represents war, and his horse is colored "fiery" red and bearing a sword of war. Unlike Conquest, the Red Horseman of War specializes in waging war between nations and people rather than internal strife.
He holds a great sword upwards as though ready to battle or mass slaughter. The sword is meant to suggest that blood will be spilled. The great sword being held upwards can also be viewed as a declaration of war, as typically, crossed swords held upward in heraldry signify entering in battle. He takes peace from the Earth and allows men to kill one another.
The color of the horse, coupled with the rider's sword, symbolizes the great blood shed that must ultimately befall the world, and to some he also symbolizes divine wrath and spiritual warfare, making him even more formidable than he already appears.
"One of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. He rides on a red horse and holds a great sword. He has the power to take peace from the earth and make men to kill each other."
—Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne compendium
Red Rider appears as one of the Candelabrum holders sent by Lucifer to test the Demi-fiend, possessing the Candelabrum of Insight. He first appears with the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse when the Demi-fiend first ventures into the Third Kalpa. After defeating White Rider, Red Rider will appear outside the Terminal in the Great Underpass of Ginza. As with the battle with White Rider, a Dis with the Stone Gaze skill can inflict the Stone status on the Powers summoned by the Red Rider for support. They will waste press turns for as long as they remain on the field. Unlike the White Rider, the Red Rider cannot use the Dekaja skill, allowing the party to buff as necessary but they cannot debuff him except for wasting his turns as he knows Dekunda. Defeating the Red Rider in battle will get the Demi-fiend the Candelabrum of Insight.
After being defeated and once the Demi-fiend reaches level 55, Red Rider can be fused in the Cathedral of Shadows on the New Kagutsuchi phase if the Demi-fiend possesses a Deathstone, a special item found only in the Labyrinth of Amala. Red Rider can be fused by any combination of demons resulting in a Fairy.
Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE[]
Red Rider appears as the summon orb boss of the Suginami Tunnels silver-level instance. He also appears as a boss within the Chain of Curse Deep Docks instance and a boss of the TR-Route of Denshi Kairo, through which the ability to fuse him can be obtained. He is a special triple fusion of White Rider, Power and Koumokuten.
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey[]
"One of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, he rides a red horse and carries a great sword. He has the power to destroy peace and make people slay one another."
—Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey compendium
Red Rider appears as the resident Fiend of Sector Eridanus, and must be defeated in combat to unlock his fusion. He is the only demon that drops the Sword Shard Forma after its defeat.
Shin Megami Tensei IV[]
Red Rider is one of seven fiends available to fight as an optional battle. He is found in Kasumigaseki, in the underground area that requires ID Card Lv3 to access; for this reason, he can only be fought on the Neutral route. He has a 1/256 chance of spawning behind the door that requires 100 Luck to open; if he doesn't show up, a message display pops up saying that nobody is present. During the fight, Red Rider often will open with War Cry to debuff the party, and will use Dekunda if his stats hit -3. His common attacking moves are Purple Smoke, Trisagion, and Maragidyne. He will replace Purple Smoke with Antichthon if any party member has null, repel, or drain Phys, and will also use Antichthon more frequently, depending on how much the party has Fire resistance. A solid Dekunda user is advised to keep up with the debuffs, and Flynn should at best use Drain Fire to gain Smirks from Maragidyne (as Red Rider will not target party members that are immune to Fire with Trisagion) Defeating him awards Flynn with a Soma, 10 of each incense and the ability to obtain him through special fusion.
Red Rider is fought alongside the other three in the Challenge Quest, "Errand for the Apocalypse." Belial has sealed the four in a Domain found in Infernal Tokyo's Ikebukuro. They are far weaker than they are when encountered normally, with Red Rider using Bind Voice over Purple Smoke and not having Trisagion, Dekunda, Antichthon or War Cry. If Flynn makes any attempt to challenge them before accepting the quest, the Fiends will eject him from the Domain. Completing the quest grants Flynn the Peacemaker, which is only surpassed by the Plasma Gun in terms of raw power.
Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse[]
Red Rider, along with all the other Fiends, is encountered in Twisted Tokyo. Red Rider is encountered on B14 and drops the Chaos Sword second cycle onward. He is fought at level 946 on cycle 9.
Shin Megami Tensei V[]
Red Rider, along with the other Fiends that held Menorahs and the Demi-fiend, is available as part of the Return of the True Demon DLC pack. As before, defeating Red Rider unlocks the ability to fuse him.
Red Rider's marker is found in the Iwamotocho area of Chiyoda, close to the Nihonbashileyline fount after defeating White Rider. Red Rider will start the battle summoning a pair of Powers to his side and will summon more if they are all killed.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance[]
Red Rider, along with all of the DLC demons available for the original version of Shin Megami Tensei V, returns for Vengeance, and will come prepackaged into the game.
Persona 5[]
"One of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, he rides a red horse and carries a great sword. He has the power to destroy peace and make men slay one another."
Red Rider is the only Persona that can naturally learn Negative Pile. When itemized through Electric Chair execution, Red Rider will yield a Karma Ringaccessory, which allows the wearer to use Psio. During a fusion alarm, Red Rider will yield a Spiral Karma Ring accessory instead, which allows the wearer to use Mapsio.
Persona 5 Tactica[]
Red Rider is a Despair type Persona and is one of the four Personas needed to summon Trumpeter through special fusion.
After using Blade of Terror: Inflicts Phys (Physical) Pierce effect damage (power: 80) with 50% crit rate on all enemies. Counter effects will not work on this skill.
Innate
Blade of Terror
6 MP
Inflicts 25% fractional damage (1,000 max) on all enemies based on their current HP with 40% chance to inflict Bind.
Innate
Fatal Sword
5 MP
Inflicts Phys (Physical) damage with 140 power on a Single Enemy.
Aragami (Awaken)
Phys Amp
Auto
+25% to Phys damage.
Aragami (Gacha)
Charge
6 MP
Self enters a state of Charge. Increases the next Phys attack damage by 125%.
Protector (Awaken)
Epitome of Carnage
Auto
+20% to Critical hit rate, +15% to Phys damage.
Protector (Gacha)
Auto-Sukunda
Auto
Casts Sukunda at the beginning of the 1st turn.
Psychic (Awaken)
God's Hand
8 MP
Inflicts Phys (Physical) damage with 200 power on a Single Enemy.
Psychic (Gacha)
Null Ice
Auto
Adds Ice Null.
Elementalist (Awaken)
Enduring Soul
Auto
Heals 200 HP upon receiving the first killing blow.
Elementalist (Gacha)
Gallery[]
Model from Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
Model from Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE
Red Rider as he appears in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Portrait from Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Red Rider as he appears in Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth.
Red Rider in Persona 5 Royal
Red Rider in Persona O.A.
Red Rider casting Terrorblade in Shin Megami Tensei V
In Other Languages[]
Language
Name
Meaning
Japanese
レッドライダー (Reddoraidaa)
Red Rider
French
Cavalier rouge
Red Horseman
Italian
Mietitore Cremisi
Crimson Reaper
German
Roter Reiter
Red Horseman
Spanish
Jinete rojo
Red Horseman
Trivia[]
Should the protagonist attempt to talk to him in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, he briefly references The Wizard of Oz.