It starts with a ceremony. You’re a kid in a funny hat, hoping a gauntlet wakes up when you touch it. If it does, you're a Samurai. If it doesn't, you're back to the fields. This is the opening of Shin Megami Tensei IV, and honestly, it’s one of the most deceptive introductions in gaming history.
Most people coming off of Persona expect high school drama and bright colors. They don't get that here. Instead, Atlus gives you a brutal, post-apocalyptic gut punch that questions the very nature of human governance. It’s been years since it hit the Nintendo 3DS, but the discourse around Flynn’s journey hasn't quieted down. In fact, with the recent release of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, fans are looking back at the fourth entry and realizing it might have actually done the "Law vs. Chaos" thing better than anything that came after it.
The Twist That Everyone (Eventually) Sees Coming
Mikado is weird. It’s a medieval society living atop a giant sky-high tower, governed by angels and strict class hierarchies. You’ve got the Casualries—the peasants—and the Luxurors, the elites. It feels like a standard fantasy trope until you descend into the "land of the unclean ones."
Then the game hits you with the reveal: Tokyo.
The moment you step out into the ruined, demon-infested streets of Ueno, the game shifts from a knightly quest into a gritty survival horror. The contrast is staggering. You go from orchestral fanfares to the low-fi, synth-heavy growls of Ryota Kozuka’s soundtrack. It’s a masterclass in atmospheric shifts. The world isn't just a map; it’s a narrative device. You’re forced to reconcile the clean, "holy" world of Mikado with the desperate, underground grit of a Tokyo that’s been under a literal ceiling for twenty-five years.
Why the Combat System Still Punishes Your Mistakes
Let's talk about the Press Turn system. It is glorious and hateful.
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Basically, if you hit an enemy’s weakness, you get an extra move. If you miss or hit a resistance, you lose your entire turn. This sounds simple. It isn't. In Shin Megami Tensei IV, the difficulty curve is less of a curve and more of a brick wall named Minotaur. He’s the first major boss, and he will kill you. Repeatedly.
The game demands that you engage with demon fusion. You can't get attached to your party members. That cute Pixie you’ve been leveling up? She’s useless by level 15. You have to grind her into the digital dust to create something bigger, uglier, and more capable of casting Agi. This cycle of "catch, fuse, discard" is the heartbeat of the game. It creates a weirdly detached relationship with your tools, mirroring the cold, utilitarian logic the game's protagonists eventually have to adopt.
One specific detail that most players miss is how Smirk works. In this game, it's almost broken. If you get a "Smirk" status, your stats skyrocket for a turn. It turns the tide of battle instantly. It feels like the game is rewarding you for being a tactical genius, but then the boss smirks back, and you realize you're just a bug under a boot.
The Moral Ambiguity of Law and Chaos
Most RPGs have a "good" path and a "bad" path. Shin Megami Tensei IV doesn't care about your traditional morality.
The Law path isn't "being a good guy." It’s about radical egalitarianism through the lens of divine absolute order. It involves genocide. The Chaos path isn't "being evil." It’s about a meritocracy where the strong rule and the weak are crushed. It involves constant warfare.
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Then there’s the Neutral path. Usually, the "Gold" ending in games is the easy way out. Here? It’s a nightmare to unlock. You have to balance your dialogue choices perfectly. If you're too nice, you're Law. If you're too aggressive, you're Chaos. To be Neutral is to be a tightrope walker over a pit of fire. It requires you to complete a massive list of side quests for the people of Tokyo, proving that humanity is worth saving despite its flaws.
Jonathan and Walter—your two primary companions—represent these ideologies perfectly. They aren't villains. They’re your friends who slowly drift toward extremism because they truly believe it’s the only way to save the world. Watching Jonathan, the polite and gentle soul, eventually submit to the will of the Archangels is genuinely tragic.
The Infamous World Map and Other "Flaws"
We have to be honest: the Tokyo map is a mess.
If you played this at launch, you probably spent three hours trying to find the path to Shinjuku. The icons are tiny, the paths are obscured by rubble, and the camera angle makes it impossible to see where you're going. It’s frustrating. It’s also, arguably, a deliberate choice. Tokyo is supposed to be a confusing, claustrophobic labyrinth. You aren't supposed to feel comfortable there.
Does that make it good game design? Maybe not for everyone. But it reinforces the feeling of being an outsider in a dead world.
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Another gripe people have is the "Whisper" system. When a demon learns all its skills, it can teach them to Flynn. This makes the protagonist infinitely customizable. You can make him a physical powerhouse or a magic nuke. The problem is that Magic is objectively better in this game. If you aren't dumping points into the Magic stat, you're playing on "Hard Mode" without even knowing it. It’s an imbalance that the sequel, SMT IV: Apocalypse, fixed, but it remains a quirk of the original.
The Cultural Impact of the "Burroughs" AI
Your gauntlet contains an AI named Burroughs. She’s your menu, your quest log, and your only constant companion. Her calm, synthetic voice is the only thing that stays the same as the world falls apart.
There’s a subtle commentary here about our reliance on technology. In a world where demons are summoned via "Apps" on a digital gauntlet, the line between magic and science is completely gone. This isn't high fantasy. It’s "Cyberpunk Occultism." It’s a vibe that Atlus has mastered, blending ancient mythology with digital aesthetics. You’re literally downloading "Demon Fusion Lite" from a server while standing in the ruins of a subway station.
How to Actually Beat the Game Today
If you’re picking this up for the first time on a 3DS or via an emulator, there are a few things you need to do to avoid quitting in the first five hours.
- Stop hoarding demons. If they've learned their skills, fuse them. A level 20 demon with 3 skills is worse than a level 15 demon with 6 skills.
- Buffs and Debuffs are everything. In Final Fantasy, you can ignore "Protect" or "Shell." In SMT IV, if you don't use Rakukaja or Sukunda, you will die. Bosses have multiple turns per round. You have to lower their accuracy or they will crit you into oblivion.
- Pay attention to the side quests. The "Challenge Quests" aren't just filler. They provide the lore for the different factions in Tokyo and are mandatory if you want the Neutral ending.
- The "Life Aid" skill is a godsend. It restores HP and MP after every battle. Without it, you’ll be constantly running back to terminals to heal, which is a massive slog.
The Verdict on a Masterpiece
Shin Megami Tensei IV is a flawed, brilliant, abrasive, and deeply philosophical game. It doesn't hold your hand. It hates you a little bit. But it respects your intelligence enough to let you fail.
It tackles the weight of tradition versus the chaos of progress better than most modern AAA titles. It asks if a peaceful world built on a lie is better than a free world built on suffering. It doesn't give you an easy answer because there isn't one.
Actionable Steps for New Players
- Prioritize the "MP Walk" App: As soon as you get enough App Points, buy the one that restores MP while you move. It changes the game from a resource management nightmare into a manageable dungeon crawler.
- Talk to every demon: Negotiation is RNG-heavy, but it’s the only way to get the best fusions. Don't be afraid to give them items and then have them run away. It happens.
- Save everywhere: You can save anywhere in the world. Do it after every fight. One unlucky "Mudo" spell can end your run instantly.
- Research the "White" ending: If you're feeling overwhelmed by the darkness of the story, there is an ending that lets you just... end everything. It’s technically a "Game Over," but it’s one of the most haunting sequences in the series.
The legacy of this game isn't just its difficulty. It's the way it makes you feel like a small part of a very large, very ancient conflict. It's a journey from the heavens to the underground, and it's worth every single "Game Over" screen you'll see.