Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II

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Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II is a 1990 fantasy role-playing game by Atlus for the Famicom, with an enhanced Super Famicom version released in 1995. It’s the second game in the Megami Tensei series and later helped pave the way for many spin-offs and sequels.

What the game is like
- You play as an unnamed survivor exploring a post-apocalyptic Tokyo. The game mixes dungeon exploration (first-person) with an overhead map for travel.
- You build your party by recruiting demons through dialogue, then strengthen them by fusing two demons into a new one.
- Battles are turn-based and you can fight, flee, or use items and magic. Winning battles earns experience, skill points, money, and items.
- Morality and choices matter. Your dialogue decisions and demon interactions affect which endings you can reach.

Story in brief
- The world is 20XX, 35 years after a nuclear war that opened a portal to the demon world Atziluth. Two survivors gain the ability to talk to demons and a mission to defeat demon lords who control Tokyo.
- A key figure named Pazuzu helps them and claims they are messiahs. Along the way they meet a witch who challenges Pazuzu’s plans, and choices about who to trust split the story paths.
- The heroes travel through Tokyo, fight or justify different demon rulers, and eventually travel to the demon world to defeat the overlords, rescue or confront gods, and decide humanity’s future. Depending on choices, endings range from reforming the world under divine rule to creating a new order with the heroes as deities themselves.

Development and people behind it
- Development began in 1987 after the first Megami Tensei game. While the first game followed a novel trilogy, Megami Tensei II tells an original story.
- Kouji Okada directed the game, Tsukasa Masuko composed the music, and Kazuma Kaneko designed the demons. Other writers were Kazunari Suzuki and Ryutaro Ito. Kaneko’s designs drew inspiration from folklore, mythology, and Godzilla monsters.

Release details and ports
- Original release: Famicom on April 6, 1990 (4-megabit cartridge). It later appeared on mobile in 2006.
- Enhanced version: Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei for Super Famicom released on March 31, 1995, with updated graphics and gameplay and demon art by Kaneko; music by Hitoshi Sakimoto. This version was later re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in 2012.
- Global release: The games were not released outside Japan due to Nintendo’s policies about religious content in early Megami Tensei titles. A fan translation of the enhanced version appeared in 2014.

Reception and legacy
- The game was well received, earning a place in Famitsu’s Gold Hall of Fame, which highlighted improvements over the first game, especially the fusion system and mapping.
- It’s considered a foundational title for the Megami Tensei series and helped Atlus move forward with Shin Megami Tensei in 1992, which expanded the series’ scope and popularity.