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  • Acquiring Shin Megami Tensei
  • Gameplay Tips
  • SNES Manual Translation
  • Additional Links

Acquiring Shin Megami Tensei

Follow this link to acquire Shin Megami Tensei. It is pre-patched.

Gameplay Tips

• Make sure to play SMTI with the Orden patch. It fixes some demon names, skill names, bugs, etc.
• Nerve bullets are the best ammunition in the game, so buy them as soon as you can.
• These are the optimal stat spreads:
• Hero should focus on VIT/STR with at least 10 INT and some SPD.
• Law Hero should focus on MAG/SPD.
• For Chaos Hero, focus on STR/VIT.
• For Heroine, focus on MAG/SPD/VIT.

SNES Manual Translation

Below is a translation of the SNES SMTI manual mirrored from this Pastebin by Orden:

• SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI MANUAL

  • This is kind of a translation, kind of a revision of the manual that comes with Shin Megami Tensei. Part of it is translated, part of it is rewritten to explain the stuff the Japanese manual didn't explain.

• CONTENTS
  • STORY
  • DESCRIPTION OF SCREEN DISPLAY
  • COMMANDS
  • STATUS SCREEN
  • COMBAT
  • DEMON FUSION
  • PLACES IN THE GAME
  • ITEMS
  • SPELLS
  • ALIGNMENT
  • RACE/ALIGNMENT/FUSION DATA
• STORY

  • Tokyo. Capital of Japan. Within Kichijoji, a district within the city, a young man lived together with his mother. Kindhearted and thoughtful toward his mother, the young man had been living in peace and tranquility.

    One night, the boy had a strange dream.

    A maze within another dimension. A talking gate. A young man hung on a cross. Another young man being tormented by a demon. A mysterious woman. And a strange ceremony--

    When the young man awoke, he found that the area around him was in a state of confusion; a murder had occured within the nearby Inogashira park. The park was closed off by the police, and the entire district was cut off from the rest of the city, the citizens forbidden to travel with the culprit on the loose. Furthermore, as he woke, the boy was sent an unintelligible message via email. When he downloaded the program attached to it, he discovered that it was a "demon summoning program," designed to make demons into "minions," and give the user the ability to summon them at will...

  • TITLE SCREEN

    • Press the start button, and you will go to the title screen. Use the left and right keys or the select button, and the start/A button to pick up a choice.

  • START

    • Start a new game from the beginning.

  • CONTINUE

    • If you save the game while playing, your party's status will be saved. You can save up to two different games--choose the data you would like to restore and press the A button. You can save the game either at Communication Terminals or at the computer in the Hero's room.

  • NAME ENTRY

    • Throughout the course of the game, you will be asked to name several characters in your party. Press the A button to pick a letter, and the B button to correct any mistakes. The X button will change the case of the letters.

  • SETTING ABILITIES

    • When first meeting the various heroes within your party, you will be asked to set their abilities. You will be given 18 points to distribute among each character's 6 parameters as you see fit. The Up and Down buttons cycle through the statistics, and the right or A button to add points. The Left or B button will can be used to cancel points you have already distributed.

• DESCRIPTION OF SCREEN DISPLAY
  • DUNGEON (3D) SCREEN
    • MOON PHASE

      • This displays the current phase of the moon. As you walk around, the moon phases change from a new moon (0/8 Moon) to a Full moon (8/8 Moon) and back again. Moon phase has many subtle effects on the game, most notably in the strength of enemies and how they react to conversation.

    • CURRENT LOCATION

      • This will display the current floor you are on, and the direction you are facing. There are certain areas in the game where this information will not be displayed.

    • MONEY

      • This displays how much money your party is carrying. At the start of the game, you will use Yen as your form of currency, but later on in the game this will change to Macca.

    • MAGNETITE

      • This displays how much Magnetite your party is currying. "MAG" is short for Magnetite. Magnetite is a greenish liquid that is the source of energy that your demon minions will use. In order to manifest within the human world, demons need Magnetite energy. When you walk around with demons in your party, your Magnetite supply will dwindle as your minions consume the Magnetite they need to survive. Once your Magnetite hits 0, any demons you have summoned will start to lose their HP until they die. You can get MAG from either defeating demons, or by conversing with them and asking for it.

    • COMMAND WINDOW

      • When you press the A button, it will call up the command window. Look in the section called "Commands" for more details.

    • PARTY MEMBERS

      • This displays the current members of your party and their order. Their names, HP/MAX HP, MP, and Status will be displayed.

    • AUTOMAPPING SYSTEM

      • At a certain point in the game, the hero will obtain an automapping program that he can install into his handheld computer. Using the Automapping program, you can call up a map of all the places within a dungeon that you have explored. The party's position will be indicated by a yellow block. Any staircases or elevators will also be displayed on the map.

  • FIELD (2D) SCREEN

    • In the overworld (outdoors) the map will be displayed as an overhead 2D field. Transparent menus will display moon phase, current location and when you are not moving, money and Magnetite levels as well. Pressing the A button will call up the command screen. To return to the field, press the B button.

• COMMANDS
  • COMP

    • These are the commands that are controlled through the use of your handheld computer. If the hero is dead, unconscious, or otherwise incapacitated, you will not be able to use these commands.

    • SUMMON MINION

      • Summon a demon from within your computer and add it to a party. Summoning a demon will require an expenditure of money.

    • RETURN MINION

      • Remove a demon currently within your party and digitally store it within your computer. (Demons within your computer do not use up Magnetite.)

    • DISMISS MINION

      • If you no longer need a minion, you can use this command to dismiss them. Dismissed demons are gone from the party permanently! (Though you can always re-fuse them, or meet up with them again in random encounters and "re-hire" them.)

    • CHANGE ORDER

      • Change the marching order of your party. Characters in the front ranks are more likely to be targeted with enemy attacks.

    • AUTOMAPPING

      • Displays the map of the current area.

    • DEVIL ANALYZE

      • With this program, you can analyze the status of any demons that you have met in the past. The Hero can also use this program in battle to analyze any demons you might be fighting. In order to register a demon in the program, you must either kill it or get it to join you to record its data. Also, your handheld computer has a limited amount of memory and can only store a limited number of data files in it. Should you go over the limit, the data of demons you met last will be erased in favor of the new data.

        You do not start the game with the Devil Analyze program; you will obtain it at a specific story event.

  • MAGIC

    • All the human members of your party other than the Hero can use magic, and this command will pull up the list of spells they can currently cast. (Many demon minions can also use magic) Any attack magic will only be displayed in the list during battle.

  • ITEM
    • USE

      • Use any item that you are carrying.

    • EQUIP

      • This command will allow you to equip any weapons and armor that you come across in your travels. However, there are some pieces of equipment that have gender or alignment restrictions in terms of who can use them. Only human party members can equip weapons and armor.

    • DISCARD

      • Throw away any items you don't need.

  • STATUS

    • This will display a character's status screen. Pressing the A button on the hero's status screen will display all the items you are carrying. Pressing the A button on any other human party member's status screen will display a list of all the spells they currently know.

• STATUS SCREEN
  • LV

    • Your current level. This will raise as your experience increases.

  • HP/Max HP

    • Your life force. When it reaches 0 you will die, and when you gain levels the max HP rating will increase. You can refresh your HP at places like the Healing Dojo.

  • MP/Max MP

    • This represents your magic power, and as you use spells, it will decrease. It can also be healed at Healing Dojos.

  • EXP

    • Your experience. It raises as you defeat enemies.

  • NEXT

    • The amount of experience before you can raise a level.

  • ST

    • This displays any status conditions you may have. They are as follows:

      • DEAD, DYING

        • Either dead, or near dead.

      • STONE

        • Petrified. Cannot move or act at all.

      • PARALY

        • Paralysis. In addition to not being able to move, as you walk, your HP will decrease.

      • FREEZE

        • Frozen solid. Cannot move or act for the duration.

      • SLEEP

        • Asleep.

      • BIND

        • In a state of shock--cannot move like paralysis, but not as severe.

      • PANIC

        • Stricken with fear--panicked characters are confused and may try to run or otherwise act unpredictably.

      • HAPPY

        • In a state of total bliss--happy characters may not follow orders, and just stand still and bask in their joy.

      • MUTE

        • Magical abilities are sealed off, and spells cannot be used.

      • POISON

        • Stricken with poison. Poisoned characters take damage as they walk.

      • FLY

        • Cursed, and turned into a fly. Flies are hard to hit in battle, but their stats are all dropped to extremely low levels until the curse is broken.

      • FROG

        • Cursed, and turned into a frog. Even worse than being turned into a fly; not only do you suffer the lower stats, but you're not hard to hit either.

      • CURSE

        • Cursed with a general-purpose curse. Usually you get this when you equip a cursed item. Effects vary depending on the nature of the curse.

  • EQUIPMENT

    • In the upper right-hand corner of the status screen for humans, their current equipment will be displayed. Weapons fall into the categories of Sword, (Melee) Gun, and Ammo. Armor breaks down into Helmet, Suit, Gloves, and Boots.

  • ABILITY SCORES
    • STRENGTH

      • This statistic affects the damage that you do with direct hand-to-hand attacks.

    • INTELLIGENCE

      • Affects demon conversation--most demons are not happy being the minion of a summoner less inteliigent than they are, and will be harder to convince to join. Intelligence also affects spellcasters' casting abilities.

    • MAGIC

      • This affects your magic power and defense, and your maximum MP level.

    • VITALITY

      • Affects your ability to withstand physical attacks, and your maximum HP level.

    • SPEED

      • This statistic affects the speed at which you act in a battle round.

    • LUCK

      • Affects various parameters in the game--chance at escaping a battle, chance of getting a sneak attack, chance of enemies dropping treasure, etc.

    • These are the base parameters each character or demon has--the following are "derivative" parameters:
      • POWER

        • Attack power with your melee weapon and gun (direct attack for minions).

      • ACCURACY

        • Accuracy of your melee weapon and gun (direct attack for minions).

      • DEFENSE

        • Your defense power against direct physical attacks.

      • EVADE

        • Your chance of dodging attacks entirely.

      • MAGIC POWER

        • The strength and intensity of your spells.

      • MAGIC EFFECT

        • The effectiveness of your spells. (mostly seen in all-or-nothing spells, when the spell either works or it doesn't).

      • ITEM

        • This only appears on the Hero's status screen. Press A and you can get a list of all the items you're currently carrying. You can scroll the list with the up and down buttons on the controller.

      • MAGIC

        • This lists all the spells that your allies have learned. You can scroll the list with the up and down buttons.

  • DEMON-ONLY STATS
    • RACE

      • This is listed by the left of the demon's name. All demons can be broken down into races, which affect their abilities and their properties when fusing. Demon races also break down into multiple "families." These "families" affect fusions as well. This is covered in more detail in the "Race" section.

    • LV

      • This is the demon's level. It's the same as for humans, except that demons do not raise in experience levels when they are in your party.

    • CP

      • This is short for "Change Points" and it is a measurement of how much Magnetite the demon expends when it manifests itself in the human world. The larger the number, the more Magnetite it consumes when you walk with it active in your party.

    • ALIGN

      • The demon's alignment. Alignment has a very large effect on the game story-wise, and is covered in the "Alignment" section.

• COMBAT

  • Combat in Shin Megami Tensei operates in "rounds." At the start of each round, you decide the actions of each of your party members, and once you confirm your commands, your characters and the enemies carry them out, and then the next round begins. This continues until one side is wiped out (or runs away).

    When you first encounter an enemy, you will get the following options:

    • FIGHT

      • Pick this if you want to fight the enemy. You will then be prompted to pick commands for each of your party members individually. Read the section on "combat commands" for more details.

    • ESCAPE

      • Attempt to avoid fighting and escape from the enemy. You won't always succeed when you try to run. Also if you happen to get into a fight where a wall is located directly behind you, it will be impossible to run as there is nowhere to retreat to.

    • TALK

      • Talk to the enemies. This is how you can get demon minions. Read the section on "demon conversation" for more details.

    • AUTO

      • Turn on Autobattle. When you turn on Autobattle, everyone in the party will keep attacking the enemy until one side dies. Your party members will only be able to use Attack, Sword, Gun, Extra or Defend. Since your characters will not attempt to heal or use magic, this option is best used when facing weak enemies (or enemies that do not reflect physical attacks.) If you want to halt an Autobattle, hold the B button in the middle of the battle, and you will return to the command menu when the current round ends.

        Please note that one of the ASM hacks made to Shin Megami Tensei slightly FUBARs the autobattle system. It is nothing major, but keep in mind that if you wish to cancel an already-engaged autobattle, you have to HOLD THE B BUTTON instead of simply pressing it.

  • COMBAT COMMANDS

    • These are the commands you will get when you choose to "Fight" the enemy:

      • SWORD

        • Attack with your hand-to-hand weapon. Minions do not get this option.

      • GUN

        • Attack the enemy with your gun. Minions do not get this option.

      • COMP

        • Use your COMP (arm terminal computer). This option is only available to the hero. If he is dead, unconscious, or otherwise incapacitated, you will not be able to use it. Computer commands are as follows:

          • CHANGE ORDER

            • This changes the party order. The actual changing will occur when the Hero's turn comes in the upcoming battle round.

          • SUMMON MINION

            • Summon a minion into an empty party slot. The summoning will occur when the Hero's turn comes in the upcoming battle round.

          • DEVIL ANALYZE

            • Analyze the demons that you are currently fighting. You cannot use this command until you have gotten the Devil Analyze program. Also, this command does not actually take the place of another action in battle; after analyzing the demon you can return to the fight menu and make another choice.

      • ITEM

        • Use an item. Only human party members get this option.

      • DEFEND

        • Guard against enemy attacks. Characters that are defending are harder to hit, and they take less damage when they actually do get hit.

      • MAGIC

        • Cast any spells currently learned. The Hero doesn't get this command, as he can't cast any spells.

      • ATTACK

        • This is your minions' command to attack normally. Humans don't get this command (as their attacks are broken down into Sword and Gun).

      • EXTRA

        • If a minion has a special attack (a bite, a tail swipe, etc.) this command will use them. If a minion has more than one special attack and you pick this, it will pick a special attack at random.

      • RETURN

        • This command is only available to minions. It takes them out of the active party and returns them to your Stock in your COMP.

  • THE FLOW OF BATTLE-POINTS OF INTEREST

    • Pick your commands right and eliminate the enemy. After winning a battle, you will receive money and experience--and if you're lucky, Magnetite and/or items as well.

    • If all the human members of your party are killed or incapacited (DEAD, DYING, or STONE) you will lose the battle. Even if you still have minions left alive, the game will still be over. If this happens, you will have to return to the title screen and restore from your last saved game.

    • Whenever a character gains enough experience to gain a new level, you will receive an ability point which you can give to any one of their six attributes. In addition, when the Hero gains levels, the number of demons that he will be able to make into minions will increase, allowing you to build an even stronger party.

    • Your actions in Shin Megami Tensei have a big impact on the outcome of the story of the game. Combat is no exception. When demons on Earth die they simply return to their plane of origin, so if you've killed Jack Frost 5,000 times, he's going to remember that when you next try to get him to join you. Your actions in combat will also have an effect on your alignment, which although slight, will add up over the course of the game.

  • DEMON CONVERSATION--POINTS OF INTEREST

    • Getting demons to join you is an integral part of Shin Megami Tensei, and you can only do so by talking to them. If you meet an enemy that you'd like to join the ranks of your party, select "TALK" and start a conversation with them. Pick your commands wisely and respond to the demon's requests well; if you please it, it will ask what you want. (or join you outright, perhaps) You can then ask it to join you, or, if you wish, ask it for money, magnetite, or just to leave you alone.

    • Not all demons you meet up will join you. No matter how good a bargainer you are, demons that are a higher level than your summoner will not join you. In addition, the only demons that will join you through conversation are those that are Neutral on the Light-Dark alignment axis; (see the Alignment section) while you can talk your way out of a fight with Dark demons, they will not join you. You can't even bargain with Light demons--they will just ignore you completely.

    • When you first get the Demon Summoning program, it can only stock six demons in total, so if your COMP is full, you won't be able to get any new demons to join you unless you make some space first. However, there are several places throughout the game where you will be able to upgrade your program to increase your stock to a maximum of 12 minions.

  • THE ART OF SUMMONING

    • When you have a demon minion inside your COMP's Stock, you can call them forth to join your party at any time. You can have up to three minions active in your party simultaneously, though at one point in the story you can find an upgrade to your COMP that allows you to summon a fourth. In this way you can create a party to your own style--focusing on hand-to-hand combat, magic, healing, etc.

    • Summoning a minion from your Stock costs money. If you don't have enough money, you won't be able to summon the demon. In addition, when summoning your demons, it's a good idea to pay attention to where in the party lineup you put them; the closer a character is to the front, the more likely it is that they will get attacked.

    • It's important to keep an eye on your Magnetite when walking around dungeon areas. While having a party full of high-level bruisers can be helpful, your Magnetite will drain like water through a sieve and you'll soon find you can no longer sustain the party. (or worse, all your minions will die) Keep track of your minions' CP levels, and summon the high-CP ones in moderation.

• DEMON FUSION

  • Throughout the game, you will find "Heretic Mansion." At the Mansion, you can fuse your current minions together to create new, more powerful, demons. There are many demons in the game that you can only get through Fusion--as you can only recruit Neutral demons through conversation, if you want Light or Dark demons, you must Fuse them. As Dark and Light demons tend to be substantially more powerful than Neutral ones, it is usually worth the effort to make them.

  • HOW TO FUSE DEMONS

    • When you enter the Heretic Mansion, the old man there will allow you to fuse two or three of your demon minions together and create a new one. Once you pick what type of fusion you want to do, you will be presented with a list of your current minions. Pick the ones you want and you will be shown what demon you will get with the ones you have chosen. You will be asked if you want to go ahead with the fusion; pick yes, and your minions will fuse and the resulting minion will join your party.

FUSION CHART:

MA ME TM KS KJ YO YA YS SE TS DA RJ RO RC YC SH SJ MJ TK YK CR JJ
---------------------------------------------------------------------
MA -- ** -- -- ME ME YO YA -- ME TM TM KS TE DA RJ RO SH KS TK YK MJ
ME    -- -- -- YS TM CR YO -- DA TM KJ RJ TS DA RJ RO SH KJ TK YK RO
TE       -- ** ** ME DA YO -- GD YO KS RJ TS DA RJ RO SH KS TK YK JR
KI          -- ** KJ DA KJ TM KJ YA TM RJ RO KJ RJ RO SH RJ RO TK SH
KJ             !! YA DA YA ME ME TK KS ME YK YO KS RO SH RO TK YO JR
YO                !! ** ** MA DA YA KJ RC RO DA JJ JR YK KJ TK YK MJ
YA                   !! ** MA DA YO RO JR KC KC MJ JJ YJ KJ JK AR YU
YS                      !! TS ME TE SH SJ TS DA RO MJ SJ KJ YO YK YK
SE                         -- ** ** TM RJ ME RC RJ SH SJ YO YO YS YK
TE                            !! YO TM SJ ME RC RJ SH SJ YO YO YS YK
DA                               !! JR KJ YO YA YO MJ JJ KJ YU JK YJ
RJ                                  -- ** TM KS RO RO RO KS TK JR TM
RO                                     !! RJ KJ RC SH SJ KS TK YK MJ
RC                                        !! ** RJ SH SJ SH YA YJ MJ
YC                                           !! RC RC YK KJ DA KC YK
SH                                              !! ** ** KS RO RO RO
SJ                                                 !! ** SH MJ MJ YJ
MJ                                                    !! JJ TK SJ SJ
TO                                                       !! ** ** KS
YK                                                          !! ** YO
CH                                                             !! YS
JJ                                                                --

Additional Links

• PSX Manual Scans
• SFC Manual Scans
• Demon Sprite Showcase
  • Playstation gallery
  • PC Engine gallery
  • SEGA CD gallery