Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is a role-playing video game developed by Atlus for the PlayStation 2. It was published by Atlus in Japan and North America, and by Ghostlight in Europe. It is the third mainline entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series, the central series in the Megami Tensei franchise. Multiple versions of the game have been published: the original version was published in Japan by Atlus in 2003, while a director's cut was released in 2004 in Japan. The director's cut was localized and released in North America in 2004 as Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and in PAL regions in 2005 as Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call. A high-definition remaster was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan in 2020, and was internationally released in 2021 on those consoles and Windows.
Nocturne follows a high school student in post-apocalyptic Tokyo, who is transformed into the demonic Demi-fiend after the world undergoes Conception, an apocalyptic event triggered by a sinister cult to enable the world's rebirth in a new form. With Tokyo transformed into a Vortex World filled with demons, the Demi-fiend becomes instrumental in the affairs of surviving humans and their Reasons - philosophies they plan to use to shape the world when it is reborn - and Lucifer, the lord of demons. The gameplay uses a turn-based battle system based on exploiting weaknesses, and a Demon recruitment system allowing the player to recruit demons found in the Vortex World to fight alongside them.
The game was conceived after the completion of Shin Megami Tensei II and Shin Megami Tensei If..., but was delayed as the team worked out what they wanted for the game, including making it appeal to a wider audience than previous Megami Tensei games. Unlike the science fiction setting of Shin Megami Tensei II, Nocturne returned to a contemporary setting similar to the original game. The setting and characters were inspired by multiple elements, including Gnosticism, Mahayana Buddhism, and modern popular culture. Among the things the team changed from previous entries were the camera perspective, which was switched from a first- to a third-person camera perspective, and using a cel-shaded art style to distinguish it from other games of the time. The music, primarily composed by Shoji Meguro, paid homage to earlier Megami Tensei games while drawing on music styles from the 1980s.
The original edition of Nocturne released in Japan to strong sales and a positive critical reception, and the limited director's cut proved so popular that Atlus made a second print in response to fan demand. It also inspired a drama CD and a light novel in Japan. The director's cut was the version chosen for localization, making Nocturne the first mainline Shin Megami Tensei game to be released in the west. The game was well received by video game publications, who praised its gameplay and atmosphere, while its challenging difficulty was often a subject of criticism and occasional praise. It was also announced to have been a commercial success in the West.
Gameplay Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is initially set moments before a post-apocalyptic conception of modern-day Tokyo: aside from the opening segment, post-apocalyptic Tokyo, also known as the Vortex World, is the main setting. From the outset, the player can select two difficulty settings: Normal and Hard. The player controls a silent protagonist who is given a name during the opening. The player navigates the Vortex World through both a 2D world map, and to-scale 3D environments used in dungeons. While navigating the world map, the Protagonist's party and other non-player characters (NPCs), interactive objects and landmarks are represented by symbols: these objects and NPCs include containers holding items, spirits that will heal the party, and a globe in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen showing the party's approximate location on the world map. During dungeon navigation, the Protagonist navigates grid-based, multi-leveled areas. Different areas are accessed via doors, and as the Protagonist progresses the area is automatically mapped. While exploring dungeons, the in-game camera can be freely rotated, and a "Look" action allows the player to see environments in first-person. The game world can be navigated either on foot or by using a fast travel system unlocked at a certain point in the game.
Multiple important locations are located within the world: these include Terminals that give access to a fast travel system; the Junk Shop, which acts as a vendor for buying and selling items; Rag's Jewelry, where gems collected during gameplay can be traded for rare items and unique demons; and the Fountain of Life, where the Protagonist and other party members can receive treatment for ailments, heal them of damage, or revive characters knocked out in battle. An optional location separate from the Vortex World is the Amala Labyrinth, accessed after the Protagonist has reached a certain point in the story. The Labyrinth is a dungeon divided into multiple floors or Kalpa, each housing both demon enemies and brokers who sell demons to the Protagonist. Each Kalpa is connected by a Warp Zone, in which the Protagonist can collect currency and items while avoiding or destroying obstacles. Proceeding through the levels of the Labyrinth requires the protagonist to find and fight Fiends carrying Candelabra, which unlock barriers. The Candelabra also act as a means of locating and either engaging or avoiding Fiends.
Battle system
During navigation, an indicator in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen indicates the presence of enemies and the likelihood of a battle being triggered. An indicator in the top left-hand corner also shows the current "phase" of Kagutsuchi, a moon-like object hovering in the sky of the Vortex World which shifts its phase as the Protagonist explores. Standard battles are initiated through random encounters, which trigger a transition into a dedicated battle arena. The player party is composed of the Protagonist and up to three demons: only eight demons can be carried by the Protagonist at the game's opening, but more can be added as the game progresses. At the end of battles, the party gains experience points and Macca, the in-game currency. Party members will level up when enough experience points have been gathered. Upon leveling up, the statistics of allied demons are randomly raised, while the Protagonist's stats can be customized by the player. The Protagonist's abilities and resistances are also influenced by equipping one of 24 different Magatama found in-game. The Protagonist can learn new skills from equipped Magatama when he levels up, and is also granted passive buffs and debuffs which take effect in battle. Magatama will sometimes act violently within the Protagonist, creating different effects depending on the Magatama equipped.
Battles are governed by a turn-based mechanic called the "Press Turn" system. Each character participating in combat, friend and foe alike, provides one or more Press Turns represented in the upper right-hand corner of the screen as icons. The rule behind this system is that any action (attacking, using skills, items, contacting demons, summoning commands) will normally cost one full turn. If a combatant scores a critical hit, exploits their opponent's weakness, or passes on making an action, they gain an additional turn marked by a pulsating icon. These added turns allow characters to perform all actions available within normal turns. If the player chooses to pass on an additional turn, that turn is lost. If an attack fails through missing or blocking, then multiple turns are lost: how many depends on how many combatants avoided or blocked it. If an attack heals an enemy, all remaining turns are lost. An auto-attack option is available, where party members can use standard physical attacks or repeat their actions from the previous turn. Characters can escape from normal battles, with failure forfeiting a player turn. If the main character loses all health, the game ends, regardless of the status of his demons.
Demon negotiation and fusion A key element related to battles is demon negotiation, the process by which new demons are invited to join the Protagonist and can fight alongside them. The majority of demons can be talked to in battle by the Protagonist, and some allied demons. After selecting the option to talk, the player selects a demon, which initiates a negotiation. For those demons who can talk, the responses vary by both situation and a demon's temperament: some demons can be bribed with Macca and items, some will ask questions related to subjects like philosophy, while others can be influenced by the Protagonist's skills of flattery or eloquence. A negotiation can fail if the wrong responses are chosen, if the Protagonist's demon roster is full, or if another enemy demon interrupts. When in the party, demons can be summoned or dismissed from battle. The level of assigned Magatama can also affect how negotiation goes.
In addition to recruiting in battle, new demons are acquired through fusion at a location called the Cathedral of Shadows. Normally only two demons can be fused at once, but under certain conditions, more demons can be fused together, in a method known as "sacrificial fusion", player can sacrifice a higher level demon during fusion to have the resultant demon inherit skills from all the constituent demons and receive 1.5x times the XP of the sacrificed demon. Fusions can produce a variety of results based on various circumstances, such as the current phase of Kagutsuchi and the addition of items called Deathstones. When in the Cathedral of Shadows, the Protagonist can select two demons, viewing a preview of the resultant demon, then initiate a fusion. The resultant demon will both possess its own skills and inherit skills from both parents: skill inheritance is randomized. Higher-level demons produce more powerful fusions. Demons gained through negotiation or fusion are automatically stored in the Demon Compendium, a record kept within the Cathedral of Shadows. The Protagonist can also pay to summon a demon from the Compendium, returning it to his ranks.
Synopsis Setting and characters