Shin Megami Tensei (1992) — Release Date, Cheats, Price & Requirements

Shin Megami Tensei

The story follows a nameless protagonist who lives in near-future Tokyo. When a portal to the realm of demons is opened, United States officials order a nuclear attack on Tokyo. Transported with two other…

70 30 October 1992

What Shin Megami Tensei is

Shin Megami Tensei is an adventure game developed by Atlus and released in 1992. It is available on Wii U, Wii, Super Famicom and PC (Microsoft Windows).

The premise, in the publisher's words

Shin Megami Tensei takes place in a near future Tokyo, first in the year "199X", and then 30 years later in a post-apocalyptic version of the city. A rift has been opened to another world, allowing demons to invade Tokyo; by using a computer program, humans are able to communicate with and summon the demons. Across the story, moral alignments are portrayed in various ways: alongside the middle "neutral" pathway, the "law" faction believes in establishing a logical order at the expense of feeling and freedom, while the "chaos" faction espouses unlimited freedom for the individual while discarding the weak.

Description from the publisher · source

How it plays

It is played from a bird view / isometric perspective. Its themes are fantasy, science fiction and warfare. It is a single-player game with no multiplayer component.

Where it sits in the Megami Tensei series

Shin Megami Tensei is the fourth of 151 entries we hold in the Megami Tensei series. It arrived 3 years after Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II. The next entry was Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible in 1992. Its critic score of 70 is 10 points below the series average of 80. The highest-rated entry is Persona 5 at 94.

See all 151 Megami Tensei games in release order →

How it was received

Shin Megami Tensei holds a critic score of 70 out of 100. That places it above 33% of the 7,527 rated adventure games in our database, which average 72. Games released in 1992 averaged 67, so it scored 3 points above the year average.

How long it takes, and what that costs

The main story runs about 35 hrs. Completing everything takes closer to 50 hrs, roughly 1.4 times the length of the critical path.

What it launched against

Shin Megami Tensei launched on 30 October 1992, within three weeks of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Super Star Wars. All of them reviewed better.

Released around the same time: Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Super Star Wars.

Cheats and codes

We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for Shin Megami Tensei yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.

Know one? Send it in and we will test it →

Shin Megami Tensei — frequently asked questions