Loki

Loki is a demon in the series.

History
Loki was the trickster god who was also known to be a god of mischief, magic and fire in Norse mythology. His mischievous nature was such that he even managed to slither his way into becoming one of the Norse deities. He is son of Fárbauti, a, and Laufey, a lesser known goddess and is the blood-brother of Odin, with his two biological brothers being Helblindi and Býleistr. With the onset of Ragnarök, Loki is foretold to encounter the god Heimdallr and kill him, dying in the process.

Loki, as the son of a jötunn as well as a goddess, straddles the two warring factions, a trait which plagues his character throughout his mythology. His jötunn heritage does aid in explaining the complexity of his character, as the jötunns once went to war against the Aesir and are considered, in many ways, their enemies. He marries the minor goddess Sigyn, but has many affairs, one being with the giantess Angrboda, by who he gives birth to Hel, the queen of Niflheim; Fenrir, the oversized wolf who is fated to kill Odin at Ragnarök; and Jormungandr, the World Serpent banished to the seas. It is unknown how Loki reacted to his childrens' fate, though it can be assumed he was none too pleased with it but could not go against Odin.

The trickster god also is the mother of Odin's great eight-legged steed Sleipnir, as Loki was impregnated by the powerful male stallion Svaðilfari while disguised as a mare. As his parentage and his progeny are all outside the normal state of affairs even in the godly world, scholars believe that there must have been pertinence to his connection to so many dark and powerful figures in the Norse pantheon.

Loki's portrayal as a scapegoat in the Norse tales mimic the portrayal of Jesus and the biblical scapegoat.

Appearances

 * Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei: Antagonist
 * Megami Tensei (Telenet): Antagonist
 * Megami Tensei: Tyrant Race, Boss
 * Megami Tensei II: Vile Race
 * Kyūyaku Megami Tensei: Tyrant Race, Boss (MT), Vile Race (MTII)
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Deity Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei II: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei: if... / Hazama's Chapter: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei: 20XX Devil's Colosseum: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei NINE: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei IV: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei V: Tyrant Race
 * Last Bible, Boss (GameGear ver.)
 * Another Bible: Tyrant Race
 * Last Bible III
 * Majin Tensei: Deity Race
 * Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis: Vile Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Tyrant Race
 * Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers: Tyrant Race
 * Soul Hackers 2: Tyrant Race
 * Megami Ibunroku Persona: Devil Arcana
 * Persona 2: Innocent Sin: Tower Arcana
 * Persona 2: Eternal Punishment: Tower Arcana
 * Persona 3 / FES / Portable: Fool Arcana
 * Persona 4 / Golden: Fool Arcana
 * Persona 4 The Animation
 * Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: Fool Arcana
 * Persona 5 / Royal: Justice Arcana
 * Persona 5 The Animation
 * DemiKids Light Version / Dark Version: Alternate Type
 * Devil Children Fire/Ice Book: Mute Race
 * Devil Children Messiah Riser: Mute Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei Trading Card: Card Summoner: Tyrant Race
 * Devil Survivor / Overclocked: Tyrant Race, Boss
 * Devil Survivor 2 / Record Breaker: Tyrant Race
 * Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2: Tyrant Race

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner
Kaneko's design for Loki draws inspiration from 19th century Danish illustrator Lorenz Frølich's depictions of Loki in the 1895 poem Lokasenna, in which he can be seen here quarrelling at a table with Bragi, Freyja, Freyr, Frigg, Heimdallr, Iðunn, Njörðr, Odin, Sif, Skaði and Tyr.

Persona 5
Regarding Loki's design in Persona 5:
 * "Loki casts a mysterious image. His design is a large body patterned in white and black, and we hoped that it would conjure up the image of not being able to see where his loyalty lies. The design is based on the "dazzle camouflage" of World War I warships. This camouflage was used to make it harder to figure out the shape or size of warships. The horns extending from the eyes were based on snail parasites, and emphasis was placed on making him appear sickening and with no apparent sense of direction. We thought it would be good if the sight of Loki made even Akechi question, “Who are you really?”"

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei
Loki serves as the main antagonist of Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei. Akemi Nakajima summons Loki and has him get revenge on several students at Jusho High School. Loki seizes control of several students' bodies and murders the students that Nakajima wanted revenge on. Loki then demanded women be sacrificed to him, eventually allowing him to impregnate Ohara, one of Nakajima's teachers. While Nakajima was no longer watching, Loki practiced teleporting through computer screens and taking physical form, which he eventually uses to rape and mortally injure Yumiko Shirasagi, one of Nakajima's fellow students who happens to be the reincarnation of Izanami. Nakajima attacks Loki with Cerberus and then escapes to Asuka, where he plans to resurrect Yumiko. Loki, angry at being injured and fearful of Nakajima summoning other demon lords that could compete with him, follows Nakajima to the tomb with the hopes of killing him. Loki kills Yomotsu-Shikome and he causes Yumiko's body to rot and attacks Nakajima in an attempt to break his spirit. Izanami appears to fight Loki, but Loki captures her and prepares to rape her. Nakajima manages to summon Hi-no-Kagutsuchi as a sword and uses it to kill Loki.

Megami Tensei
Loki appears in Megami Tensei as a secondary antagonist. Lucifer resurrects Loki for him to aid him in the takeover of Earth, and will be confronted in the Valhalla Corridor. A wizard named Lor attempted to defeat him, but failed. His talisman, obtained from Gar after defeating Medusa, allows Akemi Nakajima to properly fight him due to sealing his magic. After defeating him, the talisman will shatter and Nakajima will obtain the Orb of Malice.

Shin Megami Tensei


As an effect of his race, Loki is oddly categorized as "law" and "Light" aligned, an odd choice for the demon.

Shin Megami Tensei II
Loki's race as a Deity has been subverted in Shin Megami Tensei II and he is now a Level 49 Tyrant.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
Loki appears as a non-recruitable demon in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne and can only be obtained through fusion. He is also a barfly that frequents Nyx's lounge in Ginza.

He is approached in order to purchase a 1000-Yen Bill that the Collector Manikin in the Great Underpass of Ginza requests. However, taking advantage of human items' rarity in the Vortex World, he intends to charge the Demi-fiend 20,000,000 Macca for the bill.

Instead, taking advantage of Loki's room's back entrance, the Demi-fiend will slay his guardian, Troll, and ransack Loki's room and the several chests of valuables he keeps there. This eventually has some consequences if the player decides to pursue the Labyrinth of Amala quest, as Loki, to compensate for the loss of his valuables, will sell the key he was supposed to guard for more drinking money.

Shin Megami Tensei IMAGINE
Loki can only be obtained through triple fusion, though he does not normally require a plug-in. He appears alongside Hel in the Second Home instance, but does not regularly appear as a boss. A variation with a different model was introduced through summon PG and later as a plug-in acquired through Shinjuku's Gomory in exchange for working for all five demons within the Pentalpha system.

Shin Megami Tensei IV
Loki can be found in the Monochrome Forest within the Expanse. He can teach Flynn the Pulinpa, Mabufudyne, Taunt and Dekunda skills through his Demon Whisper.

Loki later appears in the Challenge Quest, Punishing the Trickster. He has retreated to the world of Infernal Tokyo and set up a Domain over Miyashita Park, loving how chaotic the world is. Seeing Flynn, he tells him to scram since he's in a good mood or he will tear him apart. Realizing the Aesir, specifically Heimdall, sent Flynn angers him, leading to Loki cursing Heimdall for his persistence. He reveals he planned on relaxing for one hundred or more years, but since he has been tracked down, he'll show Heimdall what he's fully capable of and start a war.

Loki is shocked that he is defeated by a human and decides to forget his plans for a war. However, he enjoyed the fight against Flynn and didn't expect any surprises in the current world. He admits that surprises like a defeat at human hands is one reason why he could never quit being a god. Loki then laughs as he disappears and the domain vanishes.

Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
Loki appears as a boss in the quest Pursue Hunter Hunters, where he tricked a group of Dormarths into believing he's a part of the Divine Powers. He reveals after killing the last one that it was a lie and he hated the Powers and wished to prevent them from getting the souls they desire. He decides to play with Nanashi in a battle and upon defeat hopes to one day fight him again in a joyful match when the world is set aflame, dying afterwards.

Loki can teach Nanashi the Pulinpa, Bufudyne, Agidyne, Ziodyne, Zandyne and Cold World skills through his Demon Whisper. He benefits from learning Fire, Ice, Electricity and Force skills.

Shin Megami Tensei V
Loki is a demon of the Tyrant race and is encountered as a boss in the "A Goddess Stolen" subquest. He has imprisoned Idun in the upper areas of South Shinagawa, and when confronted by the protagonist, states that Idun has been given the important task of producing her golden apples for humanity. Which he will then sell to the humans for his own profit. Loki then moves to eliminate the protagonist so that they cannot interfere. Loki notices that the protagonist is in fact a Nahobino after his defeat, leaving behind a Golden Apple to tempt the protagonist. If the protagonist doesn't eat the apple, Idun will remark that it seems the protagonist didn't follow in Adam's footsteps, but wouldn't necessarily have been angry if he had given into temptation.

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
Loki can be found in random encounters in late game dungeons, usually alone. He can use the Despair Night skill, which can drain levels of anyone without protection from death magic.

In the 3DS remake, a variant Loki is available from Nemechi, unlocked at the leg stage of the female growth path. He costs 300 D-Souls and uses his artwork from the first Devil Summoner installment. This version has an unusual gimmick: he starts out with very low loyalty, but has access to all four magical Loyalty skills. Once sufficiently bribed with gems, he becomes a very powerful elemental spellcaster, and is a convenient way to pass those skills to a dragon type Zeed. Due to this form's Sly personality, he can also be transformed into Joyous Bedding with Mystic Change.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin
Unlike the rest of the Tower Arcana personas, Loki has Normal Affinity with everyone.

Persona 3
Loki, when paired up with Susano-o, allows the protagonist to use the Fusion Spell Trickster, which inflicts multiple mental ailments upon all enemies, alluding to their roles as tricksters among deities.

His combat traits remain unchanged throughout the subsequent iterations of Persona 3, however he gets a design update in Persona 3 Portable where he uses his Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers design instead.

Persona 4
Loki appears as the ultimate Persona of the Fool Arcana in Persona 4. He is available to be summoned once the protagonist manages to gain access to the Normal Ending route, which maxes out the Fool Arcana Social Link. Loki also holds the distinction of being able to learn the most powerful Ice elemental skill in the game, Niflheim.

The Animation
In the True Ending special, Margaret summons Loki to attack Yu and help him regain his confidence in fighting against Izanami-no-Okami. Loki was defeated through the combined efforts of Makami of the Hanged Man Arcana, Abaddon of the Tower Arcana, Genbu of the Temperance Arcana, Mot of the Death Arcana and Beelzebub of the Devil Arcana.

Persona 5
"What was that!? That wasn't Robin Hood... Could it have been a different Persona?"

- Futaba Sakura

Loki appears as the true Persona of Goro Akechi, manifesting during the second battle with him in Shido's Palace. Its ability to induce states of berserk rage is revealed by Akechi to be the source of the strange epidemic of sudden assaults. Usually, this ability is used to discredit Masayoshi Shido's enemies by fabricating scandals on them, but all such uses happened off-screen; both on-screen uses are during the battles with Akechi, first to drive a Cu Chulainn and Cerberus berserk as a demonstration and then on Akechi himself before the second battle. It is of the Justice Arcana.

Persona 5 Royal
"A malignant god of Norse mythology. Not always driven by malice, but impulsive and devious. He had an uneasy peace with Odin and the gods, but his part in Baldr’s death drove them to finally punish him."

- In-game description

When investigating Maruki's Palace in Persona 5 Royal, Akechi exclusively uses Loki, as he no longer needs to hide his true identity. It is the only Persona with the skill Laevateinn, which is Almighty in his boss fight but becomes Physical after Akechi rejoins the party. It can later fuse with Robin Hood to form Akechi's third tier Persona, Hereward, on February 2nd, after giving Takuto Maruki his calling card.

While possessing identical stats and several skills in common, Loki and Robin Hood have key differences. Compared to Robin Hood's focus on Bless and Curse skills including instant-kills, Loki seemingly specializes in attacks designed to cause as much death and destruction as possible, including Riot Gun, Megidolaon and Laevateinn, reflecting Akechi's new, openly deranged fighting style as Black Mask. Another difference between Loki and Robin Hood is that their resistances and weaknesses are reversed.

Dark Sun
Loki appears in the Dark Sun special, being summoned by Akechi to induce rage states into both Cu Chulainn and Cerberus. After they are defeated, he is summoned by Akechi and clashes with Joker's Persona Arsène. However, Loki is eventually overpowered and defeated by Arsène, resulting in Akechi's loss.

DemiKids Light & Dark
Loki can perform Ragnarok with Fenrir and has the power Mood-Burst.

Devil Survivor
Loki disguises himself as an unnamed human being, known only as Gigolo by the in-game dialogue boxes. He is voiced by Yuji Ueda in the Japanese version of Overclocked and Vic Mignogna in the English version.

Gigolo's knowledge of the history of the demon world has helped the protagonist from time to time, most notably hinting towards the location of the Devil's Fuge so that the protagonist can defeat Beldr. Loki has no interest in the Throne of Bel, and does everything for his own amusement.

In the Desperate Escape ending, Loki appears in his human form and tells off the protagonist for attempting to escape the lockdown instead of fighting for the Throne of Bel. If the player failed to save Haru (and thus not need to fight Belial), he also calls the player a failure for "dropping out." After revealing his true form, he attacks the protagonist's party, and even creates duplicates of himself to confuse them.

In the Kingdom of Saints ending, Loki also appears while the protagonist faces off against Naoya. Upon seeing the two siblings fight, he finds it fit to join in for his own amusement, and reveals his true form.

In Overclocked, Loki will appear during Naoya/Kaido's 8th day route, The King's Decision, in an optional encounter. Loki tricks Honda into luring the protagonist into an ambush in order to amuse himself, with the false promise of resurrecting Honda's son.

After defeating Loki in any of the above battles, he becomes available for the player to fuse.

Devil Survivor 2
Loki has a small appearance as an enemy with dialogue. Polaris in his second phase summons him and in this incarnation, he talks like a rocker.

Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse
Ally=

Demon Market=

Shin Megami Tensei V
Boss =

Ally =

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
Original=

Alternate Design (3DS)=

Persona 3
P3=

FES/Portable=

Persona 5 Royal
Base=

Level 99=

Devil Survivor
Boss= Ally=

Trivia

 * He is the primary antagonist of the original Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei novel, as well as the cult-classic anime OVA adaptation it spawned, and has the distinction of being the very first demon to appear in the entire Megami Tensei franchise.
 * Similar to Norse myth, Loki is portrayed as being rebellious and tricky; but at the same time, possesses a cruel and ruthless personality.
 * The sword wielded by Loki in Persona 5 is actually a pair of large pliers gripping a blade that is extremely hot, too hot to be touched. In the concept art, written in runes and with spelling problems, is the word "Laevateinn." According to the Fjölsvinnsmál poem, Laevateinn was created by Loki himself; the fact that the sword is so hot might be a reference to the fact that it was wielded by Surt, ruler of the land of fire in Norse mythology. Furthermore, Laevateinn is the name of a skill that Loki uses in battle.
 * While Loki could be considered Akechi's ultimate Persona because he follows the "mythological trickster" pattern of the party's ultimate Personas, he could also be considered his true Persona, seeing as Loki’s unique ability was used by Akechi 2 years prior to the events of the game to help Shido out of a scandal, as well as gain his status as the "charismatic detective." It wasn’t until he needed to act as a mole within the party that he began using Robin Hood.
 * This is further proven that in Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth, Robin Hood does not awaken into Loki or anything whatsoever, indicating that Loki and Robin Hood are standalone.
 * However, data for Loki exists in the internal files of Persona Q2, including a compendium entry.
 * By hacking Persona 5, it is possible to equip Loki on either Akechi or the protagonist as a Persona. He is of the Justice Arcana, and his stats and base level are identical to Robin Hood's, but he lacks any skills so the player must add them themselves. The protagonist has no voice clips for summoning Loki, but Akechi does, indicating Akechi would have been able to use Loki normally. In addition, there are two unused duplicates of Loki in the game, but both of these are level 1.
 * Loki's model in Persona 5 has sharp red teeth. However, these go unseen in-game, as Loki has no animations of its mouth opening.
 * In in a popularity poll on demons in the Megami Tensei series from 2017 in Japan, Loki received the 10th highest voter turnout of all demons.