Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner is a role-playing game originally released for the Sega Saturn in 1995, and was later ported to the PSP in 2005. The game was never released outside of Asian regions. It is the first game in the spin-off Devil Summoner series. The original Devil Summoner was the first Megami Tensei title for the Sega Saturn. Abandoning the post-apocalyptic themes of the original series, the story takes place in modern Japan, in the year 199X.

Story
The protagonist is a player-named young man who is attacked by demons and saved by the timely appearance of a mysterious demon-hunter named Kyouji. Shortly thereafter, Kyouji is found dead under suspicious circumstances. The protagonist is then trapped inside a warehouse and murdered by Sid Davis, a deranged serial killer and self-made priest. Rather than crossing the river of Styx, the protagonist finds himself in the reanimated body of the slain Kyouji, and escapes from the hospital. With the help of Rei Reiho, Kyouji's assistant detective, the protagonist seeks to save the life of his girlfriend and to stop demons from wreaking havoc.

Party members

 * Protagonist: A young man who is killed early on in the game. He possesses the body of Kyouji.
 * Kyouji Kuzunoha: A devil summoner who dies under mysterious circumstances.
 * Rei Reiho: Kyouji's female detective partner.

Supporting characters

 * Kumiko Hatano: The protagonist's girlfriend.
 * Charon: Ferryman of the Sanzu River.
 * Marie Kisaragi: A fortune teller who gives Kyouji cases. She takes 95% of the pay.
 * Victor: A half-vampire who runs the Hotel Gouma-Den.
 * Professor Azuma: History professor at Kitayama University.
 * Hideo Momochi: A police inspector that's always suspicious of Kyouji.
 * "T-Shirt" Isono: A police detective that follows Momochi around.
 * Redman: An informant for the protagonist that communicates over DDS-NET.
 * Dr. Thrill: A mad scientist obsessed with creating artificial demons.
 * Madame Ginko: Overseer of the Kuzunoha Clan and an old acquaintance of Kyouji.

Antagonists

 * Sid Davis: A dark summoner who kills the protagonist and Kyouji.
 * Takashi: A Yakuza thug turned vampire.
 * Tenzan Tendou: The leader of the Tendou-Gumi.
 * Seichii Yamashiro: Hirasaki councilman at the forefront of the city redevelopment project.
 * Atsushi Nakagome: Chief of Hirasaki police station. He arrested opposers of the city redevelopment project.

Gameplay
The gameplay is more or less identical to that of Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II, with the exception that there is no player alignment or multiple endings, and there is a Loyalty system in place. Each demon has a Loyalty value between 1 and 10. At lower values, the player can merely suggest to demons how to act in battle (which they will follow differently depending on their Personality type), while at higher values the protagonist gets more complete control of their actions. Each demon has a different form of raising Loyalty, which can include participating in battles, being given gifts, or being of a lower level than the main character.

Canceled English localization
In March of 1996 on page 46 of Volume 4 Issue 3 of Gamefan, it was announced by Atlus USA they would be localizing the Sega Saturn release of Devil Summoners for North America and releasing in some time in June of 1996. But for unknown reasons the North American release never happened and as of today Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner is the only game in the Devil Summoner series to never receive an official localization.

On February 11, 2012, a fan-site named "Digital Devil Database" had an interview with Tomm Hulett, an assistant QA manager and editor at Atlus USA. In the interview, he was asked about the possibility of localizing and releasing the PSP port of Devil Summoners for Western markets. According to Tomm: " there are a number of top-secret reasons Devil Summoner PSP cannot be released in the US. So, sorry to say, it won't be happening. However, I assure you none of those reasons are censorship or content related. ".

That was the last time English speaking fans have heard any official statement from Atlus or related employees on an English localization of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner.

Version Differences
Differences in the Special Box edition:
 * Several bugs have been fixed (this also applies to the Saturn Collection version).
 * Comes with a second disc called Akuma Zensho, an encyclopedia of the game's demons detailing their stats, Race, personality type, Loyalty type and their mythological background. The information in it would serve as the base for the Demonic Compendium entries in future games.
 * Comes with a mini-disc containing an interview with Cozy Okada and Kazuma Kaneko set to tracks of the game.
 * The manual includes a map of Chinatown and clearer explanations of Loyalty.

Differences in the PSP release compared to the Saturn version:
 * A new title screen featuring art by Kazuma Kaneko.
 * A "Special" option on the title screen to watch the opening movie for the then-upcoming Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha VS the Soulless Army.
 * The option to change the screen size.
 * The addition of the Demonic Compendium to the Gouma-den to purchase registered demons at the cost of Magnetite.
 * A new "Hard" difficulty. On this difficulty, enemies inflict 1.5 times more damage, bosses have twice the HP, Demonic Compendium demons cost twice as more, and the Back-Upper can only be used during a New Moon.
 * The HP and MP costs of most skills were altered. Some were decreased, while others were increased.
 * The option to input names in Roman characters.
 * Slightly polished graphics.
 * Menu interfaces changed into those of Soul Hackers.
 * Demons' status screens now indicate their Loyalty type depending on the color of their Personalities: purple for Greedy, blue for Subordinate and orange for Attachment.
 * Unlimited save files.
 * The Back-Upper item that allows saving anywhere now has infinite uses.
 * Four new bosses in the Astral World based on the Zeeds: David, Enoch, Leviathan and Skoll. Defeating them nets the Death Tally item which halves the costs of the Demonic Compendium.
 * Glitches from the original version have been fixed, but a new one was added: if the player saves their game directly in front of a locked door, then quits the game or shuts down their PSP, the door will be openable upon loading. If it is a one-way door, it will lock again after going through it and going back to the side the player saved at.
 * Four sprites have been censored: Angel (leather straps added, consistent with later design), Waxwork (exposed breast covered), Todomeki (exposed buttocks covered) and Rahu (horn changed to look less phallic).

Trivia

 * This is the only game in the Devil Summoner series that hasn't received an official release outside Japan.
 * Presently, a fan translation for the PSP version is being worked on by CJ Iwakura.
 * It became the 14th best seller for Sega Saturn in Japan, selling over 350,000 copies on the system.
 * It is the only game in the franchise to have received a television drama adaptation.

External Link

 * Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Official site (JPN - PSP)