Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2

Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 (stylized as SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI Liberation D×２) is a role-playing game for iOS and Android. The story centers around the protagonist and their role as a Devil Downloader (Dx2), who joins the Liberators in their fight against the Acolytes. The game's scenario was written by Makoto Fukami.

Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 is the first Atlus game to be developed and published by Sega ever since it subsidized Atlus, however, the latter is overseeing the lore of the game. It was shown during the 2017 Tokyo Game Show with a special VR presentation in the Sega booth. The game was initially released in Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, but will be released in other countries over time. An augmented reality mode was added after the game's launch.

Season 1
The player is a viewer of the online "Mega-Tuber" Megakin, who advertises a Dx2 mobile app. They download the app and are greeted by Einherjar, founder of the secret Liberators organization, who trains the player to become a Devil Downloader (Dx2). He instructs them to go to Akihabara to join Megakin's group, the Tokyo Branch of the Liberators. Megakin welcomes the player into the group, and assigns them the codename Newbie. The Liberators oppose another Devil Downloader faction known as the Acolytes, who serve a being called Vanitas. Battles between the factions take place in Decoherence Fields, digital pocket realities to prevent the public from seeing demons.

Newbie and the Liberators investigate several incidents throughout Tokyo. In Akihabara, the Liberators investigate a series of disappearances. These turn out to be kidnappings by the TV host Shimono, who is working with the Acolytes to generate malice for TV ratings.

In Shinjuku, the Liberators investigate a drug that seems to be tied to increased crime and suicide rates. It turns out to be a digital drug, administered through VR goggles and used to implant demons in the victims. The liberators trace the digital drug dealers to an art forgery operation run by the artist Masahiro "Lefty" Sawada. After a scandal 5 years prior, where Sawada plagiarized a manga in his art, Sawada joined with the Acolytes to distribute the digital drugs alongside copies of his own artwork. The drug was intended to find people with high Empathy Quotient (EP), who could stop the spread of ill will - the victims would then be either kept as Acolytes or brainwashed into committing suicide. Sawada additionally used the drug to silence critics of his work, and those who tried to expose his plagiarism in the artwork he made since. For his usefulness, the Acolytes gave him the nickname "Lefty". Following Sawada's defeat, Megakin publishes evidence of Sawada's crimes and raises awareness of the digital drugs.

In Kudanshita, the Liberators investigate a series of murders at Rika's school, Kudanshita Girls' Academy. Disturbingly, the killer films the entire process of finding and killing their victims, and posts it publicly online as "snuff films". The Liberators find that the chief director of the school, an Acolyte herself, has been manipulating the film studies club to participate in the murders and edit the resulting videos. The videos are then posted online as recruitment videos for new Acolytes, particularly those with murderous intent.

The Liberators trace Acolyte activity to Shibuya, where they learn of an underground fighting arena hosted by the Holy Land Union gang. The gang's leader, a former pro martial artist named Hayate, manages the arena. With the help of Liberator Jeng Yun Tsai's strength and Megakin's MegaTube funds, the Liberators manipulate the arena's betting system to reach Hayate directly. Hayate explains that the arena's patrons include political elites, and that human trafficking auctions occur later in the day, so he cannot allow it to go bankrupt by paying out Megakin's winnings. The conflict escalates to where the Liberators are forced to battle demons on the arena's main stage, which disables the masking of Decoherence Fields - letting the public see the demons. Suddenly, Liberator Gakuto Inoue crashes a truck into the building, causing a panic and starting a fire. The Liberators pursue Hayate, but he escapes, and the group is approached by a mysterious man named Jabo Kakuryu. In the aftermath, the media exposes the arena's existence, Hayate disappears, and the Holy Land Union is in shambles.

In Ikebukuro,

Season 2
A couple weeks after the airport incident, the Liberators receive intel from HQ about a meeting of Acolyte leaders in Nakano. Megakin's group goes to the meeting spot to prepare for an ambush, but finds that all Acolytes at the meeting have been massacred. Shiang Sun attempts to contact Liberators HQ for further instructions, but is unable to make contact. Vince arrives to the scene horrified, blaming the Liberators for the incident as well as for kidnapping Honey. Suddenly, the scar-faced woman and her soldiers appear, and she introduces herself as Lindsay Altskan - an infamous terrorist believed to be dead. She works for the Brotherhood of Harmony, an organization that aims to forcefully unite the world under their dogma of "Unity". Further, she explains that the Acolytes and Liberators have been eradicated globally - leaving only the Tokyo Branch of Liberators, and Vince and Honey of the Acolytes; her group has also kidnapped Honey. Vince bombs a hole in the building to allow himself and the Liberators to escape, but runs off instead of joining them. The Liberators head towards the Akihabara hideout, but before they can reach it, a news bulletin is broadcast in the city that labels Megakin and the Liberators as terrorists, and calls for their immediate arrest.

The Liberators quickly reason that the Brotherhood has framed them, and that the Brotherhood's reach extends into the police. They manage to reach the hideout, where Vagit, Arisa, Kazufumi, and Himika have all already packed their facilities and are ready to go. Megakin directs the group to a safe house in Oshiage, which was made after the Acolytes' attack on the Akihabara hideout. Upon arriving at the safe house, the group is contacted by the Elements, a hacker group that opposes the Brotherhood of Harmony. Elements offers to clear the Liberators' names if they destroy a data center operated by the Brotherhood, and Megakin agrees to the deal. Elements disables all digital security in the data center, allowing the Liberators to enter, where they once again meet Lindsay. She elaborates on her organization's goals - the Brotherhood aims to decrease malice so that Vanitas will never activate, avoiding the Extinction Event that would destroy all mankind. To do this, Lindsay believes that the world must be united under a single belief system, her dogma "Unity", so that differences of belief, and thus conflict from those differences, can no longer exist - the eradication of free will for the sake of safety. She calls her troops, but Vince (who was looking for intel on Honey) appears to help the Liberators escape, and they detonate the data center on their way out. Lindsay attempts to kill the Liberators by gunning them down from a helicopter, but is stopped by the Alternate Hero, who destroys the guns and flies away. The Liberators and Vince return to the safe house, where they find that the Elements have fulfilled their end of the deal, and the Liberators' names are cleared. Vince joins the group, remarking that the Acolytes and Liberators no longer exist, and they set Honey's rescue as their next objective.

As the Liberators ponder Honey's location at the safe house, Alternate Hero arrives and informs them that Honey is beneath the Brotherhood of Harmony's Tokyo base in Roppongi. The Liberators infiltrate the base and meet Amane Misaki, a devout-yet peaceful Brotherhood member, who helps them find Honey. However, Honey's location has beem moved, and they are ambushed by guards. As the Liberators make their escape, they encounter Lindsay and a reprogrammed Honey that attacks them. Alternate Hero is able to restore Honey to normal with top-secret Acolyte commands, goading Lindsay to attack, but Amane orders her to stop - revealing that she is the "Enlightened One", the head of the Brotherhood of Harmony. Amane leads the Liberators into the sermon hall mega-church, where Brotherhood followers watch recordings of Amane preaching on a large screen, and she asks the Liberators to join their cause. Before Megakin can respond, Elements hijacks the hall's screen and declares war on the Brotherhood, pushing their own dogma of "Stand-alone" - that people should self-segregate to avoid interactions that would create malice. Elements sends demons through the screen to attack the Brotherhood's civilian followers, and the Liberators jump in to defend as many people as possible. Amane and Lindsay thank them for the help, and the Liberators return to the safe house. Alternate Hero departs, and Honey joins the Liberators per Vince's invitation.

The Liberators discuss which dogma they should choose, and are visited by Kokoro, a virtual being masquerading as a virtual Mega-Tuber. She shows them simulations of the future under the Unity and Stand-Alone dogmas - both are peaceful, but the Unity world suppresses all expression against its "harmony", and the Stand-alone world blocks off the internet with demons as armed guards. The Liberators ultimately decide that neither future must come to pass, and that they must form their own dogma. The discussion is interrupted by Lindsay, who asks for assistance in stopping Organ (codename Berserker), a devout and highly-dangerous Acolyte due to arrive in Tokyo soon. The Liberators and the Brotherhood confront Organ at the airport, and pursue her to the National Diet Building in Nagatacho, where she has caused an explosion. News of the attack quickly spreads online, alongside rumors of a specific nation being responsible, causing malice to rapidly spread. The Liberators encounter Organ in front of the burning building, where she uses the Antikythera Mechanism to summon the Malice Monster once more. Kokoro denounces Organ's actions, claiming that she knows nothing of Vanitas, including that Vanitas is a part of God, a fact that Kokoro knows as a priestess of Vanitas. The Malice Monster begins to summon demons at an alarming rate, and Liberators from branches other than the Tokyo branch suddenly appear to fight it back. Kokoro places her full support in the Liberators to save humanity, opposing the Brotherhood and Elements, which are each controlled by demons. Megakin finds inspiration for his new dogma - "Fellowship", such that humanity must work together in order to decide its future, and he names his new organization the "Neo Liberators". In a last-ditch effort to summon Vanitas, Organ absorbs the malice monster into herself, but is still defeated. Not wanting the Liberators to finish her, she blows herself up, and the demon activity in the area subsides. Amidst the chaos, a boy named Period, who works with Elements, uses explosives to destroy the Antikythera Mechanism.

Following Organ's defeat, demons start spontaneously appearing throughout Tokyo, and are visible even to non-Dx2's. Kokoro, who was born from the Dragon Stream and the connections people forged on the internet, determines that there is a massive influx of malice into the Dragon Stream. Period, a powerful demon and the boss of Elements, approaches Megakin for assistance - the disturbance is being caused by the remaining Acolytes, who are executing "Plan 19" - directly polluting the Dragon Stream with pollution devices. The Acolytes' goal is to destroy Tokyo, which would then cause global panic. Elements needs Kokoro's intuition with the Dragon Stream to pinpoint the devices' locations, so they can be destroyed. Megakin agrees to the collaboration, and the Liberators set out to destroy the devices. During this process, Period and Elements elaborate to the Liberators about their goals and intentions: Period and other strong demons have a vested interest in keeping humanity alive, since if humanity vanishes, demons will too. Demons cannot take matters completely into their own hands however, as doing so may inadvertently destroy humanity in the process. Elements as an organization is relatively small compared to the Brotherhood, but mainly consists of highly-specialized human hackers that seek to end internet toxicity. The core of Elements' operations is Tupsimati, a supercomputer with demonic powers that can accomplish incredible feats of hacking, but that requires its users to expend some life force to operate it. The pollution device crisis continues to escalate until the Brotherhood of Harmony is involved, causing all three Acolyte-opposing groups - Brotherhood, Liberators, and Elements - to work together in a temporary alliance. At the last device, the alliance encounters Jabo, who led the pollution effort in a last-ditch attempt for Vanitas to save humanity. As Jabo threatens to assume his true form, Alternate Hero suddenly appears and significantly weakens him with Armaments, letting Newbie land a decisive blow. The device is shut down, but enough malice had entered the dragon stream that Period estimates only 6 months remain until Vanitas arrival, if nothing is done. The alliance dissolves, with each organization galvanized to achieve their goals before time runs out. At an unknown location, Alternate Hero and Jabo discuss how they intentionally leaked Plan 19 to spur the three groups into action, and that Jabo fully believes in the Neo Liberators to save humanity.

A month after the Plan 19 incident, Tokyo is recovering, however the Brotherhood and Elements have been hard at work behind the scenes. The Liberators suddenly receive word that Liberator bases are being eliminated at an alarming rate, and a mysterious song plays throughout the world, incapacitating and brainwashing all non-Brotherhood-believers. Alternate Hero gives Demonite to the Liberators to grant them temporary immunity, and Kokoro traces the source of the spirit-enhanced music to the Brotherhood's HQ. Alternate Hero finally explains who they are: they are an alternate-universe version of Newbie who defected from the Liberators to join the Acolytes, but was unable to stop Vanitas from destroying the world. With Jabo's help, they came to the current world in hopes of changing its fate. As the group infiltrates the Brotherhood's HQ, they enter a different plane of reality known as the "Path to Eden". There they encounter Amane, who reveals herself as Phanuel, Archangel of Penance, and explains that she acted alone among the archangels to save humanity. Her hope is that humanity can repent for the malice it has spread, and become worthy to re-enter Eden. As the Liberators approach, Amane increases the song's strength to weaken them, but Ririn stands firm - having briefly believed in Amane's cause when her younger brother was saved during the Plan 19 conflict. Amane identifies Ririn, Newbie, Kokoro, and Alternate Hero as "Key Factors": beings who control the fate of their era. Ririn manages to stop the song, freeing the Liberators and dealing heavy damage to Amane. Shocked, Amane reasons that the entire Tokyo Branch of the Liberators, as well as Lindsay, must be Key Factors as well. Lindsay and Amane combine their power as their last line of defense, but the liberators prevail, causing Amane to fade and the Road to Eden to start collapsing. The Liberators quickly make their escape, while Lindsay and Amane stay behind together. Just as the Liberators make it outside of Brotherhood HQ, they are contacted by Period, who congratulates them for destriying the Brotherhood, and announces that Elements will be executing its final plan.

Characters

 * Protagonist: The player may choose to be male or female. The player is roped into the Devil Downloaders conflict when the Liberator app appears on their smartphone.
 * Taro Fuse: Also known as Megakin, he is the leader of the Liberators Tokyo Branch. He coordinates plans and information using the Megatube social media and video streaming platform.
 * Rika Ryuzouji: Also known as Templar Dragon. A trigger-happy high school student who works alongside the protagonist and Megakin while fighting demons.
 * Shiang Sun: Also known as Chalk Eater. A Chinese foreign exchange student who helps the Liberators by hacking and gathering information online.
 * Ririn Ueda: Also known as Eileen, a female high school student who likes anime, cosplay and cute girls. She works part-time at a swimsuit cafe and dreams of being rich.
 * Shiori Koden: Also known as Shionyan, an unpopular underground idol who looks down on her fans. She graduated from MIT at a young age and has a very high I.Q.
 * Jeng Yun Tsai: Also known as Kangaroo Boxer, a martial artist from Taiwan. Draws a lot of influences from action manga, which he also used to study Japanese.
 * Gakuto Inoue: Also known as Meat Balloon. A former JSDF soldier and mercenary and also a big fan of Shionyan.
 * Seiran Saikawa: Gatekeeper of the Aura Gate. She keeps watch over the Dragon Stream and enjoys kung fu.
 * Xana: A mysterious Hollow girl that resides in the Aura Gate 2. She wishes to learn about humans.
 * Vince: Also known as Carbon Black, formerly a Dx2 of the Acolytes, Vince is the partner of the self-aware Homunculus "Honey Sweet".
 * Honey Sweet: The self-aware Homunculus and partner of Vince.
 * Ixaya: A Hollow originating from the Hollow World.

Gameplay
Players can select the gender of the player character and play through an original story that is usually followed by a 3 wave demon battle. In true Shin Megami Tensei tradition, his or her personality is determined via dialogue choices which will also alter alignment (Law, Neutral and Chaos) but does not affect the story nor gameplay in any way. In version 1.8.0, there are major choices presented in Chapter 6 that determine the story fork for a "Normal" and "Alternate" version of Chapter 7.

Most missions can be played at the expense of "Stamina" that recovers over time or by using Hell Bull/Stamina Plus Items or Gems. Harder missions require more stamina. There are modes that use other kinds of stamina, however.

Aside from the main story, the player can also do several battling side games, with different rules and benefits:


 * Dx2 Duel - Players can fight the "Defense Party" demons of other users to rise up in a weekly ranking. Prizes are given depending on current rank after 7 days. "Battle Stamina" is expended here.
 * Demon Buster (Liberation) - Features specialized quests with specific rewards:
 * Strange Signal - Fight demons of a certain alignment to win Aether, used for awakening. Specific signals are only selectable for set days unless the player uses a Signal Scanner to activate all of them for a limited time.
 * Brands Of Sin - Battles here have better chances of dropping Brands, armor parts with varying properties that can fortify and enhance demon abilities.
 * Eclipse - A quest that can only be done using demons of one or two specific races. Changes every month.
 * Wanted - Can activate at random while playing Strange Signal. Here, the player will fight against a total of 20 3-star demons of a single type to get their essence Fragments. Users in the player's friends list can also play the Wanted Quest for as long as it is active. Player-generated quests usually last for one hour, while event-generated ones (tagged as "Emergency") can last from several hours to a day.
 * Advent - Fight a certain 5-star demon to get Spirit Fragments which can be used to power up the attributes of the same demon in the player party.
 * Kiwami - Fight various demons of very high levels and unusual skillsets. as the name implies, this requires complete mastery of the battle system as well as the right party. Progress and prizes reset after a set number of days.
 * Aura Gate - A 50-level 3D dungeon with a boss on every floor. This mode has high Macca and Magnetite drops, as well as raid bosses called Gatekeepers that appear in certain floors. "Aura Gate Action Points" are used here. The Aura Gate will remain open for 55 minutes, followed by a 5-minute cool down period before it opens again.
 * Aura Gate 2 (Hollow World): A new multi-level dungeon added in the 2.2.0 update. Unlike the first Aura Gate, this one is open all the time. There are prizes given both for clearing one floor and fully mapping it out. Certain demons become optional bosses and are found in specific floors.
 * Hell's Park - Here, the player can take 5 demons instead of just 4 to participate in Deathmatches for Hell Buns and other prizes. Opposing demons will have a specified battle speed and other special properties. Progress and prizes reset after a set number of days.
 * Alter World - Added in 3.2.00 update and acts as continuation of alternate Ch.7. Introduces more classic combat system with protagonist on the battlefield and Overbreak mechanic.
 * Battle Tower - Added in update 4.0.00 as PvP mode for Alter World. Unlike AW itself, it doesn't feature Overbreak mechanic, replacing it with damage reduction on protagonist depending from how many ally demons are alive (90%/60%/30%/0% for 3/2/1/0 demons alive). Players must register set amount of attack parties depending from their league and a defence party which cannot be changed during rounds. Each 4 rounds form a season, after which players demoted 2 classes. Rewards are given after each round and season. Each season determines handicaps and side goals, which affect player's points he gains from battles, and those points determines his position in his division. Players change their class in accordance with round results (promotion/staying/demotion).
 * Tokyo Abyss - Added in update 4.2.00 as side PvE mode for Alter World with gameplay similar with Aura Gate. Here players can use their Armaments, but not their demons. Overbreak is also absent. Players also can't use their demons, and they have to level up main character from level 1 along with their demons. Before start player must choose their starting demon. Dungeon presents multiple path, but only one of them can be chosen. On each path player can recruit demons via talking, fuse them with offered ones, transfer skills to them, heal them in certain spots and fight hostile demons. Each floor ends up with boss, defeating which grants Stigmata which acts as a constant passive buff. Every 5 floors players must fight against area boss who is known since the moment of entering area. Upon defeat player can return to start or to a place before the room he lost. Opponents becoming stronger with each floor along with better rewards for victories. During season player can complete missions for Gems, Sin Essence for Sin infusing demons and Demon Compound for upgrading armaments. After season progress resets and player is given magnetite for highest floor reached and souls of demons he had at the end of the season. There is an opportunity to reset run manually, but rewards won't be reset.

Facilities available to the player in the Hideout are as follows:


 * Church Of False Gods - Where demons can be fused to summon new ones. The higher the grade of the Demon, the more Magnetite is required.
 * Pandemonium - A training ground for demons where they can be enhanced, evolved, equipped with Brands or given skills from other demons. Unwanted demons and Brands can also be exchanged for Macca or Karma.
 * Liberators' HQ - Players can contact Einherjar to get Mission Information, advance Dx2 Rank and claim rewards.
 * Black Market (Liberation) - A place to buy rare items using Macca. Goods on sale will change every hour or can be shifted instantly by using Gems.
 * Shop - Buy enhancement items using real currency. Some can be purchased using gems.
 * Summoning Portal - Get random demons of various archetypes by using Summon Files, Parchment Pieces, Gems, etc.
 * Dispatch - Have demons go on timed expeditions to get items. The process can finish faster if the recommended demon race is used.
 * Demonic Compendium - Re-summon demons in exchange for Karma.
 * Aether Conversion - Synthesize Aether into bigger ones or break them down into smaller ones.
 * Divination Fusion - Create and upgrade Armaments for Alter World from demons.

Bayonetta
A collaboration with Bayonetta was announced on January 13, 2019 in Japan. The event for the English language version began on February 14, 2019.

Devil May Cry
A collaboration with Devil May Cry 5 was announced on March 4, 2019 in Japan. The event for the English language version began on March 14, 2019.

Berserk
A collaboration with Berserk was announced on February 21, 2020 in Japan. The event started on May 27, 2020 for all regions.

Ghost in the Shell
A collaboration with GHOST IN THE SHELL: SAC_2045 ran between December 17, 2020 and December 29, 2020.

Sonic the Hedgehog
A collaboration with Sonic the Hedgehog was announced on May 28th, 2021 in honor of the series' 30th anniversary.

The Seven Deadly Sins
A collaboration with The Seven Deadly Sins was announced on December 7th, 2021 in honor of the upcoming movie The Seven Deadly Sins: Dragon's Judgement.