Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is a role-playing video game developed by Atlus and Lancarse for the Nintendo DS. The game is a spin-off in the Shin Megami Tensei series, which forms the core of the Megami Tensei franchise. It was released in Japan in 2009, and in North America in 2010. The story follows a special task force sent by the United Nations to investigate the Schwarzwelt, a spatial distortion that appears in Antarctica and threatens to engulf the world. Players take control of an unnamed protagonist, navigating the environments of the Schwarzwelt in first-person. Combat involves the player and recruited demons fighting against various enemies, with the protagonist having the option of talking with and recruiting enemies. Depending on choices taken in the story, multiple endings are unlocked.
The game originated from the team's wish to develop a large-scale role-playing game for the DS. Many of the main staff had worked on previous Megami Tensei titles in some capacity, including producer and designer Kazuma Kaneko, director Eiji Ishida, writer Shogo Isogai, and composer Shoji Meguro. The setting in Antarctica was chosen to appeal to an overseas audience. Alongside the new setting, the game featured multiple science fiction elements new to the series, taking inspiration from films such as Damnation Alley and The Thing. For the music, Meguro used grander musical styles than his previous works, incorporating choir music using a special synthesizer. Reception of the game was generally positive for its story and gameplay, but many disliked its first-person navigation.
A remake for the Nintendo 3DS, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux, was released in Japan in 2017, and was released internationally in 2018 by Atlus in North America and Deep Silver in Europe. Strange Journey Redux adds an additional character and story route, and gameplay and graphical updates. Ishida and Meguro returned as director and co-composer, while new character art and music were provided respectively by Masayuki Doi and Toshiki Konishi.
Gameplay
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is a role-playing game in which players control the player-named protagonist. The environments within the Schwarzwelt are seen and navigated from a first-person perspective: the 3D environment is displayed on the top screen of the Nintendo DS, while a 2D map is displayed on the bottom screen. Explored environments are automatically mapped out, with highlights being placed for unopened containers and doorways. These environments contain traps including pits, shifting floors, and floor tiles which damage the protagonist if stepped on. Alongside the main story quests, human non-playable characters and demons within the Schwarzwelt unlock side quests which yielded rewards upon completion. During the game, the protagonist's Demonica suit can be upgraded to open new pathways, enabling entry into new areas for story progression, as well as new parts of previously explored areas.
During exploration, the player enters battle through both story-based boss battles and random encounters with standard enemies. Combat is turn-based, with enemies facing against a four-member party made up of the protagonist and three chosen demons. Combat is governed by a derivative of the Press Turn system used in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: in Strange Journey, the relevant system is called the Demon Co-op System. If the player group strikes their opponent's weak point, any allied demon of the attacker's alignment will follow up with an unblockable attack which deals high damage.
As well as fighting demons, the protagonist can negotiate with them in a variety of ways: demons can be bribed, scared away, or recruited depending on responses given during conversation. After they are recruited, different demons can be fused together to create new demons. The new demon inherits skills from its parents, and some demons can only be obtained through fusion. The game includes 300 recruitable demons, all of which take inspiration from various world mythologies including Welsh, Egyptian, Norse, and Christian. Two main alignments govern the way demons must be approached: one that represents light, neutral and dark alignments; and one representing law, neutral and chaos alignments. The choices made in the story also affect how demons respond to player commands, and whether they will remain loyal. As with earlier titles, a Moon Phase divided into eight segments dictates how demons will behave. When the Moon is full, demons will refuse to talk. Fused demons can be shared between players using thirty-two character passwords generated when a new demon is fused. These passwords can be traded between different players.
Synopsis Setting and characters The setting and events of Strange Journey are unrelated to any other entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series. The game is set in the early 21st century on the continent of Antarctica. During the game's opening, a massive atomic collapse occurs at the South Pole, causing the creation of the , a black void which swallows anything it touches and threatens to engulf the Earth. The space within the Schwarzwelt is occupied by spaces representing the many vices of humanity, acting as a critique of them. The main bases are special amphibious vehicles: Red Sprite No. 1, the protagonist's vehicle, Blue Jet No. 2, Elve No. 3, and Gigantic No. 4.
The central cast are part of a special task force created by the United Nations to investigate and neutralize the Schwarzwelt. Players take control of a nameless member of the task force (Japanese in the original and American in the localization). Alongside the main protagonist, there are three main crew members on the Red Sprite: , the crew's leader; , an experienced American soldier who seeks rewards for his work; and , a knowledgeable Russian scientist. Other characters include , the Red Sprite's AI computer; the angel , who represents the forces of God; , a primordial mother goddess who controls the demons of the Schwarzwelt; and , an avatar of Lucifer who watches the protagonist's actions.
Plot Strange Journey is set in a world threatened by the expansion of a phenomenon called the Schwarzwelt, which threatens to envelop the Earth. The United Nations send in multiple teams, led by a man named Gore, to investigate and eradicate the phenomenon. During their attempt to enter the Schwarzwelt, all ships but the Red Sprite are destroyed. During their missions, the crew is helped by Arthur, who gradually accumulates knowledge of the Schwarzwelt and develops a personality. During an early mission within the Schwarzwelt, Gore is killed, leaving Arthur in charge. As the protagonist and members of the Red Sprite's crew explore the regions of the Schwarzwelt, they slowly uncover the truth behind its existence. In ancient times, humans were controlled by the forces of God. His rule over them was broken when the Mother Goddess Mem Aleph destroyed him, breaking his hold on Earth. Residing within the Schwarzwelt, Mem Aleph saw humans abusing Earth's environment and consequently corrupting her dimension. Determined to remove those humans responsible for the corruption and return the world to its ancient state, Mem Aleph unleashed the Schwarzwelt. The remaining forces of God, mainly represented by Mastema, intend to use the Schwarzwelt to spread their influence across the world, removing free will to create a united utopia. Key items are the Cosmic Eggs, objects created by Mem Aleph that can reshape the world when combined with the core of the Schwarzwelt.
Zelenin and Jimenez respectively side with Law and Chaos, while a resurrected Gore is neutral to both. Depending on the choices made during the game, the protagonist has the choice of allying with either Mastema and Zelenin, Mem Aleph and Jimenez, or continuing with the original mission. If he sides with Law, the protagonist and Zelenin defeat both Jimenez and Mem Aleph before using the Eggs to create a World of Law, with Zelenin worshiped as a channel to God for humanity. In the process, humanity is forced to abandon their free will. If he sides with Chaos, he and Jimenez help Mem Aleph defeat Zelenin and Mastema, using the Eggs to fulfill the Schwarzwelt's original purpose and create a world where humans and demons live together in a primal world where only the strong survive. In both the Law and Chaos routes, Arthur chooses to destroy his new personality to save the protagonist after the Red Sprite is damaged by Gore. If the protagonist rejects Law and Chaos, Gore transmits the necessary information for the destruction of the Schwarzwelt to him before truly passing on. After defeating Zelenin, Jimenez, and Mem Aleph, the protagonist and surviving crew escape in the Red Sprite while Arthur sacrifices himself to ensure the destruction of the Schwarzwelt, although there is a chance of it reappearing if humanity continues its abuse of the Earth.
In the Redux version, the protagonist is attacked and nearly killed by a woman called Alex, but saved by the demon Demeter who tasks him with traversing a location called the Womb of Grief to collect objects called Fruit. As the protagonist explores the Womb of Grief, it is revealed that Alex has traveled back in time to assassinate him, Jimenez, and Zelenin in order to prevent an apocalyptic future from coming to pass triggered by their actions in the Schwarzwelt and leave her as the last living human. After the protagonist chooses their alignment, Alex confronts him a final time, begging for his and his companion's help averting her future. If the protagonist refuses to aid Alex, he defeats her and the game ends as normal. If he chooses to help her, she fades from existence with the timeline changed. Demeter reveals that the Fruit are pieces of a fifth Cosmic Egg, and that she is a servant of the Three Wise Men before stealing the Fruit. Louisa Ferre transports the protagonist to the Empyrean Ascent, where the protagonist defeats the Three Wise Men, who fight in their true form Shekhinah. In the extended Law ending, Zelenin uses her song to remove humanity's desire for conflict, leading to an age of peace and harmony. In the extended Chaos ending, Jimenez uses the Cosmic Eggs to create a world where all humans and demons have infinite possibilities and true freedom. In the extended Neutral ending, the protagonist and Arthur remain in the Schwarzwelt's realm to repeatedly destroy it when humanity causes its appearance.
Development
Strange Journey was co-developed by Atlus and Lancarse, the developers of the Etrian Odyssey series. Strange Journey ran on a modified version of the engine used in the original Etrian Odyssey. The Atlus staff were made up of many veterans of the Megami Tensei series: Kazuma Kaneko was producer, and character and demon designer; Eiji Ishida made his debut as a director after being chief designer for Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne; and the scenario's main writer was Shogo Isogai, who had worked on Shin Megami Tensei II, Shin Megami Tensei If..., and Nocturne. Strange Journey originated during talks among Atlus staff about creating a large-scale role-playing game using a small development team. Kaneko suggested a Shin Megami Tensei game for the Nintendo DS. While originally planned as a small casual-focused project with a short development time, it grew in scale and shifted towards more challenging gameplay design.