Shin Megami Tensei if… is a 1994 role-playing game developed by Atlus for the SNES. A spin-off of the main Shin Megami Tensei series, it lays the groundwork for the popular Persona franchise. The story follows a high school student trapped inside their campus after a power-hungry classmate connects the school to five demonic realms. Players must navigate intricate first-person dungeons, negotiate with demons, and recruit them into their party to survive.
How to Play
The objective is to explore the demonic realms, battle hostile creatures, and stop the student responsible for the crisis. The game features the series’ signature demon negotiation and fusion systems, allowing you to recruit enemies and combine them into stronger allies. It also introduces the Guardian system, where dying grants you a Guardian spirit that alters your stats and skills. The default SNES controls are mapped to your keyboard: use the arrow keys to move and navigate menus, Z and X for the B and A buttons (cancel and confirm), A and S for the Y and X buttons, and Enter/Shift for Start and Select.
Tips
- Talk before you fight: Engaging in conversation with demons is often more beneficial than attacking. Learning their personalities helps you recruit them without wasting resources.
- Understand the Guardian system: Since death replaces your Guardian, dying strategically can sometimes grant you a better spirit with more desirable stat boosts and spells.
- Fuse frequently: Demons do not level up in battle, so regularly fusing them at the Jakyou Manor is the only way to keep your party strong enough for later dungeons.
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