Megami Tensei — also known as Shin Megami Tensei — is one of the longest-running RPG franchises in the world. But most of us wouldn't know it. Making its debut in 1987 on the Famicom, it wouldn't be until the Virtual Boy that Nintendo gamers (well, a few of them) would find out about the demon-summoning series. And now, the series boasts multiple sub-series, revivals, remakes, and enhanced editions. It's a pretty big hole to dive down.
Since gaining popularity in the West — thanks to Shin Megami Tensei III and Persona 3 on the PS2 — Atlus' star has only risen, with the latter sub-series becoming its own beast. But in terms of the more traditional, hardcore, and games you can get in the West, what is the best Shin Megami Tensei game?
We've left it up to you lovely readers to vote for your favourite SMT games. With the recent release of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, we're certain lots of people are interested in jumping into this sometimes brutally difficult franchise. But there's nothing else quite like the moody, philosophical, and heavy nature of SMT, so we're ready to help you jump in.
We'll be excluding Persona from this ranking as, despite still sharing many of the same demons and mechanics, it's basically its own thing at this point (don't worry, we'll poll the best Persona games sometime soon) - this list is to shed light on the name that started it all.
Other spin-offs, like Devil Survivor and Tokyo Mirage Sessions, are game, however, alongside remakes, ports, and the base and enhanced editions of certain games. We'll also only be including games that are available in the West and only on Nintendo systems — so yes, while Shin Megami Tensei is available on mobile in the West, its Super Famicom version has never been playable in the West with an official English localisation.