Over the last couple of years, the Shin Megami Tensei series has grown in popularity, riding off of the success of the games in its Persona spinoff series. Itself an extension of the larger Megami Tensei franchise, the series is once again in the spotlight with the release of Shin Megami Tensei 5.
Figuring out which order to play the games in might seem daunting at first, especially to the uninitiated. But considering how most of the games function as standalone titles, you really can’t go wrong with any entry you happen to get your hands on first. For those who would like to follow a strictly chronological order though, here is all you need to know about how each game fits into its very loose timeline.
Updated January 21, 2022 by Michael Abayomi: The Shin Megami Tensei timeline has grown once again, now that SMT 5 is out on the Nintendo Switch. This has no doubt resulted in a number of new players wanting to know how to play the Shin Megami Tensei games in order. And while our originally proposed SMT timeline still stands, we’ve updated this list to include an additional entry for the spin-off title, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner. Read on to see how it fits into the overall Shin Megami Tensei chronology.
11 Shin Megami Tensei
Released in 1992 for the Super Famicom, this is considered the birth of the Shin Megami Tensei series and the point from which it spun off from the larger Megami Tensei series. It is set in a post-apocalyptic version of Tokyo, where humans coexist with demons. The JRPG wouldn’t receive an official western release until 2014 when it was localized for iOS devices.
At the time of its Japanese release, Shin Megami Tensei was believed to take place in the near future, which places its events sometime in the 1990s, (or 199X as the game puts it). The bulk of the game takes place following a thirty-year time jump, and the gameplay is presented in a first-person perspective with turned-based battles.
10 Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner
Originally released on the Sega Saturn in 1995, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner is the first entry in the Devil Summoner subseries. It is noted for straying away from the post-apocalyptic setting the larger series is known for, as it was set in modern-day Japan. The subseries has since grown to include three subsequent entries of its own.
A port of the game was released for the PSP in 2005, even though neither version was ever released outside of Japan. The PSP version boasts a number of improvements such as polished graphics and unlimited saves. In terms of its place in the overall timeline, events in the game also occur in the 1990s, placing it very close to those of the first game in the Shin Megami Tensei series.
9 Shin Megami Tensei: Nine
The next game on the overall timeline is Shin Megami Tensei: Nine. And contrary to the “nine” in its title, this is actually the fourth entry in the series. The game was released exclusively for the Xbox in 2002, making it the only one to have appeared on a Microsoft console to date.
Nine also holds the distinction of being the first one to make use of 3D graphics and character models, employing a presentation style quite similar to the earlier Resident Evil games, with fixed camera angles and static pre-rendered backgrounds. The game takes place sometime between the events of the first game and its sequel, Shin Megami Tensei 2.
8 Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine
Another game that is also set between the events of the first two entries in the series is Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine. Originally intended as a massively multiplayer online expansion for Shin Megami Tensei: Nine, Imagine was instead released as a standalone title several years later.
The MMORPG was first released in Japan in 2007, before making its way to the West the following year. It was also the first game in the series not developed by Atlus, with its development being licensed to CAVE and GungHo Online Entertainment. The servers for the game have since been shut down, meaning that Imagine is no longer playable today.
7 Shin Megami Tensei 2
For the second game in the series, the developers at Atlus had avoided making a direct sequel to Shin Megami Tensei, even though it still takes place several decades after the events of the first game. This is a decision that would also guide many of the subsequent games in the Shin Megami Tensei series.
In the game, the city of Tokyo (now referred to as Tokyo Millenium) is ruled by a religious group called the Messians. Players take control of a gladiator believed to be the Messiah, a warrior tasked with helping them rid the world of demons and prepare it for the Thousand-Year Kingdom. The game employs a similar sprite-based art style as the first game, viewed from a first-person perspective.
6 Shin Megami Tensei If…
Atlus decided to take the separation between its Shin Megami Tensei games even further with Shin Megami Tensei If. One way the company sought to do that was by limiting the game’s scope and setting. The entire title is set in a high school that gets sucked into a demonic realm, as opposed to an entire city.
The game is considered a precursor to the Persona games, with elements like its high school setting and certain characters serving as a throughline between it and the first game in the Persona series, Revelations: Persona. Not much is actually known about its place in the overall timeline, but this is one best tackled after playing Shin Megami Tensei 2.
5 Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne
The Shin Megami Tensei series made its PlayStation 2 debut in 2003 with the release of Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne. And despite being a numbered entry, the game once again doesn’t bear much of a connection or similarity to the games that preceded it. In fact, many doubt that it is even set in the same universe as Shin Megami Tensei 1 and 2.
Set in a modern-day version of Tokyo, players control a high school student who gets granted demon-like powers after an apocalyptic event. Often considered the best game in the series, Nocturne features a cel-shaded art style with gameplay that is played from a third-person perspective. It was the first game in the series to get localized and released in the West. It also recently received an HD Remaster on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PC.
4 Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is the sixth entry in the series. The game was released on the Nintendo DS in 2009 and later received an enhanced port for the 3DS in 2018.
The game is once again unrelated to any of the other entries that preceded it, although Strange Journey is set during the early 21st century, with a plot that drew a lot of inspiration from John Carpenter’s The Thing. It marked a return to gameplay that was presented from a first-person perspective, while its turn-based combat again had the player fighting or recruiting demons.
3 Shin Megami Tensei 4
Shin Megami Tensei 4 was released in 2013 for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is a throwback to the first game in the series, implementing a similar turn-based battle system.
In terms of where it fits in the overall timeline, its events are once again unrelated to the ones in the games that came before it. Shin Megami Tensei 4 starts out in a medieval kingdom called Mikado, where a samurai named Flynn must fight against demons. But as the player discovers over the course of the game, things are not as they seem and the game’s connection with the more traditional elements of the series runs deeper than they first appear to.
2 Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse
Released in 2016, Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse shares more than just an entry number with its predecessor. The game functions as both a direct sequel and a slight retelling of Shin Megami Tensei 4, offering an alternative viewpoint on the story in that game.
This time around though, players take control of a demon hunter named Nanashi, who is killed but offered a chance to return by the god, Dagda, in exchange for his servitude as a godslayer. Known as Shin Megami Tensei 4: Final in Japan, the game had been met with much praise by fans and critics alike, despite selling less than the previous entry.
1 Shin Megami Tensei 5
Shin Megami Tensei 5 is the latest game in this series. It was one of the earliest games confirmed for the Nintendo Switch but didn’t get much light shed on it until it reappeared during 2021’s E3 (following a deluge of leaks and rumors, of course), then launched on November 12th, 2021.
Like other games in the series, Shin Megami Tensei 5 is set in modern-day Tokyo but follows a high school student who is drawn into an alternate reality where demons run rampant. Many of the gameplay mechanics and elements from the previous games made a fantastic return, along with several new ones also thrown into the mix.
NEXT: Things We Want To See In Shin Megami Tensei V
