Atlus released the second full length trailer for Switch exclusive JRPG Shin Megami Tensei V, focusing on the game’s story, and the trailer included several worthwhile elements to analyze.
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Theories based on the trailer’s dialogue – What you should be wary of
It’s very likely the scenes and the voiceovers played over them in the trailer actually don’t match in-game. Japanese games trailers regularly do this, and you shouldn’t assume that what you’re hearing is what the characters are actually saying in the scene shown. It’s hard overall to make sense of the dialogues as it’s always out of context one-liners.
This is definitely obvious if you’re used to Japanese games trailers, but important to point out for those who aren’t used to it.
Shin Megami Tensei V story trailer – “New” female character voiced by Saori Hayami
One of the key characters in the new SMT V story trailer is this currently unnamed female character, a friend of the protagonist. Moreover, I’m calling her “new” because she already appeared with the protagonist in the SMT V reveal trailer years ago.
With this new story trailer, if you know a little about anime and seiyuu (Japanese voice actresses and actors), you’ll easily notice she is voiced by Saori Hayami. One of the most popular seiyuu of the last decade.
It’s important to note that dubbing in Japanese games is usually done very early in development. Usually the seiyuu only have the script, a draft of their character, and that’s it. Usually they also record separately, and don’t know who will voice the other characters while they record for their own. It’s very likely the dubbing for SMT V was already completed years ago.
Bethel Japan and the new character voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda
Bethel designates a holy location or the house of god. It looks like the protagonist will be joining this organization after wandering into the demon world of Da’at, fusing with Aogami, and becoming the Nahobino. This seemingly confirms the two will be able to separate from each other when they aren’t in a dangerous situation.
The existence of Bethel Japan, a technologically-advanced organization, also seems to support the theory that Aogami is some sort of artificial god. Especially seeing the way he mechanically says “target acquired” when spotting the protagonist and descending right before they fuse.
Moreover, similarly with Shin Meegami Tensei III, it looks like the introduction part of SMT V starts before we move into the demon world, and we get to see some of normal Tokyo.
Young anime fans in USA these days know Saori Hayami for Kamisato Ayaka and Kenjiro Tsuda for Dainsleif, both in Genshin Impact. We can hear several other seiyuu in the trailer but I’m not confident enough to identify them correctly.
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Draconian story choices
It’s completely normal for Shin Megami Tensei games to have the usual Law Chaos Neutral routes with some variations; However, it looks like SMT V could be going even deeper into “choices with consequences”. Moreover; the protagonist seems to start on the side of god, Bethel Japan, but this could quickly change. The trailer’s description from Atlus also states ” In a world without its Creator, the Nahobino must decide what is worth saving… and what must be sacrificed in return.”. No one will get that reference, but it reminds me of a certain Alicesoft game where you can’t save everyone, and making something happy will inevitably lead someone else to a bad ending.
Mysterious female character
Early in the trailer, you can see a mysterious character entering a demon. This character is from the same school as the protagonist. As you can see the same white motifs on their uniform. It’s possible that some of the surviving schoolmates of the protagonist will side with the demons.
Shin Megami Tensei V – Gameplay Trailer
That’s the main takeaways I’ve got from the SMT V story trailer, what did you think? You can always hit me up on Twitter @A_iyane07 to share your thought. Shin Megami Tensei V will be out on Switch in Japan on November 11, and November 12, 2021, worldwide. Two Limited Physical Editions, one in each region, are also available.
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