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''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children'', also known as ''DemiKids'', is a series of
role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...
s primarily developed by Multimedia Intelligence Transfer and published by
Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...
. It is a spin-off from Atlus' '' Megami Tensei'' franchise, and began in 2000 with the
Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
games ''Black Book'' and ''Red Book''. Five more role-playing games and three games in other genres were released until 2004, followed by no new releases until the 2011 social game ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children''. In addition to the games, the series has been adapted into
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
,
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
, and a trading card game, and two soundtrack albums have been released by First Smile Entertainment. The series follows demon-human hybrids called devil children, who journey from Japan to the demon world, and are joined by talking companion monsters who give them guidance. The player takes the role of one such devil child, and battles against demons; the devil children do not fight directly themselves, however, but have allied demons in their party fight for them. The player can choose to talk to demons instead of fighting them, to try to make them join the player's party, and can increase their allied demons' power by fusing multiple demons with each other. While Multimedia Intelligence Transfer developed most of the games in the series,
Enterbrain , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing founded on 30 January 1987 as . Magazines published by Enterbrain are generally focused on video games and computer entertainment as well as video game and strategy ...
and Index Corporation also developed one game each. The music for the first two games was composed by Tomoyuki Hamada, who made use of both orchestral music and
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
. Yuji Himukai, known for his work on the '' Etrian Odyssey'' series, worked as character designer and illustrator on the 2011 game, creating new art for returning characters. The series received a wide range of reviews, from negative to positive. Reviewers enjoyed the demon fusion, while the music and visuals were criticized. __TOC__


Titles


Role-playing games

* ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children – Black Book'' and ''Red Book'' were released for the
Game Boy Color The (commonly abbreviated as GBC) is a handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on October 21, 1998 and to international markets that November. It is the successor to the Game Boy and is part of the Game ...
on November 17, 2000 in Japan, and re-released digitally through the
Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...
service on the
Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...
on November 13, 2013. A
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
remake of both games was released on March 28, 2002, and re-released digitally on the PlayStation Store on October 13, 2010. ''Black Book'' follows Setsuna, whose little brother has been kidnapped by an army of Jack Frosts and taken to the demon world, and who is accompanied by the Cerberus Cool. ''Red Book'' follows Mirai, whose father has disappeared in the demon world, and who is accompanied by the pink bird Veil. * ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children – White Book'' was released for the Game Boy Color on July 27, 2001 in Japan. A sequel to the first two games, it follows Masaki, who has a connection to a quiet boy named Takaharu, and who is accompanied by the green tiger Cray. * were released for the Game Boy Advance on November 15, 2002 in Japan under the titles ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children – Light Book'' and ''Dark Book'', and on October 7, 2003 in North America. ''Light Version'' follows Jin, who is sucked into Valhalla and fights against the Imperium forces together with the rebels; he is accompanied by the Sun Lion Rand. ''Dark Version'' follows Akira, who is summoned by Lucifer to a land called Dem, and is tasked with erasing portals; he is accompanied by the dragon Gale. * ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children – Book of Fire'' and ''Book of Ice'' were released for the Game Boy Advance on September 12, 2003 in Japan. They are sequels to ''Light Version'' and ''Dark Version'', again following Jin and Akira.


Others

* ' was released for the Game Boy Advance on July 25, 2003 in Japan. It is a puzzle game starring Jin and Akira from ''Light Version'' and ''Dark Version''. * ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children – Messiah Riser'' was released for the Game Boy Advance on November 4, 2004 in Japan. It is a real-time strategy game starring Jin and Akira from ''Light Version'' and ''Dark Version''. * ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children'' was released for
mobile phones A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...
through the
social networking service A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...
GREE on July 13, 2011 in Japan. It is a free-to-play social game, and the first entry in the series since 2004. Mirai and Setsuna from ''Black Book'' and ''Red Book'' appear as navigator characters, assisting the player.


Common elements

While the ''Devil Children'' games are released in pairs, similarly to the ''
Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...
'' series, each release is its own separate game, with its own story and protagonist, although the stories in each pair's two releases sometimes intertwine. The series' protagonists are the titular "devil children", or "demikids" – children who are demon-human hybrids, and wield superpowers. They all live in modern-day Japan, but end up traveling to the demon world as part of their adventures. The devil children are given weaponry, such as guns, and are joined by guiding companion monsters who can speak human language. The ''Devil Children'' titles are role-playing games in which the player battles against demons. While the player controls a devil child, that character does not directly fight themselves; instead, they send in their allied demons to fight against the opponents. This was changed in ''Book of Fire'' and ''Book of Ice'', where the devil children are able to fight by using cards. If one of the player's demons falls in battle, another is automatically sent in to take the first one's place. To recruit new demons to their party, the player needs to choose to talk to the demon instead of fighting it, with the demon's response mostly being based on chance. The player can trade demons with other players, which is required to be able to collect all demon types. While the player's character gains
experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experi ...
s, their allied demons do not; to increase their power, the player needs to fuse their demons with each other. The non-role-playing games all have different gameplay: ''Puzzle de Call!'' is a puzzle game in which the player pushes around boxes to make their way to the pentagram at the end of each screen. Additionally, there is an egg placed in each screen, which disappears if the player does not reach it in a certain number of turns; if they reach it in time, it hatches, giving the player a new demon that can be used when solving the puzzles. Each level, which consists of a number of screens, ends with a boss battle in which the player needs to collect icons while avoiding the bosses' attacks. ''Messiah Riser'' is a real-time strategy game in which the player battles by giving their demons commands. It focuses entirely on combat, with no exploration segments between battles. The 2011 ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children'' is a social game in which the player collects demons, referred to as "devils", and complete quests to become the strongest Devil King; the player can test themselves in daily tournaments. Like in the earlier games, collected demons can be fused with each other; there is also an added "social fusion" feature, where the player can fuse one of their demons with another player's demon. Players can also help one another by giving them demons and money.


Development

''Devil Children'' was created presumably as a response to the popularity of the ''Pokémon'' series of games, and as an alternative take on the game ''
Shin Megami Tensei ''Megami Tensei'', marketed internationally as ''Shin Megami Tensei'' (formerly ''Revelations''), is a Japanese media franchise created by Aya Nishitani, Kouji Okada, Kouji "Cozy" Okada, Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. Primarily developed ...
'' for younger players, featuring child characters and cute monsters. Most of the games were developed by Multimedia Intelligence Transfer and published by
Atlus is a Japanese video game developer, publisher, arcade manufacturer and distribution company based in Tokyo. A subsidiary of Sega, the company is known for video game series such as ''Megami Tensei'', ''Persona'', ''Etrian Odyssey'' and ''Trau ...
, and the 2011 ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children'', which was developed by Index Corporation. The only games in the series to have been released in English are ''Dark Version'' and ''Light Version''. The soundtracks for ''Black Book'' and ''Red Book'' were composed by Tomoyuki Hamada from the group T's Music, using orchestral music blended with elements of
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
. For the 2011 game, Yuji Himukai, known for his work on Atlus' '' Etrian Odyssey'' series, was tasked with creating new designs and illustrations of Mirai and Setsuna; they were designed to look older than in their original appearances in ''Black Book'' and ''Red Book''. The popularity of the series in Japan led to the creation of two
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
series and two
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series, as well as a trading card game. The first anime, ''Shin Megami Tensei: DeviChil'', was produced by CBC, Dentsu, and
TMS Entertainment , formerly known as the , also known as or , is a Japanese animation studio established on October 22, 1946. TMS is one of the oldest and most famous anime studios in Japan, best known for numerous anime franchises such as ''Lupin the Third'', ...
, with additional animation provided by Actas. It aired for 50 episodes from October 7, 2000 to September 29, 2001; the second, ''Shin Megami Tensei: D-Children – Light & Dark'', aired for 52 episodes from October 5, 2002 to September 27, 2003, and was produced by
TV Tokyo JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as and known colloquially as , is a television station headquartered in the Sumitomo Fudosan Roppongi Grand Tower in Roppongi, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, owned and operated by the subsidiary of listed certified b ...
and
NAS Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...
. Actas animated the first half of the series, and
Studio Comet is an animation studio with its headquarters in Toyotamanaka, Nerima, Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Fo ...
animated the second half. Two ''Devil Children'' music albums were released by First Smile Entertainment on December 20, 2000 and February 21, 2001: ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Perfect Soundtracks'', which features the soundtracks of ''Black Book'' and ''Red Book'', as well as one vocal theme composed by
Hiro Takahashi , born as , was a Japanese singer, lyricist, and composer. Biography On the music program ''Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ'', he mentioned he composed two songs at the age of 11 – ''Heart of a Woman'' and ''Northern Town''. In 1984, Takahashi s ...
and one by Nao Ito; and ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Arrange Tracks'', which features new arrangements by Hamada and
Motoi Sakuraba is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, such as for '' Tales'', ''Star Ocean'', ''Mario Golf'', ''Mario Tennis'', '' Golden Sun'', and ''Dark Souls'' series, as well as several other ani ...
of ''Black Book'' and ''Red Book'' music. There were plans for individual soundtrack albums for ''Black Book'' and ''Red Book'', but they were cancelled due to low demand.


Animation


Shin Megami Tensei Devichil

''Devichil: The Kids of Hades Kingdom'' is an 2000 japanese anime series produced by TMS Entertainment. In Japan aired on TBS from October 7, 2000 and in the United States aired on Toon Disney from June 2003


Cast


Japanese dub


English dub

*
Yuri Lowenthal Yuri Lowenthal (born March 5, 1971)Birthday references: * * * is an American voice actor, producer and screenwriter known chiefly for his work in cartoons, anime and video games. Some of his prominent roles in animations and anime include S ...
: Setsuna Kai * Colleen O'Shaughnessey: Mirai Kaname * Brianne Siddall: Cool *
Michelle Ruff Michelle Ruff is an American voice actress known for her work in anime and video games. In her early voice acting career, she used her mother's name, Georgette Rose, as a pseudonym. Some of her roles include Fujiko Mine in ''Lupin the Third'', C ...
: Veil *
Jeff Bennett Jeffrey Glenn Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor who voiced Johnny Bravo in the Johnny Bravo, eponymous television series, Dexter's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', Brooklyn in ''Gargoyles (TV series), Gargoyles'' and List o ...
: Hiromi Kaname


Reception

''Devil Children'' has received a wide range of reviews, ranging from negative to positive. Writers at ''
Famitsu formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' commented that the series did not change much between installments, although one said they enjoyed the stability and reliability in that. Kurt Kalata and Christopher J. Snelgrove of Hardcore Gaming 101 described the games as "relatively decent for being fairly conventional RPGs". Several writers at ''Famitsu'' praised the demon fusion mechanic, with one of them calling it the best aspect of the game. Kalata and Snelgrove noted that the series was unusually simplistic for the ''Megami Tensei'' series, but still found its gameplay to have more depth than ''Pokémon'', and that it was able to challenge the player. On the other hand,
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
's Frank Provo said that it was not "nearly as fun or diverse", in his review of ''Light Version'' and ''Dark Version''. Reviewing ''White Book'', one writer at ''Famitsu'' said that the tempo of the game was good, allowing for a stress-free experience playing the game, while another thought that the enemies were too strong at the beginning, forcing the player to repeatedly fuse their demons to make any progress at all. Kalata and Snelgrove were critical of the Game Boy Color titles' visuals, and were disappointed in the updated music and graphics in the PlayStation remake, saying that it looked like "a subpar Super Famicom RPG". ''Famitsu'' was also critical of the updates, calling them insignificant. Kalata and Snelgrove did however find the Game Boy Advance games' graphics to be a large improvement over the previous games'. Patrick Gann at RPGFan was underwhelmed by the music in ''Black Book'' and ''Red Book'', calling it "far from noteworthy" and saying that it had failed to leave a lasting impression on him. Chris Greening at VGMO said that the music fulfilled its purpose within the game, but that it was otherwise poor and "samey", with a few catchy compositions as exceptions. Kalata and Snelgrove thought that ''Puzzle de Call'' featured interesting ideas, but that there was not anything special about it. They enjoyed how ''Messiah Riser'' was different from other Japanese role-playing games, but found the user interface hard to use and that the artificial intelligence felt erratic; they also commented on how demons only have one magic attack each made the game feel limiting. ''Famitsu'' writers thought that ''Card Summoner'' rules were very complex, but noted that the tutorial made it easy to learn.


Notes


References


External links

* {{TMS Entertainment 2000 video games Atlus games Game Boy Advance games Game Boy Color games Japan-exclusive video games Megami Tensei anime Mobile games PlayStation (console) games Sega Games franchises Tactical role-playing video games Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2000 Video games developed in Japan Shin Megami Tensei: DeviChil Shin Megami Tensei: DeviChil Shin Megami Tensei: DeviChil Shin Megami Tensei: D-Children Light and Dark Shin Megami Tensei: D-Children Light and Dark Shin Megami Tensei: D-Children Light and Dark Video games about demons Video games with alternative versions TV Tokyo original programming Devil Children