The Amazing Endings of SMT Devil Survivor
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- čas přidán 30. 07. 2024
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Footage from Buffmaister and ArtFenixAsordis
0:00 Intro
1:02 Early Bad Ending
2:58 Yuzu's Ending
5:46 Atsuro's Ending
7:50 Gin and Haru's Ending
10:03 Amane's Ending
14:07 Naoya's Ending
17:18 Outro
#smt #devilsurvivor
I’m the kind of guy thinks the endings of games are of paramount importance. If a game ends poorly, it sours everything that came before it in a spectacular way. In the same vein, if a game ends well, it can transcend from being pretty good, to an unforgettable experience. Since not too long ago I talked, admittedly, a lot of smack on the endings of mainline shin megami tensei, I think it’s about time I talk about some game endings I really love. Devil Survivor is universally touted as a series entry with one of the best stories on top of having incredibly unique gameplay systems. I’ve went on record saying the spin-off SMT games portray alignment very well and have overall satisfying endings/ Let’s put that to the test by discussing each one in depth.This video will have the same format with me giving a brief summary of the ending itself followed by my thoughts on it, so needless to say there will be heavy spoilers. This video will serve as a devil survivor endings explained type, or even a devil survivor ending guide if you are hesitant to chose one and want to know the best devil survivor ending to go for. The fate of Tokyo is not something to be taken lightly and the devil survivor endings are incredibly difficult to choose from thanks to them all being so high quality. Shin Megami Tensei is a series I hold dear, and after my long video discussing the poor alignment endings of mainline shin megami tensei, this discussion on the devil survivor endings was a long time coming. smt devil survivor is a much beloved series for good reason and I hope I can do the fantastic narrative this game has justice with a brief summary of the endings and my thoughts on each. - Hry
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Leave any thoughts and suggestions for future videos in the comments!
I am curious if you can give a deeper explanation on Amane's ending and the 8th day. I know the 8th day they added is an important one for the Law ending and the importance of helping people to go to the correct path when they make a mistake.
I second the comment above me
I would greatly appreciate the Amane route getting a whole video to itself, please. I am curious to see how well one can disect what is ultimately just one day of the game.
Please do Devil Survivor 2 ending too.
I loved the cosmic theme in that game. The Polaris in that game doesn't want submission or worship. She just seeing mankind as another creatures in universe that need corrections, it is her job as The Great Administrator. And the whole cosmic systems feels so amazing, its differ from another SMT phanteon which to be honest feels too human centrist.
I loved the part when other SMT protagonist are somehow a significant incarnate of something great. Devil Survivor 2 protagonist was a mere human with no special aspects. Alcor only caught his eyes on Hibiki after he lead others defeated some Septentrions before.
And the conversation with Polaris in the True ending feels so good. She just need some understanding what Alcor really belived in humanity even sacrificed his life to help them.
I love how this video turned out and I'd like to see you do a similar video done for SMT Devil Survivor 2 sometime.
Getting an email from God himself telling you "you fucked up, my man" is one of the best video game moments I've ever had
God is coming for you.
End of messages.
Imagine you're finally beat the lockdown but then God said "you're fucked, here's my minion"
Not from him but from his butler all while badass music plays
God really hits your DM with “L + End of the world”
God's about to run up on me 😳
Metatron dms are one of the funniest shit ever, even though it's pretty terryfiying
That’s what I liked about smt4. They had Lucifer and Merkabah stand on equal footing. Always thought devil survivor was biased towards the heavenly deities and Loki was a big disappointment too.
now all he needs is a ratio
Then you hit god with the L in SMNT4A
The endings of this game are honestly all really impressive. None of them feel downright bad as long as you put any effort into actually considering what would be best for mankind. In that way, I see the bad endings in this game as similar to the bad endings in Persona 4, where they only occur because you didn’t think everything through before acting. Really excellent stuff
The mark of a fantastic game when even the "bad endings" are thought provoking in some way still
Conquering the world and killing innocent people sounds kinda bad tbh
@@MiguelAngel-go4ck Ehh yeah…it’s good for you yourself more than anything. Besides, as he said in the video, it acts to serve as a power trip above all else, showcasing the true and unrestricted power of the King of Bel. Not to mention that it is probably considered to be the “bad” possibility in the Naoya-chaos branch. And yet, despite it being “bad,” it’s still fun and even preferable to some truly sadistic players out there. I stand by what I said.
@@dachking6657 Yeah its definetly the most fun ending but its really bad for everyone in verse.
@@dachking6657 Actually, i'm sure the Naoya kill everyone ending is bad.
Ydvh enforced the lockdown and caused catastrophe to a controlled extent. He had the ability to protect humanity though and sought a betterment of humans.
If you kill everyone, you become a tyrant, you kill Ydvh, remake the worlds of humans and demons and become a purely evil Ydvh as seen in other SMT games. Or you die fighting Ydvh, and the world is in better hands. At least he gave humans a chance and is willing to accept a demon king protecting mankind.
The spare everyone ending is a compromise, even if you can't defeat Ydvh, you can probably threaten him. This means Ydvh and you get stuck looking at each other while humans can live freely for the first time since babel.
This is a neutral ending. Humans can be free and be good or evil. A new order may arise, but it will be checked by you and Ydvh.
Kill everyone is just a Lawful evil ending.
Naoya's 8th day spare everyone ending is one of my favorite endings in smt. I love it because while you have the power to take over the world, you instead use it to spare everyone and wage war against god to fight for a free world. I also rlly love amane's ending because it shows how god isn't just a tyrant, but he cares for humanity. Both are amazing imo, this is definitely my favorite smt game
Is the 8th day only in overcloocked? I could only access the original game so I'm curios about this ending.
I chose the Naoya ending because I didn't have access to the Atsuru ending which had a proper version of what I had in mind. I thought the best outcome is having a select few handle the power of demons while God has as few powers as possible. In a way it's like having a cold deterrence where everyone will be forced to not use demons except when all the selected ones allow it while still not bowing to god which is an asshole anyway.
The second best is the leviathan solution. Having someone gather all the power to himself and robbing people of all the best weapons in the world. The only violence can come from Abel (protagonist) if he manages to conquer all the power meaning no one has to handle any power and can live in an eternal alliance against him. (That means Abel is sacrificed but everyone else can live pretty much happily)
I think there are quite a few possibilities where you can have a positive outcome and not only an endless war where you rise in a selfish way. It's definetely better than escaping or bowing to god.
The other reason I got to that ending is that it's a videogame and it's arguably the most difficult thing to achieve which is the one I always go to first like the true deamon ending in nocturne.
@@edwardsuou yea, the 8th day is only on overclocked
Amane's ending is my favorite ending in the entire series and when you thought it couldn't get any better, the 8th day comes around and reintroduces concepts like forgiveness into Law and ends with the chance of even Nayoa/Cain eventually being redeemed. To be honest I would love a full video on Amane's ending! It baffles me that mainline SMT refuses to follow DSO's example on how to do alignments despite that being a common criticism.
DeSu has the best story on Smt, period
Let's see
Good characters
Well written
The routes are different from the usual
All routes have ups and downs
Truly moral grey
Interesting plot
@@Zerorenren4761 "DeSu has the best story on Smt, period"
Digital Devil Saga would like to have a word with you. The only thing it doesn't have is "routes" (there is only one set ending), but everything else - good, well-written, morally gray characters and interesting plot - are all there, arguably even better than the ones in Devil Survivor.
(PS: Just to clarify, this is not me shitting on the Devil Survivor - I really like both of those games, even if the second one is, in my opinion, vastly superior in almost every aspect, except maybe the story.)
@@leatherfasesin7717 i still didn't played DDS
@@Zerorenren4761 Hmm, that's a weird way of spelling Strange Journey...
I had to cut it for time, but I absolutely think the 8th day Law route is one of the best experiences in the series. Really fleshes out how the new world would be governed. Amane ending and character study could be an amazing video topic too!
The spare ending for Naoya was an incredible experience. Seeing every other faction turn against you, only to spare humans in the last day, despite all the people gunning for you and even your best friend turn against you, really shows how far Abel is willing to go to fight against the government and oppressive systems keeping humanity down. I felt the frustration of so many trying to kill you, as if to say "here, here's all the demons I have at my command! I will not fight you, believe me!" And in that moment, Yuzu sees how far you've come and gathers everyone to fight against the true cause of the Lockdown.
Naoya was right. If not for the fear of God's Ordeal driving the Shomonkai to protect themselves, the Lockdown would not have come. It is not fair for a God to judge humanity for the actions of a few and expect unwavering obedience.
"In various religions and lore, God is said to be an absolute being. Complete in every way. But how true is that? Is God really a complete entity...? If God were truly absolute, then His creation would never falter. But humans do become corrupt, and demons do exist. Proof that He is flawed, too! Don't you see? God isn't absolute! When His creations don't obey His will, He eliminates them. He doesn't save those who believe in Him, He crushes those who don't! God's mercy is saved for his followers; others can expect only annihilation. That is His way. That is His 'absolute justice.'"
This guy gets it!
Exactly.
God has proven himself to be a terrible leader. He needs to be overthrown. That’s why naoya’s ending is the best one.
And when Abel eventually turns into a tyrant, he too should be overthrown.
@@googleisgod963 If* Abel proves to be a tyrant. I thought the game implied that after killing Yhvh the protagonist would just join back up with his friends and live a normal life before dying at a normal age. Leaving demons and angels completely unable to interact with the world really.
@@haruhirogrimgar6047 I don’t even remember.
Thags an even better ending though. Just leaving humanity alone and letting them decide their own fate.
@@haruhirogrimgar6047 The fact is that this ending would be "chaos aligned", but the outcome is actually in the neutral side of things, as humans are now capable to choose their fates
However, this also shows that this game doesn't really have alignments, and that's why these endings shouldn't be compared to the rest of the series
I really love how your prospective of YHVH change between the chaos and law, in the chaos you see him as the evil tyrant who hurt humantiy with this punishment, but in the law you see as your lord who wanted to make you a better people with this test, I think it a lot beter then many smt games who just show him ass evil.
YHVH can be portrayed ambiguously for sure, just most of the time they don't try sadly
Ikr, it's awesome
Devil Survivor is a fantastic game, and the endings are great as well. I also like how Amane’s 8th Day also clears up some doubts about how things would be run, with humans being able to be redeemed and not just outright killed, not living in a state of fear the whole time, Naoya’s redemption, and especially Amane’s character being able to develop more now that her life is her own.
Naoya’s ending is great too, I always saw the MC taking it as a surefire way to save people without giving control over to humanity or God. It could be a power trip if you play the MC as a merciless person who takes the Kill Humans route in Naoya’s 8th Day, but just having the choice to stick to being a good person in the Spare Humans route elevates the ending even more. Your actions change the party members minds that left you, and even Amane who was a mortal enemy after what happened to her in Day 7 understands what you are trying to do and joins you.
I hope you do an endings video on Devil Survivor 2, as I love that game just as much as the first one. I’d make sure to include the Record Breaker endings, as they are a whole other conversation in themselves.
Good takes all around! I talked a little bit about DeSu 2 in my "Top 5 alignment reps video" and researching it got me interested as I love that game. There are a lot of endings, but I'd love to talk about it at some point too
Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker is probably my personal favourite game of all time and I have replayed it so many times. I absolutely adore Saiduq's ending the most.
@@Tony4You Honestly would love to see a video about DeSu 2, the game is pretty awesome along with most of the endings in it.
Honestly I went with Naoya’s ending first because I knew it had the black cape which was just a great decision by Able.
Can't argue with that honestly
Now I’m just imagining a version of Devil Survivor where the white and black capes from the Ayame and Naoya endings become unlockable costumes for Abel after getting them.
If it turns out that’s actually a thing, I’ll go get this game right now.
I rather disagree on Naoya's ending, particularly for no-kill Day 8. There's more to it than a raw power trip. Rather, one may pick that ending in service to humanity, recognizing the point made by Naoya and the Shomonkai leader: the ordeals humanity suffers under ultimately come from YHVH. Day 8 even proves it when Metatron tries to destroy humanity after being defeated, with only the power of the Bel demons repelling him in time. And in the no-kill run, humanity is spared the war implied in the Day 7 ending, as Abel takes the fight directly to the demon realms, and the epilogue shows that he's rather successful in the ensuing war.
Day 8 no-kill Naoya ending definitively protects humans both from YHVH's ordeals and His tyranny, with the potential downside being only that once Abel wins, nothing would be there to serve as a check against him other than his own humanity. Something of a mirror of Jin's ending in a way, but without the threat of YHVH Abel is also free to use his power in ways that could benefit mankind.
Meanwhile, for the Law path Day 8 adds something very important: a touch of mercy. The angels themselves are still the same one-track punishers that don't even bother with "fear not". But Abel can add the touch of human understanding to redeem wrongdoers and save them from judgement, adding a splash of New Testament to the Messiah job. It's one of the best Law endings in the series, with the only overarching threat being that of YHVH deciding to test mankind some more.
Yeah
The fact that you can recruit almost everyone in the no kill naoya route also shows this: by your action you prove that you aren't the next tyrant that would need another game to defeat, but an another sort of messiah that can help humans:
In particular Yuzu left you because she didn't trust that you wouldn't be corrupted by your demon powers, and we know that should you choose to kill, she would stand up for her beliefs rather than run and face you. So her joining you in the no kill route is really meaningful because you have proven worthy of trust(and love of course)
Hamane(who was an advocate of god) goes from being an unwilling baggage to fighting on your side with conviction
@@namoma4922 Amane wasn't really an advocate of God. Rather, she seeks humanity's improvement first and foremost, and is originally convinced that it may be gained through God. However, Remiel departs after Abel takes the throne, showing that YHVH has no mercy for those who challenge Him, something that directly contrasts with Abel's choice at the start of the day.
@@illusive-mike Ah i see
Yeah the mercy is pretty critical: whether the people choose to fight with you or against you against metatron shows it well: spare people and show that you're not blind even when fighting while they are treated as meatbags by angels, and they will side with you. Be just another demon and tyrant who will cause their doom no matter what they do and they will double down on opposing you, even those who wanted to stay out of it
My issue with anyone who defends the law ending is... YHWH just decided to cause humanity so much strife and suffering. Why would you ever side with him. And hell, when you get the chance to overthrow him and let humanity thrive as its own entity, why wouldn't you?
@@haruhirogrimgar6047 Well first the fact he does actually respect his promises here: there is no scam, no "by the way we re doing a genocide", no "did you know the benefits of brainwashiing?" or "since we re unclean too we need to die".
Since here they are a reasonable ruler it's not absurd tto consider them, or think they are right, even if you are not big on religion
Second there's whether you think they are justified in testing humanity like that.
Third there's pragmatism: We re talking about God. Yeah the fact that the angels REALLY want to get you to join them proves that the complete king of Bel is a threat big enough that they have a non negligeable chance of winning should it come to that. But it's far from guaranteed. After all Bell lost before. We all know tales of hubris causing downfall so it's not an unreasonable possibility that it would be the case here as well. And the consequences of loosing as a demon lord are not only bad for you but probably bad for humanity
Yuzu and Haru ending deal with the trial with humans remaining on earth but no noticeable change long term.
Atsuro give them demon power, but in the hands of a few and the temptation to abuse it. Humanity fundamentally change scales
Demon Lord can either end with you as a new tyrant or humanity free forever. Either way things won't be the same after that
Messiah, just like the last two makes a permanent change: With you as the herald humanity can change status, while being rid of the trials, long as you do your job well.
The last three are all different ways of both overcoming the trials and evolve from them, while the first two makes you pass the trials, but just that, on the rationale that the alternative is not wise which is fair
4th it depends on who you trust more: I picked Naoya ending and was happy i did but honestly, i didn't trust him at all. I was certain he was gonna backstab me, and was very surprised that he didn't.
The other endings it's less an issue of trust and more what you think is best and what you think has the best chances
5th: Well it's not an ending where your hands are completely tied once you ve cast your lot. You are the overlord who CHOSE to kneel to God. If you really later think you shoud fight them there's nothing stopping you: humans would trust you just like they trust the no kill demon lord, and you have the same powers.
Naoya's ideological debate/confrontation in the Amane's ending is one of the best well written dialogues in the series, is pretty different compared to the black and white depictions of Chaos and Law or the "you are wrong and we right" of neosona.
So much I had to cut for time, but I hard agree with this. This game is awesome and has so much more I could say
Neosona? Does that refer to P3-5 or SMT4:A?
@@ethanhinton4549 I didn't want to specify, but I'm talking about Persona 5, as 3 games portrayed the Phantom Thiefs as the "Ultimate Paragons of Justice"
Big agree, and I appreciate that neither perspective on God's ordeals is framed as "correct," or even whose interpretation of His intentions is correct. Like, pure philosophical conflict aside, I think it is perfectly reasonable for Naoya to call bullshit given the context of his character and I don't think he's wrong in feeling his own situation is unfair, even if he is far from blameless and clearly has plenty of emotional baggage clouding his judgment. The way the character drama in Devil Survivor so organically ties into the game's themes is one of its absolute highlights, and honestly something no other game in the franchise does quite as well. In a lot of SMT games it feels like the characters were written as one-dimensional mouthpieces for their alignments, but in Devil Survivor their beliefs really feel like a natural consequence of who they are as people.
So glad to see this game getting the recognition it deserves lately. I went into it with zero expectations because people in SMT circles never seemed to talk about it at all, and was completely blown away.
@@andresalonsomartinez3070 The same can be said for 3 and 4 as well. 4 was really black and white like 5, to the point that 5 feels like a lite version of Persona 4.
I feel like the Naoya 8th day ending where you spare humans has a more positive future than the video makes out. In it, you're silently waging a war against the heavens to protect earth and its free will from God. You become almost a messaih, sacrificing yourself to wage war that likely most people will never know about in order to protect humans on Earth. I loved that ending
What I loved the most about the endings is how deep they tried to go with explaining everyone's ideals, their was never a moment where it ends on the typical notion of mainline SMT of "you're good , you're bad, you're in the between" the good old black & white approach we've seen from mainline so far.
Devil Survivor tries to show the meaning of each resolution to its fullest, I don't like Yuzus end, but I like how it's a sized up version of Honda's ending, in Honda's end, you didn't fight against the demons, you essentially kept on running from yourself, as you didn't display any resolve, therefore, the fate of Man remains unchanged no matter how powerful you are. Yuzu's the same outcome but with a small unimportant twist of having displayed the power you wield, but unfortunately you kept trying to run away from the lockdown, not wanting to face the remaining dangers ahead for a better end at least. I like how it's still the same even if you continue fighting.
This is why Amane's ending, despite getting Naoya on my first playthrough is the best Law ending I've seen so far; Naoyas ideological debate with her is one I've the best I've seen from the series. Just when you think it couldn't get any better, the 8th days comes in and reinteoduces forgotten concepts mainline just doesn't do anymore like forgiveness into Law and even ends on a chance of redemption for Cain/Naoya.
This is easily my favorite ending in SMT and Devil Survivor is one of my favorite SMT games ever. It's sad how small this games talked about . I'd honestly appreciate a full analysis of Amane's ending considering it takes a different approach to how Law usually worse in mainline. Great video as always Tony!
I love the praise Devil Survivor is getting in recent years.
I picked up the original version for the DS quite a few years ago back when I just started getting into Persona and SMT, and since it was barely discussed by anyone at the time I didn’t have the highest expectations for it. Needless to say I was absolutely blown away and to this day Devil Survivor remains my favorite megaten game and one of my favorite games period.
I know it doesn't get nearly as much love as the first game but Devil Survivor 2 is also really good, one of my top 5 for sure, and well worth its own video.
Agree with everything and even added DeSu 2 to my top 5 SMT games video lol. These games are really magical
@@Tony4You Good to know, I look forward to a possible sequel to this video in the future then.
I’m curious to see how you would compare Amane’s ending to Ronaldo’s, two forms of utopia with very different methods of achieving an egalitarian world. One guides people along this path by leading by example, and sometimes by use of force. Whereas the other simply rewrites human nature itself to achieve an idealized future.
Its hard to say which method I would prefer but I like the end result either way.
@@Tony4You Would absolutely love to see that. Never reached any of its endings, but I’ve at least played DS2.
Should probably get around to that. See if I can get Bunny out of that stupid snafu in the subway on Day 4…
Devil Survivor 3 is one of my highest hopes.
@@s.silverman9864 Quite interesting. Personally, though I love DS2, I keep hitting snags: recently beat the subway mission on Day 4 after bouncing off it, only to get slammed on Day 5 by Alioth’s demons. Not even the Septentrionr itself, the minions alone are murdering me.
As such, haven’t hit the alignment lock, but Yamato and Ronaldo are quite interesting as characters. No idea what’s gonna happen in the remaining time to make Ronaldo go from just trying to expose JP’s’ crimes to rewriting human nature, but he’s sure making a good case for Law at the moment. On the other hand, Yamato not doing the same for Chaos is sort of why he’s so interesting: as the days go on, it becomes increasing obvious that Yamato’s an @$$hole with no regard for other life, human or demon…but there’s no denying that his organization has the resources to handle the apocalypse, yourself included among them. Yamato’s an interesting Chaos rep because he’s, at least from what I’ve seen thus far, clearly evil…and yet, whether you agree with him alignment wise or not, you HAVE to work for him.
DeSu's endings are more than just peak fiction, they should've set the bar for every SMT title that came after. Law that isn't just blindly following God's will or forcing others to submit to it, Chaos that's more than people just murdering each other and creating a hellistic dog-eat-dog world, neutral routes that are more than tooting humanity's horn, that's how they should be. And then we got SMT IV, IVA, and V's endings.
4A doesn't really count as it only has 2 real endings and both are varients of each other with the same final boss and dungeon, one being basically the "power of friendship route" and the other being the "edgelord route," both being neutral and both being very bad and poorly written routes IMO.
Base SMT4 just went extreme in both the law and chaos routes as that was kind of the point, since the main theme of SMT4 is about radicalization and the power of propaganda. However, later games such as Strange Journey Redux have very good law and chaos endings. (at least the Redux versions) While Persona doesn't have alignments, Maruki too was a very good law rep in P5R and I wish more law endings were like his bad (not really) ending.
SMT5 while not having the best endings are certainly not bad. SMT5 like nocturne goes in a different direction with the endings being a "monotheist ending," "agnostic ending," "polytheist ending," and "atheist ending" disguised as Law, Neutral, Chaos, and True Neutral endings respectively. And the Law Ending of SMT5 is one of the more positive ones plus God was portrayed quite benevolently in SMT5 compared to basically every other game in the series. (including spinoffs and sub-series) So I say SMT endings have gotten a lot better after the story criticisms 4A and to a lesser extent base 4 got, with a lot of people far preferring the endings of the DS games to the ones in 4/4A. The endings are definitely improving, but we'll see when Soul Hackers 2 releases later this year, if that game even has multiple endings that is. (did Soul Hackers 1 have multiple endings? IDK)
DeSu was really one of a kind unfortunately. Here's hoping the next entrees in the series have the same magic
@@krimsonkatt I like the ideas V presented but found the execution lacking. If they'd fleshed out the story and characters more I feel they would've really had something special.
Redux was actually a very good mention and I can't believe I forgot it, though that's probably because of its release so late into the 3DS's lifespan. I'd say they did Law and Chaos right as well, maintaining the original endings while also presenting ones that aren't as bleak and hopeless.
@@Ostinato-Obbligato Yeah I agree V was super rushed and incomplete when it comes to the story. According to interviews it seems V's story was more of a last minute thing that they cobbled together in the last 6 months of development and it shows. For V Atlus mainly focused on gameplay first and story and characters last which is a big no-no in a series praised for it's high quality, mature storytelling. But at least V still has amazing gameplay, though it suffered from an extremely bland and lifeless story that was very clearly rushed beyond belief development wise. Compare that to something like Strange Journey which is able to balance having a good story AND good gameplay and the difference is quality is really apparent.
And yes, I agree with you that SJR has good endings. A lot of people don't like the new endings but I certainly do, as it actually gives you a reason to not go neutral every time. It kinda sucks that the new final dungeon and boss is the same in all three routes and the only thing different in the new routes is what forms of what earlier bosses from the base endings you face before the new final one, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. They're certainly better than the extremely bleak law and chaos endings of the original SJ, possibly the bleakest in the series along with base 4 which both have a EXTREMELY heavy neutral bias.
The only thing I didn't like about the new endings is that it cerberus retcons the old neutral ending into being a bad ending like old law and chaos, though it's possible it's not actually as bad as Alex says because humanity can change especially now that the MC has been warned by Alex.
The neutral route in general is made even worse by the new neutral ending being quite bleak in contrast to the hopeful original neutral ending, making Neutral the WORST route to go down in Redux compared to being the BEST in OG Strange Journey. IDK I just find that kinda weird, but I really am enjoying Redux quite a bit and am almost done with the new law route. (about to enter the alignment lock) Yes, I'm playing a 3DS game in 2022 on original hardware. The 3DS may be dead, but I'm not done with it yet. I still have like 8 more 100+ hour RPGs to get through before I'm done! (SMT4, SMT4A, SMTDSO, SMTDS2RB, SMTSH1, PQ, PQ2, Radiant Historia, YKW3, and various others.)
I think a big point of SMT IV's endings went over everyone's heads. It's supposed to demonstrate that Law and Chaos are one in the same. Whether you rapture everyone cursed with the forbidden fruit of knowledge, including yourself and Jonathon, to make way for everyone to live in peace in the perfect Garden of Eden that is Mikado; or you conquer Mikado and become its ruler to decide the perfect balance between Law and Chaos for yourself. Both endings have fractals of Chaos and Law in them. That's the entire point of it. I don't get why everyone simplifies or outright misrepresents the endings to be generic "burn Mikado" or "genocide/suicide" when they are far more nuanced and thought-provoking.
I love Naoya's ending mainly because the game is basically giving you the hardest challenge it possibly could just so you can prove you're actually worthy of sitting on this throne. Instead of the game making everything in your path easy to show your power, you have to show the game your power and crush everything. Definitely not the most heroic ending but definitely one that I enjoyed the most.
You said about everything i would say about Amane ending, so i won't add much. I think if this was actually happening and i had the actual capacity to make it happen that would be what i would most likely go on to do
About Naoya/Chaos/Demon Lord ending i would say it being a "power trip" depends on you:
Without the 8th day i really agree that it feels like that, especially as you really don't know what's gonna happen, or how much humans will be in the crossfire
But the 8th day clears that up a lot: if you choose to kill, then you do prove the angels right, especially as you can then go on to conquer humans. You are also opposed by Yuzu and other former allies, which is pretty huge, especially for Yuzu who struggles to not running from the trials, has history and feelings for the MC and yet she stands up to you among others because she thinks you've gone too far
If you choose not to kill on the other hand it's more of a messiah path, chaos version: you prove that angels are willing to use humans as meatbags, while you still are in their corner, Almost everyone eventually joins you, most notably Yuzu(who feared becoming a demon would corrupt you) and Hamane(an agent of God and yet you ve convinced her to fight willingly and with conviction)
In that sense it's an ending you could reasonably take if you are adventurous and get swayed by Naoya good argument(this trial will not be the last, regardless of if angels keep their promises or not, and the cycle will more than likely not end in a good way eventually). The main things you can fear is Naoya(he is actually loyal, but i was honestly fearful that he was scamming us in some ways) and that it's a huge gamble. But it definitly a path you don't need to be actually crazy to take
Then there's Atsuro ending...honestly the one that appealed to me most after Naoya, and probably one i d like to pick if it was me: You choose to get demons under control, and not only survive the experience but gain something from it. The other thing i think you missed is that in this ending, while humanity could fall to the temptation of misuing demon powers, they also now have powers that lets them not be powerless against angels when the time of trials inevitably come back: In that ending humans achieved powers that put them on par with the heavens and let them not be powerless yes men to them, while having definitly solved the demon problem
I also like it because it's a bit of a "3rd choice" ending: no one really expected to solve the problem that way but they did
However i agree with you in the fact that it being in the hands of one single governement only is a huge flaw: while i get the logic not everyone should be trusted with demons powers, if i was in the protagonist shoes i definitly wouldn't feel like handing them that power with no check and balance. But it's complex anyway no matter how you look at it
Yeah, as soon as “like the government” came up for who’d still have demons in Atsuro’s ending, I realized it was a terrible idea. Doesn’t ruin the ending at all, but putting that kind of power under government control is just asking for it to be abused. Granted, putting that control in the hands of random civilians isn’t a good idea either.
If it were me, I’d have put the demon control specifically in the party’s hands, with the party having power over who else could have it. Kind of nepotistic, but the party are theoretically people proven to be responsible with that power.
@@isenokami7810 I think it's understandable in a way: they are teenagers so giving it to the "adults" might seem like the most reasonable thing to do, and as long as you give it to even a considerable amount of the population, the governement would have to be involved at some point, whether by their own interest or just to regulate things(demons are like guns except they can do about anything and everything so ir can't be ignored, no matter how much of good faith you have).
But yeah giving them full control over it ? no. Especially not the kind of government who put bombs in even mundane objects unbestknown to everyone before any of the magical nonsense happen. They can't be counted out, but it"s just asking for trouble to give them free reign
Alternatively maybe a mix toward chaos would have been better: since it's such a game changing technology, maybe outright changing the game with is not the worse idea, by that i mean working towards dissolving old power structures for new ones better fitted. But admitidly it comes with its own problem, let alone the question of whether you can achieve it.
The party should be ok judge: while it's true they have some elements who went off the deep end like the others, to get atsuro ending, you need to have been way more exemplary than a lot of summoners, and having straightened those that went nuts. They were in the worst situation and still held to their moral compass, with risk to themselves too. That's not nothing
Law Ending: You *have* to kill people.
Chaos Ending: You don't *have* to kill people.
Devil Survivor is my favorite SMT game period. I can't even remember how many times I've replayed the game entirely just to see Naoya and Amane's endings again. Nice to see some more Devil Survivor love with this video lol
This game deserves all the praise it gets, thanks for watching!
Naoya's ending shifts depending on your 8th day choice. Killing humans stays in chaos but sparing all humans makes it pivot more into neutral
So I did the best Naoya ending (eight day don’t kill) and I think it’s my favorite ending in the series, I just love it so damn much
Please cover Devil Survivor 2 too. Record breaker specifically cause oml it's great
Controversial opinion:Devil Survivor 2 is better than Devil Survivor
If Tony does then I need to finish it up quick! On my first playthru and about half way there!
@@peropero2208 That's not controversial, it's facts. Both are great but Desu 2 really hits different
Yep, it's truly amazing. Better than the first game, in my opinion.
The way Devil Survivor 2 allows you to convince almost every single character to join you (or even all of them, if you're doing either of Daichi's routes), individually showing them how their problems can be solved in your new system and pointing out flaws in their original ideologies, is *so fucking good*, it made getting all the endings completely worth it just for these short scenes alone and forever cemented DeSu2 as probably my most favorite MegaTen game ever, because there is NOTHING like that in any other SMT or Persona game I have played over the years. Simply incredible.
@@leatherfasesin7717 I actually didn't like that. When playing multiple playthrough, it actually hurt to see the past comrades so easily throwing their ideals away. Especially Egalitarian folk on Meritocracy route.
I feel like characters with opposite idologies should have stand down, no point in everyone dying, but not join up. With exception for neutral route, since it is most agreeable.
I've kinda got a different view on the passive naoya ending I've always pictured it as taking up the power in order to free humanity from their shackles but using a more final solution to the problem
I can see that. I dislike Chaos endings usually, so I assume it was to be a very bloody and selfish war, but maybe it's more hopeful than I first thought
Neutral: Tony4You
Chaos: Tony4Me
Law: Tony4All
Small correction: Aya isn’t the sister of haru, but a friend and teacher to haru
I love Metatron sending you an email just to call you Cringe
12:20 *"... We got him!"*
This game was my introduction to SMT and I had a blast playing it. I got Gin and Haru ending, it was the most obvius pick to me. I haven't aware about all those chaos/law allignment yet, but to me, if humanity is screw and will perish, at least we should be allowed to it themself, angels and demons be dammend.
And it was really nice see this video, since I didn't played it again to go after the others endings. Pretty nice use of the 2 oppostie endings we get in most of those games.
Devil Survivor is the only SMT game that I liked every ending. Whether is good or bad, there's always a concrete reason behind the decision, making every character's action on every route understandable.
By the way Amane's ending is my favorite. This is the best law ending in the entire franchise. Also she is a great law alignment representative.
Yuzu's 8th day ending without restoring the barrier is the best bad end I have seen in a game. It is so bleak and I feel it would be an amazing set up for an SMT game where you have to survive the apocalypse with demons hoing berserk in the world.
>months later metatron e-mails you
i guess that's the weirdest phrase i've heard in a coule of weeks
Best SMT game by far
I honestly love the ending for Naoya. I don’t know what it is but just teaming up with him and you and him working together is such a fun feeling.
For me, it is the fact that Naoya truly cares about the protagonist and sincerely wants him to be happy, perhaps as a way to atone for his past crimes as Cain. Like, yeah, he is a manipulative bastard who enjoys using other people as pawns and throwing them away when they stop being useful, but despite how it might seem at first his love for you is 100% genuine, which is something that I honestly didn't expect from him.
Naoya is a great character and a phenomenal Chaos representative, because he is extremely human. Behind his "fuck God" philosophy lies a guilt-ridden person and a caring brother, so teaming up with him and saying "I'm here with you" felt immensly gratifying.
Supporting each other through hardships, as family should.
@@leatherfasesin7717 agreed. Naoya is such a great character and there’s a lot to him.
I went for Naoya's route first playthrough and don't regret it, will go do Gin's and Amane's endings next though!
Devil Survivor is pretty epic. Good video, Tony.
Thanks king
Devil Survivor? More like Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Devil Kuzunoha vs Tony4You
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers: Nocturne feat. Dante from the Devil May Cry series
Great video, it really reminded me of why I loved Devil Survivor so much. I should replay it again some time soon for sure.
Devil Survivor is my favorite ATLUS game and I always loved all the alignments portrayals in the game. Thanks for talking about it! I hope we get a Devil Survivor 3 someday
I hope for a Devil Survivor 3 as well since it is a masterpiece of a series, but it looks like we will have Digimon Survive while we wait for Atlus to get working on that :)
@@haruhirogrimgar6047 im very looking forward to Digimon Survive. It's obvious the people behind the Digimon games are SMT fans even with Cyber Sleuth and it's looking like a really great dark Digimon. Hoping for the best and that it doesn't get another delay
Naoya (spare humans) route so far is my favorite conclusion to any SMT game. Being a demon king while also having your humanity intact is awesome. Not to mention Yuzu seeing how much you stayed true to yourself ends up rejoining your cause because of it is really cool.
I genuinely like that Naoya's ending gives you the chance to use your free will to show mercy instead of just slaughtering everyone, unlike other chaos endings.
A big part of what makes me chaos stand in SMT is that the philosophy of chaos is that you get to be free. I've been feeling that the chaos endings lack the representation that you also get to be free to do good things, instead just taking it as a given that you would use your freedom to be a monster.
100% agreed. The "you also get to be free to do good things" part is something I often feel is severely lacking from the Chaos endings.
Love this game. Really stressful to beat but super fun, and the endings are great conclusions to your journeys.
For those who couldn't get into it - i myself couldn't the first time i tried it - play it in small sessions of 2 or 3 hours and take breaks. Worked for me and it's one of my favorite games now.
the first ending ive got was gin and haru and i really like it i was trying to get the chaos ending but still a satisfying ending
Amane's ending really is the best ending in SMT. It's the only ending that portrays god as being a forgiving person who will protect humanity as long as they prove that they deserve it.
Devil Survivor is a game I really hope gets a remaster or another sequel at some point, the two games are easily some of my favorite from Megaten.
Thank you for making a video covering these endings. I finished DS:O a long time ago and never had the energy to replay it to see the rest of the endings for myself. The videos already on youtube are just gameplay with no commentary, which is fine enough but I was hoping for a shorter, explained video, like yours.
Happy to help, I knew this video needed to be made as I was looking for the endings summarized too. If it isn't there, I'll make it lol
Amazing video tony
Completely agree with your stance on games ending poorly, it ruins what came before it. Prime example for me is Mass effect 3, the ending killed off any motivation for multiple playthroughs, and I had a played and beaten ME 1&2 with every class.
So any reason for not covering the overclocked endings?
The Chaos ending is too badass
Definitely my favorite SMT. I wish they would do more of them.
Aye just as I was replaying the devil survivor series on the 3ds
As always, love watching your videos haha
It is quite unfortunate i can't see this video as of not having played Devil Survivor yet, but I'm still happy there's a new Tony4You!
Don't forget to come back after playing the game! I'll be expecting a comment lol
@@Tony4You Don't worry, when I do get to Devil Survivor I'll be back here!
Devil survivor was such a surprising gem to me when my buddy who liked SMT recommended it to me cause I like fire emblem. Sound track, gameplay, story all of it goated.
@16:12 I never knew Metatron would appear as a sprite in this game. Never did the Naoya ending just Amane now I regret not doing so.
your videos are always so good :3, havent watched in a while and i'm so happy to have like 10 videos to binge :D
I really appreciate it! Glad to gave people that watch them all
Devil Survivor's tone is one of the best parts of both entries of the subseries honestly
I loved this game so much. I only ever played the base nds version and dont really have a meane to get the 3ds one. Theres a few games out there i think for everyone for whatever reason has greatly impacted their lives. This was for me a ray of light during some of my darkest days and i love the game so much. Just sad to see there isnt more devil survivor games comming anytime soon
Masterpiece game, i hope we get new Devil Survivor or Majin Tensei game in near future (which Devil Survivor is spiritual succesor - in terms of gameplay). Both spin-offs are perfect for Switch.
Nah I'll definitely replay this game you reminded me how good this shit is
Man, yer already at 17K subs. A long way from the 2K subs I found you at. Keep on chugging with this great content
My favorite ending in this game is Merciful King of Bel and the one I am currently going for but I also see why people love the Law ending. It is defiantly one of the best in the series. I just have a strong bias against YHVH as an entity.
My favorite endings in the whole series are every single one in Strange Journey Redux.
In case you ask, I am the sort of person who has 2 spectrums for how much I like something. How much I would like to be a part of it and how much I like it as an outside observer. SJR OG endings are liked on the second spectrum mostly due to how much enhances the new endings.
Why did youtube hide these in my recommendations??
That's a crime against humanity, tony4u + my favorite game of all time?
Unforgivable CZcams, smfh...
Classic CZcams, every video is a roll of the dice lol. Thanks for checking it out though
I'd to believe that abel (cool name btw) is the reincarnation of the king of bel, and him collecting bel demons is really him reclaiming pieces of himself. And after becoming whole again he looks up to the sky(presumably at god) and he's like "round two big boy". Also, I would like if abel met the protagonist of smt1........you can imagine why.
It'd be awesome to see a three-way fight between Demi-Urge, Nabahino and Demon King Able
Hey Tony, have you thought about covering the gnostic aspects of SMT? I found them to be highly interesting, given that in SMT V we know who Sophia is, and how she could be different than sophia in SMT SJ. It could also cover the many aspects of Great Will, or even why pleromas are called and behave so
I absolutely have an interest in Gnosticism. I even made a whole video on the lore of Demiurge!
Devil Survivor video pops up in my feed:
Me: I've been waiting for this!
Awesome game. Awesome video.
Thanks man, awesome comment
SMT 6 better have a law ending on the same level as DS1 if not better
Its about time mainline smt gets ONE law ending that isnt genocide
Strange Journey and SMT V had no genocide (Law Ending).
@@nr2676 I mean yeah, you're right that SJ didn't have any genocide, but I don't think conplete removal of free will is the kind of ending they were looking for either :P
seeing this video while working on 100%ing my NG+ runs of overclocked, today is now better
My videos really come out at the right time for some people lol
nice video, i literally just beat the game a few days ago, and I got naoyas ending. even though the outcome isn't exactly what I would have wanted, my thought process for choosing it is believing that hummanity could truly be free without a God to be the judge jury and executioner. (i've always been more of a chaos boy lol) Maybe that wouldn't have happened, but I like to think I could give hummanity some sort of hope that way. based on this video though, Gin's ending might be the one i'd go for on a second playthrough, I feel it makes a lot of sense and appeals to my ideals.
My first blind playthrough the Honda false ending got me. I didn’t want to beat up Honda, the guy had been through a lot.
I absolutely love SMT Devil Survivor, it was my first SMT game (discovered it after playing a little bit of Persona 3 Portable) and, together with SMT Strange Journey, what introduce me to this new and exciting series!
Although I like Naoya 8th day something about the og ending just hits different for me. Not knowing shit about megaten and seeing metatrons silhouette and those words “you and I are now enemies” freaked me out back then.
On the other hand Yuzu’s 8th day pretty much saves the ending of that route. Although I think it’s just ok for the most part, I think it has some of the most oppressive feeling battles in the game with the trio being constantly surrounded by angels constantly at the beginning.
"Youll just have to set them straight" (casts megido on them)
Hey correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Haru getting herself killed screw you out of ALL endings that weren't Yuzu's? Cuz that thing thing she carried was important to all of the others right? And if she gets taken out the SDF confiscate it?
I freakin LOVED this game growing up, thank you so much for giving this one some love, I really adored how it looked at how people would react to something like this...and what would happen if power like this was widely available to anyone and everyone that could punch out their first demon.
I never played this game despite being an SMT fan, but I love your analysis.
Would love to hear your take on Yamato from DS2 regarding his role as a Japan protector from the shadow and his character development spanning across the two arcs.
Honestly, i don't know which ending is my favorite, as i've only did Naoya's and Haru/Gin's endings, but couldn't do other playthroughs because my savefile got corrupted.
I'll admit that i tend to seek out spoilers when i'm impatient and Amane's and Atsuro's endings did get spoiled for me by this video, but that whas mostly my fault for not skipping, but i did get the conclusion that this is the most nuanced alignment system in the series. All in All, great video.
i @$!%ing love DEVIL SURVIVOR and hope you end up talking about DS2 which imo i think does it even BETTER.
Devil survivor 1 and 2 ending system is more polished version of nocturn reason route. Instead extreme of law neutral chaos, it explore a gradient of it. Giving us more sense of agency.
Me wanting to watch this video but I haven't finished Devil Survivor because the final boss is soooooo hard
Wow that’s a lot of endings
Yeah, really gotta play this game at some point. I picked up DS2 somewhere down the line; never beat it, but played enough to know I’m down for Devil Survivor.
Amane's ending is my favorite ending in the series, and I honestly don't know why someone would choose any other route over it as the best outcome for humanity.
I wonder if Amane's ending caused the player to become Mastema? After all, he's the angel that controls demons.
It could be interpreted that way. Some sort of arbiter angel rivaling the power of the archangels if nothing else
I don't particularly like Law endings for the same reasons you do Tony, people getting genocided doesn't sit well with me. While I have my reservations with divine authority, DeSU law ending is very good and plays to the strenghts of the law alignment: the rules are well known, and you can change and start following them without being killed for not doing so before. No test of faith required. This is really good and well written.
I like the law genocide ending trope for a series about demons. They make sense in context.
I really wanna see a video about the 8th days. Especially Amane's and Naoya's.
Loved the video, personally, my favorite ending is Amane's ending. Can you please make Devil Survivor 2 Record breaker endings?
Hey thanks! Good taste too, I'll definitely do one on DeSu 2 eventually.
Amanes ending overclocked ending actually i think lowers her eneding. I liked her ending when it didnt include angels coming down and smiting when anyone sins. Like seriously just saying “hey god literally exist and will literally send you to hell” will get most people to come and join u to most extent
IT HAS ARRIVED
DeSu fans know what's up
As much as i like Amane, she shows up on the 7th day demands you to take a knee... after all the hell you went through to defeat all the demon lords. I ain't takin' that knee.
I know this was months ago. But can you please cover the 2nd game? I've almost completed overclocked. And I'll be moving onto record breaker soon. It'd be cool to see a video on the 2nd game.
Honestly, Naoya's pacifist ending is wild in how uniting it is. Basically the entire cast sides with you, and the protagonist opts to keep humanity out of the war with God, letting people live a normal life.
It's probably the best Chaos ending out there, all things considered
I knew there was spoilers but I never planned on playing this game but after hearing that Law ending IM ON MY WAY TO PLAY IT RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!
Just finished this today and got the Gin and Haru ending. And honestly, of all the endings youve described its probably my favourite. But then I generally tend to play the neutral path anyway. Theres something about humanity taking control of its own destiny, without interference from God or demons that really appeals to me
Next to SMTIV and IV Apocalypse, we really need SMT Devil Survivor 1&2's 3DS remakes to be re-released on Nintendo Switch or their next console. They're so good, and I would love to see the Digital Devil Saga duology to be given the SMT3 Nocturne HD Remaster treatment, so I can get my chance to voice Sera in both!
I love all the endings but I have a massive soft spot for the Naoya mercy route as I call it, partially cause it's the first one me and my friends saw when we played but also because having your friends leave and having to earn their trust back plus moments like Metatron telling you you fucked up are so damn cool. Amane's is a close second though, I wish more law endings took notes from hers, this really proved how good they can be when god doesn't throw it by pulling a genocide
I hope to see a video like this for DeSu:2.
I feel like it does a lot better job at endings thanks to divorcing them from Judeo-christianity, about which most people in the west just have a noticable bias on, wether it's a negative or a positive one.
I for one vibe with general Law ideal, but not a fan of Divine Daddy Dictator, and even in Amane ending in DeSu this irked me. But DeSu was the one Megaten that I felt like I could choose an ending I'm truely in line with.
Hey Tony, quick question. These are the endings on the 3Ds remakes right? I had the original DS Devil survivour and remember the Full chaos slightly different.
Also thank you for the amazing content dude, it is truly appreciated.