Shin Megami Tensei III ver.α (lost "Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne" tech demo; 2000)

Shin Megami Tensei III ver.α's title screen

Status: Lost

Shin Megami Tensei III ver.α is a tech demo made specifically for developers so that they could see how far the visual presentation of the final game could be. Unlike most other tech demos on the wiki, this had a plot.

Plot

The game would begin by Anat awakening Demi-fiend by the power of Devil Hearts, (it was called Magatama in the final game) and order him to kill Amaterasu, who is trying to hunt down a treasure and make Dark Tokyo her own. Demi-fiend would then meet Take-Mikazuchi who tells him that Amaterasu was cursed by Anat and by her grief she hid in the monkey enclosure in the Ueno Zoo, (it later became the base for the area of Yoyogi Park.) He then tells Demi-fiend that he needs to find the treasure to undo the curse on Amaterasu. You would then get two choices, either you side with Take-Mikazuchi and help save Amaterasu or you still go along with Anat's original plan.

If you decided to help save Amaterasu, Demi-fiend would cross the waters of Shinobazu Pond and meet Nue, which after negotiating, he would help Demi-fiend navigating the depths of the pond. Demi-fiend would then go at the bottom of the pond and find a tunnel to a cave. Once in, he would find the treasure and return it to Take-Mikazuchi. He & Demi-fiend would then undo the curse and the demo ends.

On the flip side, however, if you decided to stick with Anat's plan, Demi-fiend would then kill Take-Mikazuchi and find out that Amaterasu escaped to the Imperial Palace. By negotiating with demons, you would find out where it was, but there is a barrier in your path. Anat appears and breaks it where you then fight Amaterasu. Once defeated, the demo ends. It's also interesting to note that on the title screen the demo allows you to jump to the above parts, jump right into only the beginning, or play both parts.

Gameplay

The battle system would have been similar towards previous games, by having each demon that has the highest speed to go first. The negotiation system was also added in but was a lot more advanced than the one found in the final game. You would have the chance to analyze a demon to see how they would act rather than being random on each demon. It also made a chance for the player to learn hints on how to further progress the game. The camera and the controls were also different in the final game.

Remnants In The Final Game

While the tech demo is lost, most of the tech demo's script was found in the Japanese version of the game.

Gallery

A cutscene that would play before fighting Amaterasu