A modern-day Japanese college student is getting ready to date his girlfriend Kumiko, who has discovered a fascinating book about ancient Japanese history in the local library. On his way to the date, the young man is attacked by demonic creatures and is saved by the devil summoner Kyji Kuzunoha. Soon after, Kumiko is kidnapped by a mysterious man named Sid Davis, who hunts down and murders her boyfriend. Kyji appears to have been killed, but his soul is miraculously transferred into his body. Taking on Kyji’s identity, the young man must fill Kyji’s role as a devil summoner, freeing the city from demons and tracking down Sid Davis to save Kumiko. Devil Summoner is a role-playing game in the Megami Tensei tradition, with a heavy emphasis on dungeon crawling and communication with randomly encountered enemies. Unlike the main Shin Megami Tensei series, the game is entirely set in modern-day Japan.
Individual locations are maze-like 3D dungeons explored first-person while the player navigates the protagonist on an overhead city map. The player controls the main protagonist and his associate Rei for the most part, while summoned demons can fill the other four available slots in an active party. Both human characters can use swords or guns in battle, depending on the weaknesses of their opponents. Weapons and ammunition for firearms can be purchased in stores. First-person combat is turn-based, with player-controlled characters in two rows, affecting their attack and defense values. When the hero and Rei level up, the player must raise their parameters manually, further customizing their combat performance. The player can avoid fighting randomly appearing enemies by conversing with them. These conversations are more complex than those in Shin Megami Tensei games, with a broader range of dialogue options. Depending on the demon’s personality type and the moon phase, they may result in the devil joining the party or exchanging items. When summoned, demons consume a kind of energy known as magnetite, obtained by defeating enemies and can be exchanged for money or vice versa. Two or three demons can be fused in specific locations to create more powerful monsters.
Furthermore, the game introduces a “loyalty” system: newly recruited monsters have varying degrees of loyalty. If their loyalty level is too low, they may disobey the player’s orders in battle. Depending on the demon’s personality, various methods can increase loyalty. When summoned and taken to fight enemies repeatedly, most monsters would gradually become loyal.
