Shin Megami Tensei IV Demons Guide: Beast Race – Hsing, Dormanrth, Orthus

After quite a long wait from the previous main entry of the series, Shin Megami Tensei IV is finally available on Nintendo 3DS. It’s the first time a main entry of the series gets released on a portable console but that doesn’t mean that the game has been toned down and been made any easier: there’s just enough contents to keep you occupied for a long time.

Shin Megami Tensei IV comes with all the features that players have come to expect from the series and even more: the menu system has been tweaked, exploration and battle improved with new gameplay options and some extras have been included, which use the unique 3DS capabilities.

The Karma system from previous entries of the series also came back: depending on your alignment, Neutral, Chaos, Law, you’ll slightly change the story of the game.

Demon recruiting and fusing is also available once again: while demon recruiting has been in the series pretty much since the beginning, demon fusion is a more recent gameplay feature that has now become a staple of the series. Through demon fusion you’ll be able to acquire new demons that cannot be obtained in any other way. During the fusion process you’ll also be able to make the new demon inherit some of the skills of the demons used in the fusion: not only you’ll get a new demon, but you’ll get a better demon that the ones that can be recruited on the field, which come with their basic skillsets.

Feeling confused yet? This is just the beginning: Shin Megami Tensei IV has so many different gameplay mechanics that a newcomer to the series, hungry for some new role playing but unaware of the dangers of the world of the series, might feel lost and frustrated: the difficulty level certainly doesn’t help at all in ease the players in its many mechanics.

Now that we have taken care of all the Skills found in the game, it’s time to check out all the available demons. All the available creatures are part of a specific Demon family which sightly influences their role in battle. Most of these demons can also be recruite during battle or fused: creating them with a fusion will allow you to bestow more skills on the resulting demons.

In the Demons Guide we will be checking out all the Demons available in the game with available skills and special fusions.

• Beast Demons

Hsing – Hsing

Starting Level: 43
Availability: Fusion – Nekomata + Erthys
Affinities: Weak to Force, Resists Gun
Skills: Binding Claw, Attack Knowhow, Sukukaja (44), Life Aid (45)

Dormarth

Starting Level: 49
Availability: Fusion – Kaiwan + Chimera
Affinities: Weak to Force, Nulls Darkness
Skills: Bind Voice, Trafuri, Tetraja (50)

Orthus

Starting Level: 57
Availability: Transformation from Chimera, Fusion – Chimera + Wild Hunt
Affinities: Weak to Ice, Drains Fire, Resists Darkness
Skills: Fire Breath, Axel Claw, Fire Pleroma (58)