SMT V Nuwa Takes Unconventional Approach to Design

SMT V character designer Masayuki Doi has provided some more commentary on the aesthetics and concepts behind the demons that appear in the game. This time, he talks about Nuwa’s goddess form. As this article discusses Nuwa’s role and appearance in the story, it will contain spoilers from the game.

In ancient Chinese mythology, Nuwa is a half-snake, half-woman figure. Usually, she has a woman’s upper body and a snake’s lower body. But in the case of SMT V, Doi flips this typical representation of Nuwa with making the snake body look like it’s growing from her head. This makes Nuwa look like her upper half is a snake while her bottom half is a woman. This method results in an unconventional design that still uses elements from her myth.

Doi also mentions that the animation team spent a lot of time on Nuwa’s transformation sequence in the game. In general, it’s rare for the design team to give alternate appearances for a single demon. However, in Nuwa’s case, they made an exception due to her importance to the story.

Doi often provides background information on the process behind bringing a design to life, whether it’s from the illustration stage or the actual animation stage. Other demons he discussed include Kaya-no-Hime, Abdiel, and Hayataro. He has also talked about how he designed Nuwa in SMT V before, though his commentary focused more on her human form.

Shin Megami Tensei V is readily available worldwide on the Nintendo Switch. Siliconera’s review is also live.