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Shin Megami Tensei V is out now, bringing with it a celebration of the franchise’s large cast of demons to fight and fuse. (We’ve also been working hard to tell you about them!) But which Shin Megami Tensei demon do you love most? Which is the best to use? Which SMT demon is just darn cute? Here are our picks. (Tell us yours!)
Every single SMT or Persona game I play, Scathach is almost always one of the mainstays of my party due to her wide range of usable skills. Because of her repertoire, she does admittedly fall into the “jack of all trades, master of none” niche where she can do a lot of things but all with less power or efficiency than a more specialized demon. However, her witch-like design is so fun that I can live with dealing slightly less damage per turn. — Stephanie
I mean, clearly Dante from the Devil May Cry series is the best demon.
I kid, I kid. (Though his resistances and skills are pretty great.)
In all honesty, I like Titania a lot. I’m a big fan of demons who are good at using magic or could help the party, and she tends to always do both. She has Mediarahan in many games, which heals everyone up. Her magic stat always tends to be pretty high, which is great for dealing damage. In a lot of games she also tends to have multiple resistances too. Which is phenomenal when a press turn system is in play. She’s a great tactical option. — Jenni
As great as the main series games are, I always find myself yearning for the tactical maps and party composition of the Devil Survivor games! So it’s perhaps unsurprising that my favorite SMT demon makes its most memorable appearance in Devil Survivor 2: Purple Mirror. It’s just so immune to stuff. It can already repel most attacks, and with some careful fusion, it can get even more invulnerable! Not taking any damage ever is, as it happens, pretty handy. — Graham
All hail Mara! Mara cannot be stopped or contained.
But besides Mara, who is objectively The Best, I’ve always had a certain affection for SMT demons based on historical figures, like Yoshitsune, Masakado, and others. Though SMT did it first, I’d say that seeing these supernatural “remixes” of characters taps into the same appeal as the Fate franchise. It’s a way of taking a new view of characters that I know have a factual (or at least folkloric) basis and challenging them in some ways. — Josh
In terms of both strength and style, I’ve always been partial to the Seraph and Divine demons. It’s tough to choose an absolute favorite, but Dominion’s character art in Shin Megami Tensei II is absolutely divine. (Har har.) Although not incredibly strong, Angel stole my heart in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. Her outfit was inspired by Leeloo from The Fifth Element. Call me vain, but if a demon’s outfit is on point, how can I not have them in my party? — Carley
Sure, you can fuse a super-powered demon or an all-rounder, but I have to have a complete roster of Hee-hos. The Frost family are my favorites. From Jack Frost to the King himself, nothing makes me happier than making sure at least one member of this royal court is in my party at all times. — Annette
What do you think is the best Shin Megami Tensei demon? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter! And read our other handy roundtables for more thoughts from the Siliconera team.
