Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

What kind of game is this?
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux is a first-person dungeon crawler.

How long is this game?
Your first playthrough of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux can take between 50-90 hours, depending on how much content you engage with. There are 3 endings and over 300 demons to register if you aim to complete the compendium or replay the game.

How do I fuse a demon?
This guide does not cover (press the cover button to crouch behind walls or objects) fusion mechanics. For fusion needs, consult Zeruel's Fusion mechanics and demon database guide or a fusion calculator.

Is there anyway to skip dialogue?
Yes. Hold down the X button to skip dialogue.

Do you have a password for a specific demon?
This guide does not provide specific demon passwords, but may include them in the future to help players who are stuck against tough bosses.

Is there some way to game the system and keep my demon sources?
Yes. You can use the password input system to fuse a demon, register it, output its password, reset your game to before the fusion, and then input the password to retrieve the demon. This costs money, but valuable demon sources are often worth the expense. Here's how:

1. Save your game before performing any fusions or compendium actions.
2. Fuse your demon, using sources and mitamas as needed.
3. Register the newly fused demon into the Compendium. Output and write down its password.
4. IMPORTANT! Do not save your game. Reset or reload your save file from before the fusion.
5. Input the password into a Compendium Register Password slot and purchase the demon.

This process allows you to retain the sources used in the original fusion.

Why is this game rated M?
The reason for the M rating is unclear, as the game does not contain significant graphic content. It may be due to the series' general rating.

My / your / someone else's demon password(s) do not work!
Passwords can be invalid, but it is more likely they were entered incorrectly. Passwords are case-sensitive. Be careful with characters that look similar, such as O and 0, x and X, S and 5, G and 6. Viewing passwords in a fixed-width font can help distinguish these characters when copying and pasting.

Can I use the password system to get restricted fusion demons that I have not yet unlocked?
Yes, but it costs significantly more Macca. This can be useful for obtaining specific demons, like Seraph, to acquire their source for skills like Big Bang.

Q: Yo! Where my freeze/shock at?

A: There's no secondary status ailments attached to elemental spells in this game like in many previous SMT games.

Q: What are the official passwords for the password-only demons?

A: Here you are:

• Megami Ishtar [51]
  ISHTAR FIGHTS
  TAMMUZ ANGELS
• Vile Alciel [61]
  ALCARMOR
• Fairy Demonee-ho [75]
  You can't laugh
  OR cry now!
• Jirae Bagaboo [20]
  Special Password
  +Bagaboo
• Jirae Bogaboo [20]
  Special Password
  +Bogaboo
• Jirae Bugaboo [20]
  Special Password
  +Bugaboo
• Fake Demonica-L [1]
  Special Password
  +Law
• Fake Demonica-N [1]
  Special Password
  +Neutral
• Fake Demonica-C [1]
  Special Password
  +Chaos

Q: How do I tell what my current alignment is?

A: Just like with demons, the color of your name shows your alignment.

• Blue = Law
• White = Neutral
• Red = Chaos

Q: Is there any way to change / manipulate my alignment?

A: Yes! After completing at least one of the Faerie land establishment EX Missions and reaching Eridanus story-progress wise, look for a goblin just west of the High Pixie who gives out the Faerie land EX Missions. Keep trying to talk to the goblin until you get dialogue options. You'll get two sets of options.

(Goblin is digging a hole, but something seems to be preventing him from digging deeper...)

• > What will you do?
  • Watch (Neutral)
  • Help (Law)

(Goblin seems to have found something...)

• "Ooh, lucky me! I found something!"
  • Good for you. (Neutral)
  • Hand it over. (Chaos)

By answering Law + Neutral, or Neutral + Chaos, you can set your alignment to whatever you want before your alignment is finalized in the last dungeon or to get EX Missions that may require specific alignment. You will have to do this many, many times to see the alignment change, however, as it is just a small shift. In fact, if you wanted to go from just turned Chaos to just Law or just turned Law to Chaos, it would take 18 opposite-alignment answers to shift all the way to the other alignment.

The chance of the dialogue options appearing seems to be a percentage equal to your main character's Lu stat. In New Game+ / second cycle, the chance is supposedly (X+15)% where X = Lu stat value.

Q: How do I get past that one door in Phase Shift Sanctum A of Grus?

A: New Game + / Second Cycle, bro.

Q: Is there an ultimate boss in this game like many previous SMT games?

A: Yes. New Game + / Second Cycle only just like in most of them, too.

Q: What carries over in New Game+ / Second Cycle?

A: The following things:

• Your Macca
• All Consumable/Expendable-type Items (example: Life Stone, Bead, etc.)
• All Equipment - Swords, Guns, Armor, Accessories.
• All Base and Assist Forma.
• Demon Compendium, excluding passwords entered into the password slots. This includes the rest of the "Demon Data" menu including the Analysis and the data about demon sources that you've collected, but not the actual source items themselves. If you want to make good custom demons, do it before you create a clear save and use your sources up.
• Unlocked Demon Fusions. You can also fuse demons of a level higher than your Main Character in a New Game + or summon demons of a higher level than yourself out of the regular Compendium slots. However, this does not apply to Password demons which you must still be at or above the level of to summon.
• Completed "Records" achievements and progress towards them, except for the specific map floors which do not save partial coverage--only full. Maps themselves are wiped clean when you begin a New Game+.
• You have 12 demon storage slots at the start of the game instead of 8.

Some new EX Missions are unlocked, a few new Sub Apps and Accessories are unlocked at the Lab, and you can get into the other half of the Grus dungeon via the Sanctum A area of Grus 1F.

Also, although Demon Source items do not carry over, it does seem to "reset" them so that you can get them again on the first levelup from a demon with a maxed analyze gauge. This is good because the chance of getting a source after the first is pretty low normally.

Game System Information

Stats

There are five basic stats in this game. They are...

• St - Increases damage done by physical and gun-type attacks. Note that all of the Main Character's gun-type attacks, including those that would otherwise be considered elemental magic, are actually influenced by this statistic and the gun's innate attack power value. Not so for demons.
• Ma - Increases damage from demon's magic-type skills and increases defense to magic attacks. Just because it doesn't increase the main character's attack power doesn't mean it's not needed, though. You don't want to get one shotted by magic. Also increases max MP by 2 per 1 point in Ma. The main character also gets part of his damage reduction from the Defense value of his armor. The last effect of magic is to increase the damage done when you use a "Stone" type item like Maragi Stone, Megido Stone, et

Stats:

• Vi (Vitality): Increases defense against physical and gun attacks, and adds 3 HP per point. The main character's damage reduction is also influenced by armor's Defense value.
• Ag (Agility): Largely determines acting order in a turn. The main character always goes first when using an item or summoning a demon, regardless of Ag.
• Lu (Luck): Helps determine hit/evade rates and likely item drop rates.
• Level: Increases attack and defensive values slightly per level, and heavily affects Hit/Evade rates, making low-level playthroughs very difficult.

Stats are assigned randomly with a percentage chance per stat on level up, totaling 3 points per level-up, excluding the effect of certain Sub Apps that can grant demons extra stats when equipped during demon level-ups.

Resistances:

Resistances determine how effective each element is against you, your demons, and enemies. These are displayed on the status screen.

• Wk (Weak): Target takes 150% damage or has a 150% normal chance to be hit by Expel and Curse skills.
• - (No resistance): Target takes regular damage and has a regular chance to be hit by Expel and Curse skills.
• St (Strong): Target takes 50% damage or has a 50% normal chance to be hit by Expel and Curse skills.
• Nu (Null): Attack does not affect the target.
• Rf (Reflect): Target reflects the attack. In Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux, reflected attacks deal damage as if the target had a '-' resistance, regardless of their actual resistance. This means even if normally strong, null, reflect, or drain, the target takes full damage.
• Dr (Drain): Target is healed by the attack.

There are 8 elements that can have resistances: Phys, Gun, Fire, Ice, Elec, Wind, Expel, and Curse. Almighty attacks cannot be resisted.

A demon's resistances can only be changed by fusing skills that alter them. The main character's resistances are determined by equipped armor. He has an innate Null Expel unless armor modifies this. Armor can add weaknesses, strengths, or nulls. It is recommended to buy various armor types and equip them as needed for specific fights.

Demon Co-Op:

Demon Co-Op is a gimmick system where if you or a demon hits an enemy's weakness, all other same-alignment party members perform an extra attack that deals Almighty damage. This only occurs if there are other party members of the same alignment as the attacker. Demon Co-Ops only trigger on hitting an enemy weakness, unlike systems where critical hits also activate bonus turns.

Alignment for Demon Co-Op is based on the Law-Neutral-Chaos axis, indicated by name color: Blue (Law), White (Neutral), Red (Chaos). The Light-Neutral-Dark alignment axis is unrelated to Co-Op and affects negotiation.

The damage of Demon Co-Op attacks is based on the Level, St (Strength), and Ma (Magic) stats of the participating characters/demons and the number of allies:

• 1 ally: (ally #1 co-op damage) x 1.0
• 2 allies: (ally #1 + ally #2 co-op damages) x 0.75
• 3 allies: (ally #1 + ally #2 + ally #3 co-op damages) x 0.7

Alignment:

Alignment plays a role in determining your Ending and is important for the Demon Co-Op system. Unlike some previous Shin Megami Tensei titles, you can use demons of all alignments regardless of your own. Demon Co-Op attacks are restricted to same-alignment characters and demons. Demons will Co-Op with other demons of the same alignment, even if they are not the same alignment as the main character.