Masayuki Doi is the character designer for Shin Megami Tensei IV. According to Kazuyuki Yamai, the director of Shin Megami Tensei IV, Doi was chosen because of his ability “to design simple characters with a strong sense of presence.” Along with composer Ryouta Kozuka, they were told to keep a “punk” mindset while doing their work. Yamai told Famitsu:
I told him [Doi] to draw something with a punk mindset. Kozuka, too. I told them, “When players get to see and hear the game, I’d like to have elements that will bring out a feeling of curiosity, rather than relaxation.” For example, the design for the Samurai—we had Doi sketch plenty of drawings while sharing various opinions and trimmed out elements accordingly; which resulted in a simpler finish. Even for the color of their clothing, we looked through several options and settled for blue and white. It’s one of the things that we actually put a lot of thought into.
The game’s development began when Atlus completed Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. After ten long years of waiting, Atlus felt it was time for another Shin Megami Tensei game.
Famitsu asked, “What kind of game did you have in mind for the finished product?”
Yamai replied: “Definitely something simple, yet distinct. I wanted to make something with a ‘punk production’. 20 years ago, fantasy-style RPGs were the standard of the genre. Shin Megami Tensei on the Super Famicom was something like an antithesis when you compared it. That’s what I call ‘punk-minded’. There are many games these days that focus on being enjoyable while relaxing. We’d like to have people enjoy the game and maybe even a shocking feeling towards their views on life and values.”
Shin Megami Tensei IV is set to release on May 23 in Japan and July 16 in North America. It is set to release in Europe as well, but no release date has yet been mentioned.
Shin Megami Tensei IV is available for preorder on Amazon:
