=============================================================================== =============================================================================== SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI IF... WALKTHROUGH/TRANSLATION v0.1 by Joseph Rodriguez (a.k.a Yoshitsune) (c) 2001 by Joseph Rodriguez Last updated 6/28/01 E-mail: jpr4c7@umkc.edu =============================================================================== =============================================================================== ...A tranquil day, like most days... ...Even boring, like most days... ...The days of youth are flowing along... If... it was destroyed? If... this school was thrown into a separate world? ...This... is the story of boys and girls who were suddenly thrust into the Demon World and are now lost... Shin Megami Tensei If... =============================================================================== =============================================================================== I. INTRODUCTION =============================================================================== =============================================================================== Welcome to my Walkthrough/Translation for Shin Megami Tensei If...! I'm Yoshitsune, your guide to the wacky and wonderful world of Megami Tensei (Megaten to its devoted fans). I can be reached at jpr4c7@umkc.edu and I hope to have a web page up soon (dedicated to Megaten, of course!) where you can reach me as well. Shin Megami Tensei If... was released by Atlus in 1994 for the Super Famicom (Super NES in North America). It was the third in the Shin Megami Tensei series of games, which is a part of the larger Megami Tensei series. Unlike most RPGs, the Megami Tensei series features a modern-to-futuristic setting as well as the central conceit of summoning demons to help you in battle. Very popular in Japan, only three of the Megaten games have made it to North America - Revelations: Persona, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, and Revelations: Demon Slayer. As for the translation...my Japanese is abysmally poor, so bear with me. ;-) I've tried to keep the essential meaning of the translation while keeping it natural-sounding. However, some still sound funky. If a translation is followed by (?), that means that I'm not sure about it. If followed by a (!), it means that I DO know that it's wrong! So in either case feel free to write and correct me if you know what it should be. Updates to this document will range from semi-frequent to never, depending on how much time and inclination I have to work on it...however, I do want to eventually come close to completing the translations. If you'd like to post this file on your web page, please e-mail me for permission! I'll almost certainly give it (unless you have a porno page or have a pay-for-content site) but I'd like to know where it's being posted. The newest version of this file will always be available at GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) and at my web page, when I finally get it online. =============================================================================== =============================================================================== II. HISTORY =============================================================================== =============================================================================== 6/28/01 v0.1 released. Covers gameplay basics and walkthrough up to end of Nova's questions. (Not very far, but hopefully more will follow.) To follow in a future release: Item lists, Monster lists and of course more of the walkthrough! =============================================================================== =============================================================================== III. GAMEPLAY BASICS =============================================================================== =============================================================================== Your options are: COMP (Computer) MAGIC ITEM STATUS CHANGE A description of each option follows: =============================================================================== COMPUTER =============================================================================== At the beginning, you'll only be able to access the Config option. From here you can select: Battle Message Speed (Normal, Fast, None) Auto Mapping (Fixed, Free) Auto Battle Report (Off, Mode 1, Mode 2) Hold Item/Magic (On, Off) Party Panel (Mark, Word) Sound (Monaural, Stereo) Auto Recover with Items (Use, Don't Use) 3D Movement Speed (Normal, Slow) Controller (Normal, Easy, Custom) The Normal controller setup is: A Confirm/Command B Cancel X Auto Recover Y Cancel All L Mapping R Analyze Select None Start None The Easy controller setup is: A Confirm/Command B Cancel X Auto Recover Y Cancel All L Confirm/Command R Mapping Select Cancel Start None =============================================================================== MAGIC =============================================================================== Select Use or Rearrange, then select which party member will use/rearrange their spells. =============================================================================== ITEM =============================================================================== From here you can select several options: Use Equip Rearrange Unequip Organize Drop All of these options should be self-explanatory - if they're not, maybe you should start with Final Fantasy VII or something and return to Shin Megami Tensei If... later. =============================================================================== STATUS =============================================================================== This option lets you view a character's status. The status display will differ for the hero and for his/her allies. HERO'S STATUS: The main screen shows your name, picture, HP, MP, demon allies, and basic stats. The stats are at the bottom of the screen, and run as follows: Strength Intelligence Magic Power Vitality Quickness Luck Press Up to bring up your Item inventory. This shows you a list of all the items you currently have. Press Left to bring up your Gem inventory. This shows how many of each Gem you currently have. In the order listed on the screen they are: Amethyst Aquamarine Emerald Onyx Opal Garnet Sapphire Diamond Turquoise Topaz Pearl Ruby Press Right to bring up your Valuables inventory. This contains the event items you need to progress through the game (for example, the PRG Disk that you'll acquire early on). And finally, press A to view your equipped items and any stats that depend on equipment (Attack, for example). ALLIES' STATUS: Their main status screen follows the same pattern as the hero's, above. The only real difference is that they don't have a listing for demon allies. Also, you can only press Down to view that ally's magic or press A to view their equipped items. =============================================================================== CHANGE =============================================================================== Use this option to rearrange your party. =============================================================================== =============================================================================== IV. WALKTHROUGH =============================================================================== =============================================================================== At the title screen, push Start to be taken to the saved game screen. From here you can select "New Game," "Load" or "Save" (the last is not selectable at this point). The options are in English, so you shouldn't have any problem with them. After selecting New Game, you will meet the fortune-telling computer, Nova. She'll ask you a series of questions: =============================================================================== NOVA: I am a computer that is expert at fortune telling. My computer space is good (!). Do you wish for me to tell your fortune? Well then...please tell me your gender: Gender? Male Female Please tell me your name: =============================================================================== Now you get to enter your name. The English characters are on the right. Press the A button to enter a letter and the B button to backspace. Select "End" when you're done. For the purposes of this walkthrough, I chose "male" and entered my name as Yoshi. (Actually, YOSHI, but I'll use the other version because it's easier on the eyes.) =============================================================================== Your name is Yoshi, correct? Yes No Now, please answer the questions I'm about to ask you: Q. Do you like video games? Love them Like them Dislike them Never played before (?) Q. What is your favorite school activity? P.E. Civilization Going home Don't know Q. If your teacher tells you to redo your homework, do you? Do it right Sometimes I forget Never do it Don't know Q. How often do you forget things? I never forget Sometimes I do Usually I forget I forget how often Q. What is your favorite subject? Japanese Mathematics Social Studies Science None Don't know Q. What is your favorite sport? Baseball Soccer Boxing Pro Wrestling None Don't know Q. Do you have Pokeberu? (I didn't translate these answers -- I have no idea what "Pokeberu" is, and I want to be sure I have the answers in context. If anyone can tell me the meaning of "Pokeberu," please do. I think the "Poke" part means "Pocket," but for the "Beru" part I can only think of "Bell" or "Belt," neither of which sounds right.) Q. How do you spend your school holidays? Playing outside Playing inside Reading Don't know Q. How many people do you actually like? One person 2-3 people Many people I never counted Q. If you found a wallet with 10,000 yen [about $950 US] in the street, what would you do with it? Deliver it to a police box Give it to someone (?) Kick everyone (!) Keep the wallet and the money (?) =============================================================================== If anyone cares, my answers were: "Love them," "Civilization," "Do it right," "Sometimes I do," "Social Studies," "Boxing," the top left choice, "Playing inside," "Many people," and "Deliver it to a police box." More to come! =============================================================================== =============================================================================== V. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS =============================================================================== =============================================================================== Q. Where can I get Shin Megami Tensei If...? A. Since it's a Super Famicom game, you may have a hard time getting it. However, Atlus is re-releasing the game in Japan for the PlayStation, so you can import it - if it follows the trend of the other Shin Megami Tensei remakes, the text will be exactly the same. Q. Will the PSX version of this game be released in North America? A. It's unlikely...its old-school gameplay and dated graphics make it a bad choice for localization. Plus most fans of Megami Tensei (myself included) would rather Atlus of America set their resources to giving us an English- language version of Persona 2: Innocent Sin. However, stranger things HAVE happened... Q. What does Shin Megami Tensei mean? A. "True Goddess Rebirth" or "True Goddess Reincarnation." Q. What's with your weird translations? It just doesn't sound right to me. A. As I mention above, anything followed by a (?) means I'm not sure about that translation - or a (!), which means that I AM sure that it's wrong! So if either appears after it, it means that someone with a better grasp of Japanese will hopefully correct me, and that correction will appear in a later version of this file. If the question mark doesn't appear after it... well, then that's as good as it gets. ;-) =============================================================================== =============================================================================== VI. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS =============================================================================== =============================================================================== Many thanks to: Re-Miel, whose outstanding Shin Megami Tensei translation inspired me to do the same for If... Atlus of Japan, for creating such a cool game (and then re-releasing it!) ===============================================================================