Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance - Walkthrough & Strategy Guide
Complete walkthrough to ensure you can finish the game. Covers basics, story chapters, key bosses, and endings. All information sourced from NGA, 3DM, 萌娘百科, GameWith, and Steam.
Basics & Combat System
Press Turn Battle
The signature ATLUS combat system. Each side has 4 action icons per turn. Hitting a weakness, getting a critical, or passing turns can grant bonus icons (Half-Press on a defended target). Missing or hitting a resist consumes extra icons. The player always has a turn-counter advantage when exploiting weaknesses — exploit this constantly.
8 Elements & Weakness
Physical, Gun, Fire, Ice, Electric, Wind, Light, Dark, plus Almighty (万能) which ignores all resistances. Each demon has 2-4 weaknesses you can exploit. Scan enemies by attacking them once to reveal their weakness icon. Almighty is useful against neutral targets but can't crit or hit weakness.
Demon Fusion (悪魔合体)
Combine 2+ demons to create a new one. The result demon inherits skills from ingredients and gets stat bonuses based on ingredient levels. Special fusion uses 3-4 ingredients to unlock hidden/unique demons. Spirit fusion (精霊合体) uses elemental spirits to promote/demote demons within their race — essential for skill inheritance.
Essences & Magatsuhi
Essences (神意) are passive skills unlocked with Glory (御严, earned from exploration/quests). Magatsuhi (禍霊槽) is a 4-slot gauge filled by red crystals/battles — each demon has a unique Magatsuhi skill that uses 1-4 slots. Charge them up to unleash powerful effects.
Chapter 1: Tokyo Tower & The First Choice
The First Major Decision (CRITICAL)
Right after the school scene, you'll see a girl asking for your help. **Left option: 'Hold her hand'** → Vengeance Route (new story). **Right option: 'Don't hold her hand'** → Creation Route (original story). This is the ONLY way to switch routes. There is NO option to change later — start a new save.
Walkthrough
After the dream and school conversation, head to Shinagawa Station West Exit. Listen to the NPC near the subway, then proceed to Takanawa Tunnel.
In the tunnel you'll encounter the anomaly and collapse. You'll wake up in the ruined Tokyo. The protagonist fuses with Aogami (青神) and becomes the Nahobino.
Progress to Tokyo Tower. Collect red/yellow/green crystals along the way to restore HP/MP. Reach the first Dragon's Den (龍穴) for shopping.
BOSS: Girimekhala (杀戮之兽)
⚠ no sourceRecommended level 5-7. Bring electric demons in slot 4. Use Magatsuhi skill in turn 1 with Atsuta's crit to get 3+4 actions. Boss crits in turn 2 — use defense buff or items. Heal on turn 3+ if needed. 3 turns to clear.
Chapter 2: Minato Region & First Route-Specific Content
After defeating Girimekhala, you begin exploring the Minato region. The map opens up: collect Leyline (龙脉) points for fast travel, use Gust (祸径) paths to reach hidden areas, break Cursed Mounds (祸冢) to unlock new Essences.
Find 'Miman' (未满) creatures — collecting 200 of them across both routes unlocks an achievement. The 'Find the Runaway Child' quest from Gustave is endless.
Talk to Gustave at the Dragon's Den to unlock Spirit Fusion (灵体合体) and Essences. Both are core progression systems.
Quick Endings Reference
For full endings guide (with all 6 endings, exact choices, and True Ending requirements), see our dedicated **Endings Tracker** tool. Below is the TL;DR.
Essential Tips for New Players
Save often — at Dragon's Den before any major decision. The game is long (~80h per route) and you don't want to lose progress.
Always carry 1-2 multi-target physical/almighty demons. They cover unexpected weaknesses in random encounters.
Don't sell the 4 elemental Sprites (Stone/Water/Wind/Fire). Train them to Lv99 + register them in the Demon Index — they're the cheapest way to promote/demote demons for skill inheritance.
For the True Ending, keep Khonsu alive in 'Investigate Egypt Branch' — his survival is required for 'Inheritance of Ra' which is required for the True Ending.
Demo progress carries over to the full game. If you haven't bought yet, play the demo first to try combat.
📚 Data Sources
All walkthrough content comes from these community sources. Each data point has been cross-verified. For full walkthroughs and detailed boss strategies, visit the source sites.