The recent release ofShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeancesees the already impressive JRPG becoming even better through the addition of a brand-new storyline that runs concurrent to the original. Dubbed the Canon of Vengeance,Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance’s new alternate campaign starts similarly to the original game’s plot (now referred to as the Canon of Creation) but branches off after just the first several hours, placing a greater emphasis on new human characters and a host of new adversaries led by the enigmatic Lilith. Like many other games in theSMTseries or its most popular offshoot,Persona, the naming conventions and plot points inShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeancehave some very obvious theological roots.
Without even getting into the naming conventions of the many demons that players can recruit inShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, the names of both the protagonist and the realm that players explore are extremely significant, especially considering the game’s general plot and the new primary antagonist introduced inthe Canon of Vengeance. Players getting to control the Nahobino might not seem all that important on its own, but learning the etymology behind the name, as well as the significance of the world being called “Da’at”, illustrates some strong connections betweenVengeanceand the Abrahamic religions.
Why Shin Megami Tensei 5’s Protagonist is Named the ‘Nahobino’
The beginning ofShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeanceutilizes a voice-over in its intro to establish a history of the war between the presumed forces of good and evil, along with an explanation of how demons came to be in the aftermath of God’s ascension to the throne of creation. Inthe world ofShin Megami Tensei, the commonly understood deity of the Abrahamic religions, YHVH, was one of many gods who just happened to be successful in a bid for supreme power. As a result of his claim over the universe’s knowledge, all other gods and their descendants became demons.
What makesthe protagonist ofShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeancespecial is his ability to blend his humanity with the essence of a demon (in this case, the divine entity Aogami). The name “Nahobino” seems to be derived from “naobi” or “Naobi-No-Kami”, which are terms from Shintoism (Japan’s oldest religion) that refer to entities of purification. Essentially, a “naobi” is a spirit that rectifies a previous wrong, but the term has also been applied to the cultural pursuit of knowledge and ethical consciousness in Japan. Given the importance of knowledge (or the concept of “true” or hidden knowledge) inSMT5’s plot, it’s obvious the naming convention bears significance.
The Realm of Da’at Connects Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance to Esoteric Beliefs
As if the generalstoryline ofShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeanceor the naming of its protagonist weren’t enough, players can draw a clear throughline between the game and its themes back to the Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism just from the name of the game’s world. More than just the official name of the netherworld inSMT 5, Da’at is a location of pronounced significance in the practice of Kabbalah. Da’at is understood to mean “knowledge”, and in the Kabbalistic tradition, is the location in the Tree of Life in which all branches (sefirot) unite as one. In other words, it is the place of ultimate knowledge or understanding.
Given thatShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeanceexplicitly outlines that it is humanity’s wrongful taking of knowledge that results in them being cast out of paradise (another Biblical allegory), and that it is the Nahobino’s knowledge and humanity combined with demonic power that makes him a being of powerful potential, naming the game’s world Da’at has an obvious thematic significance. To be fair,SMT 5is but one of many JRPGs with obvious connections to esoteric thought or spiritual concepts (something thatXenogearsdid to a pronounced degreemore than 25 years ago), but its naming conventions and connections that they have to the game’s themes give an already excellent narrative even more depth.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
WHERE TO PLAY
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance consists of two complete story paths: experience a brand-new route, the “Canon of Vengeance” – a dramatic tale of revenge by the fallen, centered around new characters and an enigmatic cohort of demons, the Qadištu, who plot their own dark designs apart from the war of those who fight to maintain order and those who seek to defy it. Or explore the original story told in Shin Megami Tensei V, the “Canon of Creation” – an eternal conflict between angels and demons, in which the protagonist fights for the world’s fate.When a grisly murder scene in modern-day Tokyo blocks our protagonist’s walk home, an unplanned detour leaves him buried and unconscious. He awakens in a new Tokyo, a wasteland ravaged by apocalypse now called Da’at… but before bloodthirsty demons can claim his life, a savior emerges, and the two of them unite to become a mighty being, neither human nor demon: a Nahobino.With newfound power, the protagonist ventures through Da’at, an enigmatic realm filled with mythical deities and demonic tyrants in constant conflict for survival. Searching for answers, the protagonist must forge his own path in a battle between angels and demons to dictate the fate of the world.
