Atlus and Sega held the News Shin Megami Tensei V Vol 2 stream on August 19, revealing new details on the upcoming Switch exclusive JRPG, most notably dropping a huge surprise for fans when it comes to new characters.

Shin Megami Tensei V - New characters Shohei Yakumo (Not Raidou Kuzunoha), Lady Nuwa, Abdiel

The Raidou Kuzunoha like character shown in the previous trailer actually isn't Raidou, despite also being voiced by Tomokazu Sugita. The new character of Shin Megami Tensei V is Shohei Yakumo, a mysterious man who stands in the way of the protagonist in Da'at. He labels himself as the one who "hunts all demons". However, Yakumo isn't friends with angels and Bethel either.

Yakumo's motives and true colors are unknown, but he works alongside Nuwa, a demon. Personally, I'd say he looks typically like the kind of character who's a rival at first but might definitely turn into an ally depending on which route you pick.

The second new character is Lady Nuwa, (Joka in Japanese) a goddess from Chinese mythology who also appears in Koei Tecmo's Orochi Musou series. Lady Nuwa works alongside Yakumo since he was young to fulfill a certain goal. The first time we meet her, she ends up attacking the Protagonist.

Next, we have Abdiel, an archangel, and Bethel's Deputy Angel Commander who oversees its headquarters. She's fervently devoted to god and eradicates anyone who challenges his order. It looks like she'll become a fierce enemy depending on which route we pick.

New Stat, Skill building features in SMT V

As we explore Da'at, we'll come across Essences, spiritual entities embedded with the power of demons. Essences are infused with the Skills and Affinities of the demon they're from. You can then fuse Essences with the Protagonist or demons you own, to customize their own Skills and Affinities.

Next, you can obtain Glory in Da'at, manifestations of god's glory. You can spend Glory to learn Miracles in the World of Shadows, which have various powerful effects; For example, making it so a new demon summoned in battle will have a random stat raised by 1 rank. It can also smoothen Negotiations, Fusions, and demon building. You can even teach Almighty spells (Megido etc) to the Protagonist by spending Glory.

Next, we also learned new gameplay details through a Q&A:

  • You can fasten animations during battle manualy or enable it permanently
  • Auto-battle is back, as always it only does standard Attack and nothing else

The next stream will happen in late September. Shin Megami Tensei V will be launching on November 11 in Japan and November 12 worldwide, exclusively on Switch. A Limited Edition is also coming in Japan and in the USA.

Don’t forget the Japanese Atlustube channel is releasing a new demon introduction video every day. Keep an eye on the Japanese Twitter for the Megaten series too.