Shin Megami Tensei is an rpg series set in the modern day, with each game staring a different cast of teenagers as they attempt to solve various mysteries and accidents that befall them and others in their town. The characters have access to persona, spiritual beings that are representations of the user's mental state or inner-self, though others can be recruited or made through fusions. They are based on popular creatures and gods from Greek, Roman, Japanese, and various other mythologies.
One such persona is Lucifer, who looks largely angelic in appearance to reference him as a fallen angel, with only his red hair and horns as obvious giveaways to his demonic nature. Though usually referred to as Satan in the bible and other pop-culture representations, Lucifer keeps his name in SMT and is never referred to as Satan, though is sometimes named the Demon King. In some other SMT games, he goes by the name Helel, which is Hebrew for Lucifer.
Lucifer in SMT is interesting in that he is not inherently evil, according to character designer Kazuma Kaneko. Rather, he is a force of temptation to the player, who could either assist or hinder them depending on their choices in the game. He can assume the forms of many different people, such as an old man, woman, or child, among others, and is a reference to his ability to walk the Earth under many different forms. This was touched upon in one of our class readings, the Devaduta Sutta, where another interpretation of the devil, Hama, questions a man about whether he noticed him as other people on the Earth, before later torturing him. These other people Hama assumed the forms of included the elderly, newborn, handicapped, and disabled.
More about Lucifer and his appearence in SMT can be found here.
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