Shin Megami Tensei II is a post-apocalyptic role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus. It was originally released for the Super Famicom in 1994 in Japan, and has since been ported to multiple platforms. It is the second game in the Shin Megami Tensei series, which is a subset of the larger Megami Tensei franchise. The gameplay comprises first-person exploration of dungeons and battles against demons; the player can also choose to speak to the demons, and attempt to recruit them to their party. By fusing multiple allied demons together, the player can create more powerful demons. The story is set decades after the first Shin Megami Tensei, in the encapsulated city Tokyo Millennium, which is ruled by the religious Messians from a unit called the Center. The player takes the role of a gladiator who is told that he is the Messiah, and is sent on missions around Tokyo Millennium to eradicate demons and prepare for the Thousand-Year Kingdom. The plot is influenced by choices the player makes throughout the game, determining their moral alignment. The game was created to not have direct connections to the first Shin Megami Tensei, to ensure that it was interesting independently; this led character designer Kazuma Kaneko to create the concept of a story vaguely based on Shin Megami Tensei future. Reviewers enjoyed the gameplay and the lowered difficulty compared to the prior game; some appreciated the plot and themes, but some thought that certain themes, while fresh at the time of release, felt clichéd in retrospect. Gameplay In Shin Megami Tensei II, the player takes the role of the gladiator Hawk, who is able to communicate with demons. The gameplay is similar to that of the first Shin Megami Tensei: the game is controlled from a first-person view, and has the player exploring dungeons and navigating outdoor areas, which are presented as 2D maps seen from a top-down perspective. In both these types of areas, the player encounters and battles against demons; a gauge on the bottom of the screen shows the likelihood of a demon encounter. The player is able to speak to demons instead of fighting them, and can try to form an alliance with them; these negotiations involve the player trying to increase the demon's mood, and start with the player picking an attitude – friendly or intimidating – after which they get to choose how to respond