Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei refers to two distinct role-playing video games based on a trilogy of science fantasy novels by Japanese author Aya Nishitani. One version was developed by Atlus and published by Namco in 1987 for the Famicom—Atlus would go on to create further games in the Megami Tensei franchise. A separate version for personal computers was co-developed by Atlus and Telenet Japan and published by Telenet Japan during the same year. An enhanced port for the Super Famicom by Opera House was released in 1995. The story sees Japanese high school students Akemi Nakajima and Yumiko Shirasagi combat the forces of Lucifer, unleashed by a demon summoning program created by Nakajima. The gameplay features first-person dungeon crawling and turn-based battles or negotiation with demons in the Famicom version, and a journey through a hostile labyrinth as Nakajima featuring real-time combat in the Telenet version. Development on both versions of the video game began as part of a multimedia expansion of Nishitani's book series. Nishitani was deeply involved with the design and scenario. The gameplay mechanics in Atlus' role-playing version of the game were based on the Wizardry series, but with an added demon negotiation system considered revolutionary for the time. Atlus and Telenet Japan worked on their projects simultaneously, playing against genre expectations for their respective platforms. The Famicom version proved the more popular with both critics and players, leading to the development of the 1990 Famicom sequel Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II. Gameplay The Famicom version of Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei is a traditional role-playing video game in which the player takes control of a party composed of two humans and a number of demons. The party explores a large dungeon using a first-person perspective. The human characters use a variety of weapons and items, with the primary weapons being swords and guns. The items, which can range from healing items to different types of currency, are picked up from enemies or found in chests scattered through the dungeon. Weapons and accessories are purchased at different shops found within the dungeon. Progress is saved using a password system. Battles are turn-based, with random encounters taking place while exploring dungeons. At the end of a successful battle, experience points, money, and items are obtained. Experience points are shared by Nakajima and Yumiko; by gaining enough experience points, their levels raise, and they are given one