Megami Tensei similarities and trivia

I've been playing the GBA version of Shin Megami Tensei the last few days. The two Shin games have a lot in common with the older Megami Tensei games.

There are SPOILERS here! Read at your own risk!


Tokyo

• In MT2, you visit many ruined areas of Tokyo. Though it is kind of hard to avoid similarities here, their layout and separation play just as much a part as they do in SMT1.
• Ueno, Ginza, Ikebukuro, Shinagawa, Roppongi, Shinjuku, Shibuya, and others are here. In SMT1, you start from the west and make your way east. In MT2, you start from the south and head north.

Makai

• In MT2, there are villages in Makai themed after emotions such as anger, grief and sorrow.
• In SMT2, a scientist tries to open a portal to Makai using dolls based on expressions such as laughing, crying and sleeping.
  

Messiah Church

• In MT2, Messians attract followers with the promise of paradise and the rule of God. They await the arrival of the Messiah.
  
• In SMT, they believe that the Law Hero is the Messiah.

Deva/Gaia Church

• In MT2, Devans worship the gods of old and welcome the arrival of the demons.
  
• In SMT, they are called Gaians.

Seven Pillars

• In MT2, seven pillars based on the inner solar system open a gateway at Ground Zero that leads to Makai.
  
• In SMT2, these same pillars are used at the bottom of the Underworld to open a portal to Makai.

Hiroko

• In MT2, she is your friend's girlfriend. She is caught by the Devans but rescued by the hero.
• In SMT2, she guides the hero to the Center. It's later found out that she is actually the hero's mother.

Friends

• In MT2, your friend leaves you due to ideological differences. He is called the Dark Hero, and you have to fight him later in the game.
  
• In SMT1, your two friends leave you. They are called the Law Hero and Chaos Hero, and depending on your alignment at the end, you will have to fight the ones who are opposite to it.

Hebrew Names

• In MT2, there is an event where you have to pick out a liar among four brothers. They are Aleph, Gimmel, Dalet and Zayin. But this is something that Atlus changed, since there were different in the NES game by Namco.
  
• In SMT2, these are the names of important characters in the game.
  

The Final Decision

• In MT2, you ultimately have to decide whom you will ally with: Lucifer or YHVH.
  
• In SMT1 and SMT2, you have the chance to reach different endings depending on your alignment.
  

Megami Tensei 1

• Not a lot of material from this game, so it'll all be lumped here.
  
• In MT1, Set and Hecate were two of the game's major bosses. In SMT2, they are entities you encounter in Makai.
• In MT1, Hinokagutsuchi is the ultimate sword. This is true for MT2 and SMT1, and perhaps more games.
• Cerberus was Nakajima's faithful minion in the DDS novels and the anime. In the GBA version of SMT1, you can find a Visionary entry ("Chewed Ball") that hints at Pascal being given to the hero as a gift from one Mr. Nakajima.
• In MT2, the Devil Buster game is based on the first area from MT1, with Minotaur as the boss. It even displays Nakajima's name as the programmer.
  

And as a bonus, I found this old man in the barracks of the Messian base in Shinagawa.

	There's an underground shelter to the southeast that many people fled to during the great destruction.
	But it was struck directly by missiles and completely destroyed.

So the hero of Megami Tensei 2 got nuked. I guess the world's not big enough for two computer-wielding, demon-summoning heroes. :(