Atlus announces Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children: White Book

[05.15.01] » The Megami Tensei series nets a new portable installment.

   Atlus today announced Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children: White Book, a Megami Tensei monster-collecting game for the Game Boy Color. White Book is the sequel to the original two Devil Children games, Black Book and Red Book, which were released last year. It features a brand new storyline and game world, as well as tuned-up gameplay features. Unlike the Black and Red Books, which were released simultaneously, the White Book will have no "partenered" game title.

   Devil Children White Book stars two new main characters: curious Kuzuha Masaki and the obedient Ougi Takaharu. Born on the same day, the two are now 10-year-old elementary school students and best friends. Both boys have their own devil partner: Kuzuha has a chimaera named Clay, while Ougi has a phoenix named Rei. The two soon find themselves caught up in Ragnarok, and Kuzuha must prevent the apocalypse by traveling through five areas: Heaven, the Magic Fields of Ice, Earth, and Wind, and the Central Land.

   White Book will feature all 250 monsters from the Black and Red Books and 80 new monsters for a total of 330 characters. Monsters from the original games can still be pitted against players with a Red or Black Book game; of course, the new monsters will not be backwards-compatible.

   An unusual gimmick can be used to acquire new monsters in White Book. As in the Red and Black Books -- as well as most of the other Megami Tensei games -- two monsters can be fused together to produce a new one. However, the White Book introduces a new factor: By pointing infrared remote controls at the Game Boy Color's infrared port and pressing different buttons, players can tweak the results of the fusion. Some rare monsters can only be produced in this manner.

   Devil Children White Book is due out sometime in 2001 in Japan. A North American release has not been announced. Look for more on the game soon.