Shin Megami Tensei 4 hits 3DS this summer

While Atlus has released heaps of games with Shin Megami Tensei branding, from Persona to Devil Summoner, there are only four games in the core SMT series. The fourth, snappily titled Shin Megami Tensei IV, will arrive in North America on Nintendo 3DS this summer with a samurai tale, Atlus announced today.

The RPG was announced yonks ago, but Atlus only today confirmed a release outside Japan. It'll come a grand nine years after the last SMT game, Nocturne for the PS2, hit North America.

SMT4 plops you into the shoes of a fresh young samurai defending their kingdom of Mikado from an army of demons. Handily, as is customary for the series you can recruit demons and use their powers against their chums. The game boasts over 400 of the blighters. And, as you'd expect, it'll branch this this-a-way and that-a-way, with choices affecting characters and kingdom alike.

"The return of the legendary Shin Megami Tensei series is one of the biggest milestones yet for Atlus and the 3DS," Naoto Hiraoka, CEO if Atlus parent company Index, said in the announcement.

"Since this is the first title from the original SMT series in a decade, we tapped the best developers from many of Atlus' acclaimed projects including Nocturne, Strange Journey, Persona, and Soul Hackers to create a premium experience that lives up to our fans' and our own expectations."

Have a gander at the game in this trailer for the Japanese release: