Shin Megami Tensei V Endings | How to get the best Ending and all others

Having multiple, branching endings in Shin Megami Tensei is a well-established component of the franchise, and Shin Megami Tensei V is no different. However the way SMT 5 works and decides upon which ending to give you is handled just a tad differently than previous entries. Have no fear, though - for veterans and newcomers alike, we're here to assist. On this page, we lay out all possible endings to SMT5 and how to achieve them, including that elusive best ending.

This goes without saying, but this article will have spoilers for the endings of Shin Megami Tensei V. We will not hide any plot details from his point on, so this is your last warning if you want to experience the end-game events of SMT 5 for yourself.

Also, while we have played through Shin Megami Tensei V several times in testing various permutations and possibilities for ending choices, we can only verify so much in the limited amount of time before launch. So while these details are accurate to the best of our knowledge, further information will certainly come after launch when the game is in public hands.

If you're not yet at the ending, why not take yourself over to one of our other supremely helpful SMT 5 guides? We've got pages covering things like walkthroughs for every quest in the game, plus locations for collectibles like Talismans for unlocking Magatsuhi Skills, Mitama locations, plus where to find the Petrified Demons and all 200 Miman. Otherwise, carry on to this comprehensive guide to the SMT 5 endings.

This is your last warning; spoilers follow below these two lovely images.

Shin Megami Tensei V Endings Overview

There are four endings to Shin Megami Tensei V. Three of these endings are fairly-standard branching route endings, with the 4th ending being more hidden. Yes, you can probably argue that this hidden 4th ending is the 'canon' one, the 'best ending', the 'true ending', or what have you. The file screen even marks it with a little star icon.

I'm not sure what the official or otherwise eventual accepted names for these endings are going to be, so I am going to label them by the dialogue choice you make at the final decision point in the game. These choices, and thus the four endings to the game, are as follows:

• I will uphold God's Order.
  • This is the ending aligned with Abdiel and Ichiro Dazai.
• I will recreate the world and save Tokyo.
  • This is the ending aligned with Hayao Koshimizu and Yuzuru Atsuta.
• I will destroy the throne.
  • This is the ending aligned with Nuwa and Shohei Yakumo.
• Create a world for humanity alone.
  • This is the hidden ending.

Where Shin Megami Tensei V is a bit different than previous entries is this: No matter which choices you make throughout the entire game, you will always be able to pick which of the three standard endings you want to see. At least, in our testing of the game through multiple playthroughs, this always seemed to be the case.

This final decision point is at the top of the Temple of Eternity, after defeating Metatron, so that is the last chance players have to make a save file before making a final decision on which ending they'd like to see.

Where choices and alignment *do* seem to play a role is in more minor ways. The game *does* seem to track your character's alignment based on the choices you make up until the ending, and it can make a few smaller changes in the ending sections of the game. These alignment bonuses seem to come in two forms:

1. An end-game quest NPC might charge you 666,000 Macca to accept it, if you pick an ending path that your choices do not actually align with. This is because the NPC quest giver (rightfully) does not trust you. Of course, if you actually picked the ending that your choices align with, then you will not be charged for the quest. To be as clear as possible, you will never be charged Macca to choose an ending, you'll just be charged Macca for an end-game sidequest if your actual alignment (based on choices) does not fit with the ending you selected.
2. If you pick the ending that your choices *do* actually align with, you may also get a bonus Miracle for making that choice. If you pick an ending that is unaligned with your choices, you simply do not get this Miracle.

The final location - the Empyrean

The final location in Shin Megami Tensei V is known as the Empyrean, which is accessed after deciding which of the three ending paths you want to be on. So, in other words, there are three different forms of the Empyrean, depending on which route you are on.

Of course, certain quests and demons are route exclusive, and completionists will want to complete SMT V several times if they are trying to complete all quests and get a 100% compendium.

Before we get to route-exclusive quests and demons, here are some ending components common to every ending of the game, no matter which of the three endings you decide on. 

• The Empyrean area is always the same layout no matter which ending you pick, but the main bosses you face will be different.
• Three mini-boss fights in the Empyrean will always be the same no matter which ending you pick (these are 3x Melchizedek, 1x Sraosha, 1x Alilat)
• Demeter will always be in the Empyrean with the final quest in her questline no matter which choice you pick. You do have to have completed 'The Bull God’s Lineage' first, though. This quest unlocks Demeter and Zeus for fusion, so you can get this on any route.
• A Maria NPC will always have a quest in the Empyrean if you have the Seed of Life key item (obtained at 75% Compendium). However, the quest will be slightly different for each of the three routes. For completionists, you want to do this quest on each of the three normal routes, because you unlock a different demon on each route.
• After the credits, you always seem to unlock Lady Nuwa, Herald Abdiel, and Fallen Abdiel for fusion no matter which ending you pick.
• In NG+ you always seem to unlock two more Miracles, no matter which route you pick. These are:
  • Divine Persuasion - which allows demons you fight to sometimes join randomly
  • Divine Eminence - which allows the Nahobino to negotiate with higher-level demons

Shin Megami Tensei V Ending 1 - I will uphold God’s Order

This is the ending that aligns the Nahobino with Abdiel and Ichiro Dazai, and effectively works as SMT V's version of the typical Law Route. Here, humanity devotes itself to God and generally leads prosperous lives, at the expense of their individuality.

The route-exclusive demons, quests, and more to this ending are:

• If you picked this ending AND your choices made throughout the game align with it, you will get the bonus Miracle Rank Violation, which removes the Level limitation for Demon Fusion.
• Herald Abdiel is automatically unlocked for fusion (though you seem to get her after the credits regardless of route)
• Maria’s quest is ‘The Compassionate Queen’ and unlocks Maria for fusion, unique to this route.
• A Melchizedek NPC is here with a message from Michael. Go to the end of the Temple of Eternity to meet Michael and the 'The Seraph’s Return' quest. If you pick this route unaligned with your actual choices, you have to pay 666,000 Macca to proceed.
  • Completing this quest adds Michael to your party and unlocks him for fusion, unique to this route.

Shin Megami Tensei V Ending 2 - I will recreate the world and save Tokyo

This is the ending that aligns the Nahobino with Hayao Koshimizu and Yuzuru Atsuta, which sees the world led by Myriad Gods instead of one singular god. This quest kind of aligns with the typical Chaos Route philosophies, though not quite in the same way as previous SMT titles. Here, people and gods are allowed to choose for themselves, at the expense of constant conflict and disagreement.

The route-exclusive demons, quests, and more to this ending are:

• If you picked this ending AND your choices made throughout the game align with it, you will get the bonus Miracle Inheritance Violation, which allows a demon’s starting skills to be overwritten when they are fused.
• Holy Hayataro automatically joins the party and is unlocked for fusion, unique to this route.
• Maria’s quest is ‘The Wrathful Queen’ and unlocks Inanna for fusion, unique to this route.
• A Nebiros NPC is here with a message from Belial. Go to the end of the Demon King castle to meet Belial and the ‘The Red Dragon’s Invitation’ quest. If you pick this route unaligned with your actual choices, you have to pay 666,000 Macca to proceed.
  • Completing this quest adds Belial to your party and unlocks him for fusion, unique to this route.

Shin Megami Tensei V Ending 3 - I will destroy the throne

This ending is actually the shortest and simplest of all the endings to Shin Megami Tensei V, and it is the one that aligns with Shohei Yakumo and Nuwa. It is sort of like a standard SMT Neutral route, but unlike Shin Megami Sensei IV, this is a somewhat short ending and not some happy medium between the other two. Here, there is no ruler at all, and everyone is left to fend for themselves as the Nahobino takes more of a back seat to the world. It has the lowest number of route-exclusives unlocks (in terms of demons and quests) and also the lowest number of end-game boss fights.

There is actually only one element of this ending that is unique to it:

• Maria’s quest is ‘The Noble Queen’ and unlocks Danu for fusion, unique to this route.

Shin Megami Tensei V Ending 4 - Create a world for humanity alone

This is the 4th ending to Shin Megami Tensei V, and it is easily the most hidden of all the endings available. Here, the Nahobino doesn't align with any individual, and instead creates a new world for humanity alone, with no gods or demons. Some have referred to this ending as the True Neutral ending.

As you may expect, this ending is the hardest to achieve in SMT V. I have played through the game several times in trying deduce the unlock requirements, and while I cannot guarantee the exact requirements at this point, I can share where players may look for the ending, as well as components that seem likely to lead to it.

How to Get the Best Ending in Shin Megami Tensei V

The best ending to Shin Megami Tensei V is a branch off of the 'Destroy the Throne' ending, so in order to get the 4th ending, you need to select that option at the top of the Temple of Eternity. However, this branch will not always appear in this ending, and it has certain requirements that need to be met in order for the player to obtain the 4th ending.

On that note, as far as route-exclusive quests or fusion unlocks goes, this 4th ending is actually no different than the Destroy the Throne ending, because it is simply an alternate version of that ending. 

First, let me describe where this branch occurs. After selecting Destroy the Throne, proceed through the Empyrean as normal until you fight Abdiel. Fight her as normal. Immediately after defeating Abdiel is when the branch for selecting the game's 4th ending will appear, if you've met the requirements to unlock it.

In the Destroy the Throne Ending, after defeating Abdiel, Nuwa may reappear in front of the Nahobino. If she appears, then congrats, you've unlocked the 4th ending to Shin Megami Tensei V. If she does not appear, then sadly you are stuck on the Destroy the Throne route. 

If Nuwa does appear, then later on you will be given one more additional choice, where you can choose to stick with to destroy the throne, or you can now pick 'Create a world for humanity alone.'

In order for Nuwa to appear we believe the following might be required:

• Completion of quests before the alignment choice seems to be the primary factor in unlocking the 4th ending, with at least two questlines apparently required. One of those being the Egyptian god questline, which ends with the quest 'The Succession of Ra'. Another quest that seems to be required is 'A Universe in Peril', which is the game's superboss quest that has you face off against Shiva. He's level 96 and can be fought by entering the portal near where you fight Vasuki in Taito.
  • There are possibly other significant questlines that are required to get the 4th ending, which may include the quests involving Demeter, Amanozako, Fionn mac Cumhaill. At this point, we cannot definitively guarantee if any of these quests are required or not, and more testing is needed, but to be safe, it makes sense to complete as many quests as possible if you are trying to achieve the 4th ending.
  • For what it is worth, we had completed nearly all of the quests available before unlocking the game's 4th ending, with the exception of some route-exclusive quests or mutually exclusive quests. For more information on quests, check out our Shin Megami Tensei V Quest Guide.
• A note about New Game Plus, NG+ is not required for this ending, although we achieved this ending on a NG+ playthrough. At the very least, it's worth noting this: NG+ can make achieving the ending simply easier, due to carry-over bonuses.
  • Based on our testing, we believe quest status (as it related to unlocking the 4th ending) carries over to NG+. As in, if you've completed the Egyptian God questline in a previous playthrough, you do not need to complete it again on NG+. (To be more specific, it might simply be that the game checks if you've unlocked Ra for fusion, which is the final reward for the questline, which carries over in NG+). The ssame goes for having defeated Shiva.
• It is currently unconfirmed how dialogue choices made throughout the game may affect if this ending will unlock or not.