Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance’s New Playable Character Was Conceptualized During the Original’s Development

There are many reasons to look forward to Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, Atlus’s enhanced version of its acclaimed 2021 RPG. However, one of the biggest wildcards is perhaps Yoko Hiromine. The new character isn’t just essential to the story – she’s also controllable during combat.

Voiced by Erin Yvette in English and Chiwa Saitou in Japanese, Yoko is a senior at St. Marina Academy. There’s an air of mystery about her, but upon meeting the Nahobino in Da’at, the two work together to fight against the demons. While she’s new to Vengeance, Yoko was actually conceptualized during the original game’s production but didn’t work out.

Director Shiego Komori revealed this to GameSpot, adding, “The reason for adding other characters on the journey to join the fight was to deepen our focus on the interactions between the humans. The goal is to further the feeling of presence by cooperating with members on the journey and to allow an easier understanding of their actions. She was conceived as a kind of heroine of chaos to be paired against Tao, and in this work, the setting from that time has been incorporated into the story as much as possible.”

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance launches on June 14th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, Xbox One, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch. The new Canon of Vengeance route promises 75 more hours of gameplay alongside new features and enemies. A hands-on demo will be playable during Atlus Fes on June 8th and 9th.