Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance - Should You Play The Vengeance Route Or The Creation Route (2024)

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

By Ryan Bamsey

Published Jun 14, 2024

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This article is part of a directory: Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance - Complete Guide

Table of contents

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance adds a whole bunch of new content to this landmark title in the SMT series. Most notable of all is the route that gives this edition its name, the Vengeance route, which follows the same tack as the original route but splits off in a massive way.

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance - Demon Haunts, Explained

Hang with your demons in Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance's brand-new Demon Haunts.

Chosen at the very start of the game, it's made very clear to you when you're forced to pick a route. This choice will have a massive impact on the entire playthrough, so it's important to pick the one that you're more likely to vibe with.

Differences Between The Canon Of Creation And Canon Of Vengeance Routes

Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance - Should You Play The Vengeance Route Or The Creation Route (7)

To begin with, it's important to know the background behind each of the routes you are able to pick:

The Canon of Creation is the story that was featured in the original version of Shin Megami Tensei 5. Its focus is on the war between the angels and the demons, law versus chaos.
The Canon of Vengeance is the new story added to this release. While the war between angels and demons still occurs, the route instead focuses on a new group of antagonists, the Qadistu.

If you've already played through the Canon of Creation with the original game, the choice is easy: play the Vengeance route to experience the new story.

If you haven't played this game before, though, you might want to assess the various differences between the routes:

Similarities and Differences
Difficulty	Both routes are roughly the same difficulty. This is immaterial, as SMT 5 has a variable difficulty setting that you can change at any time.
Companions	While both routes will have you meeting friends and becoming allies with them, this is more pronounced in the Canon of Vengeance.
New Characters	The new character, Yoko Hiromine, only appears in the Canon of Vengeance. The same can be said of the new antagonists, the Qadistu.
Areas	You will visit mostly the same areas in both routes, though the story does split significantly after completing the second area.
Endings	The Canon of Creation splits into a few sub-routes late in the game that force you to make a choice between them. The Canon of Vengeance will split based on the decisions you make throughout the game.

If you haven't played either route before and intend on picking one to play first, we would recommend playing the Vengeance route first - this will give you a better insight into the general themes of the game and allow you to get to know the characters in a way that makes the plot beats in the Creation route hit harder.

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