Shin Megami Tensei V(SMT V) is finally out this July 01, 2025, exclusively on Nintendo Switch, and many discovering the game might be wondering about the protagonist, whether you can select your name and gender.
Can you name the Protagonist inShin Megami Tensei V?
Yes, you may name the protagonist inSMT Vand you will be asked for a first name and family name shortly after starting a new save file. However, there is pretty much no incidence to your choice. You can either make up a name or use your real name. Especially seeing there are no online functionalities inSMT V. It’s a pure solo JRPG so no one will see your real name unless you stream or share screenshots.
Is theSMT Vprotagonist a girl, can you pick your gender?
You cannot pick your gender, and the protagonist ofSMT Vis a male protagonist. There is no ambiguity, as Aogami, who fuses with the protagonist, regularly calls him “young man” in Japanese and English. The protagonist is just very effeminate, be it in his human form or in his Nahobino form.
As a side note, unlike thePersonaseries, there is no social aspect inShin Megami Tensei V. It’s also possible when talking to Demons to mention that you consider yourself a girl, or you can also ask male Demons to become your lover. But it’s all part of Demon negotiation, with no impact on the story.
Female protagonists and effeminate protagonists in JRPGs
It’s important to note this is nothing surprising when it comes to Japanese games and especially JRPGs. Unlike in the West, there’s never been a huge apprehension against games with female protagonists or effeminate protagonists in Japan.
This is partly due to the fact that there have always been more women in the game industry in Japan compared to the rest of the world, and earlier as well. One of the most popular example is Rieko Kodama on thePhantasy StarJRPG series. A more recent game and good example is theNeptune(Neptunia)series and its director Naoko Mizuno.
Japan has a completely different history and culture, as opposed to the 90s and 2000s in most of America and Europe, where you’d often seeFinal Fantasyfans, to pick a popular example, complaining about the male characters' looks.
This is exactly why companies like Square Enix ended up makingNieR Gestalt, a version made for the west where the original bishonen (pretty boy) protagonist was replaced by a buff older protagonist.
For further reading, another similar situation is how many anime fans outside Japan believe the “isekai genre” was made for men, while it historically always primarily targeted women and featured female protagonists.Read more here.
Shin Megami Tensei Vwas launched in Japan on November 11 midnight, which corresponded to November 10 in North America. Hence why you could see some Japanese fans already playing the game on social media. Some fans around the world also received their physical preorders early. Atlus also asked fans toproperly tag spoilers.
