Shin Megami Tensei Devil Children: Hikari No Sho is one of those GBA RPGs that feels bigger than it should—like someone crammed a full SMT experience into a tiny cartridge. You start off as a kid who can talk to demons (standard fare for the series), but things escalate fast when you get dragged into a war between light and dark realms.

The demon recruiting is addicting—you’ll waste way too much time negotiating with random monsters just to see who’ll join your squad. Some of them are weirdly cute, others look like they’d stab you mid-conversation. Combat’s got that classic press-turn system where hitting weaknesses matters, though it’s a bit simpler here than in mainline SMT games.

What surprised me was how much your choices actually shape the story. Picking certain dialogue options or siding with specific demons can nudge the plot in different directions. It’s not Persona-level deep, but for a GBA game? Way more branching than I expected.

If you’ve ever wanted a slightly more approachable SMT game with a lighter tone (and way more demon puns), this one’s worth digging up.