There are some demons and Personas in the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series that are incredibly elusive. Though there aren’t many, these creatures are only present in a few games in total, keeping their appearances to a minimum.
One such demon is Lucifuge, a Persona character I have only ever seen in both Shin Megami Tensei IV and its sequel, Apocalypse, when I beat them back on the Nintendo 3DS. Find out all about him in this Lucifuge guide.
The lack of featured games for Lucifuge increases the mystery and intrigue surrounding this demon from hell. I hope to see more of him in the future, as he made a decent impression in both of the SMT IV games I encountered him in.
If you would like to learn more about him and possibly acquire this demon for yourself, you’re in the right place for my Lucifuge guide.
Bottom Line Up Front
Lucifuge has a name that is quite similar to Lucifer. You best believe that this is not a coincidence, either, as the demon is known as the prime minister of hell itself. He is part of the Tyrant race in the Shin Megami Tensei games and the Devil Arcana in the Persona titles.
He is only in a few games in total, but he plays a crucial role in a couple of them. This made his brief appearances all the more memorable for me. There is even a major boss battle against him late into SMT IV: Apocalypse at level 70.
Lucifuge Overview
The forces of heaven and hell are constantly at war with one another in the Shin Megami Tensei series. Though less overtly present in the Persona games, these supernatural armies are continually battling to find out who will end up with the world’s fate and humanity in their hands.
To this point, there are so many different divine and hellish creatures that call the SMT and Persona series their home. Of these, Lucifuge is one of the most mysterious due to his lack of appearances in the mainline games. Chances are, if you are a newer fan of these titles in the past decade or so, like me, you may not know who he is.
Or you have only seen him in a couple of games, like in my case. Even still, Lucifuge is one of the most memorable demons in the two Atlus JRPG series, having an appearance that is instantly iconic and somewhat terrifying.
He is also quite strong, being one of the highest-level demons that you can encounter in the games that he is in. As one of the prime servants of Satan from hell, Lucifuge is a character that shouldn’t be messed with. If you find yourself on the dark, chaotic side of the SMT games, chances are that he will find you at some point.
Perhaps the most memorable appearance for Lucifuge, though, has to be his story-driven moments in the two Shin Megami Tensei IV games. He shows up in both games no matter what you do or which side of the fight you are on.
In Apocalypse, especially, he is a central boss that you tackle in this title. In addition to these appearances, Lucifuge has been known to also be in the Persona games, especially when it comes to the early PlayStation 1 titles.
Appearance
Lucifuge’s initial appearance in Shin Megami Tensei II set his appearance in stone.
His outfit and design remind me of a hellish priest in a way. There is something sagely to his character but in an unnerving and disturbing way.
He wears a dark robe with gold accents that is both extravagant and terrifying. The horns around his head and his white beard give off a distinct, almost hellish Santa Claus appearance.
We can see that in his demonic skin and face, with his arms revealing that he has monstrous purple skin that is ungodly.
His appearance would remain the same throughout the decades, including in his most recent appearances on the 3DS and mobile devices. Overall, I would say that Lucifuge is one of the more straightforward demon designs for a servant of hell.
Origins Explained
The origins of Lucifuge are rooted in Judeo-Christian lore. This demon goes by a couple of names, including his full name of Lucifuge Rofocale. He is one of the highest-ranking officials in the entirety of hell, being just under Satan when it comes to leadership.
Lucifuge is the prime minister of hell, allowing him to amass many treasures and servants in the process. The craziest part is that he is considered to be the ruler over all of the wealth and treasure in this world, being almost like a barter of sorts when he deals with people.
He is a master of contracts and obligations, forcing people to agree to his sometimes unfair or tricky terms to gain what they want in exchange. The Grand Grimoire plays a massive role in his powers, allowing him to do what he wants so long as he appeases the book he carries in his hands at all times.
Key Moments in the Series
There are only a few games that Lucifuge is featured in, but this doesn’t stop him from having some significant moments in his few appearances. One such moment is in Shin Megami Tensei IV. Towards the end of this story, the player has a choice to make when it comes to the future of humankind.
There are only three proper paths that you can select in this game, most notably behind the scenes in a way, and Lucifuge appears to the player at some point on basically all three of them. Depending on the path that you are on, he may react to the player in a much different way.
He is the enemy to the player if you select the Law route or go for the true Neutral ending. This is due to the fact that Lucifuge is on the side of Chaos, being sworn to follow Satan and his minions. In the event that you pick the Law side and join with God’s Order, you will fight him and take down his pitiful self.
On the other hand, if you are on the Neutral route, he refuses to back down due to the fact that you are not actively trying to dismantle God and his army. In both cases, Lucifuge perishes at the hands of the player Flynn.
In my opinion, though, his more intriguing appearance comes in the direct sequel, SMT IV: Apocalypse. He is technically an optional boss that you can face in Camp Ichigaya. He is immensely powerful here and despises the main character, Nanashi, and his friends.
This is due to the fact that Lucifuge has no hope left and only wishes to get revenge against God for whatever reason that is. This leads to an inevitable fight no matter what path Nanashi is on in this game and the eventual defeat of Lucifuge. In the end, he is true to his ideals, still cursing God in his dying breath.
But above all else, one specific instance of lore surrounding Lucifuge is far more fascinating than anything else. If you’ve played any of the SMT games (not the Persona titles), you will know that the currency used in those games is called Mecca.
Unlike the Persona games that simply use the Japanese Yen as its money, Macca is a made-up currency in the SMT series. It turns out that none other than Lucifuge himself came up with the Macca currency as he is responsible for all of the money and other treasures that exist in the world.
So, the next time you run out of Macca in these games, you know just who to curse.
Featured Games
Lucifuge is a demon who seemingly wishes to keep his appearances to a minimum. Perhaps this is because he is busy managing all of hell as well as the real world, or maybe because Atlus is too busy including other, better-designed demons in its games.
Whatever the reason may be, the fact remains that you will be hard-pressed to find Lucifuge in the modern Shin Megami Tensei and Persona titles. For the most part, you would have to dig deep into the past of both series if you would like to encounter and acquire him for your own.
Here are all of the games from Atlus that Lucifuge is featured in so far:
- Shin Megami Tensei II: Lucifuge’s debut in the series as part of the Tyrant race and a significant boss
- Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
- Persona 2: Innocent Sin
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
- SMT Nine
- SMT Imagine
- Devil Survivor Overclocked
- Devil Survivor 2
- SMT Strange Journey Redux: He is oddly enough only available in the Nintendo 3DS remake of the DS title
- SMT IV
- SMT IV Apocalypse
- Shin Megami Tensei Liberation Dx2
From a numbers standpoint, you can look at that list and see that he is actually in quite a few games, especially in the Shin Megami Tensei series. The unfortunate thing, though, is that they are all either relatively early in the series or spin-off games that aren’t too important or worth checking out.
As such, if you didn’t play those early games or own a Nintendo 3DS, chances are that you have never seen Lucifuge before in your life. Perhaps the most notable part about all of this is the fact that Lucifuge was only available in the Persona 2 duology when it comes to that spin-off series.
He wasn’t even in the original Persona or any other game after that in the series. I think there is a strong chance that he could return someday as the Devil Arcana is alive and kicking at this time in the modern Persona games.
With his fellow soldiers from hell like Satan, Lucifer, and Satanael, it is only a matter of time until he returns to the Persona series.
This would also be his first ever 3D appearance in a mainline SMT or Persona game, which is bound to happen in the near future, I would think. Even in the two SMT IV games, he was presented with 2D art, so he has to make the switch to 3D at some point relatively soon.
How to Acquire the Prime Minister of Hell
Lucifuge isn’t one of the low-level monsters you can bring to your team in the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series. I mean, you can’t expect the prime minister of hell itself to be on the same level as someone like a simple Pixie or Jack Frost in all of his goofiness.
Lucifuge is one of the highest-ranking members of hell, so it should come as no surprise that he is also one of the highest-level demons that you can encounter in both series. Oddly enough, the methods by which you unlock will vary from game to game, though there are some common elements, as you will see.
Shin Megami Tensei Series
When it comes to the SMT games, there are a couple of different ways that the player is able to recruit Lucifuge to their team. In some of the games, he is simply a demon that you can fuse together in the Cathedral of Shadows and add to your team.
In other titles, though, some restrictions are placed on how you can acquire him. For instance, in the underrated PC MMO, SMT Imagine, you can get Lucifuge by defeating his boss form in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office.
This is a common element in the SMT games, with many titles requiring you to defeat him in battle before you can fuse for him and add him to your team in those games. This is a similar situation in the new content that was added to Strange Journey Redux for the 3DS release.
One of the new areas, Empyrean Ascent, is a place you can access only on your New Game Plus playthrough. Yes, you have to beat the game once and then go through it all over again to unlock this area and face Lucifuge there.
Only then, after this point, can you defeat him, unlock his Lucifer Ring, which is insanely helpful on its own, and fuse for him.
The same is the case for SMT IV: Apocalypse, where defeating his optional boss form at level 70 will allow you to then fuse for him as a special fusion in the Cathedral of Shadows. He takes some seriously high-level demons to create him, but it is worth it for the strong skills that he can teach to Nanashi as you add him to your team.
Persona Series
When it comes to the Persona games, there are only two titles that you can unlock Lucifuge in: Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. Both of these games have similar methods of unlocking Lucifuge that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, in all honesty.
The general idea is that you have to fuse for Lucifuge in both of these games while you are in the Velvet Room. He is part of the Devil Arcana in these games, requiring you to be at a very high level and have specific Personas already in your possession before you can grab him.
It is not easy to get Lucifuge in the two Persona 2 titles, which is why I will be completely honest that I was unable to unlock him when I played both of the Persona 2 games. He wasn’t necessary for beating either one of those games, but the collectors out there who want to fuse them all should be wary of the high-level requirements.
How to Destroy Lucifuge in SMT IV: Apocalypse
One of the significant traits of Lucifuge is that in most of the games he appears in, at least in the Shin Megami Tensei series, he is a central boss character. This is a recurring theme, likely due to his high status in the armies of hell.
If you side with God or yourself, you are likely to encounter Lucifuge at some point in the SMT games. But the most notable of these is his appearance and boss battle in SMT IV: Apocalypse, where he is not only an optional character, but this is one of his hardest appearances.
At this point in SMT IV: Apocalypse, Lucifuge is a whopping level 70 when you face off against him. He has about 10,000 health, making him one of the bulkiest boss characters you can face in the entire lengthy JRPG. If that is not enough, he has some hefty resistance, too.
He is resistant to dark skills, repels gun skills, and then repels force ones, too. If you want a chance of winning this fight, your only choice is to exploit his general weakness to electric skills. He has a wide range of abilities that will make it hard to avoid his heavy-hitting attacks.
If you can, try to have resistances or immunities to dark, gun, and/or force attacks. When in doubt, aim for dark and force as your immunities as this will make this battle considerably more accessible for you to win.
His gun damage is impressive, too, but if you only have to worry about healing through that, it won’t be that big of a deal.
Lastly, he is able to buff himself and his stats. If you can debuff him, that would be great because any parties under level 70 will likely be decimated in his superpowered state. In addition, he is able to repel magic attacks for one turn using Makarakarn. Avoid attacking him at all costs during this time.
FAQs
Question: What is Macca Shin Megami Tensei?
Answer: Macca is the main currency used in almost all of the Shin Megami Tensei games. It is just the money that you collect and use to buy items, resummon old demons, and more. In the lore of the series, the Macca was actually created by Lucifuge himself.
Question: How to Get Belial Shin Megami Tensei V?
Answer: Belial is another one of the high-ranking demons from hell. In Shin Megami Tensei V, players can acquire Belial by completing a unique task. You must acquire 200 different demons and add them to your collection. At this point, you will then unlock Belial for your party.
Question: Who is Lucifugus Persona?
Answer: Lucifugus is the name for Lucifuge that was used in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment. I’m not sure why it differed only in this Persona game and not Innocent Sin, too, but this is the more direct translation of his Japanese Katakana name. Perhaps it was just an error on the localization part.
Who to Recruit Next
Lucifuge might be one of the most under-the-radar high-level demons in the SMT and Persona series. For those of you who might be newer to the series and never owned a Nintendo 3DS, likely, you have never even heard of him.
I know that if I had never discovered the SMT games on the 3DS, I would have fallen into that category.
That would be a shame since the Santa Claus priest from hell is one of the most powerful demons you can get in these games.
But suppose you’re looking for another hellish demon to join your party who is a bit more modern but no less elusive for some players. In that case, I recommend checking out Satanael from Persona 5, the strongest of all Personas in that game.
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