With a broad set of JRPGs, even the shared aspects of the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series aren’t always on the same page. This includes the skills that the player’s character and their demons use in battle. I remember one of the strangely missing skills going from SMT III Nocturne to games like Persona 4 Golden was Freikugel. You can find out all about this mysterious and exclusive ability in my Freikugel guide.
Freikugel might sound familiar to Persona fans, especially of Persona 5. This sounds similar to Frei, the widespread nuke ability introduced in that game. But is Freikugel just the more robust version of Frei or something else? Regardless, how do you go about acquiring this ability, and which games are they even featured in? These are the questions and more that I aim to answer for you in this Freikugel guide.
Bottom Line Up Front
Freikugel is one of the many skills you can use in the Shin Megami Tensei games. However, it is one of the most elusive that most players will never see in their playthroughs unless they seek it out. This is because this skill is not available in any Persona games.
It is only in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, IV: Apocalypse, and the recent V. Even within those games, it is many times tied to special DLC quests or other content that you wouldn’t usually seek out. But it is worth it for the most powerful Almighty skill in any Atlus JRPG ever.
Freikugel Overview
I have long noted that the Persona fans that are on our site should check out the Shin Megami Tensei series if you haven’t already. They are some of the best JRPGs ever created, offering something similar but a little bit different from the core Persona titles.
I would say that the similarities are more substantial than the differences between SMT and Persona. However, some aspects still haven’t yet crossed over. This includes some of the demons in the SMT games and even the skills they use.
One of the skills you will not be able to use in the Persona games is Freikugel. I would say that this is perhaps the most potent ability that exists in any Atlus JRPG to date. Honestly, it is a darn shame that it doesn’t currently exist in any Persona titles.
Part of the reasoning behind this likely comes from the fact that Freikugel sounds far too similar to Frei and its line of nuke abilities from Persona 5. Those recently released abilities sound similar, but Freikugel is, oddly enough, not part of that line.
In fact, it isn’t even a nuke ability in the slightest. It is an entirely different element, being an Almighty skill. I would say that it is even the best Almighty skill out there and one that you shouldn’t miss out on if you are playing some of the Shin Megami Tensei games.
Unfortunately, Freikugel isn’t just elusive to the Persona titles out there as it is a challenging skill to find within the SMT games, too. Only a few titles in total include the Freikugel ability. And even the games that have this mysterious skill make it quite difficult to unlock it. Fortunately, I’ve got your back for all of this, as I can promise you that the effort is all worth it in the end.
How It Works
Freikugel is a recommended skill for players because of how immensely powerful it is. For starters, it is of the Almighty elemental type, which I stand by as the most valuable and powerful element you could ever use in any Atlus game.
The reason behind this is because of the fact that Almighty doesn’t show up on the elemental chart. It is like the secret invisible skill type that few demons can use. Freikugel is the utmost version of this idea, being a severe Almighty skill in the games that have it.
It deals severe damage, which is the highest level of damage you can deal from a single skill. Freikugel not only deals severe Almighty damage, though, but it also uses the strength stat of the player in most of the games it is in.
This is rather unique since the magic stat is usually used for elemental skills in the SMT games. Magic enhances your fire, ice, etc attacks and makes sure that they deal more severe damage the higher the stat is on your player character.
But there are a few select rare skills like Freikugel that don’t consider the magic stat when using it. Instead, Freikugel uses the strength stat as the primary qualifier for determining how much damage you deal. This means the higher your strength stat, the more damage that you will deal when using this.
This makes Freikugel the ideal Almighty skill you can use in battle and the very best elemental skill for even physical strength devil summoners out there. It is versatile in a way almost no other skill is, appealing to the strength build types of players.
Flexibility Explained
I know that a lot of players in the SMT games like to run strength builds. This is probably the most popular build type, especially in SMT III: Nocturne, since the strength stat is one of the most valuable. I understand that some players just don’t want to worry about magic, luck, and all that.
Instead, they would focus on the stats they prefer, like strength and vitality, that make sense for increasing your attack and health. In that case, Freikugel is one of the most valuable and flexible skills that you can learn since it appeals to the strength builds out there.
You can have your cake and eat it, too. You don’t have to worry about raising your magic stat and still benefit from using elemental magic skills simultaneously. And, honestly, you don’t need another magic skill in your arsenal once you unlock this one.
The flexibility doesn’t end with the strength build advantage, either. There is also the amazing fact alone that it is part of the Almighty skill type, which grants some fantastic versatility to it as well. The Almighty skill type is that mysterious, extra elemental type.
This allows you to avoid enemies that might be tough due to a ton of resistance and immunities. There are some bosses that you can fight that resist or are immune to every single elemental type out there. This means that you will never be dealing any typical damage whatsoever otherwise.
Unless, of course, you use an Almighty ability like Freikugel. Though it won’t ever gain you any extra press turns in a battle, it will at least guarantee typical damage every single time that you use it. This makes it invaluable against the toughest bosses in the SMT series.
Name Confusion Explained
One of the weirdest parts about Freikugel is the fact that its name is quite confusing. As mentioned, Freikugel sounds like the Frei line, but it is not part of that elemental nuke type. But the name confusion doesn’t stop there.
In addition, Freikugel has an entirely different name in Japanese. In the original language of the SMT games, this skill is known as Shikou no Madan, which roughly translates to the supreme magical bullet. Here is where things get a little bit weird.
You can even see this name implied in the skill animation, where it looks like little magical bullets piercing the enemies as you use it. It just so happens that Shikou no Madan isn’t the only skill in Japanese that is named this.
For whatever reason, Atlus made two skills in the game that have the same name, right down to the kanji used for it. However, they are distinctly different abilities since the other Shikou no Madan is a gun skill rather than an Almighty one.
In English, the localizers at least took the time to change the name of this ability to Riot Gun, which you likely know quite well since it is featured in most games these days, including the Persona series. I’m not quite sure why Freikugel has two different skills in Japanese with the same name, but that is the case for some odd reason.
Featured Games
As mentioned, Freikugel is one of the most elusive skills you will ever find in the Shin Megami Tensei series. There are only three games in total that it is available in, with no Persona titles featuring it. Here are the three games that include the Freikugel skill:
- Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne – The debut of the Freikugel skill
- Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse – It is strangely not available in the original SMT IV for some reason
- Shin Megami Tensei V
How to Acquire Freikugel in SMT III
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is the original place where you could use the Freikugel skill. At the time, it was extremely hard to find due to the fact that it is entirely exclusive to the player character. The Demi Fiend is the only one who knows how to use this ability, and you cannot pass it on to your demons.
At the time, it was a physical Almighty skill that used 17% of your HP. This made it quite costly but worth it for the insane amount of damage, you could inflict on your opponents, including resistant ones. To unlock this skill, you had to own the Kailash Magatama.
To acquire this Magatama, you must buy it from the Junk Shop owner on the third level of the Tower of Kagutsuchi. This makes it one of the final Magatama you can find in the entire JRPG, meaning it will only be useful in that final segment of the game.
Once you have this Magatama, simply level up while using it, and Freikugel will be the final ability that you learn. On a side note, this Magatama is one of the better ones as it is entirely blank across the board. Sure, you have no resistance, but you have no weaknesses that might set you back.
Still, there are better Magatama out there with more excellent resistances that I prefer to use. That is why I usually just unlock Freikugel and then switch to a different Magatama entirely at that point. I highly recommend unlocking this for Demi Fiend for this game’s challenging final boss fights.
How to Master Freikugel in SMT IV: Apocalypse
This is where things get a little bit weird in Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse when it comes to the Freikugel skill. You see, it is strangely a skill that is still only meant for the Demi Fiend from SMT III: Nocturne. However, this is a sequel game and not that title.
Well, it turns out that Demi Fiend is included in Apocalypse through a DLC quest that is known as Messiahs in the Diamond Realm. The DLC is pricey, for sure, but potentially worth it for the extra area, you get in the questline known as the Diamond Realm.
If you beat the Diamond Realm and finish off the Messiahs quest, you will face off against none other than the Demi Fiend. The guy who started it all showed us that you could mix together humans and demons to make a hybrid creation that is the best of both worlds.
Unfortunately, it just so happens that this questline is insanely difficult, but worth it if you can bring in some demons that are able to take them down. I would argue that the fights you deal with here are even harder than some of the endgame bosses you battle in the main storyline.
One of the rewards for completing this questline is adding the Demi Fiend to your team as one of the party members you fight alongside. This is unbelievably helpful as he is one of the best party members in the entire game.
Part of this is due to the fact that he has Freikugel, which is the only place in all of SMT IV: Apocalypse where you can find and use this Almighty skill. There are no demons or ways to get this skill otherwise. You can’t even teach this skill to Nanashi, the player character.
I’ll admit that I haven’t even done this DLC yet because it was pretty expensive at the time when I played Apocalypse for the first time. I intend to play it again soon and finally get the DLC so I can add Demi Fiend to my team. But I do wish there was a re-release of this game and its predecessor for Switch before then.
How to Unlock in SMT V
Shin Megami Tensei V is where things get a little bit weird when it comes to the Freikugel ability. Unfortunately, it is still not easy to get. Still, the benefit is that this is the first time in the entire series that a demon can acquire it.
So, what a player must do to unlock Freikugel is have one of the best demons in the entire game on your side. There are only a handful of these monsters that can unlock this skill, so you are looking at a challenging path of unlocking it for your team.
This is unfortunate since it means that it is unlikely that you will be able to use Freikugel for a long time in the game. However, there is a significant change to the ability that you should know about. In this game, it still deals severe damage with the Almighty element type.
That hasn’t changed, but the problem is that it is now focused on hitting a single enemy, and that is it. That makes it a little bit less useful since you would only be able to hit a single enemy at a time. With that being the case, there is still the fantastic aspect of it being tied to strength.
I, personally, think it is less useful here, though, as magic is far more valid for use in SMT V than in III, for instance. This negative is assisted by the fact that the skill now has a high chance of landing a critical hit. Though you can’t take advantage of weaknesses, you can at least sometimes land a critical hit.
Furthermore, Freikugel has a new version of it known as EX. This is one of the Talisman skills that the player can use in battle. It works the same as the standard version you already know about. The main difference is that the Nahobino can now use it, in addition to his demons.
Suppose you want to unlock Freikugel EX for the player character. In that case, you need to acquire either the Wargod Talisman or the Fiend Talisman. When it comes to the Wargod, you will need to complete the No Stone Unturned side quest. For the Fiend Talisman, what you need to do is find 70 of the Miman creatures that Gustave requested you to do.
Demons That Use Freikugel
In total, there are only four demons in all of Shin Megami Tensei V that learn and can use Freikugel. This is also the only game where you can find a demon that learns this move since it was exclusive to the Demi Fiend up until this point in time.
You can still find the Demi Fiend using this skill in the Return of the True Demon DLC quest, but that isn’t helpful for you at this time. Here are the four demons that learn the Freikugel ability and how you can unlock it for each of them in Shin Megami Tensei V:
- Asura: This is a very high-level demon that requires you to be well into your 80s to fuse together. Thankfully, Asura learns Freikugel at only level 87 after you unlock him and level him up a few times.
- Inanna: Another massively high-level demon that requires the Nahobino to be at least level 87 to fuse. She learns how to use Freikugel after leveling up a few times at level 90.
- Metatron: You can only unlock this demon at the unbelievable level 95. Thankfully, it isn’t long before he can learn Freikugel at this already near-max level.
- Sandalphon: Lastly, Sandalphon can be fused in SMT V at level 88. This is one of the more straightforward examples of unlocking Freikugel, as that is an automatic skill that Sandalphon can use as soon as you acquire this demon.
FAQs
Question: Is Freikugel a physical skill?Â
Answer: Yes, Freikugel is considered a physical Almighty skill. This is quite unique since almost all of the Almighty skills are magical-based abilities.
Question: What Magatama has Freikugel?
Answer: The Kailash Magatama has access to Freikugel in SMT III: Nocturne. This is the only way to get this ability in that game.
Question: How do I get Freikugel EX?
Answer: Freikugel EX is the extreme version of Freikugel that attacks a single enemy based on your current level. I don’t really like this version, but you can get it from acquiring the Fiend Talisman or Wargod Talisman items in Shin Megami Tensei V. You can get the former from Gustave once you find at least 70 Miman and the latter from the No Stone Unturned side quest.
Find Out More About the Demi Fiend
At the end of the day, Freikugel is one of the best skills you will ever find in the Shin Megami Tensei games. There is no doubting its insane strength (literally) since it uses your strength stat and is considered a physical Almighty skill, unlike the other magical ones in the category.
If you want the very best that there is to offer in the SMT games, the Freikugel is a must-have, especially in SMT III: Nocturne. This game is made much easier in its final section if you have the Freikugel skill on the Demi Fiend. But if you are newer to Nocturne and want to know more about the Demi Fiend you play as, check my previous guide to the player character.
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