DemiKids : Dark Version

DemiKids: Dark Version is a Game Boy Advance role-playing game released in North America in October 2003 by Atlus. Developed by Multimedia Intelligence Transfer, it is the English version of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children: Yami no Sho, the Dark Book half of a Japanese paired release from 2002. The game belongs to the Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children branch of the wider Megami Tensei series, but builds its adventure around young demon-commanding heroes and a portable monster-collecting structure.

The story begins with school friends Jin, Akira, and Lena, whose encounter with a strange book and a summoning ritual coincides with a disaster at their school. A rift opens, demons spill into their home world of Rem, and Lena is carried away. DemiKids: Dark Version follows Akira on the Dark route, sending him into the harsher realm of Dem alongside the dragon-like guardian Gale. As the crisis spreads across Rem, Dem, and the counterpart world Valhalla, Akira’s journey leads him to pursue the means to close the rifts and confront the force behind them.

Exploration moves through towns, outdoor areas, and story locations, with random battles breaking out in dangerous territory. Akira does not fight alone: the player assembles a party of demons, chooses their attacks, magic, and skills, and considers elemental affinities during turn-based encounters. Up to three demons can be fielded at once, while additional recruits remain available through the DemiLoc system. The result is a party-focused RPG in which choosing the right mix of creatures matters as much as moving the story forward.

Recruitment is central to the Game Boy Advance adventure. Rather than simply defeating every opponent, players can have their own demons negotiate with enemies in an attempt to gain new allies, sometimes using money or items to help secure an agreement. Fusion then provides another route to a stronger roster: combining two demons creates a new one, but consumes the ingredients. Fusion centers, relic-related options, and the need to adapt to new areas make experimentation an important part of progression.

Dark Version is designed as one half of the Light and Dark pair, not as a duplicate cartridge with only cosmetic changes. Its route takes place in Dem, while DemiKids: Light Version follows Jin through Valhalla; the two stories meet at key points but have different locations, scenes, items, and demon availability. Players can also use a Game Boy Advance link cable for two-player battles and special link fusions, and each version has activities such as side quests, casino-style minigames, and Battlenet tournaments. Together, the paired releases offer a distinct early-2000s MegaTen interpretation of the creature-collecting RPG format.