SMT V Vengeance: Should You Take The Girl’s Hand in Shin Megami Tensei V?

While first stepping into the world of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, the player is faced with probably the most important choice of the whole game — should you take the girl’s hand or not? Find out what happens depending on which choice you pick.

Should You Take Her Hand in SMT V Vengeance?

As soon as you hit the “New Game” button on the main menu, you’re thrown into a dreamlike space where you can see a cuddled-up girl floating in front of you. The voices from beyond warn you about not taking her hand, but the game also encourages you to do it. This is where you’ll decide the fate of humanity. And also yours, by consequence. Small spoilers ahead, so be warned!

Taking her hand leads you to the new Vengeance scenario added in this re-release of the game, and the voices imply that you’ve hastened the end of this world. The girl is the new character Yoko Hiromine, exclusive to the Canon of Vengeance. Her mere presence is enough to radically change many of the game’s main events.

While the initial scenes are similar to the original release, you can see the new girl in the distance occasionally, for example, and she’s properly introduced later during the prologue, where she becomes a Guest party member during the first Boss fight, which is also different from the original version. The plot continues to evolve with her as one of its main pieces, to the point where it derails completely from the original game.

Related: All Pre-Order Bonuses & Editions for Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Not taking her hand, however, will set you on the path to the Canon of Creation. This is the original story of Shin Megami Tensei V where Yoko doesn’t exist at all. While this Canon contains all of the new additions, graphical updates, and quality-of-life changes introduced in the Vengeance version, the story is the same as the original release.

As Vengeance is a huge time commitment regardless of which route you pick, make sure to pick the right choice for what you want. You can re-do your choice before settling in, but there’s no way to choose again after confirming it a second time. Both routes are unique in their own aspects and should be given a chance if you’re looking to immerse yourself in the game’s universe.

I would recommend taking her hand, even if you never played SMT V before. The new story is the main feature of this version, and many changes were made to make the new plot more appealing to a broader public. Also, if you got this game solely for the new changes, there’s no reason not to get to them as soon as possible.

Chances are that you’ll enjoy yourself much more in the new story, and neither Canon spoils the other’s main plot (aside from locations, sidequests, and enemies), so you can still have a somewhat fresh experience when diving into the Canon of Creation later. But if you still want to leave the new content for later, there’s nothing wrong with going with the game’s original plot first, as the overall experience has been improved in the re-release.

Shin Megami Tensei V is available now. You can read our review here.