Atlus explains the Jack Frost mascot makeover for Shin Megami Tensei V

‘He’s got a new hat!’

If it’s good enough for Malibu Stacy, it’s good enough for Jack Frost.

As part of Shin Megami Tensei V‘s new take on the franchise formula, Jack Frost is getting a very slight makeover (as well as a mechanical change). Here’s the rundown straight from Atlus graphic artist Masayuki Doi:

“Today I’d like to introduce Jack Frost. You all obviously already know him as the mascot of the SMT series, and the demon that represents Atlus as a brand overall.

Today, however, we’re introducing him to you as if he’s new because we had a chance to newly illustrate him for this game. That said, seeing how we ended up not changing him too drastically, this isn’t technically a full-fledged redesign, either. Perhaps a better way to describe the situation is that we simply ‘renewed’ his design.

In fact, finding a way to renew his appearance in a way that fit the game without compromising the original look and feel was the main, personal challenge I had when illustrating this Jack Frost.

Of course, Jack Frost is a demon whose design doesn’t need much tweaking to begin with, since he looks so good already. As such, I mostly kept things to a minimum, like readjusting the size and balance of each body part, and adding some new details to match this being a new title.

In terms of overall design, the most notable addition might be the fact that we were able to give Jack Frost and exclusive skill for this game. It’s a fun comical skill that represents how much the staff here loves Jack Frost; please be on the lookout for how the special effect dances (or falls?) through the air whenever you activate this skill. My hope is that you can continue to appreciate jack Frost’s unchanging adorable charm as you play through the game.

P.S. this specific design of Jack Frost was revealed prior to the announcement of the game itself, and was actually included in the key art used in the Great ATLUS Exhibit during Sega FES held in spring 2019. You can find him on things like key chains and wooden plaques that were sold as merch during that event, so if you’re into Easter eggs, it might be fun to check those out as well.”

There’s a lot to unpack there! Much like transfarring “is not cross-save,” this redesign is actually a “renew” in the eyes of the creator. It was also sneakily already shown off, which didn’t fool a lot of the Atlus faithful who noticed the slight differences. And I love the special effect skill tease: now I’m going to have to make a point of looking out for it when I play it in November.

In any case, it’s a treat to see a full developer diary like this, and you can really tell that Atlus cares about its characters and IP.

Doi-san's Demon Commentary: Jack Frost ❄️⁣
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It's the hee-homent you've been waiting for! Jack Frost is back, and has a cute "renewed" design for Shin Megami Tensei V! Doi-san shares a bit of insight on his special skill, too! pic.twitter.com/7BZZaJx1Dr

— Official ATLUS West (@Atlus_West) August 10, 2021