Among the things the team changed from previous entries were the camera perspective, which was switched from a first- to a third-person camera perspective, and using a cel-shaded art style to distinguish it from other games of the time. The setting and characters were inspired by multiple elements, including Gnosticism, Mahayana Buddhism, and modern popular culture. Unlike the science fiction setting of Shin Megami Tensei II, Nocturne returned to a contemporary setting similar to the original game. The game was conceived after the completion of Shin Megami Tensei II and Shin Megami Tensei If., but was delayed as the team worked out what they wanted for the game, including making it appeal to a wider audience than previous Megami Tensei games. The gameplay uses a turn-based battle system based on exploiting weaknesses, and a Demon recruitment system allowing the player to recruit demons found in the Vortex World to fight alongside them.
With Tokyo transformed into a Vortex World filled with demons, the Demi-fiend becomes instrumental to the schemes of the Reasons, beings who seek to remake the world in their image, and Lucifer, the lord of demons. Nocturne follows a high school student in modern-day Tokyo, who is transformed into the demonic Demi-fiend after the world undergoes Conception, an apocalyptic event triggered by a sinister cult to trigger the world's rebirth in a new form. A high-definition remaster was released for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in Japan in 2020, and was internationally released in 2021 on those consoles and Microsoft Windows. The director's cut was localized and released in North America in 2004 as Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and in PAL regions in 2005 as Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer's Call. Multiple versions of the game have been published: the original version was published in Japan by Atlus in 2003, while a director's cut was released in 2004 in Japan.
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It is the third numbered entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series, the central series in the Megami Tensei franchise. It was published by Atlus in Japan and North America, and by Ghostlight in Europe. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is a post-apocalyptic role-playing video game developed by Atlus for the PlayStation 2.