>>42002698Well, in SMT I, II, and IV, the apocalypse occurs decades before. SMT I takes place before everything goes insane, and then Thor launches ICBMs at Japan and the protagonist and (most) of his party are transported to another dimension right before they hit. When they return from the dimension, even though it didn't seem that long to them, decades have passed in the real world and the remains of society have restructured itself.
SMT II takes place in the same continuity, decades after that. Everyone now follows the religion that sprang up in the last game and you're revealed to be the artificial Messiah that will wipe out all life on the planet with a space laser.
SMT III actually has the apocalypse/Conception take place in a different continuity and it's more like an alternate world.
SMT IV is its own continuity where Tokyo barely avoided being annihilated by ICBMs but is now stuck within a dome of rock filled with hordes of demons that angels and their chosen society live upon.
