Jump to content

Shin Megami Tensei

Krein

By Krein
in Video Games

Recommended Posts

Krein Newbie

Krein

Posted
Posted

I know that there are a few Shin Megami Tensei related threads floating around here, but many are from a while back and only deal with one specific game. I intend for this thread to have discussions about the SMT series in general; about all the mainline SMT games, spinoffs like Digital Devil Saga and Persona, gameplay and how you prefer to play the games, upcoming games news, and even SMT related things that don't deal with the games themselves, like merchandise. SMT's a fairly obscure series outside of Persona (which technically isn't a "real" SMT game), and I've gotten rather lonely not having anyone to talk to about it :(. I'm sure others here feel the same way, so I hope we can all get a regularly updated thread going. 

 

So... that's about it as far as introductions go. What games do y'all own or want to own? I own Nocturne, IV, IV: Apocalypse, DDS 1 and 2, and Persona 3. I've poked fun at the Persona series for a while, but am actually looking forward to getting Persona 5 when it comes out. It's got a nice comic book art style and has the actual demons as enemies as opposed to just Personas. There's also "demon negotiation" too, which I've never had much trouble with and have always liked. 

 

Are there any particular builds you guys go for for your demons and MC? I almost always go for magic based builds since those have the greatest utility range.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Krein Newbie

Krein

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Maybe its just where I look around but even if you don't count Persona as SMT, precisely because of Persona, the mainline games are becoming more and more popular too. I used to feel SMT was kinda a niche but now I can't really view it that way.

 

Atlus plz, gib us a non-persona SMT on the vita

 

Yay somebody posted :D.

 

I remember you by the way, you're the guy who helped me figure out how to negotiate with demons back when I first started Nocturne. I can safely say that I still got my ass kicked multiple times in that game. Bosses were sometimes just cheap af...

 

Anyway, if the Vita does get a new SMT game that isn't Persona, I'd definitely buy the system just to get it. A new mainline game seems a bit far off, though. It did take three years for them to release Apocalypse, but the game was very much worth the wait.

 

Personally, I'd be fine with them remastering some of the older games, mainly II. The first game was released for smartphones apparently, but I currently don't have a phone to buy it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Maeriberii Haan Newbie

Maeriberii Haan

Posted
Posted

Do the main series SMT games have the same sort of dating sim elements like Persona? I played Persona 3 for a bit and actually wasn't a fan of it.

 

Nah, definitely not. All 4 (5 including Apocalypse) of SMT's mainline games are mostly a mix of urban/post apocalyptical RPG although the urban part is only like, the first half of SMT1. The meat of the game is dungeon exploring and interactions with the demons, and usually interactions with humans and other characters are quite less than in Persona that goes with the general feel of solitude of the games as you fight for yourself usually. Lack of the intensive character-centric feel (except in Apocalypse...kinda) compared to Persona is usually a reason why the games are harder to be picked on the mainstream crowd once again compared to Persona.

 

Speaking of, anyone got SMT Apocalypse? I want to know how that game is, been avoiding stuffs about it for a while since the spoilers back then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Trebuchet MS Newbie

Trebuchet MS

Posted
Posted

I have played SMT4A since its launch. Its plot is a little contested, with many mainline veterans saying its atmosphere feels a bit too Persona-esque, i.e. "power of bonds can do anything". However, its gameplay makes several improvements over SMT4's flaws. Smirk isn't overpowered or excessively luck-based, DEX actually works properly now, negotiations are less rage-inducing, it's pretty good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
a bad post Newbie

a bad post

Posted
Posted

I think Apocalypse was pretty good. Like Gadj mentioned the plot is the only thing that was lacking really. I think 4A's plot was better than vanilla 4's, but it could still use some work.

 

A lot of people bag on 4A's "power of bonds" thing and not having the "grimdark" theme of any other SMT, but I feel like that view is kinda skewed. Like the player is presented with problems that arise from the "power of bonds" just as much as it addresses the problems with being solitary, and emotionally isolated. My biggest problem with 4A is that it relies a bit too much on some anime tropes for my taste, like some of the stuff with Toki is a little, eh...

 

Other than that though I think it's an overall great game.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Krein Newbie

Krein

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Nah, definitely not. All 4 (5 including Apocalypse) of SMT's mainline games are mostly a mix of urban/post apocalyptical RPG although the urban part is only like, the first half of SMT1. The meat of the game is dungeon exploring and interactions with the demons, and usually interactions with humans and other characters are quite less than in Persona that goes with the general feel of solitude of the games as you fight for yourself usually. Lack of the intensive character-centric feel (except in Apocalypse...kinda) compared to Persona is usually a reason why the games are harder to be picked on the mainstream crowd once again compared to Persona.

 

Speaking of, anyone got SMT Apocalypse? I want to know how that game is, been avoiding stuffs about it for a while since the spoilers back then.

 

I'd definitely recommend Apocalypse to you and anybody else interested in SMT or JRPGs in general, since it's by far one of the best games I've played in a while. The plot was honestly pretty solid, and the sappy "power of bonds" stuff isn't too overbearing or out of place, considering the whole message of "humanity should work together". It is used well in progressing the story, character development, and connecting you to the in-game world and characters, and makes one particular choice in one particular place even more weighty. 

 

As for the anime tropes... it could be because I don't watch any anime or play enough JRPGs to be tired of them, but they weren't that bad. They were silly, but I think that was the point, especially considering Nozomi seems to poke fun at the characters during the scenes they're used in.

 

You mean lawbros and chaosfags. Only heathens pick chaos~

 

Both alignments suck, but ultimately I prefer Law. Ironically, I ended up going down the Chaos route my first time playing through IV, and in my first time playing through Nocturne, I got the True Demon Ending. For Nocturne though, I'm 100% sure I would have gotten the "Neutral" ending had I not gotten to the bottom of Amala. All the Reasons suck balls and had no appeal whatsoever to me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Krein Newbie

Krein

Posted
  • Author
Posted

It would be. I'm pretty sure you can start with any SMT game and be fine, since each game is its own story and usually all that's ever included from previous games are references.

 

If you've got a PS3, you're in luck; Nocturne is sold on the PSN store for a cheap price.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
a bad post Newbie

a bad post

Posted
Posted

Would Nocturne be a good starting point to get into the SMT games?

Yes, the difficulty of the game is a good baseline for the rest of the series. It's also widely regarded by the fandom as the best game in the series for good reason. Just be warned however that you're probably going to be spending a lot of time trying to fuse the skills you want on your demons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Krein Newbie

Krein

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I'm not sure what you mean but I assume once I start playing I'll understand the mechanic and know what sort of charts to make?

 

Anyways, off to redownload PCSX2.

 

They're talking about a mechanic in the series known as Demon Fusion. As the name implies, you take two or more kinds of demons you have in your party and fuse them to create a new demon. The process is a lot more complicated than it sounds, because every demon is categorized under a certain race like Vile, Tyrant, Herald, or Megami, just to name a few. The race of the fusion materials will typically determine the race of the new demon, as well as the exact demon you will get. There's quite a bit of demons you can acquire in game, and many more fusion combinations you can use. That's why they're suggesting you keep a chart handy, just to make note of what kinds of demons make what for more precise fusions.

 

Also, skill inheritance. The new demon will come with its own innate set of skills, and it will also inherit a few skills from the materials used to create it. Skill inheritance was a bit weirder for the older SMT games; you basically have to constantly select and deselect the fusion materials in the fusion menu until the skills you want appear on the prediction for the new demon. Pro demon fusionists will go to painstaking lengths, fusing a sheet ton of demons with certain skills to eventually use them to create another demon with the perfect skill set.

 

Fusion is complicated, but you don't have to worry about specifics too much. Just experiment with it, fuse what you think looks cool and has high stats, and of course make sure the skills the new demon has are of a higher tier than the common demon's. 

 

Also, buffs and debuffs. Rakunda, Makakaja, War Cry, and Fog Breath will be your best friends in Nocturne. They were for me at least. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
asterr259 Newbie

asterr259

Posted
Posted

I've played some of Nocturne and IV, haven't beaten them yet, maybe one day. But I have played Digital Devil Saga 1, some of 2, Devil Survivor 1 and 2, and Persona 2 (IS and EP), 3 (FES), and 4 (original and Arena). Didn't get/play P4G, by the time that came out, money was tight. So I'm definitely more of a Persona type of guy, but I'm not afraid to branch out to the other games either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Krein Newbie

Krein

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I've played some of Nocturne and IV, haven't beaten them yet, maybe one day. But I have played Digital Devil Saga 1, some of 2, Devil Survivor 1 and 2, and Persona 2 (IS and EP), 3 (FES), and 4 (original and Arena). Didn't get/play P4G, by the time that came out, money was tight. So I'm definitely more of a Persona type of guy, but I'm not afraid to branch out to the other games either.

 

Persona isn't really that bad of a game, like I mentioned before. I do love its focus on the characters and their relationships with each other, since that definitely gets you invested in the game's world and can affect your decision making if it would affect them. Apocalypse has that, and its why I loved it. It didn't have any social sim elements though, but that's great, since the focus on that kind of thing in Persona (and the obvious waifu choosing bait) gets boring real fast and makes the game drag on more than it should. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
GarlandChaos Newbie

GarlandChaos

Posted
Posted

Apocalypse/Final was really fun. I wholeheartedly accept the improvements made over IV, and the Affinity system is really cool tbh. Also Bonds route final boss is a stupid piece of sheet and I was super psyched when I won.

 

Honestly not a big fan of the story and such, though, especially how Flynn speaks now. I mean, couldn't they have done what PSN!Nocturne did with Raidou and have Burroughs translate what he says? Just Saiyan.

 

Other than that though, real fun time. It was nice to see Nozomi become more involved in the plot, among other things.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...