Author Topic: The DEEPEST. STRANGEST. TENSEST. (Official Shin Megami Tensei Thread)  (Read 22083 times)

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Offline TOPHATANT123

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Re: The FINAL Shin Megami Tensei IV thread! (SMTIV/SMTIVF Discussion)
« Reply #25 on: January 27, 2016, 09:02:55 PM »
Following on from Devil Survivor I got Digital Devil Saga at a disgustingly low price to satiate my SMT fever. First impressions are that it's super weird, orders of magnitude more strange than the others. The game just throws you in at the deep end with no explanation of the setting or story and you have to work it out as you go along, like one of the main themes of the game is eating people, yes the consumption of human flesh in order to become more powerful.

It's a third person RPG with a press turn battle system making it quite similar to SMT 4. The main difference being instead of fusing demons together, you have one main demon per character then a big skill tree where you choose how you want to spec out that demon. Combo spells make a return and usually involve having to revert one of your characters to human form, this takes a turn and makes them vulnerable but allows them to use guns and work together with a demon to do massive damage.



Offline TOPHATANT123

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Re: The FINAL Shin Megami Tensei IV thread! (SMTIV/SMTIVF Discussion)
« Reply #26 on: February 19, 2016, 10:16:44 PM »
Status Report!

Shin Megami Tensei 4 Final is out in Japan, as for the western release Atlus's community manager has indicated it will come over so it's just a matter of when. SMT 4 had a very short lag time of only two months from Japan to America (although Europe is a different story). Going with my gut I'd say SMT 4 Final will release in the US late May, and in Europe late October.


I also finished Digital Devil Saga for the PS2. The battle system feels like Persona 2 and SMT 4 in that it's press turn and has combo skills. The story feels closest to Persona 1 in that it's difficult to grow attached to the characters as the story is so abstract, there is no pay off at the end of the game and leaves you with more questions than answers, but I assume this will be resolved in the sequel which I will be playing next. The game is on the short side for an SMT game, the back of the box boasts over 30 hours of gameplay. I managed to finish it in about 40 although I could see 35 being doable if you don't mess around.

As always the music is excellent.


Battle System
1. Shin Megami Tensei 4
2. Digital Devil Saga 1
3. Devil Survivor 1 Overclocked
4. Persona 1
5. Persona 2 Innocent Sin

Story
1. Devil Survivor 1 Overclocked
2. Shin Megami Tensei 4
3. Persona 2 Innocent Sin
4. Persona 1
5. Digital Devil Saga 1

Music
1. Shin Megami Tensei 4
2. Digital Devil Saga 1
3. Persona 1
4. Persona 2 Innocent Sin
5. Devil Survivor 1 Overclocked

Smoothest Difficulty Curve
1. Devil Survivor 1 Overclocked
2. Digital Devil Saga 1
3. Shin Megami Tensei 4
4. Persona 1
5. Persona 2 Innocent Sin


Offline Evan_B

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Re: The FINAL Shin Megami Tensei IV thread! (SMTIV/SMTIVF Discussion)
« Reply #27 on: February 20, 2016, 11:31:12 AM »
Oh, I sure hope it comes around May. That would give me something to do... all summer.

I've been interested in playing more of the SMT series myself, just wondering where to start. If you would be interested in trying out Strange Journey for the DS, I'd love to play along with you.
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Offline TOPHATANT123

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Re: The FINAL Shin Megami Tensei IV thread! (SMTIV/SMTIVF Discussion)
« Reply #28 on: February 20, 2016, 12:53:13 PM »
Strange Journey wasn't released in Europe but thank the Lord the DS is region free. If I can find a good deal on it I'd love to play along together.



Offline TOPHATANT123

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Re: The FINAL Shin Megami Tensei IV thread! (SMTIV/SMTIVF Discussion)
« Reply #29 on: April 14, 2016, 11:48:14 AM »
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final is now Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse and will be coming to the US in the summer! The name change was made to make it clearer what the game involves and not mistaken for a remake. You can read more about it here.
http://atlus.com/whats-in-a-name-smtiv-final-and-localizing-a-name/


« Last Edit: April 14, 2016, 12:20:11 PM by TOPHATANT123 »

Offline Evan_B

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Re: The FINAL Shin Megami Tensei IV thread! (SMTIV/SMTIVF Discussion)
« Reply #30 on: April 14, 2016, 12:19:26 PM »
THE YEAR OF THE 3DS RPG CONTINUES!

Hell yes, so pumped for this game, especially after hearing Syrenne talk about it.
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Offline Mop it up

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Re: The FINAL Shin Megami Tensei IV thread! (SMTIV/SMTIVF Discussion)
« Reply #31 on: April 28, 2016, 10:46:39 PM »
As someone completely uninitiated with this game (and series), I'm not quite sure I know exactly what this is in comparison to vanilla SMT IV. Is this an expanded version in the vein of Pokemon's third edition, in that it contains mostly the same content with some extras and balance fixes? Is this a retelling of the game, with things like the same world but a different story and progression? Is this just a tougher version of SMT IV intended for hardcore fans?

Though I guess the bottom line would be, is there anyone reason for someone to buy vanilla SMT IV over /before this version?

Offline Evan_B

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Re: The FINAL Shin Megami Tensei IV thread! (SMTIV/SMTIVF Discussion)
« Reply #32 on: April 28, 2016, 11:44:45 PM »
Yes.

Apocalypse will have gameplay improvements and will be set in the same world, but the dungeons and demon progression will be very different (the progression of finding certain demons, especially if you're into fusion, is crucial in the SMT series), and the story is completely unique. In fact, while I'm fairly certain you could play Apocalypse without the first SMTIV, there are recurring characters that will make more sense, contextually, especially Flynn. Also, SMTIV is an incredible handheld RPG, lasting well-around 70 hours with little repetitive content.
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Offline Evan_B

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Re: The FINAL Shin Megami Tensei IV thread! (SMTIV/SMTIVF Discussion)
« Reply #33 on: May 04, 2016, 03:55:59 PM »
I'm saddened by the thought that my top games this year are going to be Atlus RPGs.

On the other hand, they're Atlus RPGs, so I'm not really complaining. I wonder if this game will have the extensive voice acting that the original SMTIV did, including recurring characters? It would be great to hear Nolan North and that guy who played Navarre again.
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Offline nickmitch

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Kind of upset I never be SMT4.  I was really liking it, until I got stuck and couldn't figure out where to go.  Eventually, moving through the over world to try to figure it out got too annoying, so I stopped playing. :( I tried using GameFAQs, but it was like "Go back to place" and I just couldn't remember how for the life of me.
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Offline TOPHATANT123

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I have now played and finished the Persona 2 duology of Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. The second part follows a mostly different cast of characters in an alternate reality take of events from the first game. I was initially annoyed at how this seemed like an excuse to literally copy and paste some of the dungeons with very little changes, but the game comes into it's own as it goes along.


The fundamental difference between Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment is that Eternal Punishment added difficulty to the game, since Innocent Sin is probably one of the easiest unbalanced RPGs I've ever played with bosses doing 1-5 damage to your 200 HP party. You'd think an easy RPG would allow you to blow through it quickly and just see the story, but really being so easy made it tedious and it still felt as slow as ever. I expected coming into Eternal Punishment that is one would be way too hard in order to counter Innocent Sin being way too easy, but I actually found the difficulty in this one was just about right. The game encourages you to upgrade your equipment and Personas often whereas in Innocent Sin you could use the stuff they give you at the very start of the game to make it 90% to the end making the entire tarot system, money and materials useless. Although I never felt that what the game asked of me was unreasonable and got through the main story with minimal grinding.



The way I played this game was on PSP via PS1 classics. Back in the day on PS1 the release of Innocent Sin was cancelled in the West (blame Hitler) and they skipped straight to Eternal Punishment, which must have been very confusing for players since it was essentially part 2. Later down the line Innocent Sin was remade for the PSP and released in the West, a remake of Eternal Punishment was also later made for PSP but by that time piracy had killed the PSP in the West and the Western release of Eternal Punishment on PSP was also cancelled. Going in I expected the difference to be jarring going from PSP to PS1 and I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it, sure the UI is worse, music is worse and there are some strange localisation choices, but all in all it's not too different and still totally playable.


What sets these games apart from other spin offs is the amount of dialogue between your party and the amount of dialogue NPC have. The game takes place in a single city and instead of going on a journey from point A to point B like a typical RPG, you explore different areas in the city often returning to places you have already been. After every story event practically all of the NPCs have their dialogue reset to reflect what is happening within the story which really gives the impression of a living world instead of a static one.



The cast of this game is mostly made up of adults compared to the first part where they are mostly teenagers, it provides a nice contrast and two of the new characters namely Katsuya and especially Baofu have interesting backstories.The other characters though are already established from Innocent Sin or the first Persona game , and the same can be said for the game's plot which follows vaguely the same story beats as part one instead of being a continuation. It feels as though Innocent Sin was the story they set out to tell, and Eternal Punishment is another story that conveniently takes place in the same environments.



The battle system is mostly the same as Innocent Sin, it's functional with cool combo attacks for massive damage, and still kinda broken with the ability to cancel moves mid battle and reorder them so you can have the same person go over and over again, and every move costs the exact same amount of SP regardless of it's function making some skills entirely obsolete. It also lacks a big risk reward weakness system like in modern Shin Megami Tensei games such as the press turn system. The added difficulty and need for experimentation though makes it way more fun than Innocent Sin.

The music is mostly reused from Innocent Sin, while this isn't necessarily bad, some of my favourite music from Innocent Sin like the character themes aren't reused and none of the original music for this game stands out to me, so it's hard to see this soundtrack as anything other than worse than Innocent Sin's. One track that I felt held it's own against the remixes in the remake is the Kuzunoha Detective Agency.




Speaking of strange localisation choices, what is this? Some of the strong language in the game is (beeped) out, then sometimes they just sort of forgot and left it in. All of the pictures I took have mistakes in them but that's not really representative of the whole game, there are probably less spelling errors than your typical Phoenix Wright game so I'd give it a pass.






All in all a decent RPG, perhaps a little too slow but it feels faster and better paced than Innocent Sin, but if you want the whole story you'd have to play both.


Battle System
1. Shin Megami Tensei 4
2. Digital Devil Saga 1
3. Devil Survivor 1 Overclocked
4. Persona 2 Eternal Punishment
5. Persona 1
6. Persona 2 Innocent Sin

Story
1. Devil Survivor 1 Overclocked
2. Shin Megami Tensei 4
3. Persona 2 Innocent Sin
4. Persona 2 Eternal Punishment
5. Persona 1
6. Digital Devil Saga 1

Music
1. Shin Megami Tensei 4
2. Digital Devil Saga 1
3. Persona 1
4. Persona 2 Innocent Sin
5. Devil Survivor 1 Overclocked
6. Persona 2 Eternal Punishment

Smoothest Difficulty Curve
1. Devil Survivor 1 Overclocked
2. Persona 2 Eternal Punishment
3. Digital Devil Saga 1
4. Shin Megami Tensei 4
5. Persona 1
6. Persona 2 Innocent Sin
« Last Edit: May 14, 2016, 02:28:12 PM by TOPHATANT123 »



Offline TOPHATANT123

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Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse Story Trailer


See the game in English with voice acting for the first time! Now rated M for Blood, Language, Partial Nudity and Violence. Out Summer 2016 in the US.

Ever wanted to hear what Flynn sounds like beyond grunts? Well now you can as he isn't the protagonist anymore, he's also specifically called Flynn, retconning whatever you named him in the first game.

I'm really happy with the direction this game took in terms of refining SMT 4 and returning to it's super atmospheric setting. As RPGs go I think SMT 4 is almost perfect, and if Apocalypse exceeds the original? So hyped!
« Last Edit: May 27, 2016, 06:30:39 PM by TOPHATANT123 »

Offline Evan_B

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I can't say I agree with SMTIV being a perfect RPG- it had some pretty glaring user interface issues and was quite tedious after about 50 hours- but I also really enjoyed it, so I'm very excited about Apocalypse.

One thing I noted from the official website was that the story of SMTIV technically overlaps with that of Apocalypse, so we'll be entering into the story at a very interesting point.
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Offline Oedo

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It sounds like the September NA release window for SMT IV:A is real and we should get a firm release date next week (according to John Hardin). Hopefully they manage to release it in the very beginning of September, considering there are already two other 3DS JRPGs set to release that month in Dragon Quest VII (16th) and Yo-Kai Watch 2 (30th), not to mention the biggest one of them in all in Final Fantasy XV (30th).

Offline TOPHATANT123

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Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse (along with Persona 5 and 7th Dragon III Code VDF) will be published in PAL territories by Deep Silver. They plan to release physical and digital copies of each, which would be a welcome change from Shin Megami Tensei IV which is digital only.

Offline Evan_B

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Re: "It's Navarre Time!" (Official Shin Megami Tensei Thread)
« Reply #40 on: September 24, 2016, 06:38:02 PM »
After having spent the summer playing through Tokyo Mirage Sessions and witnessing that lovely storyline come to a close, I experienced a bit of an awkward period of gaming in which I wasn't quite sure what to play. I delved a bit deeper into Assassin's Creed IV (incredibly boring, despite a pretty smooth progression), completed Captain Toad (amazing and charming "platformer"), and got my Ares 70 in Xenoblade Chronicles X (I'm now more comfortable with flying around Mira). But, I realized I was missing something- an element of punishment, of oppression, and dulled horror.

Then I remembered Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse was coming out, so like any sensible JRPG fan (more importantly, a JRPG fan with a distaste for Dragon Quest), I went out and bought it. And after playing about 12 hours, I have to say...

This game is friggin' awesome.

There's the subtle changes, such as the demon-specific boosts to certain skills, the enhanced partnering system, and the added negotiation elements (demons recognizing you after several discussions, more involved choices, and moon phases), and then there's the more noticeable ones- improved dungeon design with many more interactive elements, a much more easily navigated overworld, enhanced visual design, and a WHOLE LOTTA FLYNN WORSHIP. But man, this definitely feels like Atlus pushed themselves to make "the best RPG on the 3DS" as they previously claimed. Don't get me wrong, this is definitely largely based upon the design of SMTIV- many locales reappear, as do characters and demons- but it also has a distinctly fresh feel.

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, SMTIV had this perspective of looking "from the outside, in"- Playing as Flynn, you were led through a series of vignettes where your three best friends shared their opinions of what transpired. As inhabitants of Mikado, however, you were honorable and devout people being sucked into a literal pit of despair- warring factions, individuals with questionable motives, and an utterly bizarre third act in which you experienced alternate timelines, which would ultimately point you towards your alignment. It was as if you were being introduced to the strange universe that was Tokyo, whereas Apocalypse submerges you in it from the very start. The characters feel more vivid and likable- the most extreme personality in the first game, Navarre, reappears in Apocalypse, and he fits in comfortably with the rest of the personalities. The new Demon designs also represent a drastic shift in tone- the Divine Powers add a nice splash of green to the black and white nature of Lucifer and Merkabah. The plot itself is also more fun, with a number of twists and turns right off the bat that, while benefitted from knowledge of the events in the original Shin Megami Tensei IV, are just as interesting without it. Those that have experienced the first game will recognize locales, characters, and more, but again, the feeling of being completely immersed in the atmosphere of Tokyo as a fledgling hunter smooths out some of the speed bumps that would otherwise occur.

Is this the best JRPG on the 3DS? Well, I haven't beaten it yet. But I'm right in the thick of things, and its proving to be just as impressive as its predecessor, which I firmly believed WAS the best JRPG on the 3DS, in terms of production and content. However, the ambiguity of the plot, coupled with the more tiresome aspects of combat made the original SMTIV a hard sell unless you really wanted to experience an "oppressive" JRPG. With Apocalypse, this is quickly addressed and surmounted, giving the player interesting characters, improved combat and skill-crafting, and an even wackier story.

Stay tuned for more impressions.
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Offline TOPHATANT123

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Re: "No one FIGHTS like Gaston..." (Official Shin Megami Tensei Thread)
« Reply #41 on: January 14, 2017, 10:09:54 AM »
http://shin-megamitensei.jp

Shin Megami Tensei HD Project(V?) is coming to Switch and perhaps other consoles as well. What hasn't been well documented is that the 25th anniversary page has been updated to show another 3DS Mega Ten project "coming soon". Since V looks a way off I get the impression that the 3DS project will release this year to coincide with the anniversary. The only thing I can think of is it's Devil Survivor 3 or it's a remake of one of the older games.


I got SMT IV 'Pocalypse and have been steadily playing through it. I'm already level 30 and it doesn't feel like much has happened in the story yet. It's the refined Shin Megami Tensei experience I know and love, just JRPG bliss. The game seems far less punishing than IV with the way dying works and the game seems more balanced overall with the new hama/mudo and the partner system.

I also grabbed Soul Hackers and Devil Survivor 2 while they were on sale so I'm going to be kept busy in the mean time.

Offline Oedo

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Re: "No one FIGHTS like Gaston..." (Official Shin Megami Tensei Thread)
« Reply #42 on: January 18, 2017, 10:10:23 PM »
Whatever the 3DS project is, I hope it makes its way to the West this year as well (assuming Japan does get it in 2017). There was only a two month gap between SMT IV coming out in Japan and North America, so it doesn't seem totally out of the question.

Offline Evan_B

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Re: "No one FIGHTS like Gaston..." (Official Shin Megami Tensei Thread)
« Reply #43 on: January 18, 2017, 10:29:32 PM »
Apocalypse took a bit longer to come out in the US, however, but I am assuming that Atlus will be utilizing one of the two engine builds they have on 3DS (Etrian Odyssey or SMTIV) in order to make the new 3DS release. I'm crossing my fingers for the SMTIV engine because I'm quite fond of its presentation, plus Etrian Odyssey V just recently released. However, one of the most acclaimed of the DS Atlus RPGs is Strange Journey, an SMT game built on the Etrian Odyssey DS engine, so I'd be interested in that, myself.

I understand the desire for a Devil Survivor game, but I'm not in love with the systems on display, there. Honestly, whatever they end up releasing for the 25th anniversary on 3DS will likely be mine- I love Atlus' brands and I'm excited to see what they have planned.

I am teetering around 90 hours in SMTIVA, right at the absolutely absurd final boss. I won't spoil it for anyone, but the encounter requires some VERY well-rounded demons in order to win, and my team, despite having knocked out the second-to-last boss with a bit of effort, was not prepared for how ludicrous the final boss is. As soon as I finish off my last Wii U game, I'm going to grind for about 10 hours in order to prep my team for efficient slaughter.
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Offline TOPHATANT123

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Re: "No one FIGHTS like Gaston..." (Official Shin Megami Tensei Thread)
« Reply #44 on: March 26, 2017, 01:02:39 PM »
I too am pretty much at the end of Apocalypse, I enjoyed it although it was perhaps a little too same-y to SMT 4 and the story didn't click with me as well as the original did. All in all features wise it makes lots of refinements on the base game, the map is much easier to navigate, e-mails add more personality to the characters, smirks are improved and light/dark moves are better implemented.

The 3DS 25th anniversary game is ... A remake of Strange Journey! Haven't played it before but I'd be interested in getting it if it comes to the west. I'm drowning in RPGs
« Last Edit: March 26, 2017, 08:26:27 PM by TOPHATANT123 »

Offline Evan_B

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Re: "No one FIGHTS like Gaston..." (Official Shin Megami Tensei Thread)
« Reply #45 on: March 26, 2017, 07:31:52 PM »
Stop posting the stuff I was going to post, TOP. You're making me look bad.

Since the original Strange Journey is considered to be one of the better SMT games in general (and is also keeping a consistently high price) I might just pick up this version instead. I've been itching to play this installment for a long time.

Atlus also made a point to show that SMT Project for Switch has barely any work put into it. Which is... great, I guess?
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