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Shin Megami Tensei Community Thread: Be Your True Demon

cj_iwakura

Member
At this point, I just want to see any game with new artwork from him - has he done anything since Strange Journey? In any case, he and Shinkawa are both artists I'd love to see work on a greater variety of projects beyond the franchises they're primarily known for, though the latter may no longer have any choice...

At least Shinkawa still has work. Kaneko has done literally nothing but some light novel art. I think he wants to let the new Atlus blood step up(and the IV character art was great), but he's sorely missed.
 
Since Atlus has been remaking the Etrian games for 3DS, it'd be really great if they remade Strange Journey. Would love to see the dungeons redone in better graphics, tweaked demon fusing, maybe a 3rd person view a la SMTIV, rebalanced difficulty, added story contact (subtle ties to SMTIV maybe), better demon sprites, added music.

Am I the only one?
 
I remember wishing that Strange Journey would pave the way for SMT1 and 2 remakes with its engine on the DS. I think maybe you should keep dreaming on the remake...

At the very least, it would have 2d sprites because SJ has a LOT of demons (only SMT4 has more iirc) and most of them have bever been modeled before. Granted, Persona 5 could lead to some that could maybe be ported down to the 3ds.

EDIT: Wait, I saw 3rd and Etrian Odyssey and assumed you were hoping for models instead of sprites (a somewhat common complaint about SMT4's battles). My mistake.
 

40detectives

Neo Member
MMmmmmm.. playing Strange Journey, I think I need some tips and recommendations for
Tiamat in Fornax
. I'm lvl 57 chaos alignment.

I'm having a hard time trying to get chaos 'zio-demons' or something really useful for beating it. My current team is:

  • Diana 55 (bases lvl is:54): Sukunda / Recarm / Arrow Rain / Tetrakarn / Makarakarn
  • Loki 54 (base lvl is: 52): Mabufudyne / Taunt / Makarakarn / Hades Blast / Lost Word / Void Expel
  • Kudlak 56(base: 56): Mudoon /Endure / Energy Drain / Lost Word / Diarama / Axel Claw

I know, I don't have a real healer, but I don't find any interesting one right now. And SJ is like ... punishing me for using this lower lvl demons for the last
Fornax
levels.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Makes me nostalgic for how difficult SJ was. I wish IV gave me more difficulty like that, with the exception of maybe a certain Underworld boss.

Great old-school interview with Kaneko and co. here, thanks to Eirikr:

http://dijeh.tumblr.com/post/114339475233/eirikrjs-shared-a-few-pages-from-the-1995-shin

Narisawa: Satan has been reinvented. He’s now wearing a leather jacket with lots of rivets.

Kaneko: It’s a rather snake-like image…The leather jacket is there because he’s supposed to look like a bad boy. (laughs) But Satan’s image is that there are several others inside himself. We had that specific Satan appear this time, but a completely different Satan may appear in SMT III.

Narisawa: I see. Basically, Satan is more like a word describing a phenomenon, not a specific demon.

Kaneko: That is entirely true, but I chose to design a Satan that stood out in particular. That is why I polished the design this time, but I think I can do something more with it next time. But I was pretty particular about the number six: 6 wings, 6 breasts and 6 arms. (laughs)

Kaneko: Like in the Hyakki Yagyou of old, for example, musical instruments like castanets would grow legs and attack. You can go further from that type of concept, like being attacked by used underwear* or something. (laughs)

Narisawa: That’s right. That is why when you say ‘Shin Megami Tensei’, you tend to think about a game of demons, but it’s something permeated by the concept of demons which started acting. Some people think objects are inhabited by demons.

Kaneko: If we think that this may be where ‘demons’ come from, then we can get to all kinds of other ideas and it would be even more enjoyable.
 
That recent critique on SMT4 in the main board reminded me of why I think Demon Co-Op is pretty underrated of a system. As original and unique as Press Turn is, it's true that it can often trivialize many of the battles, especially in SMT4 where almost every boss has a weakness to exploit. The Co-Op system gave a benefit for hitting a weakpoint without always making it the obvious system to exploit. Sometimes it was worth it to focus on demons that align with you to get more extra hits in, and sometimes it was better to go against the grain to utilize more powerful attacks or abilities instead. I suppose it's a lot less interesting than Press Turns which is why it often gets meh'd, but I feel like that balance worked pretty well with SJ. My biggest complaint about the SJ system is still when I realized that the Magic stat isn't very useful for the MC.

That topic makes me want to soon revisit Strange Journey and see if my warm fuzzy feelings I had from 5 years ago are still true.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I loooove Press Turn, but unlike Nocturne, the enemies in IV don't exploit it half as well as you do. SJ's co-op system is fun, but it just isn't that useful against bosses.

Whereas Press Turn in IV is flat-out broken. Nocturne remedied this by having most bosses lack weaknesses. IV's ALL have them.
 
Make an ethical choice: Your custom coop demons are now useless

Fuse new demon duders: Your custom coop demons are now useless

It never happens to you

It's an ignorable system.

I loooove Press Turn, but unlike Nocturne, the enemies in IV don't exploit it half as well as you do. SJ's co-op system is fun, but it just isn't that useful against bosses.

Whereas Press Turn in IV is flat-out broken. Nocturne remedied this by having most bosses lack weaknesses. IV's ALL have them.

But then IV has Smirk so it pushes all the numbers to the extreme end of the table in a crazy balanced-in-imbalanced way.
 
I loooove Press Turn, but unlike Nocturne, the enemies in IV don't exploit it half as well as you do. SJ's co-op system is fun, but it just isn't that useful against bosses.

Whereas Press Turn in IV is flat-out broken. Nocturne remedied this by having most bosses lack weaknesses. IV's ALL have them.
That's a difference I never thought of till I read you point it out here. Press Turn wrecks many random encounters, but bosses in Nocturne do generally lack weaknesses to exploit. Press Turn is more an enemy advantage than a crutch sometimes.
 

RainSD

Neo Member
Not sure if it'd be best to ask here, but which SMT game would be the best to start off with coming from Person 3? I don't want to bite off more then I can chew since I had issues with my playthrough on Persona 3.
 
If you want more of the same then play Persona 4. If you want a different experience you could try Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne (PS2), Shin Megami Tensei 4 (3DS), Digital Devil Saga (PS2) or Devil Survivor (NDS). They are all well worth playing. The mainline SMT games have less story and more combat. Digital Devil Saga is more approachable since you retain all skills. Devil Survivor is a hybrid between SRPG (like Final Fantasy Tactics) and the mainline SMT games.
 

RainSD

Neo Member
If you want more of the same then play Persona 4. If you want a different experience you could try Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne (PS2), Shin Megami Tensei 4 (3DS), Digital Devil Saga (PS2) or Devil Survivor (NDS). They are all well worth playing. The mainline SMT games have less story and more combat. Digital Devil Saga is more approachable since you retain all skills. Devil Survivor is a hybrid between SRPG (like Final Fantasy Tactics) and the mainline SMT games.

I've played Persona 4 already but went backwards regarding the series. I was thinking Nocturne would be a good place to start but I heard the difficulty is on a different level compared to the Persona spin-off series. I'll look into getting Nocturne and Devil Survivor and see what it has to offer, thank you.
 
Nocturne was the first game in the franchise that I played and the difficulty isn't brutally hard. Don't obsess about unlocking the true ending and remember to experiment with skills and you'll do fine. You can only control a limited number of demons at the same time and you need to have a varied selection of skills to tackle the enemy types in your current area. Buffs/debuffs are more important than in other RPGs and a common approach is to spend the first few turns evening out the odds before you start to dish out damage.
 

RainSD

Neo Member
Nocturne was the first game in the franchise that I played and the difficulty isn't brutally hard. Don't obsess about unlocking the true ending and remember to experiment with skills and you'll do fine. You can only control a limited number of demons at the same time and you need to have a varied selection of skills to tackle the enemy types in your current area. Buffs/debuffs are more import than in other RPGs and a common approach is to spend the first few turns evening out the odds before you start to dish out damage.

I'll keep that in mind. Usually in Persona games I'd try to deal out as much damage as possible and use items to heal when necessary. Not sure if the same way of fusing applies to the SMT games but I'll have to keep in mind to take things a little slower.
 
To continue my trend of controversial Megaten thoughts, I think the recent trend of going back to both physical and magic attacks using MP/SP is a positive thing. Physical attacks using HP may be a little riskier, but HP is much easier to replenish than SP. You can rely on using heal spells on a more regular basis to replenish HP, while if you do magic attacks you have to use SP for that and still use it to do healing. It almost always makes Physicals the superior option for doing damage besides exploiting weaknesses and occasional enemies with physical resistance.
 

HGH

Banned
I loooove Press Turn, but unlike Nocturne, the enemies in IV don't exploit it half as well as you do. SJ's co-op system is fun, but it just isn't that useful against bosses.

Whereas Press Turn in IV is flat-out broken. Nocturne remedied this by having most bosses lack weaknesses. IV's ALL have them.

Press Turn can be really abused in DDS I felt. It's so easy to have null spells for every element, or at the very least a magic mirror. And most bosses don't vary up the spells they use too much either. When the final boss has 5 turns and they all go down the drain every single time it's kinda sad. Although that's partly a big fat design flaw with having 5 different phases that only use one element each.
 
At some point I may make a topic asking how people think the SMT games could be tweaked to keep a sekse of difficulty while still making them feel open in customization. Or better yet, specific ideas that they think would make an entry of the game be inproved. I think theres enough people that have played SMT games that could give input beyond vague ideas (make it harder, for instance). Meanwhile, have any specific mechanic changes or additions ever crossed your mind that you think Atlus could try?
 
Still want to discuss my ramblings about future gameplay ideas, but I guess someone needs to address the trailer of Illusory Revelations#FE.

...So yeah. Basically my hype has deflated down to "Here's a New IP from a company whose products I enjoy" levels. Because that's pretty much what this is to me. I can't really judge it without knowing more, but watching the trailer doesn't really give me Fire Emblem OR SMT vibes. It barely even gives me Persona vibes. I'm not completely turned off by it and it's far from a hopeless situation, but I have to see a lot more, especially as a person who doesn't own a Wii U.

It may be worth reading this letter, by Producer Shinjiro Takada, aka the one of the main people involved in the Devil Survivor games.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
There is a very slim possibility that they're pulling a massive bait-and-switch, and the game is really quite dark, but that's a looooong shot. If it weren't for 'this was SMTxFE' and the pandering stuff, it would look kind of cool.
 
There is a very slim possibility that they're pulling a massive bait-and-switch, and the game is really quite dark, but that's a looooong shot. If it weren't for 'this was SMTxFE' and the pandering stuff, it would look kind of cool.
It's not a great first impression, but I'm so happy this game is actually alive.
 
I just feel bad about what's happened to the noble Ibunroku/Revelations name over the years.

hqdefault.jpg

tbh I think this is a step up for the Revelations name
 
Disappointment total. They shouldn't have shown off core SMT if they werent going to include it. Right now it just looks really generic to me and I probably wouldn't be keeping up with it if that trailer was all I knew about it.
 
There is a very slim possibility that they're pulling a massive bait-and-switch, and the game is really quite dark, but that's a looooong shot. If it weren't for 'this was SMTxFE' and the pandering stuff, it would look kind of cool.

Disappointment total. They shouldn't have shown off core SMT if they werent going to include it. Right now it just looks really generic to me and I probably wouldn't be keeping up with it if that trailer was all I knew about it.

"Generic" was the word that kept hollering back and forth thru my head watching that, and quite honestly, I doubt that this is what was invisioned at the genesis of the project, but was changed.

Just feelings, really; and what has been said and done about things lately from makers of games over there. The announcement thread has battle lines and battle cries up in record time too; I figure "anime" as a measurement ensured that.
 

Korigama

Member
Still want to discuss my ramblings about future gameplay ideas, but I guess someone needs to address the trailer of Illusory Revelations#FE.

...So yeah. Basically my hype has deflated down to "Here's a New IP from a company whose products I enjoy" levels. Because that's pretty much what this is to me. I can't really judge it without knowing more, but watching the trailer doesn't really give me Fire Emblem OR SMT vibes. It barely even gives me Persona vibes. I'm not completely turned off by it and it's far from a hopeless situation, but I have to see a lot more, especially as a person who doesn't own a Wii U.

It may be worth reading this letter, by Producer Shinjiro Takada, aka the one of the main people involved in the Devil Survivor games.
Hm, I did get something of a Devil Survivor vibe from it (on a superficial level anyway, I've yet to play either DS1 or DS2 for myself). A bit disappointed, but not entirely surprised that this won't really be a crossover involving SMT and FE as opposed to the people behind them creating something far removed. Much more in common with a sci-fi/fantasy show that would be featured as part of a new anime season than anything else.

Not writing it off, but not certain what to make of it just yet either.
 

BlackJace

Member
Maybe it was just the wrong trailer to show? All that bubble and pizazz to show a ruined Tokyo at the end is too suspicious.

I'm sure it'll be clearer what the hell the game is going forward, so I'm not worried... yet.
 
Maybe it was just the wrong trailer to show? All that bubble and pizazz to show a ruined Tokyo at the end is too suspicious.

I'm sure it'll be clearer what the hell the game is going forward, so I'm not worried... yet.

I was shocked about the look of the game and considering I know probably less about it than I thought I did a day ago, there's really not much for me to say until we see more gameplay and longer videos on the direct streams.
 

randomkid

Member
When it comes to translations in stasis I'm most saddened by Devil Summoner 1, I don't care if people say it's iffy (people say far worse about Revelations: Persona!) ever since I got the World Guidance book I've been jonesin real bad to play.

It's also too bad about the item shop bugs Gideon ran into on If..., I wonder if that's the kind of thing you could crowdsource for help on but I'm no programmer.

In any case, those 2 are the last essential ones I need to play so I really need closure!
 

cj_iwakura

Member
When it comes to translations in stasis I'm most saddened by Devil Summoner 1, I don't care if people say it's iffy (people say far worse about Revelations: Persona!) ever since I got the World Guidance book I've been jonesin real bad to play.

It's also too bad about the item shop bugs Gideon ran into on If..., I wonder if that's the kind of thing you could crowdsource for help on but I'm no programmer.

In any case, those 2 are the last essential ones I need to play so I really need closure!

EsperKnight is working on a translation of Devil Summoner.

The University boss can rot in hell, though. Shiki Ouji + paralysis = hi Charon.
 

Golnei

Member
So there's a follow-up to that Demi-Fiend/Lyn image from a few years ago.

Maybe it was just the wrong trailer to show? All that bubble and pizazz to show a ruined Tokyo at the end is too suspicious.

I'm sure it'll be clearer what the hell the game is going forward, so I'm not worried... yet.

I hope there's something more to the game, tonally. The city in ruins over a flowing red sea seemed deliberately placed to contrast with everything else shown. It's possible it could tie into the whole multiple realities motif in an interesting way; hopefully resulting in something more nuanced than just the divide between a real and fantasy world they've already talked about.

Worst-case scenario, the ruined Tokyo is actually a scene from a VR MMORPG the protagonist is trapped inside with his loyal little sister.
 
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