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Shin Megami Tensei Community Thread: Be Your True Demon

There's other old SMT staples such as two currencies (Magnetite and Yen), and the fact that it costs Magnetite to keep your demons out, otherwise they get hurt as you walk. Once you understand these systems, the game isn't incredibly hard.

I generally like SMT 1 more than I expected, but that Magnetite demon mechanic is something I'm really glad they got rid of.
 
God, Soul Hackers was so good. It earned that #1 nod in my GOTY list like a boss.

I can't talk about Apocalypse yet, but I would say something very similar to Hylian7 about Soul Hackers. I think its one of the most old-fashioned SMT experiences you can play in a 'live console' at the moment. If you tend to like the older games in the franchise SH would please you.

Personally, SH made me try other dungeon crawlers games like Strange Journey, which I've already knew it was a really hardcore one.

Btw, I think that the idea behind Soul Hackers battle system is just GREAT. You can't make your demons do what you want done. You have to adapt to their styles.........
or drunk 'em.

And that made the battles felt very quick and frenetic too.

Which is odd, as SH feels much more like where Megaten would lead in the future vs. Persona 1 & 2's gameplay.

What's funny is on the Saturn version, the battles are anything but that.

https://youtu.be/t6QwfRJ3arM?t=119

Can you imagine playing the 3DS version with those long animations?

Hah! SH was the only time I slowed the gameplay down. Shit was like a gunfight in Summoner vs Summoner boss fights on the 3DS lol
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I played on 3DS as well, I just saw that video once and my jaw just hit the floor imagining how agonizing battles would be if it was that way on 3DS.

It's a little too fast IMO, you barely have any time to watch the animations. 50% more would have been fine.
 
Getting demons to do what you wanted them to was a pain in the ass in the original Devil Summoner. Soul Hackers kept the system, but it was much easier to deal with.
 

Hylian7

Member
I'm pretty excited for SMT Switch while playing Persona 5. The whole new slew of HD demon models will likely be used in the game.

Playing Persona 5 also gives me hope that a mainline SMT on a console can be successful in this day and age. Persona 5 is MUCH closer to SMT, much more like P1 and P2. Setting the game in Tokyo gives the feeling as well. There are still the more lighthearted elements of Persona in this game, but it's definitely not overbearing, as the game is still pretty dark. It's a stark contrast from P4. I think if SMT Switch is marketed well, it can sell well. It might have to ride on "From the people that gave you Persona 5", but I think it can tell lots of people "Hey that Persona series was a spinoff of a different series"

Getting demons to do what you wanted them to was a pain in the ass in the original Devil Summoner. Soul Hackers kept the system, but it was much easier to deal with.

I still really wish that game was playable in English in some form. I always hear it hasn't aged well as Soul Hackers, and I believe it, but I'd still like to play it as some aspects of it sound very cool, and there's so little information about it on the internet.
 

40detectives

Neo Member
Which is odd, as SH feels much more like where Megaten would lead in the future vs. Persona 1 & 2's gameplay.

Yeah, I get what you're saying.

But it seems to me SH mechanics are not meant for everyone, I love that game though... The Turn Press system and its 'byproducts' are more friendly to outsiders, maybe?


-------------
Oh btw: I'm playing SMTIV for the first time. Around
Kiccigiorgi
right now... I'm in love with how the game depicts all the stuff related to
the Literature and the Black Samurai
that have been told till now. I really like how they're handling the plot.

I can see where they're going, but at least they aren't being super obvious and I like
how it shows social conflict till now
.
 

Hylian7

Member
Yeah, I get what you're saying.

But it seems to me SH mechanics are not meant for everyone, I love that game though... The Turn Press system and its 'byproducts' are more friendly to outsiders, maybe?


-------------
Oh btw: I'm playing SMTIV for the first time. Around
Kiccigiorgi
right now... I'm in love with how the game depicts all the stuff related to
the Literature and the Black Samurai
that have been told till now. I really like how they're handling the plot.

I can see where they're going, but at least they aren't being super obvious and I like
how it shows social conflict till now
.

You're going to love what comes within the next few hours.

Also you don't sound like you are struggling, but if you didn't know, SMTIV's early game is super brutal. There's one particular infamous boss that can be harder than Matador (and not in a "you aren't using the right strategy" way). You can literally get screwed over by RNG quite easily.
 

Joqu

Member
Oh man, we're really gonna lose access to Shin Megami Tensei once iOS 11 hits huh? I can choose not to update for now but I don't want to lose the GBA versions's extra content in the long term. Is there going to be any way to preserve this stuff? :(
 

spiritfox

Member
Oh man, we're really gonna lose access to Shin Megami Tensei once iOS 11 hits huh? I can choose not to update for now but I don't want to lose the GBA versions's extra content in the long term. Is there going to be any way to preserve this stuff? :(

Pray to the Index gods.

Wherever they are now.
 

Joqu

Member
If you pray to them your SMT app will be replaced with the Demon Summoning app.

Which makes it all sound awfully appealing, who wouldn't want to summon some cute demons? But then the inevitable apocalypse happens
and we're all forced to buy insane amounts of in-app purchases.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I'm pretty excited for SMT Switch while playing Persona 5. The whole new slew of HD demon models will likely be used in the game.

Playing Persona 5 also gives me hope that a mainline SMT on a console can be successful in this day and age. Persona 5 is MUCH closer to SMT, much more like P1 and P2. Setting the game in Tokyo gives the feeling as well. There are still the more lighthearted elements of Persona in this game, but it's definitely not overbearing, as the game is still pretty dark. It's a stark contrast from P4. I think if SMT Switch is marketed well, it can sell well. It might have to ride on "From the people that gave you Persona 5", but I think it can tell lots of people "Hey that Persona series was a spinoff of a different series"



I still really wish that game was playable in English in some form. I always hear it hasn't aged well as Soul Hackers, and I believe it, but I'd still like to play it as some aspects of it sound very cool, and there's so little information about it on the internet.
There's a patch in the works, but believe it; its a very poorly aged game. Almost no QOL stuff from later games.
 

Lynx_7

Member
I'm pretty excited for SMT Switch while playing Persona 5. The whole new slew of HD demon models will likely be used in the game.

Playing Persona 5 also gives me hope that a mainline SMT on a console can be successful in this day and age. Persona 5 is MUCH closer to SMT, much more like P1 and P2. Setting the game in Tokyo gives the feeling as well. There are still the more lighthearted elements of Persona in this game, but it's definitely not overbearing, as the game is still pretty dark. It's a stark contrast from P4. I think if SMT Switch is marketed well, it can sell well. It might have to ride on "From the people that gave you Persona 5", but I think it can tell lots of people "Hey that Persona series was a spinoff of a different series"
It will sell well, no doubts. I expect it to perform as well as SMT IV, if not better in the west. I wouldn't bet on a P5-esque breakthrough hit though.

P5 had the advantage of P3 and P4 building up hype for it, a very stylish presentation and relatable characters/themes/setting, not to mention some excellent PVs. SMT doesn't have the same momentum going for it right now (compare P5's "want emancipation" reveal which got 1 million views in a few days versus SMT currently at 300k) and it's story and characters aren't as relatable to most people. Presentation is still a toss up. I loved the Nocturne-esque silhouettes for the demons but not sure if I'm digging the style they have going for the backgrounds and Odin. Need more footage to make an educated guess.

I do hope SMT HD gets an amazing trailer an year from now and more people start paying attention to it. Would be kinda funny if, after P5 x FF XV, SMT HD x FF VIIr became the new rivalry.
Please don't

EDIT:
Also, as a personal wish I want SMT HD to be a new direction for the franchise like Nocturne was back in the day. I think SMT IV already did a pretty good job with the traditional post-apocalyptic Tokyo Law vs Chaos conflict, and while Apocalypse tried to stray from that it still felt constrained. I hope SMT HD goes for some crazy shit.
 

NeonZ

Member
I'd really like to see another take on SMT I's progression - with the modern world falling apart around the main cast while the story progresses, rather than already starting in the post-apocalyptic setting. There's a lot that could be done with a more modern presentation of something like that.
 
I'd really like to see another take on SMT I's progression - with the modern world falling apart around the main cast while the story progresses, rather than already starting in the post-apocalyptic setting. There's a lot that could be done with a more modern presentation of something like that.

That's sort of the premise of Persona 3, but I guess they could do a SMT spin on it. Hell I'd love to just see a more modern presentation of Nocturne. I always felt the technical limitations prevented them from showing Tokyo truly filled by demons.

I think while Persona has the advantage of being able to create demon stories through the endless variations of the human psyche, SMT has always been stuck in this post-apocalyptic scenario. Which I don't mind, but it is a bit limiting. I agree with Lynx_7 that they should do something different with V, especially for the health of the franchise.

One thing is, they should probably think about branching out from Tokyo to get more global appeal. I know that might be sacrilegious to some, but I think setting it in Paris or NYC (for example) could be interesting.
 

Frost_Ace

Member
I have some question about Apocalypse:

I just unlocked twisted Tokyo, do I tackle it post game or before? I have still to do the giant egg.

What's the best armor in the game? I have still not used my armor boost kits.

Where do I find other gems to trade with saint german?
 

Opa-Pa

Member
Don't try to beat Twisted Tokyo entirely just yet (although it should be possible I think) but give it a try and maybe beat a couple of bosses. I made it until Matador to fuse him and he was my MVP for the rest of the game.

There's an armor set you're rewarded with for clearing challenge missions that I used for the rest of the game, but I'm not sure if there are better ones.

The gems stuff I'm sure is just DLC bait and you're not not supposed to find enough for the whole mechanic to be used more than once lol, ignore it IMO.
 

Frost_Ace

Member
Don't try to beat Twisted Tokyo entirely just yet (although it should be possible I think) but give it a try and maybe beat a couple of bosses. I made it until Matador to fuse him and he was my MVP for the rest of the game.

There's an armor set you're rewarded with for clearing challenge missions that I used for the rest of the game, but I'm not sure if there are better ones.

The gems stuff I'm sure is just DLC bait and you're not not supposed to find enough for the whole mechanic to be used more than once lol, ignore it IMO.

Oh didn't know about the gem DLC stuff

About Matador, I heard you get pierce physical later in the game, can the MC have it or just demons?
 

Opa-Pa

Member
Yeah pierce phys is Matador's last skill, as for MC... Yeah, he
learns pierce all near the end of the cosmic egg
 

Hylian7

Member
So I was thrown off by something in P5: The demon I knew as Feng Huang was "Suzaku" in P5. At first I thought this was a localization screw up, but turns out, it is correct.

The other Persona games also had this demon labeled as Suzaku. SJ, IV, and IV: A all had it wrong. If you look up the lore for this demon, the description for Suzaku fits this bird, and Feng Huang is some kind of other dragon thing.
 

spiritfox

Member
So I was thrown off by something in P5: The demon I knew as Feng Huang was "Suzaku" in P5. At first I thought this was a localization screw up, but turns out, it is correct.

The other Persona games also had this demon labeled as Suzaku. SJ, IV, and IV: A all had it wrong. If you look up the lore for this demon, the description for Suzaku fits this bird, and Feng Huang is some kind of other dragon thing.

Feng Huang is not a dragon, it's a mythical bird akin to the Phoenix. But it's not the same as Zhu Que, who is one of the 4 cardinal beasts, also a red bird. Zhu Que is known as Suzaku in Japan. The localizers mixed up Feng Huang and Zhu Que in quite a number of games, but I think SMT4A had it correctly as Zhu Que. The more modern SMT games tend to have the Chinese names for the cardinal beasts instead of the Japanese ones.
 

Lynx_7

Member
Daaaamn, that seems very broken.

It is until the final boss kicks your face.
Apocalypse is weird in the sense that it's kinda balanced around its broken shit, but it still feels lopsided when the whole "metagame" is centralized around Pierce All, Luster Candy, Debilitate and some other skills that are way too good to exist. Crit=Smirk is still kinda bullshit as a mechanic but the game does the absolute best it can with it, at least for the hardest boss encounters. Unfortunately there are still a lot of "filler" bosses which you can easily curbstomp because your arsenal is just too good.

I suppose making your party ungodly strong makes sense when the objective of the game is to
defeat YHVH
, but I hope the next game takes a more restrained approach to balance.
 

Frost_Ace

Member
It is until the final boss kicks your face.
Apocalypse is weird in the sense that it's kinda balanced around its broken shit, but it still feels lopsided when the whole "metagame" is centralized around Pierce All, Luster Candy, Debilitate and some other skills that are way too good to exist. Crit=Smirk is still kinda bullshit as a mechanic but the game does the absolute best it can with it, at least for the hardest boss encounters. Unfortunately there are still a lot of "filler" bosses which you can easily curbstomp because your arsenal is just too good.

I suppose making your party ungodly strong makes sense when the objective of the game is to
defeat YHVH
, but I hope the next game takes a more restrained approach to balance.
I'm finding the game pretty hard on war to be honest. I think with the affinities they fixed what was broken in IV, and having light/dark be normal magic spells except when smirking was a nice addition too.
 

Hylian7

Member
Man, they could've done a better job with Flynn's VA. The voice doesn't fit imo and the acting isn't great either.

I dunno, it didn't really bother me mainly because he's supposed to sound all proper like most of the people from Mikado talked. He sounds out of place in Tokyo because he is supposed to be.
 
I dunno, it didn't really bother me mainly because he's supposed to sound all proper like most of the people from Mikado talked. He sounds out of place in Tokyo because he is supposed to be.

That's not really what I mean, he should sound calmer/more collected while also determined at the same time.
And like I said, the acting feels poor.
I'm not picky with VAs and think we're blessed with the quality of VAs these days but this one just sticks out to me. Really feels like bad casting.

On a different note, P5 is absolutely fantastic.
 

Lynx_7

Member
Should be worth noting
he won't have a shadow unless you fight him at full kagutsuchi.

I didn't know about that little detail and had to beat him with trial and error. Thankfully I was on Normal mode so it was still feasible.
 

Opa-Pa

Member
Ugh, does smirking let the attack pierce now? (still talking about IV:A)

Smirk lets you critical with anything, though I don't think it works against reflect, null or drain at all (there are moves that actually state they get a pierce effect if smirk is on).
 
tIHC4Zw.jpg


I found the bible they studied while making Apocalypse.

The localizers mixed up Feng Huang and Zhu Que in quite a number of games, but I think SMT4A had it correctly as Zhu Que. The more modern SMT games tend to have the Chinese names for the cardinal beasts instead of the Japanese ones.

Imagine is the only game to have had the correct name.

Additionally, they have yet to fix Gurr (Gurulu) and Raja Naga (Nagaraja). Girimehkala is also a minor misspelling (swap the h and k) that was fixed in SMT4 but reverted since.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
tIHC4Zw.jpg


I found the bible they studied while making Apocalypse.



Imagine is the only game to have had the correct name.

Additionally, they have yet to fix Gurr (Gurulu) and Raja Naga (Nagaraja). Girimehkala is also a minor misspelling (swap the h and k) that was fixed in SMT4 but reverted since.

Aeria's 'localization' was one massive outsourcing endeavor. They basically got fans to help out in exchange for free in-game swag. It's probably too accurate as a result.

(I miss Imagine, it was my first MMO, and had some great environments.)
 

Hylian7

Member
I tried Imagine for a bit back when the English servers were still running...was not really feeling it. Then again, I tried WoW and didn't enjoy that either, so perhaps an SMT MMO wouldn't really hold my attention.

The music and universe were really neat in Imagine though.
 

Apenheul

Member
For the past few weeks I've been playing Shin Megami Tensei IV and I can't remember the last time a game had me hooked like this, I even took a break from Zelda BOTW to finish SMTIV. Right now I seem to have been locked into the neutral path and I'm 'gathering hope' in Tokyo. Up until this point I thought the game's pacing was excellent, any time I felt like playing the game for 15 to 30 minutes I could just do that and actually accomplish something meaningful like complete a mission or create a better demon through fusion or level my MC up, but now I feel like the game wants to go back and do all the things I thought weren't worth my time. Of the SMT related games I've played so far (finished Persona 4 Golden, finished Strange Journey, haven't finished Lucifer's Call and Soul Hackers) SMTIV now stands as my favorite. So now I'm wondering which game to play next, I still want to finish Lucifer's call (about 20 hours in) and Soul Hackers (about 15 hours in) some time but I also have these still in my backlog:

- Persona 3 Portable
- Persona 5
- Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
- Devil Survivor Overclocked
- Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker
- Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

My work involves commuting and traveling a lot so I kind of prefer handheld gaming over console gaming at the moment. I would save P5 and TMS for Christmas vacation or something.
 
For the past few weeks I've been playing Shin Megami Tensei IV and I can't remember the last time a game had me hooked like this, I even took a break from Zelda BOTW to finish SMTIV. Right now I seem to have been locked into the neutral path and I'm 'gathering hope' in Tokyo. Up until this point I thought the game's pacing was excellent, any time I felt like playing the game for 15 to 30 minutes I could just do that and actually accomplish something meaningful like complete a mission or create a better demon through fusion or level my MC up, but now I feel like the game wants to go back and do all the things I thought weren't worth my time. Of the SMT related games I've played so far (finished Persona 4 Golden, finished Strange Journey, haven't finished Lucifer's Call and Soul Hackers) SMTIV now stands as my favorite. So now I'm wondering which game to play next, I still want to finish Lucifer's call (about 20 hours in) and Soul Hackers (about 15 hours in) some time but I also have these still in my backlog:

- Persona 3 Portable
- Persona 5
- Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
- Devil Survivor Overclocked
- Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker
- Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

My work involves commuting and traveling a lot so I kind of prefer handheld gaming over console gaming at the moment. I would save P5 and TMS for Christmas vacation or something.

Lucifer's Call is widely considered the best game in the franchise, I'd recommend finishing it.

I like SH a lot and since you favor handhelds I'd say finish it as well.

I wouldn't recommend playing Apocalypse right after IV, you might get burned out.

As for Persona, maybe play 3 before 5, going back to 3 after 5 might hurt the experience a bit.

Devil Survivor 1 is better than 2 imo but both are fantastic srpgs and will provide a nice change of pace from the other games.
 

Apenheul

Member
Thanks Dragon1893!

I did actually finish Strange Journey but I don't remember how long it took me, I got all three endings is all I remember. Excellent game indeed.

Lucifer's Call I'd like to return to some time but I probably want to play something a little more lighthearted for now, so I think I'll go with P3P.
 
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