[Meowtor]

currently going through P3:FES with my wife (First time she has ever seen any of the Persona games). Made it to my first trip to Tartarus and shes already pretty hooked. Is there any news on Persona 4 coming to PSN for download? Also any more details about Soul Hackers for 3DS? I've read a little bit about it and it seems like a really cool game.

[Jucksalbe]

Is there any news on Persona 4 coming to PSN for download?

With Persona 4 Golden (for Vita) coming up, I don't think it's very likely that the original version will come to PSN anytime soon.

[Aeana]

Should I tone it down with my SMT1 posts? I know lots of people here haven't played it. I've avoided screenshotting a couple of things, but considering how sparse the story scenes are in the game to begin with, it's hard to avoid spoiling while also keeping a running narrative. I know some people are interested in seeing the GBA version stuff since they can't play it, too, though. Especially the visionary items, which I wanted to cover (but are absolutely spoilers). I can do those as sidebars or something though.

[Jucksalbe]

No. The screenshots are there to show your playthrough and the game, so please don't feel like you have to censor yourself. I at least will be posting story scenes and boss fights from DDS however I like.
I guess especially with long posts with a lot of screenshots, it is easy to just skip reading them if you don't want to be spoiled. And if you're only interested in specific games, there's always the summary in post #2.

[animlboogy]

Please continue, Aeana. I'm obsessed with this series but what time I get for gaming doesn't allow for a playthrough of a massive series like this, especially with how slowly I play JRPGs. So I mostly have to stick with the newer, less demanding games. I want to see this stuff!

[Ourobolus]

Ugh, of course this is this year. it would have to be.

Well, I really should get in on this, but I'm currently attached to Diablo, and since I'm really stressed out about buying a home I don't really want to get invested in an SMT game (oh god what am I saying), since short bursts are all I really get.

Maybe I'll come back in a month or two to start out (my FF run-throughs took a nose dive when the house-buying thing came into play).

I really need to finish DDS2 (Hard, stuck at Meganada) and Raidou 1. I also have P2:IS on PSP, and I've dabbled a bit with SMT2, but I just get destroyed by random battles against a Cockatrice (I think?) who just wipes the floor with my party. I think I must be missing something, but that was years ago since I last tried.

In the meantime, I look forward to reading everyone else's playthroughs!

[ripastraea]

P3P
I got to Tartarus but I'm blocked from going past the first floor because apparently I'm not ready. I know I said I don't care much for Tartarus grinding this playthrough, but c'mon, let me at 'em. Yeah...slow progress

Kind of related, I wish I didn't look so goofy in Junpei's hat

[Jucksalbe]

I'm sure someone(or anyone with photoshop) could do better, but I wanted to contribute, so...

Added it (slightly modified) to the OP.

[Finalow]

still playing with DDS2 and finally killed that boss. I'll make some screens someday.

Some of my screenshots got screwed up, so I couldn't make this post as thorough as I wanted. I fixed it for next time I play, though. --

you know japanese. = 0

[hardcastlemccormick]

I spent an hour in Nocturne, just messing around in an early area, and it convinced me to put down the bucks for both Digital Devil Saga games. I love this series.

[matthewd49]

is there a certain way i should play SMT 1? i guess what i'm asking is, is how i put my initial 18 stat points for each character important, and could foolishly dumping them into the wrong places screw me over later? i kinda did them where i have 2 magic users, and 2 users who have a lot of strength points. just asking now so i don't get too far if i have to reset :p

[Nekobo]

Should I tone it down with my SMT1 posts? I know lots of people here haven't played it. I've avoided screenshotting a couple of things, but considering how sparse the story scenes are in the game to begin with, it's hard to avoid spoiling while also keeping a running narrative. I know some people are interested in seeing the GBA version stuff since they can't play it, too, though. Especially the visionary items, which I wanted to cover (but are absolutely spoilers). I can do those as sidebars or something though.

Keep going please!

[randomkid]

Yeah Aeana don't worry I've got images turned off and I'm just skipping past your long posts until you get to a game I've played. As long as someone doesn't try to engage you in conversation about something specific I'm good haha.

[DJSharpeCheddar]

Awesome thread. I'm a SMT newbie. I played Catherine and dabbled a bit in the fan-translated first SNES gameand decided it was high time I got serious.

I went ahead and bought:

• Nocturne
• Strange Journey
• Digital Devil Saga
• Digital Devil Saga 2
• Persona (PSP)
• Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP)
• Persona 3 FES
• Persona 4

So now I've got my work cut out for me. I've just finished Strange Journey, and I loved it. Which one should I play next?

[shinkansen.3000]

Nice OP!!

I just finished playing DDS1 and 2 and I loved them!
I'll post my detailed impressions one of these days.

well I'm kinda stuck against this guy (DDS 2). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdXM4W1gN2A I need to grind for like 15 levels. =| in 4 days didn't touch the game yet ('cause of Diablo 3) but think I'm gonna play it soon.

How underleveled are you? Remember that in SMT games level doesn't count as much as your abilities setup, mind posting yours? I may be able to give you a hand. I got horribly crushed by him on my first fight, then I got some key abilities with less than a 60 min grind and I beat him in something like 4 turns... This is what I love most in Megaten games!!

The button configuration in DDS is killing me. Square for menu, triangle for back and especially circle for auto-battle. I'm really having a hard time to get used to this again.

You'll be happy to know that DDS2 swaps them! I was even more confused than ever!

I didn't speed through it, I just played at my normal pace. But apparently my normal pace is much quicker than most people with most games.

Care to elaborate a little? I usually have the habit of "speedrunning" through JRPGs, meaning that I finish them much quicker than my firends do, but that's something out of this realm... I'm impressed! The only way I can think of finishing a 30 hour game that quick is to take full advantage of New Game + bonuses and skipping all the story scenes, which is probably what you did, but if you know of other ways of shortening the play time please do advise!
It's not that I like speedrunning, it's just that I don't have much time to play everything that I'd like to so it's become like an habit for me.

For reference I finished DDS1 in about 28-29 hours and DDS2 in 26 at level 59. Much shorter than the usual Megaten, but they should be considered like one whole game afterall.

[Koroviev]

Awesome thread. I'm a SMT newbie. I played Catherine and dabbled a bit in the fan-translated first SNES gameand decided it was high time I got serious. I went ahead and bought: Nocturne Strange Journey Digital Devil Saga Digital Devil Saga 2 Persona (PSP) Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP) Persona 3 FES Persona 4 So now I've got my work cut out for me. I've just finished Strange Journey, and I loved it. Which one should I play next?

I don't see any Devil Survivor games. This isn't living.

Nocturne, probably.

[DJSharpeCheddar]

I'm also looking to get Raidou 1 and 2 but they are expensive as hell on Amazon. Similarly considering the two Devil Survivors, but these games are starting to stack up, lol. And my backlog is big enough without them!

[Koroviev]

I'm also looking to get Raidou 1 and 2 but they are expensive as hell on Amazon. Similarly considering the two Devil Survivors, but these games are starting to stack up, lol. And my backlog is big enough without them!

Well, afaik, today is the last day that Devil Survivor 2 is $20 at GameStop. Might want to consider that if you live in the states.

If you're going to get either of the Raidou games, you might just want to get Raidou 2. Raidou 1 carries a lot of baggage.

[DJSharpeCheddar]

If you're going to get either of the Raidou games, you might just want to get Raidou 2. Raidou 1 carries a lot of baggage.

I've heard. Sadly, I would need to own and try them both. I'm a touch OCD about stuff like that.

[jorgeton]

Raidou 2 is so so so awesome. The battle system kicks ass. Battle and boss themes are some of meguro's best works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfIlboVSGGA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OVhVVyUR0Y

Would love it to be released as a PS2 classic.

Raidou 1 is just ehhh. I made it through about 10hrs before I gave up on it. I would honestly recommend skipping 1, since 2 re-uses a lot of the same backgrounds and settings.

[Koroviev]

Raidou 2 is so so so awesome. The battle system kicks ass. Battle and boss themes are some of meguro's best works. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfIlboVSGGA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OVhVVyUR0Y Would love it to be released as a PS2 classic. Raidou 1 is just ehhh. I made it through about 10hrs before I gave up on it. I would honestly recommend skipping 1, since 2 re-uses a lot of the same backgrounds and settings.

So many SMT games need to be released as PS2 Classics :(

Please release Nocturne, Sony :(

[shinkansen.3000]

Awesome thread. I'm a SMT newbie. I played Catherine and dabbled a bit in the fan-translated first SNES gameand decided it was high time I got serious. I went ahead and bought: Nocturne Strange Journey Digital Devil Saga Digital Devil Saga 2 Persona (PSP) Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP) Persona 3 FES Persona 4 So now I've got my work cut out for me. I've just finished Strange Journey, and I loved it. Which one should I play next?

Go with Nocturne, and watch out for...

Prepare...

...this guy.

He almost made me give up entirely on SMT series, good thing I came back... good thing indeed.... (even if it took me a full playthrough of Persona 3 before deciding to give that game a second chance)

[Netto-kun]

Great thread! My first experience with the Megami Tensei was the first Devil Survivor, which I bought on a whim since I liked the look of the gameplay. I have beaten that game on two different routes (Gin/Haru and Amane), Devil Survivor 2 (Daichi route so far) and P3P (Girl side), and I'll try to get through Persona 4 (and Nocturne, maybe) this summer. Other than that, I have a bunch of MegaTen games in the backlog that I'll get around to.

Devil Children Black Book/Red Book (Japanese PSN)
Nocturne
Persona (PSP)
Persona 2: IS (PS and PSP)
Persona 3 FES (probably just going to focus on Episode: Aegis)
Strange Journey (Played 20 or so hours before I stopped)

Going to buy Devil Survivor Overclocked whenever it gets an European release date. I am also considering to get Japanese version of Persona 2: EP (PSP).

[Finalow]

holy shit, I just spend 3 hours grinding in DDS2 for a boss and guess what, yeah, another imba boss. and the best part is that now I HAVE TO grind those 2 dudes that weren't getting any exp from my first grind session. I mean, awesome.
I'm at power plant, Serph is fucking gone and he was like a beast with bufudyne and Raja naga is kicking my ass. I have shitty Roland at level 17 and Gale at level 20. (the rest is 33-34)

[7threst]

Great topic!

I keep reading about the price of Raidou 1. Europeans are pretty lucky, since the game is easy available here. That said, Raidou 2 didn't come out here :(

Go with Nocturne, and watch out for... ...this guy. He almost made me give up entirely on SMT series, good thing I came back... good thing indeed.... (even if it took me a full playthrough of Persona 3 before deciding to give that game a second chance)

This guy is just a test, to see if you are Nocturne-worthy ;)

[KingItachi]

Doing P3 FES just beat Lizzy on hard then going to do the Answer.

[cj_iwakura]

So I should play SMT1&2 before Raidou?

If you can? Sure, it makes it all the more awesome.


Aeana: Wow, I love the aesthetic touches to SMT GBA, like the life bars. But I'll stick to playing it in English, thanks. :P


By the way, if anyone wants a short(er) way to experience SMT1& 2, I have let's plays that I did which I can share. Screenshot format.



Also, what's everyone's uber boss checklist?

I've killed:

Hitoshura (DDS)
Lucifer and the Burial Chambers(hard mode) (Nocturne)
Margaret(she's a joke) (P4)
Snow Queen (P1)
Philemon (P2: EP)

[C-Jo]

Man, I'd kill for 3DS or Vita remakes of SMT 1 & 2. I know there hasn't really been an opportunity of late, but it's crazy that we still don't have official English releases of those games.

[cj_iwakura]

Boy is Atlus pimping Imagine hard. Aeria never advertised it that much.

That said, if you want to experience the joy of SMT1&2's plot without the hellish dungeons(they're realllly nasty),

SMT1
SMT2

Neutral and Chaos, respectively.

[matthewd49]

Boy is Atlus pimping Imagine hard. Aeria never advertised it that much. That said, if you want to experience the joy of SMT1&2's plot without the hellish dungeons(they're realllly nasty), SMT1 SMT2 Neutral and Chaos, respectively.

oh boy, you got me scared now :( . do you have any tips before i get into SMT 1 more ? i'm really enjoying the plot and music so far but i'm not too familiar with SMT gameplay.

[NichM]

This is GAF Plays, right, not GAF Reads Other Forums Playing? Just checking.

[Ourobolus]

I feel terrible - I started a Nocturne Hard Mode thread a while back and then never finished. I played a bit more than I did in the thread, but with moving and whatnot I just abandoned the thread. Maybe I should finish that playthrough...

[Aeana]

Care to elaborate a little? I usually have the habit of "speedrunning" through JRPGs, meaning that I finish them much quicker than my firends do, but that's something out of this realm... I'm impressed! The only way I can think of finishing a 30 hour game that quick is to take full advantage of New Game + bonuses and skipping all the story scenes, which is probably what you did, but if you know of other ways of shortening the play time please do advise! It's not that I like speedrunning, it's just that I don't have much time to play everything that I'd like to so it's become like an habit for me. For reference I finished DDS1 in about 28-29 hours and DDS2 in 26 at level 59. Much shorter than the usual Megaten, but they should be considered like one whole game afterall.

I didn't do a new cycle or anything. This was from a plan vanilla start. I'm not sure what else to say, I just play stuff and I end up finishing quickly. It's how it's always been. It's not a goal, it just happens.

[HiddenWings]

I didn't do a new cycle or anything. This was from a plan vanilla start. I'm not sure what else to say, I just play stuff and I end up finishing quickly. It's how it's always been. It's not a goal, it just happens.

Whelp, the journey is almost over. Time to enter the Chaos Temple and head toward the finale. Current party: Going to take a bit of a break since I'm a little drained after the sky fortress's relentless encounter rate, but I'll soldier toward the end soon.

It just happens, you say.

Anyway, I probably won't be doing much in the way of playing until the end of the week, during a reasonably lengthy trip. I'll start updates then!

[TurnipFritters]

Welp, looks like this 25 year anniversary just got a whole lot more interesting.

See y'all jokers on the 3DS~

[Teknoman]

This is GAF Plays, right, not GAF Reads Other Forums Playing? Just checking.

Challenge accepted.

Welp, looks like this 25 year anniversary just got a whole lot more interesting. See y'all jokers on the 3DS~

IV.

[Jucksalbe]

It just happens, you say.

You can't really use FFI as a fair example. As far as I read, Aeana could probably beat that game blindfolded in 4 hours. ;)

Welp, looks like this 25 year anniversary just got a whole lot more interesting. See y'all jokers on the 3DS~

I'm so happy about that. As soon as some kind of images are available, I will add it to the OP. :)

[TurnipFritters]

The teaser website is supposed to go up tomorrow (in Japan), so you should at least have something later tonight (in North America). It may just be a logo though.

[Jucksalbe]

A logo is all I need!

[cj_iwakura]

WHAT THE EFFFFFFFFFFFF

[cj_iwakura]

oh boy, you got me scared now :( . do you have any tips before i get into SMT 1 more ? i'm really enjoying the plot and music so far but i'm not too familiar with SMT gameplay.

Yep.

Guns are BROKEN. Charm bullets will tear any army to shreads.

Tarukaja and Rakukaja are limitless. Buff to your heart's delight.

It's a tough game, but easy when you break it, like all SMT games.

What will test your patience are the dungeons(lots of dead ends) and nigh endless random battles.

[Nils]

Just finished DDS1 and played the first hour or so of 2. PS2 memory card was full and I had to overwrite my only DDS1 save upon completion, so no secret bosses for me. Not too bothered, probably wasn't going to replay it, but still had to consider it for a while.

DDS2 looks cool so far. Some nice story explanations so far, but I'm not liking the esthetics of the environments as much so far. Loved the whole cyber India style DDS1 had going for it. Anything I should know about before fully immersing myself into the second game? Are there things like the colored walls in DDS1? Had to consult a guide to make sure I found those keys early on. I hate retreading stuff I've already played especially when there's a high encounter rate so I like to know about things like that in advance as long as it's not too spoilery.

[charlequin]

Let's get this party started.

Man, the GBA version looks really nice.

[Vamphuntr]

Great thread! I always enjoy reading people's comments doing a playthrough.

I don't think I'll be able to join soon on the let's play though :S. Maybe I'll try one once I'm done with Diablo III/ ToG f/ Dragon's Dogma / Witcher 2.

SMT4 is a nice announcement for the 25th Anniversary.

[Aeana]

Man, the GBA version looks really nice.

It does. The only thing it's missing is the smooth scrolling from the PSX version, but it's not that big of a deal.

[Teknoman]

Hmm...when playing SMT1 after patching via ZSNES, for some reason...sometimes i'll get a bar of blank black space on top of the first name in my party list. It doesnt cut through the whole screen, just the name and HP/SP section.



Could it be because i'm using a custom res, but still forcing 4:3 ratio?


EDIT: And it just magically fixed itself...

[Aeana]

Small update. Stopped here because I got a visionary item. I'm not sure how I should handle showing those... Some of them are kinda lengthy.




After escaping the hospital, we wandered back to the cafe in the arcade and discovered that some gang members were seen dragging a dude into their hideout. When we head there, it seems that Ozawa's group is beating up a guy. We save him, and he turns out to be Jeff, another guy we saw in our dream at the intro. He joins.




After that, I go ahead and fuse my brownie and knocker into an earthys, which is cool since it has rakukaja, sukukaja and tarukaja.




After that, we head back to the house to find our mother acting very strangely. When you hesitate, she lays it on even thicker.




Eventually, the demon realizes we're onto him and says that he's taken our mother, and so we have a boss fight on our hands.




Ama no Sakugami. Encounter and win screens. As you can see, he's super easy.



After the battle, we find an ID card, and our dog Pascal joins the group. We also find...




A bloody apron. This is a new item in the GBA version. Using it, we can see an extra scene that shows what went on between the demon and our mother. I can post a translation of the dialog, but I'm not sure if I should embed all of the screenshots with or what.

EDIT: I'll just use a couple of images.

> A voice can be heard.

Mom: I'm here.


Voice: Excuse me. I have some questions to ask.

Mom: Yes?

Voice: We're looking into the recent disappearances that have been occuring in the area.

Mom: ... Who is this, please?

Voice: Ah, that was rude of me. I'm from the police.

Mom: ...

Voice: Could you open the door some?

Mom: We're fine. Please leave us.


Voice: Umm... It's the police, please open up.

Mom: We're just a mother and child living peacefully, please leave us alone.

Voice: ...Ness. Is that your son?


>Mother opens the door in a panic
>Click!


Mom: Did you say Ness? Officer!

Officer: Ah, at last. Humans these days are just as cautious as ever.

Mom: ??

Officer: Just needed a peek...


Mom: Ahhhh--!

Ama no Sakugami: Now I'll send you to a place where you won't have to worry any more. Heheh...



Mom: Ahh-.. Ness...

[GrumpyAlien]

This thread has made me realize how little of this series I have actually played. Aside from Persona 1 I haven't played any of them to the end. Hell, I even bought both Persona 2 games, Persona 3, Persona 4, and Nocturne. And those games haven't received any more than several hours each. As a JRPG fan I feel kinda like I am missing out, and I really want to change that.

I kinda want to see the beginnings of the series so I am considering the two SNES SMT games to start with. Is it mandatory to play SMT 1 to understand what happens in SMT 2? Or can I skip straight to 2?

[Chacranajxy]

Just finished DDS1 and played the first hour or so of 2. PS2 memory card was full and I had to overwrite my only DDS1 save upon completion, so no secret bosses for me. Not too bothered, probably wasn't going to replay it, but still had to consider it for a while. DDS2 looks cool so far. Some nice story explanations so far, but I'm not liking the esthetics of the environments as much so far. Loved the whole cyber India style DDS1 had going for it. Anything I should know about before fully immersing myself into the second game? Are there things like the colored walls in DDS1? Had to consult a guide to make sure I found those keys early on. I hate retreading stuff I've already played especially when there's a high encounter rate so I like to know about things like that in advance as long as it's not too spoilery.

Alls I can say is that DDS2 is fucking awesome. Aesthetically, I thought it was the superior game to the first game (which becomes apparent after a couple hours, I think.) And the story really kicks in in the second game. I don't think there's anything else you need to know in advance.

[cj_iwakura]

I look forward to more of those visions, since I never played SMT GBA.

This thread has made me realize how little of this series I have actually played. Aside from Persona 1 I haven't played any of them to the end. Hell, I even bought both Persona 2 games, Persona 3, Persona 4, and Nocturne. And those games haven't received any more than several hours each. As a JRPG fan I feel kinda like I am missing out, and I really want to change that. I kinda want to see the beginnings of the series so I am considering the two SNES SMT games to start with. Is it mandatory to play SMT 1 to understand what happens in SMT 2? Or can I skip straight to 2?

SMT1's story goes straight into SMT2. Don't skip it.