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In honor of 30 years of Demon Summoning, GAF Plays: The (Shin) Megami Tensei series

J

Jucksalbe

Banned
VKU8GHU.png


This year marks not only the 30th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series, but also the 30th anniversary of Megami Tensei (on September 11th) and the 25th anniversary of Shin Megami Tensei (on October 30th). So, let's play to celebrate!

There are no rules. Play whichever game you like as long as it's somehow related to the series. Try to show as much of your playthrough as you can. Whether it's by posting screenshots or detailed descriptions. You can go through the series in order if you wish but you really don't have to. Let's play as many different games of the series as we can!

Beware of spoilers! There will be screenshots everywhere, especially of bosses and important scenes and the games will be discussed freely. Please use spoiler tags for the two newest games in the series (Persona 5 and SMT4: Apocalypse), though. All other games should be fine to show and discuss freely.

Here are the most important releases to give you an overview of what games were released and which ones are playable in English. There are a lot more games in the series and I really hope some people will play the weird and lesser known ones, too. Take a look at the links at the end to get information about those games and more detailed information about the ones I listed. I know it looks kinda empty now, but I'll try to add some of the screenshots people are posting (until character limits don't let me anymore).

Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei (September 11th, 1987)

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Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II (April 6th, 1990)

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Shin Megami Tensei (October 30th, 1992)

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Shin Megami Tensei II (March 18th, 1994)

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Shin Megami Tensei if... (October 28th, 1994)

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Shin Megami Tensei (III): Nocturne / Lucifer's Call (February 20th, 2003)

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Shin Megami Tensei IV (May 23rd, 2013)

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Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse (February 10th, 2016)

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Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey / Strange Journey Redux (October 8th, 2009)

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Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner (December 25th, 1995)

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  • Released for: Sega Saturn, PSP
  • No English release available!
  • Screenshots by Saint35.
  • Threads: 20th anniversary


Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (December 13th, 1997)

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Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army (March 2nd, 2006)

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  • Released for: PlayStation 2
  • English release available!
  • Also avaiable on PSN (PS3, NA+EU)
  • Music: Battle
  • Threads: LTTP / reprint

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (October 23rd, 2008)

QcxMDAL.jpg

  • Released for: PlayStation 2
  • English release available (NA only!)!
  • Also available on PSN (for PS3)
  • Music: Adventure


Revelations: Persona (September 20th, 1996)

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Persona 2: Innocent Sin (June 24th, 1999)

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Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (June 29th, 2000)

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Persona 3 / Persona 3 Fes / Persona 3 Portable (July 13th, 2006)

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Persona 4 / Persona 4 Golden (July 10th, 2008)

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Persona 5 (September 15th, 2016)

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Digital Devil Saga (Avatar Tuner) (July 15th, 2004)

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Digital Devil Saga 2 (Avatar Tuner 2) (January 27th, 2005)

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Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (Overclocked) (January 15th, 2009)

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Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 (Record Breaker) (July 28th, 2011)

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Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE

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Shin Megami Tensei: ?

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and many, MANY more. There's more Persona spinoffs like the crossover with Etrian Odyssey called "Persona Q" or a freaking dancing game called "Dancing All Night". Then there are several other subseries and one-off games that have been mostly forgotten nowadays like the Last Bible and Majin Tensei series or the Jack Bros. game for Virtual Boy. Any of the weird stuff counts for this thread, personally I'd really like to see someone play one of those.


Links:

Videos:

What's a good game to start with?
  • If you want to play something from the main series, try Nocturne (Lucifer's Call in PAL regions) for PS2 or Shin Megami Tensei IV on 3DS (the prologue chapter in this one might give you a hard time, but don't give up!).
  • From the Persona series, Persona 4 Golden on Vita or the new Persona 5 on PS4 and PS3 should be the easiest to get in to.

How to take screenshots:
  • For most of the games you will need to use some kind of capture device or just play them on an emulator. This includes Persona 5 on PS4, sharing is disabled for this one (Atlus USA has WARNED you!).
  • For the PSP games: Take a look here and here.
  • Vita games allow you to take screenshots by pressing the home+select buttons (this doesn't work for PSP and PS1 games played on the Vita, sadly).
  • On 3DS you can take screenshots by pressing the home button, opening Miiverse and then saving them to your screenshot folder (the game needs a Miiverse community for this, which means this doesn't work with some older SMT games (anything before and including SMT4 NA version)).
  • On WiiU you can upload your screenshots in the same way as on 3DS or, if you're lucky, you can open your favorite image hosting site in the browser and upload the pictures directly; the browser doesn't support all sites, though.
  • And never forget: If all fails, you can still use your camera! In fact you won't have much of a choice if you play on DS or for some games on 3DS.

For PAL players:
  • Need to get rid of black borders in your pictures? You can use IrfanView to batch crop images.

You'd rather play something else?


Special thanks to cj_iwakura who created the anniversary banner for the 25th anniversary that I updated slightly for this thread (if you think SMT deserves a better banner feel free to provide one).


So, then:

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J

Jucksalbe

Banned
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne / Lucifer's Call
randomkid: Part 1
snow in jamaica : Part 1, 2

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse
Tacorona72: Part 1
 
R

randomkid

Member
Completely missed this (along with everyone else it seems), probably would have been better to post after E3 was over!

I have been wanting to replay SMT3 for years now, going to use this thread as an opportunity to do that some time this summer. This franchise is still my favorite in all videogames, at its best there's simply nothing else that's even remotely like it.
 
T

Thewonandonly

Junior Member
I would totally play one if it was in PS4, and xbone, Wii U or switch. But I don't thing there are any. Just bet persona 5 tho and it was incredible, so incredible that I bought a pstv to play 4, but the damn thing needs a memory card and the closest one is an hour drive there and back
 
I

Imp the Dimp

Member
My favourite video game franchise of all time. The games are criminally good and offer some of the best and most tense dungeons and fights in JRPGs.

My personal ranking:

1. Persona 3 FES (PS2)
2. Devil Survivor: Overclocked (3DS)
3. Persona 4 (PS2)
4. SMT III: Nocturne
5. Strange Journey
6. Raidou 2
7. Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PS1)
8. Persona 5 (so far, only 36h in though)
9. Digital Devil Saga
10. Persona Q (not sure if that counts)
11. Persona 1 (PSP)
---------------------------------------------------------
12. Digital Devil Saga 2
13. SMT IV
---------------------------------------------------------
14. Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker (3DS)
15. Soul Hackers (3DS)

I absolutely love everything up to #11 (Persona 1), I'm a bit lukewarm on DDS2 and SMT IV and I didn't particularly like the last two games on the list.
 
H

Heropon

Member
The Soul Hackers threads are in the same section as Devil Summoner? It needs its own image!

By the way, I need to finish it. It was one of the games I left uncompleted when I was neglecting Atlus games.
 
J

Jucksalbe

Banned
randomkid said:
Completely missed this (along with everyone else it seems), probably would have been better to post after E3 was over!
Click to expand...

Maybe. If noone had replied at all until then I probably would have tried one last bump in two weeks.

Thewonandonly said:
I would totally play one if it was in PS4, and xbone, Wii U or switch. But I don't thing there are any.
Click to expand...
There is still Tokyo Mirage Sessions on WiiU, which still kinda belongs to this series.

Thewonandonly said:
[Just bet persona 5 tho and it was incredible, so incredible that I bought a pstv to play 4, but the damn thing needs a memory card and the closest one is an hour drive there and back
Click to expand...
Shouldn't the internal memory space be enough, or did you buy the download version?

Heropon said:
The Soul Hackers threads are in the same section as Devil Summoner? It needs its own image!
Click to expand...

Hmm...it was supposed to have its own entry. Gotta find out where this one got lost. Probably forgot a bracket somewhere. Thanks!
Edit: Found it!
 
T

Thewonandonly

Junior Member
Jucksalbe said:
Maybe. If noone had replied at all until then I probably would have tried one last bump in two weeks.


There is still Tokyo Mirage Sessions on WiiU, which still kinda belongs to this series.


Shouldn't the internal memory space be enough, or did you buy the download version?



Hmm...it was supposed to have its own entry. Gotta find out where this one got lost. Probably forgot a bracket somewhere. Thanks!
Edit: Found it!
Click to expand...
I had a vita and I sold it but I got persona digitally :( got ten hours in really enjoying it but fell of because I don't like handheld gaming I guess...
 
L

Lynx_7

Member
Oh, I didn't even notice this thread.

I'm already playing (sort of) SMT I right now so I might post my progress here from time to time. Or I might change games altogether and finally beat Digital Devil Saga. I could really go for some PS2 Megaten goodness right now.
 
S

Sadist

Member
Played a bunch of P5, so I'll skip.

But man, out of all those games I played several and I can honestly say I don't dislike one of those. From the main series I only played Strange Journey, IV and Apocalypse. Strange Journey is weird, but thats why it so cool.

As for the spin-offs.. Persona 3, 5, Devil Survivor Overclocked, Devil Survivor 2 and Tokyo Mirage Sessions. All great games. I'd argue Persona 4 Arena The Ultimax and Persona Q are great additions too.
 
D

Dragon1893

Member
Happy B-day to my favorite franchise in any medium.
Here's to another 30.

Currently playing P5 and also trying to finish Apocalypse.
 
C

Cipher Peon

Banned
I've been playing Persona 5 lately. Just another to add to my nice list of SMT games I've played!

I plan on getting back to Nocturne... eventually. My girlfriend wants to watch me play so that's a nice motivator! She likes the game too, but she also never finished it!
 
E

Ekid

Member
More people should play Shin Megami Tensei II because it's an fantastic game with a incredible atmosphere.
 
J

JThird

Member
Finished SMT #FE recently.
Currently playing SMT IV (NG+).
Slowly walk through Nocturne. It barely playable after QoL improvements of later titles, but I still have a passion to play it.
 
C

Crayolan

Member
Playing SMT: Nocturne right now. It's my first mainline game (played P3FES just before this) and I like it a lot. Feels very old school in the sense that for most of the game you're given very little direction and just have to figure out things for yourself, but I like that. Seeing a ton of the personas I knew from P3 as characters and bosses in the game is pretty cool too. Though it is a bit weird when a demon is, for example, primarily an ice user in persona and then suddenly a fire user in SMT.

About the difficulty, I heard the game was pretty difficult, so I was expecting it to be brutal, but I actually don't think it's that bad. Not to say the game is easy, I still die pretty frequently, but it's manageable. Honestly I think Persona 3 was harder, in that game almost every Tartarus boss was an ordeal, doing crazy amounts of damage and often outright ohko-ing me if I didn't have the right persona for the job. That just doesn't happen in Nocturne. Even the infamous Matador only took me 3 attempts. That's probably a good thing though, some of the P3 bosses could get kinda frustrating.
 
E

Eridani

Member
Despite the mainline series and Persona getting most of the fame, I really feel like the spinoffs are what makes SMT really shine. I'd really recommend people who are interested in the franchise to play some of the following:

Devil Survivor is hands down one of the best SRPGs ever made. The way it combines traditional SRPG gameplay with SMT mechanics is just plain ingenious. Instead of controlling a team of single characters, each character has his own team of SMT demons, which allows for some really good customization and strategy. Interestingly enough, it's also the best SMT game when it comes to actually making different demons feel distinct gameplay wise, since each demon category has an incredibly impactful special skill. This really helps make demons feel different to one another, and it's something I'd like to see in other SMT games. On top of that, the missions are really well designed and the atmosphere in the first game is one of SMTs best. They aren't the most balanced of games though, but that's mostly a minor issue.

I feel like Catherine really deserves a mention here. It's not technically an SMT game, but it's made by the Persona team and shares many similarities with other games. It's also one of the most incredible puzzle games ever made. How the Persona team managed to go from creating turn based RPGs to creating one of the most smartly designed puzzle games will never stop blowing my mind. It may initially look like a dumb block pushing game, but even though the core game mechanics initially appear simple, each new level reveals something new you can do with them. The game also keeps introducing new twists to the core gameplay that make each level feel fresh and incredibly unique. Couple that with some of Meguro's best music and a great, engaging story and you get an incredible game. It also has some incredibly hype competitive tournaments, and even appeared at EVO, which really shows how well designed the game is.

Persona 4 Arena/Ultimax are also amazing games, and probably the best introduction to ArcSys style fighters out there. For anyone who ever wanted to check out BlazBlue or Guilty Gear but thought those games look way too hard, P4A is the way to go, since it retains the core gameplay but makes it much more accessible - not just by the addition of auto combos, but also because the characters are overall much simpler and more accessible than the ones in BlazBlue/Guilty Gear.

Then there's the Raidou games. The gameplay in the first one is sadly just too shitty for me to enjoy it, but the second game actually manages to be a pretty fun action RPG, with my favourite SMT setting on top of that.
 
C

CertifiedFP

Member
Oh man, I need to get back to trying at Devil Survivor or Soul Hackers after I get done with Persona 5. Picked them up on sale, played for a bit, and then ended up forgetting about them.

But man, the lack of Press Turn hurts.
 
P

pock3tmonster

Banned
I haven't bought Persona 5 yet and I still need to make a solid start on Persona 4: Golden, but I'm subscribing to the thread. I have a huge backlog of unplayed SMT games across various platforms that I want to work through. This thread will hopefully provide further encouragement to see my commitment to this franchise through.
 
M

marmoka

Banned
Great OP!

I have high hopes for SMT 1 and 2 remakes. Those games need to get to the west officially as soon as possible. Too bad they didn't age well.

And the original Megami Tensei games deserve more love as well. Same with the first 2 Persona games.
 
T

TehOh

Member
I support this thread. One of my favorite series!

Getting close to the end of Persona 5 right now, about 110 hours in. It's wonderful. I'm hyped for Strange Journey Redux. The original Strange Journey is my favorite SMT game.
 
C

chrominance

Member
Not sure I'll spend too much time in here--unmarked spoilers are bad for me because there are so many SMT games I haven't played--but it occurred to me that I am replaying Persona 3 Portable right now and really need to get to SMT3: Nocturne at some point so I can start clearing out all the PS2-era games and maybe one day get around to playing my launch copy of SMTIV.
 
E

eizarus

Banned
Just start Persona 5 (on the second dungeon), after having only played P4G (one of top 5 games). Loving it so far, especially the new combat mechanics.
Just out of curiosity, is there any way to unlock costumes in game, or are they only available through dlc now? Iirc P4G had a store where you could buy certain costumes.
 
R

_Ryo_

Member
Think I will be replaying Persona 3 for this. On a CRT and no capture card so I hope crappy photographs are acceptable.
 
P

Pandora012

Member
Think I'll play Devil Survivor again. Devil Survivor and Nocturne are tied for my favorite SMT game.

For something new, I think I go try SMT 2 again. Unfortunately, I lost my save file when my computer died, and lost all will to pay it. Fingers crossed I can actually finish it this time.
 
H

Hylian7

Member
This is one of my favorite RPG series, and I was super excited when they announced the SMT Switch game. I'm also excited for Strange Journey Redux, even though I doubt it will truly replace the original in every aspect.

I think SMTIV and Apocalypse are generally underrated games. They do have the best music in the series IMO. The atmosphere in them is excellent too, coupled with the music. I think SMTIV's story was neat, but Apocalypse's was just kind of average, although it most definitely had it's moments.

30 years though, goddamn. Lets hope for 30 more years.I know some people (myself being one of them) consider the trifecta of major JRPGs to be Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Megaten. Obviously Megaten's popularity in Japan is very different from outside of Japan, but I think with all the things it's done to the genre over the years, it makes a name for itself, even if that name is silent.
 
StereoVsn

StereoVsn

Member
Great time for the thread. I just kicked off my P3P and DS2 3DS playthrough (from scratch, not NG+, and going without guides just by mymorey from beating them before). Not sure if I will get through them since I got a lot of other games to play but being on a handheld is a plus.

SMT1 on iOS is actually pretty good. It's sad that Atlus never released SMT2 (even though that's out in glorious Nippon) and SMT1 is a 32bit app which goes away come iOS11. So those of you having iOS devices and not planning to upgrade for a while, grab it!
 
K

Kalor

Member
I just started SMT 1 recently so I'll try to post my progress here. I just got access to my third companion but I've been enjoying it so far. I was expecting it to be way more archaic than it actually is.
 
R

_Ryo_

Member
Imp the Dimp said:
Got a PC good enough to emulate the game perhaps? I think there's a widescreen patch too.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, no, not anymore.

There is indeed a widescreen patch.

Also, I meant to say I will be REplaying it. It is my favourite Persona out of 3,4 and 5.
 
StereoVsn

StereoVsn

Member
_Ryo_ said:
Think I will be replaying Persona 3 for this. On a CRT and no capture card so I hope crappy photographs are acceptable.
Click to expand...
3, FES or P3P? Playing P3 on CRT might be better anyway since it's a PS2 game unless you emulate (which still has messed up shadows last time I looked).
 
T

TerminalDogma

Member
Having just beaten Persona 5 after 120 hours last Sunday, and SMTIV: Apocalypse back in October or so, I'm gonna need a little break from Shin Megami Tensei games. But ever since my friend got Nocturne way back when I've been a huge fan of this series. After reading the OP I've realized I've only really played a handful of these games, as well. Always meant to check out the Devil Survivor games. Maybe in a couple months.
 
K

Kyonashi

Member
Though I haven't played nearly as many titles as some of you, I'd definitely call this one of my all-time favourite game series and will definitely be checking back in on this thread, and maybe posting some updates on my P5 playthrough.

My history with the series:
  • I've played SMTIV, Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, and Catherine to completion.
  • I own copies of Soul Hackers 3DS, Persona 5 and TMS#FE that I've started but not finished.
  • The games I still want to play are Nocturne, IV: Apocalypse, Strange Journey, the Persona 2 duology, and maybe DDS1+2 if I have time cause I remember the boxarts intriguing me as a kid.

I hope that SJ remake turns out well because that would be a great way for me to play it, and I really hope one day P2 gets a full remake cause that game sounds really interesting but a bit more hard to get into now.
 
R

_Ryo_

Member
StereoVsn said:
3, FES or P3P? Playing P3 on CRT might be better anyway since it's a PS2 game unless you emulate (which still has messed up shadows last time I looked).
Click to expand...

FES. My psp is currently broken as the flex cable that controls the volume and home buttons have degraded and need to be replaced. The analog nub also needs to be fixed. It's not that hard to do this but I am a bit lazy and dont wanna spend money to fix things I can play on my PC since I made backups of my umds.

Yeah, there were a few gliches on emulator when I did have a good enough PC. It is indeed FES.
 
S

Szadek

Member
Since I already finished all the persona games (minus some spin-offs) and bought Lucifer's Call this months, I guess that will be my pick.
I'm playing a few other RPG's right now, so not sure how much I'm going to play this game.

So far I only played like an hour, but I like what I have seen so far.
 
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