Mediking
Member
If the 1st dungeon was causing you problems then you gotta grind and get better Demons. You really should be healing everybody while they deal damage.
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Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse Review Thread
- Thread starter Sterok
- Start date
If the 1st dungeon was causing you problems then you gotta grind and get better Demons. You really should be healing everybody while they deal damage.
Well, I think that DLC is $2.49
Flying Toaster
Member
SMT games have that strange learning curve and IV's first dungeon seems to be a pain for many that have never experienced the non persona SMT games.
The level of overall quality of the SMT nebula has to be one of the highest of any RPG franchise out there. I'm stoked that Apocalypse seems to be even better than IV.
I'm also actually happy the game only comes out in December over here. I don't think I could play it properly will all the Fall games coming out.
I'm also actually happy the game only comes out in December over here. I don't think I could play it properly will all the Fall games coming out.
T.Slothrop
Member
I'm attempting to play through Strange Journey.
It's kind of brutal...for me. I love the the demon fusion and negotiation and I also really like the dungeon exploration, but I'm just out of the first area and feel like I'm on the knife's edge of losing all the time. I also feel like I'm doing it wrong in a way that's going to screw me up unforgivably farther down the line. But the art and the darkness of the setting is really cool. Feels very Japanese without being too anime trope-y
Anyway, I'm reticent about trying Apocalypse. How does it compare to Strange Journey?
It's kind of brutal...for me. I love the the demon fusion and negotiation and I also really like the dungeon exploration, but I'm just out of the first area and feel like I'm on the knife's edge of losing all the time. I also feel like I'm doing it wrong in a way that's going to screw me up unforgivably farther down the line. But the art and the darkness of the setting is really cool. Feels very Japanese without being too anime trope-y
Anyway, I'm reticent about trying Apocalypse. How does it compare to Strange Journey?
AcademicSaucer
Member
Mediking
Member
It's crazy how I was doing really good in my 1st playthru of SMTIV but my second? I was struggling so much.
Flying Toaster
Member
Working as intended then. SMT games make you question everything about anything... especially about one's ability to play said games.
CertifiedFP
Member
So, as far as I can tell, this is scoring better than SMT4 was, right?
IIRC most critics gave SMT4 7s and 8s. I think now that they've had three years to understand this isn't Persona they've probably warmed to it now.
IIRC most critics gave SMT4 7s and 8s. I think now that they've had three years to understand this isn't Persona they've probably warmed to it now.
Mediking
Member
True, true. I also didn't like how the really cool outfits had terrible stats compared to the boring but super good outfits. My Flynn doesn't even look cool. Hahaha.
SJ is my favorite in the series but it can be pretty unforgiving if you're not used to mainline SMT antics. IV and I assume Apocalypse are far easier and accessible without necessarily being easier, although with worse characters and less interesting story. I'd recommend you IV instead of Apocalypse as IV has some cool references to SJ and playing Apocalypse first would kind of ruin IV and both seem worth playing.
RampagingSoul
Member
The map was my main complaint with SMTIV so that's good.
I might get this day one or I'll wait... I'll definitely get this at some point though.
I might get this day one or I'll wait... I'll definitely get this at some point though.
Principate
Saint Titanfall
The first dunegon is one of the harder sections of the game, you basically just have to take your ass kickng until your lucky enough to convince a demon or two to join you. Then it's considerably easier
dreamlongdead
Member
I had no doubt that SMT IV: Apocalypse would be fantastic, but I sadly can't get this near launch. This one will have to be a Christmas purchase.
I'll have plenty of great games to play in the meantime.
I'll have plenty of great games to play in the meantime.
The amount of times I had to sit through that dickheads verbal diarrhoea about reviving me for coins that weren't real money but the game made it sound like it would be real money if I had a deficit at the beginning of IV ... that dungeon was fucked.
Other than that the game was sort of easy. It was a bit like TMS now that I think about it. You either roll over enemies or just get shit on in a single turn. Hopefully this game doesn't suffer from that issue.
Other than that the game was sort of easy. It was a bit like TMS now that I think about it. You either roll over enemies or just get shit on in a single turn. Hopefully this game doesn't suffer from that issue.
Strange Journey is such a unique game, even within an already unique series. Very hard, I had a much easier time with SMTIV. more restricted dungeon crawling with random battles and confusing mazes, which made it feel much more like you have to struggle to just survive all the time.
And over all of this hangs the melancholic, oppressive sound of orchestral tunes, banging drums and guttural chanting. It's impressive that a DS game can have such a nightmarish atmosphere.
I can't even really play it that long at a time, it's such a lonely feeling and hopeless world. SMTIV by contrast has a more upbeat apocalypse going on, with banging 80s synths and more open areas.
Overall, SJ is one of those games I absolutely admire, but as a pure video game, I enjoyed SMTIV more. I would say that if you find SJ a bit too daunting, SMTIV:A might be a way easier entry to the series.
Oh, and yeah, the beginning of SMT games is usually surprisingly hard. It eases up once you get the hang of stuff like resistances and weaknesses, buffing / debuffing, and a proper party with appropriate demons.
cj_iwakura
Member
This is what I want.
Does Apocalypse scale better in terms of difficulty? SJ is the benchmark, far as I'm concerned. Starts hard, stays hard, ends hard.
Yeah. Thankfully, Apocalypse is more balanced than that, at least on the Conflict difficulty setting (aka Normal).
Then again, I intentionally went for a STR (and AGI) only build this time instead of going all in on Magic like I did with SMT IV. No longer could I Sea of Chaos my way through everything, so that might have made things comparatively tougher.
I'm definitely picking this up. I just recently beat SMTIV and loved it.
I'm someone who switched the difficulty when I had the opportunity because it kind of stunned me how hard the game was and honestly the game is extremely easy once you switch so It's kind of shocking to me that anyone could have trouble if they swtich the difficulty.
Now normal mode is annoying for me purely because I wanted to get through the story and not worry about save and restarting.
I'm someone who switched the difficulty when I had the opportunity because it kind of stunned me how hard the game was and honestly the game is extremely easy once you switch so It's kind of shocking to me that anyone could have trouble if they swtich the difficulty.
Now normal mode is annoying for me purely because I wanted to get through the story and not worry about save and restarting.
Where's my fuckin EU release date!!!
Winter 2016 according to the last trailer from E3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5087ML8muY
strongly disagree. there was something incredibly compelling about the game, its systems, and world. glad to see they made another good 'un
Pandora012
Member
To each his own. I was not feeling it.
Oh man, I still remember when it was called the Dark Souls of Persona in a review haha, then was pooped on for not being Persona.
Not really, it's an all-around better game, mostly thanks to a ton of tweaks i.e. you can recruit a demon/angel you previously conversed with after fusing/deleting it without having the repeat the negotiation process, that make the game more accessible, yet still challenging (the late game bosses in particular really leave you begging for your partners to interrupt/a decision to up your party's trust in you) in addition to boasting better dungeon design, great characters and a soundtrack that somehow managed to surpass IV.
For the record, I rather liked SMT IV, though it does pale in retrospect due to a much worse opening and the characters being so stoic and static.
Soon!
Thanks, that's great to hear. There were lots of moments in SMT IV where I just wanted to get rid of two or three demons in particular for various reasons and the game just wouldn't let me fuse them together so I had to painstakingly search which demons were best suited for the job, and most of the times said demons already had better fusions in store. Being able to just pick them manually is a YHVHsend.
IceDoesntHelp
Banned
If i still had a 3ds, i would pick this up. SMT IV is one of the best rpgs ive played this gen.
Flying Toaster
Member
I had a 3ds sold it then the new 3ds XL came out and I had to get it again. The 3ds and vita have really given us a great RPG catalog.
Depends.
It gets waifus after all.
Personally I don't find the characters in SMTIV too bad. SMTIVA's approach for characters does give them more personalities, but also strips away the dark tone of the original which I really liked.
Haha. Apocalypse' final dungeon will most definitely kick your ass so damn hard then. In SMT4 the instant kill is so OP (and you can learn Die For Me), they get nerfed pretty bad in SMT4A. The dungeon itself is also huge and complex.
edit: did I mention you can't recruit demons in the final dungeon?
Flying Toaster
Member
I used to feel this way but the portability is mind blowingly amazing. It really truly is next level the fact that I can take them wherever.
Well, pop into a media create thread and you'll get your answer quickly. But no way to play on the big screen unfortunately, maybe pick up an XL.
Sir Griffith
Member
DQ7, CSII, SMT IV:A all in the span of a few weeks.... time to go out and buy 3 months worth of groceries (DQ Builders / World of FF right around the corner too!)
kamineko
Does his best thinking in the flying car
I feel you. I have ergo issues with handhelds, but I keep buying them because of the exclusives
Would pay handsomely for a way to play with controller & TV
Maybe NX will get a port down the line
EDIT
But ofc I'm hyped for more MegaTen. Probably won't get a chance to play much until holiday break, but this looks terrific
SlaughterX
Banned
Awesome reviews, I'm getting excited. This also comes in time for my Q4 meeting so I will have plenty of time to play it during the commute.
thelooseteeth
Member
Pretty turned off by all this dlc. Not that I won't get the game. Just totally not the future smt I envisioned as a kid.
Go to the MC threads and you'll find out.
Also this is a continuation of a game on the 3DS... so where would it end up?
PapaEmeritus
Member
Saves import data, so I'd say finish it at least once
Ace Harding
Member
Well shit. I literally just posted in the What JRPG are you Playing? thread that I'm determined to finish SMTIV and I completely forgot this was coming out this month. Maybe I'll just bag it and start this.
I love the game mechanics but the map and dungeon designs are not great. I wasn't really pulled into the story either. I'm hearing that you can jump right into IV-A without missing much so I'll probably just do that.
Me too. I'm maybe ten hours into Tokyo but haven't touched the game in months. The map sucks and I just wasn't feeling compelled to push through it.
I love the game mechanics but the map and dungeon designs are not great. I wasn't really pulled into the story either. I'm hearing that you can jump right into IV-A without missing much so I'll probably just do that.
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