• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Shin Megami Tensei IV Import Impressions Thread of Doom

The battle system isnt really harder, its actually a lot more simplified due to all of the helpful information it gives you. Such as icons showing if the enemy is resistant, will be reflected, absorbed, weak to, etc when you target them with a certain skill.

Its just that you can die on occasion if you are not paying attention to what you are doing / the stats of yourself and your demons with weaknesses / resistances vs. the demons in a particular dungeon. Some negative status effects were removed too like paralysis (Elec) and frozen (Ice).

In terms of information its really a lot easier on a new player, where in the older games you pretty much had to memorize stuff yourself or constantly check the enemy's stats to see what they were weak / resistant to.

Sorry all of the above is in relation to SMT IV.

Well, I don't know about IV of course, was referring to the previous games.
 

ranmafan

Member
Played only for twenty minutes so far but loving it! Also really enjoying all the extras I got in with the famitsu dx pack I ordered which I posted about in the other thread. I can't wait to play more tonight!
 
Any information about when your human allies tag along? How many can come with you, can you choose who, are there any differences between them, are they only available in boss fights, what can they do?
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Any information about when your human allies tag along? How many can come with you, can you choose who, are there any differences between them, are they only available in boss fights, what can they do?

So far I dont see any real difference with them. Since for example when they come with you during events, all they serve as is an extra attack once all of your "moves" are used up. Which they will either perform a normal physical attack or skill be it attack or support.
I have not been able to select who comes with me yet and they act on their own accord when their turn comes up in the battle.

They can take damage / be targeted by the enemy also. Am not sure what happens if their life drops to zero. Have not had that happen yet. Would just guess that they are unable to support you for the rest of that fight in particular.
 
Any information about when your human allies tag along? How many can come with you, can you choose who, are there any differences between them, are they only available in boss fights, what can they do?

It seems like each one of them has their own set of skills. For example, Walter's the only one who has used Agi. Nobody else has thrown that out yet.
 

Jawmuncher

Member
People are talking about dying a lot.
I'm assuming everyone is playing on the default difficulty. Did they take out the difficulty slider or whatever it was they were going to use for those of us wanting to play on easy?
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
It seems like each one of them has their own set of skills. For example, Walter's the only one who has used Agi. Nobody else has thrown that out yet.

lol you actually had Walter do something? All the times its always either Jonathan or Isabeau for me. Was nice when Isabeau actually healed one of my demons.

story related
makes me wonder if that bit when talking to walter / jonathan at the start of the game you agreeing with either or neither of them on your feelings of being a samurai changes anything.

People are talking about dying a lot.
I'm assuming everyone is playing on the default difficulty. Did they take out the difficulty slider or whatever it was they were going to use for those of us wanting to play on easy?

How to get the easier difficulty.
die twice apparently. It appears in the menu after.
 
Maybe it's just me, but it seems like this instalment is particularly hard. (I've been playing since SMT1.)

Starting out, most of the attacks my party took were bowel-shaking haymakers that took me down to 25% HP, and now you can't focus on buffing endurance - only things you can do is rest at the base or scrounge up some healing items. I died pretty quickly before I learned to be even more careful than usual. Also, on-field enemies make it harder to grind. :V
 

Max

I am not Max
This literally costs 7000円 msrp

Like is this normal for Japanese games? I just moved here last month.
 

Kysen

Member
I just finished Ex-Troopers and was looking for a new 3DS game, is this game worth it for someone who has never played a SMT game before? I can read Japanese.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
This literally costs 7000円 msrp

Like is this normal for Japanese games? I just moved here last month.

Never pay attention to MSRP. Or just look at amazon japan as others have mentioned for more reasonable prices. Only if its sold by amazon japan. The marketplace is filled with hyenas who need to be dick punched.

Though generally games which are stupid expensive are Square Enix / Bandai Namco / Koei / Capcom for flagship titles. But generally the 3DS / PSP / PSV (handheld in general) titles are more "affordable" than the console ones.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
On-field enemies respawn after some time or do you have to leave the dungeon?

There are general set locations where enemies will spawn, just that when an enemy will spawn at X location is whats random. As mentioned a few posts above.

I just finished Ex-Troopers and was looking for a new 3DS game, is this game worth it for someone who has never played a SMT game before? I can read Japanese.

If you want a pretty unique experience Id say this game is most def worth picking up. Even more so if you can understand the language to enjoy the story. Theres also Devil Survivor Overclock. Another good game and enjoyable story.
 

duckroll

Member
Price-wise, let's be fair though. The game is still one of the most expensive portable games out there. You can definitely look around and get it for way less than MSRP, but by the same token, games with a lower MSRP can be found for even less if you look around. When everyone who knows how to shop smart gets games 1000-1500yen off MSRP, it still means they're going to be paying more for SMT4 than pretty much any other portable game.
 

wiggleb0t

Banned
Amazon US said:
Pre-order and Get Limited Edition Box Set and Exclusive Downloadable Content
Pre-order Shin Megami Tensei IV and get the Limited Edition Box Set. Box set not only includes the Shin Megami Tensei IV game, but a 176-page Strategy & Design Book produced by Prima Games, a Shin Megami Tensei Music Collection CD, and a Collectible Slipcase. In addition to the Limited Edition Box Set, capture the spirit of the Amazon package with its cardboard color, signature smile logo, and bar code is this imaginative upper body armor for the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado’s Samurai. This offer will be extended to all existing pre-orders. Limited Edition Box Set limited to first printing. Offer valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com and while supplies last. Amazon reserves the right to change or terminate this promotion at any time.

Same content included in first print/pre-orders in Japan?
Given the soundtrack and guide/design book I'm ok with the extra $10 plus is looks kinda sexy art style.
SMTIVlimitededitionboxset.jpg


As previously mentioned, how is the 3d for both those that like & or dislike 3D?
 
As previously mentioned, how is the 3d for both those that like & or dislike 3D?

It's there. It doesn't do anything super special or all that interesting, but there are certainly points where the effect is kind of cool. Any of the scanning or overlay stuff is neat.

You could play the game without 3D and you wouldn't be missing anything big.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Same content included in first print/pre-orders in Japan?
Given the soundtrack and guide/design book I'm ok with the extra $10 plus is looks kinda sexy art style.
SMTIVlimitededitionboxset.jpg


As previously mentioned, how is the 3d for both those that like & or dislike 3D?

You know I had no idea that version even existed. Funny thing too was I did my preorder a long time ago so its not like I wouldnt have seen it. Must not have been paying attention... D:

I generally dont use 3d as its a pain in the ass to keep constantly perfectly lined up and wears on the eyes.

Though I think it does look very nice in the game if you are one who does enjoy the 3d effects in 3ds games.
 

Himself

Member
The battle system isnt really harder, its actually a lot more simplified due to all of the helpful information it gives you. Such as icons showing if the enemy is resistant, will be reflected, absorbed, weak to, etc when you target them with a certain skill.

Its just that you can die on occasion if you are not paying attention to what you are doing / the stats of yourself and your demons with weaknesses / resistances vs. the demons in a particular dungeon. Some negative status effects were removed too like paralysis (Elec) and frozen (Ice).

In terms of information its really a lot easier on a new player, where in the older games you pretty much had to memorize stuff yourself or constantly check the enemy's stats to see what they were weak / resistant to.

Sorry all of the above is in relation to SMT IV.

Cool, thanks.
 

extralite

Member
Its not that its like a skill that does 即死 basically getting hit by mudo or hama, but more along the lines of just an excessive amount of damage being taken.
I know what you meant. The point is, all four of your characters need to die before you get a game over. Which has a continue if you always pay up for it. In Nocturne, if the MC dies it's instant GO, doesn't matter if by instant death or high damage (which also existed in Nocturne, if your weak point is attacked). Without any form of continue. And you can only save at terminals, whereas in SMT4 you can save anytime.

You die a lot but at the same time it is much easier than Nocturne. And the difficulty it does include is also a bit action based, getting your first hit in before the enemy initiates contact. I'd say it approached Persona in style and difficulty, while not quite being as easy maybe.
 
I've said this in the other threads, but goddamn the first dungeon does not fool around. In some ways though, it's kind of a great tutorial in the sense that it forces you to come to grips with how the SMT IV plays, and how to properly use the tools it gives you. Otherwise you'll just keep dying over and over again.

*begins fanning self*

oh~ <3
 

Oichi

I'm like a Hadouken, down-right Fierce!
Can anyone playing give me a hint on how to clear the 3rd challenge quest? This monster ain't spawning at all for me at the moment and I've been running around the area indicated for a good hour now

Edit: Nevermind I just realized
that the quest was just on my list and not initiated... UGH.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
Only an hour or so in, but I'm not sure how to feel about this game. It's my first Megaten, so please excuse any stupidity.

I really like the presentation of the game so far and it seems like it will be a lot of fun once I get things up and running, but the insane difficulty in the beginning is somewhat irritating.

What really bothers me is that the conversations you have with the demons are seemingly randomly generated each time you select "conversation" to scout them, even if it's the same demon. Through luck of the enemy being stupid and trying to use a bunch of ineffective attacks, I was able to try and recruit this fairy looking demon six times in a single battle. I got the same question three times and yet each time the correct answer was different. Even when they ask you for something, there's no guarantee that you will please them by giving them the item. I had a demon take my money, laugh, and run away on one occasion, but that same type of demon was later fooled when I chose the "fake it" option the next time I encountered one that asked for money. This part of the game, so far, just seems really fucking dumb and frustrating, because there's no way to "get good" at it. I really hope there are some kinds of application add-ons later on that make this interaction a little less unreasonable and random.

Other than that, I like how the battle system works with its focus on exploiting weak points, but I really don't see the value in making it so hard in the beginning. All it's done is encouraged me to save after every battle and reload my game if I die, because chances are high that I'll be dying once every battle or two (just from of sheer lack of health recovery options, or bad luck).

I do plan on sticking with it and not dropping the difficulty. I hope I'm just missing something here, because right now it doesn't seem even possible to not die a whole bunch in the first dungeon and accumulate a massive debt (unless you just keep loading your game after every death until you get lucky in battle). If anyone has any hints, I'd love to hear them!
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
I know what you meant. The point is, all four of your characters need to die before you get a game over. Which has a continue if you always pay up for it. In Nocturne, if the MC dies it's instant GO, doesn't matter if by instant death or high damage (which also existed in Nocturne, if your weak point is attacked). Without any form of continue. And you can only save at terminals, whereas in SMT4 you can save anytime.

You die a lot but at the same time it is much easier than Nocturne. And the difficulty it does include is also a bit action based, getting your first hit in before the enemy initiates contact. I'd say it approached Persona in style and difficulty, while not quite being as easy maybe.

The only "difficult" persona would be the first one though lol after that not as much or at all.

Only an hour or so in, but I'm not sure how to feel about this game. It's my first Megaten, so please excuse any stupidity.

I really like the presentation of the game so far and it seems like it will be a lot of fun once I get things up and running, but the insane difficulty in the beginning is somewhat irritating.

What really bothers me is that the conversations you have with the demons are seemingly randomly generated each time you select "conversation" to scout them, even if it's the same demon. Through luck of the enemy being stupid and trying to use a bunch of ineffective attacks, I was able to try and recruit this fairy looking demon six times in a single battle. I got the same question three times and yet each time the correct answer was different. Even when they ask you for something, there's no guarantee that you will please them by giving them the item. I had a demon take my money, laugh, and run away on one occasion, but that same type of demon was later fooled when I chose the "fake it" option the next time I encountered one that asked for money. This part of the game, so far, just seems really fucking dumb and frustrating, because there's no way to "get good" at it. I really hope there are some kinds of application add-ons later on that make this interaction a little less unreasonable and random.

Other than that, I like how the battle system works with its focus on exploiting weak points, but I really don't see the value in making it so hard in the beginning. All it's done is encouraged me to save after every battle and reload my game if I die, because chances are high that I'll be dying once every battle or two (just from of sheer lack of health recovery options, or bad luck).

I do plan on sticking with it and not dropping the difficulty. I hope I'm just missing something here, because right now it doesn't seem even possible to not die a whole bunch in the first dungeon and accumulate a massive debt (unless you just keep loading your game after every death until you get lucky in battle). If anyone has any hints, I'd love to hear them!

The randomness has always generally been a part of the series, if not it would just be going through the motions. Though the "correct" answers will yield at least a positive result on occasion, where the wrong answers will generally mostly be wrong. Its to give the idea that you cant always expect the same things to happen with demons, which well we can say the same about real life. Its not meant to be made like a "bioware" game for example where A B C always equals reply A B C. Its more like percentages would be a way to think of it.

Start taking your 3DS with you and accumulate game coins. Since paying with those is far better than macca. Granted it takes real world effort and has a daily limit on how much one can earn too.

Just keep at it, get more demons, combine them, get stronger ones. Not really much else you can do.
 

Persona86

Banned
Only an hour or so in, but I'm not sure how to feel about this game. It's my first Megaten, so please excuse any stupidity.

I really like the presentation of the game so far and it seems like it will be a lot of fun once I get things up and running, but the insane difficulty in the beginning is somewhat irritating.

What really bothers me is that the conversations you have with the demons are seemingly randomly generated each time you select "conversation" to scout them, even if it's the same demon. Through luck of the enemy being stupid and trying to use a bunch of ineffective attacks, I was able to try and recruit this fairy looking demon six times in a single battle. I got the same question three times and yet each time the correct answer was different. Even when they ask you for something, there's no guarantee that you will please them by giving them the item. I had a demon take my money, laugh, and run away on one occasion, but that same type of demon was later fooled when I chose the "fake it" option the next time I encountered one that asked for money. This part of the game, so far, just seems really fucking dumb and frustrating, because there's no way to "get good" at it. I really hope there are some kinds of application add-ons later on that make this interaction a little less unreasonable and random.

Other than that, I like how the battle system works with its focus on exploiting weak points, but I really don't see the value in making it so hard in the beginning. All it's done is encouraged me to save after every battle and reload my game if I die, because chances are high that I'll be dying once every battle or two (just from of sheer lack of health recovery options, or bad luck).

I do plan on sticking with it and not dropping the difficulty. I hope I'm just missing something here, because right now it doesn't seem even possible to not die a whole bunch in the first dungeon and accumulate a massive debt (unless you just keep loading your game after every death until you get lucky in battle). If anyone has any hints, I'd love to hear them!
Can you choose who asks the demon to recruit? Because with Nocturne it all depends on which demons asks and what skills the demon has etc e.g some male demons will join you if it's a female demon asking it to haha.

And yes there is randomness too. :)
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
Can you choose who asks the demon to recruit? Because with Nocturne it all depends on which demons asks and what skills the demon has etc e.g some male demons will join you if it's a female demon asking it to haha.

And yes there is randomness too. :)

Its not demons talking to demons, but you the main character captain ugly hair talking to the demons. Though it can make a difference depending on what you have in your stock, in certain situations.
 
D

Deleted member 17706

Unconfirmed Member
The randomness has always generally been a part of the series, if not it would just be going through the motions. Though the "correct" answers will yield at least a positive result on occasion, where the wrong answers will generally mostly be wrong. Its to give the idea that you cant always expect the same things to happen with demons, which well we can say the same about real life. Its not meant to be made like a "bioware" game for example where A B C always equals reply A B C. Its more like percentages would be a way to think of it.

Start taking your 3DS with you and accumulate game coins. Since paying with those is far better than macca. Granted it takes real world effort and has a daily limit on how much one can earn too.

Just keep at it, get more demons, combine them, get stronger ones. Not really much else you can do.

I can totally understand randomness in order to differentiate individual demons of the same type. I just take issue with the very same demon having its correct answers randomly generated each time you select the "conversation" option in the same battle. You already get punished for failing to answer correctly. I don't see why they need to randomize that demon's personality again when you try to recruit them in the same battle. I'm never a fan of things without rhyme or reason, but oh well, I guess.

Yeah, I have a ton of game coins, so I will probably use those. I don't suppose I'll stop just loading my game until I can actually reliably win a few battles in a row. Right now I'm just saving after every battle because each one is a gamble.

Its not demons talking to demons, but you the main character captain ugly hair talking to the demons. Though it can make a difference depending on what you have in your stock, in certain situations.

Yeah, I thought this aspect was pretty cool. I had one of those ice horses in my party and tries to recruit another one. It ended up giving me some items and bailing instead of trying to kill me because I had one of its friends in my party.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
I can totally understand randomness in order to differentiate individual demons of the same type. I just take issue with the very same demon having its correct answers randomly generated each time you select the "conversation" option in the same battle. You already get punished for failing to answer correctly. I don't see why they need to randomize that demon's personality again when you try to recruit them in the same battle. I'm never a fan of things without rhyme or reason, but oh well, I guess.

Yeah, I have a ton of game coins, so I will probably use those. I don't suppose I'll stop just loading my game until I can actually reliably win a few battles in a row. Right now I'm just saving after every battle because each one is a gamble.



Yeah, I thought this aspect was pretty cool. I had one of those ice horses in my party and tries to recruit another one. It ended up giving me some items and bailing instead of trying to kill me because I had one of its friends in my party.

This is a semi spoiler, but not really story related more gameplay.

the yellow hedgehog looking enemy which you can find from the 2nd lv of the startin gdungeon, forgot the name and dont have my 3ds with me, actually gets pissed off if you try to sweet talk it since its apparently female and if you have a female demon in your stock it gets pissed and usually ends the conversation
 

TehOh

Member
The gameplay elements are sounding fun, but how is the writing?

I've played and really enjoyed Persona 3/4, Strange Journey, and I'm loving Devil Survivor right now. I've already preordered this, but I'm still curious about how the storyline/writing/dialogue compares to those.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
The gameplay elements are sounding fun, but how is the writing?

I've played and really enjoyed Persona 3/4, Strange Journey, and I'm loving Devil Survivor right now. I've already preordered this, but I'm still curious about how the storyline/writing/dialogue compares to those.

The writing so far seems to be pretty interesting. The fact that the VA work is quite well done too helps that along greatly.
 

TehOh

Member
The writing so far seems to be pretty interesting. The fact that the VA work is quite well done too helps that along greatly.

Glad to hear. I love all of the games from the series that I've played for both their mechanics and the writing. Strange Journey, in particular, excelled at atmosphere.
 
The writing so far seems to be pretty interesting. The fact that the VA work is quite well done too helps that along greatly.

How story focused...or should I say wordy is this game? That's one of my concerns; that the atmosphere will be broken up too often in dungeon crawling segments with dialogue boxes and portraits.
 

Parakeetman

No one wants a throne you've been sitting on!
How's the difficulty compared to Etrian Odyssey (first one) ?

SMT games in general can be more difficult than EO games. Since personally EO games are not even that difficult. Unless you did something crazy and tried to beat it with all healers lol

Though as brought up in a lot of other posts by users, this game is just about knowing strengths and weaknesses and adapting to those situations with your equipment / skills / demons.

Its a different type of game to be fair. Since EO is based slightly a bit more off of Wizardry than anything. Where SMT is its own little thing.

How story focused...or should I say wordy is this game? That's one of my concerns; that the atmosphere will be broken up too often in dungeon crawling segments with dialogue boxes and portraits.

The dialog is part of the atmosphere though. Id say it feels just right with how its flowing so far. The facial expressions are done well too. Granted there is a lot of interruptions by the AI in the gauntlet at the start, but thats mostly informational type of text.
 
The dialog is part of the atmosphere though. Id say it feels just right with how its flowing so far. The facial expressions are done well too. Granted there is a lot of interruptions by the AI in the gauntlet at the start, but thats mostly informational type of text.

Sounds good then, hopefully the AI becomes less intrusive later in the game, though.
 
Top Bottom