almostheathen
Member
You should replay it in first person mode.
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Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne |OT| GO GET THE BUFFS!
- Thread starter Love Deterrence
- Start date
You should replay it in first person mode.
cj_iwakura
Member
AuthenticM
Member
I've heard that this game is hard, but also frustrating. Is tha true ? I don't want my experience with a game to be fucked by antiquated designs.
Strangely enough I found another game with that tagline on it:
Didn't see that coming XD
The tag should say "Classic Dante" 
I would say the difficulty is on par with Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, meaning there will be some dungeons and situations that test your resources, strategies, strength and occasionally your patience. If it's your first time, all I can say is ganbare.
The skill is Focus in Nocturne.
I'll go ahead and post my endgame demon setups too.
Metatron:
Tarukaja
Makakaja
Debilitate
Fire of Sinai
Victory Cry
Hades Blast
Focus
Pierce
Beelzebub:
Pierce
Focus
Hades Blast
Victory Cry
Death Flies
Maziodyne
Debilitate
Elec Boost
Daisoujou:
Prayer
Meditation
Debilitate
Victory Cry
Makakaja
Dekaja
Dekunda
Pierce
I was pretty proud of this party at the end. The only way it'd be better is if I got rid of Pierce on Daisoujou and gave him Tarukaja, but that's a hassle.
Victory Cry + Death Flies is hax. Insta-kill anything that isn't immune to Death and Victory Cry heals all HP/MP for the demon at the end of the fight.
cj_iwakura
Member
I was doing a no-compendium Hard run on my PS2 version, but maybe I should just buy this version and do it that way? Will it look any prettier in HD?
Ah, right, focus.
Wow, you really troubled yourself for your build. I destroyed TDE boss with a much much simplier party.
Focus + Freikugel (+ that passive skill that boosts critical) + 4 taruka is really really OP.
Yeesh, those spoilers...
Anyway, just to summarize things more succinctly, the order of events is this:
Anyway, just to summarize things more succinctly, the order of events is this:
- Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne is released in Japan
- Kazuma Kaneko, the primary designer for the series, is brought on as a guest designer for Devil May Cry 3 to create the devil triggers for Dante and Vergil.
- In exchange, Dante becomes a guest character in Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne, Maniax Edition, which added a lot of additional content and is the version that was released internationally.
- When Raidou Kuzunoha 2 came out in Japan, the collector's edition included yet another version of the game (Maniax Chronicle Edition), this time replacing Dante with Raidou.
It's hard to say, as a lot of builds are good for the early and mid game. Plus, magic builds gain access to some powerful attacks early on. However, no matter what you choose, you'll want to move towards a strength build for the end game, as the majority of the powerful skills at that point favor that stat.
Love Deterrence
Member
OK, guys! I updated the OT (thanks, cj_iwakura). Apologies for the spoilers, but I certainly appreciate you all reading!
The Last Wizard
Member
Would love to buy this but my backlog is crazy
Zeouterlimits
Member
It's always bummed me out that I missed out on Nocturne, I do hope someone does a European release, the game has always looked great.
I love Kaneko's work, he's so good.Kazuma Kaneko designed Dante's Devil Trigger form for DMC 2, so they put Dante in SMT3. I think that's pretty much it.
I should play again the game someday, I never tried to go for the 100% with the true ending.
also
Dante's section in the Labyrinth of Amara sucks.
anyway, great game, play it.
If you have a PS3 just make a US account and download it.
It's actually not that bad, provided you have some experience with the overall series, including Persona and Devil Survivor. There is a certain early boss notorious for being called the definitive newbie killer, but that's only because beating him without grinding requires you to understand the skills. Nocturne isn't the typical game where buffs and debuffs are useless; they're very essential, and your choice to use them or not can quickly change the tide of battle. In the case of that particular boss, agility buffs make him a cakewalk, especially when you stack four of them on your party.
I wanted to create the perfect party
Well, that you got.
For those interested, a far more reachable party of Metatron, Michael and Black Frost (especially Black frost), or any other party with charm and fire/ice immunities, with (de/)buffs and healing spread between them, is enough to destroy every boss.
It's nice if one demon has pierce, but Freikugel is powerfull enough to rely only on the MC.
Dr. Buni
Member
Fucking masterpiece. I am glad more people will be able to play it, now that is is available as a PS2 classic.
Eh... Matador really isn't that much of a spoiler.
Matador isn't a spoiler.
Getting to him isn't a spoiler either. In short, don't worry about it and just play.
Not in the sense of the story. Spoiled because he will kill you if you aren't prepared.
Well, at least with Etrian Odyssey and Persona 3 I learned in Atlus's games you need to buff and debuff.
Probably in my top 5 games of all-time. With this being released on PSN I'm that much closer to packing up my PS2 for good.
I remember plodding through it on Hard after being somewhat challenged on normal mode. Surprised it earned such a reputation for being difficult. For anyone new to the game, just remember you can't approach it like FF or many other modern RPGs where you can spam attack and call it a day. You MUST be aware of strengths/weaknesses/buffs, more so than probably any other RPG. If you go into battles prepared it's a pretty fair game on difficulty.
I remember plodding through it on Hard after being somewhat challenged on normal mode. Surprised it earned such a reputation for being difficult. For anyone new to the game, just remember you can't approach it like FF or many other modern RPGs where you can spam attack and call it a day. You MUST be aware of strengths/weaknesses/buffs, more so than probably any other RPG. If you go into battles prepared it's a pretty fair game on difficulty.
Dr. Buni
Member
Any boss will kill you if you aren't prepared. Matador just happens to be a little bit too strong at the point he appears in the game, so you better have some Force-resistant demons and a certain Magatama or else you're gonna have a hard time with him. But don't worry, people overestimate his difficult a lot. IMO there are a few bosses a bit harder than him in the game.
Kuro Madoushi
Unconfirmed Member
Hard but fair. Hard if you spam or don't think about your team make up and weaknesses. Fair if you go in prepared.
Captain_Spanky
Member
Bought this about 6 months ago and totally loved it, the atmosphere was amazing. then I got to Dante and got absolutely destroyed. Stopped playing because I moved house and now I'm worried it'll be tough to get back in to. Which is a shame because I really want to see where the story goes.
Deified Data
Banned
Fog Breath will allow you to steamroll several early-game bosses, including the infamous Matador.
I wouldn't necessarily call it more difficult or easier, but it certainly is more balanced. The fact that there's actually a defense stat means that you're not going to be running a party of glass cannons that can get wiped by level one monsters that have the advantage. Physical party members are also more useful, since physical skills cost HP, instead of drawing on a pitiful pool of MP, like they did in 4.
On the other hand, it's much more obtuse. Every SMT game (including Persona) has suffered from some degree of poor information communication and/or organization, and this is no different. The game suffers from being unintentionally cryptic, just by failing to communicate some things as well as it probably should.
AuthenticM
Member
I've played and beaten Persona 3, Persona 4 and Digital Devil Saga. How is this game different form the latter ?
yeah I know that too. I knew of Matador before I got to him. I sorta prepared and still got wrecked :3
anotherthought
Member
Not to be a braggart, but I beat him on my third try or so without really breaking a sweat.
Considering his reputation, it sorta bummed me out to the point that I stopped playing shortly after... Is he really considered the peak in difficulty?
Kind of ashamed never to have finished a mainline SMT, I really love everything about them.
It's a mainline SMT game. It's closer to DDS than P3 / P4.
Expect dark themes and a serious tone without the high school drama.
It's similar to DDS except it has demon fusion, cooler areas, and a world map. But less story and no voice acting.
Dr. Buni
Member
It is very similar gameplay-wise to DDS (you don't transform in a demon in Nocturne, instead you contract them) and thankfully very different from Persona 3 and 4.
The music is amazing like in DDS/DDS2.
Mechanically, the biggest difference is that unlike them, you have no set party members aside from the main character. This means that fusion plays a much bigger role, as it's essential to creating viable party members that can handle what the game throws at you. If you've played P3 and P4, though, you should be no stranger to it.
Oh, and the story is much less in your face than the stories of those games, instead relying much more on abstraction and ambiguity.
cj_iwakura
Member
No way. Just the first boss that really challenges you.
the_sun_king
Member
I've been wanting this game for years (missed out on it during the PS2's heyday). Looks like I know what my next game purchase is~!
The peak is Trumpeter. But were you really playing the game for its difficulty alone?
cj_iwakura
Member
The peak is the final boss, or
Metatron/Beelzebub.
Trumpeter is a joke if you're lucky.
He's really just the first boss that challenges most people who play RPGs and don't understand the importance of buffs and strengths/weaknesses. He's pretty easy once you know what you need to do.
I wasn't lucky :x
Metatron
Beelzebub
Final bosses are alright.