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In honor of 25 years of Demon Summoning, GAF Plays: The (Shin) Megami Tensei series

Jucksalbe

Banned
Started Raidou 1 yesterday. I only ever played this very briefly. Not much past the tutorial actually, so no existing save to start from this time, I just started a new game. Let's go!

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Ah, crap. Welcome back to the PS2.

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At least they put a bit more work into this PAL version than they did with Digital Devil Saga. Well, it's a different publisher anyway. Luckily, the 60Hz mode really is an NTSC mode and not PAL60, which means I can use that and still use my capture card.

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The title screen looks really nice. I really like the overall art style and the setting in this game.

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First off: The tutorial. Ugh. Oh well, this one isn't very long and I guess coming from other SMT games, it really is necessary.

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We also get introduced to our new sidekick, who is, of course, a black cat.

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So, this is where we will work. And immediately there is a new and strange case to work on. We are to meet with a girl on a bridge. Spooky.

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Actually, she wants us to kill her (why don't do your dirty work yourself?), but before we can think about it, she gets kidnapped by the Soulless Army the game title told us so much about.

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First fight! Well, if they are the first real enemies, they can't be so tough then, can they? Well, wrong. One hit and we're down. But at least we managed to hit them first!

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But at least we got our first real case and a clue to the girl's identity as well. Chapter 1 can finally start. I'm a bit sad they want for the simple text on black background for the chapter introduction. They should have done something a bit nicer like some artwork like in Project Zero (I guess the butterfly made me think of PZ). Oh well, it's not really that important.

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We now get our first chance to explore town. With a bit of demon trickery we get some information about the girl's identity. Seems like she belong to the Daidouji family, so maybe we should stop at their residence. But first we should take a look around. There are random fights in the city and a chance to recruit a new demon. With Alp we can now read the minds of people, not very nice, but noone has to know.

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Also, we get to meet Dr. Frankenstein, who is in charge of fusing demons in this game. That was this thing you do in SMT games that are not DDS.

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The map screen looks really nice, but it also has this annoying feature, that you have to use specific exits of the town to get to where you want to go. So, let's go to the Daidouji family residence.

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Here we learn, that the girl's name is Kaya and that she actually went missing 10 days ago. Also, we learn that butler of the family seems to hate us for some reason, so we have to use a demon to sneak past him and find that photo. Seems she goes to Ouran High, so let's ask around there.

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But first, let's take a look around the residence. There are a lot more employees we can ask (and bribe and intimidate) to learn a bit more about the family. And there are also some new demons you can encounter. For the strongest one, the Agathion, you have to be at level 8 (we came here at level 5), so it took a bit of grinding.

Afterwards we go back to town and pay a visit to Frankenstein to fuse a new demon. With 1:34 hours on the clock, we decide it's enough for today and head back to the agency to rest.

(Sadly, my stupid laptop somehow couldn't handle all the recording and more or less broke down while recording the video, so I couldn't take screenshots of the last few minutes. But really it was only missing about 5 minutes or so.)
 
@perfect free: oh my. I'm just before that section and you spoiled me what will happen next, well done -_-

At least I now know that something interesting will happen...

Sorry about that, but there is a spoiler warning in the 3rd paragraph of the OP:
Beware of spoilers! There will be screenshots everywhere, especially of bosses and important scenes and the games will be discussed freely.
 

OreoKraickerz

Neo Member
So anyone else here ever played the Digital Devil Saga series?

I count them among the best JRPGs I've ever played. They might even be my favorite.

I'm still a little sore over having grinded all characters to 99 with Serph with a full Mantra board in DDS1 and still not being able to beat
Hitoshura
. I'd go all Red Star on his ass but have some kind of honor code disconnect about out-cheesing the cheesiest JRPG boss in history. I tried for weeks to do it; I had my spreadsheet to count HP and turns, actually got him down into red one time too, then surprise, Sleep Missed everyone + Gaea Rage = dead... It was all for naught. In another life I even raced for it while CJ was doing the same. He Red Starred though, claiming he would go back to it at some point and do it for reals. Have you made good on that one yet?

Also, Hi SMT thread!
 

Esura

Banned
I doubt I'd finish FES before Arena's release. Luckily I did beat Persona 4 and it's True Ending in like two or three weeks so that should be sufficient enough to get through Arena's story mode.

Persona 3 FES is just...ugh. Getting tired, AI controlled party members, just a pain I swear. Luckily I do like anything not related to going into Tartarus right now.
 

7threst

Member
Raidou is awesome! Raidou 2 is the game I imported a PS2 for (ok, and the Xenosaga games). I still have to finish 2 though. Maybe I do that after my playthrough of Nocturne. Speaking of which....


I have been horribly horribly horribly lazy... in my last update I was at Kabukicho prison. That, I finished. After that I did a lot of stuff at the side. I'm aiming to get all the fiends out of the way as soon as I can fight them. I also want a 100% compendium but also want "perfect" demons, and fusing those perfect demons take up a lot of time. However, it's damn fun!
Playing this game is so much fun actually, that I decided to do a playthrough every year of the game. I mean, I bought KoF XIII and a fightingstick, only to turn on my PS2 to play this game... yes, it's that good haha :)
Anyway, after the prison I finished up the tunnels as well as the Obelisk (which was a REAL pain... I didn't remember it was this hard... I had to use a giude at the end).
I ended up at Asakusa while fighting fiend after fiend, and now I can go to the third kalpa. I explored that a bit after which I returned to the story.
Right now, I am back at the Amala Network, hopelfully meeting a familiair face soon!
 

Esura

Banned
Beautiful...just beautiful. PSN version of Persona 3 FES ended up corrupting my save. Granted I was only 10 hours in but...that's an off day gone. Luckily, I have the PS2 version and I might as well play on that.

I punked out and put it on Easy though. First time I put an RPG on Easy.
 
Beautiful...just beautiful. PSN version of Persona 3 FES ended up corrupting my save. Granted I was only 10 hours in but...that's an off day gone. Luckily, I have the PS2 version and I might as well play on that.

I punked out and put it on Easy though. First time I put an RPG on Easy.

happened to my friend as well. He had to start making multiple saves. Guess it's just something with the PSN version, never had that problem on PS2.
 

Seda

Member
I just started Nocturne for the first time, my first SMT game ouside of Persona 3 and Persona 4.

Any tips/hints/suggestions?

Do I want to recruit as many monsters as I can or what?

How do I fuse?

What stats should I focus on MC?
 

SerRodrik

Member
happened to my friend as well. He had to start making multiple saves. Guess it's just something with the PSN version, never had that problem on PS2.

I had those problems with both Persona 3 and Persona 4 on my backwards compatible PS3 too, oddly enough. I guess it's just something about how those games interact with the PS3 hardware.
 
I just started Nocturne for the first time, my first SMT game ouside of Persona 3 and Persona 4.

Any tips/hints/suggestions?

Do I want to recruit as many monsters as I can or what?

How do I fuse?

What stats should I focus on MC?

Note why you win as much as why you lose (note why you lost goes without saying). CYOA; this game will not lift a finger for you past the 5 hour mark. Most importantly...

Prepare...
6IvAM.jpg
 

Seda

Member
Note why you win as much as why you lose (note why you lost goes without saying). CYOA; this game will not lift a finger for you past the 5 hour mark. Most importantly...

Prepare...
6IvAM.jpg

Everybody brings this guy up. Also, Shinogu is giving me a bunch of tips on Twitter, so I'm good to go.

Plus, I've already spent 5 hours in the hospital >.<
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I'm a man of my word, Robo-Angel.

Tell your Boss we're coming for him.

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Betrayed by the Government, humanity instead sided with the Overlord of Bel,

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in a world abandoned by God and His angels.


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The governments of other nations tried to stop the new Overlord,

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only to be crushed by his endless demonic armies.


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Soon, the new Overlord of Bel will ascend the Tower to heaven,
and eventually destroy...


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Now that's a True Demon End.
 
D

Deleted member 13876

Unconfirmed Member
Note why you win as much as why you lose (note why you lost goes without saying). CYOA; this game will not lift a finger for you past the 5 hour mark. Most importantly...

Prepare...

During my playthrough I actually ran into the most trouble right before Matador than after. All my demons were dead and reviving so many of them was very costly at that point in the game, so I had to do a ton of battles just to get enough money. Beat the Matador on the second try, he's not hard at all if you have some force resistant demons
 

randomkid

Member
During my playthrough I actually ran into the most trouble right before Matador than after. All my demons were dead and reviving so many of them was very costly at that point in the game, so I had to do a ton of battles just to get enough money. Beat the Matador on the second try, he's not hard at all if you have some force resistant demons

I think that's the point though, like you're saying, the boss isn't actually that hard at all. It's just there to make sure you've learned the importance of weaknesses and buffing.
 

Soulhouf

Member
I just started Nocturne for the first time, my first SMT game ouside of Persona 3 and Persona 4.

Any tips/hints/suggestions?

Do I want to recruit as many monsters as I can or what?

How do I fuse?

What stats should I focus on MC?

Play hard mode for better experience and atmosphere.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Play hard mode for better experience and atmosphere.

Don't do this.


And you can do lots with the MC, but I say go VIT++/MAG++/STR+, with the occasional AGI or LUC.

Never let pierce go, and get an AOE elemental skill ASAP, like Tornado or Bolt Storm(especially Tornado). MP Drains are great too.
 

Aeana

Member
I wouldn't recommend hard mode in SMT3 to anybody, regardless of whether they're a newcomer or not. It doesn't add difficulty, it adds frustration that you cannot deal with adequately until later in the game. More frequent back attacks, more expensive compendium, etc.
 

Soulhouf

Member
I played SMT3 MX in hard and it was the most amazing experience I had in video games.

I recommend this if you want an intense and memorable experience. Trust me.

Don't do this.
Never let pierce go, and get an AOE elemental skill ASAP, like Tornado or Bolt Storm(especially Tornado). MP Drains are great too.

Indeed, especially if you want to do the True Demon Ending.
Once you get pierce + freikugel + maskados magatama you're invincible.
 
Amazing thread, just finished reading everything! I don't remember how I came to know SMT back in 04 but I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere, the demons, religious tones and characters. Nocturne was my first SMT game and still remains my favorite so far. I've finished Nocturne, DDS1/2, P3, Fes, P4, Strange Journey, P2 :IS (ps1 version ) and Devil Survivor. I have both Raidou games but not into them as much. I also need to finish P1 psp.. Damn my backlog seems to be so huge..

I always mean to playthrough SMT 1 and 2 but end up getting distracted by life or other things. Soul Hackers and SMT 4 are my most anticipated games at the moment.

I remember reading about Soul Hackers back in Gamefan magazine where they said it was coming to the US! I remember the article intriguing me but had no recollection of SMT at that time. I also remember Revelations: Persona ads in EGM and I think I wanted to get it but had no money at the time, heh. Anyway, keep up the good work guys! I'm loving the screenshots and discussions!
 

Soulhouf

Member
I have a question regarding an important and recurring demon in the Megami Tensei series.
Asura, how are we supposed to pronounce his name?
I see it very often pronounced as Ashura (&#38463;&#20462;&#32645;) as the Buddhist deity but in the few megaten I played in Japanese, his name is written in katakana (&#12450;&#12473;&#12521;) which you can read as Asura.
This thing always confused me...
BTW his redesign in Strange Journey is very cool.
 

Sinople

Member
I have a question regarding an important and recurring demon in the Megami Tensei series.
Asura, how are we supposed to pronounce his name?
I see it very often pronounced as Ashura (&#38463;&#20462;&#32645;) as the Buddhist deity but in the few megaten I played in Japanese, his name is written in katakana (&#12450;&#12473;&#12521;) which you can read as Asura.
This thing always confused me...
BTW his redesign in Strange Journey is very cool.

To keep it simple, the Asuras (&#12450;&#12473;&#12521;) are deities from Hinduism while the Ashuras (&#38463;&#20462;&#32645;) are their Buddhist counterparts.
Let's note it's generally Virochana, the King of the Asuras (&#12450;&#12473;&#12521;&#29579;) who appears in the SMT series. He's also supposed to be another incarnation of the Buddha Vairochana, or Dainichi Nyourai in Japan (&#22823;&#26085;&#22914;&#26469;), and Ahura Mazda (&#12450;&#12501;&#12521;&#12539;&#12510;&#12474;&#12480;&#12540;), the main divinity of the Zoroastrianist religion of ancient Persia.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I'm now aspiring to kill Elizabeth in P3 before I main her in P4A.

NG+ in P3 Vanilla. We'll see how it goes.
(Got my compendium and Messiah/Satan/Lucifer back at least.)
 

Esura

Banned
Elizabeth is so adorable in P3FES. Much more interesting than stiff Margaret in P4. Then again, I never finished her link before the end of P4 so I dunno if she becomes more interesting down the line or what.

When do I get the robot girl? I'm on floor 59 and took out the Interprid Knight. I'm slightly ashamed that I died before getting to that fight due to an ambush and had to use a Plume cause I wasn't doing all those hours of grinding over again. I wanna be halfway through with this game before Arena comes out.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
Elizabeth is so adorable in P3FES. Much more interesting than stiff Margaret in P4. Then again, I never finished her link before the end of P4 so I dunno if she becomes more interesting down the line or what.

Yep. Well...

She certainly goes further than any other social link.

The final dialogue with her is a bit depressing, though.

'We can never do that again' type stuff.
 

Esura

Banned
Yep. Well...

She certainly goes further than any other social link.

The final dialogue with her is a bit depressing, though.

'We can never do that again' type stuff.

Oh...that surely sounds not worth the money sink her link is.

I came across some dog in FES called Konohamaru or something. Wonder if he is going to be the SEES mascot.
 
I'm guessing I'm in the minority here but i
loathe
Devil Survivor. To me, it's too slow paced, I did not like the characters and the music was lacking. Because of this I ignored Devil Survivor 2. I'm torn because I love SMT and their spinoffs but DS1 and Overclocked did nothing for me.

Is DS2 pretty much identical in terms of gameplay , characters and music? I did not like Raidou1 but do like Raidou2, I'm hoping for a similar situation here.
Thanks.
 

Taruranto

Member
DS2 characters and story are a complete joke. It's a poor Evangelion rip-off with generic animu characters. The OST is a tad better and less repetitive, but that's it. The gameplay is pretty much the same.

If you didn't like DS1 i doubt you'd like this.

kamikazekoala said:
Almost at the ending of Strange Journey I guess.

Which alignement is the most interesting? I am almost at the alignement set in stone point...

Anything but law? But seriously, just go with the one you like the most. :p I suggest neutral.
 
DS2 characters and story are a complete joke. It's a poor Evangelion rip-off with generic animu characters. The OST is a tad better and less repetitive, but that's it. The gameplay is pretty much the same.

If you didn't like DS1 i doubt you'd like this.

That's pretty much what I was looking for, thank you.
 
Anything but law? But seriously, just go with the one you like the most. :p I suggest neutral.

Well, I was thinking about chaos, so if law isn't anything special, I will go through with chaos. I think I did everything sidemission based on law anyway...

Edit: maybe i think about neutral too. Thanks. :)
 
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