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Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse |OT| Tokyo's Bad Day Is Too Sweet
- Thread starter cj_iwakura
- Start date
You reached the point where there are less demons and especially many demons only made through special fusions and/or story related.
Yeah, finished the game a few weeks ago and though the end started to drag as well. That last dungeon is so unbelievably bad, it's ridiculous. You can't recruit any of the new stronger demons from there either so you're pretty much stuck with only the special fusions at that point. The final boss was pretty decent and challenging but you'll probably need a few of the higher level special fusions though.
Tribes of Trusty
Member
Yes I agree, up to a certain point. I remember being traumatized by Persona 3 final boss
And its 13 forms lolololol
itchyass86
Member
Just beat the game after procrastinating on the last dungeon for awhile. Definitely one of my favorite RPGs ever.
Between this and Persona 5, I think I've probably overdosed on demon hunting and fusions.
Between this and Persona 5, I think I've probably overdosed on demon hunting and fusions.
Picked this up to sate my SMT withdrawal. So far...despite the universal praise, I've found it rather..underwhelming?
Almost everything i disliked in the first game is still here (I guess this is to be expected though since they are reusing most of the assets). Admittedly, I am not THAT big a fan of the mainline SMT games.
I've reached up to the point where
Please tell me it gets better.
Almost everything i disliked in the first game is still here (I guess this is to be expected though since they are reusing most of the assets). Admittedly, I am not THAT big a fan of the mainline SMT games.
I've reached up to the point where
Flynn gets kidnapped and honestly I'm sitting here questioning if the story was even needed :/ .Literally everything bad that happened is due to Asahi and Nanashi sticking their heads where they don't belong, almost to the point of it being comical and somewhat forced.
If the gameplay didn't hook you yet I don't think the story will.
The game starts now... true decisions, very different endings, Existential discussions between characters.
I finished it today.
While I still am not the biggest fan of the gameplay, the story turned to be pretty good (which is lol since most opinions are saying story = shit , gameplay = ace). It was a bit Persona-ish with the focus on bonds and such; which I found a bit odd since it's supposed to be a mainline SMT game? The tonal shift between SMTIV and Apocalypse is staggering really.
Have to say though that the game overstayed its welcome and dragged on a little bit too long, I hated the final dungeon so so so much.(the design , music and the...inconveniences in the dungeon)
E_Darkness
Member
I just beat P5 so I've gone back to SMT4A. Well I saved just before the Purse Hunters side quest and Loki was a toughie.
Well I stopped just before some cool story started to happen so I'm already hooked back in.
Well I stopped just before some cool story started to happen so I'm already hooked back in.
Wish I could care that Asashi's dad died.
Game is arriving today, I couldn't wait for a sale as I'm fully in the SMT mode.
Is magic build still OP? And even if it's not, is Gun build still super expensive? I remember bullets and guns being expensive and rarely having the money to buy anything anyway. Even if Magic build isn't OP but still good, I'd rather go with that and have more yen than not.
Is magic build still OP? And even if it's not, is Gun build still super expensive? I remember bullets and guns being expensive and rarely having the money to buy anything anyway. Even if Magic build isn't OP but still good, I'd rather go with that and have more yen than not.
Magic will always be OP, but they made a way to balance it somewhat by the new Smirk mechanic.
KLoWn
Member
The story is sort of connected, so yeah.
You can play this one first, really. You'll still get a good amount of background story in here that you can enjoy this one even without playing SMTIV. The only drawback is that if you play this first, you'll basically be spoiled by a good amount when you plan to play SMTIV next.
You'll get more out of the story if you've completed IV, but it's not essential. It has a data log that goes over some of the events and people of IV.
I'd play IV though, there's worse QoL than Apocalypse, but I enjoyed IV's atmosphere a lot more.
cj_iwakura
Member
Yes. This immediately spoils IV right out of the gate.
Yeah. Just played IV and went on to Apocalypse thereafter and the bolded is something I missed from IV. IV came across as like an earnest cross between Bladerunner-esque and original series Star Trek-esque science fiction to me, whereas Apocalypse is coming across as a comic book to me.
As to IV: Got the Law ending, which sort of sucked, because I must have been close to the neutral ending as I generally chose noncommittal answers and sometimes agreed with one boy, sometimes the other. But still it was cool in a way and I'm glad I got that instead of chaos because I just shot a god in the face with a fallen angel (rather to-be-fallen
) in another Atlus game .As to apocalypse:
I'm liking the changes to the battle system and demon systems for the most part.
I like that demons have affinities now and can get +x to their spells.
I like that leveling through fusion/conversation has been nerfed a bit, with the removal of the former.
Idk if it is changes to the talking system or just the conversations I've encountered, but I've had more fun with the demons in Apocalypse. I like it when you can, say, do a rom com esque thing where you get under one of their skins and they run off only to join you when you see them again. Stuff like that is a nice touch.
I'm of mixed minds about the new companion system. They're really an extra, reliable party member now instead of someone who occasionally gives the enemy smirks or does something pointless and occasionally is helpful. And...I find myself not having to do my own healing, which is kind of disappointing to me.
I prefer the P5 approach to non instant death light/dark magic. Die for Me! still kills a lot of people but it is pretty unsatisfying when it hits and leaves someone alive
.Being able to critical on smirking magic, regardless of weakness is a nice boost to damage, but sometimes I feel it should be just the attacks that give you a press turn when it isn't hitting a weakness.
I'm in
and loving the game. I like the characters except for when they'll randomly drop shit like "homeslice." Like... whatever slang was there in Japanese (if there even was), they could've found a better word in English than freaking "homeslice."
Really wish the area I mentioned would've been given a full exportable upgrade, but then this is a full on cheap sequel to an already cheap game so I'm not surprised, just disappointed.
Also random but Anat's design is dope.
Mikado
Really wish the area I mentioned would've been given a full exportable upgrade, but then this is a full on cheap sequel to an already cheap game so I'm not surprised, just disappointed.
Also random but Anat's design is dope.
I'm in
dungeon now...I was hoping the
, was the controversial dungeon, because that wasn't so bad but...yeah, I think I'm just going to call it finished. Too big map. Fusion/demon acquisition system offline, which also plays into the money game, just when you'd want money for compendium usage for fusion.
YHVH's
egg
It's not that bad. Plus you can save anywhere, so use that and reload if you go through a one way teleporter.
Watch Da Birdie
I buy cakes for myself on my birthday it's not weird lots of people do it I bet
Played this when it first came out and only got to King Frost before other games took my interest away...I remember with the first SMTIV the same deal, barely played it at first, but tried it again later on and liked it far more.
Guess I'll try this game again since I want a more "authentic" SMT experience to fill the Persona 5-shaped hole in my heart. Hoping it'll click this time around.
Guess I'll try this game again since I want a more "authentic" SMT experience to fill the Persona 5-shaped hole in my heart. Hoping it'll click this time around.
Just beat the game after cheesing my way through the last 20 hours or so with the physical/magic reflect buffs while my MC pretty much killed any boss with one or 2 hits thanks to the DEX built and charge. Only had to alter my strategy for the very last boss though, since you're
all the time.
The resource management the last dungeon introduced (due to no new demons) was quite interesting. Even had to use a piece of paper to keep track of how I need to fuse them for the desired results. In the end, I somehow managed to beat the last boss around level
with a bunch of trash demons (all sub
, some even in the
s range...). I absolutely appreciated the challenge though, since the rest of the game felt significantly easier than the original SMT4. I guess that's because your companions are actually useful this time around.
Overall I liked the game a lot - way more than the original one. With SMT4, I can't remember a thing about the story or the ending, with this one, I'm sure I'll remember for a long time - not just for the (in my opinion) better story and characters, but also for the better dungeons (except for... that one) and more interesting side quests.
alternating with the other party
The resource management the last dungeon introduced (due to no new demons) was quite interesting. Even had to use a piece of paper to keep track of how I need to fuse them for the desired results. In the end, I somehow managed to beat the last boss around level
92
90
70
Overall I liked the game a lot - way more than the original one. With SMT4, I can't remember a thing about the story or the ending, with this one, I'm sure I'll remember for a long time - not just for the (in my opinion) better story and characters, but also for the better dungeons (except for... that one) and more interesting side quests.
Yeah, although the final dungeon was a slog, and pretty much filled everything I dislike about unimaginative final JRPG dungeons that are just teleporter mazes on platforms floating in space, I'll remember it for the stuff I really liked about it. An interesting party with multiple viewpoints on the world, and a genuinely interesting faction in Dagda that provides more nuance than the usual law/chaos. Following up the fairy queen questline from SMTIV was probably my favourite bit.
Dragon1893
Member
I still haven't finished it.. SMT is my favorite franchise and I loved IV but this... I dunno. The story feels tacked on, the cast is meh, after 100 hours of IV I feel burned out on the setting and it doesn't feel like SMT, though I can't quite put my finger on why.
I guess my disconnect with the game comes mainly from the weak cast and a story that spends a hell of a long time going nowhere.
I guess my disconnect with the game comes mainly from the weak cast and a story that spends a hell of a long time going nowhere.
The entire final section is a slog, not just the final dungeon
The game's climax happens when you defeat Krishna. The following battle against YHWH is so hilariously forced and out of place you'd think you were playing another game. Maybe if YHWH had more of a presence like in SMT4, i'd understand but he's such a non-entity it just feels like yet another "kill God for the sake of it" plot sequence that's becoming overused as of late.
I just saw it as bonus content or post game content... just like Nozomi (I think said):
already came this far, might as well do it properly and kill god too while we're at it
Hatty
Member
it doesn't feel forced if you kill your friends like a good godslayer
I agree. Killing YHVH makes much more sense if you are going to be the new god. In the bods ending killing YHVH makes no difference since humanity will resurrect him again.
The Cartographer
Member
Sorry for the bump, I've got some questions:
- I'm currently at level 79, at what level do I stop getting new quests?
- What demons do I need for the Yamata No Orochi fusion quest?
- Is there a point of no return for the main quest? I've entered the
and watchedCosmic EggToki getting possessed again.
-New quests are given to you based on the ones you have completed and your progress in the story, not your level. Although you'll probably be around level 100 by the time you complete them all, and I believe you get the last batch of them around the dungeon you're at.
-Yamata no Orochi is part of the Snake race. You can do a customized search in the fusion app to get better results: Select Snake race, new demons only and include demons from your compendium. You'll get every possible combination available for you.
-There's a point of no return in the sense that you get locked in a particular ending in the dungeon you're currently at, it's pretty obvious and it allows you to save first and come back to answer the related question. But there aren't any literal points of no return, you can pretty much make it up to the door before the final boss and still go visit every place in the game and even complete unfinished quests.
The Cartographer
Member
Thank you very much.
IbukiLordSA
Member
Looking at buying this game, just got a 3DS, the only Shin Megami Tensei games I have played are Nocturne and Digital Devil Story, is this one I can just jump into?
It's currently 50% off on the eshop so looking at picking it up at that price.
It's currently 50% off on the eshop so looking at picking it up at that price.
I think you'll lose out on a lot of the story if you haven't played the vanilla SMT IV - granted, the mechanics and map are better in this one, but you might end up getting lost in the lore without playing the 'Side A' this game is the 'Side B' to
cj_iwakura
Member
Get Soul Hackers! If you can. But yeah, echoing the above sentiment; play IV first.
IbukiLordSA
Member
Thanks, ended up picking up the game though, the 50% off was hard to pass up. Not too fixed on the story and such as I more into the gameplay side. So far I am really enjoying the game, about 6-7 hours into it.
Is Soul Hackers similar in terms of the gameplay? I see it's super cheap on the eshop.
Is Soul Hackers similar in terms of the gameplay? I see it's super cheap on the eshop.
cj_iwakura
Member
Pretty much. A very basic version, since it's almost 20 years older, but yeah. Demons don't level up, and you have to befriend them to ensure they follow your commands(or just get them wasted by buying their favorite liquor at the store, yes that's something you can do).