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[foobarry81]

Okay fair enough haha. Well everyone here seems to rate the game highly so I'll get it based on that. If it turns out to be rubbish, I'll just blame Gaf.

But what makes the two series so different (without mentioning spoilers)?

Persona games are basically hybrids between dungeon crawlers and school life sims.
SMT games are generally a bit more adult oriented story wise and they don't have these sim elements.

In Persona games you unlock personas, in SMT games you have a Pokémon like mechanic with demons (collecting them, evolving them).

 

[ramyeon]

Okay fair enough haha. Well everyone here seems to rate the game highly so I'll get it based on that. If it turns out to be rubbish, I'll just blame Gaf.

But what makes the two series so different (without mentioning spoilers)?

Thematically SMT mainline games tend to focus on post-apocalyptic settings with much less focus on character interaction and way more focus on dungeon crawling.

You have to negotiate with demons you battle in order to convince them to join your party at which time you can use them as party members in battle rather than summoning them for attacks.

The choices you make are also more important as there are multiple endings based on alignments you can take based on the choices you make during the game (Law vs Chaos).

They're also much, much harder than Persona games in my experience and a lot more unforgiving.

 

[toddhunter]

Bitter about digital-only, but day 1. I'm so weak.

I've never purchased a 3DS game online and I'm not sure I even can until I upgrade to a NNID or whatever it is.

Then I'll be locked to the Australian store....

Decisions.

... Fuck region locking so much.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Okay fair enough haha. Well everyone here seems to rate the game highly so I'll get it based on that. If it turns out to be rubbish, I'll just blame Gaf.

But what makes the two series so different (without mentioning spoilers)?

Think of one as a character-driven story and the other as ideology and philosophy driven.

 

[mrmickfran]

Oct 30th is pretty good timing for my part as I'm almost done with Dream Team.

Good, get that bad taste that Dream Team left out

 

[cw_sasuke]

I've never purchased a 3DS game online and I'm not sure I even can until I upgrade to a NNID or whatever it is.

Then I'll be locked to the Australian store....

Decisions.

... Fuck region locking so much.

You don't need a NNiD to buy games from the 3ds eShop.


But if you have to think this hard for getting a massive RPG at this price point.. Well, just seems weird to me.

 

[SalvaPot]

This was my first SMT and gotta say its fun, specially if you like religious themes in your RPG's.

I don't know how it compares to the games before it, but I'll say you guys are in for treat.

 

[Jisgsaw]

Well,finally. Will porbably double dip despite the horrible delay.

They're also much, much harder than Persona games in my experience and a lot more unforgiving.

Well, that's why SMT IV is divisive: the first few hours are horribly hard, but past that, the game is easy as fuck (think late game P4G difficulty level, if not easier). That, and the dungeons are very very short, quite a contrast to previous SMT entries.

But on the plus side, the atmosphere, OST are excellent, the press turn system is still as good as ever, graphically it's quite nice looking, and almost everything is well thought for a portable game. Story and character developpement is a bit weak though (but still way above Nocturne's, that almost didn't have any).

I wonder how hard it is for pubs to actually release simultaneously in US/EU I mean that hype wave is dead, people have forgotten it and moved on. Even the domestic gaming sites have moved on(psst they write about them as soon as US gets them) if anything I'm expecting perhaps a few snide remarks and a few reviews but that usual build up? The in depth articles on why this might be the best thing since sliced bread?

It's over
And man does it suck.
Here's me hoping Atlus doesn't go "ohh sold bad, no more releases for EU".
[/SPOILER]

Considering virtually every other publisher (even NIS) manages it, it shouldn't be that hard. Problem with Atlus up until now was a lack of willingness to do it (I think it's safe to assume it was always an afterthought for them, see P4A), and a lack of experience with NoE.
For SMT IV, we can only speculate, but I'd say they had an early deal with NoE for a localised release, but that fell through. PQ seems to rather show that Atlus is starting to at least plan PAL releases simultany with US one.

 

[ZeroX03]

Hey, there it is!

Day one, why not? I'm guessing it's actually the 31st for AUS/NZ, the store update is almost always late.

 

[ramyeon]

Well, that's why SMT IV is divisive: the first few hours are horribly hard, but past that, the game is easy as fuck (think late game P4G difficulty level, if not easier). That, and the dungeons are very very short, quite a contrast to previous SMT entries.

But on the plus side, the atmosphere, OST are excellent, the press turn system is still as good as ever, graphically it's quite nice looking, and almost everything is well thought for a portable game. Story and character developpement is a bit weak though (but still way above Nocturne's, that almost didn't have any).

Shame to hear that the difficulty is nerved later on in SMTIV :/

I think Nocturne's story, character development and setting were perfect for a SMT game though, it was really oppressive, weird and isolating. Loved it.

Hey, there it is!

Day one, why not? I'm guessing it's actually the 31st for AUS/NZ, the store update is almost always late.

Yeah 31st here according to the game info on the eShop.

 

[Jisgsaw]

Shame to hear that the difficulty is nerved later on in SMTIV :/

Well, maybe it was to compensate the difficulty of the "tutorial" stages of the game, these are horribly hard. I hope it won't make too many people stop it because of that.
Past this point, when you start to get more and more demons and skills, the fusion system lets you create insanly powerfull demons quite fast, and if you know how to develop your MC (choose Magic or Dexterity as main stat, and stay with that choice), he'll destroy everything.

So you could actually keep a decent difficulty, if you knowingly don't use the fusion too much and make a crappy MC.

I think Nocturne's story, character development and setting were perfect for a SMT game though, it was really oppressive, weird and isolating. Loved it.

Yeah, me too.
But there is basically only a two line story. I was a little hard on the character developpement, but it's not that big either.

 

[gngf123]

Okay fair enough haha. Well everyone here seems to rate the game highly so I'll get it based on that. If it turns out to be rubbish, I'll just blame Gaf.

But what makes the two series so different (without mentioning spoilers)?

Persona is a spin off, not part of the same series. In fact, they aren't labelled SMT at all in Japan. Atlus USA are finally removing the SMT branding from Persona titles as well.

SMT games are normally more gameplay focused. They have better constructed dungeons, better combat, and are normally harder. On the flip side, modern Persona games have absolutely horrid dungeons and are filled with anime tropes and social sim elements. Remember, SMT does not have social links. Persona also has much more of a character driven story than SMT.

I think P3/4 are heavily overrated by GAF, personally. I like pretty much every other Atlus RPG though, but I have no idea how I'll rate this one.

 

[Majukun]

don't know if I care anymore.
also i don't know if i want to give my money to them after all those delays

 

[cireza]

I am in Europe and I am going to support the localization effort, even if it was poorly handled. I am particularly mad at Nintendo that made us think that the game was going to be fully localized like they usually do. I remember perfectly a french rep saying that the translation was advancing well. Yeah right...

 

[Magicpaint]

Digital only sucks. Pure sucks. And the game is hilariously late. Beyond late. But...it is SMT...and it is cheap. I can't possibly refuse. Day 1 :')

 

[bobohoro]

Game went from a definitive day-1 purchase since its announcement to a dunno. I would have been on board if they lowered the price even more for the additional delay, or included some free DLC, but if its like this I am still kinda ticked off about the whole thing. Have to see what's left on my portables to play on the 30th and if there aren't games more deserving of my money and attention by then, so it's not totally off my radar, but all of this again left me sour on Atlus and their handling of europe.

 

[kd-z]

Oh man, finally! Can't wait!

Spoiler

I can wait, I still haven't finished Shadow of Mordor and Wasteland 2 :<

 

[SpookyBlackFish]

Game went from a definitive day-1 purchase since its announcement to a dunno. I would have been on board if they lowered the price even more for the additional delay, or included some free DLC, but if its like this I am still kinda ticked off about the whole thing. Have to see what's left on my portables to play on the 30th and if there aren't games more deserving of my money and attention by then, so it's not totally off my radar, but all of this again left me sour on Atlus and their handling of europe.

Oh, come on now. As annoying as it might be for many of us that the announcement was so late and then it was delayed on top of that: a very good game stays a very good game and will be worth a purchase even one or two years from now, especially if you like this series and genre.
The next thing I sometimes do not get is this demand for more and more compensation. "They delay it for another 30 days, now they better lower the price even more AND give me some free DLC!" This is a video game and not a chunk of bread that gets harder or moldy as time goes by, it still offers the same qualities it had one year ago. I do not want to defend Atlus and the decisions they made for the EU release. Anyway, SMTIV will finally be available here, it is great and will be great, it is reduced in price.

This kind of indignation goes a little too far, it feels hysterical sometimes. Just my opinion.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Oh, come on now. As annoying as it might be for many of us that the announcement was so late and then it was delayed on top of that: a very good game stays a very good game and will be worth a purchase even one or two years from now, especially if you like this series and genre.
The next thing I sometimes do not get is this demand for more and more compensation. "They delay it for another 30 days, now they better lower the price even more AND give me some free DLC!" This is a video game and not a chunk of bread that gets harder or moldy as time goes by, it still offers the same qualities it had one year ago. I do not want to defend Atlus and the decisions they made for the EU release. Anyway, SMTIV will finally be available here, it is great and will be great, it is reduced in price.

This kind of indignation goes a little too far, it feels hysterical sometimes. Just my opinion.

I agree that after making Europe wait this long, some free launch DLC would not be out of the question at all.

 

[UtterlyPerplexed]

Ah, digital only, a year and three months after North America, English only (so I heard?), and they've kindly laid out a DLC schedule all for us! Good show, Atlus.

£17.99 isn't bad, (still pricier than what you can pay for it in NA...) but God, I've almost completely gone off the game.

 

[foobarry81]

Oh, come on now. As annoying as it might be for many of us that the announcement was so late and then it was delayed on top of that: a very good game stays a very good game and will be worth a purchase even one or two years from now, especially if you like this series and genre.
The next thing I sometimes do not get is this demand for more and more compensation. "They delay it for another 30 days, now they better lower the price even more AND give me some free DLC!" This is a video game and not a chunk of bread that gets harder or moldy as time goes by, it still offers the same qualities it had one year ago. I do not want to defend Atlus and the decisions they made for the EU release. Anyway, SMTIV will finally be available here, it is great and will be great, it is reduced in price.

This kind of indignation goes a little too far, it feels hysterical sometimes. Just my opinion.

At this point you can get the North American physical release (arguably the superior version) for less than €20. So "the market" doesn't seem to think that the game is worth more in October 2014; I think this price reduction argument of yours is questionable.

The thing is: Atlus has a history of treating Europe as some sort of ugly stepchild it never wanted. This is just the next case in a long row of incidents. Meanwhile Atlus just carries on, so people get sick of it.

 

[Arizato]

I don't really blame people who have lost interest in the game by now. I just hope it sells enough copies so that ATLUS doesn't go: "Well, not that many people bought it in the end. I guess Europe just doesn't want Shin Megami Tensei games!"

I for one, will be there day one. Especially since my long weekend starts the same day, so it will be awesome.

 

[toastyToast]

Ended up importing with a 2DS. I've been keen to replay it with a magic based MC and seeing it in 3D might be cool. Price is nice as well.

If I had to wait all the way until now though, I don't think I'd give a shit. Once something crosses the horizon of your interest it's hard to care anymore.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

 

[richi_one]

I won't believe until I'll see it on my SD card.
I suppose they can announce the delay for Persona Q in a few days....

 

[foobarry81]

I don't really blame people who have lost interest in the game by now. I just hope it sells enough copies so that ATLUS doesn't go: "Well, not that many people bought it in the end. I guess Europe just doesn't want Shin Megami Tensei games!"

That wouldn't be very classy, would it? Atlus have been doing everything in their power in the last couple of years to discourage people from buying this game. Delays and more delays, digital only, no communication, no marketing push whatsoever. So it would be perfectly normal if no one buys this. They should be grateful for every single sale it gets.

Having said that, I do hope this sells at least decently despite the circumstances, because they could indeed end up hiding behind low sales numbers of this game in debates over future localisations.

 

[Arizato]

That wouldn't be very classy, would it? Atlus have been doing everything in their power in the last couple of years to discourage people from buying this game. Delays and more delays, digital only, no communication, no marketing push whatsoever. So it would be perfectly normal if no one buys this. They should be grateful for every single sale it gets.

Having said that, I do hope this sells at least decently despite the circumstances, because they could indeed end up hiding behind low sales numbers of this game in debates over future localisations.

Haha, nope! Not classy at all. But it wouldn't surprise me one bit to be honest. I guess I have just grown a tad bitter over all these different Europe delays. I want to continue supporting ATLUS and their games, but they won't let me!

 

[Starwolf_UK]

So when do I get my SMTIV-FE:A eShop credit?

Spoiler

Yes, I used that joke in the other thread.

Buy a £50 eShop gift card. There is your £30 credit right there (remember SMTIV launched at $50)

Oh, come on now...

Making the first piece of DLC free for a limited period of time has been done many times on the eShop and it shows goodwill to early consumers.

 

[Dragon1893]

That wouldn't be very classy, would it? Atlus have been doing everything in their power in the last couple of years to discourage people from buying this game. Delays and more delays, digital only, no communication, no marketing push whatsoever. So it would be perfectly normal if no one buys this. They should be grateful for every single sale it gets.

Having said that, I do hope this sells at least decently despite the circumstances, because they could indeed end up hiding behind low sales numbers of this game in debates over future localisations.

It's sad to see my favorite franchise in this situation. I'm as bitter as everyone else, trust me, but people saying that they wont buy it because of the delays should really reconsider.
The only way to avoid a repeat of this situation is showing them that there's money to be made.

 

[SpookyBlackFish]

Buy a £50 eShop gift card. There is your £30 credit right there (remember SMTIV launched at $50)


Making the first piece of DLC free for a limited period of time has been done many times on the eShop and it shows goodwill to early consumers.

I agree with this, that early consumers could be rewarded with free DLC. On the other Hand, I do not think that lowering the price even more should be theway things should be handled. I also agree, that it should not have come to this from the start, this is something Atlus did not handle well. I just think this game, which deserves a better start, should be made appear so "cheap" for what it offers content wise.

My post above appeared rude maybe. I do not want to be offensive. I just feel a little sorry for this game (not for Atlus) and felt some kind of annoyance when reading things like "make it even cheaper and give the DLC away for free".

 

[Protag]

Come on Atlus just give it to europe already.

 

[bobohoro]

Oh, come on now. As annoying as it might be for many of us that the announcement was so late and then it was delayed on top of that: a very good game stays a very good game and will be worth a purchase even one or two years from now, especially if you like this series and genre.

The only reason I am even following the news on this game anymore and am still considering eventually purchasing it is because I am a fan of the series. That said, I am also a gamer with limited time and as a consumer derive some sort of positive feeling from being treated well and on time. If a company sours me on their product with their ways of organisation, communication and distribution long enough, that it outweights all positive feelings I have towards the game, then I will reconsider spending my time and money elsewhere. In the end, not everyone is in it solely for the quality of the game, many factors can influence overall enjoyment of the experience. That is one reason why I don't even bother with games from EA, Activision and some others anymore. And if Atlus continues with their negligence of Europe I may do myself a favour and put them up on that list, because despite the quality of their games, the frustrations and other negative feelings associated with their products and actions just ain't worth it anymore.

The next thing I sometimes do not get is this demand for more and more compensation.

That is pretty simple, really. You destroy goodwill, you earn some back. If there is no balance, there will be no purchase.

My post above appeared rude maybe. I do not want to be offensive. I just feel a little sorry for this game (not for Atlus) and felt some kind of annoyance when reading things like "make it even cheaper and give the DLC away for free".

I do understand the sentiment. There were great people working on the game and almost all of them deserve respect, as well as the game itself, that I am sure of. But ultimately, to me as a consumer, the whole product counts and the mishandling of a small fraction of people working on the game can damage the good byeond repair. And this happens far too easily, as sad as it is.

It doesn't help that Atlus has a history with Europe and that for most of us, supporting them by buying their products and hoping for the better didn't work out at all. Not in the past and seemingly not in the present. SMTIV is just another misstep, one of the bigger ones, and for many including myself, might just be point where we stop caring about their games.

 

[SpookyBlackFish]

The only reason I am even following the news on this game anymore and am still considering eventually purchasing it is because I am a fan of the series. That said, I am also a gamer with limited time and as a consumer derive some sort of positive feeling from being treated well and on time. If a company sours me on their product with their ways of organisation, communication and distribution long enough, that it outweights all positive feelings I have towards the game, then I will reconsider spending my time and money elsewhere. In the end, not everyone is in it solely for the quality of the game, many factors can influence overall enjoyment of the experience. That is one reason why I don't even bother with games from EA, Activision and some others anymore. And if Atlus continues with their negligence of Europe I may do myself a favour and put them up on that list, because despite the quality of their games, the frustrations and other negative feelings associated with their products and actions just ain't worth it anymore.



That is pretty simple, really. You destroy goodwill, you earn some back. If there is no balance, there will be no purchase.



I do understand the sentiment. There were great people working on the game and almost all of them deserve respect, as well as the game itself, that I am sure of. But ultimately, to me as a consumer, the whole product counts and the mishandling of a small fraction of people working on the game can damage the good byeond repair. And this happens far too easily, as sad as it is.

It doesn't help that Atlus has a history with Europe and that for most of us, supporting them by buying their products and hoping for the better didn't work out at all. Not in the past and seemingly not in the present. SMTIV is just another misstep, one of the bigger ones, and for many including myself, might just be point where we stop caring about their games.

Greetings! Thank you for your detailed answer! First of all, I want to apologize for how i started this dialogue. My whole posting reads a little "snappy" if i use this term correctly. I think I was carried away by this topic, whatever, that was not polite.

Your line of argument is very reasonable and, as you say, for SMTIV is not a small game that could never have had any impact, this misstep weighs more. And though I wish SMTIV will be recognized in EU, I understand your and other people's points regarding Atlus.

Best regards,
M

 

[bobohoro]

Greetings! Thank you for your detailed answer! First of all, I want to apologize for how i started this dialogue. My whole posting reads a little "snappy" if i use this term correctly. I think I was carried away by this topic, whatever, that was not polite.

No need to apologise, I never took offense at your post and like I said, I do understand where you are coming from with this. All's well.

 

[krossj]

I think i have to delete almost everything from my sd card in order to dl this. Happy to eventually be getting it but fuck this no physical release business.

 

[Spieler Eins]

Nothing else coming out this year after SMT4 I'm interested in, so I gotta get it still.

 

[Zafir]

I think i have to delete almost everything from my sd card in order to dl this. Happy to eventually be getting it but fuck this no physical release business.

Just buy a new sd card, they're dirt cheap. That's what I've done in preparation for this and Rune Factory 4. I fear I went a bit overkill with 32gb though. I don't think I'll ever buy enough from the eshop to fill it up, lol.

 

[Nimby]

Decided to start this game up in NG+ on Master difficulty.

Ahhh, that feeling you get when enemies curb-stomp you in Naruku; Europe is in for a treat.

 

[Easy_D]

Good, get that bad taste that Dream Team left out

But Dream Team is getting the bad taste of Sticker Star out.

 

[Faustek]

PQ seems to rather show that Atlus is starting to at least plan PAL releases simultany with US one.

Isn't that NISA?

Yes it is. Now let's hope Atlus haven't stuck them with a ridiculously high licence fee so they actually make money from the game and keep on selling us delicious LEs(I know expensive but still delicious)

My biggest concern about this is Sega. Apparently they're localising Ultimax but what else? Don't get me wrong here, if I could decide I would keep Sega fat away from anything European since after the DC days they Suck more than the black plague. But rather Sega fuck it up in a decent time than another 18 month wait of disasters.

 

[Jisgsaw]

Isn't that NISA?

Yes it is. Now let's hope Atlus haven't stuck them with a ridiculously high licence fee so they actually make money from the game and keep on selling us delicious LEs(I know expensive but still delicious)

My biggest concern about this is Sega. Apparently they're localising Ultimax but what else? Don't get me wrong here, if I could decide I would keep Sega fat away from anything European since after the DC days they Suck more than the black plague. But rather Sega fuck it up in a decent time than another 18 month wait of disasters.

Yeah PQ is NISA. But for NISA to be able to get it out so fast, Atlus had/has to plan and work on the PAL build in parallele with the US one, which is a first AFAIK.

I don't see Sega picking up Atlus titles, aside maybe for P5. The rest doesn't sell enough for them to take the "risk" to publish them in Europe.

 

[HomesIice]

1 more week.

 

[Dragon1893]

1 more week.

Kinda hard to believe, isn't it?

Spoiler

Something might still go wrong, don't let your guard down.

 

[Samurai_Heart]

When do you guys want the OT? Monday of the week or Wednesday/Thursday nearing the eShop release?

 

[Dragon1893]

When do you guys want the OT? Monday of the week or Wednesday/Thursday nearing the eShop release?

Aren't OTs on release date now?

 

[Refreshment.01]

Try not to get your hopes up too high. It's a pretty good game, but I'm afraid the delay has hyped up its status beyond what its quality can justify.

Interested in the game, what are your main criticism?

Also does it have random battles or can you see and avoid enemies?

What other 3DS RPG's are over it?

 

[Samurai_Heart]

Aren't OTs on release date now?

I'm sure the leeway was a week before release but I guess I'll put it up Thursday morning or so before the eShop updates.

 

[ramyeon]

I'm sure the leeway was a week before release but I guess I'll put it up Thursday morning or so before the eShop updates.

Pretty sure that changed to release date only, I recall seeing a sticky thread about a week or so ago.

 

[Samurai_Heart]

Pretty sure that changed to release date only, I recall seeing a sticky thread about a week or so ago.

Oh I'll have to find that sticky then, shame it's no longer a week before release, can drum up hype for the titles so people can get it on release or something =S

 

[daydream]

Yeah, day of the release according to the new rule. At least you don't have to make that decision anymore, S_H. (I'm actually in favour of the change.)