Shin Megami Tensei Thread

[Gafgarion]

So I heard of a video game series known as Shin Megami Tensei and its like pokemon but with demons and mythological beings. So basically instead of battling with Pikachu, you battle with an imp that has a large schlong. The series tends to have not only demon capturing but also demon fusions to make more powerful demons and stuff and multiple endings and paths.

I recently ordered Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and I have no idea what I'm getting into. I heard its really hard and that the game's bosses basically require specific party formations. Is there anything I need to keep in mind while playing it? Are there any specific demon combinations I should keep in mind? Just a bit of advice would be great.

Also feel free to talk about any Shin Megami Tensei game here. Discussion is always great.

(just as an fyi, Persona and Digital Devil Saga count as Shin Megami Tensei games. Most people already know that but just in case people don't, well there you go).

 

[capefeather]

I've only played partway into Shin Megami Tensei 1, which I've found very fun and rather difficult at the same time. It verges on unfair with some of the events you have to trigger, though. The glitches introduced by the translation patch are what probably got me to stop :(

 

[alkinesthetase]

holy crap a megaten thread devil survivor and persona 3/4 are the shit

devil survivor is basically my absolute favorite genre of game ever, turn based tactics, so it automatically kicked ass as soon as i started playing it. it was exactly what i wanted from an smt+tactics game, freaking awesome. have not yet gotten around to playing devil survivor 2 unfortunately because i recently got into VNs; i just finished working my way through the nasuverse (finished fsn and tsukihime a while ago, read and watched knk, waiting for translation of mahou tsukai no yoru) and chaos;head/steins;gate are next on my queue (which also means i have less time to ladder lol)

p3/4 are very interesting games in that their rpg gameplay is pretty damn standard. the only interesting things they carry forward are the SMT demon-fusion concepts (personae) and a social link system reminiscent of the dating game genre (but it is so not a dating game. no.). nevertheless the execution is really solid, and there's something good about the stories that makes me want to go back and replay some day when i have 80 hours of free time to sack on fusing metatron over and over again until i get repel dark. i once got maziodyne/mabufudyne/maragidyne metatron completely by accident. yeah. that actually happened. i never managed to fuse a perfect helel though, and i've never gotten the time to replay and go beat elizabeth, who btw is like the best character ever.

i really want to play p4 the golden (when you fuse personae in p4g, you can CHOOSE what skills they inherit. do you have any idea how much time i spent trying to fuse good personae? i think i spent at least 20 hours of my life on the two games combined just rerolling for good inherits. fuck RNG. also in p4g you can sneak out into inaba at night which is gonna be awesome) but i will not have a vita any time soon; i played the original p3/4 on emulator. if and when p5 comes out i might actually have a playstation 3 or whatever on which to play it.

proof that trimadyne metatron exists:

 

[Nietzsche]

I haven't played 'em yet. I figure if they didn't even have the budget to give the english version an english title, the rest of the game can't be that great.

 

[DracoMihawk]

heard nocturne was great, will try to get into the main series with SMT IV,

so far have gotten into P3P, both devil survivor games and done a lot of research into P4.

so more of a newbie megaten fan here

 

[MagicMaster87]

I've never played a SMT game either, but I have Persona 1 and 2 on PSP and just got Devil Survivor 1 and 2 and Strange Journey on a flashcart.

Actually, now that I think about it I DID play Demikids a bit some-odd months ago. IIRC that is a SMT game with a Pokemon/Dragon Quest Monsters take to it, but I wasn't too fond of it and didn't get very far in, maybe just a couple of hours of playtime. Here's hoping that my experiences with the rest of the SMT universe go a little better!

Any suggestions for which game to start with? Also, any other games in the series I should take a look at? PS2 is really the only non-option for me, as my physical system is out of reach and I have no experience with PS2 emulation.

 

[LightWolf]

What I like about SMT is that decisions matter at every single turn. It not only affects the story, it affects the gameplay itself, which demons join you etc.

And the endings, man in the main series endings, there is generally no good ending. Choose Law and be a brainwashed being where a higher enity decides your every movement. Choose Chaos and world becomes hell where you have to be strong or die, where demons are let free. Or choose neutral which is generally just delaying it, and humanity remains the same shitty thing.

On the other hand Devil Survivor got obvious "good" endings in both cases, some made obvious being impossible to get on the first playthrough.

 

[nya]

I am not overtly familiar with the series but I have played Persona 5 Strikers and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore.

I was immensely disappointed by both of them as neither let me date anime girls.

My favourite demon in the SMT series is Chrom

Also this