• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Shin Megami Tensei Community Thread: Be Your True Demon

I just watched a trailer for SMTIV on 3DS and then immediately bought it. It's downloading now.

I'm excited- for some reason I thought this game was a first person dungeon crawler like Etrian Odyssey. But it seems it's like the other games in the series, right?

damn, really slept on this!
 

Refyref

Member
I just watched a trailer for SMTIV on 3DS and then immediately bought it. It's downloading now.

I'm excited- for some reason I thought this game was a first person dungeon crawler like Etrian Odyssey. But it seems it's like the other games in the series, right?

damn, really slept on this!

Well, it's the only mainline SMT game that's NOT a first person dungeon crawler, save for Nocturne. :p
 

Zerokku

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?
Well, it's the only mainline SMT game that's NOT a first person dungeon crawler, save for Nocturne. :p

In all fairness nocturne and 4 are 2/5 of the mainline games. I wouldn't say mainline *usually* being first person is a hard and fast rule anymore.
 

Aeana

Member
Plus you can totally play SMT3 in first person if you want to~
Well, provided you're on a new cycle. It's the best way to play ittt.
 

Refyref

Member
I would have liked Nocturne more if it had first-person mode available from the start.

In all fairness nocturne and 4 are 2/5 of the mainline games. I wouldn't say mainline *usually* being first person is a hard and fast rule anymore.

2/6. :p
 

BlackJace

Member
I really liked Devil Survivor MC's badass collared cape when you choose to become the Overlord. It really gave off the feeling of the character being a summoner of demons.

I liked Nocturne MC's design as well.
 
Bv0_1QhCMAA98Oy.jpg:large
.
 
I told myself that I was going to finish Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army this month...and yet I keep getting drawn back to SMT4 instead. The battles in this game keep getting easier and easier despite my non attack-based build (High Agility and Luck yo) but I keep digging deeper into the mood of Tokyo and its people and loving it. It kind of reminds me of the Raidou games in that sense where the battles were meh but the city and its crew were amazing.
 

G-Fex

Member
I tried a minute or two of Megami Tensei: Old testament and it looks fantastic and feels that way too. What does Mappara do? A layout of the floor i'm on at the cost of MP?
 
I know in SMT1 at least it gave you a local mini-map that updated in real time. It was handy when you were in dark spaces, but I didn't use it much beyond that.
 

Aeana

Member
I tried a minute or two of Megami Tensei: Old testament and it looks fantastic and feels that way too. What does Mappara do? A layout of the floor i'm on at the cost of MP?

Yes. You get a minimap on your screen, but it wears off (and also will not take effect if cast on) a new moon.
 

vocab

Member
Anyone have experience with Digital Devil Saga with PCSX2? The main issue I'm having is that the shadows aren't rendered properly. I seem to have a problem finding a fix for it. I found an archive mentioning it was specific to a certain graphic plugin, and I should use a software render, but It just doesn't work for me. Someone linked an opengl plugin, but I couldn't get it to work because it was designed for mac only.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
I think all of Vally's images are officially dead. :(

I guess I can make up some new ones eventually.

Anyone have experience with Digital Devil Saga with PCSX2? The main issue I'm having is that the shadows aren't rendered properly. I seem to have a problem finding a fix for it. I found an archive mentioning it was specific to a certain graphic plugin, and I should use a software render, but It just doesn't work for me. Someone linked an opengl plugin, but I couldn't get it to work because it was designed for mac only.

Neither of my CPUs can run PCSX2, but I can tell you that the R&D1 games are notorious emulation nightmares. Thanks, Okada!
 

Vally

Member
Wow, thanks. :)

You're welcome :) I barely post in this thread but I do check it from time to time and saw your post by chance. I edited the other post with the images (took the liberty to update a couple of them to include the SMT IV and P5 protagonists)
 

cj_iwakura

Member
You're welcome :) I barely post in this thread but I do check it from time to time and saw your post by chance. I edited the other post with the images (took the liberty to update a couple of them to include the SMT IV and P5 protagonists)


Very nice, I'll update shortly.

Update get!
 
Despite my backlog, I decided to dive into Megami Tensei 1 in Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei. I just beat Minotaur of the Tower of Daedalus , who wasn't too bad though a couple demons on the team did die. Having Nekomata as a 2nd healer alongside Yumiko was a big help. I just got the Orb of Silence. TBH, I've never seen coverage of either game beyond the Tower, so from hear on out the dungeons are going to be pretty new to me. I'm excited to go further into the labyrinth.

EDIT: So despite being at level 10, Beast Cerberus has 20 Vitality, 9 of other stats, 104 HP, and knows Blaze, Roar (both free special attacks) and Recarm. You also find him in the lower levels of the Tower of Daedalus. The game REALLY wanted you to mirror the original novels and get the Man's Best Demon on your side.
 
So I bought Nocturne recently, got Pixie and progressed maybe 20 mins in, won a couple battles and then randomly got demolished against a group of the same demons I had been beating on by way of them attacking first and getting multiple criticals. I got pissed and turned off the game and haven't touched it since. I'm gonna pick it back up but when people were talking about luck playing a much bigger role than in other RPGs they were not joking. I'm used to the criticals thing from Persona 3/4 but at least for me whenever that happened it would be a boss fight, not random enemies that I had been slaying in droves.

On another note, I bought DeSu: Overclocked yesterday too and can't wait to dig in.
 
So I bought Nocturne recently, got Pixie and progressed maybe 20 mins in, won a couple battles and then randomly got demolished against a group of the same demons I had been beating on by way of them attacking first and getting multiple criticals. I got pissed and turned off the game and haven't touched it since. I'm gonna pick it back up but when people were talking about luck playing a much bigger role than in other RPGs they were not joking. I'm used to the criticals thing from Persona 3/4 but at least for me whenever that happened it would be a boss fight, not random enemies that I had been slaying in droves.

On another note, I bought DeSu: Overclocked yesterday too and can't wait to dig in.

Yeah, Nocturne can do that. Never pass up an opportunity to save. You were near the beginning of the game though, so everything hits proportionally harder.

DSO introduced me to SMT. It's a wonderful game. Have fun!

So people, did I miss the news about SMTIV not getting released in Europe this month or what?

Not in Europe, but yes, you did. I don't think the new date has even been announced at this point.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
http://dijeh.tumblr.com/post/99003803968/remember-itou-ryuutaro-no-you-should-hes-a

Fascinating interview with Ryuutaro Itou, writer of the old SMT games.

The starting point of Shin Megami Tensei is Kichijouji. Was there a special reason that made you choose this place?
Itou: Since Megami Tensei II was a story where the earth had already been engulfed in the flames of nuclear weapons, I thought it would be nice to show this time the days before the missile attack. It’s just that drawing the entire map of Tokyo on the computer was impossible so I thought as much as I could about the range and topography of the map and the end result had Kichijouji as a starting point.
Choosing Kichijouji wasn’t a necessity in particular. I simply wanted to meet the requirements of including the outskirts of Tokyo. Back then, Kaneko used to live in Kichijouji, I was close-by in Nishiogikubo and Suzuki used to come around there as well, so this was a place we were familiar with.
So. Back then there used to be something that looked like an abandoned building in front of the Kichijouji station where for some reason only two floors had become a game center*. It really looked like a dirty pitch dark ghost town. I figured it was interesting that no one entered a building situated in front of the station of such a super residential neighbourhood so I turned it into a dungeon.


Thorman from Shin Megami Tensei’s American embassy is based on the American president Truman, right?
Itou: No, his name comes from the Norse god Thor and I only realised later it also sounded like the name of the president from the time of the atomic bombings**. It feels like this is too good to be true for a simple coincidence. Maybe back then something came down on the staff…

Is it true that the bullied Chaos Hero from Shin Megami Tensei has your face?
Itou: Yes. After that Kaneko told me “This is what happened when I drew the character while looking at your face”*** (wry smile)

Also, the famous creator of the Devil Summoning Program, the wheelchair bound professor STEVEN is based on the genius physicist Hawking, right?
Itou: Exactly. Professor Hawking is someone whose book based on physics theory denied, to everyone’s shock, the deeply ingrained Western conception that the Universe was created by god. That is why in the games he is a Neutral messenger.
After that, Satou from the computer club in Shin Megami Tensei: if… shares the same name as the physicist Satou Katsuhiko. This is because Satou was the one who translated Hawking’s book to Japanese and introduced his theory to Japan. In the game, the character Satou also has the role of introducing the Demon Summoning Program to the others.
 

cj_iwakura

Member
So today is seemingly SMT IV Strange Journey's fifth anniversary.

tumblr_ncpbywyRam1rm3a56o8_500.png


If nothing else, it sure delivered one of the more difficult experiences, and had one heck of an atmosphere.

tumblr_ncpbywyRam1rm3a56o10_250.jpg


Also, arguably one of Atlus USA's best fonts.

tumblr_ncpbywyRam1rm3a56o7_250.jpg


And I love Mastema's design.
 

Ourobolus

Banned
I really need to do a replay of SJ. It really was a great game. Some BS here and there, particularly with the final boss, but overall it was solid. I never finished the...Chaos playthrough? I think? I don't think I ever went after Demiurge either. But I did collect damn near all of the demons.

Fuck you, Eridanus. I love you.
 

hoggert

Member
I didn't have much trouble with Eridanus. Until I got to
Ouroboros lol

Nearly put the game down. I was halfway convinced she was one of those bosses you're supposed to lose to at a certain part of the battle, oh god, was I so so so wrong.
 

hoggert

Member
What was so bad about Devil Summoner (Raidou vs Soulless Army) 1's battle system?

Where do you want me to start? It has one of my favourite plots of all time (pulp +90's SMT nonsense) but the battle system...oh good mary have mercy. I still can't believe I played through it twice. From what I can remember:

Raidou's crap melee + elemental gun weakness variety
Tedious capture + combo system
Bullets BULLETS bullets
One demon summon at a time (that gets one shot by equal level bosses regardless of type//weakness)
Minor DDS/SH inherited level-up/loyalty system that determines nakama's effetiveness in battle

Loved the plot and the STG inspired bosses (even the penis demon) but damn. it was a slog. Worth it, but it intellectual quicksand 2theMAX. Please play it through to the end. The final dungeon and boss are the greatest of all time. OF ALL TIME.
 

Teknoman

Member
Where do you want me to start? It has one of my favourite plots of all time (pulp +90's SMT nonsense) but the battle system...oh good mary have mercy. I still can't believe I played through it twice. From what I can remember:

Raidou's crap melee + elemental gun weakness variety
Tedious capture + combo system
Bullets BULLETS bullets
One demon summon at a time (that gets one shot by equal level bosses regardless of type//weakness)
Minor DDS/SH inherited level-up/loyalty system that determines nakama's effetiveness in battle

Loved the plot and the STG inspired bosses (even the penis demon) but damn. it was a slog. Worth it, but it intellectual quicksand 2theMAX. Please play it through to the end. The final dungeon and boss are the greatest of all time. OF ALL TIME.


lol see with the final comments, I really want to play it. I recently got Devil Summoner 2, so I just wanted to see if it was something I should play before jumping into 2.
 

randomkid

Member
God I wanna play Raidou again so badly.

Anyways, here's another excellent interview with Kaneko and Okada about the PSX port of SMT1, these tumblr translator dudes are so amazing.

http://dijeh.tumblr.com/post/99523128558/interview-with-kaneko-kazuma-and-okada-cozy-from

I love Kaneko calling Megami Tensei the enfant terrible of RPGs, and I love the special insight on the location at the beginning of the game, I always wonder how much interesting context we end up missing out on not really knowing much about the subtleties of Tokyo neighborhoods and history.
 
Top Bottom