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[Kyonashi]

I see you followed my advice , the game's OT is kinda dead, hope you stick around.
Is this your first SMT?

Haha I did yes, thank you.

It's my first mainline, though I have played P3P and P4G, and dabbled in a bit of 3DS Soul Hackers (decided to play SMTIV first then go back to SH).

I try to go in a bit blind with RPGs so as to not dictate my whole experience with a guide, but sometimes stuff like this gets in the way. I want to make sure I get the Neutral ending and open that 100 STR door for the

Spoiler

Plasma Blade

, I believe?

Any other cool things in the game I should try to stay aware of around this point?

 

[Dragon1893]

Haha I did yes, thank you.

It's my first mainline, though I have played P3P and P4G, and dabbled in a bit of 3DS Soul Hackers (decided to play SMTIV first then go back to SH).

I try to go in a bit blind with RPGs so as to not dictate my whole experience with a guide, but sometimes stuff like this gets in the way. I want to make sure I get the Neutral ending and open that 100 STR door for the

Spoiler

Plasma Blade

, I believe?

Any other cool things in the game I should try to stay aware of around this point?

Then you have a ton of awesome games to luck forward to.
Getting neutral is a bit tricky because not only do you lose access to the guy who tells you your current alignment a few hours before the lock but at that point you also have to make a choice that can easily throw you either way even if you're neutral at that point.
As for things to look out for, there's a sidequest that gives you the ability to

Spoiler

fly on the world map.

Can't remember its name though.

 

[Weiss]

Now that I've beaten SMT4: Apocalypse, I've decided to give classic MegaTen another shot, so in I go on SMT2.

I tried SMT1 but it felt like pulling teeth, so I'll just skip it. 2 is supposed to be far better anyway.

I'd like to use a guide as little as possible, so are there any things I should keep in mind while playing? What's a good stat build in this game?

 

[Ace Harding]

Now that I've beaten SMT4: Apocalypse, I've decided to give classic MegaTen another shot, so in I go on SMT2.

I tried SMT1 but it felt like pulling teeth, so I'll just skip it. 2 is supposed to be far better anyway.

I'd like to use a guide as little as possible, so are there any things I should keep in mind while playing? What's a good stat build in this game?

Where did you stop SMT1? I'm playing it now on iOS and finding it holds up pretty well. I was surprised to see how much from SMT4 was already in the series in 1. It did start a little slow but it picked up and it feels pretty well-paced. I'm knocking out maybe one dungeon/boss a day just by picking up and playing 20-30 minutes at a time.

I am using a guide just to tell me where to go next if I'm not clear (or put it down for a while and forget), but mostly exploring a bit on my own when I can. In a new dungeon I don't use the guide at all, and I haven't used the guide to beat a boss. I also looked for tips as to how to build each character. You could look at a guide for 2 just to get a general sense of the best stat builds.

If 2 is better than 1 I'm really looking forward to that next (also on iOS). I wish there were a way for me to play 3 - all I have is a 3DS, iOS and PS4. So I might have to skip that before I go into 4 (which I'm maybe 1/3rd through) and then 4:A.

 

[Weiss]

Very early on. Everything just felt incredibly clunky and I had no motivation to continue on.

2, meanwhile, is not endearing me very much.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I vastly prefer SMT1. Play the SFC version.

 

[Weiss]

I tried playing SMT1 and I just couldn't bring myself to keep going. Everything about it felt slow as molasses, and SMT2 has only been improved so much in that regard.

Oh well. I can still be an SMT hipster as long as I've played Soul Hackers, right?

 

[cj_iwakura]

I tried playing SMT1 and I just couldn't bring myself to keep going. Everything about it felt slow as molasses, and SMT2 has only been improved so much in that regard.

Oh well. I can still be an SMT hipster as long as I've played Soul Hackers, right?

Close enough!

 

[Lynx_7]

When can I buy guns in SMT 1 anyway? I've heard the patch has a glitch that doesn't let you buy them, but I did apply the patch that supposedly corrects every glitch...And then I applied the "map shortcut" patch on top of that so I don't know if that may cause any problems in the future.

Also, the name of the equipments is still all weird even with the fix patch. What a mess that whole thing is, it always unmotivates me to keep playing the game. Well, that and the fact that the map changes orientation depending on which direction you're facing and that coupled with my already hopeless sense of direction makes me lost as Zoro. I hope SMT 2's patch (and map) is better.

 

[randomkid]

in order to be an smt hipster you gotta beat the soul hackers sequel for feature phones sorry

 

[Ace Harding]

When can I buy guns in SMT 1 anyway? I've heard the patch has a glitch that doesn't let you buy them, but I did apply the patch that supposedly corrects every glitch...And then I applied the "map shortcut" patch on top of that so I don't know if that may cause any problems in the future.

Also, the name of the equipments is still all weird even with the fix patch. What a mess that whole thing is, it always unmotivates me to keep playing the game. Well, that and the fact that the map changes orientation depending on which direction you're facing and that coupled with my already hopeless sense of direction makes me lost as Zoro. I hope SMT 2's patch (and map) is better.

What were you playing it on?

I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm playing it on iOS and don't have these issues.

I got guns pretty early on. IIRC, there's an "antiques" dealer in the Kichijoji Mall that, in the very beginning of the game, does not sell guns. Then something happens, then you can buy guns there. This is in like the first 30-45 minutes of the game maybe?

I have noticed that some of the names of demons (and maybe equipment?) have been slightly different from references I've seen online in guides and elsewhere. I figured there were just different translations of the game or something and didn't really think twice about it.

There is an options menu that lets you choose from a "locked" (north is always up) map view, or one that changes depending on which direction you're facing.

You can definitely get lost, but never for very long. The areas just aren't that big. The worst has been when my MC has a "bind" status effect and I then can't open my map and I'm trying to navigate these labyrinths by memory. I always figure it out though.

Its not a perfect game and I'm sure its not a perfect port of the original, but its far from unplayable and I certainly wouldn't call it a mess. Its been cool seeing all the concepts of SMT that were laid out so early in the series, and for an early 90s console RPG the story is pretty decent.

 

[Lynx_7]

What were you playing it on?

I have nothing to compare it to, but I'm playing it on iOS and don't have these issues.

I got guns pretty early on. IIRC, there's an "antiques" dealer in the Kichijoji Mall that, in the very beginning of the game, does not sell guns. Then something happens, then you can buy guns there. This is in like the first 30-45 minutes of the game maybe?

I have noticed that some of the names of demons (and maybe equipment?) have been slightly different from references I've seen online in guides and elsewhere. I figured there were just different translations of the game or something and didn't really think twice about it.

There is an options menu that lets you choose from a "locked" (north is always up) map view, or one that changes depending on which direction you're facing.

You can definitely get lost, but never for very long. The areas just aren't that big. The worst has been when my MC has a "bind" status effect and I then can't open my map and I'm trying to navigate these labyrinths by memory. I always figure it out though.

Its not a perfect game and I'm sure its not a perfect port of the original, but its far from unplayable and I certainly wouldn't call it a mess. Its been cool seeing all the concepts of SMT that were laid out so early in the series, and for an early 90s console RPG the story is pretty decent.

I'm talking about the SFC fan patch. I don't have an iPhone and Atlus USA hates android users so there's no way for me to get the mobile release. I'm gonna check to see if the SFC release has that "locked" map feature though because that sounds super useful.

 

[Joqu]

How does Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei hold up? I like the look of it and enjoy SMT1 quite a bit but I'm worried its og famicom roots will just be too much for me

Though I do tend to enjoy famicom RPGs just fine. Might not be much of a comparison but I like DQ1 and FF1 and I love EarthBound Beginnings, for reference.

 

[asagami_]

How does Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei hold up? I like the look of it and enjoy SMT1 quite a bit but I'm worried its og famicom roots will just be too much for me

Though I do tend to enjoy famicom RPGs just fine. Might not be much of a comparison but I like DQ1 and FF1 and I love EarthBound Beginnings, for reference.

I played a bit the first one (just defeated Minotaur xD) and it holds fine. It's mostly dungeon crawler, though, but it seems easier than the original SMT. I think remember there is a shortcut for map, so that alone is superior to SMT I.

 

[Ace Harding]

I'm talking about the SFC fan patch. I don't have an iPhone and Atlus USA hates android users so there's no way for me to get the mobile release. I'm gonna check to see if the SFC release has that "locked" map feature though because that sounds super useful.

Ah OK. In the iOS version, the map option is in the "config" menu when you push start during the game. It says "Auto Map" and your options are "Fix" or "Free." You want "Fix."

I believe this is a port of the GBA release so it might have been a change made for that version.

 

[randomkid]

How does Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei hold up? I like the look of it and enjoy SMT1 quite a bit but I'm worried its og famicom roots will just be too much for me

Though I do tend to enjoy famicom RPGs just fine. Might not be much of a comparison but I like DQ1 and FF1 and I love EarthBound Beginnings, for reference.

MT1 is a pretty cool dungeon-crawler and MT2 is absolutely fantastic, some really memorable moments and it actually sets up the template for every Shin Megami Tensei game, to the point that SMT2 feels like a remake of it. If you were able to handle Mother 1 and DQ1 you'll absolutely be fine. Make sure you play at least the first hour or so of MT1 beforehand to get the full effect of the awesome intro.

 

[Opa-Pa]

MT1 is a pretty cool dungeon-crawler and MT2 is absolutely fantastic, some really memorable moments and it actually sets up the template for every Shin Megami Tensei game, to the point that SMT2 feels like a remake of it. If you were able to handle Mother 1 and DQ1 you'll absolutely be fine. Make sure you play at least the first hour or so of MT1 beforehand to get the full effect of the awesome intro.

That's interesting, I never tried the MT games. How long are they?

 

[Joqu]

I played a bit the first one (just defeated Minotaur xD) and it holds fine. It's mostly dungeon crawler, though, but it seems easier than the original SMT. I think remember there is a shortcut for map, so that alone is superior to SMT I.

MT1 is a pretty cool dungeon-crawler and MT2 is absolutely fantastic, some really memorable moments and it actually sets up the template for every Shin Megami Tensei game, to the point that SMT2 feels like a remake of it. If you were able to handle Mother 1 and DQ1 you'll absolutely be fine. Make sure you play at least the first hour or so of MT1 beforehand to get the full effect of the awesome intro.

Thanks!

So yeah, it's the dungeon crawler aspect that's a bit of a turn off to me when it comes to famicom era design, but Mother 1 had some... rough dungeons of its own and I didn't mind that, so I probably shouldn't be too worried in that regard. Hearing the MT1 part leans easier than SMT1 sounds good to me too, that'll probably make it quite manageable to my standards.

And boy, you're definitely selling me on MT2 here, randomkid. Damn.

Yeah, okay, I'm sold.

 

[randomkid]

That's interesting, I never tried the MT games. How long are they?

I wish they recorded your playtime because I honestly don't remember at all at this point. This might be in the ballpark for both of them combined:

https://howlongtobeat.com/game.php?id=14961

 

[Dragon1893]

Where did you stop SMT1? I'm playing it now on iOS and finding it holds up pretty well. I was surprised to see how much from SMT4 was already in the series in 1. It did start a little slow but it picked up and it feels pretty well-paced. I'm knocking out maybe one dungeon/boss a day just by picking up and playing 20-30 minutes at a time.

I am using a guide just to tell me where to go next if I'm not clear (or put it down for a while and forget), but mostly exploring a bit on my own when I can. In a new dungeon I don't use the guide at all, and I haven't used the guide to beat a boss. I also looked for tips as to how to build each character. You could look at a guide for 2 just to get a general sense of the best stat builds.

If 2 is better than 1 I'm really looking forward to that next (also on iOS). I wish there were a way for me to play 3 - all I have is a 3DS, iOS and PS4. So I might have to skip that before I go into 4 (which I'm maybe 1/3rd through) and then 4:A.

Find a way to play Nocturne man! It's the absolute pinnacle of the franchise.
One does not skip Nocturne.

 

[cj_iwakura]

How does Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei hold up? I like the look of it and enjoy SMT1 quite a bit but I'm worried its og famicom roots will just be too much for me

Though I do tend to enjoy famicom RPGs just fine. Might not be much of a comparison but I like DQ1 and FF1 and I love EarthBound Beginnings, for reference.

It's no less difficult than SMT1 or 2. I did an LP of it once, or at least some of it.

 

[Ace Harding]

Find a way to play Nocturne man! It's the absolute pinnacle of the franchise.
One does not skip Nocturne.

I know. Kind of a bummer. I really wish PS2 Classics were playable on PS4. I mean I guess I could go buy a PS2 since I missed out on the vast majority of that system's library...

 

[Lunarwhale]

How does Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei hold up? I like the look of it and enjoy SMT1 quite a bit but I'm worried its og famicom roots will just be too much for me

Though I do tend to enjoy famicom RPGs just fine. Might not be much of a comparison but I like DQ1 and FF1 and I love EarthBound Beginnings, for reference.

I dislike Megami Tensei 1, I think it's a fairly plain dungeon crawler that starts solid but becomes dull about halfway through. Mazurka's got to be the dullest dungeon in the series. Play it until you get bored.

Megami Tensei II's an absolute masterpiece that has aged like fine wine and was so far ahead of its time. It has such a unique blend of narrative and just wandering and getting lost in the bizarre post-apoctalyptic version of Tokyo that it creates. The story and sub-events never take themselves all-too seriously, but enough that it makes you care about what's going on. Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, but I love Megami Tensei II. Only real issue I have with it is that the beginning segment goes on a bit too long - everything else I love to death.

I vastly prefer SMT1. Play the SFC version.

Saaaame. I like 2 enough, but good lord those backtracking segments got ridiculous and the story lost track of itself on a few too many occasions (did the thing with Moloch ever get resolved?). I forgot the motivation for the entire middle part of the game.

It's got some really cool moments - I love the opening parts, revisiting the center, and the late sections in the Expanse/Abyss/etc - but man its issues got to me after a bit.

 

[Barrylocke]

I dislike Megami Tensei 1, I think it's a fairly plain dungeon crawler that starts solid but becomes dull about halfway through. Mazurka's got to be the dullest dungeon in the series. Play it until you get bored.

A bit of a shame, since I think the Rotting Sea of Flames was the best dungeon in the game. I can understand why you wanted to quit and move onto MT2 though. I personally beat MT1 but never got around to getting that far in MT2. I think the straightfoward dungeon crawling aspect of the game helped keep me more focused to finish it, and I wasn't quite in the mood for something more open like many SMT games (including MT2) are. I'll have to try again, once I take a good break from the series after beating SMT4 and now playing through SMT4A.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

By the way, I resumed my Digital Devil Saga 2 playthrough after getting stuck super hard on

Spoiler

Abaddon

last year to the point where he made me quit. This boss on hard difficulty is some of the hardest things I've seen in MegaTen. I grinded for about 90 minutes today and managed to beat him finally. Really looking forward to exploring the game further even though I don't like it as much as DDS1 so far. I'm also concerned there is nothing like a "Titania Hallway" grind spot in DDS2.

 

[Lynx_7]

I kinda miss Nocturne's portrayal of Lucifer. He had this sort of regal, level-headed, persuasive aura about him, or at least Oldlucifer had. His motives and objectives throughout the game were a bit more ambiguous than in the IV duology and you couln't be absolutely sure whether or not he cared more for humanity than YHVH, which fits someone who is supposed to be the father of lies.

In IV he was just kinda there and the terrible sick-alien design didn't help my perception of his character. While Apocalypse has a much better portrayal (and design), he's also more obviously depicted as a shit eating grin dark overlord who uses humanity to further his own goals. That is pretty much in line with his endgoal in every other mainline title, but I think he used to do a better job at being more ambiguous about it. He also feels less imposing for whatever reason. Probably because he has a more active role and the demons in general act a little less reverent towards him? I dunno. I can't quite put my finger on it, but his character in general just feels less compelling, even though he's still cool to watch whenever he shows up in a scene.

Just something I randomly started thinking about in the middle of my Apocalypse playthrough.

 

[Man God]

Nah I love his portrayal in the IV games because he has all these grand machinations for bringing true freedom (i.e. chaos) to the world but realizes in both that just like Satan he is meant to do exactly what he is doing and has no real freedom at all, he's just *scratchnoises* puppet, endlessly respun out into an endless amount of new universes to tempt man so they'll believe in God.

 

[Dragon1893]

So I made it to the final boss of SJ clearly underleveled, fortunately grinding levels doesn't take long when going around the last floors of the final sector with just the MC and one demon.
Let's see how long it takes me to put together a team that can beat it.

 

[Lynx_7]

Nah I love his portrayal in the IV games because he has all these grand machinations for bringing true freedom (i.e. chaos) to the world but realizes in both that just like Satan he is meant to do exactly what he is doing and has no real freedom at all, he's just *scratchnoises* puppet, endlessly respun out into an endless amount of new universes to tempt man so they'll believe in God.

That's got more to do with his role in the story, then. His previous characterization and this realization wouldn't be incompatible with each other.
I like his Apocalypse portrayal, but I see little redeeming qualities about his character in IV besides the surrealness of having lunch with Lucifer while he quips about it.

 

[Dragon1893]

SJ:

Spoiler

Please don't have a second form, please don't have a second form... Fuuuuuuuuck!

 

[jonjonaug]

SJ:

Spoiler

Please don't have a second form, please don't have a second form... Fuuuuuuuuck!

Hahahaha...

 

[Dragon1893]

Phew, and that's a wrap. Feels good man. This one eluded me until now because I never owned a DS, happy to finally have it under my belt. The wait for Apocalypse is going to be even harder now though.

 

[Opa-Pa]

Congrats on beating her! That's one tough final boss. I bet visiting the Ring of Gaea's HQ in either IV or IVA will bring pleasant memories.

 

[bishopcruz]

Been playing Digital Devil Saga over the last couple of days, It's an interesting mix of Final Fantasy and SMT, especially with the mantra system, and the story focus. One thing that does annoy me though is the constant ambushes and surprise attacks. I'd also forgotten just how annoying instant death spells were in the SMT games of this era. It just is annoying getting ambushed by a group of mobs and not be able to do anything while you get beat on. Thankfully the game isn't THAT hard, so its an annoyance more than anything else. Also not a fan of party members not getting XP outside the party without expensive mantras, but that's also pretty common for games of that era.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

Been playing Digital Devil Saga over the last couple of days, It's an interesting mix of Final Fantasy and SMT, especially with the mantra system, and the story focus. One thing that does annoy me though is the constant ambushes and surprise attacks. I'd also forgotten just how annoying instant death spells were in the SMT games of this era. It just is annoying getting ambushed by a group of mobs and not be able to do anything while you get beat on. Thankfully the game isn't THAT hard, so its an annoyance more than anything else. Also not a fan of party members not getting XP outside the party without expensive mantras, but that's also pretty common for games of that era.

DDS is so fucking good man. Playing DDS2 (with imported DDS1 save) on hard difficulty right now and I'm fairly close to the ending (one dungeon away from the last). DDS1 has my favourite dungeons in the MegaTen universe along with Strange Journey and Nocturne.

 

[Dragon1893]

Congrats on beating her! That's one tough final boss. I bet visiting the Ring of Gaea's HQ in either IV or IVA will bring pleasant memories.

Yeah, it's quite the challenge. At the end of the day it comes down to putting together a party that is strong/drains/reflects as many elements as possible and absolutely no wweaknesses. Even then constant buffing/debuffing/healing is required plus tetraja because of the spaming of death spells.

 

[snow in jamaica]

I kinda miss Nocturne's portrayal of Lucifer. He had this sort of regal, level-headed, persuasive aura about him, or at least Oldlucifer had. His motives and objectives throughout the game were a bit more ambiguous than in the IV duology and you couln't be absolutely sure whether or not he cared more for humanity than YHVH, which fits someone who is supposed to be the father of lies.

In IV he was just kinda there and the terrible sick-alien design didn't help my perception of his character. While Apocalypse has a much better portrayal (and design), he's also more obviously depicted as a shit eating grin dark overlord who uses humanity to further his own goals. That is pretty much in line with his endgoal in every other mainline title, but I think he used to do a better job at being more ambiguous about it. He also feels less imposing for whatever reason. Probably because he has a more active role and the demons in general act a little less reverent towards him? I dunno. I can't quite put my finger on it, but his character in general just feels less compelling, even though he's still cool to watch whenever he shows up in a scene.

Just something I randomly started thinking about in the middle of my Apocalypse playthrough.

I feel the same way. He feels like a caricature in IV and Apocalypse. I'd say the game has issues with lack of ambiguity in general.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I feel the same way. He feels like a caricature in IV and Apocalypse. I'd say the game has issues with lack of ambiguity in general.

That's a casualty of the changing of guard. That era of SMT went out the back door with Okada and Tadashi. I like new SMT for what it is, but any subtle shades of grey with Law and Chaos is long gone. Messians are fascists, Gaians are psychopaths, full stop.

 

[Man God]

That's a casualty of the changing of guard. That era of SMT went out the back door with Okada and Tadashi. I like new SMT for what it is, but any subtle shades of grey with Law and Chaos is long gone. Messians are fascists, Gaians are psychopaths, full stop.

They've always been like that though, especially the Messians. The only time you could ever make a really good case for the Gaians is SMT 2...where they pretty much don't exist and its just good guy Lucifer looking out for a bunch of mutants.

 

[cj_iwakura]

They've always been like that though, especially the Messians. The only time you could ever make a really good case for the Gaians is SMT 2...where they pretty much don't exist and its just good guy Lucifer looking out for a bunch of mutants.

SMT Imagine had good Messians.

 

[Dragon1893]

OK, fuck SMTIV's last dlc.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

I just beat

Spoiler

all four angels in a row

in DDS2 on hard difficulty. I'm so good man. Love MegaTen for fights like these.

 

[Dragon1893]

Finally DS2RC hitting the magical number of 20 euros. It's digital but fuck it, tired of waiting. I didn't want to double-dip at full price because I already played the original and I was busy with SJ anyway but since I finished it last week this is actually perfect timing.
Can't wait to get home and download it, it's been a while since the original.

Edit: fuck, sale only starts on the 20th.

 

[randomkid]

I kinda miss Nocturne's portrayal of Lucifer. He had this sort of regal, level-headed, persuasive aura about him, or at least Oldlucifer had. His motives and objectives throughout the game were a bit more ambiguous than in the IV duology and you couln't be absolutely sure whether or not he cared more for humanity than YHVH, which fits someone who is supposed to be the father of lies.

In IV he was just kinda there and the terrible sick-alien design didn't help my perception of his character. While Apocalypse has a much better portrayal (and design), he's also more obviously depicted as a shit eating grin dark overlord who uses humanity to further his own goals. That is pretty much in line with his endgoal in every other mainline title, but I think he used to do a better job at being more ambiguous about it. He also feels less imposing for whatever reason. Probably because he has a more active role and the demons in general act a little less reverent towards him? I dunno. I can't quite put my finger on it, but his character in general just feels less compelling, even though he's still cool to watch whenever he shows up in a scene.

Just something I randomly started thinking about in the middle of my Apocalypse playthrough.

now that I've finally finished the game, I can safely say that anyone who prefers Lucifer's portrayal in the SMT4 duo to Nocturne's (or any of the rest of em tbh) probably needs to get checked for confusion. where the patra stones at?

but yeah I just found out that on top of all the regular hijinks in the main story they actually added beach DLC to a Shin Megami Tensei game so either this was just some weird sidestory experiment before SMT5 to try to attract Japanese teenagers or the series has completely lost its identity and we are in the darkest timeline haha

skill affinities were cool though!

 

[Opa-Pa]

Does Lucifee get any more bits of characterization in Apocalypse after you

Spoiler

kill him at Ichigaya

? Because otherwise, I dunno, I like the ominous, seemingly evil presence pulling the strings from the shadows in other games, but him being more of a presence than an actual character gets boring and predictable after a while (hi Nocturne and SJ).

Way too many things were predictable in IV but Lucifer was a bit different and then Apocalypse did interesting things with him IMO.

Spoiler

Making him an active character who's willing to side with the other faction for a common goal, making his ultimate goal to free the world from YHVH at all costs, and make him realize in the end that whether he likes it or not he's still an angel helping him indirectly was pretty damn interesting to me. I'll take that over mysterious figure that talks to you around 6 times in the game to get you to kill everyone because reasons any day.

His original IV design was definitely absolute garbage, I'll give you that, but IMO he looks decent in Apocalypse.

And about the beach thing... Yeah, as much as I'm loving Apocalypse I don't think I'll ever not worry about future installments due to this kind of crap appearing in both IV games. I just got to the part where the party's submissive loli

Spoiler

voiced her desire to bear the MC's children

last night, so uuh yeah.

 

[asagami_]

I wonder, there is a MegaTen game with dual-(or multiple) element skills? It would be a nice addition to the Press Turn, of course following the structure from Apocalypse.

 

[Lynx_7]

I like to believe Apocalypse is just doing its own thing. It's like SJ and If..., but with a number attached to it. It feels less like a full fledged new game and more like a big "experimental playground" for the maniax team to flex their creative muscles and try new things they otherwise wouldn't. In the context of Apocalypse it works,which is why I don't mind its more cheerful tone, and I do like a lot of things the game does with its narrative and characters("romcom" anime dynamics be damned). I thought the Mikado infiltration was great for example and Apocalypse is the SMT that best portrays its war between angels, demons and humans imo. Events are more dynamic, things feel grand and you actually take an active role in the bigger fights and get to see it unfold real-time. Contrast that to Nocturne, where it feels like you're always dealing with the aftermath of the bigger conflicts that happened off-screen.

On the other hand, it really feels like they just went "fuck it" in regards to the whole dungeon crawling aspect. It's a game that weirdly feels both polished(fusions, battles) and hastily thrown together at the same time. It definitely gives me some vibes that they tackled the project as a learning experience in preparation for SMT V. Considering it also sold less than its predecessor, I don't think the next big entry is going to follow it tone-wise. For now, I'm pretty hopeful that the nect SMT will go back to being a more somber experience.

Way too many things were predictable in IV but Lucifer was a bit different and then Apocalypse did interesting things with him IMO.

Spoiler

Making him an active character who's willing to side with the other faction for a common goal, making his ultimate goal to free the world from YHVH at all costs, and make him realize in the end that whether he likes it or not he's still an angel helping him indirectly was pretty damn interesting to me. I'll take that over mysterious figure that talks to you around 6 times in the game to get you to kill everyone because reasons any day.

Like I said, his previous characterization and his role in Apocalypse aren't incompatible with one another. Yeah, the fact that he gets more screentime and a more active role in the story is great, but he can do that while still maintaining a mysterious aura and morally grey characterization. His portrayal in Apocalypse feels less compelling to me because it conforms to the more obvious black and white morality of the game. I also feel like Krishna could've been better. Oddly enough, I really liked Odin. Him pleading to Dagda to side with the divine powers came across as very genuine.

Maybe I'll feel differently about it once I finish the game, not sure.

 

[Dragon1893]

And about the beach thing... Yeah, as much as I'm loving Apocalypse I don't think I'll ever not worry about future installments due to this kind of crap appearing in both IV games

Haven't played Apocalypse yet but I don't remember anything like that in IV. What scene are you talking about?

 

[Opa-Pa]

Like I said, his previous characterization and his role in Apocalypse aren't incompatible with one another. Yeah, the fact that he gets more screentime and a more active role in the story is great, but he can do that while still maintaining a mysterious aura and morally grey characterization. His portrayal in Apocalypse feels less compelling to me because it conforms to the more obvious black and white morality of the game. I also feel like Krishna could've been better. Oddly enough, I really liked Odin. Him pleading to Dagda to side with the divine powers came across as very genuine.

Maybe I'll feel differently about it once I finish the game, not sure.

Oh sure, I agree, if possible I'd love to have both approaches for his character for sure, it's just that if I have to choose only one then I'm fine with what they did to him in Apocalypse particularly.

I feel like his least mysterious role in Apocalypse is partly due to him and Merkabah taking the back seat in favor of the Powers too, so I don't mind it that much. Still I wish his portrayal had been more interesting in IV so they could have a better frame to starr with in Apocalypse.

Ironically I still find him a bit vague in his goal outside of freeing everyone to do as they please, whereas Merkabah is pretty much angel Hitler, that's so damn boring.

Also I gotta say I'm liking the Divine Powers a lot. The only times I felt actually threatened by villains in mainline SMT before this was with SJ's tyrants, and those were more like challenges to surpass than actual antagonists.

Haven't played Apocalypse yet but I don't remember anything like that in IV. What scene are you talking about?

Sorry, didn't mean to imply that it was the same in IV. I was trying to say that IV already was more upbeat and gag-based when it came to character interactions, it felt more anime so in a way I suspected it was leading to stuff like this in a next game and Apocalypse proved me right, sigh.

The funny part tho is that I still consider Apocalypse's writing to be leagues ahead. It's pretty good for SMT standards outside of things like that.

 

[Dragon1893]

I did it! I finally did it! Fuck you Masakado! Fuuuuuuuck yoooouuuu!!!!!