cj_iwakura
Member
Two of your party are 14, but the MC's that age too, so it's not THAT bad. Still kind of creepy, one of them has an unhealthy obsession with him.
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Shin Megami Tensei Community Thread: Be Your True Demon
- Thread starter cj_iwakura
- Start date
Two of your party are 14, but the MC's that age too, so it's not THAT bad. Still kind of creepy, one of them has an unhealthy obsession with him.
Lunarwhale
Member
Gets to P4 level at times, though not as often as P4 did. There are a couple of parts that I thought were far too shenanigans-y. Incest is typical anime "actually it's ok because he was adopted (as a very young child)" shit. Still pretty uncomfortable for me.
I actually don't remember it being creepy about two 14 year old girls, but there is a scene where Toki (the... very young looking one) has to do something in a shrine full of some sort of lust toxin or something and proceeds to behave as such. It's not as badly handled as it could have been, but the fact they even went down that route with a character who looks 10 or something is extremely unfortunate. (e: actually she consistently acts creepily towards the MC, which was really goddamn uncomfortable considering that there's typically a sort of self-insert aspect to megaten stories)
Otherwise I really enjoyed Apocalypse. The pacing is great too - it's pretty consistently exciting and gripping, even if the very last dungeon (and last act in general) is pretty bad, and even if the conclusion to the act before that was extremely disappointing.
cj_iwakura
Member
Imp the Dimp
Member
Atlus without the terrible anime baggage would be FROM-level good. Devil Survivor 2 still gives me nightmares.
But DS2 was basically Eva which is anime ass anime...
Lunarwhale
Member
I still haven't played Devil Survivor 2 despite loving the first to pieces. I don't even particularly dislike anime shenanigans - it's just that, after the first, it's such a disappointing direction for the subseries to go down.
Any input on if it's worth giving a shot anyways?
Yeah, the gameplay definitely evolved to a degree in DS2. Also the demon selection is nice in that game.
Play Record Breaker of course, no point in bothering with the original.
I didn't like the characters in DS2, but still enjoyed it. Many of the characters are very anime-trope laden.
The way you gain new humans in DS2 is better than DS1 though. DS1 I felt like I was doing something wrong most of the game because 90% of it I had just Atsuro, Yuzu, and the protagonist. I remember I think I got Midori fairly early on, and Keisuke not long after that.
I never finished DS1 and need to go back and finish it sometime,
I think I was on day 6.
I think I was on day 6.
Out of curiousity, who did some of these artwork for older games in the series? These designs were still used even in Devil Survivor 2, but weren't used in Persona 5 or SMTIV/Apocalypse.
These had the shittier version of Angel.
One thing I absolutely love about SMT demons in general (but a lot of Kaneko demons do it) is the unique interpretation that's different from what they are normally depicted as. Angel with BDSM gear is an example, but I have a few other favorites like this:
Tlazolteotl - a goddess of filth
These had the shittier version of Angel.
One thing I absolutely love about SMT demons in general (but a lot of Kaneko demons do it) is the unique interpretation that's different from what they are normally depicted as. Angel with BDSM gear is an example, but I have a few other favorites like this:
Tlazolteotl - a goddess of filth
cj_iwakura
Member
They're signed "Kaz", lol.
I'm a dingus and didn't notice that, rofl. And I scoured those looking for a signature.
Yeah believe it or not those are all Kaneko too! Haha. The guy's art evolved so much with the time, I think most of the more defined illustrations we're used to come grom Devil Summoner and Nocturne.
The game is mechanically solid and and improvement over the first in that regard, but it's anime to the max... The story is blatantly Evangelion "inspired" and has lots of bad anime tropes. It even has a sort of social link system that's kind of cool, I guess?
Definitely not a bad game, but a depressing new entry considering how good DeSu1 was.
The game is mechanically solid and and improvement over the first in that regard, but it's anime to the max... The story is blatantly Evangelion "inspired" and has lots of bad anime tropes. It even has a sort of social link system that's kind of cool, I guess?
Definitely not a bad game, but a depressing new entry considering how good DeSu1 was.
Mechanically, DeSu2 is superior to the first game. There are more skills, and there aren't any particularly wonky bosses or stages like Beldr or Kudlak in 1... But the dramatic drop in quality of writing from 1 to 2 hurts.
1 is a biblical disaster scenario as seen from the perspective of a few individuals just trying to survive. It's unique in the wider scope of the series for that alone, but it also takes the biblical overtones and ties them into the plot in a way that feels more mature and genuine than most of the mainline stories, despite all their grandeur. It's also probably the only game that has something approaching a valid, well-thought-out Law path that doesn't veer into, you know, straight-up fascism.
2 is... Shitty Eva. I like a lot of the characters, but the story loses the "bite" the first one had from the beginning when the characters get picked up by JP's and spend the rest of the calamity riding it out in a cushy government headquarters. And then there's a peeping scene, because of course. Also the extra scenario added in Record Breaker somehow turns the anime up past 11 and comes off as superfluous whereas Overclocked's 8th-Day scenarios all felt like valid expansions of the maingame and added their own interesting and satisfying conclusions where the original was lacking.
2 isn't a bad game, but so far I'd definitely rank it near the bottom among all the SMT games I've played. Its greatest saving grace is that it brought us the glory that is Hibiki, bunny-hooded master troll.
1 is a biblical disaster scenario as seen from the perspective of a few individuals just trying to survive. It's unique in the wider scope of the series for that alone, but it also takes the biblical overtones and ties them into the plot in a way that feels more mature and genuine than most of the mainline stories, despite all their grandeur. It's also probably the only game that has something approaching a valid, well-thought-out Law path that doesn't veer into, you know, straight-up fascism.
2 is... Shitty Eva. I like a lot of the characters, but the story loses the "bite" the first one had from the beginning when the characters get picked up by JP's and spend the rest of the calamity riding it out in a cushy government headquarters. And then there's a peeping scene, because of course. Also the extra scenario added in Record Breaker somehow turns the anime up past 11 and comes off as superfluous whereas Overclocked's 8th-Day scenarios all felt like valid expansions of the maingame and added their own interesting and satisfying conclusions where the original was lacking.
2 isn't a bad game, but so far I'd definitely rank it near the bottom among all the SMT games I've played. Its greatest saving grace is that it brought us the glory that is Hibiki, bunny-hooded master troll.
Honestly being how the character was a scumbag and died while peeping, he got what he deserved. I don't think that is inherently "anime", especially since they didn't even show the peeping incident where he died.
Granted he redeemed himself a bit as a ghost.
I liked the way Apocalypse handled the scene with Toki taking care of the lust urn, rather than filling that with anime tropes, they handled that rather maturely with the whole "my body didn't feel like it was my own, I'm too young for those thoughts."
Granted she still goes kind of anime a bit later, but then given her reasoning for it it wasn't that bad.
Louisa is going to compare boob sizes with Cleopatra and Sedna in a hot spring.
Seeing the design of Alex gives me confidence they won't take it full anime.
The thing I am more worried about is the difficulty nerf. I hope they have an option from the start to enable or disable Save Anywhere and you have to stick with it the entire game.
SJ's terminals were already distributed well enough, so I really don't think Save Anywhere is necessary.
I saw this pointed out the other day, but there was a demon in one of the artwork pieces of DSJ that showed a demon that was not in the original, and the only game it has ever been in was SMT Nine
I think the new demon (Amon?) looks really cool and Alex's design seems to fit well enough with the retro sci-fi aesthetic of the original SJ, but seeing as the original's tone was so steeped in isolation it just seems like such a longshot that modern Atlus can pull it off without devolving into waifu-bait... But I can hope.
Speaking of Amon, how are people coming around to the series' new visual direction with Doi as its main demon designer? I feel like there will always be a Kaneko-shaped hole in my Kaneko-shaped heart, but aside from a few missteps Doi's designs were pretty solid in IV:A.
Edit: Oh god I just realized Alex has a wrist-thing where
Speaking of Amon, how are people coming around to the series' new visual direction with Doi as its main demon designer? I feel like there will always be a Kaneko-shaped hole in my Kaneko-shaped heart, but aside from a few missteps Doi's designs were pretty solid in IV:A.
Edit: Oh god I just realized Alex has a wrist-thing where
SMT IV Spoilers SMT IV Lucifer's arm-baby is. I know we already have Louisa Ferre, but please don't let Alex be some kind of Lucifer incarnation and make that design canon. I can excuse bringing it back in IV:A, but it really is a shit design that even that game's valiant attempt couldn't fix.
No, but why would she? She doesn't show up for a while and would be considered spoiler territory for sure.
We have barely seen any footage and I think you guys might be reading too much into the wrist thing. I'm sure the game will be fine, and I am willing to bet Alex is some other entity.
What makes me worry about Deep SJ is that while Amon looks great and the de-Kanekozation doesn't look TOO bad, the main promotional art of the game has Alex posing with her ass exposed on that skin-tight suit front and center. I want to think it means nothing and won't set the tone for the remake, but with modern Megaten who knows!
My only consolation is that we still have the untainted original, which is my favorite SMT game along with Nocturne.
Can't wait for Louisa's brand new True Onii-chan Path.
Ah yes, I still look back fondly to the more innocent days when I thought DeSu2 was only an outlier and surely enough this kind of garbage would never make it into mainline...
My only consolation is that we still have the untainted original, which is my favorite SMT game along with Nocturne.
Can't wait for Louisa's brand new True Onii-chan Path.
Ah yes, I still look back fondly to the more innocent days when I thought DeSu2 was only an outlier and surely enough this kind of garbage would never make it into mainline...
The cathedral of shadows uses standard prices on Apocalypse (DLC) difficulty. Everything else (items, equipments) is more expensive, though. Not that it matters since weapons are kinda useless, you gain most of the best armor / guns through side-quest rewards and demons are much more important anyway.
I found the DLC difficulty really great and made for lots of memorable boss fights, the only downside is the accuracy penalty which is annoying to deal with sometimes, but not unbearable. It also brings MC death = game over with it but I wouldn't have it any other way
E_Darkness
Member
I started a hard mode run yesterday. This was an accurate experience.
In fact taking a critical hit is basically a game over in the very first tutorial section.
I only game overed 3 times
I seem to remember we were discussing a hypothetical Priapus demon design in this thread a while ago - maybe the solution to the potential overlap with Mara is to make him a Persona instead.
Though the line between Persona designs and mainline demons are blurring anyway...
Though the line between Persona designs and mainline demons are blurring anyway...
I often have trouble selecting any favorites in demon designs since there are so many good ones. BUT then I just recall I absolutely love Mastema. I hope they make Strange Journey more accessible so I can play it for him alone.
Also was so bummed to find out (haven't played it yet)
Also was so bummed to find out (haven't played it yet)
hes absent in Apocalypse. So lame especially given his role in 4.
Man, Mastema is pretty much my favorite character in the series. His role in SJ is so good and sometimes hilarious, I was laughing when I found him in IV and totally lost it when he showed up in the DLC haha. It was a pity that he wasn't a character in Apocalypse but at least I fused him for my end game party.
Crossing my fingers so he gets a good VA for DSJ and not something lame like Lowenthal... Provided we get the game at all. Also please expand his character in new scenarios and the like.
In that sensse I'd have liked if
For real?? So they fixed that with the highest difficulty and not War? Damn, I should have gone for that one... War was a decent challenge but I still wanted a bit more. Welp that's what second runs are for.
Crossing my fingers so he gets a good VA for DSJ and not something lame like Lowenthal... Provided we get the game at all. Also please expand his character in new scenarios and the like.
In that sensse I'd have liked if
he showed up in the Anarchy path before going to YHVH's dimension offering his help to take him down, and then Dagda made you dispose of him shortly before facing god.
For real?? So they fixed that with the highest difficulty and not War? Damn, I should have gone for that one... War was a decent challenge but I still wanted a bit more. Welp that's what second runs are for.
I beat them now, thanks! I didn't realise there was an easy difficulty. It was way too easy with an all bufu party.
I miss Kaneko's older artstyle. His modern style is still good for demons, but when it comes to humans I find them pretty dull outside of the JoJo's looking Digital Devil Saga main characters.
I wasn't really sad about him not showing up in SMTIV like so many others because of that.
snow in jamaica
Member
They just don't stop with "haha it's not like i wanna marry you or anything :blush:" and "i was watching you sleep, master" and it gets worse than that.
Persephone is fantastic.
She spends half the year in Hades, and half the year on the surface with her mother and harvest goddess Demeter. On the light half she has a sun motif and holds an apple, both linked to the harvest. Her dark half has a star motif that references the long nights during the infertile winter months she spends in the underworld and she holds a pomegranate, the fruit that bound her to the underworld.
holy shit
He has a ways to go. I'd say his hits so far have been Adramelech, Sukuna-Hikona, Mephisto, and Chironnupu. Krishna works for what I thought was going to be an NPC-only design (I expected the blue skin and dhoti to come in later), but the fashionable modern look is weird otherwise, even if I still like it. Dagda, Danu, Inanna, and Maitreya had good concept art. Amon could do without the wings and big goofy Anchor Arms.
I prefer Kaneko's Amon design from SMTif.
iceblade997
Member
This is a silly question, but, well... Is SMT4 (and by extension, SMT4A) scary? I haven't played any of the titles in the franchise aside from about 2h30 of Persona 4, and I'm really not one who's comfortable with scary things so about as far as I'm willing to go with fear in games is the (TLOU spoilers)
, or perhaps the earlier chapters of Metro 2033. Stuff like The Evil Within, Alien Isolation, etc is a no go. So would I have a hard time playing this? And is it a good entryway into the franchise?
Also does it use save points?
university sections
Also does it use save points?
cj_iwakura
Member
IVA definitely has some unsettling areas and a very creepy scene or two, but nothing as bad as those games.
There's nothing in SMT I'd really consider 'horror' - it might use occult tropes and go for a darker tone, but it never really aims to inspire fear or anything more direct than creating an oppressive atmosphere. There's definitely nothing I can recall in the IV duology which might be an issue.
For general SMT, the only thing I can recall coming close is Kumbhanda in DDS2, and that's more just tension.
For general SMT, the only thing I can recall coming close is Kumbhanda in DDS2, and that's more just tension.
But Dante is cool though.
You have beaten the game's hardest boss.
That means I beat Nocturne right?
I want to murder that horrible manikin child. -_-
Still trying to find a copy of Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army. Possibly the most difficult PS2 game to find a PAL English copy of in good condition at a reasonable price.
Magicpaint
Member
The only Fiend really worth fusing for me is Daisoujou, I mean if you fuse him right, you have broken Nocturne for a large chunk of the game. Matador is definitely the worst though.
Evil Spirit Club is genuinely creepy.
Maxwood
Oh rock of ages, do not crumble, love is breathing still. Oh lady moon shine down, a little people magic if you will.
After playing, finishing and loving Persona 4 (instant top three title) I wanted to dive deeper into the hypnotising ocean that is Shin Megami Tensei.
Started playing Digital Devil Saga and i'm having a blast so far. Just defeated
in Citadel.
The story and world are quite intruiging and the combat is capital A-amazing.
I haven't had this much fun fighting through dungeons in a long time. Last one was pretty large. I loved it.
Oh, and the soundtrack is incredible.
Yeah, this was a good purchase.
I wouldn't call the game difficult, not yet anyway, but the amount of skills are a bit overwhelming at first.
I am a bit confused about the stats in this game, though.
I use Serph mostly as a spellcaster so I wanted to pump a lot of points into magic, but it's not entirely clear to me if that increases the power of his spells as well.
AG was really important in P4, but those Hunt skills cost HP and are the easiest way too regain MP, so maybe I should focus on VIT instead?
And if I wan't to use Hunt skills more effectively I should get more ST. Otherwise i'll just be throwing HP away for no reason.
It feels like I should increase all stats. Will a "jack of all trades" cause problems later in the game?
Started playing Digital Devil Saga and i'm having a blast so far. Just defeated
the leader of the Maribel's
The story and world are quite intruiging and the combat is capital A-amazing.
I haven't had this much fun fighting through dungeons in a long time. Last one was pretty large. I loved it.
Oh, and the soundtrack is incredible.
Yeah, this was a good purchase.
I wouldn't call the game difficult, not yet anyway, but the amount of skills are a bit overwhelming at first.
I am a bit confused about the stats in this game, though.
I use Serph mostly as a spellcaster so I wanted to pump a lot of points into magic, but it's not entirely clear to me if that increases the power of his spells as well.
AG was really important in P4, but those Hunt skills cost HP and are the easiest way too regain MP, so maybe I should focus on VIT instead?
And if I wan't to use Hunt skills more effectively I should get more ST. Otherwise i'll just be throwing HP away for no reason.
It feels like I should increase all stats. Will a "jack of all trades" cause problems later in the game?
snow in jamaica
Member
You could probably get by that way, but I'd give extra attention to Strength and Magic. Magic does raise magic power, as well as magic defense and max MP. Physical and hunt options really open up.