Support NeoGAF

[SJS]

I
So, I'm trying to make this the first ever SMT game I ever beat(after getting most of the way through Nocturne and stopping, starting then stopping SJ, then getting up to like lv30 in SMT4), but man things are different in this one.

Good luck! It won't be easy, but it'll be worth it. Make me not want to avatar quote!

Did I understand things right when demons don't ever get exp? So do they never get new spells? So is there ever any point to actually keeping them around since there's a resource that drains with them out? No offense to my favorite Demon/Persona Pixie, but she keeps getting one shot in battles anyway...

Yes, demons get NO EXP in this game. They will do not learn spells either. Fusion is strongly encouraged as a result, except when you have a demon with highly desirable spells (healing usually, occasionally a kaja).

Pixie is the bottom of the barrel in this game. You can have her use Zionga once before she dies. She is not worth the negotiation or summoning cost at all. Do not judge the rest of the demons in this game by her. If you're still in the beginning (pre-Shinjuku), get a Weredog / Kobold / Goblin. They have good HP, attack power, and each come with kaja spells for bosses.

Keep as many demons out as you can, attempting to equal the amount of magnetite expended per step with that which is gained per battles. Your demon party is something to be managed carefully. If you get stuck with no usable demons, you will need to waste cash to re-summon them and need to farm magnetite for a while; and *please* note that that's a lot worse than it sounds.

Actually thinking of buying this. How long is it? I'd kind of prefer that it was on the shorter side of things.

If you're looking for a game that's easily completed, this is not the game you are looking for. You are getting ~35-40 hours of gameplay time out of your 6$. The feeling of getting trapped in dungeons is that of tension, so it's not something I'd play on a lunch break.

 

[Splash Wave]

A few pages back, I have some screens that offer what I believe to be the optimal setups based on my previous experience with the game.

Thanks! This helped.

 

[Olrik]

Nice, thorough review on Siliconera. Some quotes:

I’d like to also point that out of all the RPGs I’ve played on my iPhone, SMTi controlled the best. I think the 3D first-person nature of the game really blended well with touch controls, much more than the top-down view of the typical phone RPG.

The new script they came up with has been a joy to read, and has its own unique flavor. One of my favorite choices made is how they chose to translate Makai as “The Expanse” This keeps the ‘90s Sci-Fi feel of the game, and is a little punchier then just calling it plain ol’ Demon World. This team knows Shin Megami Tensei, and reading their work, I really think they love it, too. The smaller details weren’t missed, references were all retained, and the spirit of the original is kept well intact.

http://www.siliconera.com/2014/03/18/shin-megami-tensei-was-worth-the-22-year-wait/

 

[buddha0991]

Nice, thorough review on Siliconera. Some quotes:





http://www.siliconera.com/2014/03/18/shin-megami-tensei-was-worth-the-22-year-wait/

Also it keeps the stuff lined up with SMTIV, which also had The Expanse!

 

[Splash Wave]

Which FAQ is advised for a playthrough of this version?

Don't hate! This game scares the shit out of me.

 

[Vamphuntr]

Is it out already? BRB buying it.

EDIT: And bouuuuuuught. So happy we get to play this in English officially!

 

[cj_iwakura]

Which FAQ is advised for a playthrough of this version?

Don't hate! This game scares the shit out of me.

The GameFAQs one is good, but I used it for the SNES one so...

 

[SJS]

Which FAQ is advised for a playthrough of this version?

Don't hate! This game scares the shit out of me.

No worries. There's a lot to take in, and a bit of confusion as to what you must do. It's natural.

Infinity Dragon's FAQ on GameFAQs is the best one, mostly because of its 99% accurate and easily readable maps.

 

[buddha0991]

Hee Ho

 

[BlackJace]

Hee Ho

Damn, let's see how he feels about an Agi up his ass.

 

[buddha0991]

Damn, let's see how he feels about an Agi up his ass.

It's all good, I got the last laugh.

 

[brainpann]

DL'ed this earlier since i never finished the SNES version. I like it a lot but it seems a bit easier and not just due to the autosave. It seems like there are far fewer random encounters and that the enemies arent as aggressive. One thing that does seem more difficult is convincing demons to join me. I dont feel like i had as quite as difficult of a time as i am now. Anyway- i am thorouhly enjoying this version.

 

[randomkid]

oh man oh man, this "Dictionary" on the title screen is great, an old DDSnet loading screen and even a world map overlay for demon origin location.

How are you guys getting screenshots? There an easy way to do it on the Mini, do I need an app or something?

 

[Grief.exe]

I like how Atlas went the extra mile.

Took the music from the PSX version and the best content from the GBA version, then added on top of that.

For example, Phoenix Wright iOS, Capcom took the worst music and mixed in broken animations.

 

[NichM]

How are you guys getting screenshots? There an easy way to do it on the Mini, do I need an app or something?

Just press the home button and screen on/off button at the same time.

 

[Atilac]

How's this run on the iPad 2? Do I need to 2x it?

 

[Aeana]

How's this run on the iPad 2? Do I need to 2x it?

It runs just fine, but yeah you will need to play in 2x mode.

 

[randomkid]

Woohoo think I got it to work, although lemme quote in case this pic is gigantic.

The origin of hoodlums is Tokyo yeah!

edit: yup, relatively easy screenshotting and sharing, good lookin out Nich.

 

[PK Gaming]

I can't participate in this thread, but here's some SMT1 fanart

source

 

[noonespecial]

I can't participate in this thread, but here's some SMT1 fanart

source

Hah hah! That's great.

 

[SweetTeddie]

I'm loving what I've played so far. Is investing in INT on Law Hero, Chaos Hero etc worthwhile? I'd guess you only negotiate with the MC.

 

[randomkid]

I'm loving what I've played so far. Is investing in INT on Law Hero, Chaos Hero etc worthwhile? I'd guess you only negotiate with the MC.

yeah probably better to invest elsewhere for those guys, I linked the sample builds provided by SJS in the beginner tips if you want detailed guidance.

Took my buddy Pascal to the Cathedral of Shadows in order to get a Cerberus, something I wasn't aware you could do in my first playthrough. Not sure if I'll be summoning the guy for another 8 hours but nice to have anyways! Was nerding out over the Megami Tensei 1 reference in the corresponding visionary item description.

 

[Majestad]

Just got Pascal. Liking the game a lot so far!

Great music, and it is great to have an opportunity to see how the SMT franchise started.

 

[Dark Schala]

I'm loving what I've played so far. Is investing in INT on Law Hero, Chaos Hero etc worthwhile? I'd guess you only negotiate with the MC.

Int doesn't only affect negotiation; it also affects Evade and Mg Effect (so if the spells will work or not).

With respect to Law Hero: I usually go with Magic and Stamina first and foremost + some Int for Mag Effect and Mag Power.

With respect to Chaos Hero: I like going with Str and Stam because his magic kinda sucks by comparison to Law Hero. Most enemies are also Fire-resistant, so that's why I wouldn't go with it. Unless it got rebalanced in this version later on. If you want higher speed, too, I'd go with that.

 

[SJS]

Took my buddy Pascal to the Cathedral of Shadows in order to get a Cerberus, something I wasn't aware you could do in my first playthrough. Not sure if I'll be summoning the guy for another 8 hours but nice to have anyways! Was nerding out over the Megami Tensei 1 reference in the corresponding visionary item description.

I was under the assumption that this was required. If that's not so, I suppose your choice might let you trigger a new event late in the game!

I'm loving what I've played so far. Is investing in INT on Law Hero, Chaos Hero etc worthwhile? I'd guess you only negotiate with the MC.

In small increments, it's okay to do so on Law Hero and Heroine. It's not a useless stat. But generally, MAG is the superior investment. (And of course, STM is king.)

 

[randomkid]

Hey I get to do that whine about negative reviews thing I see everyone else do for their favorites. At least I've actually played the game though!

Because SMT was originally designed as an “at home” experience in 1992, there are aspects of the game that find their way into the iOS version that just don’t make sense for the new platform. The main offenders on this front are the game’s controls and the way it handles saving. On-screen controls feel clunky for a menu-heavy game on a touch screen, and keeping the save point system of old RPGs all but guarantees players will lose some progress if they don’t find a save point before quitting.

http://www.148apps.com/reviews/shin-megami-tensei-review/

That's 1/6 of the whole review and the only paragraph with any criticism. #1 is totally fair but with both suspend save AND autosave I have no clue how this reviewer arrived at criticism #2.

I'm amazed that the other reviews have been positive though, don't expect that to last but still nice to see.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/ios/shin-megami-tensei

 

[Bebpo]

About how long does this take to beat? Am I correct in thinking that because it's an old SFC game, it's probably <20 hours short? Especially with whatever speed improvements were added to the GBA version?

Would like to play this out of curiosity, but have enough long rpgs in the backlog. If I can blow through it in a few days I'm down.

 

[SlaughterX]

So what are the chances this will come out for Android or any of the other consoles or handhelds? For $6 I will buy it just to support the fact that Atlus finally localized it, guess I'll just have to play it on my old ass iTouch Gen 3.

 

[SJS]

About how long does this take to beat? Am I correct in thinking that because it's an old SFC game, it's probably <20 hours short? Especially with whatever speed improvements were added to the GBA version?

I can't account for the speed increase, but generally, this game takes ~35-40 hours of gameplay time, so you'd be incorrect. This is a dungeon crawler, and one whose main flaw is not always telling you how to advance the plot.

edit:

So what are the chances this will come out for Android or any of the other consoles or handhelds? For $6 I will buy it just to support the fact that Atlus finally localized it, guess I'll just have to play it on my old ass iTouch Gen 3.

Probably low. From what I understand, there were already pre-existing Japanese iOS versions a year ago. The timing of this localization is merely related to ATLUS' translation efforts.

 

[Aeana]

Hey I get to do that whine about negative reviews thing I see everyone else do for their favorites. At least I've actually played the game though!



http://www.148apps.com/reviews/shin-megami-tensei-review/

That's 1/6 of the whole review and the only paragraph with any criticism. #1 is totally fair but with both suspend save AND autosave I have no clue how this reviewer arrived at criticism #2.

I'm amazed that the other reviews have been positive though, don't expect that to last but still nice to see.

http://www.metacritic.com/game/ios/shin-megami-tensei

I guess he doesn't know about the auto-save, and the ability to do a suspend save at any time by pressing start and going to 'quit'

 

[Aeana]

About how long does this take to beat? Am I correct in thinking that because it's an old SFC game, it's probably <20 hours short? Especially with whatever speed improvements were added to the GBA version?

Would like to play this out of curiosity, but have enough long rpgs in the backlog. If I can blow through it in a few days I'm down.

I think most people are going to end up taking about 30 hours. I personally take 15 or less when I play, but I do know where to go already. In order to figure out where to go, there's a lot of talking to NPCs and exploring to be done.

 

[BinaryPork2737]

I guess he doesn't know about the auto-save, and the ability to do a suspend save at any time by pressing start and going to 'quit'

I should have read the manual. I didn't even realize you could make a suspend save.

 

[Asparagus]

Anyone else hearing a slight buzzing/crackleing sound in some if the music? I hear it a little on the main screen and for the music that plays in the protagonist's home.

 

[randomkid]

Anyone else hearing a slight buzzing/crackleing sound in some if the music? I hear it a little on the main screen and for the music that plays in the protagonist's home.

You know, I've been hearing a little bit of this too in some tracks. I thought it was just my crappy headphones.

 

[Ourobolus]

Negotiating is a pain. I bumped my INT up to 8 after a couple of levels, and so far I've only managed to get a Knocker. I read that the responses from demons is supposed to be somewhat...repetitive (in the sense that you should be able to recruit Pixie 1 the same way as Pixie 2), but man, I keep getting rebuffed all the time. Guess I'll bump INT up some more.

 

[Aeana]

Negotiating is a pain. I bumped my INT up to 8 after a couple of levels, and so far I've only managed to get a Knocker. I read that the responses from demons is supposed to be somewhat...repetitive (in the sense that you should be able to recruit Pixie 1 the same way as Pixie 2), but man, I keep getting rebuffed all the time. Guess I'll bump INT up some more.

There's still some randomness involved that will keep the same conversation path from working, particularly if your intelligence is low.

 

[Ourobolus]

There's still some randomness involved that will keep the same conversation path from working, particularly if your intelligence is low.

Yep, I'm definitely feeling it. At 5 INT it was pretty ridiculous. At 8 INT it's gotten a bit better. A couple more points should hopefully help a lot more.

 

[Red The Hunter]

You know, I've been hearing a little bit of this too in some tracks. I thought it was just my crappy headphones.

I can confirm this since I have really nice Headphones, the only track were I have seen this become glaringly appearent is the Cathedral of Shadows. Where when you enter you'll hear that crackling sound, though it's only for few seconds so it doesn't bother me that much.

 

[randomkid]

I can confirm this since I have really nice Headphones, the only track were I have seen this become glaringly appearent is the Cathedral of Shadows. Where when you enter you'll hear that crackling sound, though it's only for few seconds so it doesn't bother me that much.

I definitely hear static quite clearly through out the whole house song, and when the flute kicks in on Castle of The Gods. Don't hear anything for Pascal's music or the map song or pre-battle or battle music. And yeah, shows up right at the beginning of the cathedral music too but then goes away like you said. This is quite annoying actually, I hope it doesn't affect too many tracks.

 

[cj_iwakura]

This is getting very positive (user) reviews. I'm both impressed by this, and baffled that Eternal Punishment/Innocent Sin were received so negatively.


Also, why isn't this

the icon?

 

[Imp the Dimp]

This is getting very positive reviews. I'm both impressed by this, and baffled that Eternal Punishment/Innocent Sin were received so negatively.

How were the Persona 2 games received negatively? I played through EP and it was baller. Like, easily one of the best PS1 JRPGs you'll ever play?!

 

[cj_iwakura]

How were the Persona 2 games received negatively? I played through EP and it was baller. Like, easily one of the best PS1 JRPGs you'll ever play?!

The PSP remake of IS got largely mediocre reviews, and all people do is gripe about how dated EP is.

 

[Sorcerer]

I love the art style of this game. I don't know what it is. I could play games with this type of art-style for the rest of my life and be satisfied.


Is it me or I can't flip/turn my ipod in landscape mode and have the screen adjust?

The reason I ask is sometimes I play while charging and I like to be able to move the cable from one side to the other.

 

[BlackJace]

I love how the story is unfolding.

The virtual buttons have exceeded expectations as well.

 

[randomkid]

I love the art style of this game. I don't know what it is. I could play games with this type of art-style for the rest of my life and be satisfied.


Is it me or I can't flip/turn my ipod in landscape mode and have the screen adjust?

The reason I ask is sometimes I play while charging and I like to be able to move the cable from one side to the other.

If you tap the game screen itself (where the game graphics show up) it will switch to landscape mode.

 

[Imp the Dimp]

The PSP remake of IS got largely mediocre reviews, and all people do is gripe about how dated EP is.

Feel free to ignore those reviews then. I played thru EP in 2009.

 

[noonespecial]

I love how the story is unfolding.

The virtual buttons have exceeded expectations as well.

Yeah, although not an ideal platform, playing this on my iPhone4 isn't so bad and although I wish for "real" controls at least the game isn't a chore to control with the virtual d-pad and buttons. At least Atlus seems to have put effort into this port. I'm quite enjoying it.

 

[Psxphile]

So when can we expect the Android version?

 

[viewtifulsub]

Looking forward to reactions to the 2nd half of the game, particularly the dungeons like the police tower.

 

[Eusis]

The PSP remake of IS got largely mediocre reviews, and all people do is gripe about how dated EP is.

A cursory look on Metacritic shows IS got a 75, which isn't too bad even if it pales compared to most of the other MegaTen releases. Funny how GameSpot hosts almost polar extreme opposite views though with the import PS1 review then the PSP review.