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[Ace Harding]

Yeah there's something about a handheld that just makes it easier to pick up and play, and much more likely that I'll actually put in some time on any given day. As dumb as this sounds, turning on the TV and console to start up a game just feels like a bigger investment. I will play a 3DS game for 10 minutes. I would never turn on my 360 with less than 45 minutes to play something.

I also share one TV with my wife, so that makes picking up the 3DS to play something that much easier. The console (sometimes) comes on when she goes to bed. Lately though I go to bed with her and take the 3DS with me to play there before I fall asleep.

 

[Mupod]

Alright, I'm starting to get it. The first 3-4 hours really sucked though. Like a really, really shitty opening to a game. You don't have enough skills at that point to implement any sort of strategy - its just "weak to ice - cast bufu" and hope the RNG gods are on your side. The dungeon is boring. The enemies are repetitive. There's nothing interesting in the story.

BUT after like 5 hours now I'm sort of seeing this take shape. I have a bunch of different demons and have done some experimenting with fusing. I still haven't had any interesting fights - those are still very one-dimensional - but I can see where that's going.

I was very unhappy with the game for a while, but I'm going to stick with it. At level 12, just cleaning up some challenge quests before I go deeper in the dungeon to capture

Spoiler

the Black Samurai

.

Re: When to fuse, I'm just trying to do it when there's a need. If I'm easily beating enemies/bosses, I'm not going to give up the demons I have for something new. I guess if my demon slots fill up (I have 7 of 8 right now) I will start fusing, or if I see there's a demon I can get that's obviously better than the two I have and am not really using.

I really hate the recruitment process!

I will say this - the game hasn't even started yet.

Recruitment is fun once you get the hang of it, you just need to remember that even the correct options can randomly fail (in a hilarious manner). After a while you start to learn which options tend to work often. For example howling at beast demons or 'til death do us part' on femmes (they keep giving me revival beads!). I highly recommend investing points into scouting apps especially the group invite one. I haven't bought the 30 point expert recruiter one because I don't need it, if demons don't tell me to fuck off right away they end up joining 90% of the time.

Just remember to end talks if they start to get greedy - I've only seen this fail a few times and I've recruited countless demons. It's still one of my main sources of income thanks to the apps. Almost every new area I recruit every new demon, fuse them into whatever, then go recruit the same ones again.

 

[Jessicat]

I couldn't seem to find any weakness with any of the abilities I had, managed to finally beat him because I fused a demon that had the ability to negate physical and gun attacks on the entire party for one turn. It took a few tries until he stopped killing that demon on the first turn, but eventually was able to get it where I could cast that every turn and it kept me alive long enough to kill him.

How did you get that demon? I only won that battle by having Walter attacking(and somehow actually hitting XD) while I was constantly reviving/healing my party; only landed one concentrated agilao for 400-something damage, buffs did squat x.x If it was a random skill mutation I'm jealous XD

 

[chickdigger802]

Is app points strictly gotten from leveling up the protag?

 

[perorist]

Is app points strictly gotten from leveling up the protag?

There are items that give you some, but they are very rare.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

I hope not. I'd much rather have the next Persona on PS4than 3DS.

Chance of that happening: 0%

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

(Beginning of Tokyo Spoilers)

Spoiler

I'm at the pond, and Burroughs tells me there's a powerful demon ahead, I've looked everywhere and I can't seem to find out where he is :/

 

[daveo42]

I understand the appeal. I'm just getting really tired of these scaled-down experiences full of "mission systems", talking portraits and low-quality animations replacing the kinds of RPGs I enjoy. I feel like the RPG genre is stubbornly refusing to evolve and grow, instead putting down roots in the PSP era, curling up into a ball and screaming in blind rage at anyone who asks it to do something bigger.

It's a very rare occurrence for me to actually finish a portable RPG. Because of how low-quality the experience usually feels, I don't get as attached as I do to something on a major console. The dramatic moments are never as powerful as they could be, the visuals never impress...there's nothing really to keep me coming back except for the fact that it's a game I haven't finished yet.

If there were more handheld RPGs on the same quality tier as something like Birth By Sleep, I would be fine with there being more of them. But there just aren't.

I think one of the reasons why a lot of RPGs are stuck in the 'PSP era' is because a ton of people still own and use their PSPs on a daily basis and companies are still making tons of PSP games in Japan. I think that if the Vita was actually selling well in Japan, we would get RPGs that feel bigger. I know the Vita has power to bring that feeling to the portable market, it's just that the 3DS and PSP markets are currently better.

The 3DS can and does have those moments, but it currently not powerful enough to provide the visuals you are looking for. I totally get that preference when it comes to graphical fidelity. I think if the Vita doesn't get out of the sales rut they are currently in, then you'll at least get that large RPG feeling on a portable when Nintendo launches a brand new handheld.

 

[InsaneElite]

(Beginning of Tokyo Spoilers)

Spoiler

I'm at the pond, and Burroughs tells me there's a powerful demon ahead, I've looked everywhere and I can't seem to find out where he is :/

Spoiler

Walk onto the pier.

 

[mugurumakensei]

(Beginning of Tokyo Spoilers)

Spoiler

I'm at the pond, and Burroughs tells me there's a powerful demon ahead, I've looked everywhere and I can't seem to find out where he is :/

Spoiler

In the pond area where the pier is. You have to walk down the pier til a dialogue is triggered.

 

[PlanetSmasher]

(Beginning of Tokyo Spoilers)

Spoiler

I'm at the pond, and Burroughs tells me there's a powerful demon ahead, I've looked everywhere and I can't seem to find out where he is :/

Spoiler

Check under the canopy near the boats.

I think one of the reasons why a lot of RPGs are stuck in the 'PSP era' is because a ton of people still own and use their PSPs on a daily basis and companies are still making tons of PSP games in Japan. I think that if the Vita was actually selling well in Japan, we would get RPGs that feel bigger. I know the Vita has power to bring that feeling to the portable market, it's just that the 3DS and PSP markets are currently better.

The 3DS can and does have those moments, but it currently not powerful enough to provide the visuals you are looking for. I totally get that preference when it comes to graphical fidelity. I think if the Vita doesn't get out of the sales rut they are currently in, then you'll at least get that large RPG feeling on a portable when Nintendo launches a brand new handheld.

I honestly don't think I'm going to wait around that long. We're still at the beginning of the 3DS era, so if I have to wait five more years for a game that looks and feels like it could've been released in 2013...well, there's really no point in sticking around in the interim.

By and large, while I am enjoying this game, I'm not enjoying it nearly as much as I did Nocturne, and I can already feel my interest starting to wane a bit. Unless something changes soon, I can't entirely see myself finishing it.

 

[daveo42]

Chance of that happening: 0%

Yeah. Best bets are on PS3, 3DS, or Vita

Spoiler

not going to happen

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

Spoiler

Check under the canopy near the boats.

Spoiler

In the pond area where the pier is. You have to walk down the pier til a dialogue is triggered.

Spoiler

Walk onto the pier.

Holy crap, thank you. Been there since last night.

 

[scy]

If you overlevel and have higher level demons, and go in with the right skillsets and resistances, then of course it's going to be easy. This post and your one about

Spoiler

Minotaur

just seem like bragging because you overprepared. Of course the reason people had trouble with the other fights is that they weren't prepared enough.

Missed this since I went to sleep after that post, I wouldn't really say bragging but if that's the tone, my bad. I was just fairly disappointed that most the thread was "Wait for this boss!" and that didn't pan out. Granted, yes, I do prepare a lot since I make sure I can at least triple-hit a weakness + test runs on bosses to rule out surprises. That's basically my normal procedure for SMT games.

I will readily admit the second boss fight was absolutely because of having a demon that's just waaaaaaaaay too good for that fight. Like, resists one damage type, nulls the other (and he's I think your first option for a Gun-based regular attack on a Demon so he's just generally good anyway). Kind of absurd. Really, if you're 16 for the boss fight, just fuse a Hooligan and trivialize the whole thing (or don't so it's an actual fight) :/ I kind of regret having him here. I just wanted to get rid of that Bilwis that was taking up room in my stock.

Re: When to fuse, I'm just trying to do it when there's a need. If I'm easily beating enemies/bosses, I'm not going to give up the demons I have for something new. I guess if my demon slots fill up (I have 7 of 8 right now) I will start fusing, or if I see there's a demon I can get that's obviously better than the two I have and am not really using.

While most likely not super useful at the early early game, be sure to enable the "Include Compendium" option in the Search Advanced Options. If you've been doing a lot of recruiting, it makes it a lot easier to see what all your options are. Probably can't afford to resummon things constantly but at least you can see everything at your disposal and can decide if it's worth the cost or maybe the time to hunt down another one to recruit.

Regarding recruitment, yeah, it's a hassle at times. If need be, clear out the rest of the group of enemies (without hitting the one you want) just so it's a lot easier to deal with giving up a free turn whenever you fail. Besides that, you start to learn the personalities of the demons and that helps make the process a lot easier.

 

[khaaan]

If I'm going the physical route, I should dump points into Strength, Dexterity and Agility right?

Spoiler

Cause that's what I've been doing.

 

[QuiteWhittle]

If I'm going the physical route, I should dump points into Strength, Dexterity and Agility right?

Spoiler

Cause that's what I've been doing.

Yeah. Make sure you throw some points Luck's way too.

 

[Lissar]

I understand the appeal. I'm just getting really tired of these scaled-down experiences full of "mission systems", talking portraits and low-quality animations replacing the kinds of RPGs I enjoy. I feel like the RPG genre is stubbornly refusing to evolve and grow, instead putting down roots in the PSP era, curling up into a ball and screaming in blind rage at anyone who asks it to do something bigger.

It's a very rare occurrence for me to actually finish a portable RPG. Because of how low-quality the experience usually feels, I don't get as attached as I do to something on a major console. The dramatic moments are never as powerful as they could be, the visuals never impress...there's nothing really to keep me coming back except for the fact that it's a game I haven't finished yet. Eventually, I get bored, or another game takes my attention and that's it - the game goes unfinished. I never finished P4G for that exact reason.

If there were more handheld RPGs on the same quality tier as something like Birth By Sleep, I would be fine with there being more of them. But there just aren't.

Not wanting to do bigger things and not be able to afford to do bigger things is quite a bit different. Sadly, most JRPG companies are going to fall into the latter category. If they know that no matter how much time and effort they put into it they won't have the same amount of sales as Final Fantasy, probably not even a 10th of the sales! They probably won't even have a 10th of the budget. It's just reality for a lot of developers.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

I'm an hour in and am not sure if this type of game is for me. I play rpgs a lot but never anything like this (click areas, dialogues, old school combat ). I'll keep forcing through it for a bit.

You are one hour in..........

Dude, you haven't seen anything yet. Go play more.

 

[Tex117]

Yeah there's something about a handheld that just makes it easier to pick up and play, and much more likely that I'll actually put in some time on any given day. As dumb as this sounds, turning on the TV and console to start up a game just feels like a bigger investment. I will play a 3DS game for 10 minutes. I would never turn on my 360 with less than 45 minutes to play something.

I also share one TV with my wife, so that makes picking up the 3DS to play something that much easier. The console (sometimes) comes on when she goes to bed. Lately though I go to bed with her and take the 3DS with me to play there before I fall asleep.

I would agree with alot of this. I just recently picked up a 3ds (last handheld being a Gameboy Advanced years ago)...I find myself playing it alot more than the big home console. Maybe not more, but more often...its less of an "event"

 

[Mupod]

If I'm going the physical route, I should dump points into Strength, Dexterity and Agility right?

Spoiler

Cause that's what I've been doing.

Ignore strength, dex is much better for physical skills.

I'm doing an even spread on dex/agi/luck and it's working fine. You could probably just do full dex/agi too, but I like my crits since they give you free turns.

 

[aravuus]

Chance of that happening: 0%

Yeah I totally forgot about P3 and P4 coming to PS2 so late, should have said PS3.

The point was I hope it's on a home console and I hope it's not Wii U, because then I'd have to get one more console again lol

 

[Jessicat]

C'mon Nintendo

Please take that crap to another thread. Hell, another forum, the first time the bankruptcy news came up the thread got locked for stupid shit like this.

Anyways, I can't get the SMT4 page to load, what's this about Streetpass stuff? I'd like to know because outside of conventions I don't get many XD

 

[InsaneElite]

As it turns out, you can use your various negotiation skills on some bosses for unique dialogue. This can result in some hilarious situations, as seen below.

Not directly posting image due to plot spoilers about 6-7 hours into the game,

Spoiler

when you have to fight Issachar

.

http://i.imgur.com/q8cRfVR.jpg

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Not wanting to do bigger things and not be able to afford to do bigger things is quite a bit different. Sadly, most JRPG companies are going to fall into the latter category. If they know that no matter how much time and effort they put into it they won't have the same amount of sales as Final Fantasy, probably not even a 10th of the sales! They probably won't even have a 10th of the budget. It's just reality for a lot of developers.

And unfortunately it's a reality for me that if their games are low-spec or low-ambition, I'm honestly not going to be as inclined to play them. The PSP came out almost ten years ago - the fact we're still getting PSP-level (or lower) RPGs out of developers in this day and age is just absurd. I've been buying less and less games this gen because so many of them just feel like worse versions of RPGs I played one or two (sometimes even three!) generations ago.

I think there has to be a middle ground that developers aren't tapping yet. I'm not asking them to make FF-budget monstrosities that'll never be profitable. But for every single portable RPG to have a Monster Hunter-style mission system and talking portraits instead of actual cutscenes...there's gotta be a way to do it better than this.

 

[kayos90]

Beat the

Spoiler

Minotaur

last night. I was level 13 and he wasn't particularly hard but the restrictions I set for myself just made it harder. Well... one restriction. Don't let anyone die. He still hit hard but if you answered the questions properly then it was easy. I was definitely overprepared for this fight though. Having certain skills makes the obnoxious just like anything else in the game. Now

Spoiler

David

is a different story. Fuck that guy. Fuck him.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

Since I got to Tokyo, I have recruited 4 new demons. Looking at Mido, there's a bunch of new demon fusions available!

 

[scy]

If I'm going the physical route, I should dump points into Strength, Dexterity and Agility right?

Spoiler

Cause that's what I've been doing.

DEX and AGI as a priority over STR but otherwise, yeah. STR has a smaller impact on Physical skill damage than DEX so it's not as worthwhile a stat in the longrun for your big damage. Still nice to have for making regular attacks better.

Honestly, you might be better served with 2/2/1 on DEX/AGI/LUC.

Now

Spoiler

David

is a different story. Fuck that guy. Fuck him.

Did Calamity Horde use Blight? Reload.
Did Mamudo kill two or more people? Reload.

:/

 

[PlanetSmasher]

Beat the

Spoiler

Minotaur

last night. I was level 13 and he wasn't particularly hard but the restrictions I set for myself just made it harder. Well... one restriction. Don't let anyone die. He still hit hard but if you answered the questions properly then it was easy. I was definitely overprepared for this fight though. Having certain skills makes the obnoxious just like anything else in the game. Now

Spoiler

David

is a different story. Fuck that guy. Fuck him.

You mean you don't like having Mamudo cast on your entire party three times in a row!? Silly Kayos.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

Beat the

Spoiler

Minotaur

last night. I was level 13 and he wasn't particularly hard but the restrictions I set for myself just made it harder. Well... one restriction. Don't let anyone die. He still hit hard but if you answered the questions properly then it was easy. I was definitely overprepared for this fight though. Having certain skills makes the obnoxious just like anything else in the game. Now

Spoiler

David

is a different story. Fuck that guy. Fuck him.

I think is absolutely necessary for you to get a demon that's immune to dark skills for that fight.

 

[IceDoesntHelp]

Is there any other SMT games I should try? (3DS/Wii)
I don't have a Sony system, so I can't really try any of those.

 

[Mupod]

As it turns out, you can use your various negotiation skills on some bosses for unique dialogue. This can result in some hilarious situations, as seen below.

Not directly posting image due to plot spoilers about 6-7 hours into the game,

Spoiler

when you have to fight Issachar

.

http://i.imgur.com/q8cRfVR.jpg

holy shit, that's amazing. I never took fundraiser because the scouting apps were more than sufficient but if I get great dialogue like that I might pick it up next.

Is there any other SMT games I should try? (3DS/Wii)
I don't have a Sony system, so I can't really try any of those.

Strange Journey on DS, assuming you don't already have it. Dungeon crawling is first person and tile-based but the atmosphere and setting are amazing.

I can't imagine a PS2 is gonna break the bank at this point, and it's worth it just for nocturne and the persona games.

 

[khaaan]

DEX and AGI as a priority over STR but otherwise, yeah. STR has a smaller impact on Physical skill damage than DEX so it's not as worthwhile a stat in the longrun for your big damage. Still nice to have for making regular attacks better.

Honestly, you might be better served with 2/2/1 on DEX/AGI/LUC.

That seems to be the general recommendation =P
I'll switch it up then. I haven't gotten very far, MC is level 3 or 4 so the damage shouldn't be that bad.

 

[kayos90]

You mean you don't like having Mamudo cast on your entire party three times in a row!? Silly Kayos.

Mamudo was a huge problem. I was stubborn and I had a guy that was weak to dark on the team and i wanted to beat him with the guy on it. LOL. Not the smartest idea. He didn't cast it once and I got lucky and I just spammed the weakness to kingdom come.

I also beat him while lvl 11. Fucking stupid

Spoiler

David.

 

[insignia16]

You mean you don't like having Mamudo cast on your entire party three times in a row!? Silly Kayos.

People don't like Mamudo being cast on them? I thought people didn't like getting hit with a critical 3-peat, with a double smirk and all of our attacks missing.

 

[Tamanon]

Man, that Dance of the Dead quest...man.

Spoiler

So the Hordes are PITAs enough with their huge attacks and the Blight attack. On top of going first. After finally getting 5 of them down, David appears. Barely survived through it after discovering his Zio weakness. Tough fight though, had to use multiple Revival Leafs.

Revival Leafs are a great investment in this game it seems.

 

[CSX]

The "Kill X amount of a certain enemy with the last one to kill having a boss" side quests are so frustrating. 90% of the time, the enemy gets the first turn so when the boss pops out immediately after , you have to waste turns healing and then get destroyed T___T

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

Are there any items allowing you to warp back to Town?

Annoying to have to travel all the way back when I wanna rest up.

 

[kayos90]

Man, that Dance of the Dead quest...man.

Spoiler

So the Hordes are PITAs enough with their huge attacks and the Blight attack. On top of going first. After finally getting 5 of them down, David appears. Barely survived through it after discovering his Zio weakness. Tough fight though, had to use multiple Revival Leafs.

Revival Leafs are a great investment in this game it seems.

I never use revive in the middle of a fight. Never.

 

[scy]

The "Kill X amount of a certain enemy with the last one to kill having a boss" side quests are so frustrating. 90% of the time, the enemy gets the first turn so when the boss pops out immediately after , you have to waste turns healing and then get destroyed T___T

My favorite was one attempt where he showed up, gave his spiel, and then ... got a preemptive strike on me.

...

He gave a speech! How are we surprised?!

 

[RPGCrazied]

I'll get it at some point unless the difficultly is nocturne like. I don't like brutal games.

 

[duckroll]

My favorite was one attempt where he showed up, gave his spiel, and then ... got a preemptive strike on me.

...

He gave a speech! How are we surprised?!

Clearly everyone was too mesmerized by the speech to see the first attack coming!

 

[Mupod]

I never use revive in the middle of a fight. Never.

It's really useful in boss fights to have demons with healing knowhow/recarm and sabbatama (lets them summon from stock). Otherwise you end up with the main character locked down for two turns. Also, hoarding items ends up being a bad idea because there's item limits - I was saving my bead chains only to realize I couldn't pick one up from a chest, since I was maxed out.

Evil combination - black frost with endure and healing knowhow. Fight's not over until I say it's over!

I'll get it at some point unless the difficultly is nocturne like. I don't like brutal games.

It's harder in some ways and easier in others.

you can save everywhere and the battles are so fast it's like...whatever, I'll just reset and be back where I was in 30 seconds.

 

[Lissar]

I'll get it at some point unless the difficultly is nocturne like. I don't like brutal games.

First hours are more brutal than Nocturne, actually.

You can lower the difficulty after dying a couple times though!

 

[insignia16]

Is there any other SMT games I should try? (3DS/Wii)
I don't have a Sony system, so I can't really try any of those.

If you're talking about mainline SMT games then I don't think there are any. As for for spinoffs and such look no further than the DS/3DS libraries!

Soul Hackers, the Etrian Odyssey series, and a whole bunch of other titles I had never played nor can recall the names of!

 

[scy]

Clearly everyone was too mesmerized by the speech to see the first attack coming!

He has some utterly mesmerizing violin-ing.

 

[Ourobolus]

My favorite was one attempt where he showed up, gave his spiel, and then ... got a preemptive strike on me.

...

He gave a speech! How are we surprised?!

Yeah, that was bullshit. I was expecting him to be a pain in the ass already since I figured he'd cast Mudo/Mamudo or something, but then he gets a free turn? Had to reset a couple of times before I got lucky. Thank YHVH you don't have to take out all 5 of the hordes in one go.

 

[SteeloDMZ]

Are there any items allowing you to warp back to Town?

Annoying to have to travel all the way back when I wanna rest up.

It would kill the tension and dungeon-crawler aspects of the game if this was possible.

 

[Watch Da Birdie]

It would kill the tension and dungeon-crawler aspects of the game if this was possible.

Are there any shortcuts or healing areas within Naraku though? I've entered the 3rd Stratum, and it takes forever to go back up.

 

[jackal27]

As it turns out, you can use your various negotiation skills on some bosses for unique dialogue. This can result in some hilarious situations, as seen below.

Not directly posting image due to plot spoilers about 6-7 hours into the game,

Spoiler

when you have to fight Issachar

.

http://i.imgur.com/q8cRfVR.jpg

Omg. I am dying over here. I need to get that Macca negotiation skill ASAP.

 

[kayos90]

Are there any shortcuts or healing areas within Naraku though? I've entered the 3rd Stratum, and it takes forever to go back up.

Spoiler

yes