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[Caladrius]

I recently beat this as well and loved it despite the horrid world map. (I also agree that it was too easy after the initial couple of hours.)

I've got access to all of the Nintendo portables and a Vita. Which other game in the series that I could play would be most similar to SMT IV?

I picked up Pokemon on release as I wanted more content in the same vein, but it just feels like an empty shell of a game compared to SMT.

Most of Pokemon's depth comes from its Player-vs-Player combat, which takes a lot of time investment before you get any payoff.

MegaTen games tend to differ wildly between installments, so it's a hard call as to what to recommend. I'd say if you can find it, go for Strange Journey.(Or if you have a PS2, Nocturne) Strange Journey is made by the same people. It's a little rougher around the edges but at the core it plays the most similarly.

Nocturne is generally considered the best core SMT game, but it's extremely unforgiving even compared to Strange Journey (which itself is a doozy) and plays quite a bit differently to IV.

 

[JLateralus]

Which ending did you get? If not Neutral, you need to restart to get that because the 2 other endings are really bad.

As for the other SMT, 1,2 and if are available on the Japanese PSN and they are the most similar to IV. They are in Japanese of course but they are are fantastic games and the PS1 versions are the best.

I did end up with neutral just by luck.

I can't read a lick of Japanese. I have no problem playing games that require minor memorization, but I tried to play the SFC version of Final Fantasy V back in the mid to late 90's and realized that Japanese RPGs are not for me.

 

[alice]

I recently beat this as well and loved it despite the horrid world map. (I also agree that it was too easy after the initial couple of hours.)

I've got access to all of the Nintendo portables and a Vita. Which other game in the series that I could play would be most similar to SMT IV?

I picked up Pokemon on release as I wanted more content in the same vein, but it just feels like an empty shell of a game compared to SMT.

I recommend Devil Survivor Overclocked on 3ds. It's a hybrid between standard jrpgs and srpgs. I personally never enjoyed a strategy rpg before that one - I think it was that the demon summoning/fusion and systems were so familiar. SMT: Soul Hackers is a recent port of a really early SMT game - 1998 I think. I enjoyed it, but not as much as the more recent games.

On Vita there are the Persona games of course - I love them, and if you haven't played them you should. They are different in that they are not as dark, and include social sim elements, but they are great games. The battle system of P4 is really similar to SMT IV. I really wish they would port Nocturne over to Vita or PS3... I have the PS2 version, but I find it such a pain to get it out.

 

[Soulhouf]

Remember that crazy Japanese guy?
He finally reached his goal by making a Moh Shuvuu with 999 dex.

Behold

 

[Andrew J.]

Wow.

I didn't even know the stat lines turned gold like that!

 

[Celegus]

The relic description of High Heels is the greatest.

Spoiler

Could it be to protect one from feces?

 

[Soulhouf]

Trumpeter finally decided to show himself after 10 days of reloading. It was almost as long as Chemtrail...
Is he easy or my team became so powerful? He is easily the Fiend who caused me the least trouble.

My team: Vishnu (lv98), Nata Taishi (lv85) and Marici (lv89).

Anyway, now I'm finally done with the Fiends after 3 months of hunting.
It was an awesome ride. I don't know if I will move to another game yet or continue to complete the compendium and build my demons.

 

[buddha0991]

Remember that crazy Japanese guy?
He finally reached his goal by making a Moh Shuvuu with 999 dex.

Behold

What skills are those man?

This is nothing compared to it, and I didn't plan this guy out at all, and I used battle fusions, in which you cannot choose which skills you pass, to pass down DLC skills, but I just wanted to have a Baller Frost of my own, even if he isn't super amazing, I will roll with this guy till the ends of the earth!

Skills:

Recarm- Revive a target from death with half life (Couldn't replace this with anything better)

Endure- Revive self from death once per battle with 1 HP (Wish I had gotten Enduring Soul, but this was a skill mutation from Bufula I believe so I will take what I can get)

Repel Fire- It is a Jack Frost after all

Fallen Grace- Almighty attack that hits for 666 Damage. It was originally a DLC Michael exclusive attack that cannot be passed through normal fusion, but can be passed through in battle fusion.

Energy Drain- Absorbs enemy's HP and MP. It is what it is, not an ideal skill but nice to have I guess.

Cold World- Heavy Ice attack that can instantly kill. Not the best Ice skill, but a good one, and Jack Frost needs an Ice attack.

Tornado of God- Heavy Force attack that pierces any resistance except Repel I believe, that the enemy may have against it. Another DLC demon only attack I passed with battle fusions.

Force Pieroma- Stengthen's Force attacks. Wish I got High Force Pieroma.


In the end, he may not be perfect, but I love my Frostie yo.

 

[Soulhouf]

What skills are those man?

Gun Pleroma
Energy drain
Riot Gun
High Gun Pleroma
Repel Gun
Desperate Hit
Charge
Repel Fire

I'm not 100% sure about the "Repel" skills actually. If someone here is more knowledgeable about Kanji, feel free to correct me.

 

[buddha0991]

Gun Pleroma
Energy drain
Riot Gun
High Gun Pleroma
Repel Gun
Desperate Hit
Charge
Repel Fire

I'm not 100% sure about the "Repel" skills actually. If someone here more knowledgeable about Kanji here, feel free to correct me.

My Jack Frost cowers before the might of Gun Toting Moh Shuvuu

 

[Soulhouf]

My Jack Frost cowers before the might of Gun Toting Moh Shovuu

Don't worry, your Jack Frost is awesome. There aren't many demons like him (*^o^)人(^o^*)

Edit: This is the kind of damage that thing does:

 

[Caladrius]

Don't worry, your Jack Frost is awesome. There aren't many demons like him (*^o^)人(^o^*)

Edit: This is the kind of damage that thing does:

The strongest bosses have like 20K HP right? Dang.

I don't remember if I said it, but I finished the fiend hunt. I actually found Trumpy to be the hardest. It was hard to have my demons survive Trumpy's insta-kills and multiple great logos.

I still have to finish the compendium though. Hmm..

 

[Velcro Fly]

I have neglected this game for far too long.

Going to Symphony of the Goddesses on Friday and need to play this up until the point where I can set up streetpass.

I just returned after fighting

Spoiler

Issachar

so I'm hoping I only have a few more hours until I can unlock streetpass.

 

[Elija2]

So I was fusing a Pixie and Knocker together when it said there was an error and I got a Jack Frost instead. What the heck just happened and should I keep him? I know he's like the SMT mascot or something so I thought that he might be a special demon. I'm still early in the game (in Naraku).

 

[Soulhouf]

So I was fusing a Pixie and Knocker together when it said there was an error and I got a Jack Frost instead. What the heck just happened and should I keep him? I know he's like the SMT mascot or something so I thought that he might be a special demon. I'm still early in the game (in Naraku).

Keep him. He is better than Kaso (the natural result to that fusion).
Fusion accidents may happen (it's rare) and you can get great demons who are higher level than you and who have better skills than the intended result.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Can someone in Japan phone up Atlus and ask about that OST?

 

[Elija2]

Keep him. He is better than Kaso (the natural result to that fusion).
Fusion accidents may happen (it's rare) and you can get great demons who are higher level than you and who have better skills than the intended result.

Cool, thanks.

 

[Velcro Fly]

I got 8 streetpasses and zero items. I have no idea what to do to get items from streetpasses. I did get 40 app points for tagging someone with Soul Hackers. I tagged a ton of people with EOIV and got nothing for that. I guess they need to have both?

Seems like a dreadful waste of time to me if this is all it is.

 

[Soulhouf]

Can someone in Japan phone up Atlus and ask about that OST?

No kidding.
I hope that they didn't forget that they have the OST of the best game of the year to release at this point :-(

 

[gunstarhero]

Have a question on what to do next: I'm a little over 60 hours in.

Spoiler

Just killed Pluto the Tormentor (The Accidental Messiah Quest) and killed the demon in Blasted Shibuya (Defeating the Demon Quest).

I've gotten the key from Akira, and speaking to him and the crazy old guy doesn't trigger something new to do, and all of my Main Quests are complete.

Not really sure what to do next... Did I miss something?

 

[Soulhouf]

Have a question on what to do next: I'm a little over 60 hours in.

Spoiler

Just killed Pluto the Tormentor (The Accidental Messiah Quest) and killed the demon in Blasted Shibuya (Defeating the Demon Quest).

I've gotten the key from Akira, and speaking to him and the crazy old guy doesn't trigger something new to do, and all of my Main Quests are complete.

Not really sure what to do next... Did I miss something?

Spoiler

Go to Camp Ichigaya in the north east of the world map.

 

[Caladrius]

Oof, got sidetracked and Ninja'd.

 

[dragonlife]

Is it a documented bug that my sound settings don't get saved in the main menu? Every time I launch the game I have to change my audio settings to be higher, and it's very annoying.

 

[Protag]

Beat chaos at 107 hours, didnt even do all the quests.

Spoiler

Feel like the chaos route ending coulve had more of an epilogue, but its clear Flynn will be the new king.

I wanted to get neutral route, and got locked into chaos though.

Fantastic fantasitc game, one of my absolute favorites, and in my top JRPGS.

How hard is it it to get the neutral alignment?

 

[Protag]

Is it a documented bug that my sound settings don't get saved in the main menu? Every time I launch the game I have to change my audio settings to be higher, and it's very annoying.

Yeah it is, it always has to be configured.

 

[Caladrius]

Beat chaos at 107 hours, didnt even do all the quests.

Spoiler

Feel like the chaos route ending coulve had more of an epilogue, but its clear Flynn will be the new king.

I wanted to get neutral route, and got locked into chaos though.

Fantastic fantasitc game, one of my absolute favorites, and in my top JRPGS.

How hard is it it to get the neutral alignment?

The margin for neutral is pretty slim (+/- 8 points from 0). Here's an alignment guide:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/3ds/672441-shin-megami-tensei-iv/faqs/67505?page=8#section332

 

[Protag]

Thanks so much man

 

[RecursiveFault]

Ok. I'm level 73 on Neutral Route (by happenstance, it's my first playthrough I've been chipping away at since the game came out). Anyway, I beleive I need to do certain sidequests to

Spoiler

fill this Chalice for Masakado?

I'm sure this has been answered before, but walkthroughs didn't make too much sense.

Fantastic game by the way. Gave it to a friend as their first SMT and they're gonna end up passing me up soon

 

[Protag]

Alright, so i have a question.

Do other Challenge Quests besides the known ones affect your alignment?

Meaning can i do any of the other challenge quests that arent listed without going off the balance? I want to do the challenge quests along the way, not just concentrate on them all late in the game.

 

[Caladrius]

Alright, so i have a question.

Do other Challenge Quests besides the known ones affect your alignment?

Meaning can i do any of the other challenge quests that arent listed without going off the balance? I want to do the challenge quests along the way, not just concentrate on them all late in the game.

You should be fine.

Ok. I'm level 73 on Neutral Route (by happenstance, it's my first playthrough I've been chipping away at since the game came out). Anyway, I beleive I need to do certain sidequests to

Spoiler

fill this Chalice for Masakado?

I'm sure this has been answered before, but walkthroughs didn't make too much sense.

Fantastic game by the way. Gave it to a friend as their first SMT and they're gonna end up passing me up soon

There's a set of quests that absolutely have to be finished in order to finish neutral. Certain quests have to be done before some of the others can be unlocked. If you can't find the quest you need try finishing some of the others on the list first.

Here's a list of the required quests for the neutral ending.(Disregard the section on alignment)
http://www.gamefaqs.com/3ds/672441-shin-megami-tensei-iv/answers?qid=356782

 

[Protag]

You should be fine.

I hope so

 

[RecursiveFault]

There's a set of quests that absolutely have to be finished in order to finish neutral. Certain quests have to be done before some of the others can be unlocked. If you can't find the quest you need try finishing some of the others on the list first.

Appreciated! I'm in for the long haul since I've only done a few. I didn't expect Neutral my first time.

 

[Sera O]

I just finished the game again on neutral route (previously got the law ending). I had put it down for a long time during the late game and went back just to wrap it up but my opinion of the game has lowered somewhat -

Spoiler

the pacing of the neutral route seemed poor. The chalice and preceding quests really killed any sense of momentum I had going. It's kind of a shame.

Maybe it would have been better if I had hit the neutral ending on my first playthrough; I don't know. I did like the game a lot in spite of that, and it definitely scratched my megaten itch. Now, time to get back into Soul Hackers.

 

[Soulhouf]

I just finished the game again on neutral route (previously got the law ending). I had put it down for a long time during the late game and went back just to wrap it up but my opinion of the game has lowered somewhat -

Spoiler

the pacing of the neutral route seemed poor. The chalice and preceding quests really killed any sense of momentum I had going. It's kind of a shame.

Maybe it would have been better if I had hit the neutral ending on my first playthrough; I don't know. I did like the game a lot in spite of that, and it definitely scratched my megaten itch. Now, time to get back into Soul Hackers.

It's always better to do all the available sidequests before the lock so that you don't have many of them to do in the Neutral route.
I beat the neutral route 3 times and that's what I unconsciously always did.

 

[Sera O]

It's always better to do all the available sidequests before the lock so that you don't have many of them to do in the Neutral route.
I beat the neutral route 3 times and that's what I unconsciously always did.

Yeah, my first playthrough I just skipped quite a few of them, and then didn't realize going into the second that I'd have to pause to clean those up when I was already in the mindset of blasting through to the end haha. I actually thought I was going to end up locking with chaos my second playthrough; I just wanted to see a different ending than the first one I got.

 

[firehawk12]

Since the DLC is on sale, is any of the boss DLC worth it?
What does it add to the story?

 

[Soulhouf]

Since the DLC is on sale, is any of the boss DLC worth it?
What does it add to the story?

Story-wise, Clipped Wings 1&2 are very good. They confirm the hypothesis around one of the major events of the main story and show a very interesting aspect of a certain enigmatic character.

 

[firehawk12]

Ah, so it's still part of the game's story, even though it's listed as post-game content?

 

[Soulhouf]

Ah, so it's still part of the game's story, even though it's listed as post-game content?

Yes.
The story DLC tell what happened before or after some of the main story's events and some of them show parts of the story that were never explained in the main game.

 

[Bladenic]

Deciding how to spend app points is so hard. I have 51 right now. Really want MP Recovery 1, but Fusion ceiling, fusion exp, demonlingual all sound useful. And I'd like skill slot 2 or demon skill slot 1 too. I have 3 additional demon slots already, that should be good for now I wager.

 

[Soulhouf]

You can ignore fusion ceiling and fusion exp. They aren't that useful.
Skill slots and MP recovery are your priority right now.

 

[Bladenic]

You can ignore fusion ceiling and fusion exp. They aren't that useful.
Skill slots and MP recovery are your priority right now.

Should I focus on MC's slots or try and give the demons additional ones too?

 

[Soulhouf]

Should I focus on MC's slots or try and give the demons additional ones too?

Try to balance between MC and your demons.

 

[Celegus]

Haha, whoops! Bad ending... is bad. I kept hearing about the "neutral" path and thought maybe that was it - not so much. I didn't overwrite my save file or anything, because it looks like there's still a good ways to go.

 

[Soulhouf]

All Famed get! Finally.

 

[cj_iwakura]

I'm thinking of doing something incredibly stupid and/or time consuming: compiling a playlist of the SMTIV OST in some sort of appropriate soundtrack order.

If Atlus can't do it, I will! Or something like that.

 

[perfect free]

I'm thinking of doing something incredibly stupid and/or time consuming: compiling a playlist of the SMTIV OST in some sort of appropriate soundtrack order.

If Atlus can't do it, I will! Or something like that.

I've thought about doing that, but I'm far too lazy. So I'll pray for your success!

 

[Bladenic]

Man, the game gets so awesome once you reach Tokyo. Finished up in Ueno, onward to the next area.

 

[ghibli99]

I just started playing this last night, died twice very early on, and went online to look at resources. I looked for the SMT4 thread here and saw "The Dark Souls of Persona", and figured I wasn't alone in my experience. LOL It's cool, but man, it's stressful for SMT newcomers like myself.

 

[NeonZ]

I just started playing this last night, died twice very early on, and went online to look at resources. I looked for the SMT4 thread here and saw "The Dark Souls of Persona", and figured I wasn't alone in my experience. LOL It's cool, but man, it's stressful for SMT newcomers like myself.

In the beginning, only start negotiations when there's only a single enemy demon alive, because if they fail the punishment won't be too harsh. That seems to be one of the most common causes of early game deaths. You also can talk with demons that have members of their race in your party to instantly end combat.