SirNinja
Member
Other Information
Publisher: Atlus, Deep Silver (Europe)
Download Size: 13,669 blocks; about 1.67GB (JP version)
IMPORTANT NOTE TO NEWCOMERS: DO NOT watch the intro video when the game boots up; it is extremely spoilery. Skip it until you've completed your first playthrough!
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Story
In the year 20XX, in the midst of a turbulent time for humanity, a terrifying dimension of pure darkness has suddenly appeared at the South Pole, its walls gradually expanding and molecularizing everything in its path.
As it threatens to consume the world, the U.N. sends an expedition team composed of the world's top scientists and soldiers into this anomaly, in the hopes of destroying it from within.
You stand among them, equipped with cutting-edge weapons and adaptive combat armor, but are overwhelmed upon arrival by unseen foes.
An anonymous benefactor gives your suit a program with which to fight back, revealing you have landed in a vast and labyrinthine world of demons.
A strange and extraordinary journey is about to begin - one which will determine the fate of the Earth.
Who will you entrust the future to?
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Originally released in 2009 for the Nintendo DS (and originally developed as Shin Megami Tensei IV, before its setting switched from Tokyo), Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is a massive first-person dungeon crawler, featuring gigantic maze-like maps teeming with dangerous demons, set to a dark, chant-filled soundtrack from Shoji Meguro. It's the best game that contains a demonic shopping mall in Antarctica you'll ever play.
As with other SMT games, you'll fight using a team of demons of your own, gained through negotiation and fusion - and you'll make many crucial choices that will eventually align you with the forces of Law, Chaos, or a Neutral side in between. You'll also explore the many colossal "sectors" of the Schwarzwelt, defeating powerful foes and scavenging for exotic materials with which to further the storyline (and create better gear).
The game also has a number of gameplay elements unique to SMT. Defeating demons in battle will gradually raise their analysis level, identifying their elemental weaknesses and resistances. Demons in your stock that reach the maximum analysis level will also give you a handy Demon Source, which contain extra skills that can be passed down during demon fusion. Bringing along demons of the same alignment as you is also a big help; exploiting an enemy weakness during battle will trigger a powerful "Demon Co-Op" attack from all teammates with the same alignment.
Conquer the many sectors of the Schwarzwelt, side with the ideology that fits you most, and see what awaits at your journey's end!
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Reviews
[Currently pending.]
[Currently pending.]
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What's new in Strange Journey Redux?
STORY/WORLD
A brand-new character, Alex (and her A.I. companion George), weaves a large new storyline into the existing narrative.
Three new endings, doubling the amount of the original game.
Two new dungeons: the Womb of Grief, and a final dungeon related to the new endings. The WoG is not a "bonus" dungeon, but is visited many times throughout the regular story. In total, it is approximately more than twice the size of two regular Sectors.
Additional boss fights have been added in the finale of most routes, depending on the choices you make regarding the new content, including a new final boss which must be defeated to see the new Redux endings.
New EX Missions (sidequests) have been added.
The original game's story and script have recieved a new translation. A few story events also happen very slightly differently than the original, such as the order the news stories and Schwarzwelt probe pictures are displayed in the opening prologue.
GRAPHICS/SOUND
Nearly all characters are now voice acted (Japanese only), and have artwork displayed in-game when they speak. Many characters, including various Red Sprite crewmen, have also recieved additional artwork to better represent their current status.
The HUD and UI have been redesigned, with extra effects added, such as new animations for scanning objects in the field.
Your team is shown on the lower screen during battles, also with animated sprites and voice acting during attacks.
Known weaknesses for enemies are now shown on the UI in battle, even if the target's analysis level is below 2 (which is when the original game would show enemy strengths/weaknesses).
Health bars have been added for all enemies during battle, including bosses.
Battle backgrounds are now 3D instead of a static image, and have been enhanced with various effects (smoke, animated objects, etc).
Footprints now appear on the map to indicate the last few spaces you've moved.
New animated cutscenes have been added to key story points. On startup before the main menu, the game also begins with a trailer-like animated movie summarizing the game and the choices the protagonist will have to make.
New music from Shoji Meguro and longtime SMT music arranger Toshiki Konishi.
QUALITY OF LIFE
Difficulty levels have been added: Casual, Standard, and Expert. You can switch between these three any time in the Options menu. There's also an Impossible difficulty, which is free DLC. (Note that unlike the other difficulties, you cannot ever switch to or from Impossible.)
You can now create Field Saves outside save stations, letting you save nearly anywhere. Field Saves take up a seperate slot from the other 20.
The number of available save slots has been increased to 20 (from 2). Only a few are saved to the cartridge; the others are saved to the 3DS's SD card.
Healing aboard the Red Sprite is now free of charge (previously you were charged a fee based on the amount of HP/MP lost).
You can now set the speed at which battle animations play out: normal, 2x speed, or instant (no animation).
An optional confirmation message before carrying out battle orders or conversing with demons has been added; you can turn this on/off in Options.
The success rate of you retreating from battle is now displayed on the lower screen if you move over the Retreat button.
You can dash by holding down B while moving forward, and can open unlocked doors simply by holding forward while facing them.
The X button can now be mapped to perform a variety of quick features, like curing or saving.
DEMONS/FUSION
Over 30 new demons have been added, bringing the total fusible number to over 350: Amon, Anahita, Anat, Armaiti, Beelzebub, Belial, Cybele, Demeter, Hypnos, Isis, Ixtab, Jack the Ripper, Kali, Kikuri-Hime, Lucifuge, Mad Gasser, Mada, Maria, Master Therion, Nadja, Nebiros, Night Stalker, Sandalphon, Shaytan, Thanatos, Tsuchigumo, Vasuki, Volvo, Vritra, Zaou-Gongen, and Zeus join the game. (Amon, Anahita, Demeter, and Zeus have also received redesigns.)
The maximum demon stock is increased to 18, up from 12.
If you befriend a demon with at least one empty spot in your party, the demon will automatically fill a slot rather than go directly to your stock.
Demons in your stock whose analysis level hits max during a battle will offer their Demon Source right away, rather than after leveling up once more.
Much like all other modern SMT games, you can now choose which skills demons inherit during Fusion, rather than trying your luck.
Similarly, if a demon's skill changes when it levels up, you will now see what that skill will become, rather than it being a mystery.
You can now fuse a demon directly from the Compendium, without having to summon the source demons. If you have the money, this is a great way to get a new ally without having to free up more than one space in your stock.
GAMEPLAY/FEATURES
Additional sub-apps have been added, including apps that can detect hazards like traps. Most of these can be manufactured from materials found in the Womb of Grief.
There is now no limit to the number of apps you can have activated at once (aside, of course, from ones that have conflicting effects). You can also change the Apps you have equipped anywhere, as opposed to only at Terminals or the Red Sprite.
New feature: Commander Skills, which are special Sub-Apps that have a chance to activate and which can give you an advantage in battle.
New armor, swords, and guns can be crafted in the Lab.
Switching party members can now be done in one turn (the original game needed two: one to return the demon to your stock and another to summon).
New features have been added to the game's automap on the lower screen. For instance, touching a teleporter tile will show you where it will take you, if you've used it at least once before. You can now also browse maps of other dungeons at any time if you wish, rather than just the current one.
DLC has been added, much of it free. In addition to the aforementioned Impossible difficulty, there's also free item/equipment packs to help kickstart your expedition, as well as a pack of paid DLC which includes various Sub-Apps to speed up EXP/money/forma/etc farming.
Screenshots
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do I need to play any Shin Megami Tensei games to understand this one?
A: Nope. As with most SMT games, Strange Journey is standalone and can be played without any prior knowledge of how the games work.
Q: How about any of the Etrian Odyssey games?
A: No as well. There are some similar concepts between EO and SJ, but you'll be fine if you've never played an EO game. You may wish to make some side notes about important places you explore (the 3DS's built-in memo function works great!).
Q: Are there any Special Editions or anything like that?
A: Not for the English release, no. Japan got a very cool SMT 25th Anniversary box set back in October last year, but that's about it.
Q: Hey! They censored the Japanese cover artwork for the U.S.! Now Alex is just holding out her hand instead of a gun! How come?
A: The ESRB has guidelines about what can and can't be on covers. Among the "cant's": you cannot have a character pointing a gun at the viewer. Having it to the side, pointed downwards, etc. is fine. And yes, I know, that rule is all kinds of stupid. But rules are rules...
Q: Is there an English dub?
A: Nope. It's unfortunate, especially seeing as how this is a SMT game where the characters are all likely to actually be speaking English (it being an international team and all). The JP dub is pretty star-studded at least, featuring Maaya Sakamoto, Takahiro Sakurai, Unsho Ishizuka, Megumi Han, and more.
Q: What are the differences between the four difficulties?
A: See here for a handy chart.
Q: I want a physical copy of the game! Should I pick one up now?
A: Yes. According to several sources, Atlus is not shipping very many physical copies of Redux at all; most brick-and-mortar retail stores are getting single-digit shipments. This is likely gonna be one of those games that skyrockets to >2x the price in a few months.
Q: The four ships are named the Red Sprite, Blue Jet, Elve, and Gigantic. Do those names mean anything?
A: They're all terms related to various atmospheric electrical phenomena. Give this a read if you're interested.
Questions for Strange Journey vets
Q: How does the new dungeon, the Womb of Grief, work? Is it a bonus dungeon?
A: The new dungeon is actually a part of the base game's storyline. During your travels, you will eventually encounter an event in which you are transported there automatically. With the help of an unlikely ally, you'll need to find your way back out. The dungeon can be visited periodically throughout the storyline, and you'll be able to unlock new levels of it as you hit various plot points.
Q: Is it worth my time to go there?
A: It definitely is. Not only will you potentially gain access to three new endings, you'll also be able to make new equipment with the materials you collect, including new sub-apps to help out.
Q: Will demon Compendium passwords from the original game work?
A: Yes! However, some moves have been changed from the original, so you may not get *exactly* the same demon from the DS version. Decent way for vets to carry some stuff over, though, provided they have the money to summon.
Q: Is the "Mistress Jimenez" typo still in this?
A: Probably not. The entire game got a new translation, not just the new bits, so it's more than likely that too was fixed in the process. I'm still giggling about it, though.