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[sigmaZ]

This game's soundtrack

Were not worthy

I wish more games had stuff like this with a darker atmosphere.

 

[Gandih42]

You're probably doing this, but make sure to customize the Nahobino's essences (both skills and affinities) regularly. Having the right affinities on him for a battle can make a huge difference on a fight.

Thanks man!

Yeah I think I switched my affinities to directly counter every single boss I've fought so far. It's really satisfying when they waste their turn trying to hit my Nahobino with their big bad spells

 

[Danjin44]

Thanks man!

Yeah I think I switched my affinities to directly counter every single boss I've fought so far. It's really satisfying when they waste their turn trying to hit my Nahobino with their big bad spells

Thats basically whats press turn system is all about and why its my favourite turn based combat.

But dont worry later on enemies have a way to counter resistance with Pierce and Almighty attacks.

 

[Hrk69]

The

Spoiler

Demon King's Castle

is just bad. There is zero fun to be had in this one

I'm sorry but this is a reason for me to completely drop a game.

 

[sigmaZ]

Just got to the final area and god that music. It's been awhile since I've heard a final area music that makes you feel the stakes.
Hoping to finish up this weekend so I can get more into Daybreak and Dawntrail.

 

[semiconscious]

The

Spoiler

Demon King's Castle

is just bad. There is zero fun to be had in this one

I'm sorry but this is a reason for me to completely drop a game.

well, you would've really hated it in the original version, where there was no 'save anywhere', & you had to go from one save point to the next in a single run. to my surprise, this new version came off more like a mildly annoying irritation to me than anything else. everything's relative, i guess...

 

[Unknown Soldier]

well, you would've really hated it in the original version, where there was no 'save anywhere', & you had to go from one save point to the next in a single run. to my surprise, this new version came off more like a mildly annoying irritation to me than anything else. everything's relative, i guess...

Considering you can see the enemies on the field and run around them, even without save anywhere it was already much much easier than previous SMT titles which had random encounters

Thats basically whats press turn system is all about and why its my favourite turn based combat.

But dont worry later on enemies have a way to counter resistance with Pierce and Almighty attacks.

The problem with Press Turn is that every SMT and Persona and other spinoff title always ends up the same near the end, with bosses that have weaknesses to nothing and immunity to most if not all things and you're dependent entirely on Almighty spam to deal damage

They never figured out how to add more variety to how Press Turn is handled after decades of this problem

 

[Danjin44]

Considering you can see the enemies on the field and run around them, even without save anywhere it was already much much easier than previous SMT titles which had random encounters


The problem with Press Turn is that every SMT and Persona and other spinoff title always ends up the same near the end, with bosses that have weaknesses to nothing and immunity to most if not all things and you're dependent entirely on Almighty spam to deal damage

They never figured out how to add more variety to how Press Turn is handled after decades of this problem

In SMTV you can use Pierce attacks, in fact there is a skill that turns all your attacks to Pierce for one turn.

Also in SMTV most bosses including Shiva have weakness.

 

[semiconscious]

Considering you can see the enemies on the field and run around them, even without save anywhere it was already much much easier than previous SMT titles which had random encounters

agreed. but still kinds a pain in the ass for someone like myself who'd keep fucking up the traversal...

 

[sigmaZ]

This actually made me laugh out loud.

 

[Arsic]

I feel bad but I got to what I assume is the final open world area. Gotta off 4 bosses before going to either a final boss dungeon or something. But… I dropped the game haha.

I got sucked back into Elden Ring, sekiro, beat DS3 and all its dlc, and even have been playing some league of legends again.

For some reason the drive to go to finish this evaporated.

I’ll give it a lot of credit and still think it’s a 8.5/10 from what I played. Best Atlus game since persona 4 for me.

Having completed P4&5, but none of their other games I’ve played… im pretty sure I’m just not into their games as much as I want to be. I’ll still support and buy though. Metaphor looks awesome but I’m sure I’ll drop that too. JRPG pacing these days just loses me. I can’t think of the last jrpg I beat.

 

[Hrk69]

Any tips for this guy? I'm finding him really hard.

I thought this was a meme

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

I thought this was a meme

 

[Danjin44]

I thought this was a meme

Mara has been with series since the beginning and his not only one....

 

[Hrk69]

Mara has been with series since the beginning and his not only one....

Absolutely ridiculous, they know what they are doing and I'm all in for it lol

 

[jshackles]

Absolutely ridiculous, they know what they are doing and I'm all in for it lol

I laughed so hard because I tried talking to a random enemy and Mara (in my party) took over.



Didn't know this was a thing, but I was laughing out loud at all the puns

 

[Danjin44]

I laughed so hard because I tried talking to a random enemy and Mara (in my party) took over.



Didn't know this was a thing, but I was laughing out loud at all the puns

In Mara's mythology Girimekhala was his ride, and there are other demons who are related to each other get special conversation like between Cerberus and Hydra.

 

[semiconscious]

I feel bad but I got to what I assume is the final open world area. Gotta off 4 bosses before going to either a final boss dungeon or something. But… I dropped the game haha.

I got sucked back into Elden Ring, sekiro, beat DS3 and all its dlc, and even have been playing some league of legends again.

For some reason the drive to go to finish this evaporated...

weird. i just did the same thing (at the entrance to empyrean, the final stage). i did manage to get the true ending when i played the original, but this time, enough was enough. greatly enjoyed it, but i gotta admit that i just no longer really cared what the hell happened anymore...

 

[Hrk69]

I laughed so hard because I tried talking to a random enemy and Mara (in my party) took over.



Didn't know this was a thing, but I was laughing out loud at all the puns

YOUR GIRTHY DISPOSITION

 

[taylor34]

Everyone is talking about the music being great, I'm in the early open world parts and the music is awful to me. I loved persona 5's music but this is not great so far. I'm assuming it gets better?

 

[Hrk69]

Everyone is talking about the music being great, I'm in the early open world parts and the music is awful to me. I loved persona 5's music but this is not great so far. I'm assuming it gets better?

The music had to grow on me. Especially the first area.

Plus I didn't understand the full/dark moon sound. I thought it was a special demon or something lol

Other than that? Absolutely sublime soundtrack.

 

[adamsapple]

Any tips for this guy? I'm finding him really hard.

Give him the old hawk tuah

 

[Danjin44]

Plus I didn't understand the full/dark moon sound. I thought it was a special demon or something lol

Some Demons get good mood in the full moon which makes it easier to negotiate with them but sometimes in New moon they won't listen at all.

Also Fusion accident happen often during those phases and some demons can only be obtained with Fusion accidents.

 

[Hrk69]

Some Demons get good mood in the full moon which makes it easier to negotiate with them but sometimes in New moon they won't listen at all.

Also Fusion accident happen often during those phases and some demons can only be obtained with Fusion accidents.

I need to activate the miracle for that right? I'm sitting on a ton of glory because I don't know what miracles are unlocked later in the game

I'm going for all achievements but I'm taking my time

 

[Danjin44]

I need to activate the miracle for that right? I'm sitting on a ton of glory because I don't know what miracles are unlocked later in the game

I'm going for all achievements but I'm taking my time

Without the miracle you still get fusion accident but with miracle it would happen much more frequently.

 

[Hrk69]

Without the miracle you still get fusion accident but with miracle it would happen much more frequently.

Haven't seen one in 35 hours of playtime lol

Thanks for the info. I'm loving the game but found the first couple of hours overwhelming. I might have missed more important info

 

[Danjin44]

Haven't seen one in 35 hours of playtime lol

Thanks for the info. I'm loving the game but found the first couple of hours overwhelming. I might have missed more important info

Fusion accident mostly happens during new moon and full moon and you can tell when the music changes in world of shadows.

 

[jshackles]

Fusion accident mostly happens during new moon and full moon and you can tell when the music changes in world of shadows.

Also the first time it happens, it replays the entire cutscene (the one with the weird piano-esque thing, whatever the fuck that is about) and you can't skip it. Freaked me out the first time it happened, I thought my controller came undone. The cutscene for fusions is way, way too long.

I think I've had like three fusion accidents in my 55 hours of playing so far, and all three times it mangled my demon into something I already had a stronger version of lol

 

[Danjin44]

Also the first time it happens, it replays the entire cutscene (the one with the weird piano-esque thing, whatever the fuck that is about) and you can't skip it. Freaked me out the first time it happened, I thought my controller came undone. The cutscene for fusions is way, way too long.

I think I've had like three fusion accidents in my 55 hours of playing so far, and all three times it mangled my demon into something I already had a stronger version of lol

Yeah I never got the chance to get Amabie and Kinmamon in my entire 100 hours playthrough.

 

[sigmaZ]

After playing this game for hours a day every day while living in Japan, walking by shrines hits different.

 

[Danjin44]

After playing this game for hours a day every day while living in Japan, walking by shrines hits different.

I also love how you get whole side quest dedicated for Japanese mythology demons In this game.

 

[Markio128]

I’m 5 hours in and I’m still trying to get past the notion that I’m playing as a guy with a girls face and long flowing locks. I’m a bit surprised that this wasn’t picked up in playtesting (lol).

 

[Hrk69]

I'm in the snowy area and things are really ramping up in terms of difficulty IMO

Not that I'm complaining but I didn't expect it

 

[Hrk69]

Hollllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

BIG banger

 

[Hrk69]

Sorry for the spam

 

[Gandih42]

Closing in on 40 hours and the game just keeps getting better. Fighting bosses above your level and winning is especially satisfying. I also really like how they're not afraid to give them weaknesses to status effects, that can be highly abused. They'll do the same to you with OP moves anyway. Just barely beat Cleopatra yesterday, after missing at a critical moment completely fucked me up (and I had foolishly not used a Spyglass to reveal her susceptibility to 2 status effects ...). One thing I especially appreciate is that the ruthlessness of enemies actually makes me use items, instead of hoarding them like in most other RPGs. Some of them can really change the tide of a fight.

It also blows me away how many demons there are and how varied and incredible the designs are. Can't wait to keep going (I guess I'm just using this thread to gush at this point...)

 

[Danjin44]

Fighting bosses above your level and winning is especially satisfying.

Yup! instead of just “grinding“ you can beat bosses 10 levels above with you the right tactics and party set up……nothing is more satisfying.

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Japan only for now.

Atlus and Kadokawa Game Linkage have announced that the complete strategy guide for Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance will be released in Japan on August 28, 2024.

Fans can anticipate a plethora of information contained within these 528 A5-sized pages, such as charts for completing both story routes, endings, quest guides, demon interactions, Magatsuhi skills, and much more.

Pre-orders can be made from Amazon Japan or Rakuten Books for ¥3,300.

 

[RaZoR No1]

I avoided this thread until I finished the game ...

Now I got all endings and 100% demon compendium.
It is very good game and has a great battle system.
The OST is an absolute banger!

I liked that the main game was more focused on the demons.
Vengeance felt like, what could have been, if they had more time. More "human" focused you can say. Definitley worth playing it at least twice.


What I did not like was, that the game always treated you as a newcomer... you had to go through all tutorials and dialogues again and again and again...
And to be honest, getting all endings is/was not really worth it.
Only a few scenes were different and thats it...
And I really miss a difficulty/mode something inbetween Hard and Godborn.

Otherwise it was definitely worth playing it.



BTW:
How are the older titles?
This was my first mainline SMT Game.
So far I only played P3 - P5..
Are they still good to play or already too outdated?

 

[Danjin44]

How are the older titles?
This was my first mainline SMT Game.
So far I only played P3 - P5..
Are they still good to play or already too outdated?

Try SMT IIII Nocturne, Strange Journey, SMTIV and SMTIV Apocalypse (direct sequel to IV), Digital Devil Saga 1&2

They have less QoL compare to SMTV but they are absolutely worth playing.

 

[FewRope]

The final bosses for Vengeance route were really good, Demifiend fight is a complete nightmare and him being a guest in the party was disappointing. You cant really have him in NG+ without suffering that fight again

 

[Danjin44]

The final bosses for Vengeance route were really good, Demifiend fight is a complete nightmare and him being a guest in the party was disappointing. You cant really have him in NG+ without suffering that fight again

To be fair Demifiend is nightmare to fight in most games he appears in, like in Digital Devil Saga and SMTIV Apocalypse.

 

[Pasta la Vista]

Everyone is talking about the music being great, I'm in the early open world parts and the music is awful to me. I loved persona 5's music but this is not great so far. I'm assuming it gets better?

Unfortunately the music sucks for most of the open world areas with the exception of the final open world map. Previous SMT games were much better. These tracks are more like unsettling atmospheric music and while I get what they were going for with the bleak setting, I still just think its trash. Some SMT fans tend to praise everything they do and cant bear to be critical of anything.

Overall this game is one of the weakest in the whole SMT family of games. I hope they return to the cyberpunk aesthetic for the next one.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

I've been playing this since running through Personas 3R, 4G, and 5R and still wanting more. I've played SMT IV and SMT IV:A before, dabbled in III, but that's it for the mainlines.

I had played about 10 hours of SMT V on "Switch" before, but got burned out doing all the side quests where the juice wasn't worth the squeeze, so this time around, I got it on Steam and have been rushing the main quests.

I was having a grand old time for the first 20 hours. The first few times I had to grind levels were fine because I'd pop an Attract Pipe, find a cluster of enemies, aggro them, turn on Auto-Skill battle, teleport back to the nearest Pillar, repeat. Only had to do maybe an hour of pure grind until getting to Taito, and now Empyrean and what I think is the last battles:
The boss rush-like run up the heavenly stairs after taking out that punk Dazai

At around 30 hours of playtime, I might be done with this game. The enemies in Taito max out around Level 65, but the bosses are level 70+, so you don't get hardly any xp even with consecutive battles, and grinding turned into a pure slog. Similar situation now at the end with the boss rush.

In hindsight, I've been approaching the Persona games with the mindset that the battles are a nice change of pace from the social sim and (imo) compelling stories. SMT V's story just doesn't resonate. The combat is fine, but hasn't been enough to carry the experience, and I can't relate to ascending to godhood when I haven't even achieved the status of "manager" at work lol

Anyway, while writing this, I'm going to give this last part another go. We'll see if I stick with it to see at least AN ending, even if it's not the "true" ending.

 

[Yoshichan]

Finished SMTV V at around 140h, what a fucking amazing game wtf

Bought SMT3 Nocturne right away with mods that fixed the shitty compressed music

 

[Danjin44]

I was having a grand old time for the first 20 hours. The first few times I had to grind levels were fine because I'd pop an Attract Pipe, find a cluster of enemies, aggro them, turn on Auto-Skill battle, teleport back to the nearest Pillar, repeat. Only had to do maybe an hour of pure grind until getting to Taito, and now Empyrean and what I think is the last battles:
The boss rush-like run up the heavenly stairs after taking out that punk Dazai

Here is the thing you NEVER EVER need grind in this game, I beat end game super boss while being 10 level lower, in fact beat most high level quests bosses while being severely under level. also the only reason fight field enemies is when I want recruit specific demon.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

Here is the thing you NEVER EVER need grind in this game, I beat end game super boss while being 10 level lower, in fact beat most high level quests bosses while being severely under level. also the only reason fight field enemies is when I want recruit specific demon.

Instead of grinding, you fuse/use essences to tailor your party to the battle, right? That's fair. That isn't too appealing for me. I actually like grinding when I'm seeing enough progress happen, but this game got to a point where I didn't. To me, the grind is just as satisfying as "getting good" because it's like I'm wearing down the game until I come out ahead, if that makes sense. I'm glad you like this game. I'm still interested in Metaphor once it comes out.

 

[Danjin44]

Instead of grinding, you fuse/use essences to tailor your party to the battle, right? That's fair. That isn't too appealing for me. I actually like grinding when I'm seeing enough progress happen, but this game got to a point where I didn't. To me, the grind is just as satisfying as "getting good" because it's like I'm wearing down the game until I come out ahead, if that makes sense. I'm glad you like this game. I'm still interested in Metaphor once it comes out.

SMT‘s Press Turn combat is about rewarding you for good party composition and coming up with tactics to beat tough enemies, it’s not type of RPG that build around grinding, that would make the game actively un fun for yourself.

This is why field enemies don’t reward you with high EXP, in SMTV you get more EXP from doing quests and beating major boss. Field enemies exist so you can get specific demon for your fusion, not meant for grinding.

 

[Grildon Tundy]

SMT‘s Press Turn combat is about rewarding you for good party composition and coming up with tactics to beat tough enemies, it’s not type of RPG that build around grinding, that would make the game actively un fun for yourself.

The game wasn't discouraging my grinding (because I was leveling up every five minutes or so when doing dedicated grinding) until I got to Taito, and at that point I felt like I had learned and implemented the wrong lesson: that grinding would carry me. Don't get me wrong: I would change up my demons and do essence fusions for bosses, too, but when it go to the point I needed to min/max with more detail and form the ideal party, I just got annoyed and bored.

All of this is to say, I just don't think this game was for me in the end. Or at least I wouldn't pick it up again over Persona. Glad you like it, though!

Luckily I've got the Persona series that has a more appealing mix of gameplay features. And Metaphor looks dope, too.

 

[Gandih42]

Finished my first playthrough a few days ago and got started on the superbosses. What a rush man.

After hours of tweaking and specializing I was able to take down

Spoiler

Demi-Fiend

in a fight that took almost 30 minutes. And I thought that was a battle of attrition until started locking horns with

Spoiler

Satan

, holy shit. That took me like 80 minutes, in the zone, totally focused, even my girlfriend got caught up in watching the final rounds of that fight.

I'm super impressed with games that dare put such a challenge for their players, it is so immensely satiafying. Had loads of fun using a notebook to track affinities and Magatsuhi skills using that to pre-emptively set up my team during the fight.

On to a Canon of Creation playthrough! (and then after they probably turn on Godborne, so I don't fuck myself over just yet)