The Shin Megami Everything Thread

[ryu]

just finished nocturne, which is now one of my favorite rpgs of all time. good thing i've played smt IV first, otherwise i would have been terribly disappointed with it.

[cj iwakura]

Just curious....has there been any word at all of an official OST release for SMT4 anytime soon?

Sadly no, but it's bound to happen. I expect it'll be at least two discs, maybe even three or four.

[drunkninja24]

Just curious....has there been any word at all of an official OST release for SMT4 anytime soon?

Sadly no, but it's bound to happen. I expect it'll be at least two discs, maybe even three or four.

Looking forward to it, seems odd there's not even been an announcement, but I'm sure in due time.

[BulletMagnet]

If you're after the eShop version of SMT4 it'll be ten bucks off 'til mid-October.

[cj iwakura]

Can't really fathom why someone would go digital for SMTIV, on the 3DS' crappy digital system no less, but that's just me. I only go digital if it's digital only, like Crimson Shroud.

[BrianC]

Can't really fathom why someone would go digital for SMTIV, on the 3DS' crappy digital system no less, but that's just me. I only go digital if it's digital only, like Crimson Shroud.

I usually stick to retail, but I made the exception with Nano Assault EX (updated version) and Kokuga (retail version is region locked and won't play on my system). I also found the prices to for some digital versions of retail games to be frustrating. Some like Tetris Axis are fairly priced, but others like Pilotwings are way too much.

Isn't SMTIV one of the larger games size wise too? I went with the retail version for it and I'm enjoying it so far. I aslo have Strange Journey now too.

[MX7]

Finished SMTIV after far too long. Moving house and starting a new job slowed me right down.

Overall I thought it was pretty excellent. Pacing was largely superb, and the way the world blossomed out after that first dungeon was really satisfying. For a modern game, it's huge. It just keeps going, and very rarely does it feel like a slog at all.

It did the whole 'am I really doing the right thing' shtick very well. I made choices honestly and got the chaos ending, which was abrupt and disquieting (as ever!)

American voice actors delivering faux medieval dialogue is always a mistake. The voice acting wasn't quite as soul destroying as Digital Devil Saga, but it got close at times. At least it could be turned off. I do wish Atlus USA would give us the option of what language to listen to. It sullies an otherwise excellent localisation.

The demon voices/sfx were nowhere near as creepy/evocative/otherworldly as SMTIII.

It needed some real dungeons. There was nothing brain frying here.

It was far too easy. I beat the final boss first time. That's not good.

Some of the music was excellent. Some really wasn't.

Ultimately, it's a brave game, that straddles mass market appeal with some pretty uncompromising ideological musings. In many ways it's fundamentally very similar to SMT1, but it's still refreshing. Not quite as balls-to-the-wall amazing as 3 or Strange Journey, but definitely close.

[cj iwakura]

I'm surprised you think SJ is better. It's not a bad game by any stretch, but it was almost too minimal in its storytelling. SMTIV has so much more going on in terms of locations and NPCs.

I loved that it had so many characters having a role in things, from the Yakuza guys to the Messian(esque) guys to the Gaians to the Casualry and Nobility in Mikado.


The demon voices were a nice touch, and I think Soul Hackers' dub was something of a warm up for it.

[CMoon]

Arggghhhh! I'm 50+ hours in and still haven't finished it. All you guys are so fast.

Right now I'd argue that gameplay and story wise it is the best SMT I've played, though I expect minimal story with a huge emphasis on gameplay. Atmosphere wise, Nocturne feels like the winner here, but I think in the gameplay and story department, 4 might have the edge. Still, this is splitting hairs. These are mighty games. Agree on the lack of dungeons--no clue why they are absent.

Strange Journey? Yeah, I gotta go back to that game. Minimal really sums it up. The whole demon co-op thing felt like a poor substitution for the press turn system. Regardless, the game deserves finishing. I'm so guilty of never finishing these games.

[cj iwakura]

If there's one thing every core SMT has in common, including SJ, it's crappy endings.

[BryanM]

The first one had one of the best, most elaborate endings in a game of all time. .... you just had to buy the sequel to see it.

It is some massive build up. "Change the world into whatever YOU want", you changed it, good job, here's a cinematic splash jpg and one line of text if you're lucky. See you next time.

To be fair, it is so much build up that the payoff could never possibly match it unless the world-altering stuff was built in as the core game itself. Instead of the jRPG hack n' slash..

[CMoon]

OK, saw the nothing ending, went back to my save and am working on the law ending which I'm locked into. Would be nice to be on to new game plus by the end of this weekend. 57 hours.

I do really like this game and while I can sit here and wish it was on a console, the counter argument is that handhelds should get great games. This is one of them. Definitely happy I bought a 3DS.

[CMoon]

Beat it after 67 hours. Spent a shitton of time fusing. If you like the fusing mechanic, this is a great game. Where other RPGs might make you grind, smart fusing was a lot more important. If anything, I was sometimes grinding for money.

I'd really like to see the neutral route ending and started playing a second round.

My final take: Not a perfect game, and there are a few points it definitely stretched my patience, but still a damn fine game anyway.

[cj iwakura]

As Law endings go, this one has the biggest middle finger imaginable.

[CMoon]

As Law endings go, this one has the biggest middle finger imaginable.

Yup, seems pretty much designed to make you feel like a giant douchebag. Is chaos as bad?

[MX7]

I haven't seen the law ending, but the chaos endgame/ending got me down quite a lot. Refreshng to have such a relentlessly dismal game!

[drunkninja24]

As Law endings go, this one has the biggest middle finger imaginable.

Yup, seems pretty much designed to make you feel like a giant douchebag. Is chaos as bad?

Chaos definitely made me feel like a doucebag, but probably for an entirely different reason than law does.

[cj iwakura]

Well, Law makes you feel like a douche, then a moron.

My fight against Satan in DDS2.

Claiming a world record, I've never seen anyone kill him with a sub-L99 team. Mine was 84/82/82. Very fun once you know how it works and already did it before, so you're not stressing.

[ryu]

looks like persona 5 is being directed by urobuchi gen

http://persona5.jp

vita owners get what they deserve

http://p-atlus.jp/p4d/

and i'm glad to have bought a japanese 3ds

http://p-atlus.jp/pq/

[Formless God]

http://persona5.jp

Man look at all that GAMEPLAY time to get a ps3

http://p-atlus.jp/p4d/

They told me I could be anything, so I became Project Diva. Into the trash.

http://p-atlus.jp/pq/

This one looks ok. Hoping for less social nonsense and more dungeon designs.



hnnngg

[Xyga]

Winter 2014 on PS3 in Japan, so maybe summer 2015 in the US ?

Really Atlus ?

[BulletMagnet]

Winter 2014 on PS3 in Japan, so maybe summer 2015 in the US ?

Really Atlus ?

If nothing else it appears that Sony is willing to keep the PS3 going for awhile after its successor hit shelves, as it was with the PS2 - IMO a good thing, as lots of off-the-beaten-path releases tend to sneak onto a system once it's out of the limelight. Moreover, some of the high-profile JP releases of late have been getting western releases pretty close to their Japanese counterparts, so I wouldn't be surprised if they're planning to start translating before the game is finished.

They told me I could be anything, so I became Project Diva. Into the trash.

As shameless a cash-in as it is, I am more amused by the concept of Disco Teddy than I should be.

This one looks ok. Hoping for less social nonsense and more dungeon designs.

Not surprising that the 3DS remains dungeon crawler central, but I'm a bit surprised that the Vita didn't get this one too...my prediction is an "enhanced" Vita release somewhere down the line.

[evil_ash_xero]

Persona 5? NeoGAF ejaculates in unison.

[ZellSF]

I really like the idea of a Persona rhythm game, but that one looks terrible. Is it just me that thinks it looks extremely low budget? I see comparisons to Project Diva, but Project Diva had way better production values.

[ryu]

I really like the idea of a Persona rhythm game, but that one looks terrible. Is it just me that thinks it looks extremely low budget? I see comparisons to Project Diva, but Project Diva had way better production values.

does anyone know that company they're affiliating with for the vita game- dingo? i've never heard of them and apparently they haven't even got a wikipedia page.

edit: it's actually from the same company that developed project diva. i agree that this looks really low-budgety

[BulletMagnet]

A few words from Hashino.

[Formless God]

Localized SMT comes out on iOS

I was on the verge of getting an iDevice for the rhythm games, and with this the deal is pretty much sealed. All dem tears tho.

[RNGmaster]

Well, Law makes you feel like a douche, then a moron.

My fight against Satan in DDS2.

Claiming a world record, I've never seen anyone kill him with a sub-L99 team. Mine was 84/82/82. Very fun once you know how it works and already did it before, so you're not stressing.

damn, this makes me want to stop procrastinating and finish DDS1 and 2

(it's funny because that will mean procrastinating on my bio and chem courses but who cares when you have video games)

also isn't persona q coming out on american 3ds? i mean all my 3ds money will be gone for the foreseeable future due to bravely devault and conception and about a million other things but, y'know, it'd be cool to have another thing to waste time on

[Pretas]

Localized SMT comes out on iOS

First official translation of SMT1. Did they use the fan script, or is it new?

[cj iwakura]

Localized SMT comes out on iOS

First official translation of SMT1. Did they use the fan script, or is it new?

Mind blowing.

People at GAF are saying new, but I have no idea of the source. That title screen reminds me a lot of a mock-up I swear I saw someone post once...

Still, it's wonderful to see Atlus USA acknowledge the old games. Never thought I'd see the day.