Played the EOIV demo for a bit (got through the initial mine area).

It was a tad more menu based than I normally like (mostly how you "traverse" the town), & the FOE aspect doesn't seem like something I'd personally enjoy, but overall I still found it to be a fun experience.

The gameplay itself is solid, the graphics are beautiful (haven't tried 3D yet), and I could get used to the mapping. I'd probably have to play in casual, though (I know that's probably blasphemy to you all, lol).

Blasphemy no. It's one of the harder rpgs that I've come across. I've played all of them so ill be going on normal but play however you want to experience the game the way you want. If it gets so hard it becomes more frustrating then fun then that no good. There is a topic on this game and a few of us have been talking about it over there btw.
http://www.nintendolife.com/forums/3ds/etrian_odyssey_iv_lege...

I dunno if you'd like SMT: Nocturne. I read your comment in another thread about Overclocked being frustrating...which it is towards the end, but otherwise it's not really that bad compared to Nocturne. I have a fealling you'd rage quit by the time you get to the Matador fight...less than a third of the way into the game...

Nah. I don't rage quit games. There might be some headaches and a ton of profanity, but I usually can't rest easy until I've conquered a game that's kicking my ass. That's how I got so good at the original Contra, for instance. I haven't been able to beat it without dying once yet, but I CAN beat it in two lives. Anyway, RPGs are easy in comparison to games like Contra because there's no reflex element to them.

The difficulty is part of the appeal of Atlus games. For me, at least.

As to Overclocked, it's a tough battle I'm stuck at right now. It's the Day 5 Kaido/Midori battle if you choose to BS your way out of that fight with Keisuke. Know what I'm referring to?

Which SMT game would you say is your favorite?

The Lush Woodlands in EOIV (demo) are kicking my butt. Luckily, after a tense escape from a FOE (that bear), I managed to make my way back to that purple glow tower that teleports you back to town, so I didn't die. Now I'll be able to restock before heading back in.

It's tense, but fun. If I had the extra cash to throw around, I'd probably buy the full game.

'Fraid not, I picked a different path. Just saw a video of it, and it didn't look that hard. What demons are you using? One of the Powerful demons is weak to stone, and the other is weak to Fire.

As for my favorite SMT game, I'd go with Strange Journey. I started out the series by playing the old SNES games on an Emulator, and it's like playing an upgraded version of those games. It's gameplay, dungeons, and general structure feel like a breath of fresh air despite going back to basics. I also love its theme, characters, and story. Every time I play it, I'm reminded why I fell in love with this series in the first place.

Ironically, my least favorite SMT game is Persona 1, which is the only SMT game I played that I consider not so great. Even the PSP remake had combat that I just didn't enjoy, and the writing is pretty rough - there's a good story to be sure, but it's not set up well, and there's some generally bad dialogue, too. I didn't get very far, but I really don't want to play it again.

For Hero, I'm using a lvl 25 Pyro Jack and a lvl 29 Ishtar. For Atsuro, I'm using a lvl 30 Mahakala and a lvl 28 King Frost. For Yuzu, I'm using a lvl 29 Silky and a lvl 26 Kikuri-Hime. And for Keisuke I'm using a lvl 23 Jack Frost and a lvl 21 Aeros.
I'm pretty sure what my problem is. For one thing, the demons in this fight are all lvl 30+, and most of them are in the mid=to-high 30s range, whereas my highest level demon is only lvl 30. Moreover, demons like Pyro Jack and Jack Frost are pretty basic races.
Actually, Black Frost, the one Midori summons, is weak to nothing. It reflects fire and ice back at you. Pazuzu IS weak to ice, though.

Strange Journey is on my list. I figure after I've beaten Devil Survivor Overclocked, the upcoming Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers 3DS port, Etrian Odyssey IV and Etrian Odyssey III (only EO I've played through is the first game) I'll probably take on Strange Journey. It certainly looks excellent.

...oh dear. Have you been free battling at all throughout the game? It sounds like you should at least be in the 30s. If you can, fuse the low-level ones into stronger demons. You should never keep a weak demon around for too long, let alone have one 7 levels behind.

And you might want to try petrafying Black Frost. That's what the guy in the video did. I believe Keisuke learns a Petrafying move.

Just finished the EOIV demo. My thanks to Atlus for providing what's probably the most expansive demo I've ever played. I still haven't maxed out my characters at lvl 10, and there are a few areas in the dungeon I haven't fully mapped, so I'll probably play it a bit more.

Nah, the majority of the battles I've just won by using smart tactics. My demons have been perpetually underleveled the entire game. I suppose at some point that was going to come back to bite me in the butt. Either way, the game won't progress until I pass this Midori/Kaido fight, so I can grind to my heart's content before the battle begins.
I just played a "session" of the game and fused some stronger demons. Jack Frost is gone, replaced by a lvl 34 Badb Catha. And the Aeros has been replaced by a lvl 26 Afanc. Not ideal yet, but at least Keisuke doesn't have demons that are in the low 20s anymore.

Black Frost actually hasn't been a problem. I could wipe that guy out in a few turns if Pazuzu didn't keep casting spells from 4 spaces away that wipe out half of a unit's team each time.

Which versions of Persona 3 have you played? I'm not sure if I should get that on the PSP or PS2.

I've played both. I like them both equally, due to their strengths and weaknesses evening out. I think both go for a good price these days, so just go with your gut on which version. I will say that P3P has better replay value, though, and I do mean better. The Answer is...not great, to say the least.

P3P doesn't have animated cutscenes which kinda sucks, but you can control your teammate's actions which I hear you can't do in the the PS2 version.

Canis, as an update, with a little bit of grinding/demon fusing/mitama buffing, the battle indeed became infinitely more manageable. And thanks for that petrify tip on Black Frost, he was fairly easy to beat once I successfully petrified him.
The next few missions were pretty simple. I think I'll grind/skill break some more before the next major battle, though.
This has to be my favorite tactical RPG since Disgaea 2.

Moreover, the portable version supposedly has a female lead you can play, in addition to the default male lead?
It sounds like the portable version is more polished gameplay-wise, but isn't as flashy as the PS2 version.

EO games make every little inch of progress on your part feel like a major victory. And the first time you're able to whip that bear in a battle... it's an indescribable feeling. I can only imagine the easy mode takes a lot of the enjoyment out of the game by making it less dangerous. The flip side of the frustration and anger is the ecstatic feeling you get when you actually master a challenge that has been besting you at every turn.

Easily the most memorable video game experience of mine in recent memory was the first time I curb-stomped that Ragelope that had been terrorizing my party for hours in EO1.

Once I reached lvl 9 in the EOIV demo, I noticed that the Cutter's icon (the F.O.E. in the area) changed from red to yellow, so I decided to take it on...

It took a load of Medicas, but I endured and won!

I took on those baboon FOES at level 7 in the initial dungeon. Almost died, but got some good items from them as a result.

Glad you got through it. It's a great game, I'd hate for you to be so stuck when you haven't even gotten to the end yet. You're definitely gonna want to do free-battles frequently, though. At least once after every mission if you can. Otherwise you might get to the end and find it unbeatable!

The flash helps, though. I feel like the story doesn't come across as well without the cutscenes.

Yeah, I'm going to free battle 5 or 6 times since I just completed a few story missions so I don't get stuck! It has definitely convinced me to prioritize the other SMT games.

Have you played P4 Golden? And if you have, is it significantly different than the original PS2 version?

I finally beat that Cutter last night, but when I turned on the demo today, they replaced it with a Golden Cutter...

...WTH!

I believe that's random. They appear from time to time. Great experience if you can take them down though!

Just bought my first Atlus published title!

I should be getting the King of Fighters XIII in the mail sometime next week. (bought online from GameStop).