Topic: The Megami Tensei Thread

I figured since there isn't a proper thread to talk about the entire franchise, and since Atlus is now bringing out remasters and remakes of their more popular titles in the franchise like P4G on PC and Nocturne's remaster on Switch/PS4 in addition to SMT V and Persona 5 Scramble's impending localization, that there should be a proper place to discuss and gush about all things Megami Tensei, including SMT, Persona, Devil Summoner, Devil Survivor, Digital Devil Saga and other sub series and spinoffs, especially as these ports, spinoffs, new games and remasters are bringing a ton of people into the fandom.

I, for one, welcome our new demonic overlords.

I'm super excited for the series to be making a strong appearance on switch. The last year i've been gathering as many games in the series as i can. I haven't tried all of them yet, but my favorites so far are Nocturne, Devil Summoner: Raidou 1, and Devil Survivor Overclocked. Oh, and Catherine (is it an offical spin off?).

Um, Catherine really isn't anything at all to do with SMT .... ?

@BruceCM I think there's a jack frost in it. And it has a chaos vs order theme. Thats about it though...I like to think it belongs because everything must be neat und tidy.

This game has me confused. Based on the 4 minutes I saw yesterday, does each game focus on a different character? Is there an English setting?

@BabyYoshi12 Nocturne? Nah, you play as one character (the boy with the pattern on his skin) and your party is made up of demons you negotiate with and fuse. The other characters are the few that survive an apacolyptic event.

I really like the Devil Survivor games, i got into them waiting for the next Fire Emblem and then moved onto the main games.

Based on your other posts these games aren’t for you. For example it’s full of lovable demons like this;

@jump I love that design. Who comes up with a screaming penis riding a golden chariot? And one that you can talk with, no less.

I've jumped back in to SMT IV based on this news. Only a few hours in so far but enjoying it. It's brutally difficult, even on the easy setting.

@BruceCM Catherine is loosely connected considering it still has an alignment system which determines one of multiple endings, as well as thematic elements throughout its story. It's also implied based on P3P and P4A that Catherine takes place in the Persona universe

@TheFrenchiestFry I didn't realize they connected the two. How'd they do that?

Ooh, well, that's interesting, @TheFrenchiestFry..... Tried Persona games on Vita & didn't get on with them but I think I'll like SMT more

Call me weird, but bizarrely enough, Tokyo Mirage Sessions on Wii U sparked my interest. I learned it was originally going to be a crossover of Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem. I knew what Fire Emblem was, but Shin Megami Tensei actually had me more curious as I never played or heard of Shin Megami Tensei.

Then one day I was shopping in a local store and found a copy of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux. Having some extra cash on me, I just bought it without second thought. Later that evening, I popped it into my 3DS and two hours have passed. Really was enjoying what I was playing. The fact that I could recruit demons to my party and fuse them together to make a new demon was interesting. I don't regret buying my copy, and I'm very happy seeing Nocturne and SMTV come to Switch.

That's pretty much my introduction to this series. Hoping to get some of the other 3DS entries in this series one day.

I have no idea why Jack Frost is the mascot when Mara is by far the better demon!

@Sunsy I think Tokyo Mirage Sessions is great. I love the ridiculous Jpop superhero feel to it all. If you're looking for 3ds Megten, might I recommend Devil Survivor Overclocked. It's a tactical RPG, so it's a little unorthodox, but the story is great. It's one of my favorites.

@Losermagnet It is one of my favorite games. I'm glad it helped sparked my interest in the series. Making note of Devil Survivor Overclocked then. Good to know other entries in this series. I did know about SMTIV being on 3DS at least.

@Losermagnet They don't explicitly connect the two, but in P3P (which was released a year before Catherine), there's a cameo from a guy called "Man Drinking Alone" who appears in the bar after acquiring the Tower Arcana (which in of itself could be interpreted as referencing the puzzle-platforming gameplay of Catherine) who is supposed to be Vincent Brooks, and he has a talk with the protagonist about drinking to momentarily forget about his commitment problems (hinting at Catherine's plot details)

In Persona 4 the Animation Yu's ringtone on his phone is the music that plays when you fail an attempt to complete a level in Catherine, and in P4 Arena's opening, Yu's bedroom has a Catherine calendar similar to how he had a Persona 3 calendar in vanilla P4

@TheFrenchiestFry. I never noticed the ringtone in Persona 4 the Animation. Time to bust out the set...

For the sake of conversation, what're your personal favorites in the Megten series? Spin-offs included.

@Losermagnet In terms of my favorite mainline game, I'd say either SMT IV or Strange Journey, but Nocturne is a very close second

In terms of my favorite spinoff titles they are still the first Devil Survivor and the Persona 2 duology

And in terms of spinoffs of spinoffs, I'd say either P5S (which I imported for Switch from Japan) or the first Arena game, with Q2 coming in a close second

@TheFrenchiestFry Conceptually, Strange Journey appeals to me most out of the mainline games, but I haven't opened my copy yet. Nocturne has been great, I like the tinge of Lovecraftian horror. Forneus' first appearance genuinely unsettled me. I started with the series with Devil Survivor Overclocked. I think it was one of my first 3ds games. It's one of my favorite games (in general). I have conflicting feelings about Devil Survivor 2. I take it that you liked P5S? I've been cautiously optimistic.