Topic: The Megami Tensei Thread

@jump I'd imagine after Nocturne and P4G the next step in terms of bringing older titles to modern platforms that are borderline inaccessible without emulation, would be remastering most of if not all the PS2 SMT games. We have Nocturne now but there's also both Digital Devil Saga games and the Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha games, which would especially be plausible for ports since they're already remastering the Maniax Chronicle edition of Nocturne that has Raidou as a guest character instead of Dante

@MS7000 Hm....well I love Devil Survivor Overclocked. It does have a sloooooooow start though.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. If it's a more traditional RPG experience i'd say SMT IV Apocalypse. If you want something akin to confidants, like in Persona, maybe Devil Survivor 2. Or of you want something else entirely, but shares similar themes, Catherine is fantastic.

Well, plenty of things have been redone from DS systems to things with one screen, so that part isn't too difficult, @Ralizah ....

@MS7000 I'd say if you have your Vita still lying around you should give the other mainline Persona entries a try as well considering they're all downloadable on the PSN Store are PSP and PSOne classics. In addition to having Persona 1 PSP (which is the best way to play the english version of Persona 1), the Innocent Sin PSP remake, the PSOne version of Eternal Punishment and Persona 3 Portable (which is in my opinion better than FES), the Vita also has access to all three Persona Dancing games, as to my knowledge you couldn't buy P4D on PS4 without buying a specific edition of P3D/P5D, and even then you still had to rebuy all the DLC

I'd say in terms of mainline SMT I'd suggest giving Strange Journey another shot since it's what I consider to be a quintessential classic SMT experience with first person dungeon crawling and more traditional battle/demon negotiation mechanics compared to some of the more diverse stuff like Devil Survivor and Persona. Devil Survivor 1 in particular is also really good and probably my favorite SMT spinoff next to the Persona 2 duology. If you got into stuff like Fire Emblem, Advance Wars or FF Tactics, it's going to feel very familiar but it'll also have some of the elements in terms of gameplay and story that are more familiar to MegaTen

@TheFrenchiestFry Strange Journey does seem very neat conceptually. Gives me sci fi horror vibes. I own Redux, but haven't started it yet.

@jump thats wild. I've noticed Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers has become crazy expensive on ebay. I think that's where I draw the line at a game being too expensive.

I’m so curious about the new game glad for opening a topic about it

@Losermagnet I think you can get the Devil Summoners on PS3 for $10 each. Under PS2 Classics.

I have all the SMT games on 3DS. But never played them too much. I liked SMT IV but was new to JRPGs when I tried it and it kicked my butt. Now it’s just really hard for me to go back and play games on any system other than Switch. Gotten used to HD handheld gaming and having hybrid freedom. Which is why I’m really looking forward to SMTIII HD and SMTV.

I beat Persona 4 Dancing on Vita. In fact it’s the only game I’ve ever gotten a platinum trophy on. I’ve played a good chunk of Persona 4 Golden on Vita, started over on PC and played a good chunk, and I’ve played a good chunk of Persona 5. Also loved the P5 Scramble demo. They need to hurry up and localize that already.

I’m so down for SMTV though. I want a proper SMT/Persona experience on a hybrid system, and while Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Catherine Full Body and (hopefully soon) Persona 5 Scramble are much appreciated (especially the latter two and ESPECIALLY P5S), SMTV is the one I’ve been waiting for. Getting SMT3 HD on a hybrid too is such a bonus. That’s a truckload of content between the two of them.

Good video to watch for newcomers.

@TheFrenchiestFry
Pretty sure that only P4 Dancing is on Vita- the other two only released on PS4 alongside the port of P4D.

@judaspete Well Soul Hackers is 3DS exclusive. I think you're confusing it with the Raidou Kuzunoha games

@judaspete y'know I've read that (about the Raidou duo) and for what I paid I probably could've gotten a PS3 and had enough left over for a small coke. But having physical copies (one in shrink wrap still) has more sentimental value to me. That's what i'm telling myself until the loans paid off at least.

@BruceCM Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing them on Switch. I actually added SMT IV: Apocalypse and Devil Survivor Overclocked (BTW, thanks for the suggestion @Losermagnet) to my 3DS wishlist, hoping to buy them in the future. The only entry I've played was Strange Journey Redux, wouldn't mind playing more. I was playing it earlier today, still need to play it more, other games got in the way.

@JaxonH Perfect timing with that video, actually I had it on my TV earlier today via the YouTube app. It is a good introduction for newcomers. I think I learned a tip or two from it.

@Sunsy No prob! Hope you like it.

Looking great .... I'm glad there's a noob mode for me!

@Losermagnet Might try giving Devil Survivor another shot. Thanks for the recommend.

@TheFrenchiestFry I do still have my Vita (heck, I lovingly call it the Persona machine). I own P3P on it, but I have been holding off since it feels like they will remake that soon. I will probably try to get P1 and P2 soonish, but in the meantime will pronably try Devil Survivor again. Thanks for the tips!

That Merciful mode is what sells me on actually wanting to play through the game. The series is notoriously hard but the older ones are even less forgiving.

@MS7000 Yup! Hope you like it. The gameplay is fantastic, but I couldn't quite get into the story. It can't quite figure out whether it's serious drama or a boob anime. Both are entertaining in their own ways, but the constant back-and-forth undermines the tone for me. Still worth playing though.

So, SMT has such a wide range of spinoffs. I own SMTIV and SMTIV Apocalypse on 3DS. I’ve played some SMTIV but never got too far. I own or will own all of the following:

3DS
Persona Q
Persona Q2
SMT: Devil Survivor - Overclocked
SMT: Devil Survivor 2 - Record Breaker
SMT: Soul Hackers
SMT: Strange Journey Redux
SMT IV
SMT IV - Apocalypse

PC
Persona 4 Golden
Persona 5

Vita
Persona 4 Golden

PS4
Persona 3 Dancing
Persona 4 Dancing
Persona 5 Dancing
Persona 5 Royal

Switch
Persona 5 Scramble
SMT III - Nocturne
SMT V

So many different spinoffs. What’s the difference? I know Devil Survivor is SRPG, but how do battles unfold? On the map in real time or in back and forth JRPG-styled battles? And what is Soul Hackers and Strange Journey, and how do they differ from mainline?

@Ralizah
So, would you elaborate on your experience with the franchise thus far, if you don’t mind? Which games you’ve played, any you’ve beaten, favorites, least favorites, and general thoughts on what makes it so great?

@JaxonH Devil Survivor is kind of tough to explain, but I'll try....

Battles are grid based with you controlling up to (I think) 3 or 4 human characters. It's most like Final Fantasy Tactics. When you attack an opponent, combat transitions into a more traditional RPG combat that resembles classic SMT or Dragon Quest (you don't see your characters, just the enemy). You now pick moves for your character, AND two demons that character has set to them. You do a round of attacks and so does your opponent.

I think thats about it. If I'm mistaken someone please correct me. I love the first game but it's been awhile since I've played it.

The game outside of combat is almost like a visual novel. Not wanting to spoil anything, the story of the game occurs over a period of a week (or so) and events are selected from a menu. Certain events will progress time, while others won't. And depending on what you choose to do, the story will change.

Battles are one of the events that occur frequently.