Topic: The Megami Tensei Thread

I already had a decent plan outlined for which games I was getting between April and July and this announcement destroyed everything! Shame but I feel like I'm gonna like SMT3HD really well.

@TheJGG Yeah, my plans for this year are generally staying very loose to account for the presence of unknown SMT releases. Although now that Nocturne's release date is known, I think it's probably safe to plan out my purchases through July or so.

I'm just glad I'll have some time to play Persona 5 Strikers and Monster Hunter before Nocturne releases.

The plan for me as far as new games go is that this month I'm buying 3D All Stars (finally)

Next month will probably be Oddworld and Returnal

May will be Nocturne

This month is obvs Monster Hunter month.
April is going to be spent catching up on my current games. I might also buy Devotion on PC before it gets pulled down again or something.
May is defo Nocturne.
June will be for playing Nocturne.

So, barring any big surprises, that's my plan for the next several months.

@TheFrenchiestFry Oddworld is free next month for PS5 owners subbed to Plus, right?

No interest in the game itself, but that's still a pretty notable release to give out for free.

@Ralizah I'm considering subbing to PS Plus for those benefits

Didn't even go near that service before on PS3, PSP, Vita or PS4 but its perks interested me

March, I will purchase MH Rise this month.

April, take a break from buying games

May, Buy Nocturne hopefully.

Other games I might buy: Miitopia, Mario Golf, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, Maneater

Persona games are part of Shin Megami so I am discussing it here.

Yesterday I bought Persona 5 from my Playstation 3's PSN store. After that was done I started playing the first 40 minutes or whatever of the game. Even though I am in the very beginning of the game the story is neat but one thing I dont like is that theyre reusing the gruff guardian who cant stand you from Persona 4.

Is that a Japan thing or something? They make it look like parents or strangers as a guardian for them to be cranky or something?

@urrutiap Sojiro starts off as kind of a gruff guardian but at least this time it's kind of justified given the predicament you're in when the game starts

He kind of views you as slightly untrustworthy and deliquent-esque considering he doesn't know the full story behind you being wrongfully framed for what happens at the start of the game. I do think the relationship he has with Joker does progress to the point where it starts to become more sincere than the dynamic between Dojima and Yu in Persona 4, especially given there's a character you meet later in the game that ties back to the bond both you and Sojiro as your guardian shares.

@urrutiap I never got the sense that Dojima had any issues with Yu in Persona 4.

Sojiro's relationship with MC improves pretty dramatically over time. He's a cool dude.

With that said, you'll probably notice a lot of parallels between Persona 4 & 5 in terms of the characters.

@urrutiap No, Dojima is very caring towards the player even at the start, because he’s the protagonist’s uncle and all. Their relationship progresses with the story but it’s very healthy despite Dojima’s workaholism.

Sojiro is extremely apprehensive about Joker at the start of the game, because he’s not fully aware of the entire gist of the situation. But his signs of trust are very subtle, like giving you store keys, letting you help around the shop and all.

He’s a really cool character, and has a very nice relationship with Joker come the game’s end.

@Slowdive I doubt there will be stock shortages so I would wait til closer to the time so you can find a cheaper deal.

@TheJGG Well in Persona 4, the uncle thats the cop he was getting stressed out and was getting cranky because you were getting involved when search clues about the murders.

then in Persona 5, the cafe owner was always cranky at you because of your criminal record and he even got cranky just because you were trying to tidy up.

What Id like to know is if japanese game developers for rpg games such as a Persona game have they had bad experiences with adults one time or what?

Im about to just quit playing Persona 5 because of that crap thats going on.

@Slowdive €50 for Catherine? I paid £36 on release day and I've seen it under £30 recently. Even places like Amazon aren't charging full price for it anymore.

@Slowdive It's €34 on amazon in your country though.

@urrutiap The whole idea of Persona 5 is striking back against the corrupt adults in society. Every single villain in the game is an adult, or at least connected. If we had an actual villain the age of the Thieves it would break the moral of the game. A corrupt adult forced Joker into the game's events, so this theme is very present. Besides, the first impression that is Kamoshida, is an adult that does inherently adult things only adults can do. Sneer at the kids, play with their lives, sexually abuse students who have no voice or will to fight back...

I personally like Sojiro way more than Dojima, mainly due to his character development. Dojima and Sojiro are pretty much different either way honestly, with Dojima being a bit strict, but still thinking you as his family (since you are). Sojiro starts out effectively despising you, and not trusting you at all.

@VoidofLight Agreed but I prefer Signs of Love to Beneath the Mask. The piano riff's amazing, and has a more homely vibe.

The day themes in general are better than Beneath the Mask, Tokyo Daylight and Tokyo Emergency. My favourite of the P4 themes would be "Heartbeat, Heartbreak", then "Signs of Love", "Specialist, "New Days", then "Your Affection"

I like Signs of Love enough in the game itself but the Reincarnation track SLAPS

I think in general despite P5 having its bangers like Blooming Villain, Keeper of Lust, Life Will Change, Last Surprise and especially Throw Away your Mask in Royal, P3 and P4's OSTs just stuck with me more, and Persona 2 & 3's in particular are some of my favorite OSTs for any game ever made

@TheFrenchiestFry I liked the school theme from Persona 1 PSP, it has a really well defined vibe. Really reminds me of the Persona 4 day themes I mentioned above, plus has a cheerful tune the P4 soundtrack emphasises a lot.

The P5 soundtrack in general has a really subdued, minimalist (in terms of instrument number at least) vibe that gives off a really depressing tone. Beneath the Mask, the day to day cutscene songs like My Homie, So Boring, Wicked Plan, and so on. The P4 soundtrack is cheery and despite the murder undertones has in my opinion more memorable music.

@TheJGG I know School Days is a song a lot of people bring up when talking about Persona PSP's redone OST but as good of a song as it is by itself, it just never fit the tone the game was going for originally. It felt way too much like a try hard attempt to make the earlier Persona games appeal to the people who started with Persona 3 or 4 since the remake was coming out around the time P4 especially was getting popular

I think Innocent Sin's remake did a much better job of updating the music while not outright betraying the tone the game was supposed to be built around. There's actually a lot of instances where I just flat out prefer the PS1 OST to the remake's songs when it comes to the original Persona, particularly the Battle Theme, the Kama Palace theme and the SEBEC theme