Topic: The Megami Tensei Thread

Will the premium edition steelbooks be scalped, or do I have time to wait in order to pre-order the game later? Since I wanna get the steelbook, but I'm waiting until we get closer to release to pre-order.

@VoidofLight The steelbooks are basically "while supplies last" while it looks like the premium editions are basically collectors items. Everywhere I look I see the steelbooks are way more readily available likely because of the time we have until launch

@JaxonH I don't have many steelbooks myself. In some cases like the Smash Ultimate one I just prefer the standard box art over the steelbook design or I'm just that sensitive towards spending my money that even if I see one floating around I basically tell myself not to go through with it lol

This will be different though. I'm not missing this one after losing out on both the Catherine Full Body and P5R steelbooks

@TheFrenchiestFry Ah alright, that's good to hear.

https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0177-CUSA17416_...

Persona 5 Royal and Royal's Ultimate Edition are currently heavily discounted as part of Sony's Mid-Year Sale on the PlayStation Store. For those who haven't played it yet, P5R for around 35 bucks is a steal with the wealth of content provided beyond the base game from 2017

@DomGC I don't tend to replay Persona games a lot but that first playthrough sticks with me so much that the value doesn't really diminish on repeat visits. I personally think while I found Persona 5's story among the weaker in the series, the gameplay and presentation held it up tenfold, and the QoL stuff and extra content Royal added transcended just the kind of stuff you'd see in a DLC expansion imo

The third extra semester story in particular is in my opinion, some of the best writing I've seen from Persona in a long time

I feel like returning to a Persona title is good to do months or years after you originally beat the game, when the story becomes a but hazy to you.

@DomGC Really just depends on how the world map is laid out and/or presented, IMO. SMT IV's Tokyo is famously easy to get lost in, even if you're played the game before. Apocalypse made basic changes that improved the overworld navigation massively, though. Nocturne's map is fairly easy for me since it's not as dense as IV, and the design of it is mostly pretty linear as you're going through the story.

If you ever get around to Royal, you should know it's hugely favorable to a single big playthrough. My own Royal playthrough was 150 hours, but I platinumed it (the platinum trophy requirements are super generous in Royal) and fully explored nearly all of the confidants thanks to improvements that make it easier to gain affinity with other characters (ignored the politician entirely for a second time though, lol).

@TheFrenchiestFry The third semester blew me away. Best writing I've ever seen in an Atlus game, with a really compelling central hook, a unique, sympathetic antagonist, and a genuinely cool dynamic between Joker and certain other party members who are either new to this version or have massively expanded storylines.

Which is cool, because one of my big complaints about the original was the sort of underwhelming, generic climax and final boss fight. Of course, he's still in here, but the third semester more than makes up for it.

@Snaplocket What didn't you like about P4? P5 adds in handcrafted dungeons, demon negotiations, and guns, making it feel much closer to SMT. If the combat system was more balanced, it'd probably be my favorite Atlus game, or at least co-equal with IV: Apocalypse.

@Ralizah I wouldn't say best in Atlus as that's a tight spot occupied by a lot of games in my eyes, but it's probably the most engaged I've been following a Persona story since Persona 3. I really dug what they did with the antagonist and how they tied into why Kasumi transfers into Shujin a while after the protagonist does, and it also got me to actually kind of like Akechi for once so that's an accomplishment

I will say though, best Palace and boss theme in the game. Throw Away your Mask is such an amazing song

@TheFrenchiestFry I really loved the Royal content, and hope that Persona 6 has the same director and writing team as Royal. It was refreshing to have an antagonist which makes you question your morals, and who really isn’t entirely in the wrong. The music and final dungeon were amazing, and that final fight is probably my favorite boss fight in the game.

@VoidofLight It'll be really interesting to see where they take the series now that Hashino is out of the picture. I wonder if they'll bring in more talent like Daisuke Kaneda as more hands on people in the main entries instead of them being relegated to the spinoff or side games. I'd love to see a Persona game with Shoji Meguro and Atsushi Kitajoh co-composing

@TheFrenchiestFry I'm kind of glad they're switching up the directors this time around, since while 5 was good, it felt really similar to the plot of 4.. and kind of formulaic in a way.

@Snaplocket I mean, that's why Persona is a spin-off. The social sim aspect is a massive part of the games, and some people really enjoy it. You're able to grow more attached to the characters, and it's unique from a lot of other JRPG's.

Ya, either you’re into it or your not. Some people just aren’t. You heard the same complaints toward Fire Emblem Three Houses and ppl saying they’d only buy the game knowing they could skip the monestary activities.

Me, I’m into it. Though admittedly, it does tend to wear my patience after a while. Even FE started to, but the second half of the game was much lighter on those aspects. Persona never lets up, and that’s probably the one thing I dislike about it. Super fun at first… until it’s not, and it starts feeling a bit more like monotonous tedium rather than an exciting opportunity to see character dialog. Which is why Persona 5 Strikers was so refreshing. It really felt like all the good stuff without having to over-commit with activities and time management.

But don’t get me wrong. I do love that kinda stuff in games. It can just wear out it’s welcome sometimes. Fire Emblem did it right by allowing automation and backing off a bit mid game.

@Snaplocket I understand if people aren't necessarily into the social sim aspect of Persona but it's really what gives that series its own identity without it just being another series in a similar vein to SMT. Like it or not it clearly strikes a chord with a lot of people and gave that game a sense of personality for it to become so popular it surpassed its parent franchise in terms of sales alone

I'd rather it go that route instead of just being an inferior attempt at mimicing SMT squarely on dungeon crawling. Devil Survivor did a similar thing by taking the SMT formula and applying it to a strategy RPG. It just means more variety in the long run

@JaxonH I personally never got worn out on it.. at least until you start maxing out everything, and are left with little else to really do. I maxed out all my stats in my first playthrough of royal, so I had nothing to do in the Cafe at night, except probably craft items for boss fights. Towards the end, I didn't even have many people to really hang out with either.

@JaxonH Strikers works for what it is. Obviously social sim elements and time management stuff flat out would not work in a game of its length or style. Action games should be faster paced and have a constantly moving narrative, especially given the road trip setup. There's really no time to be building Confidant ranks or working a 9 to 5 at Big Bang Burger in between that time. The Bond system was a more than suitable replacement given it actually incentivized getting better at the main portion of the game, which is the combat

A friend recommended for me to start with Devil Survivor, but I noticed it was a SRPG, so I never really got it. I kind of want to play either Nocturne or IV, but I might just wait to jump in with V.

@Snaplocket I heard IV Apocalypse was a sequel to IV, so it wasn't best to start unless I played the original.

@VoidofLight Ehhhhhh...

I mean, it's not a strict sequel. More of an alternate universe-y companion piece that's based on IV's neutral route. You'll definitely need less help getting up to speed if you play SMT IV first, as there are a number of returning characters from IV, but @Snaplocket is right when they say it's the most accessible introduction to mainline. If it was its own thing, I'd wholeheartedly recommend it as your first SMT game. SMT IV suffers a bit from the difficulty being front-loaded, which puts off new players, and it has a number of QoL issues that, again, were addressed in Apocalypse. The game also has data logs that get new players up to speed on the setting, so I think starting with it is a very viable option. I guess you'd also technically spoil an early plot twist from IV for yourself. Not a big deal to me, but some people go nuts over "spoilers," so I thought I'd mention it.

Incidentally, Devil Survivor was my first MegaTen game. I liked it, but it also kicked my butt so badly I couldn't even finish it initially. It's still hard now, but MegaTen games are sorta like Souls games insofar as they become easier the more of them you play. It's funny because, despite Nocturne's reputation for hardcore difficulty, I've never found it to be particularly brutal.