Shin Megami Tensei II Is Being Added To Japan's NSO Super Famicom Collection

Well that’s about 4 billion times better than we got!

Man....can we get this too?
I personally would've preferred this over any of the new ones added but that's just me lol.

As much as I'd be curious to play it, does anyone know if this game really holds up? I know the series is renowned for its silly high difficulty spikes; I had enough trouble getting through SMTIV (though I absolutely loved that game) and my understanding is that's an 'easier' one. I'd imagine this one is infuriating, and in a way that you couldn't wave away with the rewind feature.

@SwitchVogel The gameplay’s brutal but the story’s worth it in a way that games like the original Final Fantasy trilogy aren’t.

@SwitchVogel Your post betrays a disturbing lack of éliteness.

FOR F*CK'S SAKE ATLUS

I'LL TAKE ANYTHING

I'LL EVEN TAKE A LIMITED TIME ENGLISH LOCALIZATION LIKE THAT DUMB SH*T THEY'RE PULLING WITH FIRE EMBLEM

SCREW BREAKFREEPERSONA THOSE ARE THE LAST GAMES THAT NEED SWITCH PORTS SMH

How I would love for this to come to North America

SMTIV is easier by MegaTen standards

You can jump into titles like it or Persona 4 without any prior knowledge of how SMT works

SMTI-III are harder by comparison but their stories more than make up for it. MegaTen's strengths have always been in narrative and their great gameplay mechanics

So now Japan will have Shin Megami Tensei 1, 2 and 3.

...at least we'll at get SMT V at the same time

Once again, the Japanese NES/SNES Online offerings make the North American offerings look like a total joke.

I mean, this IS better but overall, I really don't care.

People complaining about NSO offerings, get something they want, then proceeded not to play it anyway.

Is there a way to set up a secondary "account / user" that is Japanese specific without messing up your original account?

@Bearzilla823 You can just make a regional Nintendo account, link your Switch up with that and it'll just exist with your other accounts

Well, sure enough Japan’s lineup had a biggie in it! If I didn’t have so many other games going on right now I would try out SMT2.
As fate would have it, I’m playing one of its progeny games, Persona 5. 😄

@TheFrenchiestFry Definitely agree on the great gameplay mechanics, and the story for IV was pretty interesting. I'm hoping V turns out to be the game that finally pushes this series into the mainstream in the same way that P5 did for Persona.

@SwitchVogel
Wishful thinking. The Megami Tensei franchise as a whole is still very niche. Persona 5 took three years to sell 3 million copies while Fire Emblem Three Houses did that in under one year. Despite P5 being on two systems and in a more accessible genre (PS3 and PS4 and turn-based RPG) vs FE3H's one platform and more niche genre (Switch and tactical RPG).

So even if SMT V became "popular," it won't become mainstream. It's simply not on the same level as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Pokemon, or Fire Emblem.

That being said, I hope Atlus gives SMT more attention and makes more (non-Persona) spin-offs like they used to with things like Digital Devil Saga, Devil Survivor, and Raidou Kuzunoha.

@JR150 You never know with Atlus honestly. SMT is big in Japan but Persona is big in the west. Their Trauma series were were pretty much invisible in Japan but sold quite well in the west.

I think all it takes SMT to get into the mainstream is word of mouth and small upgrades to appeal it to a western audience, I don't think it's impossible. Given the Switch's large popularity if the marketing is done well and the game is fantastic, it could potentially reach those levels. The time it's taking to develop is giving me high hopes but time will tell.

Persona didn't reach mass appeal until P4. I don't think SMT can't do the same. Persona's only real advantage is that it's set in a much more grounded universe and deals with much more personal stories which makes it more relatable.

As usual, Japan has better offerings. I know the term is "JRPG" but there's millions of folks outside Japan who love that genre too.

And this is Atlus, a 3rd party. So where is Super Mario RPG? Is Square Enix just that stubborn?

Welp, time to whip YHVH’s butt again! Thank you Nintendo and Atlus!

@Varkster
Maybe, maybe not. I'm just being realistic here. I've learned to keep my expectations low in order to be properly surprised anymore. I just don't see SMT V being the P4/5 of the SMT games, but we'll see. This is one instance where I'd like to be wrong.

Follow up with If..., and pretty much the bulk of SMT will be officially portable. Sure, would be nicer yet to get an official localisation, but for the amount of text JRPGs boast, I wouldn't hold my breath unless Atlus really takes a page out of OG Fire Emblem's book. And judging by this native subscription release, they're likely not planning to.

@JR150 somewhat ironic to call SMT "still very niche in the west" when even Liberation's western servers have been chugging along for three years now - attending the variably untimely funerals of same region Moebius Final Fantasy, Tales of Link, Star Ocean Anamnesis, Symphogear XDU and even effin' Magia Record in the process (although to be fair, many of the above weren't helped by the rather curtailed interpretations of "western release" either). And it translates the flagships' themes gameplay staples quite informatively. As long as it's SMT V is advertised up to scratch, it has decent odds.

We could had gotten SMT 1 or 2 instead of garbage like Doomsday Warrior. Why Nintendo?

@Ghost_of_Hasashi we can easily get both anyway and proceed towards unofficial translations with a relatively clear conscience.😄 If you mean official English versions, I'm not sure if Doomsday Warrior's absence of all games would significantly ramp up their naturally slim chances. I'm already impressed and appreciative we are getting stuff like Psycho Dream and the original Panel de Pon.

@Ghost_of_Hasashi Probably because Atlus doesn't want to go to the effort of making a translation mode for two RPGs that they aren't even selling.
(then again, they didn't want to release spinoff game Last Bible 1 in the west on 3DS VC and that game had an official localization)

But even as to the games available, the Japanese version of Solomon's Key 2 was superior to the western versions due to that it had a save function that also allowed more user levels to be saved, making the edit mode more useful. With savestate function NSO I suppose becames a slightly less relevant change.

@nhSnork
You hardly hear people talk about SMT like they do Persona. It's niche akin to franchises like Disgaea, Valkyria Chronicles, and Hyperdimension Neptunia. Nowhere near close to mainstream.

@TheFrenchiestFry
Atlus aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed of business are they. Fan translations of these games have been out for quite a while now and you can get them on most ROM sites!

@JR150 Disgaea, Valkyria Chronicles and Neptunia as well? I suspect we're talking starkly different definitions of "niche" - everything you've named is renowned franchises on both sides of the ponds, unsurprisingly so as Japanese pop culture in general has been mainstream for over a decade by now. The term for Persona in this context is just "comparatively much more memetic".

@JR150 It's an extremely well-respected series, though. SMT is the greatest RPG series that most people have never heard of; it may not be popular, but it's very popular with big RPG fans. Given that, I figure it's only a matter of time before it reaches that critical mass with those fringe communities that it finally starts getting a lot more recognition.

@nhSnork @SwitchVogel
I'm not saying it's not respected, I'm saying that it just may take time before it reaches the same level persona has.

I have the fan translations of 1 and 2 on my snes classic. Idk if I’ll be able to play them though after playing the modern games. I’m not a fan of the combat in soul hackers, and that’s essentially the same system.

@nessisonett are you saying FF6 isn’t good?

@Trajan Final Fantasy 6 isn’t part of the original trilogy. That would be Final Fantasy 1, 2 and 3, which each have a multitude of problems.

@nessisonett ah. I thought you were talking about the western trilogy (1,4,6).

@JR150 on the other hand pretty much anything on switch sells. Switch has had a software drought for a while (honestly it’s been bad since 2018), which makes people more inclined to try what actually comes out.

I’m sure a bunch will end up hating the game and selling it, but I’m sure it’ll sell at least 1.5 mil.

@SwitchVogel why do you want it to be mainstream? Has no impact on the quality of the game nor your enjoyment of it.

@Trajan Honestly, 4 is only really where Final Fantasy stuck the landing. Most classic RPGs have some sort of catch and SMT2’s is that it’s bloody hard as nails. And it’s pretty weird and God has a death ray.

@OstianOwl,

There is only one game here that the U.S service does not have, and two games in this latest offering are the same for both regions online services, Mario's super picross is already available on the U.S online service.

I Love SMT and Persona. Not meant as a diss: When you can get away with almost the same gameplay for decades, you know you found the golden goose!

I've never known what Solomon's Key actually was, but it looks great. :3

Pretty cool, but I don't see myself playing it. Unlike Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, I am completely unfamiliar with the series so navigating the Japanese isn't gonna happen.

one more localization rejected

@Bearzilla823
Simply make a second Nintendo account, set to Japan. You don't need to pay again for NSO.

Once you added the second account onto your Switch, head to the eShop in that new account and download the NSO apps.

@NathanTheAsian By doing that would i be able to play the Japan version on my main account or would i need to remain on the 2nd account?

@WallyWest
You can use your original account.

People who are saying "can we get that too?"

You do!

Make a JP profile switch to it and download their famicom and super famicom online. It downloads to your main profile and you have access to them.

Proof that NOA has nothing but lame offerings to put on NSO

SMT Strange Journey would sell like hotcakes, Atlus...

Its odd that this is being brought to NSO other then Earthbound. I guess nintendo just doesn't want "Mother 3" to be trending on twitter again.

@Varkster I mean, for Fire Emblem to explode in popularity, they had to turn it into The Sims (oh and some fighting).

One of Pokemon's forefathers

Why won't they localize these for once? 😭
I'd play the hell out of this and the first one if they did, instead of the crap we get in the West.

I love how Nintendo has such a massive back catalog on NES and SNES and half the games added so far no one has ever heard of.
Like...WTF is Donkey Kong?!....
.....
....
But seriously there are some super no name games

@nhSnork Man, Magia Record got screwed over more than anything really.

@MorganWhoop eh, Earthbound is great, but i don't mind Shin Megami Tensei 2. Its a great time, i would definently reccomend it if you know how to read Japanese.

Nice, I love when they put out different games in different regions. More games for me, but I don't understand why people are complaining about it. Anyone interested in Japanese games should have already made a Japanese account for stuff like this, that's what's great about Switch being region free. I guess they have a lot of games out now on the US eshop, but, I still like looking at the Japanese and UK eshops to see what's new, or see if they have any cool exclusive demos. Really, setting up a few extra accounts should be the first thing you do when you buy a Switch.

@Vortexeo man i want more of this franchise in the west