Shin Megami Tensei Series

Don't believe quite all the Law hype around the game.

I honestly want to, but it's hard not to notice how little Atsuro and Yuzu care for Remiel. I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to see Remiel as being full of shit rather than sincerely benevolent to humanity.

Eh. It's Law. It's supposed to be bad, even when it's good.

Though Amane does prove it's a legitimate path in the Law 8th day path.

But still, Law is always bad. Chaos and Neutral are sometimes almost as bad, but usually better by default.

Even when Chaos destroys as much as Law, and Neutral is just kicking the can down the road.

I signed up for Law in SMT V. It’s the only time when Law isn’t as bad as the others.

Plus, sometimes it can be fun to be an evil law Knight Templar and win.

I actually did a law run of SMT 2 for shits and giggles. Way back.

It's frustrating when people keep telling me this is the game where law portrayed more sympathetically, and it seems like the only actual difference is they didn't use any ludicrously Obviously Evil character designs for the law characters.

So, why does that game have a fake yaweh when the real one is exactly the same?

Edited by MisterTambourineMan on Mar 8th 2024 at 11:21:20 AM

Law IS actually a lot more sympathetic than usual IMO. Keep going a bit...

Law in V is more of a "keeping with the status quo" ending, since you stick with the whole 'one god sits on the Throne' thing that's been going on for some time. The other endings shake things up a bit, such as Chaos being something more of a republic and Neutral either destroys the Throne or makes it so gods and demons aren't connected with humanity anymore.

Yeah, it’s like a YHVH created by the 3 archangel’s wish to be answered by YHVH.

When the real one is pissed that they had a virtual reality fake paradise all planned out and created fake messiahs without HIS’ approval.

Well this is SMT so we're grading on a curve here. Most Factions in SMT are dicks, it's just the difference between assholes where you can understand and sympathize with why people would join up, and assholes where it makes no sense why anyone who isn't comically evil would entertain them for a second.

SMTV basic Neutral ending is also full on the first time they made a Neutral Ending Social Darwinist as well.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Mar 9th 2024 at 8:44:23 AM

Devil Survivor's Law ending only truly gets its reputation on its eighth day because the party decides that they're not going to stand for the usual way of doing things and commit to going the "love thy neighbor" New Testament route instead.

Edited by ComicX6 on Mar 9th 2024 at 1:36:40 PM

In terms of endings, I'm more interested in more esoteric ending paths such as the White Ending simply because those ones tend to veer sharply away from the Law/Chaos/Neutral dichotomy in favour of doing their own thing.

So far, Anti-Neutral paths such as SMTIV's White Ending or SMTIII's Demon Ending have taken my interest because they serve as an antithesis to the game's Neutral paths in that they require little effort to gain and allow you to solve the conflict in a way that is easy but also unsatisfying.

The Akira mode in IF is pretty neat conceptually, just ignore the crisis, run away, and climb an unrelated series of floors with original bosses and a proto-Demifiend.

So on the topic of law, can we discuss Dazai?

Like I’ve been checking scenes to remind myself of the plot, and he unironically is my favorite law rep. Along with Abdiel since she’s part of the package.

Dude went from loser clickbait You Tuber, to law chad. And who could forget that stupid hat scene? 10/10.

I feel like he’s a perfect example of the humans that Law argues for why free will must be removed and that God’s order is good for humanity.

He was fine, but a prime case of the game needing to show, not tell, me about his flaws as a person. I do like his relationship with Abdiel, and how he's the Law rep instead of the kid you expect.

The hat scene is infamous in all the right ways though.

Dazai is yet another member of the "Yikes, what did you do to your hair?!" club. You know, the club full of people who get questionable makeovers after they go bad. I think all of us know at least a few members of that club that aren't named Dazai.

I do think he's an interesting character, in that he feels like a guy who ended up in a cult because he was at a not-so-hot point in his life and then someone told him that they had all the answers.

Yeah, Dazai is in a weird space for me because he’s quite sympathetic and honestly relatable in quite a few aspects, but then the plot goes “Oh right, we need to make Law look more awful to make the other options look equal” so he suddenly becomes a stereotypical anime villain complete with shitty hair and evil eyes.

Even gives you a glare when you join his team. Despite fighting for a world where everyone is taken care of.

I unironically believe Law to be the best option for the first time in this series. Like no edgy villain stuff here, I think Dazai and Abdiel had the right idea.

I’m curious to see how he’ll be like in the new game.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Mar 13th 2024 at 11:52:05 PM

Probably a puppy-eater to atone for giving him a sympathetic writing, and to make sure no one has any delusions about Atlus ever letting Law be anything but irredeemably evil.

The hints we get from the trailers...don't exactly paint a flattering picture. But we all know trailers can be misleading sometimes, so I guess the only option is to wait and see how the game turns out. It wouldn't surprise me if, assuming Canon of Vengeance has multiple routes, his behavior differs between routes.

...Come to think of it, I just realized that Dazai kind of reminds me of a certain character from Fire Emblem: Three Houses: he's sort of like a less sympathetic and tragic version of Rhea, given his hopes that God will sort things out. Not a perfect comparison, mind you, especially since Rhea carries a lot of traumatic baggage that Dazai doesn't have.

Dazai being the kind of person who falls into the first internet cult he comes across can even be seen in how his dramatic makeover has him use his greasy skin caused by acne to slick his hair up.

That’s definitely not the kind of thing I’d expect from the usual Law rep. Much less the guy who due to being Abdiels Knowledge a John Milton stand-in.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Mar 13th 2024 at 9:18:08 AM

It's like a less hardcore version of Nishikiyama Akira's "I'm evil now" hairstyle change. And much less tragic as well, given what it took to push Nishiki into that particular position.

Edited by dragonfire5000 on Mar 13th 2024 at 9:19:45 AM

Yeah, the hat scene with Dazai also unintentionally works as an example of how abruptly evil and puppy kicking law reps become.

Because they kind of need Law to have its extremist side because they are the faction that advocates for stability and protecting the weak, so Atlus just makes law reps suddenly advocate for genocide or nuking Japan.

So the Nocturne Tabletop game did a bit revealing character pronouns.

Jack Frost pronouns are Hee/Ho!

@Nofix: It’s definitely playing off things that happened with V, such as an Angel directly saying they’d destroy an entire city if God decreed it without regard for the innocents, or the entire reason the game happens since God refused to stop the Conception which would destroy the original Tokyo, and that lead to his undoing.

Even the Condemnation which was used as a threat of violence and abuse against Gods who didn’t submit to the one who oppressed them by demonizing them further, which Canon of Vengeance is set to elaborate on more.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Mar 13th 2024 at 9:44:19 AM

I get that, that the hat scene was supposed symbolize Dazai giving into the extreme side of Law and per the fact that the demon summoning program makes humans more like demons, I get why.

But man, is it conveyed ridiculously and so fast.

Granted, I don’t remember Mr. Prime Minister coming off all that well but I’m fuzzy on the details.

Also is there a lore reason why Lucifer and Merkahbah look different in apocalypse?

New Doi artwork for IVA. That’s it.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Mar 14th 2024 at 1:50:02 AM