Shin Megami Tensei Series

I'd go with SMTIV since it's pretty easy. Devil Survivor Overclocked is also a great place to start since it's really simple to grasp (though pretty difficult on its own merits) and explains a lot of the terminology of these games in a more accessible manner.

Edited by RodimusMinor on Oct 30th 2019 at 12:37:56 PM

Yeah I'm gonna second what said. Everything I've heard of SJ Redux tells me it would make me turn away from the franchise and never look back if I hadn't already had IV to prime me for the absolute hell Atlas likes to give people.

And Redux has quality of life changes to it.

So now it's a toss up between SMT IV and Overclocked ehh? hmmm, now that's a tough one, any ideas? Also thanks guys.

I was thinking Strange Journey redux because it does have an easy mode, and my friend is a sucker for exploration type games. plus story wise, i think Strange journey is a better intro to SMT than iv, personally but ehh.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Oct 30th 2019 at 10:57:03 AM

I didn't play Redux since I bought Strange Journey assuming it was only on the DS but from what I've read there's a lot of QOL changes like no more game over on Hero death and no App restrictions.

SJ is a really tough game so I don't know how it was eased for the remake, but I'd start with IV or Overclocked either way.

It adds harder modes that include insta kill Space Marine is game over too.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Oct 30th 2019 at 11:43:48 AM

The biggest "behind the scenes" change Redux has compared to the original is that the default difficulty is easier than the vanilla version, while the hard mode is equivalent to OG Strange Journey. The other perks you get like the leader skills, which sound broken on the surface (waived MP cost, free-auto Luster Candy?), never actually defanged the game in my experience on Hard, just gave you a bit more of a fighting chance.

That said, I would definitely recommend Devil Survivor Overclocked as an entry Megami Tensei game (the DS version was mine, after all). It's got a good story that's a stealth remake of Shin Megami Tensei I (up to a point) and for new players it does a great job of explaining and integrating the franchises gameplay and lore elements directly into the story. It does a fairly good job of balancing out the alignments as well, unlike almost all the other games (eyes Strange Journey Vanilla).

Edited by ComicX6 on Oct 30th 2019 at 11:52:11 AM

When you mean balancing alignments, do you mean presenting each choice as a valid one, unlike Vanilla Strange Journey where Law and Chaos both turn humanity into something unrecognizable?

Admittedly, one of my goals is to show off the Law and Chaos alignments that define the games, and see where my friend ends up on.

I turned the Earth into a bloodsoaked wasteland of death for Mommy Aleph and my boi Jiminez and I'd do it again.

Precisely. Heck, the Law path is like the only one in the franchise that takes inspiration from the New Testament rather than the Old.

Edited by ComicX6 on Oct 30th 2019 at 12:06:15 PM

Well it also helps Kuriki and Hotsuin are sympathetic character with their own flaws, that you can get behind. Or just go for the Anguished one or Daichi.

My only complaint is that the tactics of law and chaos are flipped.

Edited by RedHunter543 on Oct 30th 2019 at 12:18:04 PM

Hilariously enough, the original Law ending of Devil Survivor mentions that mankind would "live with the fear of God" and turned the protagonist into the absolute judge of man's sins.

Devil Survivor was the first Shin Megami Tensei game I ever played, and I was kind of used to Law = Good and Chaos = Bad from other works; reading that line made me do a "Wait, what?"

Which, come to think of it, should've told me what to expect when I played the DS version of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey...

Meanwhile, I lead humanity into songs of mindless obedience for all time, and I have no regrets about that either.

And DS is still the nicest Law in the whole SMTverse. It's kinda funny.

I liked Amane a lot. Zelenin was a great character due to her extremism and Amane felt like the opposite, someone who wanted Law because it felt like the right choice but was open to other suggestions.

I wish her 8th day was more focused on her than Naoya.

strange journey redux wasn't too hard in my experience aside from the very last segment because I stopped trying to fuse demons and stay ahead of the curve. Aside from that, hard but fair.

x3 I feel like the Law+ ending from Strange Journey Redux feels better than Devil Survivor Amane ending, but that's just me.

I think the most bullshit part of Strange Journey Redux is Lucifer's Elite Four, but since they're supposed to be Bonus Bosses, I expected them to be bullshit.

Edited by dragonfire5000 on Oct 30th 2019 at 1:39:55 AM

These are characters from Devil Survivor 2, actually, not the first one.

The original Strange Journey was my first ever Mega Ten game. Redux is in always superior. I highly recommend it.

I do not particularly like SMTIV. I guess it's not terrible but as your first SMT game it is very wanting.

Devil Survivor Overclocked was very good but it has a lot of mechanics unique to it and not found in any other SMT game except Devil Survivor 2 which is an unrelated (and superior) game that would also be a great entry point into the series.

@ Rodimus Minor

I agree about the Chaos Ending but unironically.

My brain confused overclocked with record breaker. That was weird.

Okay, in other SMT topics, i heard in SMT 2 you can break the game, and use the messian and gaia enemies to get late game Demons like Metatron? Can someone please explain this process?

Fusion Error

so i was playing strange journey and managed to lock Horkos into constantly spamming Dekunda and Grocery Run, by muting him and debuffing him to the max. since i muted him, he couldn't do anything, and i legit could use auto and get away with it.

thinking back on it i feel bad for him.

Edited by Awe921 on Nov 2nd 2019 at 3:12:28 PM

Some elaboration is required please. All i know is that you can the Messian or Gaian race for powerful demons.

Fusion Error using the human units in fusion.