Shin Megami Tensei Series

Of the main series, SJ is the only one where Chaos explicitly throws the first punch.

IV Part 8: The Eastern Capital

Now the real Shin Megami Tensei IV begins.

Meanwhile over in Apocalypse, looking at the fetishistic nature of many of Nanashi outfits (sailor suit, cross-dressing, shirtless, etc.) I'm starting to wonder if his true calling is not a Hunter, but a male stripper.

Edited by ComicX6 on Feb 20th 2020 at 12:23:47 PM

Elegant Gothic Nanashi is the best MC of all time.

IV Part 9: Google Maps Can't Help You Now!

Ironically I've been using Google Maps quite a bit to find and study the various neighborhoods and landmarks that feature in this game.

IV Part 10: Fodor's Guide to Post-Apocalyptic Tokyo

One day I'll visit Tokyo myself and see some of these places in non-video game, non-destroyed form.

When I first played Nocturne i didn't realize the places I visited were all real. But then I kept visiting them in SMTIV and others.

Tokyo is bigger than the world in most JRPG's.

Play SMT, learn Tokyo geography! Some games even have the locations pre-destruction!

Haha, it's funny to see Chokepoint Geography and similar video game logic come into play when you're dealing with a real-world location. Stuff like how in IV the only way to get to Roppongi is via a subway station that's around three miles away or how in Apocalypse the fastest way for Nanashi to reach Shesha at Miyashita Park would've actually been to turn around and head in the opposite direction the game wants you to.

I don't live in a popular enough area for that to come up in games, and only rarely in other types of fiction. Closest would be Boston, and I don't know the real city well enough to spot the geography problems.

But hey, good to know that if I ever visit Tokyo, I shouldn't use SMT as an accurate map.

I actually grew up in Boston myself and still head into town regularly and the highest-profile game I know of that featured it was The Last of Us. The route the characters took and the scenery was generally accurate and sensible, but Park Street Station is not that labyrinthine nor is there a station exit directly across from the State House. I know one of the recent Fallout games featured Boston too but didn't bother to go for a semi-accurate portrayal apart from the landmarks that everyone knows.

Edited by ComicX6 on Mar 1st 2020 at 1:08:17 PM

So I've heard that there's an actual reason, beyond just milking the cash cow, why non-Persona SMT has been in limbo for the past few years, but I can't for the life of me remember what it is. Anybody know?

I don't think there's much mystery to it, TBH. Games take longer and are now more expensive to develop now that all the available platforms are HD and you can count the number of HD titles that Atlus has developed so far completely from scratch on less than one hand. In the case of Shin Megami Tensei V specifically I know that Yamai said in the past that the team was having more trouble than anticipated adapting to the version of Unreal Engine 4 they were working with, but I also know the Dragon Quest XI S team was having the same trouble until the Switch had a compatibility update like a year ago and went full-steam ahead afterwards so hopefully it'll be the same case with V. Going by the fact that Shinjiro Takada was the one who commented on V's development over the new year I'm guessing that the Careersoft team (Devil Survivor, Tokyo Mirage Sessions) are now helping Team Maniax on development. (also I've noticed in these conversations that people tend to forget how long Persona 5's development lasted and the comparable amount of radio silence involved).

That said, while I'm perfect OK with them taking their time on V I do hope that once they get past the HD bottleneck that Atlus tries their hand at making some spin-offs again, old or new. It's a shame that they've just kinda let Devil Summoner and Devil Survivor die.

Edited by ComicX6 on Mar 5th 2020 at 1:15:05 PM

IV Part 11: Down and Out in Shinjuku

(gee that demon listing is like a third of the update length...)

I'm hopeful that making a bunch of HD models for their demons means we'll start seeing more spinoff titles like what Nocturne spawned in the 00s.

But given the relative niche audience SMT has compared to Persona, I don't know.

SMT can do very well if they advertise it right. SMTIV sold pretty well, and IVA while not as well was a spinoff sequel and still sold a lot better than a number of Persona 4-5 spinoffs. Even Redux does a lot better especially compared to the original.

But beating a mainline Persona game directly? Nope not happening.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Mar 8th 2020 at 4:08:16 AM

I guess the way I'm looking at it is that the tables have turned. SMT is now the weird spin off, the "Dark Souls of Persona" for weird dungeon crawler edgelords.

Atlus has a guaranteed cash cow in Persona now. Other than respecting their roots why bother making Digital Devil Saga and Devil Summoner ever again when they can make Persona 5: Go-Karting All Afternoon instead.

Apropos of nothing but I did a Neutral playthrough of Strange Journey and Gore encouraging me as he faded away and my whole team rallying behind me gave me mega feels.

How well did Redux do anyway?

Edited by RodimusMinor on Mar 8th 2020 at 7:24:47 AM

Better than the original last I recall. How better I dont remember.

IV Part 12: Can't Sleep When You're Undead

A short one where we clean eastern Shinjuku out of dead bodies and headless spirits and I cheat on incorporating the fusion accident demons into the live blog (for the record I was not able to obtain a single one of them during the course of either of the blog's two playthroughs; no luck on Apocalypse so far either).

Edited by ComicX6 on Mar 12th 2020 at 2:47:58 PM

IV Part 13: Shinjuku Hustle

I swear some of these updates are like 50% challenge quest by volume. I'm actually kind of glad that Apocalypse eases back on the number of them while giving you better rewards (I prefer fat stacks of cash over pieces of armor that have limited use).

Any demons/mythical figures that haven't appeared in SMT that you'd like to see show up? I feel like Joshua (of "Book of" fame) would work very well as a Law side commander. He's generally agreed to be one of the more uncomfortable Biblical figures by modern standards, with his habit of slaughtering anything that so much as gets in his way and ruling as a dictator over his own people as well while still being treated as a good guy (though this was hardly unusual for Bronze Age protagonists; Gilgamesh, Odysseus, etc. are just as bad). At the same time he's exceptionally charismatic and valorous in battle, and is capable of mercy at times. The result, in SMT, I feel, would be a Law leader that is absolutely a threat, perhaps even The Dreaded, while still remaining more sympathetic than craven bottomfeeders like Mastema and Hugo.

Major Greek characters seem like the most striking absence.

Book of Job.

Isn't Satan in this series already based on his Book of Job incarnation? As God's judge?

The train stations in Japan are so empty because of quarantine and covid-19 that someone commented it looks like SMT battle backgrounds and people promptly started photoshopping in SMT stuff

Edited by Nouct on Mar 20th 2020 at 12:35:44 PM

Oh, that is a thing of beauty.