Editor’s note: I’ve only dabbled in the Shin Megami Tensei series. I remember Andrew Fitch discussing it with me once in the former copy desk bullpen at Ziff Davis, but my stomach rumbled, and I bailed to find some lunch. Hey, you try editing reviews on an empty stomach! Jeremy finally explains SMT it a way that I understand. Has this enticed you to check it out? -Jason
After hearing the hype surrounding the Shin Megami Tensei series, you’ve finally decided to take the plunge by playing the games. That’s great! But before you do, know that the SMT games are not created equal nor is their gameplay identical. The most popular role-playing-game series of Japanese developer and publisher Atlus’s stable does have many common threads, such as demons based on actual myths as both enemies and allies, fusion of said demons, the cycle of the destruction and rebirth of the world, and Kazuma Kaneko’s striking art style.
But how each of these games go about putting these elements together can be vastly different. Atlus has released 14 SMT games in the U.S., 11 of which are currently available in stores. Because of this, it can be overwhelming to choose which games to start with. Well, worry not, because we’re here to help.
The Gateway Drug
The Digital Devil Saga games are structured the most like traditional Japanese RPGs. You have a party of characters, who each gain their own abilities through a progression system similar to Final Fantasy 10’s sphere grid. That’s not the only similarity the Digital Devil Saga games share with FF10. Game progression is fairly linear, and the story is fleshed out with fully voiced cut-scenes.
In other words, it has all the qualities and niceties most JRPG fans are accustomed to wrapped up in a nice SMT package. Many of the recurring demons in the series make appearances here as enemies. The battle system is a nice and simple introduction to a concept that appears in almost every SMT game: Exploiting weaknesses gives you an advantage in battle besides extra damage.
Perhaps the most notable thing, however, is what the games do not have: demon fusion. The game casts aside this feature, found in nearly every other SMT game, to make way for the individual-character-progression system, making the game more accessible for new players. It’s a traditional PS2 JRPG in the SMT style, and this makes for a great way to get into the series.
The Baseline
A traditional take on the latter-day JRPG is fine, but those who want to get to the nitty-gritty of what the series is about will want to play Nocturne. It’s easy to lose track of all the subseries roaming around out in retail land, but Nocturne is, in fact, the third part of the actual main SMT series. Everything associated with the series is here. Cataclysmic events that cause the upheaval of the world and demons to appear? Check. Demon fusion integral to progressing through the game? Check. An oppressive atmosphere and challenging battles? Checkaroony. The game also allows you to negotiate with demons to get out of battles, receive gifts, or even recruit them. It’s all here, and it’s all great.
However, a word of caution: Don’t expect a lot of the niceties that you see in modern JRPGs. The concept of towns as safe zones is almost completely absent from this game. Battles can happen nearly anywhere. And you’ll want to put thoughts of grinding right out the window, because leveling up a team of your favorite demons is not going to get you to the end. You’ll need to continually fuse them to progress. And those luxuries known as cut-scenes and voice acting? Forget it. One could make an argument that the game is archaic. But what that doesn’t account for is that every piece of design found in this game is deliberately placed to work in its favor. Gameplay and atmosphere have a symbiotic relationship, creating an amazing, foreboding experience. Nocturne is a masterpiece through and through and once you’re done with this one, you can appreciate the different ways this formula branched out from here once you continue on your SMT journey.
The Innovators
Persona 3 and Persona 4 both have the most name recognition of the SMT games in the U.S., and for good reason: They both received the most critical buzz out of all the SMT games to make the States. Word of mouth also helped make these games two of the most financially viable in the series. But what sets them apart from the rest of the pack? For one thing, the setting is not a dystopian future divorced from our own reality. The setting is modern-day Japan and center around high schoolers. This is not the usual “teens set out on an epic journey and save the world” story. They may save worlds in the end, but the entire game takes place in the same city or town. Not only that, but the game makes you go through the day of a normal high schooler.
This all serves a purpose, as the relationships you develop in the schools and neighborhoods actually strengthen the demons you fuse for your afterschool activity: facing demons in a strange alternate world. In addition, the battle system feels like a mixture of Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy X-2: Each demon you equip gives you unique battle abilities, and you can change that demon on the fly. On paper, it sounds weird and Japanese, and in a way, that’s exactly what it is. In practice, all of these things work really well together. Everything feels like it takes place in a natural sequence. And the regular parts of your day are as engrossing as the extracurricular activities. It is a vastly different take on JRPG structure that succeeds because it is both unique and compelling.
Version Alert: Persona 4 currently comes in one version, but Persona 3 has seen several iterations since it came out. For those who want their RPG experiences on consoles, the Persona 3: FES is currently the most complete and value-packed version of the game, stuffing the original game with extras and adding a new epilogue. For those who want their Persona 3 on the go, the portable version is set to hit the States sometime this year. It makes some concessions for the PSP but adds a new female main character as as well as new interactions to match the new character.
The History Lesson
With all the recent positive buzz given to the Persona series, it may surprise many just how different the original game is. Recently ported to PSP, Persona contains none of the social integration. It’s structured more like a traditional JRPG: go to location, get through dungeon, kill boss, and repeat. You traverse dungeons in first-person navigation, with an abundance of dead ends with nothing in them. While SMT games were never at the cutting edge of graphical power, this game very much screams its PS origins to the top of its lungs.
To top all that off, the fusion system here, unsurprisingly, just isn’t as polished or balanced as its later counterparts. But those who can stomach all that should find a surreal adventure in this game. The battle system, while hampered a bit by the fusion system, is still fairly engrossing, sporting a surprisingly robust demon-negotiation system that even rivals the contemporary entries. The game does not reach the dizzying heights of the rest of the series, but those who give it a chance will find a quality game.
Version Alert: The recent PSP release is the definitive version, polishing the graphics, adding much-needed save points, and most importantly, bringing back content that was cut — namely, the Snow Queen quest, a divergent path through the game.
The Comedy
All of the SMT games have fairly grim undertones, so having a more lighthearted take on the formula is nice. Enter the PS2 Devil Summoner games. The setting is 1920s Japan, where they dial back the foreboding and create a substantial mystery that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The battle system further distances Devil Summoner from its siblings. Rather than being turn-based, the random battles are all action-oriented; you attack with your sword and your demon partners’ powers. It’s a nice change of pace for those already entrenched in the admittedly dreary world of SMT.
One final thing you should be aware of: If you only play one of the two Devil Summoner games, play the second. It contains many improvements over the original that change the overall experience. The prerendered backgrounds of the first game’s battles are fully 3D fields in the second game. It also gives you a second demon partner, changing the flow of battles. Finally, the second game sports an improved version of Nocturne’s negotiation mechanics, further changing how battles play out. Because of this, the second game is almost a lighthearted Nocturne with an action bent.
The Strategy
The PS2 Devil Summoner games veered off the beaten path of turn-based games, but Devil Survivor skews even more into unfamiliar territory. Though Atlus has released SMT SRPGs in Japan, this is the first sent to the U.S., and it’s far from conventional. You still do battle on turn-based grids, but each unit is actually a team of a demon tamer and two demons, which you acquire through an auction (but it lack demon fusion). When you get to an encounter between two teams, a short Dragon Quest-like battle takes place for a turn or two depending on what weaknesses were hit.
The adventure structure is also different as you pick locations that have events to move the story forward. Doing them moves the clock forward in time, meaning you can’t do everything. You have to pick and choose how the story unfolds. Since it has are six different endings, all the things you do are important, which is key. Each playthrough has the potential to be quite different. And while the premise of being trapped in a segment of Tokyo for a week has been done before in The World Ends With You, the execution is fresh here. Both SRPG fans and those looking for a different take on the genre should check it out.
And don’t be scared away by the horrible character art. It is indeed awful, but the game itself offsets this.
The Black Sheep
Perhaps the most maligned of the modern-day SMT games, Imagine, the free-to-play MMORPG set in the SMT universe, wasn’t even developed by Atlus. Cave, makers of bullet-hell shoot-em-ups such as DoDonPachi, made it. In theory, it sounds great. Take your demons in a persistent world and play both with and against other players. It also has all the usual SMT trappings. You can negotiate with the demons to become battle partners, it has different alignments and groups to those alignments, and it takes place in a dystopian world.
But the very qualities of an MMO hamper the ability to provide an SMT-like experience. You can’t carefully guide the experience to maximize the atmosphere. In fact, the atmosphere is on no one’s lips when it comes to this game. The environments are both sterile and uninspired. Finally, something’s just not right about the main point of an SMT game being the loot grind. Still, it’s not a complete loss. The game itself, divorced from the heavy burden of the SMT legacy, ends up being just another MMO, meaning you will either enjoy the mechanics enough to play it or you won’t. And since it’s free, little’s stopping you from finding out for yourself.
The Coming Attraction
But wait, there’s more! Or, rather, soon there will be. Coming out at the end of March, Strange Journey picks up the torch where Nocturne left off. Billed as carrying the spirit of the mainline series, it brings things back to classic SMT style, taking place in first-person dungeons similar to those found in the first two mainline games, but carrying with it everything learned from the third game. Atlus has been taking a shine to first-person RPGs as of late with the Etrian Odyssey series, Class of Heroes, The Dark Spire, and the Persona PSP port. Strange Journey looks to top them all and provide an incredible experience for both first-person RPG fans and SMT fans.
The Extra Credit
It isn’t currently available in stores, but Persona 2 is generally lauded as being a high point for PS1 RPGs. It essentially heavily refines the rather large potential that Persona contained and delivers. The weird part is that Atlus divided it into two separate games, Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. However, the U.S. only got the latter. The kicker is that Persona PSP sold incredibly well in Japan, so it would seem like a Persona 2 rerelease would be a no-brainer. No news on this, though, so the original release is well worth tracking down.
(Images from 1UP.com)