# Your Shin Megami Tensei resume



## BORTZ (Apr 2, 2014)

For most of my gaming life, I was unaware of the glory that is the SMT universe. When I got my 3DS I had been waiting to play Devil Survivor. I knew there was a DS versoin of the game, but since I already knew I wanted to play it and there was an upgraded port coming, I just waited. Man. I didnt know what I was missing. After that I decided to get SMT4 because I was told there were tons of demons to collect and fuse. If you guys can recall, I am one of the bigger Dragon Quest Monsters fans around here, because monster collecting is my jam  The SMT games have excellent stories and fantastic demon design.

So what have games have you played in the SMT universe? and what side of the Persona/SMT skism do you fall on? I guess this is kinda a big rift between players.

My resume is rather unimpressive, having only ever played 3 and not beaten any of them:

SMT: Devil Survivor Overclocked (3DS) Beaten with the power ending
SMT: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker beaten with Adatchi's regressor ending
SMT:4 beaten with the chaos ending
Persona 3 Portable FES: switched over to FES. beaten, watched the answer on youtube.
Persona 4 Arena: working on all the character stories
SMT: Soul Hackers: On hold
SMT:4 A Currently playing. I think I am level 26 or something, having trouble finding my next objective.

List the games you played, how far you got, and what you think of them.


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## Arras (Apr 2, 2014)

I played Persona 3 for an hour or two and Devil Survivor 2 for... probably an hour and disliked both


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## Foxi4 (Apr 2, 2014)

I've clocked quite a bit of hours in Devil Survivor and Persona 3 Portable and I'm nearly finished with Soul Hackers, I also had a lick of Strange Journey, but didn't play it extensively so my resume isn't impressive either. That said, all the games I did invest time in were excellent, so I can vouch for the series wholeheartedly.


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## BORTZ (Apr 2, 2014)

Foxi4 said:


> I've clocked quite a bit of hours in Devil Survivor and Persona 3 Portable and I'm nearly finished with Soul Hackers, I also had a lick of Strange Journey, but didn't play it extensively so my resume isn't impressive either. That said, all the games I did invest time in were excellent, so I can vouch for the series wholeheartedly.


 
Oh yeah, while I heard about Strange Journey I never played it. 

I guess the only reason its not SMT4 is because it wasnt set in Tokyo lol


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## emigre (Apr 3, 2014)

Here;s something I wrote a while ago:

Get a PS2 or at least make sure your computer is capable of emulating the PS2. And a PSP. Below is a list of MegaTen (and spin offs) games that are available in english.

Standard MegaTen

Shin Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei II (SNES) Aeon Genesis made translation patches for these two. I've only partially played SMT. Apparently SMT II is better. There's also Shin Megami Tensei If which if I remember correctly is presently being translated. Both are played in the First person perspective.

SMT III Nocturne or SMT Lucifer's Call if you live in Europe (PS2). IT got translated and is a very good game. IT gives you a good challenge and visuals are very nice. The story is typical MegaTen awesome. It is rather minimalist as you don't buy armour and that type of shit or use a contemporary party system. You can also get Dante off DMC in your party as well which is pretty cool.

SMT Strange Journey (DS). Spiritually it is SMTIV and but the gameplay fits with the other MegaTen titles. First person dungeon crawler, no traditional party system. Fucking awesome game.

Persona

Persona (PS1/PSP). Personally I love Persona. I like the story, the characters and the setting. The game is flawed as fuck. Yet I still love it. The battle system is the greatest but its still more than playable. There's a conventional party system. Though play the PSP version. The PS1 version is pretty fucked up regarding game balance, has the Snow Queen quest, translation and the fact they changed a character's ethnicity.

Persona 2 Innocent Sin (PS1/PSP). Good game. I liked it. The PS1 version you can emulate it but you have to apply a translation patch by Gemini. The PSP version was translated by Atlus. It has a better menu interface which it makes better than the original in my opinion.

Persona 2 Eternal Punishment (PS1/PSP). The PSP version isn't in english so your stuck with the PS1 version which is.

Persona and the Persona 2 duology feel similar to the nominal MEgaTen titles. Persona 3 onwards, shit changes into the life simulator/ dungeon crawler.

Persona 3 (PS2/PSP/PSN) Persona 3 FES is the best version imo. As it contains an epilogue which concludes the story of the game. P3P is a good version particularly as you can play as a girl and have complete control of you party. Whilst in the PS2 version, you give out broad order i.e. you tell a party member she has to heal and the AI plays on that.

Persona 4 (PS2/PSV) AWESOME. Essentially the same structure to P3 but with an improved battle system.

Spin Offs

Devil Summoner games (PS2) Can't get my hands on them so no comment. They cost a few dabloons. More action orientated than previous MegaTen titles.

Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2 (PS2). I've only played DDS1 and I rather like it. It uses the same engine as SMT Noctune. Quite a few people absolutely love it.

Devil Survivor 1 and 2 (DS/3DS). Good games but completely different as its a SRPG. Story is good MegaTen WTFs.

Personally I suggest Noctune, Strange Journey or P3/P4 as a better way to get into MegaTen. The former two are quintessential MegaTen in terms of gameplay mechanics (dungeon crawling). Whilst Persona 3 and 4 are really accessible in comparison to other titles. Personally I don't think the Devil Survivor games is the best way to start as the gameplay and story structure is different though it has the accessibility of Person 3 and 4 as you a (relatively)conventional party system.


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## grossaffe (Apr 3, 2014)

I played a translation of the original.  I enjoyed how out-there they went story-wise.


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## Tom Bombadildo (Apr 3, 2014)

Beat Persona 3 Portable on the PSP, and I played a few hours of Persona 4 until the save got corrupted and I said fuck that game.

Otherwise, haven't dealt with any of the other SMT games really, at least not a whole lot, and I don't really care to check them out either.


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## Hyro-Sama (Apr 3, 2014)

*Beaten*

Persona 3 Portable
Persona 4
Devil Survivor 2

*Still Playing*

SMT: Strange Journey

Dying to play Nocturne, DDS and SMT IV. I may or may not play P3: FES. Having no control over your party members is kinda irritating IMO.


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## BORTZ (Apr 3, 2014)

Hyro-Sama said:


> *Beaten*
> 
> Persona 3 Portable
> Persona 4
> ...


 
at least in the P3P version you can control them directly I am pretty sure.


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## Hyro-Sama (Apr 3, 2014)

BortzANATOR said:


> at least in the P3P version you can control them directly I am pretty sure.


 

Yeah, you can. Just like P4.

My original plan was to play Portable and watch the FES cutscenes on YouTube, but I have some leftover money burning in my PSN wallet so I may just take the plunge.


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## BORTZ (Apr 3, 2014)

Hyro-Sama said:


> Yeah, you can. Just like P4.
> 
> My original plan was to play Portable and watch the FES cutscenes on YouTube, but I have some leftover money burning in my PSN wallet so I may just take the plunge.


 
I did not realize that 3 FES was on PSN, nifty


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## GamerzHell9137 (Apr 3, 2014)

Have beat Persona 3 and Portable and 4. Devil survivor on 7th day and stopped(cba to finish it).
Devil Survivor 2 started some days ago(but MH got my attention now )
Haven't played SMT games but wanna try SMT IV but cause i'm the European Masterrace i've gotta wait 2-3 years to come out.


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## BORTZ (Apr 3, 2014)

GamerzHell9137 said:


> Have beat Persona 3 and Portable and 4. Devil survivor on 7th day and stopped(cba to finish it).
> Devil Survivor 2 started some days ago(but MH got my attention now )
> Haven't played SMT games but wanna try SMT IV but cause i'm the European Masterrace i've gotta wait 2-3 years to come out.


 
4 is awesome. As much as ive played that is, and I really like it.


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## Buck_7 (Apr 3, 2014)

I've just defeated Benetrash (whatever it was named) in Devil Survivor 2. The game has been entertaining ever since I got it. It was also made into an anime which was pretty cool.


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## GamerzHell9137 (Apr 3, 2014)

BortzANATOR said:


> 4 is awesome. As much as ive played that is, and I really like it.


 

Colorful yet Dark, love it the most in the series.


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## Celice (Apr 3, 2014)

I've heard this series is pretty awesome, but fuck if I know where to start.


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## weavile001 (Apr 3, 2014)

I´ve Played* All of Them*,Not counting the JP only games, of course.
It IS my favorite Game Franchise, from the story to the Combat.
my First SMT game was Devil Survivor, about 5 years ago, when i was still searching for DS games( AKA:getting DS Roms), i saw this game and the cover looked cool, so I dowloaded it. at first, the story was Fucked up, and the combat was brutal for me, but after day 6-7, I couldn´t play anything else other than Devil S, the story was something new to me,as I hadn´t played games Like FF/DQ yet.
I got the Atsuro´s Ending first,I let almost everyone die through the story (lol) and my party was kicking ass, after the ending I didn´t played it anymore until 3 years ago, when I did all the endings in one month.....

but after playing more SMT games , I Noticed a little game called Persona 4 for the PS2, I got the emulator and started playing, almost 100 hours later, i decided that this game was my favorite game of all time....

the combat is Different between every game, but strategy-wise , I´d go with the SMT4 battle system.
On every game, my party is always : Samael , Seth and Kartikeya, except DS 1/2....


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## BORTZ (Apr 3, 2014)

Celice said:


> I've heard this series is pretty awesome, but fuck if I know where to start.


 
The persona games seem to be a bit more friendly to the interested gamer. The straight SMT flavor games kinda ball vice you from the start if you arent paying attention.


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## CompassNorth (Apr 3, 2014)

BortzANATOR said:


> So what have games have you played in the SMT universe? and what side of the Persona/SMT skism do you fall on? I guess this is kinda a big rift between players


There's only a big rift between the people who expect Persona 3/4 out of every SMT game.
For example











I have no problem with person fans. Don't really care if someone has different taste, but if you start complaining that every game in a series with a vast amount of spin-offs doesn't play like the games in the spin-off you like, you're an idiot.

I've played about every game available in English except for Digital Devil Saga duology, every persona except 3, and Devil Survivor 2.

My favorite entry is Shin Megami Tensei 1, in my opinion it's the best RPG out on the SNES from what I've played and I'm a huge Final Fantasy V fan, but Shin Megami Tensei 1 delivers a unique experience that needs to be played. I usually get shat on by other people because the game feels "dated", when it doesn't.

SMT IV is probably the weakest in the series for me. The game is way too easy and early mid-game you can start one-shotting enemies that take the fun out of things, the non Kanenko designs are mostly hideous, and the story isn't that great. OST is bitchin' though.

Also for people who want an amazing Game Boy RPG check out Revelations: The Demon Slayer, it's still one of the best portable MegaTen games.


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## Celice (Apr 3, 2014)

BortzANATOR said:


> The persona games seem to be a bit more friendly to the interested gamer. The straight SMT flavor games kinda ball vice you from the start if you arent paying attention.


Soooooo what's even the different between straight SMT and persona?


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## Issac (Apr 3, 2014)

emigre said:


> -well written stuff-


 

Being interested in the Persona series, should I start with the first game? Are they connected, or are they like the Final Fantasy titles, separate games?
Also, is the PSP version more true to the original? I tested it on PSX but don't have the time at this very moment to really start playing. I did dislike them changing names, setting, etc...


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## emigre (Apr 3, 2014)

Issac said:


> Being interested in the Persona series, should I start with the first game? Are they connected, or are they like the Final Fantasy titles, separate games?
> Also, is the PSP version more true to the original? I tested it on PSX but don't have the time at this very moment to really start playing. I did dislike them changing names, setting, etc...


 

All separate gaems bar the Persona 2 duology.

The PSP version is more true to the source material but it is quite archaic with its gaem mechanics and I would never recommend it to anyone as a first entrance to the series despite how well it resonated with me.


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## Issac (Apr 3, 2014)

emigre said:


> All separate gaems bar the Persona 2 duology.
> 
> The PSP version is more true to the source material but it is quite archaic with its gaem mechanics and I would never recommend it to anyone as a first entrance to the series despite how well it resonated with me.


 
Awesome! Thanks  I'll see if I'll start with the duology anyway, or the third one... I can be forgiving to archaic game mechanics, and sometimes it's easier to understand later games from playing the first ones. Well well, the future will decide this


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## weavile001 (Apr 3, 2014)

Celice said:


> Soooooo what's even the different between straight SMT and persona?


 
where to start....
on SMT , you summon ''Demons'' to fight with you ,they appear as different party members, and normally are obtainable through fusion or recruiting during battles.
every demon has a ''Personality'': which is about the same as their mythological origins, such as Fenrir, Lucifer,Beelzebub and Thor, they can even be real-world people like Emperor Caesar and Jeanne D´arc/Joan of Arc, they will always say something about their story and stuff like that.

But, in Persona , instead of the Sidekick Demons, you have ''manifestations of One´s Psyche'', In persona 3 - 4, every character, except the main character(obviously), has only one Persona, normally reflecting their Personalities.

''Persona'' and ''Demons'' are just Given names, most Personas are Demons from SMT , and Vice-versa.
you can look for more examples on this page:
http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Persona_(Series)


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## Gahars (Apr 3, 2014)

Um... I laughed at this.



How far does this get me?


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## BORTZ (Apr 3, 2014)

Gahars said:


> Um... I laughed at this.
> 
> 
> 
> How far does this get me?



Go away gahars lol


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## Celice (Apr 4, 2014)

weavile001 said:


> where to start....
> on SMT , you summon ''Demons'' to fight with you ,they appear as different party members, and normally are obtainable through fusion or recruiting during battles.
> every demon has a ''Personality'': which is about the same as their mythological origins, such as Fenrir, Lucifer,Beelzebub and Thor, they can even be real-world people like Emperor Caesar and Jeanne D´arc/Joan of Arc, they will always say something about their story and stuff like that.
> 
> ...


So on SMT, you had me that it's a bit like Dragon Quest Monsters/Pokemon.

fuck-all if I understood what personas were


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## weavile001 (Apr 4, 2014)

Celice said:


> So on SMT, you had me that it's a bit like Dragon Quest Monsters/Pokemon.
> 
> fuck-all if I understood what personas were


 
SMT: the monsters live inside some kind of eletronic/magic device.
Persona: the Monsters are inside you.

Monsters in SMT can stay ''outside'' the device until the guy who summoned it calls it back, just like Pokemon.
in Persona, the monster appears for a few moments just to execute an attack.

I don´t know how to explain anymore....just watch the difference here, no Spoilers , of course:
Shin Megami Tensei : Persona 4


Shin Megami Tensei III : Nocturne


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## Hyro-Sama (Apr 4, 2014)

Speaking of Persona 4. . .


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## VLinh (Apr 4, 2014)

I've played Persona 3, 3 FES, 4 and Shin Megami Tensei IV and boy there was a big difference right off the bat in terms of difficulty for me.

I guess while I played Persona 3 and 4, it was more of an easier experience getting through the game whereas in SMT IV, I really had to prepare my team as I could die easily to enemies and after beating it on my first play-through on the Law Route, I watched videos on YouTube and they had teams that were very well constructed, like someone had a demon with the move to decrease all of the properties of a demon, started with a D and Luster Candy which boosted your team so in a way, I guess I really didn't look into this strategy in terms of moves, all I went with was almost pure offence and some stat increasing skills and the reflect physical and magical moves.

Definitely wanting to experience the other SMT games as the challenge from SMT IV was very rewarding when you beat it


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## Hells Malice (Apr 4, 2014)

I'd love to say i've played 'em, all but sadly I really don't have time to sit down and play most of them to completion. I find walking away from a SMT game for too long just completely screws me. I come back and am wondering wtf I was doing or trying to do.

As such, i've beaten Devil Survivor 1, 2 and Overclocked. Between the three of them i've easily logged over 500 hours. Easily.
I'm quite far into Persona 3 portable, but don't have much time to play my handheld anymore. I miss highschool. Had all the time in the world to beat games.

I've played a bit of Persona 2 and 1, and I plan on starting Digital Devil Saga soon.
Wouldn't mind picking up more titles though so I have more incentive to play them. Usually when I have an actual copy of the game, i'm more inclined to play it.


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## Scott-105 (Apr 4, 2014)

I've played the same as the OP. 

In SMT IV, I'm about 20 or so hours in. Stuck on opening up a terminal. Been grinding
I finished SMT Devil Survivor Overclocked. I want to play the second one now. 
I can't remember how far I got in Persona 3 Portable, but I think around the same as OP. 

I REALLY wanna play Persona 4, and I'm pretty excited about the Persona game coming to 3DS.


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## BrightNeko (Apr 4, 2014)

I've gotten the bad, normal, and good ending of P4. Working on true ending. XD I got bad and normal by accident, that dialog tree is rough.

Aside from that been trying P3P, but have been struggling with it for pure cosmetic reasons. I'm not a fan of guiding around a little circle whenever not in the dungeon, and hell I don't even know why it gets to me like it does. That said I enjoyed P1, and P2's duology, they aren't for new commoners at all though. An it even looks like Persona Q might me a semi-remake of P1's snow queen quest.

Put plenty of hours into the originals but kept losing my save data. Aside from those though I picked up devil survivor twice, the DS one, and the remake. Unlike the original set of games I just lost interest over time with them. I think it is because with Devil survivor is slowly lets the player figure out what is going on to soon. My boyfriend has lent me SMT4, and soul hackers, will be trying those soon. Just after I get through Radiant Historia, which hey if you want something by the SMT team that is just as awesome. Check out Radiant Historia.


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## chavosaur (Apr 4, 2014)

I played SMTIV to completion, with a neutrality play through as well, and it was probably the hardest RPG experience over ever had. Amazing payoff though, was a wonderful game. 
I have slight experience with persona but no serious playtime yet. I will soon begin playing through the series though~


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## CompassNorth (Apr 4, 2014)

Celice said:


> Soooooo what's even the different between straight SMT and persona?


 

Persona focuses more on character development and self-acceptance on a modern setting. Character controls Personas as opposed to recruiting them as in Shin Megami Tensei.

Shin Megami Tensei mainly focuses on living in a post-apocalyptic word where the balance of alignments are fragile and you shape the world with the options you are given. A darker world with not as much character development, if you get close to a character it'll most likely be used for a plot device.






Issac said:


> Being interested in the Persona series, should I start with the first game? Are they connected, or are they like the Final Fantasy titles, separate games?


They're all in the same universe, the only direct sequel is the Persona 2 duology where you have to play innocent sin first. It's highly suggested to play Persona 1 before two since it's a follow up. The first three persona games are barely (but still) connected to the rest.
If you have no problem playing older games play the series in order, if you are play three. 
PSP version is recommended, but has terrible music.


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## Issac (Apr 4, 2014)

CompassNorth said:


> PSP version is recommended, but has terrible music.


 
In which way is it worse than the PSX version? Did they change the soundtrack, or is it just the quality that sucks?


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## CompassNorth (Apr 4, 2014)

Issac said:


> In which way is it worse than the PSX version? Did they change the soundtrack, or is it just the quality that sucks?


They changed the sountrack to jpop, not even that nice jazzy funk jpop mix that the composer Shoji Meguro is known for. 
It ruins the mood since it's one of the Cozy Okada Persona games which is darker than the Hashino games.
I don't think there's a patch to change the PSP version to the original one sadly.


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## weavile001 (Apr 5, 2014)

CompassNorth said:


> P
> PSP version is recommended, but has terrible music.


 



CompassNorth said:


> They changed the sountrack to jpop, not even that nice jazzy funk jpop mix that the composer Shoji Meguro is known for.
> It ruins the mood since it's one of the Cozy Okada Persona games which is darker than the Hashino games.
> I don't think there's a patch to change the PSP version to the original one sadly.


 
what? the New boss battle theme is one of the best SMT´s battle themes


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## BORTZ (Apr 7, 2014)

I have kind been dancing between Overclocked, SMT4, and more recently Persona3P. I got somewhere in the second stratum of floors in P3P and got frustrated. So I jumped back over to my Overclocked game. 

I picked up at the end of day 3 right after beating Beldr. I am now on day 6 in the morning. 

I really appreciate how the Devil Survivor games give you just enough demons to keep things interesting and competitive on the battle field without totally overwhelming you. At first it really felt limited, but that faded away when I picked it up again. The story is good, and I kinda like the idea of being walled into a city and trying to figure out whats going on. DSO was my first experience with the series and I must say, I do really like it. As complex as it is, I love not having to buy armor, weapons, accessories. All I have to do is focus on breeding competitive demons for the story. 

SMT4 has been lots of fun, the reason I stopped playing for now is because I got frustrated when I got down into Tokyo and had no good way of navigating the map. The battles and the intense strategy needed to make it around alive is fantastic. I demon artwork is fantasic and the battle animations are great. Not to mention the killer soundtrack. But it is hard. The game is not forgiving at all. 


Persona is ok, but it feels so so much lighter than the SMT series or even the Devil Survivor ones. Persona seems the most limited in the demon department. Everyone else gets only one (the awakings whatever) and you get like 170. But even then, they seem pretty limited and watered down compared to what I can get in DSO and not to mention SMT4. Which might just be the point. You have lots of other stuff to do in the Persona realms, go to school, make friends, explore tartatus etc. Its almost stressful.


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## GameWinner (Apr 8, 2014)

Hyro-Sama said:


> Speaking of Persona 4. . .


So buying even though I own Golden (physical and digital) and the physical PS2 game. <3


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## Hyro-Sama (Apr 8, 2014)

GameWinner said:


> So buying even though I own Golden (physical and digital) and the physical PS2 game. <3


 

Same here. #SMTfanboi4lyfe


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## Pedeadstrian (Apr 8, 2014)

Bortz, it's funny how you mention being a Dragon Quest/Warrior Monsters fan and not knowing about this. I probably wouldn't like the MegaTen franchise nearly as much as I do if it weren't for my experience playing Dragon Warrior Monsters with the monsters, fusing, and whatnot. I've played every PS2-era and beyond MegaTen game, and I'm in love. I too started out with Devil Survivor (except this was years ago so it was the DS version, but I've since beaten the new one). I came upon the franchise the same way that weavile001 did. I had just got my DS flashcard, and went to Nintendo.com to look at all of the DS games, and wrote down the names of the ones that looked or sounded cool. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor was one long-ass name, but Devil Survivor sounded awesome so I went ahead and played it, and I have never looked back. I'm really excited about the games that are coming out this year and the ones that are coming out (hopefully early) next year.  Persona 5? Bring it on!


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## FireEmblemGuy (Apr 8, 2014)

I've always felt like Persona games are as much SMT games as any other SMT spinoff, although Persona 4's spinoffs have me questioning that logic. Certainly there are key differences, such as the nature of the allies and enemies, or the lack of law/chaos/neutral routes (although P4G kind of brought that back, and at least the first Persona had a secondary route), and I wouldn't try claiming they have any real impact on mainline SMT canon, but I don't hate on them for not being 'real' SMT games. I'm still going to separate them to make the big list below easier to read.

So, my 'resume':



Spoiler



SMT games I've bought:
SMT (iOS)
SMT 3: Nocturne (PS2)
SMT IV (3DS)
SMT: Devil Survivor Overclocked (3DS)
SMT: Devil Summoner: Raidou 1 (PS2 Classics version; rather, I'll buy it once my internet's working properly again)
SMT: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (3DS)
SMT: Digital Devil Saga 1 (PS2)

SMT games I've played but never bought:
SMT (SNES)
SMT II (SNES)
SMT: Devil Survivor (DS)
SMT: Devil Survivor 2 (DS)
SMT: Strange Journey (DS)

Persona games I've bought:
Persona (PSP digital)
Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSP LE, and digital after I bought my Vita)
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PSX Classics version)
Persona 3 FES (PS2 Classics version)
Persona 3 Portable (PSP digital)
Persona 4 Golden (Vita physical copy; sold it and bought the digital version later with some of my fat Vita Referral Program stacks)
Persona 4 Arena (PS3 hard copy with soundtrack)

Persona games I've played but never bought:
Persona 2: Innocent Sin (PSX)
Persona 4 (PS2; might buy the digital version once it gets a $5 sale, just to do a playthrough without the Golden changes)

SMT/Persona games I'm waiting on:
Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem, obviously
Persona Q
Persona 5
Confirmation that SMT II and if... (mostly if...) are also getting iOS localizations


 
I've always been a sucker for JRPGs, especially monster collecting ones; good stories and path splits add a lot too, so I never had much trouble getting into the SMT series. The exception is the Devi Survivor series - despite being a mix of a visual novel, JRPG, and SRPG, I could never really get into either of them, and I found the stories focused too much on individual characters and not enough on what's actually going on.

Also, Dragon Warrior Monsters for the GBC was probably one of the best games on the system, and 2 was pretty great even if it did opt for a more traditional experience in terms of world exploration. It's a shame that the Joker series was so terrible, and that the 3DS remakes are following up on them instead of returning to their roots. I'm just hoping the PSX 1&2 remake translation eventually gets finished.


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## CompassNorth (Apr 8, 2014)

weavile001 said:


> what? the New boss battle theme is one of the best SMT´s battle themes




Difference of opinion since it's honestly one of the worst boss battle themes I've heard along with the Blue Dragon one and the biggest complaint from people was the awful OST.



BortzANATOR said:


> SMT4 has been lots of fun, the reason I stopped playing for now is because I got frustrated when I got down into Tokyo and had no good way of navigating the map. The battles and the intense strategy needed to make it around alive is fantastic. I demon artwork is fantasic and the battle animations are great. Not to mention the killer soundtrack. But it is hard. The game is not forgiving at all.



Don't worry the game will become easier early-mid game where you'll be one shotting random enemies which sucks the fun.
It's my biggest complaint with the game, normally games get harder as you progress through them, SMT4 gets easier.
It's considered to be the weakest in the series by many.


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## The Catboy (Apr 8, 2014)

I have played and own.
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army (played don't own yet)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (played don't own yet)
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Persona 3 FES
Persona 4
Devil Summoner Soul Hackers
Devil Survivor (original, Overclocked, played two, but only as ROM)
And that's my list so far  I am still playing and adding to it.


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## xXdeltaXx (Apr 8, 2014)

Persona 4 Golden: maybe 20 hours in?
Persona 3 FES: playing it with a friend, so progress is slow. Under 5 hours, I think.

I haven't played classic SMT but I love Persona.


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## Luckkill4u (Apr 8, 2014)

BortzANATOR said:


> For most of my gaming life, I was unaware of the glory that is the SMT universe. When I got my 3DS I had been waiting to play Devil Survivor. I knew there was a DS versoin of the game, but since I already knew I wanted to play it and there was an upgraded port coming, I just waited. Man. I didnt know what I was missing. After that I decided to get SMT4 because I was told there were tons of demons to collect and fuse. If you guys can recall, I am one of the bigger Dragon Quest Monsters fans around here, because monster collecting is my jam  The SMT games have excellent stories and fantastic demon design.
> 
> So what have games have you played in the SMT universe? and what side of the Persona/SMT skism do you fall on? I guess this is kinda a big rift between players.
> 
> ...


 
 I just finished SMT 4 less than a week ago and the ENTIRE game blew my mind! It took me around 80 Hours to finish it and New Game+ should make an extra 40 Hour Play through. I think the game changes depending on what choices you make. My favourite part of the game is the difficulty and the Boss's, but unfortunately I found the last boss way too easy. That could be because most of my demons were level 75+. The game can get kinda sad at times at the end but that's probably because of a few bad choices I have made.

One of my favorite things about MegaTen games is that the game and the demons are based off many religions and myths. It can really make your head spin at times and I like that!

I'm still playing SMT 3 Nocturne but damn that game is unforgiving....


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## BORTZ (Apr 8, 2014)

80 hours in one week lol I have a full time job lol


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## Pedeadstrian (Apr 8, 2014)

BortzANATOR said:


> 80 hours in one week lol I have a full time job lol


The main series and Persona MegaTen games can get pretty lengthy. Some of them, like SMTIV or Devil Survivor Overclocked have more routes to play through (SMTIV not as much though), and that just increases the play time even more. I just wish Overclocked had a "skip read messages" function like a lot of visual novels have, because I don't wanna read messages several times over because of the several playthroughs.


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## linuxGuru (Apr 8, 2014)

Games I've beaten:
Persona 1 psp
Persona 3 portable
Persona 4 golden 

I am currently playing Devil Survivor Overclocked. I'm close to the end of day 5.


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## Marth16 (Apr 8, 2014)

Played:
SMT I & II & III
Persona 2 & 3
Devil Survivor I(overclocked) & II
Devil Summoner: Soul Hacker

Finished:
Devil Survivor I, several times actually


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## FailName (Apr 11, 2014)

I've put considerable time (>5 hours or so) into into Persona 1, 2IS, 3, Nocturne, Strange Journey, and Devil Survivor, but I've only finished Persona 2 IS, 3, and SJ. 

Since I haven't seen them mentioned at all in this thread, what do you guys think of the Last Bible spin off series? I've tried about 10 minutes of both the officially translated first one and the fan translated second, and if I ever play more of them, I probably would skip the first one because of the less responsive (if I try to stop or turn, I always take one extra step in the direction I was going before) and slower movement.


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## Naridar (Apr 11, 2014)

Here's my "resume":

- 2 full playthroughs of both Persona 4 and SMT Strange journey. Both are great, though I personally dislike the Calendar system in P4 (or any system that limits the time you can spend on a game in general - here's looking at you, Majora's mask and Lightning returns!) and some of the more tedious sectors (Eridanus and Grus) in Strange Journey.
- Completed Devil Survivor 1 - a bit too dumbed down (no items, no equipment, skills and elements are very limited compared to other SMT games)
- Stopped on day 3 of Devil Survivor 2, waiting for Break Record - same issues but I hope it becomes more complex
- About halfway through SMT4 (just finished Roppongi hills underground) - awesome, though the new fusion system takes some time getting used to (I miss getting rid of junk demons easily  ). Multiple difficulty levels are especially great and are balanced well.
- Tried SMT1 and 2 english - I'm holding out for a translation of the Android versions, the SNES ones are too clunky (or will someone port the english patch to the Advance versions - pretty please?)
- Around Lv15 in Nocturne - I intend on finishing it someday
- Maribel base in DDS1 - same
- 2 hours into Persona 3 Portable - worse than 4, not being able to control characters directly is too big of a hurdle for me to try FES
- 4 hours into Persona 2 Innocent Sin PSP - Good so far, lack of fusion is odd, but story and characters are great
- Tried Persona 1 - aged and clunky, it never gripped me.
- I have Soul Hackers on my Gateway, but I want to finish SMT4 first.


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## Pedeadstrian (Apr 12, 2014)

Naridar said:


> Here's my "resume":
> 
> - 2 full playthroughs of both Persona 4 and SMT Strange journey. Both are great, though I personally dislike the Calendar system in P4 (or any system that limits the time you can spend on a game in general - here's looking at you, Majora's mask and Lightning returns!)


It's funny how you mention not liking the passage of time in P4 and Lightning Returns. I hated Lightning Returns for it, and never actually getting past the part where you infiltrate the zealots' hideout. I absolutely loved Persona 4, though. I think the reason why I feel different for the two games is that in LR, time is constantly moving, whereas in Persona 4 I can go through every nook and cranny of the town and dungeons, and time won't advance unless I leave a dungeon or start some kind of event.


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## BORTZ (Jul 6, 2015)

I finished Persona 3 and started Persona 4, in anticipation of 5. The ending of 3 was pretty rough, as most of you have seen my other thread. 

Something I have noticed in contrast to the Dragon Quest Monsters games are the "relationships" or whatever you want to call them that you form with your monsters as opposed the the almost lack of with the demons. 

While playing the Monsters' series, I noticed that I would end up getting attached to a monster and not want to syth them with anyone else I had an odd style of play. Since you could usually be carrying around 3 monsters at a time, I would have the prized monster, usually my best of the best. A heavy tank with fantastic overall stats and skills, capable of taking a huge beating and carrying the team. My second would usually be a pretty dang good second, with healing skills and other attacks. My third was the whore bloodline, used to augement my tank or secondary monster, or being breed with stray monsters I would catch. Eventually the goal was to make a good enough 3rd string monster to breed into my other two... anyways I digress. I had bond with those monsters or bloodlines. That time spend leveling them up, picking skills, etc all mattered. You could royally screw yourself if you weren't careful with your breeding. 

But with the SMT games... I never got that feeling. I would get a demon that had the stats and resistance table i needed, and then dump the skills into the slots. Much more of a utilitarian use of demons, instead of the more careful care I had with my monsters. 

Just something I noticed, nothing more.


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## emigre (Jul 6, 2015)

Bortz said:


> But with the SMT games... I never got that feeling. I would get a demon that had the stats and resistance table i needed, and then dump the skills into the slots. Much more of a utilitarian use of demons, instead of the more careful care I had with my monsters.
> 
> Just something I noticed, nothing more.



They're demons. They're meant to be used and abused. 

Just like my girlfriend


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## BORTZ (Jul 6, 2015)

emigre said:


> They're demons. They're meant to be used and abused.
> 
> Just like my girlfriend


Yeah I actually had thought about it that way too. It says alot about the series' messages that it comes off that way.


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## Pedeadstrian (Jul 7, 2015)

Bortz said:


> But with the SMT games... I never got that feeling. I would get a demon that had the stats and resistance table i needed, and then dump the skills into the slots. Much more of a utilitarian use of demons, instead of the more careful care I had with my monsters.
> 
> Just something I noticed, nothing more.


While I felt the same way about demons most of the time, in some games I did have the same feeling you did with your DQ/DW monsters. The only problem is that while it's technically possible to take a demon from level 1 to 99, it gets exponentially harder to level them. Like emigre says, they're designed to be used then tossed out. They don't want you to make one good demon then stick with it for half the game.


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## sarkwalvein (Jul 7, 2015)

Spoiler



But Bugaboo and Jimenez were so close... They really were in sync almost like one entity.


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## Pedeadstrian (Jul 7, 2015)

sarkwalvein said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> But Bugaboo and Jimenez were so close... They really were in sync almost like one entity.


He means the player and demons, not character and demons.


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## weavile001 (Jul 7, 2015)

For me, some Demons such as Norn, Samael and Sraosha are always in my party, when they are low level(Samael is LV 36 on P4), I always spend minutes trying to give them a better Skillset during my playthrough, ultimately, my party on all games are me and my favorite demons with Overpowered Skills, 'cause LV30-40 Demons tend to get better Stats by the Endgame than the LV80-90 ones.
Grinding is not a problem when you get Insta-kill attacks and Almighty Attacks.


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## BORTZ (Jul 7, 2015)

weavile001 said:


> For me, some Demons such as Norn, Samael and Sraosha are always in my party, when they are low level(Samael is LV 36 on P4), I always spend minutes trying to give them a better Skillset during my playthrough, ultimately, my party on all games are me and my favorite demons with Overpowered Skills, 'cause LV30-40 Demons tend to get better Stats by the Endgame than the LV80-90 ones.
> Grinding is not a problem when you get Insta-kill attacks and Almighty Attacks.


Good god doesnt that require a ton of grinding? 

I see what you mean, I always gravitate towards certain demons when I get to specific levels. Some of them are just too awesome to go on without.


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## weavile001 (Jul 7, 2015)

Bortz said:


> Good god doesnt that require a ton of grinding?
> 
> I see what you mean, I always gravitate towards certain demons when I get to specific levels. Some of them are just too awesome to go on without.


only needed 3 hours to grind my 3 Endgame demons up to LV99 on SMT IV :v

depends on the game, if it's P3 or P4, grinding is fun because of the Battle Music(never gets stale, 'dunno why) , on SMT IV, every battle is a matter of seconds before  I throw a Concentrated Antichthon,but P1 ,P2,SMT III and Strange journey, where battle takes too much time and enemies might Rekt you really fast, i Tend to play safe and grind slowly.

On Devil Survivor OC/RB, i never do a free battle to get the ''No Training'' Achievement at the end of the game.


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## vayanui8 (Jul 7, 2015)

I absolutely love this series. I just discovered it a year and a half ago with p4 and I've loved it ever since. 
I've played to completion:
Persona 4
Persona 4 Golden
Persona 3 portable (twice)
Devil Survivor overclocked
SMTIV
Persona Q

I've also played a fair dose of these, but I haven't really gotten near beating them or anything
SMT 1
SMT Strange Journey
Persona 1 PSP

I've also played a little bit of digital devil saga and Persona 2 innocent sin, but not enough to have much of an experience with them


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## BORTZ (Jul 5, 2016)

Updated my resume since I have since finished all the games I was working on when I made this thread

SMT: Devil Survivor Overclocked (3DS) Beaten with the power ending
SMT: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker beaten with Adatchi's regressor ending
SMT:4 beaten with the chaos ending
Persona 3 Portable FES: switched over to FES. beaten, watched the answer on youtube.
Persona 4 Arena: working on all the character stories
SMT: Soul Hackers: Just started, might need to restart. Accidentally dumped 10 points into magic. Spoilers, MC cant use magic lol


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## emigre (Jul 6, 2016)

Bortz said:


> SMT: Soul Hackers: Just started, might need to restart. Accidentally dumped 10 points into magic. Spoilers, MC cant use magic lol



This made me smile. Soul Hackers has one of my favourite worlds in the MegaTen universe. Would love to see a return to cyberpunk world.


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## BORTZ (Jul 6, 2016)

emigre said:


> This made me smile. Soul Hackers has one of my favourite worlds in the MegaTen universe. Would love to see a return to cyberpunk world.


I kinda skipped over it at first, you know, not being a hardcore SMT nerd at the time. But after a few titles were beaten I was running low of what I could play on my current systems and remembered Soul Hackers. After watching the trailer again I decided I HAD to play that game.

And I think this counts, but I just started Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE. Its really cool. It feels like a Persona battle/dungeon system but during the day you are a japanese pop idol.


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