Megami Tensei/Persona Discussion Thread

[Von Ithipathachai]

A general discussion thread for the Megami Tensei series, though it will probably be used more for Persona.

[Jedi]

How'd everyone get into the franchise? 

I got into it all via Devil Survivor then proceeded to play SMT1 on the SNES, which still has some of my favorite atmosphere in a game. It has some badly aged stuff but it gets carried by its fun fights & excellent atmosphere. I've played every mainline SMT besides 3, which I need to fix. I have a particular fondness for 1, 4 and SJ

I started Persona like most people with 3, but I've gone back to play the PSP revamps of 1 & 2, currently slowly going through 4. Plan on grabbing 5 after I slowly trudge through 4.

Edited June 18, 2017 by Jedi

[Interdimensional Observer]

Nice idea, I've been meaning to do this.

I'm a fairly serious Shin Megami Tensei fan who started with Devil Survivor- I actually thought the game was too dark when I first bought it in... intermediate school I think? So I sold it, but when the Overclock port came around, I decided to give the series another try, and thank goodness I did. I got through DSO and really enjoyed it, and then went on to play DS2, and then my first mainline title in SMTIV (did everything but the Fiend battles- way too tedious to trigger). After that, I got a PS3 and completed a non-TDE playthrough of Nocturne on Hard. I had spoiled myself on the plot long ago for Nocturne, as I had with DS during the period where I expressed interest in the series, but had yet to buy DSO. Even so the dungeon design in Nocturne is incredibly good, if at times a little unfair, and the gameplay holds up incredibly well (though I'd like demons to level faster). (Unfortunately a data loss meant I'll have to trudge through the entire game again if I want to tackle the TDE superboss.) I also cleared DDS1 sans superboss, and plan to start Digital Devil Saga 2 (transferless unfortunately) on my new PS3 as soon as I finish Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Souless Army (up to Episode 5). And lastly, I'm halfway through Strange Journey, and have cleared both the iOS version of the original SMT and the 3DS version of Soul Hackers (sans the bonus dungeon). Maybe when I'm done with SJ I'll finally buy SMTIV: Apocalypse.

On the Persona front, I like SMT gameplay enough that I'm tempted to nab some Personas for that reason, but the dating sim aspect repulses me every time. And Persona 2's problem is that I can't get over Hitler's appearance in the games- it's just a turn off for me. I did enjoy Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE when I wasn't shrugging off the plot or skipping J-Pop scenes though.

One of my favorite events/scenes in all of SMT is:

Spoiler

The Reverse Hills building in SMTIV. Even on subsequent playthroughs, Reverse Hills is exhausting, it drains me of my emotions and leaves me utterly fatigued and wanting it to be all over. It is the epitome of bleakness, it is the spirit of SMT.

For when one stands back and examines the central struggle in SMT, one is left to conclude that objectively, there is no hope of ultimate victory. In a multiverse with a nigh-infinite number of worlds, where the forces of Law and Chaos will revive themselves for all eternity, it is impossible for Law or Chaos or Neutrality to conquer even a tiny fraction of all the worlds, much less maintain control of them. As the White point out in SMTIV, a world where one of Law or Chaos hold supreme, will invariably shift in the opposite direction at eventually. Whilst I don't agree with the White, they do have a point on the nullity of everything.

To remedy this ennui of meaningless and insignificance, one must forget about objectivity and the big picture. One must focus on the one world they're in, the one world where they can make a difference, if just for the briefest of times. The one world where they can see the struggle of Law, Chaos, and Neutrality (or whatever ideals are being contested) is being waged. One must become a raging fireball of subjectivity, and feel as though victory in this world, for now, will be ultimate victory. Only then, with sight narrowed, is one able to become impassioned about their chosen cause and derive meaning and joy from it. 

 

 

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

I started with the two Devil Survivor games. 

2 improved the issues from 1 (having access to more characters early on, adding social links and improving skill system).

2 is still my favorite 3DS game with one of the best character casts of all videogames I've played. The characters are all unique in their personality and sympathic. Also my personal favorite videogame character is in this game.

Airi

Furthermore it is similar to FE, a round based strategy game with an excellent battle system. The only main differences are that the move turn order is fixed and the damage output is random. And a bit more anime and fanservice are included which didn't bother me, even for someone who isn't into anime at all.

 

The gameplay brought me into Persona, to be precise Persona 3, which is a classic RPG with a similar battle system. 

It also has influences of a simulation in it because day organisation is a thing here. Time management is very important to fulfill all your tasks and do as many support conversations as possible. I found the story and the characters great. Also the music was superb. Many groovy songs. The final boss theme in The Journey just kicks ass and is still my favorite final boss theme in videogames.

Then I continued Persona 4, a game with a less interesting plot at least for 3/4 of the game. The end was totally weird by letting appear a final dungeon and boss out of nowhere which was extremly hard to get into. A little bit disappointment compared to 3.


Finally I started my first part of the main SMT series, SMT IV.

First of all this game pissed me off in the beginning because the default difficulty was just unfair. I couldn't beat the second or third main boss (idr). If I didn't get the info that it was possible to lower the difficulty by getting several party wipe outs, I'd have quitted it long before. But thankfully I got the info in time and let lower the difficulty. After that it was MUCH MORE enjoyable. The story was just great. However it ws impossible to unlock all three paths in my first run. Have to replay it to get to the neutral path. At the end I still had much fun with this game although I still prefer DeSu simply because it's more like FE.

Hopefully I'll get Persona 5 soon.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I was introduced to the series soon after the January 2013 Nintendo Direct that mentioned a crossover between it and Fire Emblem. One of the LPers I watched was doing Persona 4 and I thought it was real cool. I downloaded Persona 3 FES on my PS3 and was hooked. Since then I've tried SMT IV, Devil Survivor Overclocked, Digital Devil Saga, Persona Q, Tokyo Mirage Sessions, and Persona 5. TMS and P5 are the only of those I beat. Persona Q I got to the Final Boss and quit. It was 20 levels higher than me and level scaling ensured there was very little I could accomplish. Devil Survivor I got to Day 6 before quitting. The game wasn't terribly frustrating, I was just so tired with the mechanics and did not care about the story. All I remember specifically is how bad the game handles "Green Units".

I'm not a huge fan of SMT. I see the games have been improving in small, quality of life ways. Things like letting you adjust your difficulty during a playthrough, or letting you restart a battle after a game over. But naturally this doesn't make the older games any easier, which are what I'm trying and failing to get into. The games are just designed with so much potential for a game over at any moment that will make you lose a ton of progress. If the AI gets a lucky crit, targets the right ally in their weakness, it's all RNG and thus creates a frustrating and bleak experience that's hard to return to after you fail. The games don't care whether I play them. Perhaps don't even want me to play them. Like a sad little boy locked away in his room that rejects the idea of friendship or happiness. Only anime.

[Von Ithipathachai]

My main introduction to Megami Tensei was the Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem teaser, back when I was really into Fire Emblem: Awakening.  Before I was into Megami Tensei, I played a lot of Final Fantasy, but my copy of Final Fantasy VII kept crashing during the unskippable date scene, so I kind of got turned off of it.  Then I remembered hearing about Megami Tensei and decided to try out Shin Megami Tensei IV for the 3DS and from that point onward I pretty much abandoned Final Fantasy altogether.  The demon fusion system, morally challenging stories, and huge number of mythological pantheons the games have pulled their demon rosters from have been significant series selling points for me.

So far, I have played and beaten every main series game currently released (including the original Digital Devil Story games included in Kyūyaku Megami Tensei).  I have also tried the original Majin Tensei, Devil Summoner, and Persona games, but have not beaten any of them.  I would also like to take a crack at Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation, but since there are virtually no guides for it available online, I'm having to work on translating whatever important resources I can find beforehand.

[MediocreLee]

On 6/17/2017 at 9:34 PM, Jedi said:

How'd everyone get into the franchise? 

I initially got into SMT/Persona with the third installment of both series whatever amount of years ago.  SMT 3: Nocturne scarred me as a child, but I love it now.  And Persona 3 was my favorite Persona game until Persona 5 came around and stole my heart.

Since then, I've played a lot of the franchise.  I've played SMT 4, DemiKids (not knowing it was a SMT game), Persona 1, 2, 4, and 5 (and the Arena/fighting games if they count as well), Digital Devil Saga 1, Devil Survivor 1 and 2, Raidou Kuzunoha games, and some of Tokyo Mirage Session.  I thoroughly enjoy the franchise because it is pretty challenging on the first playthrough and the stories have all been pretty interesting for the most part since they're all mostly social commentaries about society as a whole or people as individuals.  I especially like the Devil Survivor series because of the somewhat tactical elements the game has, the multiple routes/endings, and overall story of the two games as they were told pretty well.

I will forever sing praises of Persona 3 FES though because it's what really drew me into the series.  Considering the time I played through and finished the game was middle school for me, the story really stuck with me and helped me through some tough and troubling times.  After finishing the Answer part of the game, I REALLY felt like I was saying goodbye to really good friends since they all had such an impact on me.  I also find it funny because what initially drew me into playing Persona 3 in the first place was the fact that you can have a dog as a teammate.  Koromaru is best dog.

However, my favorite Persona and overall SMT game in the franchise is Persona 5 because the story was really good in my opinion.  And I know the game came out in America a couple months back, but it REALLY helped me through tough times as well and I related to the characters more than I did with the Persona 3 cast.  It also helps that the visual style and gameplay worked for me.

[Von Ithipathachai]

1 hour ago, MediocreLee said:

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne scarred me as a child, but I love it now.  And Persona 3 was my favorite Persona game until Persona 5 came around and stole my heart.

So...  Did you ever get far enough into the game when you were little to fight a certain magnificent demon?  If so, I'm deeply sorry.

Anyway, I made a translation of the instruction manual for Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Revelation.  ...It's pretty crazy, to say the least.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XkCAvilc-AY3mb1jftTvYFgz-KhVEqao8k6qGedOmNc/edit?usp=sharing

[Ein]

Watched a bunch of Nocturne videos and the designs of the characters and demons looked awesome. The music was trippy as hell too so that was a bonus. Eventually bought and beat it and loved everything about it.

Then I tried Persona 3 and 4 and I can safely say they were some of the worst gaming experiences I have had. They are just so boring and devoid of any charm I don't understand how people can tolerate them. Haven't dabbled in any other non main game SMT thanks to them.

[MediocreLee]

4 hours ago, Von Ithipathachai said:

So...  Did you ever get far enough into the game when you were little to fight a certain magnificent demon?  If so, I'm deeply sorry.

Yes...yes I did...it still somewhat haunts me to this day.  But after playing other SMT titles, I kinda just got used to it.

[Etrurian emperor]

I heard a lot of stories about both series but I never really had an interest in either of them. I've never been to fond of the ''just an ordinary high school student'' stories and tolerate them at best. The crossover with Fire emblem gave me the impression it also had a lot of overlap with the idol scene which is an even bigger turn off for me.

But after Persona 5 was so strongly recommended to me and after even the JRPGphobic Yahtzee couldn't find to much dirt on the game I decided to give it a go. Its probably my game of the year after Breath of the Wilds. I'm a big fan of the story and cast, the soundtrack is indeed very ''trippy'' and while I'm not entirely sold on the heavy focus on elemental rock paper scissor the gameplay does have its charms. I'm also quite surprised how the real life stuff didn't end up becoming a chore.

I'm not sure if I have an interest in going back to earlier games. Persona 5 seems like a highlight so I'm not sure how much the older games can hold up to that. 

[Nobody]

I got into SMT with SMT IV. I was looking for a rpg to play on my 3ds and found it on the eshop for a good price, in the beginning of 2014. I instantly fell in love with it and binge played through 2 different playthroughs (Law and Neutral). It became one of my favorite games ever. The gameplay, story and specially setting were all just great. After that, I played Nocturne and enjoyed it almost as much. Since then, I've also played Strange Journey, Apocalypse, Devil Survivor Overclocked and Persona 5, all of which i enjoyed a lot, and i can say its one of my favorite series as of now even though I still have to play smt 1 and 2 and most of the spin offs.

54 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I've never been to fond of the ''just an ordinary high school student'' stories and tolerate them at best.

The mainline smt games have nothing to do with high school (with the exception of smt:if). That's only a persona thing. You should totally try SMT IV or Nocturne.

Tokyo Mirrage Sessions has as much to do with SMT as it does with Fire Emblem (i.e almost nothing at all). Not even Persona has idols, and like, SMT games are post apocalyptic. Where would you even fit an idol on a post apocalyptic setting?

Edited June 19, 2017 by Nobody

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I didn't know Nocturne is SMT3. I guess I just assumed SMT3 was arbitrarily skipped or was just an even lesser known super famicom title. I know it's just a name, but that's interesting. Most of the games that have been recommended to me (like Digital Devil Saga, Devil Survivor) have been a total miss, but I seen a few hours of Nocturne on a twitch stream and it seemed alright. Maybe I'll give Nocturne a shot some day.

[Interdimensional Observer]

40 minutes ago, Gustavos said:

I didn't know Nocturne is SMT3. I guess I just assumed SMT3 was arbitrarily skipped or was just an even lesser known super famicom title. I know it's just a name, but that's interesting. Most of the games that have been recommended to me (like Digital Devil Saga, Devil Survivor) have been a total miss, but I seen a few hours of Nocturne on a twitch stream and it seemed alright. Maybe I'll give Nocturne a shot some day.

Given your complaints about difficulty being unfair, I'd say no to Nocturne in all likelihood. The game isn't that dated surprisingly, but if you didn't like IV (which does have an easier mode if you die twice- it also gets much easier once you get pass a certain boss) you probably won't like Nocturne. It does let you pick Normal or Hard difficulty at the start, and Normal shouldn't be too bad (putting the Mind's Eye on the MC helps prevent ambushes), but I still have doubts as to whether you'd like it or not. 

Random battles in SMT are kill or be killed. Offense rules- target weaknesses, or do something like Concentrate+Megido when that becomes available. For bosses, just avoid having demons weak to its attacks on your team, and use buffs like Rakukaja and Tarunda to survive, healing and weakness targeting handles the rest. 

I understand if you're not into SMT- you have to accept seeing the game over screen once in a while, sometimes more frequently. But once you get the hang of things, they aren't so bad- just don't let your mind totally relax during battles.

[Pixelman]

On 6/17/2017 at 8:34 PM, Jedi said:

How'd everyone get into the franchise? 

I was bored one day and saw a TAS of Megami Tensei for the famicom, so I went out and got a translation

Really fun game, though I never finished it.

Has anyone here played Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei? It remakes Megami Tensei I and II for the SNES and it's pretty damn fun.

Edited June 19, 2017 by Pixelman

[Von Ithipathachai]

5 minutes ago, Pixelman said:

I was bored one day and saw a TAS of Megami Tensei for the famicom, so I went out and got a translation

Really fun game, though I never finished it.

Has anyone here played Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei? It remakes Megami Tensei I and II for the SNES and it's pretty damn fun.

I have!  It's awesome, definitely preferable to the Famicom versions.  Famicom MT1 is extremely dated and quirky and Famicom MT2 is very difficult; I'd even go so far as to say that it's even harder than Nocturne and Strange Journey.  The SNES ports do a lot to make the games more enjoyable.