Starting in Shin Megami Tensei

BruceCampbell · Joined: 10 Mar 2013 Posts: 24

So I've been playing the Persona games, and I liked them quite a bit. However, I find myself wanting to move on to the main series of SMT, but I feel a bit odd just jumping in to a series I don't really know.

So thus I ask, what game should I start with? Do i begin from the beginning, or can I hop aboard wherever I please?

Jimbob the Weedlord · Joined: 09 Mar 2013 Posts: 150

Honestly, SMT is such a broad franchise that it's hard to say. If you're talking about the pure mainline games - SMT1, SMT2 and SMT: Nocturne, then easily Nocturne. It's a hard game, but I would hesitate to call the first two worth playing. That's not qualified with a "these days", they just strike me as poor man's Wizardries. I should maybe give them a better shot, but the point stands that they aren't anywhere near as accessible or rewarding as Nocturne or Persona.

Strange Journey for the DS is fantastic, and everyone apart from Atlus consider it to be SMT 4. It has the atmosphere of the series down perfectly, it eases you into the game very well - albeit slowly - and it streamlines some of Nocturne's features without losing too much complexity. It's hard as balls in places, but nowhere near as much as Nocturne, and has more character interaction than any of the other games bar Persona. If I had to pick one game to introduce people to the franchise, it would be SJ.

Taiyz · Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 12:41 am Post subject:

To correct you Jimbob, people considered it SMT4 because, well, it's not really dissimilar from the other SMTs in gameplay, and comments during development lead us to believe as such.

Then they announced SMT4. Oh well.
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Cloud · Joined: 15 Jul 2006 Posts: 17556

Follow Jimbob's post if you want to play the main series. Nocturne and Strange Journey are both very good.

Personally, I'd suggest the Devil Survivor games on the DS/3DS as the next best point to go to if you're into SRPGs. They feature high school kids in crazy demon filled situations and the second game even has a system a bit like social links.
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Ruin · Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 1:07 am Post subject:

There's also Digital Devil Saga.
which handles similar to nocturne but the story is more straightforward and the characters are actual characters
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Jimbob the Weedlord · Joined: 09 Mar 2013 Posts: 150

Accelerator · Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 7318

What do you like about persona specifically? If its the characterizations and storylines, go for the DeSu games on DS. They're very similar to Persona in terms of character and story, and the two series are probably the most dialogue heavy SMT games with the most in depth characters. They also involve high school students. You also can't go wrong with going back to Persona 1 and 2; both games have enjoyable stories and characters. The main difference is that unlike 3 and 4, they're straight dungeon crawlers, but still feature high school kids with high school issues and are heavy on dialogue. There's also soul-hackers coming out in a month which might be worth checking out. Supposedly its really easy, so it might be an idea to play that if you're new to first person dungeon crawling.

If the appeal of Persona for you is the battle system/ dungeon crawling, then yeah, Nocturne or DDS are probably up your alley. Keep in mind neither of those games are set in modern Japan(well, Nocturne technically is, but) so they give off a very different feel than many of the other modern SMT titles. They're also big on puzzles as opposed to Persona which are straight mazes. DDS doesn't have Persona/Demon fusion though.

Also as far as mainline goes, only Nocturne is worth playing. The first 2 games are extremely outdated(like, it would be easy to see why people might consider them unplayable today). If you end up liking the series enough, then by all means give them a shot, but I really don't see many people having funwith the first 2 jumping straight from Persona.

tldr: Play P1,P2, the DeSu games or wait for hackers.

BruceCampbell · Joined: 10 Mar 2013 Posts: 24

Accelerator · Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 7318

All the SMT games have that kind of feel, but yeah, you won't miss much by skipping directly to Nocturne. It might be worth your time to read what happened in the first two games just for the sake of world building and context, though.

Cloud · Joined: 15 Jul 2006 Posts: 17556

braindead200 · Joined: 28 Nov 2006 Posts: 9447 Location: DOJYAAAAAAN

Please don't play Persona 1. Just watch a let's play of it or something. The gameplay is often frustrating and super duper slow.

The story and characters are incredibly interesting though. While it doesn't have the greatest execution, it has a great concept.
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Accelerator · Joined: 04 Jul 2007 Posts: 7318

The gameplay isn't slow at all. At least not with animation skip. I like Persona 1 a lot, and I went in not expecting to like it at all.

the gameplay can be frustrating, though. fortunately it's sort of generous with save points and especially with healing(healing items are pretty cheap and KO'd members revive with 1 HP after battle and still get some exp). Also marking the path you've taken in yellow on the map keeps you from getting lost.

Zacewing · Posted: Mon Mar 11, 2013 5:25 pm Post subject:

I really like Persona 1. I played through it 3 times, which is a rarity for me cause I usually don't play through games more than once (and if I do, I likely don't finish my 2nd playthrough).
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