Shin Megami Tensei (SMT) is probably my fav RPG series right now. I simply love the pokemonesque collecting of demons, variety of customizations, and especially the dark and apocalyptic themes of SMT games. In chronological order -from eartliest to latest- these are the SMT games I've played so far:
- Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
- Devil Survivor
- Persona 4
- Persona 3 Portable
- SMT: Nocturne
- Digital Devil Saga I
- Digital Devil Saga II (currently at the last dungeon)
Looking at the screenshots prior to playing SMT and SMT spin-off games, I was most excited to play Devil Summoner 2. I like the Taisho/Showa (?)-era atmosphere of Devil Summoner, plus Raidou looks rather cool :P. Its battle gameplay is quite similar to Star Ocean, but the player gets to recruit/dismiss demons (ala pokemon) instead of having regular party members. Some of my favorite "demons" in this game include Metatron, Vishnu, White Rider, Astaroth, and Alice. Whereas I enjoyed the collecting and the customization of skill sets, I can't say I enjoyed the story much. The characters are not very interesting too.., except for the enigmatic blond haired foreigner :).
As for Devil Survivor, the DS game, I hated the graphics so I got bored yet I wanted to find out its story, so I cheated my way out of it and stopped playing near the final battle. Strange Journey, on the other hand, is a better SMT DS game. The good thing about Strange Journey is that it has lots of interesting demons that are not in the compendium of SMT PS2 games; it also helps that the story gets more interesting later in the game. The music of Strange Journey is creepy but it fits the atmosphere and the dungeons of the game; the battle theme is good too. Nevertheless, the graphics of both games are discouraging especially considering that grinding and spending lots of time in the game is essential to any SMT game.
On to Persona 4 (P4) and Persona 3 Portable (P3P) now.., I prefer the characters, the social links, and the story of P3P than that of P4. The story of P4 is more exciting, but I find that it goes downhill after the big revelation to the suspense, and for me, there isn't really much to think about, philosophically and story wise, after I finished the game. The underlying theme of P4 seems to be friendship and acceptance of ones' self.. which I think is kind of lame..; moreover, I'm not particularly fond of any characters or social links in P4 (the best are probably heirophant, justice, and hanged man for me). P3P's story on the other hand is emotionally and thought provoking, especially towards the end, because it has heavy themes of death and life.
Honestly, a lot of the social links in P3P are horrible too (devil, hermit, strength, etc), but I especially liked the sun social link and the female main character's version of moon and fortune social link. Not to mention party members Shinjiro and Junpei's side stories are awesome as well. In terms of battle system, P4 and P3P are the same, I simply prefer the overall look of the party member's default persona in P3P than P4's (P3P also has the exclusive uber cool persona Thanatos). Oh, on a final note, the soudtrack of P4 and P3P are equally excellent! Favorite personas for P4 include Metatron, Helel, Trumpeter, and Samael. For P3P, Metatron again of course, Satan, Helel, Thanatos.
I haven't played Persona 2: Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment, but judging from the lparchive.org entry of Eternal Punishment, the story seems darker than Persona 3 and 4, which is a plus points in my book; moreover, I think Katsuya is cute :P.
Nocturne and DDS I & II are more special to me, so I'll leave them for another post. Sleep time! ZzZzz..
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