Shin Megami Tensei (part 3)

And I thought Nocturne was the best SMT game.

Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2 were the last SMT/ SMT spin-off games I played in PS2. I only decided to play DDS mainly because they were the only remaining SMT PS2 games I haven't played yet, and I'm just curious how different they are from the rest of the SMT games I played. DDS doesn't seem to be as popular as the Persona series or Nocturne, so I was not really expecting anything big out of DDS. However, I was immediately impressed with DDS1 right after the first cut scene. It did not take long before I got to control the main character Serph, and the very first music that plays (Muladhara) is already one of the best game-scores I've heard. The story of DDS is pure excitement and mystery for 1 and philosophical for 2; either way, the story of DDS 1 & 2 combined is the best among the rest of SMT games I've played. Of course, it also goes that the characters are memorable and adequately developed. Game-play is similar to Nocturne in that they both utilize the remarkable press-turn system.


DDS is probably my favorite PS2 game now. I can't choose between DDS1 and DDS2; I think they are essentially the same game that was split as sequels. My only problem with DDS1&2 is the lack of customization, few side-quests and the relative shortness of each DDS game. It took me more than 60 to 70+ hours to finish each of P4, Nocturne, and Devil Summoner, but I finished DDS1&2 with 40+ hours each. Therefore, Nocturne may still be the best SMT game-play wise since it offers so much more customizations and side-quests than DDS, but I like DDS a bit more because of its memorable story, characters, and the music.

Story - the story is so good that it really should warrant an anime adaptation. Morality, karma, cycle, Hinduism, tragedy, mystery, betrayal, angst, twists, these are some of the main elements that make up the excellent plot of DDS. I like the story mainly because it's sad :P

Characters - although not every detail are revealed of the characters, one would get a fairly good idea of each characters conflicts, emotions, and beliefs (okay, maybe excluding the silent protagonist, but i think his facial expression is quite something). I like Serph, I adore Gale, I admire Argilla, I find Cielo funny, I exceedingly love Roland, and I sympathize with Heat. The only major character I dislike is Sera. 

Music - DDS 1&2's OST: Integral is the best Shoji Meguro OST in my humble opinion. Some of the best tracks in the album include Muladhara, Sahasrara, Manipura, Aurora, Spider's String Second Movement, Hunting, Lava Flow, Watercrown, The Rain Stopped, Underground City, Inherent Will, Karma, and Battle for Survival. I really could go on and on.

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Shin Megami Tensei (part 2)

 As I am about to ramble on about Nocturne, I realized that there is a great divide between Nocturne and all other SMT games I've played before Nocturne. Overall, Nocturne is superior to P4, P3P, and Devil Summoner2 because of (1) gameplay: press-turn system (2) better dungeon layout (3) darker atmosphere (4) more philosophical themes (5) lots of things to do aside from the main quest.

One of the best things about Nocturne is the "press-turn system". Having played Persona 4 before Nocturne, I was initially overwhelmed by how my turns can easily be wasted when my attacks have missed the opponents or have been nulled/drained, and it was especially annoying when enemies kept using some multi-target and high-critical attacks, causing them to gain more and more press turns! I noticed that knowing your opponents moves and their weaknesses are essential in defeating enemies. It becomes very inefficient and sometimes impossible to beat enemies if one does not know how to exploit enemies' weaknesses. Furthermore, knowing when to pass turns to other party members are sometimes key to efficiently eliminating enemies. As I played along, it gives me great satisfaction to have defeated enemies with the least number of press turns or casualties. The press-turn system is so much fun because it's likely to be more advantageous to the player than to the enemies as long as the player knows what he or she should be doing. That said, I still died in five boss battles (Matador, Mizuchi, Fiend in Asakusa, Trumpeter, Beelzebub) and also in random encounters! It's so easy to die in this game especially during the first half of the game, and I'm not even playing in hard mode. Random encounters are a joke after having Trumpeter learn Evil Melody though :). I can't say enough of how much I like Trumpeter in this game. Fiends are the best "demon race" in this game because a lot of them null several ailments and expel/death spells (and i love skeletons!).

Some of my favorite demons in this game include: Matador, Daisoujou, Red Rider, The Harlot, Trumpeter, Beelzebub, Lilith, and Vishnu. No Metatron this time, because he only has around three open skill slots with a lot of default hama-related skills which sucks big time compared to Trumpeter's Evil Melody... Fires of Sinai is not particularly special either especially considering it costs lots of MP to cast. Metatron's best skills are support skills, but other mid-game demons have them too; considering that Metatron is expensive and is a pain to fuse, he's not that worthy. Can't deny that I'll always love his metallic face and wings though.

In terms of Nocturne's setting, the dungeon layout is definitely better than P3P and P4's, the towns of Devil Summoner 2 are superior to Nocturne's though. On another note, I like the darker atmosphere and story of Nocturne; the graphics is so well suited for the apocalyptic world it portrays. Nocturne's story telling is not particularly special or better than P3P, P4, and Devil Summoner2 but Nocturne's story itself is quite interesting and philosophical. Basically the world is ending and there are three main ideals that aim to shape the new world and the player can choose which of the three to align with, and from which, the game's ending is subsequently dependent upon the player's alignment (alignment choices have always been a SMT tradition). Personally, among the three, I'd go with Hikawa and Nihilo's Buddhist ideology. There is also a very long optional quest associated with the fiends and the Amala dungeon, which can totally alter the ending of the game if completed before the final dungeon. Missing this optional quest/s would almost mean cutting hours played by 50% or so.. but i think this optional quest is another factor that makes Nocturne so good since there is so much that the player can do and discover outside of the main storyline.

Even though this game is older (and probably less well known) compared to Persona 3 and 4, I thoroughly enjoyed Nocturne more than any Megaten games I've played before I played Nocturne.

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Shin Megami Tensei (part 1)

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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