Shin Megami Tensei 5 brings familiar pain, new pleasures

While I was roaming the Netherworld of Shin Megami Tensei 5, I encountered a Mandrake. This demon was not registered in my collection, so I tried to recruit them. My outstretched hand led to a match of rock, paper, scissors — during which the Mandrake wondered how my fictional character ’ s Luck stat would play into it. Turns out, it wasn ’ t on my english. “ Too bad ! ” the Mandrake exclaimed. “ now I get to kill you. ”
I experienced dozens of encounters like this in my meter with Shin Megami Tensei 5, the newest submission in Atlus ’ sprawling JRPG serial. I helped Black Frost to secure drink for a “ hee-high-end ” metro club in Ginza. Kelpie, an eerie floating sawhorse, challenged me to a texting competition to see who could type flying ( which, alas, I besides lost ). A detail standout came from an Oni, who said he had a “ big question ” for me : “ top or bottom ? ” Between the “ top ”, “ middle ” and “ bottom ” choices, I went for the foremost. “ indeed you like to set your sights high, do ya ? ” Oni said. “ I like that. ”
More much than not, it was impossible to predict what the demons in Shin Megami Tensei 5 would come up with future during conversations. Some exchanges were honestly hilarious, while others were unexpectedly horny or curiously bathetic. These moments gave me a brief respite from the constant hostility of the Netherworld. The overall experience of playing SMT 5 was bare, oppressive, and pitiless. And any time I got besides comfortable, the game would remind me of my position in this kingdom : The main character may sound important on paper, but he ’ mho merely another undesirable visitor in a demonically flex version of our populace. Around the decay ruins of a Tokyo long gone, demons won ’ thymine think doubly to chew him out and leave him to rot in the streets .



It ’ mho been a long time since Atlus has revisited this world — five years since the passing of Shin Megami Tensei 4 : apocalypse, a sequel to the final independent introduction in the SMT series in 2013. SMT 5 ’ randomness arrival besides comes after a long period without teasers or relevant development updates since its reveal as a Switch exclusive — a time during which Persona 5 became a massive ace that pushed the franchise into the mainstream.

refer

Shin Megami Tensei 5 is ready for Persona fans

I ’ megabyte person who has ventured into both serial. I enjoyed spending more than 100 hours in the latest Persona games, in accession to logging a pathetic playtime across all three rhythm game by-product. But the memory of jumping into Shin Megami Tensei 4 without any prior cognition, away from the large sieve and brassy menu screens of Persona, to a more simplify yet cleverly desegregate experience in the 3DS, is one I even hold beloved. I had high hopes for SMT 5, and despite a few shortcomings, it ’ randomness been worth the wait .
If you ’ re besides a newcomer like I used to be spinal column then, let me break it down for you. In the Persona series, there is always a change state bespeak in the history — an nonnatural catastrophe that turns the global top down. After this, the game ramps up to its climactic fight against god, as is the case in most JRPGs. Except, by then you have already gotten used to the company of the characters around you, growing stronger alongside them month after month on the calendar. Shin Megami Tensei games besides kick off with a similar catastrophe, but rather of giving you a couple twelve hours to save world, you ’ rhenium forced to inhabit the chaos for way long .
As a result, the experience is much dark, but it ’ s besides free from the shackles of having to portray the main character ’ second ordinary scholar life in a contemporary set up. In SMT games, there ’ s a clearly tonal shift from the begin. While in Persona the act of fighting shadows is normally an even activeness, in Shin Megami Tensei, it ’ second your whole act .



This new introduction puts you in the undifferentiated of so far another regular student who happens to be in the amiss put at the wrong time, and suddenly he finds himself in an surrogate Tokyo. There, sights such as the Tokyo Tower are not landmarks but bare remnants of a past refinement. Angels and demons took region in a massive war years ago, and the conflict rages on. An unknown being prevents an attack on the main quality, encouraging him to accept aid if he wants to make it out animated. Both characters are fused into a Nahobino, a being that is neither angel nor devil, but it does have extremely full haircloth .
After a brief tutorial, you ’ re thrown into the earth. The location for the next gradation is constantly signaled on the function ( this besides applies to side quests, which makes for a passing from the quite enigmatic objectives in past SMT games ), and you ’ ra dislodge to head there at any point. You get to explore areas in broad 3D in SMT 5, rather of switching back and forth from the overworld see, with only a few exceptions during certain sequences. Dashing through city ruins and big, sprawling areas with full control of the character is a welcome deepen.

battle remains largely the same as former SMT games, focused on turn-based encounters with an attention towards exploiting enemy weaknesses to chain extra turns ( which is something that enemies can do with you ampere well ). There are besides the aforesaid demon negotiations, which allow you to recruit enemies to fight aboard you. SMT 5 introduces some interesting tweaks on this arrangement. If you happen to successfully negotiate with a monster who is a higher level than you, they ’ ll remember this in the following conversation after you ’ ve last matched their level, which is both helpful in practice and fresh in a narrative sense .



SMT 5 ’ second standout battle feature is the initiation of Magatsuhi skills, which are potent extra attacks that can be performed once a gauge bar is filled ( either by letting turns evanesce, or after obtaining upgrades by performing sealed actions ). It adds another strategic layer to combat, as figuring out the right meter to use it is key — specially considering that enemies can make practice of these skills a well, turning encounters around if you ’ ra not careful .
There are more quality-of-life updates that go beyond combat. While roaming through areas, you will now stumble upon orbs that can recharge your health, SP ( mana for magic trick attacks ), or Magatsuhi gauge. The return column allows you to return to the last checkpoint you interacted with on a notion without any punishment ( perfect to save your game, restore health to your party for a modest fee, visit the merchant, or fuse demons ). Loot is fairly generous as well ; a companion character who follows you around pinpoints item spots that sometimes lead to fights, but more frequently than not good grants you an token .
Some of these additions do end up streamlining the experience. Players who come from Persona will most probably embrace them, but the enigmatic nature of past SMT entries has been lost a act in the process. I welcomed all of these updates ; rather, my biggest gripe with Shin Megami Tensei 5 comes with the platform. As I mentioned earlier, SMT 4 made excellent manipulation of the 3DS ; its UI was so well desegregate that holding the console felt like an extension of the in-game menu. In SMT 5, while I did find the new interface compel, it ’ sulfur far more generic. Coupled with the fact that the Switch constantly struggles to keep up in terms of performance, it ended up feeling more like a port than a game built with the Switch in mind. SMT 5 hush manages to be a gorgeous showcase of Unreal Engine 4, peculiarly around animations, and it ’ s a shame that the hardware has the tendency to hold it back. It ’ s not unplayable by any means, but skeletal system drops and dense texture loading were noticeable adequate to become annoying .



As a raw entrance in the series, Shin Megami Tensei 5 goes all in with a new report that continues the off-limits nature of past entries. The fight has equitable adequate additions to feel fresh while retaining the ever-inviting foundation garment that is hard to abandon. All the while, the soundtrack is grim, unafraid of pumping battles astir with fast drums and heavy riffs .
But it ’ s the way demons inhabit this world that left its biggest set on me. Despite the performance issues, the bigger areas and new locomotive allow for some creatures to be in truth breathless and terrifying. I never got tired of witnessing smaller character details, such as demons sitting on the backbone, acting like bats inside caves, or swinging on traffic lights like monkeys. It empowers the idea that this is their home, and I ’ m the one encroaching.

Despite that I was playing as a Nahobino, I rarely felt godhead. My minor victories granted me satisfaction — guessing weaknesses, anticipating an fire that would have differently wiped my stallion party — because whenever I entered a newly area, I knew enemies wouldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate go easy on me. If I was lucky, they would offer to spare me in switch over for items or money. But ala, this is not a world where fortune is on my side .
Yet it ’ randomness one I couldn ’ thymine delay to get back to — and I don ’ thyroxine want to leave any time soon .
Shin Megami Tensei 5 will be released Nov. 11 on Nintendo Switch. The game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a pre-release download code provided by Atlus. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial contented, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find extra information about Polygon ’ randomness ethics policy here .

generator : https://gametracker.one
Category : Review