Yeah totally. I get it. I still buy Blu-Rays so I'm not knocking it.
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I went and did a silly thing and bought all the Shin Megami Tensei games on 3DS. Blindly.
- Thread starter Deleted member 3534
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I had no idea Tabata directed the SMT4 games.
But seriously, you did good OP, SMT is an incredible series and the 3DS entries are mostly great, even the lesser ones in that list are worth a shot. I suggest you start with either SMT4 or Devil Survivor Overclocked, the first is a great introductory game that's relatively easy and the latter is a fantastic strategy RPG spinoff that combines grid based SRPG gameplay with turn based combat, it's one of my favorite but fairly tough.
I suggest you leave Strange Journey and Soul Hackers for last. SJ is tough as nails and requires a lot of investment and love for the series (it's amazing though) and SH is fairly old school to a fault so you'll want to be already deep into SMT to enjoy it.
Persona Q is mechanically one of the best Persona games but it's 50% fanservice so I don't recommend you play it until after you've at least beaten either P3 or 4, ideally both.
But seriously, you did good OP, SMT is an incredible series and the 3DS entries are mostly great, even the lesser ones in that list are worth a shot. I suggest you start with either SMT4 or Devil Survivor Overclocked, the first is a great introductory game that's relatively easy and the latter is a fantastic strategy RPG spinoff that combines grid based SRPG gameplay with turn based combat, it's one of my favorite but fairly tough.
I suggest you leave Strange Journey and Soul Hackers for last. SJ is tough as nails and requires a lot of investment and love for the series (it's amazing though) and SH is fairly old school to a fault so you'll want to be already deep into SMT to enjoy it.
Persona Q is mechanically one of the best Persona games but it's 50% fanservice so I don't recommend you play it until after you've at least beaten either P3 or 4, ideally both.
SMT series is pretty different from other JRPGs due to typically using modern, scifi, or post apocalyptic settings and having a darker, more serious tone. They are usually focused more on dungeon crawling than on exploring a vast world. Very tight dungeon design, engaging encounters, and a slick and challenging battle system.
That's definitely overkill. You'll be burnt out halfway through or even before.
Also, Persona Q is a big waste of time unless you are a die hard fan of P3 and 4 and don't mind being exploited. It's a fan service game. You are much better off playing Etrian Odyssey which is the same type of game.
Play SMT4 and Apocalypse in succession.
Same for Devil Survivor 1 and 2.
SJ you can play before or after SH. Doesn't matter since the games aren't related, but the gameplay system is similar enough and to you they act as standalone entries.
I don't really think you should play all of 'em. That's a tall order especially since not all of 'em are must play games.
Also, Persona Q is a big waste of time unless you are a die hard fan of P3 and 4 and don't mind being exploited. It's a fan service game. You are much better off playing Etrian Odyssey which is the same type of game.
Play SMT4 and Apocalypse in succession.
Same for Devil Survivor 1 and 2.
SJ you can play before or after SH. Doesn't matter since the games aren't related, but the gameplay system is similar enough and to you they act as standalone entries.
I don't really think you should play all of 'em. That's a tall order especially since not all of 'em are must play games.
Missed this, but the things that connect all Megami Tensei games are the demons and (most of the time) demon fusion mechanic, also most post-Nocturne games have a variation of its elemental weakness-exploiting battle system called Press Turn.
Different people like different things about these obviously, but their dark tone, atmosphere and themes are usually what draws people in, also playing these guarantee that you'll at the very least get a great soundtrack and fun combat. As for some comparisons, Persona is more character-driven, have a calendar system with social sim elements and combat is relatively simplified while mainline SMT is all about their worlds, the conflict within them, a darker tone and more challenging difficulty with a deeper combat system. Devil Survivor are strategy RPGs with great focus on decisions and Digital Devil Saga are more like traditional JRPGs with a set party and no demon recruiting or fusions, fairly story and character-driven too.
Soul Hackers has to be one of the worst introductory titles out of the localized games, it's an enhanced port of a very dated Saturn game that's too clunky in many ways. The game's main draws are its atmosphere, setting and soundtrack, but you have to tolerate a lot of hardcore dungeon crawling with a weird (and noisy!) interface and some pretty dull combat to enjoy any of it.
If you ever give it another go, try SMT Nocturne on PS2 or Shin Megami Tensei IV on 3DS, those are more representative of what's so good about the series and the former is one of the greatest JRPGs out there.
I mean, doggos have lots of spare time. This one has a job, but it's probably not too different.
OP
OP
The fuck am I doing? I'm buying the PS2 games. I don't know what to skip. I'm buying them all. Fuck it. Tell me, why not?
OP
OP
Fuck it. Nobody stopped me. I bought all the PS2 games I could get off Amazon.
Devil Summoner 1 and 2
SMT Nocturne
Persona 3
Persona 4
Digital Devil Saga 1
Digital Devil Saga 2
Fuck it. What am I doing?
Devil Summoner 1 and 2
SMT Nocturne
Persona 3
Persona 4
Digital Devil Saga 1
Digital Devil Saga 2
Fuck it. What am I doing?
Lmao jumped down quite the hole I see. I would have said you shouldn't just because you've now got a 1,000 hours of JRPG's to go through but now that you are here. Save Persona 3 and 4 for later those could very well take the longest out of all the games. Give Nocturne a go as it gets quite a bit of love and you don't see many games with its setting. Then hop through the rest
You'll get massive bonus points if you can figure out through sheer wit and determination which games take place before and after each other. Then figure out which ones take place in different dimensions. You'll get a gold star
If the answer's not 'falling off the grid for the next year' then I have no idea how you'll get through all of these within the near future. All SMT games are long and somewhat challenging.
If you want to ease yourself in, start with SMT4 or Persona 4. SMT Nocturne's probably the the best mainline game but it can be pretty brutal and obtuse.
PS2 games? Finally the real stuff.
Nocturne is a bit hard to get into nowadays because it has weird controls.
DDS1 and DDS2 are two halves of one game honestly, they are Nocturne but with fixed characters. I think these are the best in the series.
Devil Summoner 1 sure is an average ARPG. Devil Summoner 2 sure is a vast improvement, and a good ARPG.
P3 and P4. They're good games. I mean you've got like 100s of hours of games there. P3/4 alone could last you nearly 60-80 hours each.
P3 and Nocturne I would say aren't the best ways to get in. P3's lack of party control. Nocturne just feels odd with some of its control choices during battle? I dunno how to explain it.
P4 is a good entry point into the PS2 games. I like DDS1/2, but I feel like it is good to play these after Nocturne. Devil Summoner Raidou games are so different gameplay wise they can be played in-between games without causing press turn burn out.
Nocturne is a bit hard to get into nowadays because it has weird controls.
DDS1 and DDS2 are two halves of one game honestly, they are Nocturne but with fixed characters. I think these are the best in the series.
Devil Summoner 1 sure is an average ARPG. Devil Summoner 2 sure is a vast improvement, and a good ARPG.
P3 and P4. They're good games. I mean you've got like 100s of hours of games there. P3/4 alone could last you nearly 60-80 hours each.
P3 and Nocturne I would say aren't the best ways to get in. P3's lack of party control. Nocturne just feels odd with some of its control choices during battle? I dunno how to explain it.
P4 is a good entry point into the PS2 games. I like DDS1/2, but I feel like it is good to play these after Nocturne. Devil Summoner Raidou games are so different gameplay wise they can be played in-between games without causing press turn burn out.
User warned: Trivializing mental health issues and insulting users
Be honest, you have a mental health issue that is causing you buy things you never intend to play.
I won't even bother to tell you what order to play them in, or where to start... because honestly you already bought them.. and you actually aren't planning on playing any of them.
You could play 8 hours a day for almost an entire year and you might not still complete every game you bought.
I won't even bother to tell you what order to play them in, or where to start... because honestly you already bought them.. and you actually aren't planning on playing any of them.
You could play 8 hours a day for almost an entire year and you might not still complete every game you bought.
Folks are gonna have their preferences and w/e, but you have a great deal of good to amazing games in your possession. Have a goddamn great time, friendo.
OP
OP
Well, this is kind of dickish.
Even if I don't, I've always wanted to try these games. I'll always have them around to play. And until I do, they look good on a shelf and there's always the possibility they could hold or appreciate in value.
Speaking of which.
I'm surprised how easy and cheap it is to buy ALL of the SMT and Persona games on PS2... Brand new! Are they still in print or what?
SMT IV. Liked it. Except for the map which confused the hell out of me.
SMT IV. Apocalypse haven't finished but enjoyable .
DS Overclocked . Love it
DS 2. Love it
SMT. Strange Journey. Currently playing this . Like it, but it's pretty hard. I like the setting and characters more than most SMT though.
SMT . Soul Hackers. Meh . The one game I really don't like much
Persona Q. Love it.
If you like dungeon crawlers then check out Etrian Odyssey.
SMT IV. Apocalypse haven't finished but enjoyable .
DS Overclocked . Love it
DS 2. Love it
SMT. Strange Journey. Currently playing this . Like it, but it's pretty hard. I like the setting and characters more than most SMT though.
SMT . Soul Hackers. Meh . The one game I really don't like much
Persona Q. Love it.
If you like dungeon crawlers then check out Etrian Odyssey.
Nobody stopped you because you bought them so quick we hardly had the time. You should at least finish something on your 3DS before buying these games that you or may not enjoy.
Out of these games P4 seems to be the easiest one to get into.
lmao all the SMTs on PS2 and 3DS
apart from totally abandoning any new releases for a long while, you've made no mistake. SMT is required gaming, period.
apart from totally abandoning any new releases for a long while, you've made no mistake. SMT is required gaming, period.
I believe they all got reprints like 4 years ago or so because I started seeing brand new copies for all of them out of nowhere at the time after being fairly rare. Good stuff because I was missing a couple too!
But yeah the PS2 lineup is a different matter entirely, not a single dud. I consider the Raidou games and even Persona the weakest and even those are great.
Man I wish I was rich like OP to just throw shitloads of money at games blindly. I could be buying multiple Switch systems for giveaways right now.
These games aren't THAT expensive
At least not multiple Switch level
Tbh I can't actually blame OP's buying habits. I've been in there shoes where I would wait a few years to pick up a few games and in those few years the games quite literally quadrupled in price. And prices almost always go up on JRPG's as most JRPG fans have no problem jumping in between generations to find a game that appeals to them.
Ya did good OP.
Hang on to that physical copy of SJ Redux, that may be worth quite a bit soon. Retailers only received a few copies of it according to several posters around here.
Hang on to that physical copy of SJ Redux, that may be worth quite a bit soon. Retailers only received a few copies of it according to several posters around here.
As much as I like Megaten games, they're best enjoyed with a bit of space given between them. Playing the endgame of one installment where you're commanding a killer pantheon of nigh-omnipotent endgame Gods, then jumping immediately into another game and getting kicked back down to harvesting Slimes and Pixies again is a big downer.
Gotta give a little time between them for that high to fade.
Gotta give a little time between them for that high to fade.
The good thing about many Atlus games(besides being great) are the discounted prices months after release. Granted, it did suck that Atllus charged $50($10 more than other 3DS games) at launch only to be $20 6 months later.
The main exception is Strange Journey redux. It has only been out a month or two but physical copies are already climbing a bit . Not many copies were made .
The main exception is Strange Journey redux. It has only been out a month or two but physical copies are already climbing a bit . Not many copies were made .
Doubtful that most of these games will go up in price, there's very few games that have gone up in value and there's not a huge aftermarket for most of these titles.. at least there's no shortage of used copies and even new copies of them all you can buy.
Also, like the poster above said.. you need to space out megaten games.. I couldn't imagine going straight from one to another without playing something completely different.
I'd have just bought SMT4 and been good for a 100hrs of gaming. Pick something else off the list if you are jonesing for more. They aren't going anywhere.
Also, this whole thread makes me wish they'd start making Switch Megaten games. It's so hard to go back to the 3DS after playing on the switch.
OP
OP
I know a few folk saying to avoid PQ without playing P3/4, but I loved it and had played neither at the time. The plot is pretty threadbare so doesn't feel like you're missing too much background anyway, but the gameplay is incredible. It's an excellent gateway into Etrian/SMT style dungeon crawlers, and some of the dungeons are really well done (the school and its FOEs in particular. Christ.)
Definitely pick it up. Consider it a practice run for the likes of Strange Journey if nothing else!
Definitely pick it up. Consider it a practice run for the likes of Strange Journey if nothing else!
For SMT pick either IV or Soul Hackers. If you want a pallet cleanser play Kid Icarus (you may or may not need the stand for it) and Donkey Kong.
Yeah. They really churned these things out.
Okay. Where to start?
This is honestly what i would have done with a New 3DS XL, but i picked the Switch instead.
You made a good purchase bro, these are all great games, i'd love to play an SMT game on my Switch this summer.
Don't start with Strange Journey though (it's the best game but also the hardest one), start with SMT 4 or Apocalypse.
You made a good purchase bro, these are all great games, i'd love to play an SMT game on my Switch this summer.
Don't start with Strange Journey though (it's the best game but also the hardest one), start with SMT 4 or Apocalypse.
OP
OP
I just want to start with the game tusk gone me the most distilled experience. I want to know the essence of what ties the SMT series together. With so many spin offs I want to play the hub so to speak so everything else is recognizable.
You probably want to start with IV then. Plus, it has a downright amazing soundtrack.
...I would link some songs here, but some of the titles are spoilers if you're going in blind so you're just gonna have to trust me on this one haha.
OP
OP
Imma start with SMT4 when I finish with DK. I'm going to play a few regular games in between as palette cleansers in between. I can play stuff like Mario Kart and Smash concurrently.