Let's discuss the Shin Megamei Tensei/Persona series of rpg's

[Dragonsoul]

I'm interested in this series. It has many entries and spinoffs. I found a list of all the games...

Megami Tensei - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megami_Tensei)
Megaten Universe (http://www.mobygames.com/game-group/megaten-universe)

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army 2006 PlayStation 2 Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Persona 3 2006 PlayStation 2 Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 2005 PlayStation 2 Atlus U.S.A., Inc. 4.90
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2004 PlayStation 2 Atlus U.S.A., Inc. 4.62
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children: Messiah Riser 2004 Game Boy Advance Rocket Company ...
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne 2004 PlayStation 2 Atlus U.S.A., Inc. 4.96
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children - Puzzle de Call 2003 Game Boy Advance Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne 2003 PlayStation 2 Atlus Co., Ltd. 4.83
DemiKids: Dark Version 2003 Game Boy Advance Atlus U.S.A., Inc. 3.80
DemiKids: Light Version 2003 Game Boy Advance Atlus U.S.A., Inc. 4.50
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children: Black Book/Red Book 2002 PlayStation Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Shin Megami Tensei Nine 2002 Xbox Atlus Co., Ltd. 4.71
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children: White Book 2001 Game Boy Color Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Maken Shao: Demon Sword 2001 PlayStation 2 Atlus Co., Ltd. 4.07
Persona 2: Eternal Punishment 2000 PlayStation Atlus U.S.A., Inc. 3.74
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children: Red Book 2000 Game Boy Color Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children: Black Book 2000 Game Boy Color Atlus Co., Ltd. 0.00
Persona 2: Innocent Sin 1999 PlayStation Atlus Co., Ltd. 4.86
Maken X 1999 Dreamcast SEGA of America, Inc. 3.43
Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers 1998 PlayStation, Saturn Atlus Co., Ltd. 4.61
Ronde 1997 Saturn Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Persona 1996 PlayStation Atlus Software, Inc. 3.50
Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku 1996 DOS ASCII Corporation ...
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Special Box 1996 Saturn Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Another Bible 1995 Game Boy Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible III 1995 SNES Atlus Co., Ltd. 5.00
Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei 1995 SNES Atlus Co., Ltd. 4.17
Majin Tensei II: Spiral Nemesis 1995 SNES Atlus Co., Ltd. 4.17
Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special 1995 Game Gear SEGA Corporation ...
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 1995 PSP, Saturn Atlus Co., Ltd. 3.75
Jack Bros. 1995 Virtual Boy Atlus Software, Inc. ...
Majin Tensei 1994 SNES Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Shin Megami Tensei II 1994 Game Boy Advance, PlayStation, SNES Atlus Co., Ltd. 3.52
Shin Megami Tensei If... 1994 PlayStation, SNES Atlus Co., Ltd. 4.00
Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible II 1993 Game Boy, Game Boy Color Atlus Co., Ltd. ...
Shin Megami Tensei 1992 Game Boy Advance, PlayStation, Sega CD, SNES, TurboGrafx CD, Wii Atlus Co., Ltd. 3.75
Revelations: The Demon Slayer 1992 Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Gear Atlus Software, Inc. ...
Digital Devil Monogatari - Megami Tensei II 1990 NES Namco Limited 3.83
Digital Devil Monogatari: Megami Tensei 1987 MSX Telenet Japan Co., Ltd. ...
Digital Devil Monogatari - Megami Tensei 1987 NES Namco Limited 3.17

Here are the games released in the United States...
Persona (video game) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_%28video_game%29)
Revelations: The Demon Slayer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revelations:_The_Demon_Slayer)
Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megami_Tensei_Gaiden:_Last_Bible_II)
Persona 2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persona_2) - 2nd half of game released only!
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Megami_Tensei:_Digital_Devil_Saga)
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Megami_Tensei:_Digital_Devil_Saga_2)
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Megami_Tensei:_Devil_Summoner:_Raidou_Kuzunoha_vs._The_Soulless_Army)
Persona 3 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Megami_Tensei:_Persona_3) - scheduled for release tomorrow but delayed slightly actually

So in Usa we have Persona 1, 2nd half of Persona 2, SMT: DDS part 1, SMT: DDS part 2, SMT: DS RK vs TSA, and Persona 3. Besides this there are two Gameboy color games. Did I miss anything that came out in North America? How come the SMT: DS RK vs TSA game that came out last October wasn't popular I believe?

I haven't played any of the games but I will rent Persona 3 soon I hope. What ones have you played/beat and what do you think of them and the series?

[NeoCracker]

I've played Devil Summoner, and it sucked.

[Dragonsoul]

Post editing isn't loading for me right now.

Here is another game that came out in Usa, in 2004
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Megami_Tensei_III:_Nocturne_Maniacs_%28Director%27s_Cut%29)


Also, some great websites about the series
Hardcore Gaming 101: Megami Tensei / Shin Megami Tensei (http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/megaten/megaten.htm)
Persona 3 | Shin Megami Tensei | Devil Summoner | Digital Devil Saga | Persona3 | News and More at D3 (http://www.digitaldevildb.com/)

[Vermachtnis]

I've played Devil Summoner, and it sucked.

Don't play that one.

Other than that, the SMT series is great. They're hard too. The music is awesome, even Devil Summoner had great music (It was really jazzy).

[Dragonsoul]

Is there any game that is similar in style to the Megamei Tensei series?

[JKTrix]

Why look for a game that's similar in style, when you have MILLIONS from the series to choose from? :P I don't know of any other demonic RPG series, so I personally can't provide an alternative.

Also, the two DemiKids games for GBA came out in the US as well (I have one), add those to the list.

Persona 3 was supposed to come out this week, but apparently they had some quality problems with the Art Book that comes with every copy of the game. So they'll release it when they fix that. From an e-mail:

Due to a manufacturing error with regard to the Persona 3 Art Book, the title will regretfully narrowly miss its scheduled ship date of July 24th, 2007. This was an unforeseen scenario, and one regretfully out of our control.

Presented with the choice of compromising on the quality of the art book, or shipping the game without said extra, we decided to have the art book redone with a higher quality binding, which will cause a very short delay in the ship date of the title.

While all other materials and packaging related to the game are complete, we were unwilling to sacrifice the art book, and as such will expedite the manufacturing process to the best of our ability in order to release the title as soon as is possible.

We appreciate your understanding and will release a formal announcement when Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 ships.

[Tasura]

Out of those, I've played Persona 2 and The DemiKids games JKTrix was talking about, and I plan on renting/buying Persona 3 ASAP.

[Araciel]

i played persona for ps1. that was awesome.

[Dragonsoul]

I want to rent Persona 3 when it comes out, it got an extremely high review in "Play" magazine, like 9.5, which I am reading recently, although that magazine seems to score extremely high. Anyways the game seems interesting. It's cool that it comes out as a special edition only! :D

[Rostum]

I have Digital Devil Saga, and it's great. I will be buying the second one when I can.

[Wolf Kanno]

I want to rent Persona 3 when it comes out, it got an extremely high review in "Play" magazine, like 9.5, which I am reading recently, although that magazine seems to score extremely high. Anyways the game seems interesting. It's cool that it comes out as a special edition only! :D

I love the MegaTen series and hope we may get some collections from Atlus soon. I have Nocturne (God this game is awsome!) Persona 2: Eternal Punishment which is a damn good game but you need to know the story of Persona 2: Innocent Sin to truly appreciate it. I have Persona 1 but it's on my back log for now. As well as the new Devil Summoner (the one with the ridiculously long title). I really want to play Avatar Turner cause the plot is intriguing. I really want to play Shin Megami Tensei 1 and 2 though.

I still need to pre order Persona 3 so the delay comes as a blessing actually. As for Play magazine, Play is different cause they are targeted towards gamers who know what they like, not causal gamers who are looking for "the next best thing". So if you like RPG's, chances are Persona 3 will knock your socks off. I also feel Play sees gaming for what it really is, so they can enjoy silly titles that many other magazines would usually throw low marks towards.

The concept of Persona 3 is very intriguing. I wonder if they kept the way you summon your personas? Originally, the third game was going to have your characters shooting themselves with special guns that release your personas.

[Markus. D]

Digital Devil Saga is absolutely awesome~

[JKTrix]

The concept of Persona 3 is very intriguing. I wonder if they kept the way you summon your personas? Originally, the third game was going to have your characters shooting themselves with special guns that release your personas.

Yup. Persona 3 is getting all kinds of good reviews, even on G4.

Also, do get your hands on Avatar Tuner/Digital Devil Saga. I enjoyed them more than Nocturne.

Edit: Persona 3's pushed back to August 14th. Happy birthday to me.

[Dragonsoul]

The new release date for the Playstation 2 game Shin Megamei Tensei: Persona 3 is delayed three weeks to August 14th. Same day as Two Worlds, Heroes of Mana, and Luminous Arc.

[Wolf Kanno]

I just reserved iot today and was happy to discover the game will be released with the art book and a soundtrack (though it will most likely be small selection of the soundtrack like Nocturne) This makes me quite happy cause I really enjoy the works of Shoji Meguro.

I also got a chance to browse throught the strategy guide (being taken care of by Double Jump, the kings of strategy/information guides) and I must say that the game is really looking to be damn amazing.

If you ever wanted to see a glimpse of how Japanese daily life works, this game will shed some light. Not only does the game put into account the normal time restrictions of day and night as well weekends but you'll also get to catch a glimpse of many of the major holidays in Japan (Golden Week, the Emperor's Birthday, Girls Day, and the Summer festivals to name a few.) They also put a lot of detail into the world itself and I'm curious if you will actually get to go to a karaoke bar... (It's mentioned in the glossary but I'm not sure if it's an actual loation).

Well I'm definetly psyched:D

[Dragonsoul]

I'm signing up for a video game online rental-by-mail service(similar to Netflix but with games) today.

Online Video Game Rental Review 2007 (http://video-game-rental-review.toptenreviews.com/)

That site enables me to find which ones I may use. Currently I'm deciding between Gamerang, Gamefly, and Gottaplay. I'll sign up for a seperate Netflix or Blockbuster dvd rental service later by the way. I'm getting Xbox 360 on August 3rd so I'll play stuff then.

My first rental will be...

...drum roll...

...The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion!!

I will finally play it. I'll rent Persona 3 sometime this fall. I am really interested in it. Tons of great games coming out this fall. I think I just decided that I should sign up with Gamerang. The clincher was that they sell PS 1 and PC games. I want to rent a lot of PS 1 rpg's, specifically Alundra 1. I may sign up today. I can pay with my debit card or credit card.

[Jessweeee♪]

I've never heard of the series until a few minutes ago when I looked in a gaming magazine and saw Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3...I read the review to see what the game was about, and I've decided that it's awesome :o

I've been itching for a new RPG to play, but before I buy it, do I need to play any of the previous games to understand it?

[Wolf Kanno]

I've never heard of the series until a few minutes ago when I looked in a gaming magazine and saw Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3...I read the review to see what the game was about, and I've decided that it's awesome :o

I've been itching for a new RPG to play, but before I buy it, do I need to play any of the previous games to understand it?

From what little I've heard of the plot (I've been trying really hard to keep spoilers to a minimum) I don't believe it actually has much to do with the previous three Persona games. That doesn't necessarily mean that there may not be a few references (I'm certain we'll here about Nylarthotep). Of anything you may need to familiarize yourself with the spells and combat system. The MegaTen games offer quite a bit of strategy and their spell names are not automatically familiar to anyone outside of Japan (Bufu is the name of your Ice magic and Agi is your Fire and so on...)

It's a damn good series even if the first game suffered from a horrible translation and editing. The first half of the seconf game was never released (some point to the fact that Hitler shows up but honestly I feel it's more about some of the more adult themes explored in the game.) Somehow the second part of the second game was released (Apparently serial killers and brainwashing cults are O.K.:rolleyes2 ). I suggest you play the earlier games for the fact that they are good in their own right.

[Dragonsoul]

Ok, I'll talk again about my enrolling in an online video game rental-by-mail service. I was thinking Gamerang, Gamefly, or Gottaplay. I didn't choose Gottaplay because of various reasons, including not being able to browse through a console's entire selection.

I didn't choose Gamefly over Gamerang basically because Gamefly has a better website which is more informative and easy to use and find games properly and efficiently.

I signed up for Gamerang and ordered my first game, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. It's the Xbox 360 version I'm getting and I'm on a 1 game out at a time plan right now. I won't get my Xbox 360 until Friday August 3rd but I wanted to have this game on time plus I just wanted to sign up for this and get the game shipped and get it over with. I'll have fun reading the box while waiting for August 3rd. I'll rent Overlord and Bioshock next and then on August 28th Blue Dragon will finally come out and I can buy it.

Also, out of the four distribution centers, one of them is them is very close to me, so I can probably get the games delivered to me that day or the next day, this is great.

Please post here what you think of these services and also Gamerang. Should I have any concerns about anything? :)

[JKTrix]

You should probably make a new topic about it, instead of veering completly off topic (in your own thread no less).

[Tasura]

My only concern is they don't like Canada, so by default they suck.

[serph]

What's up with all the devil summoner hating?!:mad2: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army is an awesome game! It has quirks and kinks, yes, but it's still a great variation on the MegaTen theme. Fighting in semi-real time with mythological demons was a blast and involved plenty of the strategic teamwork we MegaTen fans have come to expect. This title also cooks up a very interesting ambience by blending 1920's Japan with the mature and occult themes characteristic of the series. Also, as far as gameplay goes, you CAN control the demons' actions directly despite what some reviewers say!! While fighting as Raidou you can't control their movements (although this isn't entirely true either, as you can teleport them to your side at any time and thus kind of force them to go where you want on the battlefield) BUT while exploring in solo demon mode you fight directly as the demon alone! You control its movements, skill use, everything- this gives you a level of control over your demons and an understanding of what they can really do that is unprecedented in the series since it's hard to get a real feel for the way a demon's particular physique helps or hinders its attack and defense in a turn-based medium. This is only the beginning of the fun, what with the demon's flavorful commentary and the pleasantly puzzling investigation which requires the creative use of your demons' field talents to solve. It's tough to find now, but every fan of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise should play this game, particularly with the revamped and totally overhauled (i.e. even better) sequel coming out this may!

[Magixion]

Holy hell... necro much. I fear this topic may be getting closed.

[Del Murder]

Yeah a little old to be bumped.