Shin Megami Tensei IV

[Dr Unne]

Let's talk about Shin Megami Tensei IV. If you have a 3DS and like RPGs with dungeon-exploring, turn-based combat, and Pokemonesque demon-collection, this is a great game.

As long as you don't mind dying. A lot. My play clock says 22 hours, and I'm not halfway done with the game yet. This clock is a lie because I've had full-party wipes at least 50 times, so add a bunch of hours to that. The difficulty is absurd, but it's really fun once you get the hang of it. I like that the difficulty isn't the sort that you can solve by grinding levels. You have to learn the battle system, learn the enemies' weaknesses, and acquire better demons to help you fight, or you'll never get anywhere. Once you do learn how it works, everything is manageable.

I love Atlus games. I love how vaguely disturbing they are. The story/dialog is just bizarre for no reason. And they don't bother explaining. They immerse you in the world and you kind of slowly figure out how things are. I don't know if it's the same in Japanese, but the translators and voice actors really did well.

[NeoCracker]

Shin Megami Tensai make some of my favorite games, and Shin Megami Tensai IV is great. The only main issue I had was the complete lack of direction it gives you. It's as if the game expects you to, in advance, know where Shibuya is suppose to be. O_O

And I wouldn't say it's bizarre for no reason, at least not the demon's dialogue. It's bizzare because it is suppose to sound alien coming from a mindset that is suppose to be different then that of a human. (Mind you, they did a terrible job of this in soul hackers, but I digress. )

I beat the game a while back, even managing to land the nuetral ending my first go.

[Dr Unne]

The lack of direction is a good thing though. It forces you to go exploring. I found so many things so far because I was wandering around looking for the next town or the dungeon I needed to complete next. SMT4 takes this to a bit of an extreme maybe, but I like it.

It adds to immersion too. The game characters are completely lost exploring these new areas. So am I! I feel more like I'm in the game that way. Someone in the game mentions the name of town in passing and I think "Oh, is that somewhere I can go? Maybe I should go look for it". A few more people mention it, and suddenly I have a solid idea what to look for, if not where to find it. Eventually I find it and I feel good about accomplishing something.

Games are about solving a problem. In this game finding things is one of those problems. Finding things is just as fun a problem as finishing a battle without dying, or getting enough money for equipment, or delivering something for a fetch quest.

What's the alternative? A big yellow arrow pointing to the next town is what a lot of games do, and it kills the need to do anything except follow the arrows. That can be fun too if there's enough other stuff in the game to keep you going, but it doesn't have to be that way.

Just my opinion, of course.

[NeoCracker]

Maybe the option to ask for a direction?

It never so much as gives you a basic direction to go in. Yes, you don't know where to go, and neither do the characters, but the inability to get any one in the area to say 'oh yeah, just go east' is not immersive to me.

And I don't see it as solving a problem because it's not like a maze or anything. It's just wandering aimlessly until you find where it is you were suppose to go. It's not like you are applying any skills, knowledge, or chance/odds, it's just mindless wandering. (I like doing that anyway, cause I like to explore. I just don't like the Idea that nobody anywhere will say 'Oh yeah, that place is east-ish).

Not a huge complaint though, fairly minor.

[Dr Unne]

I think a few skills are required:

* Resource management - wandering around is dangerous, can you survive long enough to find the place you need to go and get back again alive?
* Memory - Have I been here before? Have I explored all 5 of these side-paths? Where did that guy say I was supposed to go again?
* Patience/perseverance - Can you stick with the game long enough to make it through? Especially when you keep getting killed by stupid random encounters while you're trying to accomplish things.

Not gonna lie, I came close to giving up a bunch of times out of frustration. Particularly because of this quest: (SPOILER)"Find the military base", where you have to progress by talking to some completely random no-name guy in a bar . This game does take things to an extreme.

I do recall a few places on the map where people would say "X is south, Y is north", but yeah, not a lot of those.

[NeoCracker]

I was refering to the overworld specifically, not the dungeon.

Memory doens't have anything to do with it when you are not told where to go.

I guess the third one applies, though I find it difficult to enjoy having my patience tested. ;P

Regardless, what endings did you manage to land in the game?

[Shauna]

I am hoping this will appear on EU shelves soon.

[NeoCracker]

NO SHIN MEGAMI IS YOUR PUNISHMENT FOR GETTING BRAVELY DEFAULT BEFORE ME!

[Shauna]

[Dr Unne]

Regardless, what endings did you manage to land in the game?

I haven't beaten it yet.

[NeoCracker]

[Bright Shield]

The difficulty is absurd, but it's really fun once you get the hang of it.

Nah, this is the easiest game in the main series by far. Nocturne and Strange Journey were several times more difficult.

[Dr Unne]

I've never played the others, so I can't say whether they were more or less difficult than this one. SMT4 is undeniably difficult for the average gamer though, based on my experience, my friends', and general reviews I've read.

[Shauna]

SMT games in general, I find, are pretty hardcore when it comes to difficulty.

[Bright Shield]

I've never played the others, so I can't say whether they were more or less difficult than this one. SMT4 is undeniably difficult for the average gamer though, based on my experience, my friends', and general reviews I've read.

It's harder than the average RPG, I give it that. It's definitely one of the easiest, and most forgiving games in the series though.