SMT/Persona Thread - Probably Wasn't Actually on V2 Edition

[WishMakers]

You know, it took me a long time to realize "hey, I'm not sure if MotK ever had an SMT thread" so what better time to start than now?
If you have anything to discuss regarding anything SMT (yes, even Persona) it's all welcome here!

I've personally started Nocturne for the first time a couple months ago, and I've been playing SMT Dx2 on my trusty Android ever since ExPorygon roped me into it and it's been pretty fun.  Masakado is OP.
Anyone else have any experience with the series?

[T-A-C]

Waiting to hear more news about SMTV, trying to remember if we heard anything about it since around the time of the Switch launch. Most recent game I played in the series would have been Strange Journey Redux on the 3DS.

[Pywackett-Barchetta]

Blew through P5, P3, and P4 last year (in that order), and now I've mainly got P4: Dancing to get to. I'm pleasantly surprised what a good epilogue it is! Sure, the music's great, and it's fun (not quite as thrilling as the same songs on the Maimai Finale cabinet where you can really physically get into it), but it actually does a really good job on the narrative focus so far, letting different characters take the lead and showing the lessons they learned actually being applied to their lives post-P4, rather than the usual frustrating loss of character development when the crossovers and such jump backwards.

[hyorinryu]

Just finished Persona 5. I went in blind and I want to play it again, but I think I almost burned myself out.

[Daiya]

Waiting to hear more news about SMTV, trying to remember if we heard anything about it since around the time of the Switch launch. Most recent game I played in the series would have been Strange Journey Redux on the 3DS.

pretty much in the same boat. glad they're taking their time with V,  but a little bit of news would be reassuring. till then, thinking of hitting up the original sj soon. redux seems good, but i don't like the art style as much unfortunately

[WishMakers]

Waiting to hear more news about SMTV, trying to remember if we heard anything about it since around the time of the Switch launch.

It's honestly really unfortunate that there hasn't been much heard about SMTV.  That said, the last Atlus customer survey actually mentioned it, so I think they were trying to gauge interest in it.  I'm just hoping it's not tossed aside entirely now that Persona has the limelight.

Speaking of Persona though, Royal has actually been a blast.  My opinions on the original Persona 5 have shifted a lot since its release, but I'm having fun with the game all over again.  It's also a fantastic quarantine game.

[degradingwindow]

Is anyone excited for P3 Reload?

So far, the visuals look great and the new V.A's are doing a great job. The OST is also a banger (although I'm still like the original P3's more, the new Moons Reaching Stars just doesn't hit as hard as the original.)

I heard they were going to add some extra cutscenes with Strega and maybe Ikutsuki which I'm glad because P3 has the worst villains in the persona series (except for Nyx).

I hope everybody else is excited for this game as much as I am. ( I'm just glad I'll get controllable party members outside of P3P)

P.S I was planning on starting a new topic on it but I saw that this one already existed soooooo 

Edit as of 27/11/2023: I just saw that they are adding Hidetoshi to the game. All my criticism has faded away.

Edit as of 9/12/2023: Just saw the new trailer, I'm glad the background assets look much more polished from the original trailers. They're adding Bebe and his voice actor sounds really good. I've seen some worries about the re-worked battle system, but I trust that Atlus won't mess it up

Edit as of 8/1/2024: A bit late, but I just finished watching the new reload opening, we finally have a clean version of Full Moon Full Life, now I don't have to listen to recreations of YouTube. Glad there's more focus on Shinjiro, Ken, Fuuka and Koromaru. Can't wait for P3R (Why does it cost $70, game inflation is reaching new heights). Another thing to mention is the age rating, oh god. 17+ is something I'd never expect. For reference, P3's original age rating was 12+. I was surprised by the "partial nudity" warning I hope this means that the new shadow designs were so spicy that they had to increase the rating.

My P3R songs (as of now) ranking:
7. Iwatodai Dorm: I don't like it as much as the original.
6. Moons Reaching Stars: Moons Reaching Star is my favourite P3 song but the clearer voice just doesn't sound as good as the original to me.
5. Changing Seasons: Really cool, it's nice to see this song with lyrics.
4. Mass Destruction: All the songs above are great no doubt, the problem is that these are supposed to be the "reloaded" version of these songs. I feel like they should be more than a vocal cover with some minute additions. The FES version of Mass Destruction was unique, it was practically a new song while still sounding like the original.
3. Full Moon Full Life: The callbacks to Burn My Dread make this an amazing song. It feels so nostalgic. It's sad tone with a tinge of hope does really well to express the main message of P3.
2. It's Going Down Now: Same reason as above but battle themed, it doesn't reach the same level of perfection as the FES Mass Destruction but it's definitely number 2.
1. Colour Your Night: My favourite thus far.  Same thing as Full Moon Full Life, the nostalgic feeling, that sense of hope, they all bring me to tears.

P3 already has 3 remakes (or two remakes and one demake depending on who you ask). Give my boy P4 a remake as well.
Edit as of 23/1/2024: Hopefully my last edit, I just watched the Aidan Gallagher live action trailer, I don't even know what to say. Why Atlus? The trailer doesn't announce anything new or do anything, it's just....there.
Also I saw the DLC, I had hopes that maybe the FeMC would atleast be DLC but Atlus just went the boring route of music tracks, personas and school uniforms. To say that I'm dissapointed would be an understatement.

[HartWurst]

I enjoyed Persona 5 because of how the combat felt, but didn't like Persona 4 since the combat felt more stiff. Are there any SMT games with combat similar to Persona 5 with the baton passes and the like?

[degradingwindow]

I enjoyed Persona 5 because of how the combat felt, but didn't like Persona 4 since the combat felt more stiff. Are there any SMT games with combat similar to Persona 5 with the baton passes and the like?

No other SMT game has a baton pass mechanic, it's a new addition from Persona 5. The only Atlus games that use it are Persona games (Q2 and P3 Reload which isn't out yet).

If you're planning on playing an SMT game, be wary because since 3, mainline SMT games have used a press turn system instead of a classic turn system so it might take some time to get used to if you're not used to it.

[HartWurst]

If you're planning on playing an SMT game, be wary because since 3, mainline SMT games have used a press turn system instead of a classic turn system so it might take some time to get used to if you're not used to it.

How does press turn differ from regular turns?

[degradingwindow]

How does press turn differ from regular turns?

Think of it like Fire Emblem or any other turn based tactics game. You do all your actions in one turn and then your opponent does all their actions in one turn. And you can have more turns as long as you have spare turn icons.

It changes gameplay a lot because you have to properly prep before your turn ends or else the enemy AI might just decide to dogpile the MC and give you a quick game over. SMT is really less about strategy and more about preparation and that's reflected a lot on the press turn mechanic

[HartWurst]

It changes gameplay a lot because you have to properly prep before your turn ends or else the enemy AI might just decide to dogpile the MC and give you a quick game over. SMT is really less about strategy and more about preparation and that's reflected a lot on the press turn mechanic

That sounds pretty interesting, I'll probably go for a game with that mechanic then

[WitheringFlowerCrown]

I do recommend that you do. SMT 3: Nocturne is one of the most recommeded games. But Digital Devil Saga is also picking up in recognition.

And degradingwindow really is not kidding when they say that preparation is most important in those games. It's to the point that some people say the best part is when you fuse the perfect Demon(s) to accomplish the task ahead.

I will also take a moment to slightly destroy the point of Akyuu's Arcade and recommend Touhou Artificial Dream in Arcadia. A DRPG heavily inspired/based on early SMT (like, SMT 1 or back when the game was just called "Megami Tensei"). The gameplay is so good that SMT and Etrian Odyssey fans who knew nothing about Touhou were also singing its praises and I think it's a good game as well. Though it doesn't have Press Turn, Baton Pass, or One-More as the games back then didn't.

[HartWurst]

I will also take a moment to slightly destroy the point of Akyuu's Arcade and recommend Touhou Artificial Dream in Arcadia. A DRPG heavily inspired/based on early SMT (like, SMT 1 or back when the game was just called "Megami Tensei"). The gameplay is so good that SMT and Etrian Odyssey fans who knew nothing about Touhou were also singing its praises and I think it's a good game as well. Though it doesn't have Press Turn, Baton Pass, or One-More as the games back then didn't.

Yeah I've heard about that a lot, I've also played the demo of it for longer than I'd like to admit. I didn't know it's received that much recognition from SMT fans though. In that case I might end up starting with that because I'll at least be in familiar territory, plus the lack of the modern systems would help me get used to the feel of SMT without first needing to understand the systems. I just need to scrape up $10 first

[degradingwindow]

I'd actually recomend SMTIV, it works as a good midpoint between the modern gameplay of V and the good storytelling of III. Sadly, this is Atlus we're talking about and thus the game is doomed to be on the 3DS forever.

Artificial Dream In Arcadia is really good. It has a lot of cool things but it also has a few weak points which I'd like to go a lot more into detail on but this is Akyuu's Arcade so I'll hold myself back. (I'll probably just start a thread on HME about it as soon as I finish it).

Also, a bit late (8 days), but Persona 3 Reload has been released. Look, I love Persona 3, but there's no way I'm paying $70 for it. Reviews so far have been positive but there's a lot of things that they added or changed which people didn't like which was inevitable. The new gameplay changes that weren't ported from P5R feel like experiments to try out how people receive it. I wouldn't be surprised if things like the in-dungeon currency appear in P6 or even Metaphor. I haven't watched all the new story cutscenes (there's a lot) so I don't have much to say on them yet.
Also, also: There's rumours that The Answer and a new Aigis origin story will be available as DLC. I'm not a big fan of The Answer (Yukari) but the Aigis origin story actually seems interesting.

[HartWurst]

Also, a bit late (8 days), but Persona 3 Reload has been released. Look, I love Persona 3, but there's no way I'm paying $70 for it. Reviews so far have been positive but there's a lot of things that they added or changed which people didn't like which was inevitable. The new gameplay changes that weren't ported from P5R feel like experiments to try out how people receive it. I wouldn't be surprised if things like the in-dungeon currency appearing in P6 or even Metaphor. I haven't watched all the new story cutscenes (there's a lot) so I don't have much to say on them yet.
Also, also: There's rumours that The Answer and a new Aigis origin story will be available as DLC. I'm not a big fan of The Answer (Yukari) but the Aigis origin story actually seems interesting.

Yeah, the price for Reload is a bit much even if it is an entire remake. Since at the end of the day it's still only a remake of base Persona 3. The Aigis origin story does seem really cool though, there's a lot of potential with that

[degradingwindow]

late (again), but SMTV: Vengeance has been announced, and of course since this Atlus we're talking about, they're making us pay a full $60 for an "expanded" version of a game that only came out 2 years ago. But in their defence, they did say that the new story route would add 80 more hours of playtime but we don't know just how much of it will be original new content. I'm glad they're fixing the story of SMTV which was its biggest problem but locking it behind a whole new route is a weird choice but maybe they can make it work properly.

Persona 3 Reload did well, it sold 1 million copies in just one week making it the fastest selling game in Atlus history. Hopefully this means that they'll invest more in these types of remakes (maybe we could even have a remake of P1, Innocent Sin, Eternal Punishment or even SMT4). I'm hopeful for a P4 remake since it's my favourite Atlus game but it'll probably take a few years for it to be announced especially since they're focused on other things like Metaphor, Vengeance and P6(assumedly).

Also, a prominent Sega leaker has said that right now they are already working to release Persona 5 The Phantom X, the Chinese mobile game spinoff in Japan in 2024 with an international release being in the foreseeable future. I really haven't looked at the game myself because the only things I see people talk about it here in the west is the weird censoring choices they made with certain demons and other things. We'll see if they're kept in the western release.

Edit: they just announced that they're gonna release the Shin Megami Tensei tabletop roleplaying game in the west. It should come out near the end of fall.

[HartWurst]

Persona 3 Reload did well, it sold 1 million copies in just one week making it the fastest selling game in Atlus history. Hopefully this means that they'll invest more in these types of remakes (maybe we could even have a remake of P1, Innocent Sin, Eternal Punishment or even SMT4).

If they do end up remaking Persona 1 and 2 again I wonder if they'll end up changing things about it like adding social links or baton pass like was done in Reload. The fact that they have the same circumstances as Persona 3 where they have a PSP remake makes me think Atlus would be a lot more willing to make big changes