Remember when Atlus tried to market Shin Megami Tensei in the U.S. as “Revelations“? Honestly, as far as trying to come up with a name that’s roughly culturally equivalent to SMT — “Reincarnation of the True Goddess” — Revelations isn’t too bad. It seems less likely to inspire the willfully ignorant to roll their eyes and give a “whatever” than its decidedly Japanese original moniker. And I’m pretty sure that every otherworldly apparition cited in the Book of Revelations shows up at some point in SMT….
Which is to say: Shin Megami Tensei IV is out in the U.S., and if you have access to a U.S.-region 3DS and like good, interesting, artful role-playing games that call back to the best of the PlayStation and PS2 era, you should absolutely grab a copy as quickly as possible. SMT IV is, hands down, the single best game I’ve played all year. Well, I did play a bit of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy V recently. I guess it’s merely tied for the best game I’ve played all year.
(Note: In case you missed my subtle point, I just said I was as impressed with SMT IV as with Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy V. OK?)
Oh my. Just wait until you get to Bravely Default then! This is not to diminish SMT4. It is excellent and I am loving it myself. But if you are itching for FFV and Chrono Trigger level stuff, you have some more coming your way.
I played a few hours of BD last year. It’s good! Doesn’t quite do it for me like SMT IV, though.
But will it satiate my inner masochist?
Gaming masochist. I really should have clarified that.
Jeremy, you seemed to really like Etrian Odyssey IV earlier this year. What elevates SMTIV over it for you?
Yeah, I’m feeling SMTIV as well – I’ve already logged about 10 hours or so. But I, too, would like to hear why this game is more appealing to you than Etrian Odyssey IV (a game I love and actually bought because of your review).
Am I just not far enough into SMTIV to know why this is blowing EOIV out of the water for you? Or is it just a case of SMTIV nailing different genric conventions that are more up your alley?
Better than Fire Emblem? Or is that not your thing?
I had no investment in Fire Emblem’s story, and I don’t enjoy strategic combat as much as smaller party-based battles.
Bought on The eshop yesterday. Played today in my commute and I’m loving it. It is really masochistic, to the guy up in the comments. You get absolutely destroyed while trying to get your first demons. And that’s what I came in expecting. Let’s see if this one will go over the high marks set upon by its predecessors
I was going to wait for this until after I was done with RF4 (which will come after I’m done with the latest Harvest Moon – I’m 90-some hours in, yet still haven’t recruited all the girls, let alone the whole town), but I might change that. I was expecting “Great,” not “Game of the Year.”
How does it compare to Strange Journey?