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A guide to Shin Megami Tensei for Persona fans! (And anyone interested in getting into the series)
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What is Shin Megami Tensei?
For those of you who donāt know SMT is the main series from which Persona spun-off from, and itās a series of post-apocalyptic JRPGs that focus on monster/demon collecting, if anything itās the predecessor to PokĆ©mon by about 9 years
For those of you who donāt know SMT is the main series from which Persona spun-off from, and itās a series of post-apocalyptic JRPGs that focus on monster/demon collecting, if anything itās the predecessor to PokĆ©mon by about 9 years
A bit of history:
The name translates to New Goddess Reincarnati is actually in itself a spiritual successor to the series simply known a Megami Tensei (Goddess Reincarnation) which started with a series of novels of the same name by Aya Nishitani
The name translates to New Goddess Reincarnati is actually in itself a spiritual successor to the series simply known a Megami Tensei (Goddess Reincarnation) which started with a series of novels of the same name by Aya Nishitani
The first game in the series (Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei) was released for the original Famicom in 1987 and had its story set after the events of the first two MT novels, another game of the same title was released for the PC-88, though that one was a top-down action game
The game would later receive a sequel, Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei II, however the story for this one would be pretty much original, not taking much inspiration from Nishitani's novels, instead being written by Kazunari Suzuki, it had the precursor to the Law & Chaos route
After the success of Megami Tensei II, Atlus set themselves to develop a successor on the Super Famicom, which would become its own thing and expand on the ideas of different ideologies MT II played with, Shin Megami Tensei would be released in 1992 and spawn its own series
The series would go on to create its own line of spin-offs, sequels and different sub series altogether, each ranging from different settings and characters and sometimes even completely different genres outside of dungeon-crawling RPGs
What makes SMT different from Persona?
Persona has a more character driven story, Mainline SMT focuses more on the philosophy of Law & Chaos and how these different ways of thinking can affect the world, while the characters are mostly just there as vessels of these ideologies
Persona has a more character driven story, Mainline SMT focuses more on the philosophy of Law & Chaos and how these different ways of thinking can affect the world, while the characters are mostly just there as vessels of these ideologies
Gameplay wise, while modern Persona focuses on the duality of the irl high school student social aspect and the fantasy dungeon crawling elements, mainline SMT focuses purely on dungeon crawling and combat, however they both have a huge emphasis on demon collecting and summoning
Exploration of the overworld is also a key feature of mainline SMT, while it isnāt Open World like GTA or Saints Row, it is very open-ended with a lot of its progression and hides a lot of secrets within the map, like extra items, dungeons and bosses
Another big chunk of mainline's (and some spin-offs') identity is the idea of player choice, Law, Chaos or Neutral are never explicitly stated as "good" or "bad", it is all left up to the players' interpretation of what they would want were they put in a similar situation
And what exactly are alignments?
Alignments are basically a measurement of the own player's way of thinking if you will, each alignment posses different philosophical ideals of how a "perfect world order" would go, each side with their own pros and cons
Alignments are basically a measurement of the own player's way of thinking if you will, each alignment posses different philosophical ideals of how a "perfect world order" would go, each side with their own pros and cons
Law Alignment:
It proposes the idea that order is above everything, the supposed eternal kingdom of God, where security and unity is valued the most, but only to those who comform with God's ideals and are deemed "worthy" by him, where individualism is lost almost completely
It proposes the idea that order is above everything, the supposed eternal kingdom of God, where security and unity is valued the most, but only to those who comform with God's ideals and are deemed "worthy" by him, where individualism is lost almost completely
Chaos alignment:
It proposes the idea that natural selection should be the big deciding factor in who lives and who dies, the strong over the weak and all that, without the need of God's own guidance, but it can also lead to a lot of unnecessary and pointless death
It proposes the idea that natural selection should be the big deciding factor in who lives and who dies, the strong over the weak and all that, without the need of God's own guidance, but it can also lead to a lot of unnecessary and pointless death
Neutral alignment:
It proposes the idea that both Law and Chaos are wrong and humanity can stand up on its own and make its own decisions without the need for angels, demons or even God himself, however here one might en up losing more than they end up gaining in the long run
It proposes the idea that both Law and Chaos are wrong and humanity can stand up on its own and make its own decisions without the need for angels, demons or even God himself, however here one might en up losing more than they end up gaining in the long run
The atmosphere is another thing SMT nails, it mostly has an oppressive and dark atmosphere and sticks to it for pretty much all of the game, the different events that happen and some of the major happenings that characters undergo to land them either with the Law or Chaos ideals
A major factor for the series' dark atmosphere is the phenomenal artwork by (former) series art director Kazuma Kaneko, he absolutely nails the dark and oppressive yet fantastic-looking visuals the series has become known for
The music is also another player on what makes that atmosphere work so well, most of the music for modern SMT games have been composed by Shoji Meguro (who is also the composer for Persona) and they all play a major part in what makes SMT's atmosphere so great
Where do I start with SMT, if I come from Persona?
While many people have different answers I personally find there to be two major ways to make the jump from Persona, both of them on 3DS: Devil Survivor Overclocked and/or SMT IV
While many people have different answers I personally find there to be two major ways to make the jump from Persona, both of them on 3DS: Devil Survivor Overclocked and/or SMT IV
Devil Survivor Overclocked is an enhanced 3DS port of the original DeSu on the DS, itās a top-down strategy RPG much like Fire Emblem (or the Majin Tensei sub-series) with multiple endings, the reason why Iād recommend this one to Persona players is the time-management element
Shin Megami Tensei IV on the other hand is the second latest in the mainline numbered entries and itās easily the most accessible game in terms of story and difficulty, while retaining all the elements that were previously mentioned to make it a simply fantastic experience
Continuing on the 3DS, if you want a more traditional first-person SMT experience, Iād suggest checking out Strange Journey Redux or Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, however keep in mind SJ is well-known for having the most bs in its dungeons and SH is a port of a Sega Saturn game
After hitting up any of those I'd recommend moving on to Digital Devil Saga, if you bought a PS2 for P3 or P4 then you already have access to these games, they are considered to be among the best of the series for a reason, the story is fantastic and the gameplay is classic
And finally, after getting ready with DDS the last game Iād recommend to finish off your transition from Persona into the broader SMT series is SMT III: Nocturne, and once youāve beaten it, feel free to check out any of the other games and spin-offs the series has!
And with this, I end the thread, if any of yāall are I interested in getting into the series or have questions about any of the games, donāt be afraid to DM me, I always love introducing people into the series!
