shinton's game zone

I love this game. I love this SERIES, although I'm definitely not a hardcore fan of it.
If you don't know about Megami Tensei, you're probably aware of its more successful child series, Persona. They share the same ideas, character designs, and emphasis on religious imagery.

It's one of the most acclaimed JRPG series of all time, swapping out the typical fantasy settings seen in pre-Final Fantasy (and post FF :p) JRPG games with a more modern setting, and introducing visual novel elements to entice sweaty losers like myself into falling for pixels on a screen.

Shin Megami Tensei is a lot like Persona, but it takes after the older, more punishing style of JRPGs, and it lacks most of the visual novel elements that made Persona so popular.

What's left is a brutal, fast-paced JRPG with a grimdark setting where every random encounter has a chance at wiping your whole party. Despite how horrible that might seem, the speed at which battles and spell animations progress (along with the super addicting Press-Turn System) makes the game hit like crack to most JRPG junkies who're too weak for games like Etrian Odyssey or Brandish.

Press Turn

Press Turn is one of the most addicting and FRUSTRATING game mechanics I have ever come across. It's kind of complex, but when you master it, you're pretty much unstoppable.

You get one press turn for each member of your party. Maximum is 4. If you hit a critical or an enemy's weakness, you use half of that press turn, and give it to the next member of your party. Meaning you can stretch out 4 turns to 8 turns if you get lucky, or build your party right.

HOWEVER. If you miss an attack, you lose two press turns, it doesn't matter if the press turn is half or full, you're losing it. If you accidentally hit the enemy with an element they repel or absorb? You lose FOUR turns.

This seems unfair, right? At times, it can be, but the enemy team follows the same rules you do. And building your party is as easy as talking to enemies, recruiting them, and fusing your party members together to make bigger and badder party members.

If you understand the press turn system, you'll have no problems getting through bosses and random encounters alike. Oh, and uh, you know those useless spells you typically don't use in JRPGS? Like status ailments and buffs? They're super duper important here, so make sure you're using them or you're going to have a REALLY rough time.

I've sung a ton of praises about the gameplay so far, but as far as plots go? The game leaves a lot to be desired. It's basically a fetch quest from point A to B. You meet new people, have them tell you where to go, fight your way through a dungeon or two, then do it all over again. Nothing to write home about, but this game's main strength is in its gameplay and ambience, so I'm not too concerned about the game not having a plot.

Combine the fun gameplay with a bangin' techno soundtrack, amazing ambience, and an uncanny art style? You get a solid 8 or 9/10. Truly a must-play for anyone looking for a tougher Persona-like. One more god rejected, baby.