I'll start off by saying I think this game while earns the praise it gets for it's story. The way the alignment choices don't feel like one or two "good" endings and everything else is the "bad" ending is something that should definitely be more common in the franchise. It's probably my favorite story line in any Megaten game and if Atlus can ever make a new game that matches it's atmosphere again, I'll be ecstatic.
That being said, I really do not care for the gameplay. I like the spirit behind the battle system. You get bonus hits on hitting weakness for every demon in your active party matching your alignment which helps you get in the roleplay. I just don't think it makes for a lot of creative expression in your strategy. Even worse when you factor in how arduous it is to fuse demons with the skills you want in this game. You can remedy this to a degree by going online and using password generators to summon whatever you (provided you got the macca to summon them) but this cheapens it further if you ask me.
I also found the difficulty curve a bit frustrating. For a majority of the game, I found the combat fairly easy. I didn't even consider using the password generator up until the last dungeon. The alignment boss was pretty rough but I made it through with what I'd managed to fuse myself... then I got to the final boss and it was like I skipped an entire dungeons worth of content to prep me for that point.
I'm also going to bring up that the dungeon crawling just felt like a complete choir to me. I know a lot of people complain about classic MegaTen dungeons. I find most of SMT Nocturne to be pretty comfy for example. Strange Journey I was forcing myself most of the time to keep going. The atmosphere each dungeon created was fantastic but in terms of the traps you were going to face were the same annoying stuff each and every dugeon. I especially hated having to rub my face against every wall just in case there was a secret door somewhere.
Anyways, I can definitely see how this game is a lot of people's favorite MegaTen game but it ain't me. There's a part of me that wants to rate it way lower for how much I didn't enjoy the gameplay but I do really think the story, characters, and atmosphere really does a good job of making the experience worth it.
That being said, I really do not care for the gameplay. I like the spirit behind the battle system. You get bonus hits on hitting weakness for every demon in your active party matching your alignment which helps you get in the roleplay. I just don't think it makes for a lot of creative expression in your strategy. Even worse when you factor in how arduous it is to fuse demons with the skills you want in this game. You can remedy this to a degree by going online and using password generators to summon whatever you (provided you got the macca to summon them) but this cheapens it further if you ask me.
I also found the difficulty curve a bit frustrating. For a majority of the game, I found the combat fairly easy. I didn't even consider using the password generator up until the last dungeon. The alignment boss was pretty rough but I made it through with what I'd managed to fuse myself... then I got to the final boss and it was like I skipped an entire dungeons worth of content to prep me for that point.
I'm also going to bring up that the dungeon crawling just felt like a complete choir to me. I know a lot of people complain about classic MegaTen dungeons. I find most of SMT Nocturne to be pretty comfy for example. Strange Journey I was forcing myself most of the time to keep going. The atmosphere each dungeon created was fantastic but in terms of the traps you were going to face were the same annoying stuff each and every dugeon. I especially hated having to rub my face against every wall just in case there was a secret door somewhere.
Anyways, I can definitely see how this game is a lot of people's favorite MegaTen game but it ain't me. There's a part of me that wants to rate it way lower for how much I didn't enjoy the gameplay but I do really think the story, characters, and atmosphere really does a good job of making the experience worth it.