I honestly didn't beat the original port of this game until around a year before the HD Remaster came out so believe me when I say, my feelings on this game have nothing to do with nostalgia.
On my 1st playthrough I somewhat agreed with that popular sentiment that this game doesn't have much story. After this playthrough I thoroughly disagree with that after my 2nd run. There aren't the sheer amount of cutscenes and dialogue you'd typically associate with the RPG genre but every cutscene is extremely thought provoking and memorable. It has that "art house" movie quality where there always feels like there's more to dissect with every experience.
I think there's just something about atmosphere that brings me back and will continue to draw me in. Not only is this some of the best music in franchise, the otherworldly look of a majority of the dungeons is just so hauntingly beautiful.
As for the gameplay, this is the first MegaTen game with the press turn and for the roughness present here, they got so much right out of the gate. If I had to pick a part that doesn't age well though, it's the way fusion works. For most of the demons, it's either so rng based or cryptic on how to get them, I have no idea how you'd even get them without looking up a guide. On a casual playthrough this won't be a big issue since you'll still be able to get demons with good skill loadouts but it can be frustrating if you want a certain demon and the steps are an absolute grindfest.
I'll go ahead and bring up the performance issues present in the Remaster. I played on Switch which is apparently the version with the most of these issues present. Pretty much every battle there was slow down as the enemies loaded in. The screen would also constantly go black for a frame when turning the camera right after talking to an NPC in a dungeon. They were annoying but not deal breakers for me. Plus, I think the new translation flows way better than the original. The worst part of this remaster for me is the music sounds like it's going through a storm drain. I'll give Atlus the benifit of the doubt and maybe they lost the master tracks but I've definitely heard better quality versions of the tracks on Youtube so even and that case it's not cutting it.
Whichever version, this is my favorite game.
On my 1st playthrough I somewhat agreed with that popular sentiment that this game doesn't have much story. After this playthrough I thoroughly disagree with that after my 2nd run. There aren't the sheer amount of cutscenes and dialogue you'd typically associate with the RPG genre but every cutscene is extremely thought provoking and memorable. It has that "art house" movie quality where there always feels like there's more to dissect with every experience.
I think there's just something about atmosphere that brings me back and will continue to draw me in. Not only is this some of the best music in franchise, the otherworldly look of a majority of the dungeons is just so hauntingly beautiful.
As for the gameplay, this is the first MegaTen game with the press turn and for the roughness present here, they got so much right out of the gate. If I had to pick a part that doesn't age well though, it's the way fusion works. For most of the demons, it's either so rng based or cryptic on how to get them, I have no idea how you'd even get them without looking up a guide. On a casual playthrough this won't be a big issue since you'll still be able to get demons with good skill loadouts but it can be frustrating if you want a certain demon and the steps are an absolute grindfest.
I'll go ahead and bring up the performance issues present in the Remaster. I played on Switch which is apparently the version with the most of these issues present. Pretty much every battle there was slow down as the enemies loaded in. The screen would also constantly go black for a frame when turning the camera right after talking to an NPC in a dungeon. They were annoying but not deal breakers for me. Plus, I think the new translation flows way better than the original. The worst part of this remaster for me is the music sounds like it's going through a storm drain. I'll give Atlus the benifit of the doubt and maybe they lost the master tracks but I've definitely heard better quality versions of the tracks on Youtube so even and that case it's not cutting it.
Whichever version, this is my favorite game.