If you're a fan of ATLUS games, 2017 was likely a great time for you. Not only was Persona 5-one of the most highly anticipated JPRGs ever made-getting its western release, but during the Nintendo Switch Presentation in January, it was also announced the highly-anticipated Shin Megami Tensei V was now in development. The SMT series (and ATLUS as a whole) had been well represented on the 3DS, so it made sense for it to continue its partnership with Nintendo. But that would be the last anyone would hear about SMTV for quite a while, especially with Persona 5 (and Royal, its enhanced version) basking in the spotlight. So by the time SMTV was announced for release in late 2021, it was guaranteed to draw comparisons to the former, even if the philosophy of the two series has never been more different. This can certainly be frustrating for SMT fans, as this game was never trying to be the next Persona, and it's not fair to criticize this game for that. It's also misleading, because for as many of its strengths, there's plenty of SMTV to criticize in its own right.
The Shin Megami Tensei series has been going since the Super Famicom days (and the broader Megami Tensei series since the original Famicom), so it's to be expected that by now, an SMT title should be able to-at the bare minimum-deliver great turn-based combat. And as expected, the fifth main entry to the franchise delivers. It's truly impressive how a game that takes roughly 40 hours to get through at a minimum can so effortlessly keep players engaged in its combat system. Demon designs are just as excellent as ever, and as always, demon negotiation and capturing is the star of the show. In fact, SMTV gives players more tools to build their demonic arsenal to staggering levels than ever before. Essences allow you to ensure certain moves or attributes carry over to your newly captured or fused demons, miracles provide a litany of benefits to your party, and the Magatsuhi system adds a bit more strategy to not just your current enemy encounter, but your overall battling plan. In truth, you can spend plenty of time just in the menus alone, optimizing each member of your party to obscene levels and creating an unstoppable force. It's a surprisingly satisfying mechanic that can make preparing for the fight just as grand as participating in it.
Of course, it does come with the minor drawback of removing a little too much of the challenge in some aspects. Shin Megami Tensei is a series that is somewhat known for its difficulty, but SMTV certainly leans towards the easier side of things. That's not necessarily a bad thing on its own, but for series veterans, it basically amounts to choosing whether to miss out on the great customization mechanic, or miss out on challenging battles. That means that while the game is more versatile and engaging on the surface, it's easy to see the flaws of such a system in motion. This is even more (literally) accurate for the game's visuals. SMTV is the first in the series to utilize an open world, 3D-interactive area, and in a snapshot, it's visually impressive, especially in the first area, and especially on the Switch's limited hardware. But when your character starts moving, when demons start appearing in the distance, its flaws are clear. This game is just not comfortable on the Switch, and the constant frame drops, slowdowns, and pop-in effects don't help with immersion at all. It's a bit puzzling, too, because most of the world design is relatively generic, and doesn't seem to be worth the huge performance investment that SMTV requires.
And if SMTV's graphical incapabilities aren't enough to disappoint you, its story and characters likely will. This is one of the weaker efforts ATLUS has put out story wise, and it's dragged further down by a cast of one-note, undeveloped characters. Pacing is off from the beginning-most of the key story beats don't come until dozens of hours in-and at no point does the fate of any of the characters feel particularly important. Even your own actions have no impact on the story-until one decision at the very end-and as a result, the narrative of SMTV feels extremely rigid and unapproachable. It almost feels unfinished, as if large chunks of context or development were missing from the final product.
Shin Megami Tensei V is a great combat experience and offers decent exploration, and if that is strictly all you're looking for in an SMT game, there's no doubt you'll find a lot to like here. But as mentioned earlier, this game is a relatively large undertaking, and trudging through the story to experience the (admittedly great) combat is bound to wear on you. There's a vision for a great game here, and many fans of the genre will no doubt enjoy it, but so much of what traditionally makes a good game great is cloudy and muddled here, that instead, it turns SMTV from a good game to a mediocre one, and a disappointing first step into the next generation from a legendary series.
The Shin Megami Tensei series has been going since the Super Famicom days (and the broader Megami Tensei series since the original Famicom), so it's to be expected that by now, an SMT title should be able to-at the bare minimum-deliver great turn-based combat. And as expected, the fifth main entry to the franchise delivers. It's truly impressive how a game that takes roughly 40 hours to get through at a minimum can so effortlessly keep players engaged in its combat system. Demon designs are just as excellent as ever, and as always, demon negotiation and capturing is the star of the show. In fact, SMTV gives players more tools to build their demonic arsenal to staggering levels than ever before. Essences allow you to ensure certain moves or attributes carry over to your newly captured or fused demons, miracles provide a litany of benefits to your party, and the Magatsuhi system adds a bit more strategy to not just your current enemy encounter, but your overall battling plan. In truth, you can spend plenty of time just in the menus alone, optimizing each member of your party to obscene levels and creating an unstoppable force. It's a surprisingly satisfying mechanic that can make preparing for the fight just as grand as participating in it.
Of course, it does come with the minor drawback of removing a little too much of the challenge in some aspects. Shin Megami Tensei is a series that is somewhat known for its difficulty, but SMTV certainly leans towards the easier side of things. That's not necessarily a bad thing on its own, but for series veterans, it basically amounts to choosing whether to miss out on the great customization mechanic, or miss out on challenging battles. That means that while the game is more versatile and engaging on the surface, it's easy to see the flaws of such a system in motion. This is even more (literally) accurate for the game's visuals. SMTV is the first in the series to utilize an open world, 3D-interactive area, and in a snapshot, it's visually impressive, especially in the first area, and especially on the Switch's limited hardware. But when your character starts moving, when demons start appearing in the distance, its flaws are clear. This game is just not comfortable on the Switch, and the constant frame drops, slowdowns, and pop-in effects don't help with immersion at all. It's a bit puzzling, too, because most of the world design is relatively generic, and doesn't seem to be worth the huge performance investment that SMTV requires.
And if SMTV's graphical incapabilities aren't enough to disappoint you, its story and characters likely will. This is one of the weaker efforts ATLUS has put out story wise, and it's dragged further down by a cast of one-note, undeveloped characters. Pacing is off from the beginning-most of the key story beats don't come until dozens of hours in-and at no point does the fate of any of the characters feel particularly important. Even your own actions have no impact on the story-until one decision at the very end-and as a result, the narrative of SMTV feels extremely rigid and unapproachable. It almost feels unfinished, as if large chunks of context or development were missing from the final product.
Shin Megami Tensei V is a great combat experience and offers decent exploration, and if that is strictly all you're looking for in an SMT game, there's no doubt you'll find a lot to like here. But as mentioned earlier, this game is a relatively large undertaking, and trudging through the story to experience the (admittedly great) combat is bound to wear on you. There's a vision for a great game here, and many fans of the genre will no doubt enjoy it, but so much of what traditionally makes a good game great is cloudy and muddled here, that instead, it turns SMTV from a good game to a mediocre one, and a disappointing first step into the next generation from a legendary series.