Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance isn't entirely the fix that the original game needed. If your biggest issues with the original SMT V were with performance and the story being rough, then this game is worth picking up at some point. If you're like me and your biggest issues were the samey world design and a lack of compelling dungeons, check out Artificial Dream in Arcadia instead.

At its core, SMT V's gameplay loop offers an experience you can't really get with any other Megami Tensei game. I like it a lot, and the improvements to level scaling, new demons, QOL features, flawless performance on PC and new, vastly improved storyline warranted buying this director's cut. I was ultimately hoping for a game that fused SMT V's more open approach to world design with SMT IV's varied locales and SMT III's clever dungeon design. Vengeance is not that game, and that's okay. This still has the best combat in the series, provides a decent challenge to veterans while being a great jumping in point for Persona fans.