Completed the Law ending for this playthrough. This one was in my backlog for a few... years lol, finally decided to start it. My very first main SMT game (although I played Persona, Devil Survivor and Tokyo Mirage Sessions before).
My biggest surprise is how this is not a very long RPG, which is a really good thing, especially since it's Atlus we're talking about (looking at YOU, Persona, which I also love btw). 30 hours long if you're just going for the main story and one of the endings, and it never drops the ball. It always throws stuff in your way for it to keep interesting.
Gameplay is fun, nothing too groundbreaking for a turn-based RPG but its Press Turn system never fails to be interesting, as well as finding and fusing demons.
Its story is good, the supporting characters are nothing to really write about (they are there more to represent the moral choices really), but the story, coupled with the AWESOME post-apocalyptic and brooding atmosphere really nails it to me, even under the massive graphical limitations for the 3DS (HD remaster Atlus, please!). The limitations however are apparent in overworld Tokyo, where you are represented by what looks like a weird board piece. It's not a major thing, but definitely a low point in an otherwise great presentation.
On the graphics side, I remember being kind of turned off by seeing screenshots of the game and seeing the demons in battle were sprites and not 3D models unlike many Atlus games on the 3DS even, but watching them in motion is a whole different story, the sprite work is SPECTACULAR, by the screenshots it felt they were just reusing old sprites to save time and cut costs, but in-game you can clearly see it's a conscious and good stylistic choice. Character designs overall are great as usual. Atlus and Kazuma Kaneko never disappoint.
Music is awesome and fits the overall theme really well. Voice acting is also great and really sets the tone, despite it not having many animated cutscenes.
Shin Megami Tensei IV is amazing and it's kind of a shame it's stuck on the 3DS for the foreseeable future, although a rerelease of it is definitely a given in the not-so-near future. Although I only finished one of the endings, I want to get to know the other 3 endings at some point. But not now. I mean, Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse has also been sitting in my backlog for some years, so I'd rather try that one out first.
My biggest surprise is how this is not a very long RPG, which is a really good thing, especially since it's Atlus we're talking about (looking at YOU, Persona, which I also love btw). 30 hours long if you're just going for the main story and one of the endings, and it never drops the ball. It always throws stuff in your way for it to keep interesting.
Gameplay is fun, nothing too groundbreaking for a turn-based RPG but its Press Turn system never fails to be interesting, as well as finding and fusing demons.
Its story is good, the supporting characters are nothing to really write about (they are there more to represent the moral choices really), but the story, coupled with the AWESOME post-apocalyptic and brooding atmosphere really nails it to me, even under the massive graphical limitations for the 3DS (HD remaster Atlus, please!). The limitations however are apparent in overworld Tokyo, where you are represented by what looks like a weird board piece. It's not a major thing, but definitely a low point in an otherwise great presentation.
On the graphics side, I remember being kind of turned off by seeing screenshots of the game and seeing the demons in battle were sprites and not 3D models unlike many Atlus games on the 3DS even, but watching them in motion is a whole different story, the sprite work is SPECTACULAR, by the screenshots it felt they were just reusing old sprites to save time and cut costs, but in-game you can clearly see it's a conscious and good stylistic choice. Character designs overall are great as usual. Atlus and Kazuma Kaneko never disappoint.
Music is awesome and fits the overall theme really well. Voice acting is also great and really sets the tone, despite it not having many animated cutscenes.
Shin Megami Tensei IV is amazing and it's kind of a shame it's stuck on the 3DS for the foreseeable future, although a rerelease of it is definitely a given in the not-so-near future. Although I only finished one of the endings, I want to get to know the other 3 endings at some point. But not now. I mean, Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse has also been sitting in my backlog for some years, so I'd rather try that one out first.