Image from Atlus
With Shin Megami Tensei V releasing soon I wanted to take a look back at the series. Keep in mind I’m only mentioning games that I’ve played. I’ll start of with an honorable mention before talking about my favorite game in the series.
Table of Contents
Honorable Mention
Coming in as an honorable mention is Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner Soul Hackers, bit of a mouthful. This is the game that pulled me into the main series, by that I mean the numbered entries. I came upon it while looking for new games to play on my 3DS and ended up buying it. This was at least 7 or more years ago. I don’t regret getting it at all and would highly recommend it.
Favorite Game
My favorite game right now has to be Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, this might change after SMTV releases. The story and the music was really good. Just when I thought the game was over, it kept going after a twist. It built directly off of SMT IV and fixed all the issues I had with it. The final battle was also amazing. The music in the game is fantastic.
Least Favorite Game
As much as I enjoyed Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, it has to be my least favorite in the series. One of the main reasons for this is the encounter rate. Sometimes you can’t go more than two steps without encountering an enemy. There are people that claim that the encounter rate is based on the game trying to level you, but I disagree. I was in an area with level 20s and I was in the 40s to 50s and the encounter rate was still high.
Another negative is that it’s quite easy to get lost. I don’t expect games to hold my hand, but sometimes directions were quite vague. The endings were also a little vague.
Favorite Songs
Favorite Demons
I put Surt here first mostly because I like the design. Surt is a figure from Norse Mythology. The flaming sword is just really cool and I almost feel like Surt is one of the more iconic demons from SMT. Below is a game play trailer of Surt in SMT V.
Matador is on this list for an entirely different reason that me linking the design or abilities. I chose Matador because the fight against him in SMT III Nocturne prepares you for the challenge that awaits you for the rest of the game.
You can’t have a favorite demon list without Jack Frost. I think Jack Frost is essentially the mascot of the SMT franchise. How can you not like Jack frost.
Norn has gotten me out of plenty of bad situations. If you’re looking for a good healer then look no further. She also has skills that can revive others.
Shin Megami Tensei V
Shin Megami Tensei V will be the latest game in the SMT series. It was first announced around the time the Switch was released. For the past month they’ve released several trailers. They have also been releasing individual trailers for each demon in the game over the past few months. I think there is one more trailer that they’ll be posting before the game releases. When it releases, every other game is getting shoved into the backlog. Below is one of the trailers. You’ll have to click the watch on YouTube link since it’s age restricted.
Video from Official ATLUS West
Conclusion
As you can tell I can’t wait for Shin Megami Tensei V to release. I’ve been waiting for this game since they first announced it when the Switch was released. Atlus has been killing it with trailer after trailer. The game releases November 12th of this year. I was lucky to have secured a special edition of the game. It comes with a sling shoulder bag, soundtrack, art book, and a steel book case. I’ll be sure to take some pictures when I get it. As always thanks for reading!
Reach out to me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/realgamerwithg1
Support the Blog: https://ko-fi.com/H2H03GR23
Deeper dive into games I’ve played in the SMT series: https://thegamerwithglasses.blog/exploring-the-amazing-shin-megami-tensei-series/
8 Comments
pix1001
Oct 23, 2021 7:19 amI’m going to be a newcomer to the series with SMT V and am super excited to try it. I didn’t realise Norn was in SMT (I know there’s a lot of stuff in Persona from SMT but didn’t know about that one specifically). It was one of my favourite Persona’s to use in Persona 5 and I love the mythological story behind it!
TheGamerWithGlasses
Oct 23, 2021 10:18 amOne of the things I like most about SMT and Persona are they mythology sections. I’m really looking forward to SMT V because they introduce some new demons.
sinisterdarksoul
Oct 23, 2021 11:30 amIt has a lot to live up to in order to top IV & IV Apocalypse but, I’m hoping V is at least as good or shocks us all & is better. 🙂
TheGamerWithGlasses
Oct 23, 2021 12:12 pmSame here. From everything that they’ve showed it looks like it’s going to be good.
AK
Nov 11, 2021 7:07 amNocturne is my favorite in the series, though I understand your reasons for putting it at the bottom — the encounter rate is absolutely a pain, and the game in general gives you a bruising that’s not always entirely fair-feeling. I think the fact that it was my first SMT had some influence on me, but I also like the more brutal aspects of it. Agreed on the endings, though — if there’s one thing I could have wished from the game, it would have been endings that weren’t so frustratingly vague.
I have my copy of SMT V preordered — even though I don’t have a Switch yet. Maybe it’s stupid, but I’ve been waiting almost a decade for this game and I’ll be damned if I’m not getting a physical copy on release. I’ll buy a Switch soon enough as well.
TheGamerWithGlasses
Nov 11, 2021 9:24 amIt’s always nice to see another perspective. From what they’ve shown of SMT V, it looks like they really paid attention to what people where saying. I like that they’ve continued the over-world encounters like IV and IV Apocolypse. I should have my copy tomorrow hopefully.