video game Shin Megami Tensei and Persona base | SMTV: Vengeance out now | Metaphor October 11

[Suilen]

 

Shin Megami Tensei is a JRPG series devoped by Atlus that has roots in a sci-fi light novel series from the 80s, characterized by its apocalyptic setting and religious, mythological and philosophical themes. A spin-off game Shin Megami Tensei: if... is generally considered to be the precursor to the Persona series, which has since eclipsed the main series and had great success with Persona 5 in particular. The Persona games, with their high school setting and themes that change with each entry, can be divided into two periods: Persona 1 and 2, with direct connections to the If... game and to themselves, a conservative gameplay (P1 is basically a dungeon crawler like the main SMT series), and no sim-like elements, and Persona 3, 4, 5, which were all directed by Katsura Hashino and have a schedule-based story progression with dating sim elements. The games in both series include a turn-based battle system where you use demons (SMT) or Personas to fight various enemies. There's a demon-collecting aspect to SMT that makes people compare the series to Pokemon, although certain games, such as Nocturne, are notoriously difficult. Both SMT and Persona have spawned numerous spin-off games, such as Devil Summoner, Devil Survivor, Persona Q etc.

Shin Megami Tensei games
 

Spoiler

Shin Megami Tensei
Shin Megami Tensei II
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

Shin Megami Tensei NINE
Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey
Shin Megami Tensei IV

Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse

Shin Megami Tensei V

Persona games

Spoiler

Megami Ibunroku Persona

Persona 2 (Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment)

Persona 3 (FES, Portable, Reload)

Persona 4 (Golden)

Persona 5 (Royal) 

Notable spin-offs

Spoiler

Devil Summoner series (including Soul Hackers)

Devil Survivor series

Persona Q series

Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE

Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight

Persona 4: Dancing All Night

Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight

Persona 4 Arena + Persona 4 Arena Ultimax

Persona 5 Strikers

Persona 5 Tactica

Recent releases
Persona 3 Reload (February 2, 2024)

Persona 5: The Phantom X (iOS, Android, PC) - April 18, 2024 (Asia)

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (PS4/5, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, PC) - June 14, 2024

 

Upcoming games

Metaphor: ReFantazio (PS4/5, Xbox, PC) - October 11, 2024

Trailer

 

 

Persona 6 information:

Katsura Hashino is not involved (currently working on Metaphor: ReFantazio), likely to be developed by the team that worked on Persona 5 Royal. No news on when it's coming and to what platforms.

Edited June 14 by Suilen

[LustSpell]

Wait hold up lemme get in here, peak series

[Lexiel]

Girlies, I have a switch, is there any way I can play Persona 3, 4 and 5 in it?

[Suilen]

4 minutes ago, Lexiel said:

Girlies, I have a switch, is there any way I can play Persona 3, 4 and 5 in it?

Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden and Persona 5 Royal are available on Switch, yes. Although Portable is visual-novelized, which some people don't like. At the same time, there's a female protagonist that can romance the guys.

Edited February 22 by Suilen

[Lexiel]

So it's not a remake for the switch? I know they released a remake of P3 recently  Golden and Royal aren't fighting or dance games? I'm confused?

[Suilen]

1 minute ago, Lexiel said:

So it's not a remake for the switch? I know they released a remake of P3 recently  Golden and Royal aren't fighting or dance games? I'm confused?

Yeah, Reload isn't on Switch. Golden and Royal are the definitive versions of 4 and 5 with extra content compared to the original games.

[LustSpell]

3 minutes ago, Lexiel said:

So it's not a remake for the switch? I know they released a remake of P3 recently  Golden and Royal aren't fighting or dance games? I'm confused?

Nah. It's speculated that Persona 3 Reload skipped the original Switch to be a launch title for the next Switch because the game is more graphically intensive than Persona 5 Royal. Your best bet of playing it right now is on PC.

[Lexiel]

Oh I thought they were fighting or dance games I thought I saw them on trailers elsewhere. Okay so I need to hunt down Golden and Royal and I guess play Reload on my PC

[Lexiel]

I know Nocturne is on switch and I have to find it but what else can I get on the switch? I got SMT V already. Do we have DDSaga?

[Suilen]

9 minutes ago, Lexiel said:

I know Nocturne is on switch and I have to find it but what else can I get on the switch? I got SMT V already. Do we have DDSaga?

Switch also has Persona 4 Arena and Persona 5 Strikers/Tactica, but those are basically sequels, so I don't recommend touching them before you finish the main games. And there's... Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, which is a crossover between Fire Emblem and SMT (forgot to add it to the list). It doesn't really do both series justice, but I guess I enjoyed it as its own thing. The emphasis on the idol culture isn't for everyone, though.

[Lexiel]

8 minutes ago, Suilen said:

Switch also has Persona 4 Arena and Persona 5 Strikers/Tactica, but those are basically sequels, so I don't recommend touching them before you finish the main games. And there's... Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, which is a crossover between Fire Emblem and SMT (forgot to add it to the list). It doesn't really do both series justice, but I guess I enjoyed it as its own thing. The emphasis on the idol culture isn't for everyone, though.

Okay but they're not RPGS? I don't really like fighting or dance games lol 

[Reginald]

SMT Base?!  

 

I will admit crying a few tears of joy, after SMT 5 Vengeance was announced for multiplatform. 

[Suilen]

Just now, Lexiel said:

Okay but they're not RPGS? I don't really like fighting or dance games lol 

Arena is a fighting game, Strikers is a musou hack and slash game where you have a lot of enemies to defeat on the field, Tactica is tactical RPG that has a bunch of interesting gameplay ideas, and Tokyo Mirage Session is your good old turn-based RPG.

[Lexiel]

1 hour ago, Suilen said:

Arena is a fighting game, Strikers is a musou hack and slash game where you have a lot of enemies to defeat on the field, Tactica is tactical RPG that has a bunch of interesting gameplay ideas, and Tokyo Mirage Session is your good old turn-based RPG.

So Strikers is something like the Dynasty Warriors games? Or Zelda's Hyrule Warriors? Those are fun

[Suilen]

18 minutes ago, Lexiel said:

So Strikers is something like the Dynasty Warriors games? Or Zelda's Hyrule Warriors? Those are fun

Yes, it's Dynasty Warriors with a Persona skin, but again, it's a sequel to Persona 5 (though not Persona 5 Royal, and it doesn't include the characters that were introduced there), so save it for later.

-

Updated the OP with upcoming releases, including the Persona 5 gacha. It's about to make some serious bank:

 

 

[Katamari]

 

we will be buying 

 

on ps4  

[Keter]

Vengeance on the PS5?? Aww ****! I can finally finish V now. Never felt right playing anything on the switch.

[feelslikeadream]

I've never played either series, but I own P5R and I'm thinking about trying out Vengeance since I can get it for PS5. (I only play first-party games on Switch cause I'm a trophy hunter )

 

I want P3R so bad  I feel like I should play P3R first, then P4, then P5 instead of having 5 be my entry entry into the series, just in case I love it so much that 3 and 4 feel less robust.

[Suilen]

33 minutes ago, feelslikeadream said:

I've never played either series, but I own P5R and I'm thinking about trying out Vengeance since I can get it for PS5. (I only play first-party games on Switch cause I'm a trophy hunter )

 

I want P3R so bad  I feel like I should play P3R first, then P4, then P5 instead of having 5 be my entry entry into the series, just in case I love it so much that 3 and 4 feel less robust.

Playing P5 first can definitely ruin P3 and P4 due to its dungeons being superior to their counterparts in those games (that was my friend's experience), but honestly, that's on Atlus. For many people Persona 5 is and will be the first game, so it's up to them to improve things in the remakes (from what I saw, P3P has some quality of life improvements, but they might not be enough for some).

[Suilen]

I wonder what games people played from both series and the spin-offs. I played:

 

From SMT: SMT, SMT II, Strange Journey (didn't finish because those final bosses are no joke), SMTIV, SMTIV Apocalypse. Will play Nocturne soon and now that SMTV is coming to PC, that too.

From Persona: Persona 2, Persona 4. I didn't finish the PS2 version of P3, so I'll wait for the remake to go on discount and grab it. Also waiting for a good discount on P5.

Spin-offs: Both Devil Survivor games (probably my favorites overall), tried playing Demon Summoner, but I wasn't vibing with the demon alignment system, Tokyo Mirage Session. Currently playing Soul Hackers 2. In a way the game is what some people have been asking Persona to be (an adult cast, adult problems), but the budget is probably 1/10th of a Persona game.

[CityPop]

Awww yeah, a SMT base!
Eriko and Ann are those girl.

I played:

 

SMT: Nocturne (classic - one of the best games ever), Strange Journey/Redux (boss battles are difficult), SMT:IV, SMT:IV Apocalypse (the duology is one of the best games ever along with Nocturne), SMTV (most disappointing entry and honestly a drag but I'll get Vengeance)
 

Persona: Revelations: Persona/PSP Remake, Persona 2 Innocent Sin/PSP Remake, Persona 2 Eternal Punishment (I haven't gotten a chance to play the Remake of Eternal Punishment but the Persona 2 duology are the best Persona games), Persona 3/FES/Reload (currently playing Reload), Persona 4 (didn't play Golden yet but I did beat P4 back in 2008), Persona 5/Royal, Persona 5: Strikers, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight

 

Persona 4 Golden, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth and Persona 5 Tactica are after Persona 3: Reload when it comes to the backlog while the fighting games (Arena) and Strikers are not my cup of tea although I love fighting games.
 

Spin-offs: Devil Survivor/Overclocked, Devil Survivor 2/Record Breaker, Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army, Devil Summoner 2 Raidou Kuzunoha vs King Abaddon, Tokyo Mirage Session, Soul Hackers for 3DS not Sega Saturn, Soul Hackers 2, Digital Devil Saga, Digital Devil Saga 2 (cannot wait for this to be remastered and released)

Currently loving Persona 3:Reload so far. Cannot wait for remake of Persona 1, 2, 4 rand the remastered Digital Devil Saga series.

[Suilen]

16 minutes ago, CityPop said:

Awww yeah, a SMT base!
Eriko and Ann are those girl.

I played:

 

SMT: Nocturne (classic - one of the best games ever), Strange Journey/Redux (boss battles are difficult), SMT:IV, SMT:IV Apocalypse (the duology is one of the best games ever along with Nocturne), SMTV (most disappointing entry and honestly a drag but I'll get Vengeance)
 

Persona: Revelations: Persona/PSP Remake, Persona 2 Innocent Sin/PSP Remake, Persona 2 Eternal Punishment (I haven't gotten a chance to play the Remake of Eternal Punishment but the Persona 2 duology are the best Persona games), Persona 3/FES/Reload (currently playing Reload), Persona 4 (didn't play Golden yet but I did beat P4 back in 2008), Persona 5/Royal, Persona 5: Strikers, Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, Persona 4: Dancing All Night, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight

 

Persona 4 Golden, Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth and Persona 5 Tactica are after Persona 3: Reload when it comes to the backlog while the fighting games (Arena) and Strikers are not my cup of tea although I love fighting games.
 

Spin-offs: Devil Survivor/Overclocked, Devil Survivor 2/Record Breaker, Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army, Devil Summoner 2 Raidou Kuzunoha vs King Abaddon, Tokyo Mirage Session, Soul Hackers for 3DS not Sega Saturn, Soul Hackers 2, Digital Devil Saga, Digital Devil Saga 2 (cannot wait for this to be remastered and released)

Currently loving Persona 3:Reload so far. Cannot wait for remake of Persona 1, 2, 4 rand the remastered Digital Devil Saga series.

I'm glad someone else appreciates Persona 2, I feel like the rumor concept was really good, and the characters were memorable. The calendar system will always bring down the modern Persona games for me because I get anxiety due to potentially screwing something up that will bite me in the ass later.

 

It's sad that some fans of the series didn't like SMTV, I hope that Vengeance fixes it somehow, but Atlus's complete versions tend to add... unnecessary things on top of improvements, so we'll see.

From what I saw from leakers and insiders, P1/P2 are likely to be remasters, while Persona 4 is a remake, but that's all on early stages. I hope that they add Yosuke's romance this time 

[Cheers]

I only played Persona 5 but I actually ended up loving it

[CityPop]

1 hour ago, Suilen said:

I'm glad someone else appreciates Persona 2, I feel like the rumor concept was really good, and the characters were memorable. The calendar system will always bring down the modern Persona games for me because I get anxiety due to potentially screwing something up that will bite me in the ass later.

 

It's sad that some fans of the series didn't like SMTV, I hope that Vengeance fixes it somehow, but Atlus's complete versions tend to add... unnecessary things on top of improvements, so we'll see.

From what I saw from leakers and insiders, P1/P2 are likely to be remasters, while Persona 4 is a remake, but that's all on early stages. I hope that they add Yosuke's romance this time 

Yes, the rumor concept, Joker, characters, different path choices for EP, and the battle system makes P2 one of the best although many people state that the battle system is slow and antiquated. I definitely understand when it comes to anxiety with the calendar for P3-5, honestly, I am using a guide for Reload because I want to maximize everything to the fullest so a day isn't wasted.

SMTV's story, characters and pacing were atrocious. In typical Atlus fashion, they added a waifu to a complete version so we'll see how it turns out but I wouldn't be surprised if her inclusion is unnecessary.

Thank you for clarifying regarding the remasters. These entries for P1,P2 and P4 are welcome since it never hurts to have more Persona games on modern consoles.

When it comes to the best bro character, I prefer Ryuji over Junpei and Yosuke. But we do need gay romance options for Persona games.

Edited February 24 by CityPop

[bluevelvetcrowbar]

6 hours ago, CityPop said:

I definitely understand when it comes to anxiety with the calendar for P3-5, honestly, I am using a guide for Reload because I want to maximize everything to the fullest so a day isn't wasted.

Quote

 

 

I played P3R with a guide cause I wanted to finish before FF7 Rebirth came out and I STILL ended up behind bc I didn't anticipate the first Tartarus gatekeeper to kick my ass on Merciless, so I had to take one extra day to recover and it ended up throwing me off for two Social Links  thankfully the guide accounted for free days at the end, but like the calendar is always SO strict and they throw those damn exam weeks in to suck up time!

 

Quote

SMTV's story, characters and pacing were atrocious. In typical Atlus fashion, they added a waifu to a complete version so we'll see how it turns out but I wouldn't be surprised if her inclusion is unnecessary.

The fact that we have probs have to buy the game again   the way I bought the damn DLC for the original too  I'm betting that the added character is gonna be like a Marie and she unlocks a final dungeon or whatever to give a better ending.

 

Quote

Thank you for clarifying regarding the remasters. These entries for P1,P2 and P4 are welcome since it never hurts to have more Persona games on modern consoles.

 

When it comes to the best bro character, I prefer Ryuji over Junpei and Yosuke. But we do need gay romance options for Persona games.

Hopefully they keep the Jun option as is in the P2 remaster, cause if they don't, modern Atlus homophobia confirmed for real and not just them vaguely being weird about queer characters