The Shin Megami Tensei/Persona Thread

[Super Guido]

This is the same site that hosts Pokemon mods for the Switch games that could be considered lewd. I've seen a video where a user downloaded a barefoot mod(you play as a child in that game), there was some minor drama relating to that person being a possible pedo if I recall. I am sure there is worse stuff there, "sexy outfits" and whatnot.
So commiebanana says that scandily dressed children are fine, but busty teenagers aren't? Good to know!

I've capped a rant of an 8chan moe user talking about Shin Megami Tensei 5. I never played the game but it does look dreadfully boring and badly designed, can't say that about the other entries. I would be interested in what users here think about the game.
View attachment 5732681

I can't say I did combat like this person did, but his assessment of the story is accurate. It takes elements from SMT3, but with absolutely no plot or character development, except for Abdiel. You also get the Chaos Hero's dog about 10 levels too late, which makes it painfully obvious they had different plans for him than what we actually got. It's really unfortunate - I think most people would have preferred the game to be fleshed out to how they originally presented it.

Also I might just be misremembering, but how can Tokyo in its illusion state still exist if the illusion was destroyed? You can go back to a mostly-undestroyed Tokyo, but is it a separate part of Da'at, or did someone fuck up? I know one of the few story demons makes it through, but for the most part, the city you start in is still present.

 

[IDanceonTrannyGraves]

This is the same site that hosts Pokemon mods for the Switch games that could be considered lewd. I've seen a video where a user downloaded a barefoot mod(you play as a child in that game), there was some minor drama relating to that person being a possible pedo if I recall. I am sure there is worse stuff there, "sexy outfits" and whatnot.
So commiebanana says that scandily dressed children are fine, but busty teenagers aren't? Good to know!

I've capped a rant of an 8chan moe user talking about Shin Megami Tensei 5. I never played the game but it does look dreadfully boring and badly designed, can't say that about the other entries. I would be interested in what users here think about the game.
View attachment 5732681

The combat is basically the same as it's been since SMT 3. It's press turn and based on finding your enemies weaknesses. Sounds like that guy is an action fag.

The criticisms about the quests and story are mostly valid though.

 

[RX-78]

https://nintendoeverything.com/shin-megami-tensei-v-vengeance-rating-surfaces/

I sure hope one of the new features is to replace the protag with someone who wasn't designed to pander to trannies and neverpicked's who belive their own non binary bullshit.

I've also heard the rumor that smt 5 was rewritten several times in mid-development, is this substantiated or was it just an assumption based on the lack of polish?

 

[Leaf Wage Slave Jr]

I've also heard the rumor that smt 5 was rewritten several times in mid-development, is this substantiated or was it just an assumption based on the lack of polish?

With how disjointed the games story was until it remembered it needed to actually have a story, I’d believe it - it definitely feels like there wasn’t an actual storyline set in stone until about 3/4 of the way into the game.

 

[gaystoner]

SMT V was so terrible and on the heels of something like SMT IV which is amazing. Then they released Apocalypse which was another GOAT.

 

[RX-78]

With how disjointed the games story was until it remembered it needed to actually have a story, I’d believe it - it definitely feels like there wasn’t an actual storyline set in stone until about 3/4 of the way into the game.

SMT V was so terrible and on the heels of something like SMT IV which is amazing. Then they released Apocalypse which was another GOAT.

This is the kind of shit that happens when a series doesn't have the original creator or a long standing producer to keep things on track. No wonder atlys panders to trannies so often, zhier the only one whole eat half baked products with a smile on xhgir faces.

 

[LolRaccoon]

I have been playing Persona 4 for the first time recently and I just finished Kanji's dungeon and... holy shit.

I felt both very uncomfortable and very amused the whole time. Probably one of the biggest "what the fuck" moments I've seen in a video game for a while. I just know now that there is no way they are keeping this intact should a P4 remake actually come out.

Troy Baker sounded like he was having a lot of fun recording it though.

 

[wtfNeedSignUp]

This is the kind of shit that happens when a series doesn't have the original creator or a long standing producer to keep things on track. No wonder atlys panders to trannies so often, zhier the only one whole eat half baked products with a smile on xhgir faces.

Atlus just became corporate. Any twist or writing that will impact normie enjoyment is removed. The combat system and designs don't fucking change. It's literally no different than Pokémon.

 

[Gravityqueen4life]

I've also heard the rumor that smt 5 was rewritten several times in mid-development, is this substantiated or was it just an assumption based on the lack of polish?

SMT V was so terrible and on the heels of something like SMT IV which is amazing. Then they released Apocalypse which was another GOAT.

SMTV took one step forward but three steps back. its outright inferior to nocturne (the game it tries so hard to copy) and SMTIV (sure it had its own issues but i say i was still more memreble and Apocalypse was fucking GOATED). i think covid really did them dirty by the end and they felt like they needed to release something after wasting years playing with their thumbs. the worst part i remember from the story is how they had a fucking anti-bullying message in their game. im expecting alot of those in the future.

I have been playing Persona 4 for the first time recently and I just finished Kanji's dungeon and... holy shit.

I felt both very uncomfortable and very amused the whole time. Probably one of the biggest "what the fuck" moments I've seen in a video game for a while. I just know now that there is no way they are keeping this intact should a P4 remake actually come out.

Troy Baker sounded like he was having a lot of fun recording it though.

boy, i really wanna spoil shit, but i wont. keep playing. you seen nothing yet.

 

[RX-78]

It's literally no different than Pokémon.

That is a severe slur, and this is coming from a guy laughing at atlus burn normalfag bridges to chase phantom tranny dollars.

the worst part i remember from the story is how they had a fucking anti-bullying message in their game.

In a game about the end of the world and the collapse of society, right.

 

[gaystoner]

SMT V felt like 'they had an idea' and then the people who made Persona went 'But here's part of some character arc's we used' and they all went 'Okay'.

The dungeons in the game are by far some of the worst game design I have ever seen. The infuriating 'wind fans' that were seen one time. The final dungeon which is really just 5 floors of the same hallway. It's so annoying because there are sparks of something interesting with the 3D aspect being fully realized and various demons having interesting appearances.

 

[smugrandomdouche]

Yeah didn't care for SMT V. I'm intrigued if the new rumored update will fix some choices as it feels like atlus "never reaches their full potential" in the first release of certain things. You feel that with stuff like P4G, P5R, and etc. Will say I enjoy the updates for P3R because it reminds me so much of playing it in a college dorm with a crowd but now it's a new personal experience for just me.

 

[TVB]

Troy Baker sounded like he was having a lot of fun recording it though.

I mean he'll say yes to everything just for a huge paycheck, which is why he appeared in shit such as TLOU

 

[RX-78]

It's so annoying because there are sparks of something interesting with the 3D aspect being fully realized and various demons having interesting appearances.

That was already figured out in Nocturne and modern atlus didn't have the sense to have it's staff sit down and study what worked in that game instead of just copying the desert setting. The blueprint is right there and it's infuriating to see a mid-tier developer drop the ball so hard.

Yeah didn't care for SMT V. I'm intrigued if the new rumored update will fix some choices as it feels like atlus "never reaches their full potential" in the first release of certain things. You feel that with stuff like P4G, P5R, and etc. Will say I enjoy the updates for P3R because it reminds me so much of playing it in a college dorm with a crowd but now it's a new personal experience for just me.

It's going on close to 3 years since the original launched, and that tells you how little priority is given to SMT proper these days.

 

[mrs thickness]

I would be interested in what users here think about the game.

i hate that fuckin game and i'm THE one who should love it as someone is a massive nostalgiatard for nocturne and really likes when JRPGs shut up

Spoiler: words words words

Even if you mash and skip animations in combat the camera lingers on the demon hit for a good second or two instead of snapping to the next target. Pressing buttons and selecting options feels like shit and makes me want to avoid fights because basic inputs feel like using a $50 Chinesium laptop that's collapsing underneath the weight of Windows bloatware. This is on TOP of the game already running badly in the overworld. Use the autobattle in SMT V and then compare it to how responsive and satisfying it is in Nocturne, it's absurd.

And the way level influences the damage formula is atrocious, it's completely at odds with what the main appeal of SMT's gameplay is to me, which is being rewarded for engaging in the teambuilding aspect and combat mechanics. I've tested this myself, if you build a team specifically to counter a boss that is a few levels higher than you and your demons, you will still have a harder time than you would with a ragtag shitcrew that's a few levels higher because you're taking that much more damage, dealing that much less damage, dodging less, hitting less, inflicting ailments less, and getting crit more. True low level runs of the game simply do not exist because the game explicitly punishes you for not levelling up enough. So when any interesting aspect of strategizing gets thrown out the window, so does any replayability because who fucking cares, just level up more. It's not hard, it just forces you to either grind or do sidequests (which cease being 'sidequests' if you have to do them and the only alternative is running back and forth in an open field to grind) that are usually just thinly veiled grinding anyway under the MMORPG veil of "go collect me three Mara Urethrus which only drop a quarter of the time, and no you have no way of influencing drop rate." It's so fucking embarrassing compared to the 3DS games which had more variety in types of encounters and also combat mechanics. Was it REALLY that hard to keep boss fight battle dialogue??

If I'm remembering right, SMT V switched directors during development to an Etrian Odyssey guy, and EO also uses that kind of level scaling and chunky quest-based exp distribution. It works for those games because there is no beelining straight to the boss and ignoring overworld encounters, you're slowly grinding your way through a maze and mapping it out, and the experience that you need to manage bosses accrues naturally while you explore and go back to town to turn in quests and get new equipment and save your game. In SMT V you fuck around in an open area until the big number next to your name is high enough and you won't know how high 'high enough' is until you go fight the boss and see what the big number next to IT'S name is.

I really wanted to like V but they'd basically to have overhaul basically every single aspect of it for me to be interested in looking at it again, which I don't believe modern Atlus could or would do. It's nice to see people actually appreciating 4a as a game that is fun to play now instead of just using it as an excuse to get mad about Persona for the thousandth time

 

[ronnal]

Atlus just became corporate. Any twist or writing that will impact normie enjoyment is removed. The combat system and designs don't fucking change. It's literally no different than Pokémon.

I'm really sad that a titan of the JRPG genre has fallen off this hard.

Are there any JRPG devs that are actually good nowadays?

And the way level influences the damage formula is atrocious, it's completely at odds with what the main appeal of SMT's gameplay is to me, which is being rewarded for engaging in the teambuilding aspect and combat mechanics. I've tested this myself, if you build a team specifically to counter a boss that is a few levels higher than you and your demons, you will still have a harder time than you would with a ragtag shitcrew that's a few levels higher because you're taking that much more damage, dealing that much less damage, dodging less, hitting less, inflicting ailments less, and getting crit more.

I don't understand the issue. Isn't this how all JRPGs work?

 

[RX-78]

If I'm remembering right, SMT V switched directors during development

Christ almighty that explains everything. Kudos atlus, you couldn't retain a director on the anniversary game of the series that got you started in the first place.

Are there any JRPG devs that are actually good nowadays?

Anything developed by TOSE is good, as is the crop of HD2D squenix titles. Beyond that it's almost a game of blind darts.

I don't understand the issue. Isn't this how all JRPGs work?

No, other rpgs use the stats for calculations and only use the character's level as a general indicator of how powerful he or she is. Off the top of my head there's FF 6 that uses levels directly in calculations on top of stats, and a few Dragon Quest moves add the level directly to a skill's power to scale the damage output along with the story progression, but nothing I've played has ever been totally dependent on levels for everything like our bionic bbw is describing.

 

[mrs thickness]

Isn't this how all JRPGs work?

In SMT V there's a formula applied to stats that's dependent on user level compared to target level, and that formula has a much stronger effect than any decisions you make about stat allocation, afffinities, and buff/debuff maintenance. This is the most extreme example, but compare the damage that's done on the first boss between these two teams:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MEjSoEpnEY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDeV9N7iJZ0

Obviously, the influence of stats gained from levels and fusion will be at their most noticeable and significant earlier in the game and at lower levels because That is How RPG Work, but level's influence on the damage formula is dominant for the entire game and it's a mechanic that is intentional. There's an abscess in the 4th da'at that takes advantage of this mechanic where it's a bunch of starter demons from the 1st da'at, except they're level 99 while you're usually in the 60's so the damage you deal tanks and at least one your demons is guaranteed dead if they get a lucky with a crit. (I actually think that fight is probably the best execution of the mechanic and one of the best in the game because it forces you to do things like statusmaxxing to even the playing field)

It's difficult to come up with concrete examples of level makes because there's a lot of variables to consider from one playthrough to another, but how little most of your numbers matter becomes very apparent even in normal play if you try fighting a boss 5 levels lower than they are vs 2 or 3. It's like if you're fighting Misty in Pokemon and level 18 Pikachu does half the damage to level 21 Starmie with thundershock compared to your level 21 Charmeleon using scratch. It just ultimately feels like a very limiting and dishonest way of gating the player and it diminishes the significance of all the other mechanics, and it's not something that other SMT games do nearly as much.

 

[Scarlett Johansson]

https://nintendoeverything.com/shin-megami-tensei-v-vengeance-rating-surfaces/

I sure hope one of the new features is to replace the protag with someone who wasn't designed to pander to trannies and neverpicked's who belive their own non binary bullshit.

I've also heard the rumor that smt 5 was rewritten several times in mid-development, is this substantiated or was it just an assumption based on the lack of polish?

Isn't that thing voiced by D**an M*lls

 

[Super Guido]

Isn't that thing voiced by D**an M*lls

Yeah, Aogami is voiced by that fucker.