Shin Megami Tensei IV

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Now that it's officially announced for North America, let's have a thread.

If the Amazon pre-order page is to be believed, it'll be $50 and released on the 16th of July. That's $10 more than what most 3DS games cost, but that's not going to stop me. My purchase is pretty much guaranteed at this point.

Edit: By request, here's an overworld map for the game:

IMAGE(http://s23.postimg.org/3n3l32j4r/Tokyo_Map_Ver2.png)

I'll bet $5 this isn't "Pick of the Week" unless momgamer usurps Sean.

shoptroll wrote:

I'll bet $5 this isn't "Pick of the Week" unless momgamer usurps Sean.

I will begin plotting the rebellion now. I've played Ogre Battle games, this should be a snap!

shoptroll wrote:

I'll bet $5 this isn't "Pick of the Week" unless momgamer usurps Sean.

If all the release dates hold, he'll have a fine selection of SMT IV, Rune Factory 4, Time and Eternity, and whatever else it is he actually chooses as Game of the Week.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
shoptroll wrote:

I'll bet $5 this isn't "Pick of the Week" unless momgamer usurps Sean.

If all the release dates hold, he'll have a fine selection of SMT IV, Rune Factory 4, Time and Eternity, and whatever else it is he actually chooses as Game of the Week. ;)

Delicious

Of course, we all know he'll just pick whatever movie tie-in game that comes out that week instead.

I'm biting the bullet and buying this game without question or hesitation. I've had a mixed relationship with Atlus since the PS2 era, so we'll see how it goes.

RoughneckGeek wrote:

I guess I'm buying a 3DS this summer.

It could be worse. For a moment I was worried they might bring the custom SMT4-ified 3DSXL over here. The only thing worse than buying one 3DS would be buying two. I'd like to think I wouldn't do that... but I'll admit I'm more comfortable knowing I won't have have my willpower tested in that way.

I prefer the regular 3DS to the XL, too. You are not alone.

I haven't played a core SMT game before, how does it differ from all the spin-offs?

ahrezmendi wrote:

I haven't played a core SMT game before, how does it differ from all the spin-offs?

In general, mainline SMT games are:
* At least as long as the longest spinoffs (you're probably looking at Persona 3/4 gameplay length)
* Much darker, more "out there" stories (even not understanding a word of any of the stuff I've heard/read in trailers, the imagery and music alone suggest SMT4 will definitely check this box)
* Harder than the spinoffs, but not by much (and SMT4 looks like it has difficulty level adjustment anyway)
* Are usually the only games to incorporate all of the "key" features of SMT: demon negotiation, demon fusion, demons-as-party members, turn-based gameplay (with the Press Turn system apparently becoming main line staple, since it's returning from SMT3 in this one, though Persona adopted a VERY similar system starting with P3.)

Oh my, I don't know that I'm ready for another 110+ hour game having just finished Persona 4 Golden. Sounds fun though, I'll keep an eye out for the reviews when it lands.

ahrezmendi wrote:

I haven't played a core SMT game before, how does it differ from all the spin-offs?

A lot of the same elements are there: turn-based combat; recruiting and fusing demons; exploiting elemental weaknesses; etc. The mainline games tend to feature adult protagonists in darker, more adult situations (which is remarkable, considering how dark Devil Survivor and Persona get). They're also usually dungeon-crawlers with fixed maps as opposed to the random maps of Persona; they don't have the tactical position of Devil Survivor.

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne was actually SMT III if you've played that or seen footage of it.

Alternatively: Strange Journey began life as SMT IV, so I'm expecting a third-person variation on that in terms of theme and gameplay with a combat system similar to Persona 3.

Did Strange Journey deviate from the core SMT formula much? I know there was talk of it originally being SMT IV.

Edit: By talk, I meant Clock just said it.

Yeah, Strange Journey is actually mainline... even though it isn't 3 or 4 or any other number. They play a bit fast and loose with the numbering.

There's also some callbacks to Strange Journey in IV from what I've read.

I so wish they'd release p4 golden on the DS.

It will be hard to abstain from purchasing a 3DS on this game's release date. Must. Be. Strong.

I've been playing a ton of Strange Journey lately, and it has me itchy for SMT IV. There's nothing quite like encountering a new enemy for the first time, pinging it with a variety of attacks to find its weakness, only to find that it has a really powerful retaliation attack that one-shots your party lead. Mmm. It's lovely, really.

I'll be happy just getting some English info so I can make some sense of what all the crazy cool images/videos from the Japanese site are about. There's been good translations of some of the bigger parts, but I'm sure there's a lot of detail stuff nobody's bothered to translate.

I'm excited about the turn press battle system from Nocturne coming back. As much as I liked Strange Journey, I wasn't too keen on its AoE attack on a weakness hit.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

There's nothing quite like encountering a new enemy for the first time, pinging it with a variety of attacks to find its weakness, only to find that it has a really powerful retaliation attack that one-shots your party lead.

So it's like trying to pet a cat?

shoptroll wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
shoptroll wrote:

I'll bet $5 this isn't "Pick of the Week" unless momgamer usurps Sean.

If all the release dates hold, he'll have a fine selection of SMT IV, Rune Factory 4, Time and Eternity, and whatever else it is he actually chooses as Game of the Week. ;)

Delicious

Of course, we all know he'll just pick whatever movie tie-in game that comes out that week instead.

I don't see what choice I have now, but to select Turbo: Super Stunt Squad as that week's Game of the Week. Be it known, you brought this horror upon yourselves! http://www.amazon.com/Turbo-Super-St...

Atlus owns my soul. Why can't I quit you?

Elysium wrote:
shoptroll wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
shoptroll wrote:

I'll bet $5 this isn't "Pick of the Week" unless momgamer usurps Sean.

If all the release dates hold, he'll have a fine selection of SMT IV, Rune Factory 4, Time and Eternity, and whatever else it is he actually chooses as Game of the Week. ;)

Delicious

Of course, we all know he'll just pick whatever movie tie-in game that comes out that week instead.

I don't see what choice I have now, but to select Turbo: Super Stunt Squad as that week's Game of the Week. Be it known, you brought this horror upon yourselves! http://www.amazon.com/Turbo-Super-St...

Well played good sir

*golf clap*

Elysium wrote:

I don't see what choice I have now, but to select Turbo: Super Stunt Squad as that week's Game of the Week. Be it known, you brought this horror upon yourselves! http://www.amazon.com/Turbo-Super-St...

I think we should start a Kickstarter to buy Elysium a copy of SMT IV or Strange Journey.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
Elysium wrote:

I don't see what choice I have now, but to select Turbo: Super Stunt Squad as that week's Game of the Week. Be it known, you brought this horror upon yourselves! http://www.amazon.com/Turbo-Super-St...

I think we should start a Kickstarter to buy Elysium a copy of SMT IV or Strange Journey.

I'll chip in $10 to the cause. Also, do we know if he has a 3DS?

Since Atlus doesn't have individual internal studios like some other publishers, it can be a bit difficult to tell who all is working on a given game. Siliconera translated the creator bios off the Japanese website and found that this game is being developed by what's typically called the "Manics Team": the team who made the "Maniacs" version of Shin Megami Tensei III (that's the version we got in North America and Europe). Also, the director of Strange Journey is involved as art director, so there's a bit of continuity there, too.

Persona 3 really grabbed me, so I have a passing interest in maybe branching out into the rest of the series. Although the playtime could be a real killer for me, that and the fact that my 3DS right trigger is being crappy lately. Any chance of this ending up on the Vita?

Redwing wrote:

Any chance of this ending up on the Vita?

Hmm.. I can't say for sure, of course, but I can't think of many Atlus published games that did both a Nintendo portable and a Sony one (in fact, Knights in the Nightmare is the only one coming to mind.) I'm not sure I can think of *any* which were Atlus developed like SMT ones are.

There isn't any reason it couldn't end up on the Vita (i.e., Nintendo isn't involved as a developer or publisher). I suspect it'll depend on sales for the game and for the respective handhelds whether or not it ever gets ported over.

July huh... got to clear some pile...

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