SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI IV

Is it a good start to get into the SMT/Persona series?
To me these visuals and character design look fucking amazing, even if i have seen some people saying that it doesn't.

I have the game but i haven't played it yet.

deosnt matter, whole franchise is shit

And why the fuck not? You have a game and it's not being played. You need to get over your shitposting addiction and actually do something today.

The games in the main series are separate from each other, and all the spin-offs are separate from each other, so you can pretty much jump in wherever you want.

Well it doesn't look like.

I live in a third world country and i am trying to get out of my moms house. I don't have that much time for video games since i left the neet lifestyles.

Thank you, i have read stuff on the internet saying that you have to play the games on the release order.

Checked.

Get out.

As someone who started the SMT franchise with SMT4, I'd say digital devil saga is the best starter, but it's still is a good choice. It's a true SMT on paper, so it'll introduce you to the mechanics just fine, but it's got some disappointing aspects you'll mostly miss as a newcomer. The beginning is way harder than everything after the minotaur.

(witnessed)
Nah, aside DDS and Persona 2 there is no need to play in release order.

Well, there are quality of life improvements that make the earlier games a little harder to go back to, but nothing too bad.

Depends what you are after in megaten game. If its dungeon crawl go with main series or one of the spin offs. Soul Hacker is pretty good.

If its a weird high school simulator and a dungeon crawl go with Persona 3 or 4.

The main problem with SMT4 its like an amnesia when you play it, it has some cool visuals but non of the memorable characters.

it's okay, better games in the series for sure, definitely no urge to play again though. i'd reccommend playing SMT Nocturne first, play persona 2 before either p3/p4. atleast persona 2 feels worthwhile looking back on it.

WHERE DA GUIDES AT

SMT IV is the worst in the series by far, so if by good start you mean you'll be pleasantly surprised by how much better every other game in the franchise is, sure.

Otherwise, avoid it like the plague. Easiest entry point to a complete newcomer would probably be DDS as says. If you play DDS1&2 and you wish it was more complex/challenging, Nocturne is where you go next. If you preferred the character interactions and story and would rather keep the challenge where it is, Persona 3 is your next stop. If you would rather the game be more action-oriented, then the Raidou spinoffs are up to bat.

From Nocturne, you can either go forward to Strange Journey, or go backwards to SMT 1, 2, and If…
Soul Hackers is also an option if you want something on 3DS.

For Persona, unless you're a waifufag weeb, 1 and both halves of 2 are worth a playthrough. 4 is more of the same from 3 but with a much lighter tone. Persona 3 Portable is nice for a second playthrough as a female protag, with Golden being a casualized but more content-dense version of 4.

I should make a flowchart but I'm too lazy.

I actually found Nocturne easier than DDS.

No.

Pic related. Torrent the .cia if you want but don't give this game the time of day. For fuck's sake, you need to pay them 2 shekels to unlock the final ending.

Still lying I see. Protip, there are only four endings, all in the base game. The only thing DLC adds is some minor lore attached to "boss" fights.

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You mean like this?

Here's a guide for where to start as a Megami Tensei newcomer.

Personally, I played Persona 3 first, but I never finished it. Years later, I played Nocturne and loved it, then I played Persona 3 Portable, then IV, and so on. Nocturne is my favorite MegaTen game so far, but I definitely don't regret starting with it.

OP here. Thank god this thread was alive so i could see this.

Give the snes SMT a shot. If you find them interesting jump into Nocturne. Dat atmosphere.

I'm very happy I was able to help you.

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I'm still mad Atlus never released the revamped SMT 1&2 from the GBA in english I know about the iOS port, but I mean on an actual console or even PC.

So are Overclocked and Record Breaker actually good or better than the original versions? I never got around to play them.

The endings are
Law: Tokyo and mc get nuked
Void: Everyone gets nuked because reasons
Neutral: The barrier around Tokyo dissipates because reasons
Chaos: Mikado gets set on fire

It's a good starting point for sure. It's one of the weaker mainline SMTs, but it still easily beats 99% of the JRPG market, including the 90s. Welcome to the master race. You won't find a better franchise.

I only very briefly played Devil Survivor 1 Overclocked so I can't really answer your question. Something that really annoyed me about Overclocked was that the game primarily uses the bottom screen of the 3DS, rather than the top screen, which is obviously higher resolution, and in my case, an IPS panel. It's the only game I've seen so far that does this and it's really weird and bad. I'm guessing the original game didn't render in the right aspect ratio for the top screen so they felt it was better to display the game primarily on the bottom screen. A better solution to that problem would have been to just pillar box what's displayed on the top screen.

So anyway, can't really answer your question, but maybe that bit of info will help you decide whether or not to get them.

If you have access to them, go for it and get them. If you already have DeSu 1 and 2 then you aren't really missing much. The 3DS versions have additional endgame content and voices.

The DS version mainly uses the bottom screen as well user.

second response meant for

Ah, okay, fair enough. I've only played Overclocked so I didn't know. I guess if he liked the original versions he won't mind it too much in Overclocked.

Record Breaker's Triangulum arc is infinitely better than the base game because it's more focused and there's a lot a lot less anime SOL shenanigans. It also has better endings mostly because it completely rewrites the ending of the Septembertrombones arc, god those choices were shit. Except Al's. But if you like Al, his new ending is even better than the first time around.

Oh but the english voice acting is really bad, get the undub.

Overclocked is pretty fucking good. It's a must get if you're itching for a good SMT game or if you like SRPGs. Story and atmosphere are pretty fucking great, characters may be a hit or miss, soundtrack is metal as fuck and gameplay is pretty fun. The routes are pretty great, too, and Overclocked adds an extra day to each route to see what happens after you finish your route. The English dub is pure trash, though.

Record Breaker is a step down in everything except gameplay when you compare it to Overclocked. Story becomes trash and the atmosphere is nowhere near as amazing as the first game. I found the characters more likeable but some of them might still annoy the hell out of you. Gameplay-wise it's still pretty great and adds a bit more depth to the gameplay with the inclusion of more skills. It also makes the game more approachable by having features such as Join Skill Cracks that make the game feel less clunky; you can also make your own party pretty early in the game unlike Overclocked, where you're stuck with MC, Atsubro, Yoohoo and Keisuke/Midori for most of the game. RB adds an extra campaign that's pretty neat and a step up from the base game, and it makes some of the characters less unbearable. If you don't mind the glaring personification compared to the first game, it's worth checking it out. The English dub is still trash but slightly less so compared to the first one.

If you already played both of the games then the changes aren't really worth getting the games again unless you don't mind forking the dosh. The 8th day and the Triangulum arcs are pretty neat extras but not really worth buying the game again for imo.