Shin Megami Tensei Series/Persona 3
 

Liked Nocturne and Digital Devil Saga? Can't stop talking about them? Or are you more interested in the older Persona games, or the upcoming Devil Summoner? This is the place to discuss those awesome games!

I myself finished Digital Devil Saga 2 last weekend, and the two games are definitely among my favourites. It's a relief to find some games that actually are a challenge, especially the second one kicked my ass with some boss fights, but it makes the ending all the more rewarding. I'll post a more indept review when I have some more time.

Haven't actually beaten any of the SMT games yet, although i'm real interested in them. Most of all i think it's the darker atmosphere they present.

I have Persona and Persona 2 to try sometime, but they'll probably have to wait till summer due to classwork. CURSE YOU COLLEGE! ><

I didn't really like the Persona games, in fact I pretty much hated Persona 2. But Nocturne and the DDS games are masterpieces. Is there any word on whether or not they are going to release the devil summoner games here? Or the PSP remake/port or whatever?

Devil Summoner has hit the shelves in Japan, Im just waiting for the day when Atlus USA announces the localization.

I loved Nocturne and DDS1 to death, but DDS2 just felt really... out of place. Couldn't enjoy it at all, story felt boring and trite compared to the premise DDS1 gave to you, and the engine felt like an exact carbon copy of the first DDS'; granted it was, but I expected more of a change than adding Berserk status (which gets me killed half the time). I didn't find anything at all engaging about it, where both Nocturne and DDS1 dragged me in and didn't let go.

Persona 2 was quite enjoyable for me, also. The characters all seemed genuinely human, the demon conversations were unique (and often hilarious), the music rocked, and the story was pretty good. There were a couple lulls, but it kept my interest.

I'm more of a fan of the old Shin Megami Tensei games (1, 2, if...), but never been too "in" to the spin-offs (other than the awesome Majin Tensei 2: Spiral Nemesis). Shin Megami Tensei 3 didn't have the same "feel" as the previous games, although, I do welcome the removal of the Magnetite -- I absolutely could not stand the MAG system. I believe they also got rid of INT (did they?), which was a welcome change.

Digital Devil Saga felt like a failed attempt at mixing Persona's focus on characters with Shin Megami Tensei's "heavy gameplay". Unfortunately, DDS suffered from un-likeable characters.

I enjoyed Persona 2: Innocent Sin, but didn't really like Eternal Punishment. The first Persona feels far too "archaic" at this point -- basically, the horrible "world" map coupled with the awful localization makes it hard to enjoy.

How could you not like the characters in DDS? I fell in love with all of them pretty much the moment they were introduced, even the 'villians' I really liked which doesn't really happen for me.

I've got Persona 1 and 2, Nocturne (which is probably my favorite rpg of all time) and both digital devil sagas. Have to say that I love them all , and it's nice how the storylines intertwine so subtle between the shin megami tensei games.
Though my favorite thing about nocturne was the simple fact that just about every enemy you could recruit. Though Dante was just a simple cash in it seemed to me. Though he was perfect for random battles, but useless in against the secret boss.

I'm currently playing the first Persona game, and although the graphics and overall style look pretty awful, I still enjoy it.Localization is pretty bad though, but it also gives us some rather hilarious lines ("I'm at the age where I want to experience older women" is just priceless).
I tried to start Persona 2 a few times, but something always came up and I quit after the first dungeon. I'll probably start it again in the near future though.

I don't really understand how people couldn't like DDS2. I mean, it had a brilliant prologue with DDS, and this time the characters got some more background, except for Cielo, which I was a bit disappointed in, but characters like Angel were brilliantly fleshed out. I'll go in deeper on the aspects that make me love this game when I have some more time.

And so far, there has been no word about a localization for Devil Summoner, or the Persona game for the PSP (which is a remake, I think).

One question though... I've never played any of the SMT games and was wondering where to start?

After that I need to scrounge up the money so I can buy the damn games since they're rare and freaking expensive now.

I'd personaly suggest Digital Devil Saga, or Nocturne. They don't have any connections to the other games, so background isn't necessary. If you're more interested in a good story, DDS is perfect for you, while Nocturne relies heavily on gameplay, and the story isn't that important (it's good nonetheless). The best Persona game is the second one, but it's more or less a direct sequel to "Innocent Sin", a Japan only persona game, so the story may be confusing. The first persona game isn't really that special, so it might turn you away from the entire series if you start with that.

Shin Megami Tensei 3 has some connection to previous games, specifically, cameos and the like -- you get a better experience if you notice some of the things that are mentioned in the game. I would suggest just emulating the first two Shin Megami Tensei games before playing the third one -- just because if you don't and just skip to 3 you'll probably have a harder time playing the originals should you ever choose to do so. I've always found the first SMT to be the best of any Megami Tensei games, though, it's dated it isn't nearly as obnoxious to play as the first Persona (which is ironic because SMT1 is about 5 years older than Persona 1). It's also nice to know what Lucifer was like in the previous games and to get a better overall grasp on what he's like.


I thought you said you never got far in Persona 2 (which Persona 2?). So... How can you make that decision? I've played them both, and I've found Innocent Sin is far superior to Eternal Punishment. EP makes some gameplay changes, but Innocent Sin had the better characters and story. Unfortunately, if you don't know Japanese you'd probably have to have a Translation guide assist you. Still, don't be lead to believe that EP is better.

I've already explained why and I see no reason to explain again. Shitty characters pretty much ruined it. Heat, Bat and Jinana were all I could stand.

By the way, Argilla is perhaps the most annoying character ever in an Atlus game. Seems the only reason she was added was to make the game less of a sausage fest. That, and the scenes in DDS2 where she pissed me off even more.

Uh, it's fine, if you can handle the horrible worldmap and mediocre localization. Doesn't mean it isn't "really that special", it just takes a different kind of patience to play.

Agreed. He's actually pretty goddamn useless near the end especially since you can't get rid of him. At that point in the game, you've got far better options than Dante. They might as well have just added Samanosuke, as well. Makes about as much sense as adding Dante.

From what I've played in Persona 2 (I'm talking about the US one, with the reporter and the Joker), I quit just after the dungeon on a mountain or something, the first one after you get to explore the town map, I liked it better than the first game, especially being able to get the demons to actually join your party appealed to me. I'm not a big fan of the first persona (by which I mean the one with Sebek and Guido), except for the battles and the overall story. the dungeon design is rather boring and the rest of the gameplay isnt that good. It offered a good basis for the Persona system in the second game though.

I agree with you on Jinana, Bat and Argilla (although I loved her voice), but I personally liked Heat. The "real" Argilla is pretty lame, and easy to manipulate, but the other one isn't that bad. I also like to look at the characters that made the game great, like Angel, Gale or Cuvier. Welll, opinions difer, and I'm not such a big fanboy that I'll go into a pointless discussion.

Heat is underrated. Everyone seems to like Gale, Cielo or Argilla the most, though, I can't see why. Heat was the most interesting -- though, I think he had the most stupid looking demon form in Embryon. Serph, Cielo, Gale, Roald and Argilla all had awesome looking demon forms (I especially liked Serph, Cielo, Roald and Gale's), but Agni was ridiculous looking -- I think Kaneko even put the butter on Agni, hah.

I liked Bat because he reminded me of Sudou from Persona 2: Innocent Sin (especially his voice).

Jenna Angel was cool, and then I found out she

I just finished DDS2 two weekends ago, and the DDS games rank very high on my list of RPGs. The first game seemed to start out pretty generic, and slowly added more mystery and questions. Then the second game did such an excellent job of bringing everything together and managing to consistantly surprise me more than any other game I've played in recent years. Honestly, I think after the flashback to see "real" Serph he was my favorite.

Heat had the best VA though, and the same guy voices the main character in Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.

I still have Nocturne sitting on my shelf, so I might get back into that. I bought it long before DDS, but I got stuck early on against Thor and quit playing. Continuing that would be good, if for no other reason than to get Luceid to stop mocking me. I've gone back to a few of my other RPGs, but I miss the strategy battles in DDS required and I can't help but feel disappointed when critical hits don't give me an extra attack.

As for my favourite character besides Angel , I have to go with Heat or Gale (except for his voice, which sounds way too dull).

That plot twist about Angel was rather freaky, I have to admit. Some people go on that it's a method of showing her determination to eliminate the Cuvier disease, but it was useless imo.

As for Heat:

On Heat and Cielo:

Tri:

Man, now I need to get back to my long neglegted quest on SMT: Nocturne - before I hunt (and I do mean HUNT) for a copy of the first DDS game.

I played Nocturne, and to be honest, I was disappointed ;( Maybe I was looking for a more story-intensive game. Or maybe it's the fact that I hate games with "mute" main characters. Often lacks character design and makes it feel empty (unless it is Suikoden I or II, where they did full expansion on your characters, but they just never spoke).

I enjoyed Persona back when I played it, but Nocturne really didn't intrigue me in the slightest. As a result, I've marked off trying DDS1 & DDS2 because I have a feeling they'll play and unravel in the same sort of manner.

DDS is more story driven, but it's also suffers from the mute main character thing (except for one point in the game). For one instance there's voice-acting, which really enhances the overall story experience. Nocturne's based much more on the gameplay experience and the battles, while DDS has much ore interesting characters (only having one main hero in Nocturne isn't that great, and the demons don't really have what you call a real personality). You should really give it a try, you won't be disappointed.

And offtopic, what's that avatar from Tritoch? It reminds me off Heero frm Gundam Wing, but it's someone else obviously. What's it from?

My avatar is Akito Tenkawa, the main character of Martian Successor Nadesico (credit to AniMechanic for creating the avatar). The series is sort of a parody of Gundam, so it's not surprising he looks similar. I was actually going to use my Argilla avatar again since her toothy bosom weirded people out last time, but the size was too big for the newly lowered byte limit.

Thanks, although the quality isn't super. I laughed when the guards tried to detain her. "Seems you forgot who created the demon virus".

I almost didn't use Cielo in the first game, but he was a life saviour in the second one, since you where stuck with him for a while. His weakness to status effects could be devestating, but skills to prevent that where cheaper than trying to give a character elemental immunity. He was a lifesaver in a certain battle the second time you visit EGG, thanks to his Ziodyne combined with Elec amp and boost. His accent ticked me off too, but it grew on me.

Cielo was the only character I didn't like at all. I don't understand why everyone loves him and his 'awesome voice acting'. I didn't find out his story til after I beat the game and I still didn't really like him.

Cielo? Awesome voice acting? Man, who actually said that? That's complete bullshit. Cielo has the worst voice I've ever heard in an RPG. That Jamaican thing does not fit at all. It's such a shame because I expected so much more from him, and his character design was probably the best.

My first step in to SMT was Nocturne and I loved it. The amosphere just made the game for me and I loved the subtlity of the story and it was really just about how you handled it not how the characters developed. I'm now at the final dungeon and I just beat the first boss there but I've kinda put it down for now. One interesting point was that I had more trouble with the Matador than Thor.

I picked up DDS1 about when it came out and it was ok at first but then it just felt like I was grinding through it. I just didn't like how the battles were so black and white compared to nocturnes. I like Noctunes battles because you didn't have to fight all of them and get items etc, but after finally beating it I'm now about halfway through DDS2. I'm now at and I'm enjoying it a lot more than DDS1 because the characters seem a bit more balanced and the Ring system makes for a nice buffer.

My only other SMT experience is a translated ROM of SMT1 and I'm only about an hour in where you got captured and you team up with the other two heros. My only problem with it is you can't control some demons special moves and negotiating is nerve racking compared to Nocturne. I hope that the upcoming SMT DS game might be a compiliation of the first two games like I heard a rumor some where.

Obviously, you haven't played Star Ocean: Till The End of Time. Hear the voice acting of a girl named Farleen, then come back and tell me what is worse, Cielo or Farleen.

Zeroslash: That battle is one of the hardest in the goddamn game. I had to train and get quite a lot of high level skills for that one (get Ziodyne, it's a lifesaviour). The scene you get afterwards kicks ass though.

Do you happen to have a link to the translated rom?

Don't forget... Well, EVERYONE in Popolocrois. I was listening to the voices while my brother played it last week (I don't own the PSP and he was visiting), and that was some of the worst voice acting I've heard.

Yeah he's not bad when compared to other games, but to me he is compared to the rest of the cast.

And yeah, if anyone has translated roms of SMT1/2 share.

Ceilo is actually one of my favorite characters and I found his voice acting to be pretty entertainingly good. I just wish we could have had a little more exposition on other than a random scientist giving you two sentinces.

That battle was actually not that hard and I only had a set up of Ceilo using Zionga and Mediarama when needed, Gale using MaZionga to get rid of the arms and Sera using Fire Drain. It was pretty much rinse, lather repeat with that set up.

On the Scene afterward:
Now to just wrap it all up and see how it goes



http://agtp.romhack.net/
This website contains rom patches that translate rom from games they've translated but you still need to find a compatible rom but I don't know how to use patches so I went googling and found this library of roms that had an already patched rom.

http://www.rom-world.com/dl.php?name...o&emulator=yes
It's in there some where. You can search and look for it.

Question in spoiler tags:

Thanks for the links Zeroslash! I never knew that there was a group that translated the roms. Anyway, I've patched the second Shin Megami Tensei game if anyone's interested.

You can get it HERE

Shin Megami Tensei (1+2) crashes randomly in ZSNES just for future reference. You have to play them on snes9x or bsnes to enjoy them without any problems.

Your more than welcome and thank you for the patched version of SMTII.

Off topic: You either need to teach me how to do that or show me a website that can because thier were a lot of other games there I want to play, mainly Super Robot Taisen, that gundam SRPG and Fire Emblem 3 that they were working on.

Edit:

While I'm handing out links, I think this makes for a very good read on how it all started and where it went. I find it very interesting that SMT all started with a Japanese Novel and a Gaunlent rip off.

http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.c...en/megaten.htm

Randomly at Zero, if you just want to play the SRW games, it's not that hard to figure out. I managed quite well with Alpha 2, for example, when I wasn't able to understand the story... but translations would be nice for some parts.

Actually, I have played SO3. Farleen wasn't ungodly horrible as people made her out to be. I'd rather listen to Farleen. 'Sides, she's hot. :)

Zero,
It's rather easy. Just download IPS Patcher HERE, download the rom and it's patch, and just apply it, the programs really easy to use.

Thanks for the link btw, I'm only just discovering the whole SMT univrse, and there is a lot of info out there aside from game; novels, manga, anime, even Live Action can be found when looked for.

Persona 3
 

PS2, release date unknown, 75% completion... Atlus better bring this game over.

two more pics

No. Fucking. Way.

My life has meaning again.

Ok that being said, time to make myself a P3 avatar FOR THE AGES.

YES.

Maybe now they can make up for pissing me off with Persona 2's shitty battle system.

is this a direct sequel of Persona 2? Why's a sequel? Even Persona Eternal punishment actually doesnt deserve to exist.

I demand a US release for this one. I'm currently going through the first Persona (about to go to the haunted house), and the battle system is rather enjoyable, although the graphics suck. They had three games to take out any flaws, so this'll be good, I hope.

It most likely won't be a direct sequel to Persona 2, although I would not be surprised to see cameos from previous characters in the series.

I think I'm actually more excited about getting another Persona OST then the actual game. Here's hoping Hidehito Aoki, Kenichi Tsuchiya, & Shoji Meguro do the music for this one as well.

I meant the graphics in general (dungeon, field), the battle graphics are okay, especially the persona manifestations.

The game with the train conductor lookalike (it's actually an old Japanese police uniform I think) is the new Devil Summoner game. I don't think any of those ever saw a US release.

I loved persona 1 and i dont know but Persona 2 was good but it seemed like it has tons of Persona 2 sequels, there were one where it started at school and i had one where it started in a building i odnt know, but Persona 1 is really good the shouting of "Persona" in mid battle was always fun to hear, too bad the game had that crappy walk around system and tons of random battles which is like a no go.

Ever heard of using some punctuation? The US Persona 2 is a direct sequel of a Japan-only Persona game, so there are most likely a lot of things that you can't understand. I've heard rumours of a PSP port of one of the persona games, and I really hope that it'll be Innocent sin (the Japan only one), since the chance of a US release will be relatively high.

Hooray! Persona! A Shin Megami Tensai with actual storyline! ;D

Nocturne wore me thin >_>

Looks awesome ^__^ Can't wait.

Oh so that must be why eh, But yeah i should really try to finish those Persona 2 games, the storyline is good and all and i dont know why people keep on bashing Persona 2 for being a lame sequel, well if you actually dwell and spend time on it , the story becomes nice.

Shin Megami Tensei feels like Persona series minus the whole world blowing up.

Shoji Meguro et al. could record a soundtrack with nothing but kazoo, and I would still buy it and love it as though it were my very own. ;_;

I anticipate!

Atlus just revelead Persona 3.

http://img132.imagevenue.com/img.php...868_pers01.jpg
http://img17.imagevenue.com/img.php?...875_pers02.jpg
http://img127.imagevenue.com/aAfkjfp...881_pers03.jpg
http://img15.imagevenue.com/img.php?...883_pers04.jpg
http://img18.imagevenue.com/aAfkjfp0...889_pers05.jpg
http://img44.imagevenue.com/initial/...008_pers06.jpg
http://img45.imagevenue.com/aAfkjfp0...013_pers07.jpg

It looks pretty interesting, of course I can't read japanese.

Your 3rd, 5th, and 7th links don't work. Judging from the rest, Persona 3 looks pretty nifty. I like the shifts between the normal everyday settings to the creepy mystical ones. The presence of cards worries me a bit, but hopefully it won't be one of those games where cards have a heavy impact on battle.

I haven't played Persona or Persona 2; are they roughly the same as other SMT games? I've heard both that it's a spinoff series and that they're translations of early SMT games, and I don't know which is true.

There's a thread for Persona 3 located a bit below, should I ask a mod to merg them?

How the fuck did I miss this thread.

First time I came over a video game this year. Not only do we get Devil Summoner Kuzunoha, but Persona fucking 3? 2006 is a good year.

Sweet. Just sweet. 2006 will be an excellent year indeed.

Persona is a spinoff series and if the cards work any way like they did in 2 then they are used to unlock new persona in the Velvet Room (and add spells/stats at their creation).

Everything you really need to know about Innocent Sin is explained in Eternal Punishment. I'm not saying it isn't worth playing, though, as it was definitely better than EP. Still, EP is definitely the best "tacked on" (snicker) sequel I have ever seen. Without a doubt.

Now, that's some interesting news. I'm now really tempted to pick up that copy of Persona 2 I saw at the mall last week.

(Before you call me an idiot for not picking it up, that's because the mall is a 30-40 min drive away and that was the day I got DDS2)

There's a trailer out too, I'm currently trying to get it, but it's going SLOW AS FUCK.

Persona 3 trailer

If anyone gets it before me, YSI plz. Thanks. :P

Just left click and the trailer download should pop right up

Oh btw. trailer is about 80+MB :cow:

T'ain't working, dag ;___; WHY GOD?!

;_____________;

Well, I'm at 6% now. if it's still not working after I finish it, I'll upload it to some site.

I copied the URL strictly from the place I got it, I don't know why it not be working. ;_;

edit: 33% now, bout an hour and half left. Stupid dumb slow downloads. :(

I wonder if it's an outright anime trailer, kinda like (I guess) how Persona 2's was, except with Persona 2's I actually thought there was a Persona anime.

I should really finish start Persona 2 one day

22%, here. According to wget, it should be done in about an hour (slow download ;_; ). I'll put it up somewhere when it's done.

Screenshots have me pretty interested, at least.

EDIT:
Done. Upping to YSI~

Merged the Persona 3 and SMT Series thread for the sake of ease.

I saw the same copy, but the case was cracked all to hell. I can't imagine the game discs were much better, and it was still $30. I'd rather take my chances on trying to find it at a random flea market.

http://www.shinetworks.net/cgi-bin/s...i5/up17440.zip

I don't know if this is the same trailer above but it went pretty fast for me with this link, and my connection suck. This is 17 minutes by the way, haven't got a chance to look at all of it yet but so far it's looking pretty slick.

If it's 85+MB then it probably is the same trailer. I'd stop and get that one, but I'm already 80% done with the initial one. :\ Thanks for providing an alternate link though! :)

The trailer is funky as hell, man. I really love the style they went with for it. :P I'll give it an upload afterwhile (to provide another alternate source) since I'm sure that it'll have to be uploaded to YSI a few times. :P

Why is the art the same art style as Stella Deus? I mean I like Persona and all, but I can't fathom why they didn't use the token art that all the games have used thus far.

Anything that reminds me of Stella Deus can burn. ;_;

Hey, it looks good though... Really, the art quality (not necessarily 'style', as some of the designs were really bad) was the only thing Stella Deus really had going for it. At least it's borrowing the best part and not something like the god awful gameplay or terrible music.

Some new information on Persona 3, thanks to RPGfan.

Interesting; I was wondering why the screenshots were showing dates in the corner of the screen. I'm not really one for the whole "save the world before time runs out" thing, but I trust Atlus to pull it off well.

Sounds pretty cool, I wonder what the the school part of the game will be like. Hopefully everything is at least a little more then "leveling up your communities" it probably will but it could happen, it has the potential to be really cool.

Persona 3 is really good news, although i haven't gotten around to playing the earlier Persona games. I will definatly be considering this game if it comes over to the western hemisphere.

It looks good judging from the little amount of screenshots i have seen.

To those who have played the earlier Persona games: Am i missing out on alot of good stuff or are the games just not worth it?

I only have Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (I had two opportunities to buy the original, but passed due to finances). Having played little less than five hours of the sequel, I can say that it's a fun and different game. The story is interesting and I like what I saw of the battle system. Unfortunately, with Eternal Punishment being a sequel of Innocent Sin, a game that was never released stateside, it feels like you're missing something in the plot.

I hope Atlus decides to rerelease the other Persona games if they bring Persona 3 here. Highly unlikely, but it'd be nice.

You really aren't missing anything important at all... the necessary information from Innocent Sin is all explained later in Eternal Punishment. The only thing you really miss out on is the character interaction. I mean, you don't know much about Lisa/Eikichi, etc but at the same time you don't really need to. Everything you need to know about the events in IS will be revealed by the end of the game.

Still, of course IS is worth playing. It's the better of the two games IMO (maybe just cause Tatsuya seems more the type for the "quiet role" and Maya should be talkative...) but like I said earlier; Eternal Punishment is the best 'tacked on' sequel I've ever seen. It has a surprising amount of depth and a pretty good storyline all things considered. :)

Has the game been fan-translated at all, available as an ROM or something online? I know there's a fan-translated script available, but I hate playing RPGs and having to look at a separate screen for a translation.

You know, the character designs aren't as bad as some people claim they are. I think this guy's kind of nailed the bizarre creations Kaneko's known for, although he's still my favorite character designer.

As far as I know, there isn't a fan translated ISO floating around (it's rare for a PS game to get translated, too difficult I think). However, there's still a Persona remake planned for the PSP, and it hasn't been confirmed which one it'll be. It has to be either 1 or IS, or it could be a compilation (like they did with the first two Suikodens), and the chances now are higher of a US release than a few years ago.

http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?cId=3148719&did=1 <-- in-depth article on devil summoner

I felt the same way, too. That is, until I stumbled upon this: Crime and Punishment.

It's a fan site dedicated to the references of Innocent Sin in Eternal Punishment as well as miscellaneous stuff such as the occult references and character background. Sure, it's not quite the same as actually playing Innocent Sin, and it's a damn shame I had to experience it this way. But it's certainly better than nothing, right?

Don't miss out on a great game simply because you haven't played its previous installment.

Does anyone happen to know the name of the first song in the Persona 3 trailer? Or is that a song exclusively done for Persona 3 and won't be available until the OST is released?

Thanks for pointing this site out, AyZee. I'll give it a read once I finish Eternal Punishment.

Persona 3?

Can't wait to see what comes out of this one. After seeing the pictures, I'm hoping I'll be impressed and buy it when it comes out, it looks very good. Of course, this means I have to finally get around to beating Persona 2 (since I'm near the end, might just start over since it's been a good year).

I love Atlus' SMT series, especially DDS. I don't know, it did have it's faults; however, I loved the story. I think that's why I loved it so much.

I STILL need to beat Nocturne as well. I dont' own it, so it's taking a long time to beat. Mostly because I'm borrowing it when my friend gets bored with it every so often and then give it back when it wants to play it. I've been playing the damn game since summer of last year. But that just means it lasts longer..or something.

I dunno if this is the same thing, but several years ago I played a RPG called Revelations Persona. Beggining took place in a school. Thing that pissed me off though was that it always froze at the first battle. It seemed so interesting too... Either way i'm probably gonna at least try this one out. The SMT games are such a refreshing breath of air in the RPG world. No matter which series.

Aha, now here's some people that'll recognize my avatar image and signature quotes.:biggrin:

Yes, Persona: Revelations was the first part of the Persona series. A few of the characters in it managed to appear in Persona 2: IS and EP. (Nate and Ellen are the only ones I know of off the top of my head, though...)

Ever since I stumbled upon the Megaten games through Digital Devil Saga, I've been hooked on it. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is easily my favorite RPG.

I'm hoping that Atlus decides to bring Persona 3 and the Devil Summoner over. I'm more concerned about the former, since it might be passed up due to sensitive content...

http://www.atlus.co.jp/cs/game/pstat...na3/index.html

In the downloads section there are 2 new videos. I only got the downloadable one, which is seventeen freaking minutes long. This OST is going to make my ears bleed with joy. I think I shat myself a couple of times from the music in the movie.

Persona 3 trailer on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1Ie0...ch=persona%203

The famitsu trailer for Persona 3 is bloody (emphasis on the bloody) fantastic. I'll be sure to import when it's released.

However can't anyone see why this will be difficult to localize in the U.S.? (rhetorical question, by the way. I don't want this thread to end up in the Political Palace.)

They had better bring it over. I'm sick of companies not bringing games over for political reasons. Sure... I mean you are shooting yourself in the head most of the game but... yeah.

They'll bring it over, but the problem with it is that I'm sure they'll censor the gun-to-head thing by making it some other more "friendly" object. While I can't immediately think of what they'll use, remembering back to La Pucelle makes me hope they don't tear it up too badly in the localization.

Otherwise, this'll be the one I'll finally have to master Katakana/Kanji/Hiragana for. Lord knows I have plenty of time to do so.

Censoring the gun-to-the-head thing is going to be difficult, especially since it's seen in the trademark animation sequence. Intrigue aside, I won't lie when I say I was a tad uncomfortable watching the trailer.

Fuck yes.

Now we need Persona 3. With NO censorship. Hell, they got DDS over here, and that had cannibalism! What's the problem with sticking a M rating on it and leaving the suicide summons in?

Don't know if anyone has read this, but it's Siliconera's review on Devil Summoner.

http://www.siliconera.com/2006/04/20...wer/#more-1171

Also Persona 3 is confirmed to be shown at E3 so it's about 99.7% certain we'll be getting the game in English. :)

What concerns me more is the censorship rather than them bringing it over. You know it's going to happen, but it's hard to even imagine to what extent.

It's make or break time for Atlus.

I don't think it will be as bad as everyone is making it out to be. The one thing everyone assumes will be censored is too vital to remove without ruining the game. I have faith Atlus wouldn't let it go that far. Guess there is a chance we'll see at E3, though.

well when every character shot themself in the head every time they "summon" the avatar I guess I'm really worried about the censorship XD

I have yet to see the trailer but I have faith in Atlus USA. I mean, the didn't edit the bath scenes in Riviera, DDS had a fare share of goriness and Nocturne's story was untouched from what I know.

None the less, I know have a real reason to go find a copy of Persona 2 now.

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/4...onanza2006.jpg

A picture of the Persona 3 part of the Atlus booth at E3. Just have to hope they don't edit anything now.

I'm reviving this topic with some scans and screens that have surfaced in the past months or so:

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/2...3scan192ij.jpg

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/6...3scan206qg.jpg

http://www.the-magicbox.com/0606/game060612c.shtml

http://image.www.rakuten.co.jp/edigi...0072182145.gif

Also, the official site has been updated with some more character movies.

http://p3.atlus.co.jp/

I hope that Aegis (the blonde robot) gets to become a real little girl by the end of the game. She looks and sounds so sad. :(

The first two images are pretty lol-bad quality. The graphics still don't look like they've improved since that big trailer Atlus released earlier this year.

Still very interested in this. I really need to finish Persona 2.

There was a guy who was hosting quite a few good, very high-res scans, but then he took them down, and I didn't save them. :(

I just beat Persona 2: EP today. I had been putting it off for months...

Someone please tell me that Nocturne becomes easier to understand as it goes along. You want an outlandish premise, fine, but the way of introducing the player to it is NOT to drop everything in his fucking lap at once.

Where are you in the game? It does get easier as you go along, since you get used to your surroundings and some terminology is explained in more detail, but overall Nocturne is fairly short on exposition and much longer on introspection. (One of the optional areas in the game, however, will give you some background information on certain characters and events that otherwise pretty much go unexplained.)

am I the only that the new graphic style for persona3 bother a little? I don,t know it look to much anime style, even if the style is good (I really like the first big trailer in anime style they did) I miss the persona 2, with "demons persona" that look much "scarier". like those 2 that I did in a sig sometime ago.

Quite some time ago, there was an announcement that there would be an online Shin Megami Tensei game. Not much was known about it at that time, but some new info was posted on RPGfan a little while back:

As for what I think of it, the story is what can be expected from a SMT game, and I really hope that they can adapt the various choices that a traditional SMT game gives you, in a satisfying way. As for the gameplay, not much is out about that yet, bt I'm glad that they kept the negotiating, since it's one of the most interesting parts of a SMT game.

Since I haven't posted in this thread before... a few thoughts about Persona stuff in general.

I absolutely loved the style/story that Persona 2 had. But, after playing it for quite a while, I just couldn't bear the dungeons any longer. Random encounter after random encounter, and having to actually endure all of them to not only level up but to collect the cards necissary to progress and be able to beat the next boss. I really really wanted to find out what happened next, but the gameplay kept getting in the way of me actually progressing further.

Regardless, I'm really looking forward to Persona 3. The game is just dripping with style, and I really love the design. The combat system actually looks quite entertaining. But the key factor in my attraction was the fact that enemy encounters are seen on the map ahead of time. Now, maybe there's just an assload of enemies in dungeons, but at least this prevents the Persona 2 syndrome of fighting literally every 3-4 steps you took.

And finally, a question: Considering that I love the overall style that the Shin Megami Tensei games have, would it be worth it for me to play through the two Digital Devil Saga games? I've been considering it for some time now, but feared that the P2 syndrome would kick in and I wouldn't be able to progress very well at all.

Do it! I really mean it. If you say you like SMT in general then you have to play DDS. For me personally, the game flow was very good. I didn't run in to any areas where i was completely stuck and wanted to throw the ps2 controller at the tv.

Playing it will also get you one of the best stories/plots in recent times.

Now I am not gonna lie to you, but expect there to be alot of dungeon crawling and alot of leveling up to do if you want to collect all the mantras and max out your stats. But as you progress throughout the game, leveling up will become easier and easier and by the time you reach a decent lvl in the final dungeon leveling up will become a breeze. Battles are over in like 10 seconds. Atleast they were for me.

But seriously, to like SMT and not play DDS would be a crime. Go for it! :)

I really suggest Digital Devil Saga for the story and style and all but yeah the persona 2 syndrome like you called it is there, some donjon are ok and it doesn't really bother you, but other god, there'S time I entered in a abattle every 2 step >.>

Haha, fair enough. I'll give 'em a shot once I'm done playing through my current RPG :D Thanks for the recommendations. Maybe the battles will be enjoyable enough that I won't get as frustrated with the encounter rate ;)

So, I've been playing Nocturne recently.

Well, I just finished Persona 2 and I didn't even realize this thread was here. >_> Although EP was the first Persona game I've played, it definitely got me into the series in general with the dark and mature themes. And I didn't think it was god awful like some people here expressed it to be. I didn't have anything to compare it to and I thought it was great. I've read up on wikipedia that IS and EP both had very drastically different storylines (especially regarding the Suou bros), so it's not necessary to play IS to enjoy EP. That part is true since I didn't feel like I have some need to play IS.

It was a good thing I played it on an emulator, because gollllllly those dungeons can be a pain in the ass. I just sped it up to twice the speed (by turning off sound) to whiz through them. And thankfully for mutations, I can just quickly reload the last attack of the battle to see if I can get persona rank +2 (or mutate to a higher level persona). And other various tricks and things I learned while using the emulator. ;)

If you can't stand a random, sometimes annoying, battle every five seconds, then I suggest playing with an emulator. Now this got me considering if I should play Nocturne or DDS, especially if "leveling" will be a painful experience since I can't emulate PS2 games. Regardless, if it's good, I'll play it.

By the way, is there a difference between the SMT and Persona series? I'm new so I don't quite understand any details of the franchise.

Persona 3 looks awesome, but the character designer is different from the really offsettling creepy designs that got me attracted to EP. I mean, those character/persona designs are bad ass. Regardless, the videos on IGN look really hot. Is the battle theme really hip hop? And blasting a bullet into your head is probably one of the more creative ways I've seen of summoning something. That's going to hold well with emo kids. I just hope the US version doesn't edit that out with a lollipop or something.

It is actually quite easy with the right setup of demons. The reason most people think its difficult is because they haven't customized the party properly. That's a nice party you have there btw.

Dang I love the soundtrack of this game...it is so "snazzy" persay. Very creative, I highly anticipate this game; it is so far away though T-T (February 2007 blah!)

*Just bought DDS and Nocturne (incredible games with such a baroque feel...props to Atlus...now to Wait for Devil Summoner Raidou for October)

I lost motivation with SMT III Nocturne - I want to get back into it. It was the first megaten game i played. Guess I need to customise my party a lot more

I LOVED DDS 1 (it only just came out). I thought it was better than III and I loved the characters. The one thing I hate is silent main characters - there boring and and unrealistic (unless they are given a reason to be mute). Though I can't help but like Serph.

I want to play DDS 2 (just hope it isn't a dissapointment)

One thing I want to change - Shoji Meguro, ok he's good, but where are the other classic atlus composers?

Well if you liked DDS1, DDS2 will definitely not disappoint. It is a direct sequel afterall.

I don't know how could you lose interest with such fantastic game, but then again, that's just me.

If you love DDS1, you'll surely love DDS2.

Also, Shoji Meguro is not the only composer on Nocturne or the DDS games; there are three composers in the soundtracks: Shoji Meguro is the main guy, there's also Tetsuya Shibata, and forgot the name of the last one. Guess those two add something "different", for so to say, to the music.

I had a question about this series.. I keep hearing about it, but I'm not familiar with it. Was Shin Megami Tensei the original RPG (how many games were there or was it just one?) and Digital Devil Saga and Persona spin offs?

Devil Summoner, is that a spinoff too? What's the difference between the games? Do they all just share the same backstory and world in Shin Megami Tensei? Been trying to do some research online so I got a bit confused :)

Persona 2 had several characters from Persona 1. Might have taken place in or near the same places too, don't know. I don't know about the rest of the series', you'll probably find little homages like that rather than a continuous storyline. So if what you're wondering is whether you can appreciate a game without playing the predecessors, the answer is yeah, you won't be missing much plot-wise.

Ahh thanks :) I'm just kind of curious, I tend to play games by series and know the entire series in and out, if I don't, I feel like I'm missing something. Even if it's a standalone game, I feel like I need to get the entire experience. This sucks when it comes to RPGs since I have no time to play through everything.

Why all the spinoffs? Was the original series just that good? I do like RPGs, but it turns out that I'm pretty oblivious to the rest of the genre and just focus on the ones I like :p

Persona 1 ---> Persona never translated into English ----> Persona 2. There's a middle game we never got that ties the games together.

no, there's two Persona 2s that were connected together, Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment. I don't know whether Innocent Sin had much more connection to Persona 1 than Eternal Punishment did, but it wasn't part 2 of a 3 part series.

Innocent Sin was connected tightly with Persona 2, I know that. And I know it happens BEFORE Eternal Punishment, and is connected to 1. (thank you, guide) so I assume it flows the way I said.

Love the series, i hope we get to fight Yahweh in the PS3 SMT like old times

English website for Devil Summoner finally up! Just 3 more days now!

http://www.atlus.com/devilsummoner/

Yay,hope alot of seeders:biggrin:

Ican't say I'm a huge fan of SMT as I've only played one so far - Lucifer's Call (Nocturne) - and it took me a while to work it out but I did enjoy it. I have DDS 1 & 2 and have been told these are better so I'm looking forward to playing them, when I have time!

One major problem I had though - for some reason my game kept freezing in the third kalpa. In the end I had to go rent the damn thing to do that kalpa. I don't know what the problem was as there were no scratches on my disc but hey, I managed to finish it.

Wow that sucks, and you should def try out the two dig.saga's,it's worth it:)

it is a common problem for people who play the PAL version, every copy seems to have it (I think shin also had the same problem, as did I). It sucks alright, but if you use the item that reduces encounters, your chances of it occuring is rather low, and once you get past that point, it will not happen again.

So, about Devil Summoner, anyone have any impressions on it yet? I was in the game store this weekend and decided to get Okami over it. And holy crap, why is everything I want coming out at the exact same time this year. Have hardly bought anything all year and in the past two months have picked up Disgaea 2, XS3, VP2, Okami, FFXII right around the corner. I would normally just snatch it up, it being a Megaten game hitting US shores, but I need to know if it's worth it in this busy game season.

It's good, I mean... it's really good. If you're a fan of the Sin Megami Tensei series you have to get this one. It's a bit on the lighter side for them, but it's still very demonic. And the combat system is real-time which is a switch up for them, but they managed to pull it off quite well.

As to whether to pick it up over some of the others that are coming is a hard question for anyone to really answer. However I can say two things. First is that it depends on your priorities. Second is that it's an Atlas game which never stays in production all that long, unlike FFXII which will still be in production ten years from now. Either way though, if you do decide to get Devil Summoner I can assure you that you won't be disapointed ^^

I downloaded it and looks pretty good..haven't gotten far though. About the battlesystem..hmmm i love the comments of the demons but i'm not digging the battlesystem..i rather have the old turn base system. As for the graphics,they are worse then Nocturne IMO. But like i said i'm not far,...

I don't know about the graphics being worse. The art style, while similar it is still different from that of Nocturne and DDS. Devil Summoner might not have as much texture to things as previous titles, but the lighting and original character design more then make up for it to me. But hey, I'm an RPG fan and as long as it's original, has a good storyline, and fun gameplay I'll tuff out the sub-par thing here or there ;) (However Magna Carta was just unplayable... but is so beautiful at the same time... like a rose with thorns)

I've never played any of the Shin Megami games, but I thought Devil Summoner was pretty fun. It's an interesting style, and the random battles don't happen too often where it gets annoying. The graphics are decent, I thought. I like the style, and the overall mood is kind of light hearted. I don't have much to compare to, but as a standalone game it was good. I only played for a few hours though. If you're a fan of the series I don't see why you wouldn't like it.

But compared to Okami, I probably would have gotten Okami too :) Although Atlus games are hard to come by.

So far I love Devil Summoner. I played the Digital Devil Saga games and I have to say I like Devil Summoner a little better. DDS had a REALLY big problem with the encounter rate. It was WAY too high! I like the moderation Devil Summoner has. The battle system change is also kind of nice.

To be honest, I really love all of the Shin Megami Tensei games specifically for their storyline and the character development. The battle systems and every detail of the game are really amazing as well. I just really love the storylines!

Danny

I finished up Devil Summoner today and I gotta say I liked it alot. I'll run down some pros and cons of it in spoiler tags.

Also, Im surprised nobody else is playing this. I thought this thread would skyrocket when the game got realeased.

Pros.



Cons.



Double Post:
Also, the cover is shiny :)

I think it's just there was a pretty large influx of solid releases lately. I picked this up, and I fully intend on playing it... but I just finished Abyss, need to play FFXII and then BK:O before I can even consider touching it.

I got it a while back, and I absolutely love it. Very Shadow Hearts-ish in its atmosphere of "East Asia and demons" and pre-rendered backgrounds, so that was kind of cool.

The combat can kind of drag just because Raidou's melee moves are just a three-hit combo, a thrust, and a charged spin attack. I would've liked a little more, but I still feel compelled to play it.

So uh, may I bump this thread instead of creating new one to continue discussion?

Even though I only played two persona games (IS & EP), I really enjoy shin megaten series. The Persona III system looks very promising, it's like a fusion of Shin Megaten RPG and love sim I guess. Has there been any news about Persona III English version? I've been browsing for awhile to find all info about the game, but all I could find is TBA.

Also, could someone direct me where to find the rom of Shin Megaten I in SNES? It seems mine is corrupted, I couldnt continue after I enter the main character's room.

The game was recently pushed back to June here in the US. Which can be good news since they announced a director's cut version of the game in Japan and its possible we might get that version. Much like how we got the Maniacs version of Nocturne. Atlus USA hasn't said if they will or not but encouraged people on their forums to express interest if you really want to see it. Unlike certain companies I won't name they actually will listen to feedback. *cough Square Enix*

I can't say how or by who, but I have had it confirmed that we AREN'T getting the content of Persona 3: Fes in America. We're only getting the regular version of the game.

BK is always the bearer of bad news.

It's good for you. I have just bought and played the game. I think the SMT Nocture is better but Devil Summoner is good too. If i can't complete the game, can you help me?

I find it strange that they added special edition to the title for US release then.

I'm pretty sure the "Special Edition" refers to the art book and soundtrack that are packaged with the game. EB/Gamestop is the only store I've seen call it that, and they're the ones with the pack.

Actually it was IGN I saw reffering to it as special edition.

Really, though, I can't believe this is coming out this month. The game has been pushed back so many times I started to wonder if it was coming at all. It took a year for Atlus to localize the game and it doesn't even come with the FES expansion. ... That's alright. T_T

I know this is a pretty big necro bump but I don't feel like this deserves it's own thread. I did feel like it was worth sharing with people though, so I'll post it and you can lock it down or delete my post if I did something bad.

Buy Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (PS2) - Order Now!

Seems like Atlus reprinted some copies of Nocturne so if anyone out there wants a copy without paying 70~120+ bucks now is the time to order it. I've already seen people whoring this at amazon/ebay by buying copies in bulk from the site (and trying to double the price) so I'm not sure how much longer the game will even be in stock. :(