Shin Megami Tensei series in general

[Gaon]

That includes the Mainline, Devil Summoner, Raidou Kuzunoha, Digital Devil Saga, DeSu, Strange Journey, etc.

I am currently playing Soul Hackers on the 3DS and I find pretty cool the aesthetic it has with the modern setting centered about an Online game. I kinda want to try the PS2 titles but my TV doesn't work and I'd have to order them from amazon. I should also wait for an offer on the eshop where ocassionally atlus games are like $10-15 online.

Any SMT games (other than persona if that's even considered one) you guys have played?

[cinnamonstyx]

One of my fav series. I've played Nocturne, Digital Devil Sagas 1 + 2, Devil Survivor 1 + 2, Persona 2-4 (not many of the spinoffs), Strange Journey, SMT 1, 2 and IV, and Imagine. I haven't played any of the pre DS mobile ones, and I haven't played the Raidou ones, also have not touched Soul Hackers or the SMT X FE crossover.

My fav games of the series are Nocturne and Persona 4, tho I think DDS is best series, it's very perfect in its very dark and singular approach to SMT conventions. They need each other tho where as Nocturne is super standalone and very singular, whereas P4 is very related to P3 but functions on its own entirely.

The talk mechanics and the fusion mechanics are some of the most innovative features in a JRPG series this side of Final Fantasy introducing the Job system. The settings blurring of dark fantasy and cyberpunk in a lot of cases is super on point, and the deep but fair difficulty of the series makes its challenges super rewarding. Not every game is a winner, but overall I love it.

Any games u wanna talk about?

[retrolinkx]

eww persona 4

if I were a tryhard SMT fan who hasn't only played persona 4 i'd probably argue with you or something.

But yeah, I've only played P4. I've yet to play any other game in the series, and the only game I own is P3 and the game that features Dante from the Devil May Cry series.

[cinnamonstyx]

4 is the best adaptation of scooby doo of all time, but admittedly it is the worst SMT game at being SMT like. Persona 3 at least had nihilistic themes and the murdering of God and Christ like figures. Persona 4 is just yellow and self discovery. But it's the most accessible game in the series and it's a very good self contained story.

I generally would recommend DDS or Nocturne for introductory games, DDS has an easier to swallow story but it deals with its themes in super heady ways. It's a solid turn based game with tricky mechanics to master but the actual gameplay is pretty straightforward. The game makes use of its concept and setting within its gameplay very well, the devour mechanic is really different and works well in terms of plot meeting gameplay. Balancing demon and human is a good twist but the lack of fusion in particular is a lil sad.

Nocturne meanwhile is very intense themes at all times, with a plot that unwinds around its themes of creation and perception, and a good, tough difficulty with very classic gameplay. It's got talk and fusion mechanics so it's pretty great on that alone, but the magatama progression system for character development is clever and rewards experimentation, tho requires grinding which is :/

They both look really good with crisp and dark art styles, good monster designs, only issue being the disgusting stuff animation (DDS is better afa that goes).

Seeing as u have nocturne (the Dante one), try that. If you didn't like p4 it's a completely different beast.

[Pentagrami]

raidou kuzunoha vs souless army is a pretty beast game
smtiv is one of the most solid 3ds games out there and im top hype for smtivf
persona 3 was ok and 4 polished it up very nicely, the fighting games are good but i would count them as smt games even less, i wish to ignore dal and Q was good /ok/ as a persona game but extremely **** as an etrian game which people seem to forget is also part of the crossover
the 3ds port for soul hackers was pretty great as well, i adore the demon designs
nocturne is truly one of the best rpgs on ps2
haven't had the chance to play smt1-2 but i've read up a lot about them and hope to one day get to them
im on the hunt for a copy of strange journey
devil survivor character designs piss me off so not getting anywhere near that