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Shin Megami Tensei: New Reincarnation of the Thread (Actually Featuring Dante From The Devil May Cry Series)

Zef

Zef

Find Your Reason
(He/Him)
What better way to start the transmigration of the soul of the original thread than with a brand new, three-minute-plus ad for SMT Nocturne HD:


The minimalistic art style absolutely pops in hi-def. The reds of Amala and the glow of the Terminal Drums have never looked better. Given the setting, I wouldn't mind at all if SegAtlus skipped the dub on this one, but if they do dub it, I'm very curious about whether they'll keep the original 2003 script or overhaul it. Updates are nice, but, the original one that Tomm worked on is pretty good as it is.
 
Aleryn

Aleryn

Ohhh yesss. I remember when this was so hard to find shortly after release. Love to Persona fans, but mainline SMT for me first EVERY time. Maybe go replay the S.Famicom original while I wait...
 
G

greentealoon

Ah the original game that cowed their players into submission until they learned to "gut gud". The only thing I want changed is non randomized skill inheritance (and maybe adding more monsters), but otherwise I welcome my trip back thru the labyrinth.
 
Sprite

Sprite

(He/Him/His)
Yeah, updating the skill inheritance mechanic would basically make it a perfect game.

The Vortex World is probably my favorite setting of any genre fiction. I love the idea of all of existence being on the surface of the inside of a sphere.
 
Falselogic

Falselogic

Lapsed Threadcromancer
(they/them)
Zef said:
Switch and PS4, at the least. But with Persona 4 Golden opening the doors of Steam, there's still a chance it may make it to PC in the future.
Click to expand...

Don't forget Persona 5 is also on Steam! I'm holding out for this on Steam. I guess if it never comes I could get it on Switch/PS4 or I could just play it on my PS2...
 
Kazin

Kazin

did i do all of that?
(he/him)
It hadn't even occurred to me that they may let you select your skills in this remaster... that really would make this game damn near perfect. Can't wait for this...
 
fanboymaster

fanboymaster

(He/Him)
Falselogic said:
Don't forget Persona 5 is also on Steam! I'm holding out for this on Steam. I guess if it never comes I could get it on Switch/PS4 or I could just play it on my PS2...
Click to expand...

So who breaks it to him that Persona 5 isn't on Steam.

Nocturne's solid, I have more issues with it than most here but it's good its coming back and I'll play it again, being overrated doesn't mean it's bad.
 
YangusKhan

YangusKhan

does the Underpants Dance
(He/Him/His)
Skill selection on fusion, more modern fusion interfaces in general, and being able to quickly see revealed enemy weaknesses/resists during battle. Those are the only changes they need to add.
 
MarcAlan

MarcAlan

Story time folks!

Nocturne has always held a special place in my heart as the game I kind of went above and beyond for. See, back in 2004, rural Minnesota did not have an EB Games or Gamestop or anything like that so my getting this game was slim to none in my hometown. But! About an hour away was a larger town that had two EBGames and they took preorders! Well, I just happened to be in said town one day and on a whim I decided to do just that. Now, I knew that I would have a two hour drive the day I went and got it, but so what? I was 24 and had far more energy than I do now, so I just figured that I would get a call when it was in and I would head down and pick it up on the weekend. Yeah, that didn't really work out.

Something to keep in mind is that the Iraq War was still going on at this time and National Guard troops were being called up to head over. And around this time is when the local unit was selected to go. No, I was not a National Guardsman. I was a guy who song in a local church choir that was known for their patriotic Memorial Services. So when the local unit was going to leave, it was decided to give them a send off, which included the choir singing several songs on the Saturday before they left. Yep, the Saturday I had planned on getting my copy of Nocturne. Well crap. Sunday was out, since I was going to church in those days and traffic was horrid on Sundays anyway and I usually worked weekdays. So that left me a small window on Friday evening after I got off work to drive the hour to the mall in this other town, get my game, and drive the hour back. All after being up since about 6 in the morning and it poured the entire drive. And when I finally got home could I play it? Nope! I had to head to bed and rest up as I needed to rehearse and perform until about 3 in the afternoon.

And was it worth it? You bet your sweet ass it was! I should have just waiting until Sunday or even Saturday afternoon, but no! I had to have it Friday. And as I'm writing this, I realize I kind of miss that excitement of waiting for a game and having to actually pick it up.
 
pudik

pudik

i was gonna do a replay so i guess i'm gonna put it off until this releases. this time i'm going to think with my brain about what paths i want to follow rather than just doing true/most content ending cuz im a gamer
 
Zef

Zef

Find Your Reason
(He/Him)
Same. I built my PC specifically to emulate Nocturne, but at this point (and if I ever revive that long-dead Let's Play) might as well do it on the PS4, where the HD graphics are native instead of upscaled and I'd have an easier time capturing video.
 
Felicia

Felicia

Power is fleeting, love is eternal
(She/Her)
I have a question about the Megaten games in general: Is there a general idea on how the player is supposed to approach the fusion mechanic? As in, how is the player supposed to figure out how to get better demons, without using guides? I have only played the very first Megami Tensei game on the Famicom, and in that one I basically made a huge table on graph paper, trying to fill out what each combination of two demons resulted in. But I imagine that would get pretty unwieldy in later games, not to mention impossible once you start fusing three demons together. So is it just supposed to be figured out through trial and error? Are there some basic rules for fusion that applies to all/most of the games, or do I have to re-learn it for each new game?
 
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FelixSH

FelixSH

(He/Him)
I always just looked what I had to choose from (just looking at all the fusions available) and choose what would work best. Basically, magic-oriented demons got fused into other magic-oriented ones (and the same with physical attackers, and I think I also had a deticated healer? Don't know anymore, too long). I also used resist/null skills if so possible.

You can't go that wrong, really. Just make sure to be able to cast all different elements and types of physical skills, and upgrade them when possible. Make sure to have healing and revive skills available and try to cover weaknesses through anti/null skills. If you do that, you shouldn't have many problems. And in case you make a real mistake, you always can resummon a demon from the compendium and get new ones. I'm pretty sure you can't really make big mistakes.
 
Sprite

Sprite

(He/Him/His)
I never have a grand plan when it comes to Fusion. In-between dungeons I hop over to the fusion-o-matic and see what I can make, then decide if I want to or not. Fodder demons usually get fusioned a lot to make room and see if I can stumble into something good.

The most important thing is to make sure you have access to skills that you need.
 
Zef

Zef

Find Your Reason
(He/Him)
I've always followed the same methodology since my start on Persona 3: fuse the demons that appeal to me most (due to mythological/cultural/historical background), make sure to always have a decent spread of all elemental and healing magics (single- and multi-target), physical attacks (same), and buffs/debuffs (particularly vital in Nocturne), then fill the gaps in my Compendium when I have the chance. I only start "planning" stuff when I'm near the end of the game and I already know there's going to be very high-level demons with special attributes, and I want them to have specific skills, like Eirikr's famous "drain-everything" Shiva or the superpowered Quetzalcoatl I created for SMTIV. Strange Journey had a unique approach in that, since you could share your creations across the Internet, sometimes you wanted to make something to help people against tough bosses, so there was quite a bit of planning involved for those who wanted to participate. But otherwise, yeah, go wild, cover your weaknesses, and don't sweat the details.

Er... except for the one boss in Nocturne. You WILL want a demon with Sukunda/Fog Breath before meeting the first Fiend.
 
Riot.EXE

Riot.EXE

Fighting Game Enthusiast
(He/Him)
FelixSH said:
I always just looked what I had to choose from (just looking at all the fusions available) and choose what would work best. Basically, magic-oriented demons got fused into other magic-oriented ones (and the same with physical attackers, and I think I also had a deticated healer? Don't know anymore, too long). I also used resist/null skills if so possible.

You can't go that wrong, really. Just make sure to be able to cast all different elements and types of physical skills, and upgrade them when possible. Make sure to have healing and revive skills available and try to cover weaknesses through anti/null skills. If you do that, you shouldn't have many problems. And in case you make a real mistake, you always can resummon a demon from the compendium and get new ones. I'm pretty sure you can't really make big mistakes.
Click to expand...

The original Devil Survivor on DS actually didn't have a Compendium (which was fucking BAFFLING), so yeah, mistakes could very well be made!
 
estragon

estragon

FelixSH said:
I always just looked what I had to choose from (just looking at all the fusions available) and choose what would work best. Basically, magic-oriented demons got fused into other magic-oriented ones (and the same with physical attackers, and I think I also had a deticated healer? Don't know anymore, too long). I also used resist/null skills if so possible.

You can't go that wrong, really. Just make sure to be able to cast all different elements and types of physical skills, and upgrade them when possible. Make sure to have healing and revive skills available and try to cover weaknesses through anti/null skills. If you do that, you shouldn't have many problems. And in case you make a real mistake, you always can resummon a demon from the compendium and get new ones. I'm pretty sure you can't really make big mistakes.
Click to expand...

Sprite said:
I never have a grand plan when it comes to Fusion. In-between dungeons I hop over to the fusion-o-matic and see what I can make, then decide if I want to or not. Fodder demons usually get fusioned a lot to make room and see if I can stumble into something good.

The most important thing is to make sure you have access to skills that you need.
Click to expand...

Yeah I've always found this is more than enough of a strategy to get through the games.

The only other thing I'd add is that it's rarely worth it to hold onto anything old for too long. If you want a party that's level appropriate, kill your darlings and make something better. It's not worth it to be too precious about perfect party composition or a perfect individual party member. You're going to be constantly remaking your party, just make sure you have access to a wide range of skills and resistances, even if it means you lose someone who was your ideal party member 2 or 3 dungeons ago.

The expanded compendiums in later games make this easier and not more unwieldily, because there are fewer gaps where there's only 1 or 2 level appropriate upgrade choices. It's the sparseness of options in the early games that makes fusion feel less reliable.
 
FelixSH

FelixSH

(He/Him)
Riot.EXE said:
The original Devil Survivor on DS actually didn't have a Compendium (which was fucking BAFFLING), so yeah, mistakes could very well be made!
Click to expand...

Right, I completely forgot. But considering that this was my first SMT, where I basically did what I discribed already, shows to me that you really can't fuck up too much, as long as you just keep the relevant skills. The games might be hard, but you just have a lot of freedom in choosing from the demons that are offered. I remember getting two demons from the auction just to fuse them, two or three times, and the result being totally viable.

The only thing I always looked up was how to divide the skill points of your MC. I feel like this has way more of an effect on how difficult the endgame is. Not that I really know, as I never tried NOT to look that info up, so maybe it's not so much of a deal either.
 
Eirikr

Eirikr

For games prior to SMT4, it's simple: stick to fusing/recruiting demons of Light/Neutral tendency. Now, tendency is often not noted on status screens but they rarely change.

Lights include mostly god-inclusive races such as Megami, Herald, Avian, Deity, Genma, Avatar, Fury, Lady, Kishin, Dragon. These demons will tend to have the best skills and resistances.

Neutrals include Yoma, Divine, Nymph, Fairy, Beast, Jirae, Femme, Fallen, Brute. These demons are fine on their own but are crucial for fusion since Light x Light fusions are limited.

Dark tendency demons like Raptor, Wood, Wilder, Spirit, etc. used to just fuse into more of their own and were effectively an evolutionary dead end; however, there's one "premium" demon race in each alignment with okay, sometimes great skills: Vile for Law, Reaper for Neutral, Tyrant for Chaos. However, SMT4 changed the formula around for the better and even Foul demons can now actually result in useful Neutral or even Light fusions, with more examples of friendlier fusions than that. Still, the Megami, Deities, Furies remain the ideal.
 
FelixSH

FelixSH

(He/Him)
I have played a lot of SMT games (mainly the PS2 and DS games) and I have never, ever thought about tendency or race of a demon. Exception was Devil Survivor, because each race has a specific racial skill. I'm really surprised that they have any significance for gameplay, I always thought they were just flavour and relevant for the fusion table.
 
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