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Atlus Shin Megami Tensei V - It's been hurting my OCD.

dacencora

Guest
I normally tell people to play games in English because the subs are usually just subs of the dub rather than a more accurate translation that isn't constrained by the lip syncing. Interesting if that's not the case here. The stuff I'm complaining about isn't subbed at all and I've been playing in Japanese the whole time so I never would have noticed. I only play games in Japanese to help increase my vocabulary for the most part.
Yeah I'm sure there are some cool JP actors and stuff, but I don't speak Japanese, and I have no intention of learning how to speak or read it, so I always play in English.
 

Berengar

Learned
Joined
Sep 5, 2021
Messages
219
Bosses are definitely at their best when you're considerably underleveled. This game would probably lend itself well to a low level challenge.
Had this exact experience with the
Fionn mac Cumhaill
fight last night. When you're in that under-leveled sweet spot the fights are DYNAMITE
 

Vorark

Erudite
Joined
Mar 2, 2017
Messages
1,394
Around the 25 hour mark and I'm having a blast. Combat has been satisfying and difficulty somewhat fair on Hard mode, always keeping me on my toes.

Some scattered thoughts:

- I'm undecided on the "open world" maps and light platforming elements. It's all fresh for now but I wonder if they'll get annoying in repeat playthroughs. No labyrinthine dungeons either is a bummer although the second map appears to be more complex to navigate than the first so maybe it makes up for it in different ways.

- As someone who briefly played IV and skipped Apocalypse, it took me a while to figure out the affinity system. It is hardly noticeable in a low level party, when an extra press turn trumps casting a slightly more powerful spell, but starts to be relevant once MP costs ramp up and resource management becomes important. I like to cheese things by building uber mons but specialization seems to be key in this game, at least early on.

- Anything agility-related has been underwhelming: it doesn't affect initiative order nor help to evade attacks that much. I invest the bare minimum to avoid ambushes and that's it. Sukunda/Sukukaja skills are weird too, barely make a difference to accuracy and avoidance rates.

- Miracles are an interesting way to allow gameplay customizations. More focus on demon negotiation, party slots, magatsuhi manipulation, affinities and so on. On the other hand Essences are hit or miss, have a bunch of them full of useless/weak skills.

- Don't know what to make of the story. MC being all alone fending for himself in the long forgotten ruins of humanity's demise was a cool backdrop (a la Nocturne), only for LOREDUMP to happen.

- Killer soundtrack.

- Decent performance on Ryujinx with forced 1080p + improved lod + disabled AO mod, highly recommended. There are spots that tank framerate though.

All in all, positive first impressions. Let's see if they last.


Man I am loving the mechanic where low-level demons run away from you. Not only does it feel dope, but also removes some of the tedium that exists in other SMTs when you go back to lower level areas

This gentleman would like to have a word with you:

smt.jpg


Might as well be a cliff racer. :argh:
 

dacencora

Guest
I have to say, the more I play, the better it gets. Didn’t know that I wanted a parkour collectathon SMT, but apparently I did! This is shaping up to be one of my favorite SMTs. And one of my favorite JRPGs. This is a gud game.
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
I'm not sure how much I miss dungeons. I miss the vibe of the dungeons and some of the traversing, but there are also aspects of SMT / Wizardry-heir dungeons that are just like... do I really want teleporting pads or the like in a game that isn't built around a fast and deadly gauntlet loop like the original Wizardry?

I guess the answer is better dungeons, of course, rather than no dungeons.
 

Dishonoredbr

Liturgist
Joined
Jun 13, 2019
Messages
2,095
Don't know what to make of the story. MC being all alone fending for himself in the long forgotten ruins of humanity's demise was a cool backdrop (a la Nocturne), only for LOREDUMP to happen.

That's how the story is told. HUGE loredumps and twists between areas.
 

dacencora

Guest
I need something to play on the train tomorrow—should I get this or the Nocturne remake?
Gameplay-wise it's not even a question. This is the only option.

Style/atmosphere-wise though, Nocturne is better. Just keep in mind it's gameplay aged badly.
I don't think Nocturne's gameplay aged poorly at all. It's still the good old stuff. However, V is certainly less frustrating. I died way more often in Nocturne than I do in V. IV and IV:A's save-anywhere feature make them probably the least frustrating mainline games.

I definitely agree that Nocturne has better atmosphere and is a bit more stylish (V is still pretty stylish, however).
 

Tigranes

Arcane
Joined
Jan 8, 2009
Messages
10,350
I played Nocturne for the first time a few months ago and it was incredibly good. Can't recommend it enough.

You can't go wrong with either but certainly Nocturne has better atmosphere, more battles, more dangerous (since SMT5 provides more liberal save/teleport options & other tools), and it's up to you whether those are good/bad/terrible.
 

Silva

Arcane
Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Messages
4,778
Location
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
The crux of the matter is what one thinks of random encounters. Specially coupled with puzzles inside dungeons that force you to walk around (sometimes backtracking) to solve them while being bombarded by encounters you are not in the mood to engage.

I find it an utterly bad concept and I'm glad to see it go. If one likes it though, then Nocturne will be more favorably received.
 
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dacencora

Guest
The crux of the matter is what one thinks of random encounters. Specially coupled with puzzles inside dungeons that force you to walk around (sometimes backtracking) to solve them while being bombarded by encounters you are not in the mood to engage.

I find it an utterly bad concept and I'm glad to see it go. If one likes it though, then Nocturne will be more favorably received.
That is indeed the crux of it. Does one like more modern JRPGs? Or does one like Wizardry-style dungeon crawlers? The random encounters + puzzley dungeons is Wizardry, and Nocturne is very similar to Wizclones.
 

Puukko

Arcane
Joined
Jul 23, 2015
Messages
3,862
Location
The Khanate
I've reached the final area just as the in game timer clocked in at 100 hours. (Please note, I am a snail and being quite thorough to do all meaningful content, so that's not going to be how long most people take to get there). I can fuse demons without level restrictions now, so I immediately turned on the macca DLC and fused a few 90+ ones. However, I ended up deciding against using them for bosses at least, as I want to be as 'legit' as possible and maintain some semblance of challenge. The game has continued its rather steady downward slope in terms of difficulty and most of the fourth area's bosses were cakewalks. It wasn't until a rematch boss in the final area that I really had to put in the effort again. I only used non busted demons meaning most of them were 8-12 levels below the boss. This is how bosses should be.

I have a few thoughts about the alignments.

I don't think I've ever been this taken by surprise or spent this long wondering which alignment to choose. Yakumo really grew on me but I spent the whole game making law choices. Then it turns out to be probably the darkest law option yet. The clumsy loser turns into a proper fanatic. Expectations successfully subverted. Yakumo is stated to be neutral-neutral, yet his route is presented as chaotic, what with refusal of creation and the destruction of the throne, yet it is for the sake of humans which would again, make him neutral. Thus Tsukuyomi would actually be the chaos route, but it doesn't embrace demons, instead a myriad of gods. If I had to categorize these options, I'd say they're Dark-law with a capital D, dark-neutral and light-chaos for Dazai, Yakumo and Tsukuyomi respectively.

Obviously, I only just entered the last area, so things may still change, once again.

I have zero clue as to how the fourth route is like, and I intend to keep it that way.
 

Hobo Elf

Arcane
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
13,999
Location
Platypus Planet
The crux of the matter is what one thinks of random encounters. Specially coupled with puzzles inside dungeons that force you to walk around (sometimes backtracking) to solve them while being bombarded by encounters you are not in the mood to engage.

I find it an utterly bad concept and I'm glad to see it go. If one likes it though, then Nocturne will be more favorably received.
Just use Estoma if you find them annoying?
 

Silva

Arcane
Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Messages
4,778
Location
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
Just use Estoma if you find them annoying?
If that's the spell that reduces encounters chances, it's still not enough for me. I think a better solution (that's not purging the concept altogether) would be having more areas free from encounters, including the puzzle ones.

Or better: popping up "you found an enemy: will you fight it or avoid it?" like in old Fallouts. But at this point it effectively becomes the same as having enemies visible, like in SMT5, and baiting the player through risk-reward. :P
 

Jermu

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Aug 13, 2017
Messages
1,354
Just use Estoma if you find them annoying?
If that's the spell that reduces encounters chances, it's still not enough for me. I think a better solution (that's not purging the concept altogether) would be having more areas free from encounters, including the puzzle ones.

Or better: popping up "you found an enemy: will you fight it or avoid it?" like in old Fallouts. But at this point it effectively becomes the same as having enemies visible, like in SMT5, and baiting the player through risk-reward. :P

Well it reduces encounter chance to 0% so it should be good enough.
 
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Gastrick

Cipher
Joined
Aug 1, 2020
Messages
1,704
The crux of the matter is what one thinks of random encounters. Specially coupled with puzzles inside dungeons that force you to walk around (sometimes backtracking) to solve them while being bombarded by encounters you are not in the mood to engage.



I find it an utterly bad concept and I'm glad to see it go. If one likes it though, then Nocturne will be more favorably received.
Whether you face forewarned random encounters or on-stage enemies, the result is the same. Fighting different enemies at random intervals. Mostly all games have some way of making it so you cannot run away, this game is the rare exception.
 

Dishonoredbr

Liturgist
Joined
Jun 13, 2019
Messages
2,095
I've reached the final area just as the in game timer clocked in at 100 hours. (Please note, I am a snail and being quite thorough to do all meaningful content, so that's not going to be how long most people take to get there). I can fuse demons without level restrictions now, so I immediately turned on the macca DLC and fused a few 90+ ones. However, I ended up deciding against using them for bosses at least, as I want to be as 'legit' as possible and maintain some semblance of challenge. The game has continued its rather steady downward slope in terms of difficulty and most of the fourth area's bosses were cakewalks. It wasn't until a rematch boss in the final area that I really had to put in the effort again. I only used non busted demons meaning most of them were 8-12 levels below the boss. This is how bosses should be.

I have a few thoughts about the alignments.

I don't think I've ever been this taken by surprise or spent this long wondering which alignment to choose. Yakumo really grew on me but I spent the whole game making law choices. Then it turns out to be probably the darkest law option yet. The clumsy loser turns into a proper fanatic. Expectations successfully subverted. Yakumo is stated to be neutral-neutral, yet his route is presented as chaotic, what with refusal of creation and the destruction of the throne, yet it is for the sake of humans which would again, make him neutral. Thus Tsukuyomi would actually be the chaos route, but it doesn't embrace demons, instead a myriad of gods. If I had to categorize these options, I'd say they're Dark-law with a capital D, dark-neutral and light-chaos for Dazai, Yakumo and Tsukuyomi respectively.

Obviously, I only just entered the last area, so things may still change, once again.

I have zero clue as to how the fourth route is like, and I intend to keep it that way.

Yes, at least the alignments in this game are quite surprising but honestly i thought the total 180° of Dazai' was quite jaring.. Dude literaly removes his date and his entire being changed.. But even still , i like his route the best just by the fact that's probably the most compelling with Yakumo being a close second. I like the concept of Tsukuyomi's route but i think lacks development like the other two

Btw Dazai removing his ''weights'' is so hilarious.

c5i6uvgidq181.jpg
 

Bohrain

Liturgist
Patron
Joined
Aug 10, 2016
Messages
1,442
Location
norf
My team has the sexiest and deadliest waifus you can recruit.
The chaos route reps weren't actually insane in this one. It's such a shame that the concept of allying with the non-asshole version of Divine Powers is cool on paper, but they got zero characterization.
 

Jermu

Arbiter
Patron
Joined
Aug 13, 2017
Messages
1,354
https://personacentral.com/smt-v-patch-announced/

The patch will include the following fixes and additions:

  • More options in the “Options” menu.
  • Adjustment to the camera angle and the screen brightness when navigating the overworld.
  • Reduced the number of wind gimmicks after the leyline fount in the “Demon King’s Castle 3rd Stratum Hall.”
  • Other minor fixes.
 

Sentinel

Arcane
Joined
Nov 18, 2015
Messages
6,633
Location
Ommadawn
Deity Khonsu: The god who presides over the moon in Egyptian myth. He is represented as a mummified young man with a curl of hair hanging from the side of his head. The avatar of the moon that possesses a lunar ship, it is said he is nestled in the shadow of the pharaoh.
 

Silva

Arcane
Joined
Jul 17, 2005
Messages
4,778
Location
Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
The crux of the matter is what one thinks of random encounters. Specially coupled with puzzles inside dungeons that force you to walk around (sometimes backtracking) to solve them while being bombarded by encounters you are not in the mood to engage.



I find it an utterly bad concept and I'm glad to see it go. If one likes it though, then Nocturne will be more favorably received.
Whether you face forewarned random encounters or on-stage enemies, the result is the same. Fighting different enemies at random intervals. Mostly all games have some way of making it so you cannot run away, this game is the rare exception.
I don't think it's the same. Giving the player the option to take encounters at his own discretion makes for a different experience than throwing shit randomly at him. Specially so when he's not inclined to fight at a given moment.
 

Hobo Elf

Arcane
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
13,999
Location
Platypus Planet
The problem with giving too much freedom with picking your fights is that it takes away the risk of exploration. Being able to see demons on the field is nice for sniping recruits, but in SMT5 you never feel like you're in any real danger whereas in previous SMTs there's always a risk that one bad ambush can end you along with the fact that each fight whittles away at your resources.
 

dacencora

Guest
The problem with giving too much freedom with picking your fights is that it takes away the risk of exploration. Being able to see demons on the field is nice for sniping recruits, but in SMT5 you never feel like you're in any real danger whereas in previous SMTs there's always a risk that one bad ambush can end you along with the fact that each fight whittles away at your resources.
Just like Wizardry and Dragon Quest 1. That’s the best gameplay. You have to decide if it’s worth continuing forward or if you should head back. It’s very tense (ok it’s not that tense in DQ1, but it’s still a ton of fun!).
 

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