Shin Megami Tensei review: nostalgia only goes so far

Shin Megami Tensei (SMT) is one of the most popular JRPG series in Japan and though they aren’t as well known as Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest games, they have a cult following outside Japan.

SMT games are a mixed bag; some of them are set in the future, some in the present and some of them in a completely separate universe. They all have a connection to Tokyo, Japan and they all have a unique way of interacting with enemies. More on that later.

This iOS version is a re-release of the original SMT which was first released in 1992. This is the first time the game has been (officially) released in English.

A solid plot, but lacking flavor

SMT follows three young heroes (another comes along later) as they unravel a supernatural conspiracy threatening Tokyo. The plot is good and has aged well. In 1992 people must have been giggling at the idea of a computer small enough to carry into battle, now it doesn’t seem so strange.

Unfortunately SMT does suffer from lack of character. The three central characters are all dull as dishwater, a silent protagonist, a good guy, and a power hungry guy. These guys hang around together and occasionally talk to each other, but never seem to mention how weird anything is.

This guy pretty much named himself…

I don’t know about you but if me and my friends randomly started started hacking, blasting and recruiting mythical beings, I would want to talk about it.

In fact the characters’ nonchalance about the madness around them is one of the biggest reasons why SMT is not among my all time favorites JRPGs. It’s just too jarring.

Solid combat with some extra flavor

SMT is a turn based JRPG and on the whole the combat is great. It’s well balanced but unforgiving and you certainly can’t let your guard down. But what makes it stand out are few extra features which are unique to the series.

The first is that you can equip both swords and guns. This makes me happy, because I can imagine a world in which swords are useful to kill demons, I can’t imagine a world where a sword fighter would just shrug and say “sword only is fine.” No one is that dumb.

Yeah, I think I’d want to keep some distance between me and these wack-jobs.