Review | Shin Megami Tensei V

I’m a SMT junior. Yes, this is my first SMT game I completed and played for more than few hours. At the same time, I played many Atlus JRPG’s, so I wouldn’t call myself a junior on their territory, just in SMT universe, which I will NOT compare (much) with Persona.

Shin Megami Tensei. What a lovely name! I always loved pronouncing it, even though I only played SMT III back in a day on my PS2 (and it was quite hard, plus I was a SMT noob, still are).

Latest instalment, the fifth main title finally arrived. And yeah, it’s Switch exclusive. Honestly, I have no idea what they were thinking, it can only be bad for the series (Persona was also on PS only at the time, I just don’t get it). This means that the latest Atlus game is limited only for Switch users. Yey. Well ok, I do have Switch and I did get it, but boy, do I have things to say.

One moment you are a regular student, the next you merge with Nahobino and inherit Nahobino skills and hunger. Make your way through the desert and heaven/hell that awaits.

I will not compare this universe with Persona games, although they share so much, but at the end they are completely different games. Instead, I will talk about what I loved and what is a miss in SMT V based just on the game itself without comparing it to Persona games. I can’t compare with previous SMT games neither because I never finished them.

Anyway, SMT is a game about the end of the world as you know it, where Gods and Demons rule what is left of the environment, and everything wants to kill you. Starting point is your school and Tokyo (Tokyo got destroyed so many times in these games, it’s funny how I don’t have problems with such scenarios in term on boredom). I though, ok, characters, social aspect, everything is here, this is going to be a story-driven experience. Nope, not even close.

Don’t get me wrong, the story isn’t bad, but this is one of the games where gameplay is 95% of that game, and the rest are the characters and the story. In this case I don’t mind much. Why? Because the gameplay aspect is pure gold, so lack of story depth, character depth and their growth are just a minor minuses in the whole picture. You prefer the story? Maybe this game is not for you.

Story will throw some nice looking animations and scenes at you. The problem is - you will watch them rarely, as most of the game is about gameplay, exploring and fighting. By the moment you continue with the story you will forget all about the characters and what the hell/heaven is happening.

But what can you expect of the story, even though you will watch animations and conversations every 10 hours or so?

It’s a story about Tokyo being destroyed and world of different rulers is in place. Demons, Gods, Personas… These creatures are roaming everywhere. After initial events you will soon end up in “that” world and learn about all what I mentioned. I can really sum up all that in few sentences, it’s not like they did a great job here. You must overcome different demons along the way, beat mighty rulers and paint the path towards the new world as you see fit.

Angels, Demons, Gods; they will all oppose your decisions and try to stop you, but you are a Nahobino. Long time ago, Nahobinos roamed the world. They were considered some kind of godly personas, but they faced the cruel fate. Humans inherited their Knowledge, and without Knowledge (some kind of memories and power bottled inside) they can’t get to their full potential. One of these gods will merge with you, thus making you a Nahobino (and as you hold the Knowledge - booya). You were fit for this, and now you have the power.

The rest is about your schoolmates, other Nahobinos, and everything else intertwined. I liked the story, but I really think it lacks a lot of elements to be great. I just didn’t care about anyone after 10-15h in. And how would I if you see conversations every 10 hours or so? It’s just too much gameplay to point out the story and its importance this way.

Well, the first fight in the game and you get to see couple of demon penises - denises. Everything makes sense (apart from those penises). I can't emphasise enough how well the game is balanced and how rich the world is. This is how they should do our games.

I’m done with bad stuff. Let’s go.

I can maybe compare exploration with Xenoblade series. The world is shuffled through few maps, and they are big. Big and covered with neat stuff. There are talkable demons that gives you quests, items scattered all over the place, higher places to find and loot… You can jump, which I usually hate in RPG’s, but it gives a new dimension to exploration.

I really enjoyed exploring the vast world in SMT V. I consider it cleverly designed, full of intriguing content, on point and interesting. I missed more linear chapters like the one after the first desert map (I really loved that part of the story), but at the same time the linear ones after are not great. Temples and such that are linear are just that – linear and lifeless. I don’t care about running through hallways when there is nothing of interest there. I think they could’ve done them better. It’s just same walls and similar designs for few hours.

The rest is almost perfect. Every inch of the world is measured perfectly. Collecting colored gems from the floor replenish your HP, MP and other points, and they always set them up when you need them. Everything makes absolute sense.

The enemies are visible, and you can attack them to get an pre-emptive attack, or get attack to start second. Don’t risk it!

I envourage you to find everything there is. Some places are well-hidden and they look stunning. But, look at the view on the first picture... You see now why Switch runined the experience? The whole game is lagy and not fluent when it comes to opening menus, traversing maps, running... PS3 era ladies and gentlemen

When it comes to side content - the side content is great. I will use the word great, even though quests can be fetch quests and simple ones like “go there kill that, return”. Having them available works in your favor, as you will often need more EXP and levels to develop further. Some stories from demons giving you quests are funny. Little things make them cool. And of course, the challenge of each quest is something else, but more about fights coming soon.

The mash of JRPG content here is strong. I love that every tiny bit of content fits perfectly into the whole picture. Collecting Mimans (small hidden creatures that awards you with Glory points that you can spend to unlock more Nahobino perks and such) is fun, exploring all parts of maps and beating OP enemies is also neat. You need all the help you can get and doing quests plus exploring will give you all of that. Big variety comes from having all the different demons you battle (which can you later fuse and use in your rooster). This is just what we needed for a side content.

Shopping and collecting sellable items are ok-ish, but I didn’t used it much. I mean, getting money yes. There is a serious lack of money (which you need for demon fusion).

Backtracking is not present, but you will unlock different parts of older maps as you progress. Even then, you visit new areas or battle enemies that are unique, so every re-visit makes sense. Of course, you can avoid doing so, but I advise not to.

I loved how little things exists for you to find them. Conversations can be funny and talking to demons is fun (who would say). It's free to recruit demons in fights, but that means no extra skills. Pay to resurrect them after regitration to Compendium to inherit full extent of their might.

Let’s talk about the best aspect – battles. Turn-based JRPG at its finest! I can’t remember lately which game gave me so much in fights. I’m a huge turn-based system fan, and this game does the job perfectly. Not good, not great, perfect (almost).

Usually, you start the fight with 3 demons alongside, and usually you get to attack first. The system is simple, yet complex. Attacking enemies with Weak elements or attacks will add additional turn for you, but the same is applicable for enemies. This means they can wipe you out in one turn if you don’t prepare or are just unlucky. Maybe this is too hardcore for some, and maybe many will quit the game because it’s hard.

The solution is grinding for levels or doing available content all the time. I was doing everything, and I almost never had to grind. Plus, I played on Normal which is balanced properly. You can also try Easy, and avoid many problems, but that is a different game then.

As the whole idea is to beat demons, level up and fuse the ones you have into stronger demons (or negotiate during fights to recruit them), that means you can create endless combinations of skills, perks, elements, and whatnot for your demons. Everything is set, you can register and pay in the next iteration of fusing. There is so much to discover, learn, pass upon… Some demons have unique skills, some excels at boons… I will just say that this is an RPG system that will feed your hunger not once, but every time.

Boss fights are tough, you need to prepare, you need to fuse and prepare different resistances for some fights. Nahobino (which you are) has unique skills as well, so expanding your skill slots and finding essences of demons to merge with is a must. Combining all different strategies and using different limits helps (although I would really love to see more Nahobino limit breaks or special moves).

I changed hundreds of different strategies through the game. That is the beauty of it – always coming up with different plans and uses, as every few levels you need to fuse new demons and that means – new skills (most of the time). Nothing can beat that, thats what you want, believe me.

Always plan your actions in advance. Find the weakness fast, or find, die and load your game (and come prepared). Limit bar is your best fried (gives 100% crit attacks when you fill and use it). Your demons can die and you can replace them with other ones from your rooster (which you can expand), but if you die - game over. For sure turn-based lover will find so much to love here.

I left the music and technical data for last. Music is great, but at the same time some parts were not memoizable. It’s solid, even awesome, and yet some tracks are mediocre. I loved the late game fights; boss music was cool.

The biggest disappointment for me was the technical performance. It looks good, but it’s unstable and pop-ins are present right in front of you as you explore. FPS drops all the time. This game is not suited for Switch, I think Switch killed the potential it might had. There were a lot of compromises had to be done to run this on this console, and I’m mad this happened. I want to enjoy new games, not be pissed about laggy menu interactions, often loading times and just PS3 era graphics/performance. The good part is that game never ever froze or bugged out; it was just perfect in that aspect (but all Atlus games are like that).

Also, DLC about making the game easy is a cancer for this industry. Some other DLC’s that bring new demon bosses are cool, but game-helping assets are something I just despise.

So, the world looks nice (when fps doesn't suck). The feeling I had while exploring is something that will not leave my mind for some time. Too bad we don't have this on PS.

To sum things up, SMT V is a great JRPG game that is just what hardcore JRPG turn-based lovers will love. Minus the story effect. Grind and progress can be a bit long at certain points, but the reward for beating bosses and progressing was more than enough to enjoy the game. I had 80 hours of pure pleasure doing preparations and fusing demons. I would recommend this game to players wanting a bit of challenge (save often!) and whoever prefer gameplay over story and characters. Others may enjoy it as well, as this title is freakin' great, just be aware what it is.

P.S I have no idea if protagonist is male or female.