Shin Megami Tensei IV Final / Apocalypse review (3DS)
Dec 31, 2017 1:49:55 GMT
stratogustav likes this
Post by teddykongcountry on Dec 31, 2017 1:49:55 GMT
Finishing off the year with one "final" review, this time in a written format. Enjoy!
Shin Megami Tensei IV Final / Apocalypse - Nintendo 3DS
Shin Megami Tensei IV Final / Apocalypse - Nintendo 3DS
What’s the line between intricate and overkill? How can you tell if you really like something or are grossly addicted?
SMT IV Final doesn’t answer these questions, but you will when you play it.
If you err towards the “overkill” portion of the 1st question when presented with too many options, chances are you will find SMT IV and its sequel overbearing and at times unfriendly. To those that can adapt to multiple, intricate systems, SMT IV Apocalypse will prove one of the most immersive RPGs you can sink your life into.
People throw around the word immersive so much that you’d swear all video games served as these all-encompassing portals into distractions from your real life. To some extent, they do, but what makes a game truly immersive is more than just its ability to distract. What makes SMT IV Final truly immersive is multifaceted and the way those facets intertwine creates an experience that players take full ownership over.
Part of this is a trademark of the RPG genre: the central protagonist and the world revolving around him (yes, you play as a boy as is usually the case). Though the game doesn’t offer gender discrepancy, Final plays around with this concept by making the protagonist – Nanashi – the ultimate authority on the fate of the world, the fate of his friends, and the fate of the Gods.
The original SMT IV offered a similar concept, side with angels or demons and if you don’t, prepared to be greeted with an early ending screen, but where SMT IV Final distinguishes itself is in the gravity of the situation. No longer is this about picking sides, you are a self-proclaimed “Godslayer” thanks to the work of a failed God, Lord Dagda, who resurrects you and binds you contractually to his quest for true salvation.
How does one attain true salvation? The game’s answer is simple: not in this world, nay, even universe can one attain said freedom. Therefore, your role is to defeat ALL of the Gods at the behest of YOUR savior and help create this new universe where humans and Gods are not subject to the whims of the main Creator God YVHV (literally pronounced like a scratch effect on a turntable).
Although the goal seems straightforward enough, the method for reaching it is highly variable. Will you side with Dagda / Krishna and physically create this new space? Will you side with the arc-angels Lucifer / Merkabah and subject Tokyo to order or chaos? Will you create a new path where otherwise there is none? It’s safe to say that in SMT IV Final’s Tokyo, the world, nay, the universe is at your disposal.
To make matters more familiar, SMT IV Final’s story is littered with pertinent people and locations from the original game all painted under a new context. For fans of the original game, the rebirth of Flynn as a hero of the people or the presence of the wackest samurai Navarre as a specter bring new light to otherwise one dimensional characters. Additionally, locations such as the Yamato reactor or the catacombs of Naraku take on new meaning as they are reborn as the sites of different major events in the new game.
And how could one mention SMT and not mention the demons? The primary mechanism through which SMT IV distinguishes itself from its sister Persona series is in allowing players to tame and raise their own demons of choice, much in the vein of Pokemon. However, there are limitations and as the game progresses, players will find themselves in need of stronger demons, hence the oh-so-useful Demon Fusion program prebuilt into player menus.
This is where the game starts to blend the boundaries of brilliant gameplay mechanic and grossly addicting investment of time. The quest for the ultimate fused / trained demons stole hours from my play sessions as I would scout for new demons, train them for new skills then use them for fodder for future demons only to repeat the process. Suddenly, what seems like the best thing since Red and Blue actually causes you to stop and consider questions such as “where the hell did the time go?” or “what am I doing with my life?”
Fortunately, this continual process doesn't prove overly intrusive on the overall story; for as much as it is exacting, the grinding element takes up approximately half the duration of what is otherwise an extensive experience throughout Tokyo. Along the way, you will be greeted by humans and demons of varying calibers and some of the best voice acting to greet the 3DS to-date (whoever voiced Flynn, props to you man).
So who is this anomaly of a title for, per se? Returning to the original polarizing nature of the first two questions, I think you need to be looking for a few things in a game to enjoy SMT IV Final.
I don’t think anyone can jump right to SMT IV, let alone its sequel SMT IV Final, however, if any of this sounded enticing, I really couldn’t have thought of a better game to sink one’s life into. Many people right now are preaching Breath of the Wild which is great and I don’t knock them for but I’d much rather know I walked away the liberator of Tokyo, nay, the universe, and had my demons and my accomplices beside me all the way to do so.
SMT IV Final doesn’t answer these questions, but you will when you play it.
If you err towards the “overkill” portion of the 1st question when presented with too many options, chances are you will find SMT IV and its sequel overbearing and at times unfriendly. To those that can adapt to multiple, intricate systems, SMT IV Apocalypse will prove one of the most immersive RPGs you can sink your life into.
People throw around the word immersive so much that you’d swear all video games served as these all-encompassing portals into distractions from your real life. To some extent, they do, but what makes a game truly immersive is more than just its ability to distract. What makes SMT IV Final truly immersive is multifaceted and the way those facets intertwine creates an experience that players take full ownership over.
Part of this is a trademark of the RPG genre: the central protagonist and the world revolving around him (yes, you play as a boy as is usually the case). Though the game doesn’t offer gender discrepancy, Final plays around with this concept by making the protagonist – Nanashi – the ultimate authority on the fate of the world, the fate of his friends, and the fate of the Gods.
The original SMT IV offered a similar concept, side with angels or demons and if you don’t, prepared to be greeted with an early ending screen, but where SMT IV Final distinguishes itself is in the gravity of the situation. No longer is this about picking sides, you are a self-proclaimed “Godslayer” thanks to the work of a failed God, Lord Dagda, who resurrects you and binds you contractually to his quest for true salvation.
How does one attain true salvation? The game’s answer is simple: not in this world, nay, even universe can one attain said freedom. Therefore, your role is to defeat ALL of the Gods at the behest of YOUR savior and help create this new universe where humans and Gods are not subject to the whims of the main Creator God YVHV (literally pronounced like a scratch effect on a turntable).
Although the goal seems straightforward enough, the method for reaching it is highly variable. Will you side with Dagda / Krishna and physically create this new space? Will you side with the arc-angels Lucifer / Merkabah and subject Tokyo to order or chaos? Will you create a new path where otherwise there is none? It’s safe to say that in SMT IV Final’s Tokyo, the world, nay, the universe is at your disposal.
To make matters more familiar, SMT IV Final’s story is littered with pertinent people and locations from the original game all painted under a new context. For fans of the original game, the rebirth of Flynn as a hero of the people or the presence of the wackest samurai Navarre as a specter bring new light to otherwise one dimensional characters. Additionally, locations such as the Yamato reactor or the catacombs of Naraku take on new meaning as they are reborn as the sites of different major events in the new game.
And how could one mention SMT and not mention the demons? The primary mechanism through which SMT IV distinguishes itself from its sister Persona series is in allowing players to tame and raise their own demons of choice, much in the vein of Pokemon. However, there are limitations and as the game progresses, players will find themselves in need of stronger demons, hence the oh-so-useful Demon Fusion program prebuilt into player menus.
This is where the game starts to blend the boundaries of brilliant gameplay mechanic and grossly addicting investment of time. The quest for the ultimate fused / trained demons stole hours from my play sessions as I would scout for new demons, train them for new skills then use them for fodder for future demons only to repeat the process. Suddenly, what seems like the best thing since Red and Blue actually causes you to stop and consider questions such as “where the hell did the time go?” or “what am I doing with my life?”
Fortunately, this continual process doesn't prove overly intrusive on the overall story; for as much as it is exacting, the grinding element takes up approximately half the duration of what is otherwise an extensive experience throughout Tokyo. Along the way, you will be greeted by humans and demons of varying calibers and some of the best voice acting to greet the 3DS to-date (whoever voiced Flynn, props to you man).
So who is this anomaly of a title for, per se? Returning to the original polarizing nature of the first two questions, I think you need to be looking for a few things in a game to enjoy SMT IV Final.
- A game with deep mechanics – everything from the monster training to the character leveling to the main character traits is something that will continuously call player discretion into question. You may find that proves daunting over time but the reward is high when you’ve got a powerful protagonist coupled with optimal demons.
- An accessible game that’s easy to sink into – in spite of the depth, Final proves very user-friendly allowing players to adjust difficulty and play through the game pretty much to their liking. An added party mechanic and the nerfing of light / dark abilities makes this title far more balanced than its predecessor. The only drawback is that its so easy to lose oneself to customization.
- A controversial game – if this game released during the “violent video game scare” of the early 90’s, mothers across the country would’ve lost their wigs. This game plays around with the concepts of religion liberally but also very divisively, moreso than the first game. If you are tolerant or even appreciative of a gamethat takes these kinds of risks, you have a lot to like here.
I don’t think anyone can jump right to SMT IV, let alone its sequel SMT IV Final, however, if any of this sounded enticing, I really couldn’t have thought of a better game to sink one’s life into. Many people right now are preaching Breath of the Wild which is great and I don’t knock them for but I’d much rather know I walked away the liberator of Tokyo, nay, the universe, and had my demons and my accomplices beside me all the way to do so.
