EDIT #2 - SMT5 beginner tips guide: How to conquer Shin Megami Tensei V: www.nintendoenthusiast.com/smt5-beginner-tips-guide-how-to-conquer-shin-megami-tensei-v/ EDIT: Sorry we misspoke about when guns were introduced and the randomness of smirks! Either way, they’re NOT in SMT V ICYMI our SMT V REVIEW: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n4ig5aU8wRY.html
I'm dying. Yes, I'm very jealous!! I understand why they took Guns out. That's a throwback to the Super Famicom titles. I think they wanted to make this more like a Nocturne follow up. Edit: I just want to go into some buildings and feel like there are places to see. I like exploring buildings like the Prison in Nocturne. Are there places like that with weird atmosphere?
@@AnywhereMiami smt 1,2 and if never where officially localized outside Japan on the SNES version and also features weapons,they actually got rid of guns in nocturne for balance issues and for trying to do something new SJ,P5 and smt 4 features guns because they wanted to do a little throwback to the old games
@@AnywhereMiami lmao afaik the games actually stopped appearing once more of the Megaten series become localized outside of Japan. These games stayed exclusive to Japan for a WHILE.
(Reviewer here) The vast majority of exploration in SMT5 is in Da'at. It's honestly rare that you actually go inside buildings (which... is weird, now that I think about it lol). There are still a few trippy sights to see though, especially in the final areas. Naturally, I can't get any more detailed than that.
the "mob" fights(horde fights) were actually pretty easy because they count as multiple enemies, so if you used attacks that hit multiple enemies they'd be getting hit several times, making them die substantially faster.
(Reviewer here) Yeah, I don't honestly remember having a hard time with mobs either typically. I was just trying to explain in a few words what they were for anyone watching the video who didn't play IV. In any case, I didn't miss them in V.
@@Alistair_7609 They also introduced skills that had bonus effects when smirked and a skill to remove smirk. And also smirk in 4A was more consistent in general
Dungeons were the biggest hindrance to repeat plays in all SMT games except for Tokyo Mirage Sessions. The first time you see a maze where you have to go to the room just north of you, but you have to follow a path through the area that would make a small intestine jealous of its length, is annoying. Having to go through it six times to get all the endings just isn't happening for me. At that point just RU-vid 5 of the endings and a "differences in routes" video. Tokyo Mirage Sessions was the first and only SMT where the dungeons genuinely felt like an engaging part of both the gameplay and story, something worth remembering as part of the game, replaying on new games plus, and not a way to artificially distance you from the next plot point while you memorize what warp panels lead to what others. It would have been nice if TMS had more than one ending, but at least SMT5 seems to draw from TMS more than other SMT games, and we can look forward to TMS2 after SMT5.
Guns made a lot of sense in the narrative and setting of SMTIV. I really think how the main party first encounters a gun is one of the coolest things. As other commenters have noted, guns weren't new to SMTIV. The mainline game released right before, Strange Journey, has guns.
From the look of it this might be the best SMT game ever. Hope it makes money so that Atlus keep making another SMT games and who knows maybe they might remaster Digital devil saga 1-2 too.
The thing that bothers me that I keep seeing mentioned is the lack of story. My biggest gripe with Nocturne was that I just did not care about the plot at all, besides the whole Manikin plot line. I really hope the Nocturne treatment is executed better here, in that it makes me actually care about my friends and foes
I’m very excited for this game. Not an expert on the SMT series but I have a deep respect for where this series came from and its impact on the turn-based JRPG genre as a whole.
Equipment, swords, guns... it should be part of every SMT title to some degree. I admit though, while guns could have really been better implemented in every megaten game I've played better, I loved the idea of two tools to attack with. What's stopping them from letting you use swords or even guns imbued with abilities or demon fusion stuff like in Devil Summoner? I'm sure even the protag in V would love to get down with mowing down demons with some machineguns, lol.
Depends on the premise. Looking at Nahobino and imagining him with a gun just looks dumb. I can see Flynn and the gang who are just humans happening upon a gun in old tokyo, but not in SMT 5s setting. Like imagining Demi-fiend with a gun. Just looks odd.
Honestly if they brought back equipment for this game i would've thought they would allow nahobino to change the look of his hand sword like for example the hinokagutsuchi his hands would be bursting with flames and when he draws it out it would be in the shape of the sword.
A couple of more nuanced changes are with the battle system. In V, when you pass with a half-turn left, you don't lose a press turn icon, the next icon becomes a half-turn. This opens up opportunities to get more turns in when you might not have otherwise. Perhaps in compensation for the above feature, buffs/debuffs are now more similar to the "P-game." Where they are temporary and single-target, unless you get the "ma-" variant. However, they still stack and the timer for them resets when you stack the buff. The only point of competing info that I've heard is the number of times they stack. I've heard from some people it is 3, while from others it is only 2. This would be a nice thing to clarify.
The combat UI only denotes two degrees of buff/debuff, so I took that to be the new limit in SMT5. The game will actually prevent you from using pure buff/debuff skills like Rakukaja/Rakunda if you've already maxed out the effect on a target, unless the effect is going to wear off next turn. The exception is skills like Fang Breaker (which drops the target's attack power), where you can keep using it even if the effect is maxed out already because you're still doing damage. And yeah, press icons have become more lenient. I'd refrained from trying to talk about that in our videos since it's a really granular thing and difficult to discuss without confusing people.
Passing your turn actually worked the same way in other SMT games, that's actually not a new change. You can do the same thing in Nocturne (both in the original and the remaster). It was SMT 4 that sort of did away with that system or altered it a bit, but clearly SMT 5 is going back to the "old" system.
Question for you both, the dlc content that includes the increased rate of exp, gold, and glory demons, are they their own separate dungeon that can be accessed in the main game or just add on items? Because as their own separate dungeon would be pretty sweet.
@@poldomagno1426 I hope they can be deactivated, I ordered the digital deluxe for the extra story content but don’t want to use the money and exp ones on my first play through and break the game.
I am disappointed about the lacking things, I enjoyed smirk and enemies jumping out at me. But it looks like it has some new cool things regardless. Very fun, can't wait.
can you elaborate on +skills. the majority of what we have seen were like +5/+6, then they show mephi with +9. what is the max skill level, how does nahobino level his skills, and can demons skill affinities be increased? (like with passives for example)
Most skill types max out at +9. There are a couple specific skill types that only max at +5 though. You can purchase Miracles to increase that + number for individual skill types (Physical skills, Fire skills, etc.) for Nahobino. As for demons, they have set + and - affinities for different skill types, but there are special items you can find to boost the + for skill types that demons are already good at. (In other words, you *can't* improve the Ice skill affinity of a Demon that has a default of -2 Ice, but you *can* improve it if its default is +2 Ice.) I hoarded all of those items for the very end of the game though, to make the final battles a lot easier.
When u transfer skills onto Nahobino, I think if he already has that skill it’ll level it up. So if he had agi and u transfer another agi onto him he’d get agi+1. At least that’s what I’ve gathered so far. For what they do I believe leveling a skill decreases the cost of it but idk if it makes it stronger
@@rickw9291 No, upgrading skills doesn't work like that in SMT5. You only upgrade affinity for the entire skill type, not for an individual skill. See my other response.
What’s the difficulty like, is it comparable to the previous games where you can one shot early on. Also from what you are saying it sounds like a direct sequel to Nocturne or heavily influenced by Nocturne.
What I want to know is if you use an Aogami Essence, if you can get another one, or if you just permanently lose a Nahobino special skill if you decide to delete it.
(Reviewer here) To be honest, I'm not sure on that one! It's something I wondered myself. There was one time where I thought a treasure with an Essence I had used up in the past had regenerated on the map to grab again, but I never confirmed if that had actually happened or if my memory was just faulty. So, I'm sorry I can't be more helpful on that one hah.
I would prefer guns but only if they were tied to one stat and could cause enough damage to be worth it. I always felt that guns in Previous SMt games weren't a fully fleshed out mechanic.
It comes out on the 12th. Why is the 11th always cited? The eShop says 12th, Amazon says 12th, the trailers say 12th. Why does everyone post the 11th? Honest question
I saw guns as just ranged attacks I just saw it as a difference between melee and ranged even though I know they both were just two different kinds of physical attacks. They could have played on that by having like certain defensive moves or counters be targeted at one or the other kind of like how Pokemon has a reflect for special and counter for physical. But I'm happy they just chose to treat it like an element and it's just physical stream lines things.
I mean, the lack of gear and guns makes sense seeing as you aren't even strictly human. It'd be weirder if you could equip stuff and use guns. And yeah, SMT is about the journey.... especially in V.
Yeah I hope they add choice to get those nuiscance for hardcore players. For me though. I will stick with the current game formula. Still more choices is better
Regarding Glory points: I saw that you can get glory by defeating some kind of strange demon (Miman?) But does Nahobino also get glory by levelling up? (Just like in SMT4)
You don't fight Miman; they're friendly (and give you random facts about Japan). You just find them, and then they give you Glory. You also get glory from specially marked treasure chests and gaining special items that provide it. You don't get it by leveling up. *Oh, I realized after the fact you were talking about Mitama on the first part. Defeating Mitama sometimes drops items that give you free glory, yes.
My main question is does the game being intentionally more accessible actually accomplish that, or is it just easier now? The reason I ask that is because Persona 5, the most recent Megaten game, is largely very easy, and Persona 5 Royal, it's rerelease, made the base game far easier to the point where I don't think I'd consider anything except for the final couple of boss fights genuinely challenging. While yes, SMT being known as this incredibly difficult series does tend to scare people off (especially when imo the challenge is a little exaggerated at points), I would kinda hate to see the series trend more towards the direction that Persona 5 took, especially because of what mainline SMT is there for. Persona 5 had the story to fall back on, so even if the gameplay didn't keep you engaged (for me it did even though it was easy), you could get invested in the story. SMT is primarily about the gameplay tho, so it would really really suck if the game becomes a forgettable slog of easiness.
I started off with Persona 4 and 5 and SMT 4 was my first SMT game and I prefer SMT over Persona partly due to the challenge it brought. I hope it hasn’t been dumb down for casuals and Persona fans.
@@mitchjames9350 yeah me too. Like I enjoyed Persona 4 and 5 but those had the whole life-sim aspect that makes Persona unique. It's impossible to glean much from reviews tbh because so many reviewers have simply never played SMT and don't know what to do with it.
@@RinaShinomiyaVal fair, but I played Persona 5 Royal on Merciless and had zero issue until the new Palace lmao. I do expect this game will be a fair bit harder than P5R THO
Interestingly, the game only demonstrates two levels of stacking in the battle UI, so I took that to mean you can only buff and debuff 2 levels in this game. In fact, the game prevents you from using skills like Rakunda etc. for a turn or two if you've already maxed out the effect, but you can keep using a skill like Fang Breaker, which does physical damage and has the effect tacked on of reducing enemy attack power.
I know i played a lot of smt but my question is, is there multiple endings according to your reason like nocturne or is it the neutral, chaos or law, endings?
@@deathfliez627 hordes seemed to like always having reinforces when i killed them so i had to kill 2x-3x at once most of the time,well it was good for me at least
One of the things I enjoyed in IV & IVa was that grinding isn’t really necessary like in most rpgs. There are usually enough enemies to level but most bosses were appropriately leveled when you figured weaknesses out.
buffs and debuffs at the point of the game I'm in being about lv.36/37 they do make things a ton easier. But there's still the off chance smt will pull its bs as always and just say nope. But they really do help they also only stack twice now. Plus you can get a magatsuhi ability to double their effectiveness.
I doubt it considering that Gustave seems to be the one shopkeeper and SMT IV still had humans in Tokyo whereas here it seems from the little we know that it's basically just you and your classmates who got into Da'at pretty much (probably a few more humans but not to the scope of 4). But then again 3 had demons/souls to mimick settlements at times soooo who knows. But very unlikely :D
(Reviewer here) Short answer: No. It's another thing in the game to adjust to. Save points have access to everything you need, namely, Gustave for buying/selling and the World of Shadows for basically everything else.
Can someone please explain + and - skills to me? I keep seeing like "Dia +1" or "Zio +3" and I don't understand what that means. does it make the skills cost less? Do more damage? etc?
You nailed it honestly lol. - skills have a damage penalty and + skills give you a mana discount and increased damage depending on how much of a positive affinity for the skill you have
The implication I sort of got was that while there is less story than nocturne, what story that there is is better than what nocturne had, if that makes any sense, which if that’s true, sounds all good to me but I can see why that would be off putting
@@wood1066 I get that, and admittedly I’m slightly disappointed as well, thankfully everything else about the game sounds incredible so I’m still hyped
It also happened if you tried to hit an enemy with something they Nulled, Repelled, or Drained. It's why the Walter vs Minotaur meme became a thing for SMT 4, since he had an....unfortunate tendency to try using Agi on Minotaur, which Minotaur Nulled, and then once Minotaur was Smirking he would pretty much one-shot anyone on your team with a guaranteed crit Labrys Strike.
No. Smirks in the 4 duology would be induced by hitting a foe with a critical hit, their weakness or by self-induced means (Smile Charge in SMT4:A) or by hilariously broken DLC Skills to self/ally (Archangel's Law in SMT4 vanilla). Smirks were a bonus to gaining Press Turns in those games. The action of hitting a weakness or criting was the action that causes a Press Turn to glow, not the Smirk itself.
Yes it's in. You can't get certain demons without evolving/leveling them to the end instead of fusing them. Some have 2 some have 3. There's an item that tells you if a demon evolves(I usually buy 8ish and save scum to keep them) also when they level up it gives a message that indicates they evolve
@@skingsley3126 ehhh kind of. (correct me if im wrong from here on out) im fairly certain not all demons evolve, but some demons can "evolve" into a stronger demon of the same race. (though sometimes demons do evolve into demons of another different race, atleast in smt iv). Its different in the sense of there not being a 2 or 3 stage chain where the demon looks the same and has the same learnset (ex. Tepig -> Pignite -> Emboar in pokemon) (ex. Angel -> Archangel -> Principality...... so on and so forth in smt iv)
It is at least confirmed NG+ had the now traditional 2 options, which is either carry over everything, or only carry over analysis and few other things. All Modern Atlus follow the same 9 save slots standard (even remakes/remasters), and I doubt this one will be any different
@@ChromeColossus Thanks for confirming the info. Multiple saves are always welcome. I was worried it would be just 2 like SMT IV or god forbid just one.
Does the game have something akin to the Gallows from Persona 5? Meaning a way to strengthen a specific demon, instead of merely using him as fusion fodder.
The DLC allows it. Demons are meant to be fused off, especially early game demons. You arent meant to get attached to one for long. Think of them as equipment. Endgame demons or poorly balanced midgame demons dont suffer that same fate.
@@RinaShinomiyaVal You don't need DLC to encounter Mitamas (the way to increase demon's levels). The DLC increases their encounter rate which is personally the oddest DLC I've ever seen.
When you start negotiating with a demon it'll ask you a couple questions, if you answer them correctly they'll ask for items, money, hp or mp give them what they want and they'll join you.
If it's anything like Nocturne, 4, or Apocalypse, you will likely have plenty of playtime ahead of you. Especially if the game has multiple endings (which is likely, as Nocturne & both versions of SMT 4 had multiple possible endings).
(Reviewer here) I spent over 90 hours with it in total, but I reeeally liked exploring, I spent a LOT of time in menus tinkering with demon fusions, and I tend to play games slowly in general. Someone could beat the game in 40-50 hours if they really wanted to. I definitely didn't wanna play through it that fast though hah.
I'm finding this game a bit disappointing. No where near as good as monster hunter stories two. It feels a bit of an empty story kind of like phoenix rising. There are just a few too many random battles so it's as annoying as pokemon for collecting since you don't always manage to get them......and I'm so sick of running out of mp and having to track back to a save point to heal. Its a still distopian world some of which feels like it should be explorable but sadly isn't. I think its a decent game don't get me wrong I've put over 50hours in this week, I just feel it was overhyped and there are far more enjoyable games for a nicer price if anyone is questioning I'd say wait for a sale or second hand physical on ebay if you're lucky.
@@smtandearthboundsuck8400 not really on High Level they were true Exp trove you could easily gain a level on this 20 fights case you could get 5 levels in one fight
Nocturne, no gear, that was one of the hardest games in the series, next to strange journey and the first digital devil saga. Hard mode you take 2x damage in nocturne, compared to example smt 4 with it's 1.47x dmg scaling on hard.
Its sucks when you can Mudo/Hama a Horde when Smirking, kill them just for the game to pre emptive strike when the reinforcements arrivve and they One Turn Kill the whole party. Had that happen a few times in SMT4 vanilla and twice in Apocalypse. Was cheap for sure. Hordes lowkey kept an aspect of that.