Congratulations to Victorsigg for winning the Nocturn HD Remaster Giveaway! (Check your emails my man!!) Look out for more giveaways in the futur! Thanks to everyone who participated! =)
@@kennethcolon3547 I don’t know if you’re still playing SMT IV but Apocalypse can be tough, if you’re going to play it soon or already are you might want to play on the first or second easiest difficulty
Try out the first persona, playing it right now and I'm pretty surprised how good it is, liked it more than 3 and 4 after the first 2 hours Allready. There is also has soul hackers which i liked quite a lot and the mainline games are a no brainer, they are all extremely good.
Here I started with Strange Journey Redux just because I found it in a store. I don't regret it but still enjoyed the game, even if I didn't get far in it. I'm loving SMT IV and I'm playing it more since the game is just there on my 3DS as it's a download, and the story has me hooked.
My first smt game was digital devil saga. I think it's a great place to start since it has a simple but good tutorial of the combat and the press turn system, and it's really good at presenting you the game itself. Another good point is is that there are no alignment, demon fusion nor negotiation, which can be confusing for newbies, so you can focus on the abilities. And even if there's only one ending, the chaos and law topic is still there.
I’m slacking, I have a 3DS and there’s so many SMT games on there that I should be playing 😂 Devil Survivor looks nice, I really enjoyed FF Tactics so i think ima start with Overclocked 🤔
I have to agree with your picks. I tend to recommend either IV for most jrpg fans or DeSu 1 and 2 for Fire emblem fans and it always works. I even introduced a friend who really likes metroidvania games through Synchronicity Prologue lol
good picks. I would also consider digital devil saga to a certain degree, since its character-focused narrative and lack of fusion system would make it a bit more accessible to people coming from other JRPG franchises.
Even though I am deep into Megaten I still find videos like these interesting. By the time I got into the franchise in terms of versions of games I usually opted for the newest version in the case of Persona 1, Devil Survivor 1 + 2, and Strange Journey. I got FES and P3P due to content parity and I loved FES so much I got P3P right after I beat it. Now with Persona 4 Golden on Steam I am finally able to play Golden since I have never owned a Vita. After playing them I would usually recommend Devil Survivor 1 Overclocked, Persona 3 FES or P3P, Digital Devil Saga or SMT IV as a first.
Funny thing is that prior to watching your video, I finished Devil Survivor Overclocked recently. When the recent atlus sale they had on 3DS, I picked up SMT 4, SMT Soul hackers, and nocturne via PSN. I also got PQ (I know it ain't a Megaten game, but it was cheap) looks like I'm ready to start my journey soon. Right after I'm done playing SD Gundam G Generation CrossRays lol.
i started with SMT 4 since my brother got it along with other used games that a kid in his class was selling and played persona 5 without knowing it was part of the series i just got it since it had pretty anime boys and it looked neat but i worked my way through the series after (in the order they were released) and now i’m pumped for SMT 5 AND for the remake of nocturn
I started on P3 and I enjoyed it... Didn’t finish it first though. I believe I beat SMT4 first, P5, P3P, Overclocked, SMT 4A and P4G. I’m playing PQ at the moment. And as of right now, my favorite game is P4G such an awesome cast in my opinion!
Like the video, my first was IV, afterwards was IV apocalypse, then went to strange journey and wow crazy labyrinths ( put in pause and tried dseu 1 and loved it).
Years ago I bought Nocturne on my PS3 console just to show off how great it was having access to all these old school rare and expensive PS2 games that are hard to find or just too expensive nowadays. Glad I dropped $9.99 and finally starting it now thanks to Persona 2 Innocent Sin and seeing the HD Remaster come out recently was great to see and I wanted to buy a copy, before remembering my PS3 digital download, just to show Nintendo and other companies that there was money to be had in restoring old PS2 classics to High Definition!
Shin megami tensei iv and shin megami tensei iv:apocalypse are currently 50% off on the nintendo 3ds online shop until May 5th 2021 if any one would like to play
I like recommending series of games the same way someone would recomend anthologies of comics. By the most part smt is similar enough between all games that you can feel free to start whenever you want and you will get the feeling of the franchise. I have only played the games on the Super Nintendo so I would recommend where to start from those: -Shin Megami Tensei 2 : You can feel the improvements from Atlus after working on the first one and the remake of the first two games of the Original Megami Tensei Duology on the NES, a radar for enemy encounters , more characters with more interactions, new demons , more detailed fusion, new interface , etc, etc. It is a direct sequel of Shin Megami Tensei 1 but is disconected enough as to ignore the first one. -Majin Tensei 2: The same case as SMT 2 an improved experience from the first Majin Tensei. The first Majin Tensei is a really basic Tactical RPG but on the sequel you can start to feel the smt flavor in the mix and it gives you more space to bother with more strategies and is not simply brute force everyone thanks to more demons and easier to get fusions from the beginning. - Kyuyaku Megami Tensei: Remakes of the original games, Start with this one only if you want to start from the very beginning of the franchise, some of the improvements of SMT 2 and the raw ideas that the franchise will carry until this day, is extremely more convinient to play than the NES vercions and is two in one; still the dungeons are really punishing and it has the same design philosophy that any random NES had , difficult , difficult and more difficult ; if you really give it a chance you will get all the charm the game has to offer but personally i would start with SMT 1 since it has mostly the same raw ideas and it reflects more what SMT is today, also because in Kyukaku Megami Tensei The magnetite really matters and if the cup is already at it's most full , the magnetite system may make you quit. -Shin Megami Tensei 1 : You love or you hat it there is no in between, the first smt game is from another era where it was okay to spend three hours straight with minimal progress , Spam enemies at any time on any space on this earth or in another , advance the plot just because you knew there had to be a plot still with all of this for the time and even now if you are willing to give a chance a gradiose adventure through an apocalyptic tokyo with an addictive battle system, a multiple of demons and to skills to experiment with a sense of free exploration and immersive dungeon crawling for what the snes could offer. A classic that can be experimented through the subsequent games but holds the sentimental value of being the basis for what was to come. -Shin Megami Tensei If: Is Japan of course we'll have to have an school setting by one point or another and this is it, not my favorite to be hones and i would not recommend to start with, some of the advantages of smt 2 with a new system that would continue somewhat on persona, new demons that are more concept based rather than based on mythology thans of the more freudian myth they are trying to follow , not a fan of his flavor of phsychology but it doesn't stand out from the multiple plots the games follows the best praise i can give and maybe this is where the potential of the game was to build persona over it is that is a micro-cosmos of everything of the snes series of games had to offer at the time if you feel like experiencing all tha snes smt had to offer plus a persona like system feel free to start with this one , same case with smt 2, you are more familiarized with concepts from the previous games if you start with smt 1 or 2 but it is not needed. -Majin Tensei 1: If you can see i sort this list from most to least liked, and yes Majin tensei is the least one i liked , just another functional Tactical RPG,the plot is not really outstanding but i have seen people that enjoy the relationship between the heroine and the hero in this one more than smt1 and the ones that played it tend to be really fond of (smt magic), but outside that not much to add, would recommend only to people that likes to play games on the go to kill time, works really great.
I got sucked back into the SMT as a reminder while playing Unicorn Overlord because of the marketing ploy of Atlus West. Long story-short -- it worked :)
I think Devil Survivor is the best place to start and then Nocturne. I feel SMT IV is a good game but the map and quest system are really bad and if you are trying to get the neutral ending you have to basically follow a guide because of how the alignment system works for that game.
I agrre strange journey is a not a good starting point but as soon as you are familiar with the SMT basics it isn't that bad, negotiations seem to be easier than in most older games and aside from.... That one dungeon it is pretty straight forward and even then there are lots of guides if you stuck.
I am playing through Redux at the moment and I agree with what you mentionned. If you like recent smt games and are also a fan of dungeon crawlers, its amazing
@@DavidCastJRPGsyeah strange journey is definitely a great game. I'm playing Persona 1 rn and it is surprisingly good, feels more like SMT than persona though not that I'm complaining.
I’d say start with Persona 3 (more specifically P3P). I think this is a good one to start with, it’s hard, but easier that a lot of other Megaten games, and it’s pretty good. Next I’d say either play the rest of the persona games, or play SMT4. I’d rather say the other persona games, but you can go either way. I think the other Persona games because if you’ve just played P3, you’re probably gonna want to play something more similar to that rather than something different (Like DeSu). After playing those, I’d say Nocturne. Nocturne is a hard game, but it’ll get you used to the way the Smt games work, so I think it’s definately one you should play earlier. After that you can pretty much go anywhere, you’ll be used to the gameplay by that point and the difficulty.
For a first timer I would personally recommend FES instead since there are multiple story moments that you wouldn't 100% comprehend with the visual novel pictures instead of anime cutscenes/3d.
I really wish they would just release like a big SMT bundle or two for modern systems and PC. Feel like I need to download and set up every emulator imaginable to play the series lol.
Well seeing as all the 3DS SMT games are less than $10 each rn I guess I could just buy a couple of the best for the price of one no prob! Thank David!
I just finished persona 5 royal and am working on strikers. When I finish that I wanted to get golden but I have neither a pc nor vita so now the raidou games and nocturne remaster are the most interesting looking games to me that I have access to as I also do not have a switch or 3ds for smt 4 and 5
I've never played a smt before but they look really interesting to me. I don't really enjoy the super in-depth life sim aspects of persona but I really like the battle system & enemy personalities. Should I give smt a dive or move along?
@@DavidCastJRPGs Thanks, that's the vibe I was getting from smt but I wasn't 100% sure. I heard the hd remaster of 3 has compression issues but I'm going to pick it up on switch when it drops in the states anyway.
I know this vid is decently old now lol but I wanted to share My experience so far Only got into this series about 2 months ago Played through PG4 now on too persona 5 royal, I'll probs then do three and from there ethier try one of the main line or stick with the Persona side of things It took me a while to get my head around SMT and persona technically being the same series
I recommend to play smt devil summoner raidou if you came from persona series this is the starter pack for the series. Many of the persona element came from this game also it's semi action so player who wish for persona series with action battle this is the way
A bit late to this vid, but my first SMT game was also my first time emulating in general, i googled what the best rpgs on the DS are and was interested in Strange Journey. After about 2 hours of getting beat up i gave up on 😅
I played SMT 3, SMT 4, SMT 4 Apocalypse, Devil Survivor Overclocked, Devil Survivor 2, Soul Hackers, Imagine, Strange Journey Redux, SMTPersona, Persona 2, P2 Eternal Punisher, P3P, P4G, P5, P5R, P5S, All 3 Persona Dance Games, and I have Digital Devil Saga (1&2) & Devil Summoner Raidou (1&2) on PC but i haven't played them yet all great games
I started a few years ago with Persona 3 fes, then recently Persona 5 Royal and P4G on Steam. Just downloaded SMT IV, hoping to get more into the series. Any recommendations as to what games to play after SMT 3, 4, and eventually 5?
Just started fully getting into smt itself.Iif I had to say an order that included Persona. Person 4 or Smt 4 (arguable persona 5 )first. Smt 4 is easy to understand and not having to deal with save points and instead saving at any time will help the player alot (it also warns you about bosses ahead of time). The save point system did sour SMT 3 for me by making me lose around 2 hours of progress (yes it my fault I will admit). Smt 4 story is also a basic begining and through play time becomes more complicated. Pesona 4 story is simple enough and for regular turn base jrpg player. Its gameplay is basic with the player having important characters in the party and having to deal with one character who has multiple Personas or demons. You could even add persona 5 due to how dungeons aren't randomize, but Persona 5 story is somewhat darker which is why I pick p4 over p5.
thanks for the video! I've only played DDS and a bit of Nocturne so I'll be sure to jump into Devil Survivor soon and then probably Soul Hackers as I don't really wanna buy SMT 4 as theres no physical in my country :(
@@DavidCastJRPGs tbh I'm not quite sure, its one of those games that I enjoyed but had to force myself to play, so maybe not for a beginner but for someone whos into the series then maybe?
I have only one question. Where in the heck was Digital Devil Saga on this list? Wasn't too big a fan of the sequel because it leaned to hard into humor and levity. But the first one had one of the most compelling and moving stories I've seen in an RPG and some pretty sweet tracks. And in keeping with the video topic, it isn't nearly as unforgiving to new players as Nocturne is reputed to be. I only remember being challenged a couple times, which wasn't anything grinding out a few more levels and a little planning couldn't fix. Was this list not a recommended play order for all SMT games? Maybe it's not recognized as a Shin Megami Tensei game because it's easy by comparison with the rest of the series. But doesn't that make it perfect for this list?
Download the emulators on the phone to play the games but i started with the devil survivor 1 and 2 i am watching the previous so lets see when i begin to reach the games that i played
i just started by SMT GBA some days ago had no previous knowledge from the game so i just made a max luck build with no demons i love going through buildings that look the same and being confused
Hello! Great video! I own persona 5 /3/2 innocent sin/1 and Ds1 and Ds2 and strange journey and smt4 and apocolypse and soul hackers and some snes titles. I only finished persona 5 only. I would like if listed all the games that i own and put them in order from where to start. And one more question, do you recommend me buying a ps2 because It haves the best games ( and a golden age for smt) of all time from amazon or buy nocturne remastered on ps4 (not on switch because mine has joycon drift so i will not be able to control the game well). I am still 14 so I cannot go nuts on spending my money. And sorry forgot to mention , does ps2 work on modern tvs (like 2015 tv) or no ? Thank you so much and excuse my english and am sorry if I am bothering you. Stay safe and keep up the good work!!!!
Heres my order! -SMT IV + Apocalypse -Devil survivor 1 & 2 - Soul Hackers - P1 & 2 - Strange Journey Persona 3 if you want something more similar to 5. I personally dont like this game that much
Nocturne is the last SMT game I would recommend to a newcomer, is BRUTAL....in HARD MODE SMT IV is easy even in hard mode Nocturne is challenging enough in NORMAL MODE Hard mode should not be underestimated, like at all. Do a first playthrough and then in a new playthrough after you understand the mechanics, do it. I read somewhere that the LUCK STAT actually helps with back attacks because, oh my God, in Nocturne the random encounters are way too high, and in Hard, it is impossible to escape without Smoke bombs. SMT IV is the best SMT Game to start, that's a fact. I just wish SMT 1 and 2 were more accessible, they really need remakes. Another pick is SMT Strange Journey ON DS, not Redux.
This confuses me even more 😭 Sooo many sub-titles. What is your recommendation on the order of just numbered, mainline entries to someone like me? Interested in seeing what all the fuss is about; I keep hearing great things. Or Quicker version: if I decide to start with III Remastered on Switch, will I be missing anything not having experienced I and II? Is that a decent place to start? P.S., new to SMT, but not RPGs. I’ve been playing RPGs for over 20 years, so difficulty and complexity don’t scare me. If that helps in your recommendation.
SMT 2 is a direct sequel to SMT1's Neutral Ending SMT 4 Apocalypse is an alternate ending to SMT 4's Neutral path SMT Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2 are a duology (duh lol) SMT Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha 1 and 2 are a duology (duh again lol) other than those mentioned above, every other SMT game is independent from one another plot-wise I suggest playing those that were officially released in the West in English first cause they're the most accessible to get, digital when they're on sale which happen a lot each year on Steam, PSN and/or Nintendo eShop you can get them physical too but some of them are pretty expensive now due to their small prints, so be warned I didn't include Persona as it's its own series apart from SMT there are a ton of SMT games that were never released outside Japan though dedicated fans have made some impressive fan translations to those, so you gotta go through emulation and Google search to play them
So do I need to buy a ds or other consoles in order to play the others? Right now I only have a Switch so I was wondering if I can play those on PC instead?
I just got into the SMT franchise through playing P4G on steam. I been playing Soul Hackers in my 3ds and I'm around 30 hours in. Im really enjoying the game so far, specially the part where you get your ass beat just to try again with a different strategy or grind for a specific level to get better demons lmao. I'll probably play SMT4 once Im done with that
no way you recommended the most difficult game in the series first. devil survivor should easily be one of the LAST picks, saved for more seasoned veterans of the series imho.
Watching someone's P5 playthrough is what introduced me to the franchise, SMT4 was my first (Tho I never finished it for... some reason), and I just recently bought both Soul Hackers and Devil Survivor Overclocked during my eShop shopping spree. Lol. I imagine I'd like the former cause I like what I've played of Etrian Odyssey 4 so far and it seems to play similarly (Save for the mapping thing, that's just an EO thing), and I've heard a ton of good things about the latter. I have no interest in SMT3 just cause of the mirad of... questionable game design choices which I don't understand why people defend, and Strange Journey Redux, while interesting, is a $40 game which is a bit much for a game that I have no clue if I'd enjoy or not due to what I've heard about its difficulty (The other 2 I bought were $20 each and I feel pretty good about buying those). These games aren't mentioned here (Only bringing 'em up due to me commenting on EO earlier), but I also chose not to touch Persona Q and Q2 cause those are clearly aimed towards those with deep knowledge about Persona 3-5, and I only have that with 5 and a bit of 4 (Tho, I wouldn't call either "deep" knowledge). I'm not exactly a Persona fan (Just have a passing interest), so despite me liking EO4 so far, I don't imagine I'd get much out of those two games. :P
Personally I think the Devil Survivor games are bad starting points for newcomers as those games are very different. The entire game as well as its style and combat are all different from mainline games and imo they wouldn't give a newcomer any real idea of what the mainline SMT games are like besides the setting. SMT 4 seems to be by far the best starting point for new people in my opinion
If you have a choice don't get nocturne HD on switch, get it on playstation. It doesn't have the graphical overhaul ps does. In my opinion it isn't worth going out of your way for if you already beat/own the original. The main thing they added are side Dungeons that are tiny and only there to quickly level up xp and money and they break the balance of the game... not that I enjoyed grinding for hours so i don't mind but it's not worth paying full price for a ps2 game with hardly any additions. No new demons, no actual new areas beyond a couple small corridors that they reused from existing areas in the game, not shit really. I only got it for switch cos I thought it was only on switch. If I had a time machine I wouldn't have gotten it at all though, or at least waited until it was cheap. They need to make a megami tensei bundle with all the old games - a lot of them are rare or on consoles that don't emulate well. Some don't even have an English translation because not all made it to the west.
Beginning: Persona, Devil Survivor, Devil Children Advance: Shin Megami Tensei, Devil Summoner, Digital Devil Saga Hard to get into (personally): -Soul Hackers (Feels outdated and I’m talking about the 3ds port, it could’ve been like Strange Journey, but failed to deliver, though story both the 1st and 2nd game were not my taste) -Digital Devil Story (beyond outdated, and this is coming from a guy who enjoys SMT 1) -Last Bible (I love Pokémon, but Last Bible wasn’t the SMT equivalent)
@@crazykenbei It has a lot of QoL feature that IV doesnt have, but at the same time.. most SMT games doesnt have them so I sincerely believe that IV is a good compromise in: easy to get into & getting a good idea of what the franchise is like! Apocalypse is very different in multiple aspects! Good game either way!