Young Magus
Junior Member
Yay!! My 1st thread!
Well on the gaming side anyway
Intro:
Although I had exposure to the MegaTen franchise, I had picked up this game over a year ago. With school and life often getting in the way, the time I had to complete and enjoy this game was few and few between. In preparation for the US release of SMT IV, I decided to return to the ~18 hour save file I had and in less then a week I was able to complete this gem. The following post will be a summary of my thoughts, opinions and ideas regarding this game.
Story:
The game begins with a normal high school student ready to visit his teacher with a few folks from High School. Being that this is a SMT game, things go to hell pretty quickly and sooner then later you find yourself caught up in a power struggle among armies and legions of various demons/monsters from various mythology and folklore. The ultimate goal: the obtain the power to create and remake the world as they see fit. Called reasons, the ideas are based upon concepts from philosophy and each one has its own means, strength and opportunity to make a new world. Your character can join up with anyone
or tell each one to get bent
Presentation:
The presentation is top-notch and helps create an environment of dread and lonesome. Being alone in a world full of Demons helps create an said environment and makes scenes like this:
All the more powerful to the player. Also worth noting is the fantastic artwork of one Kazuma Kaneko, whose art come to life thanks to the game's beautiful and detailed cel-shaded design.
Gameplay:
The most infamous portion of Nocturne is the soul-crushing battle system and take-no-prisoners dungeon design. And just so we get this out the way:
Everything you hear about this MOFO right here is true, he will teach you the know hows and ways of mastering the battle systems of Nocturne. Let me make myself clear: YOU.WILL.NEED.BUFFS./.DEBUFFS.TO.MAKE.IT.THOUGH.THIS.GAME. Once you get that processed in your head, the game will still be kicking your ass. Strategy is the key word here ladies and gents not only in the field of battle but outside of it as well. With warps, traps and set-ups that are around the various dungeons, you NEED to plan ahead and think of the dangers that could be lurking around the corner.
The battle system uses the Press Turn system that rewards critical thing and memorization. Anyone that has played the recent Persona games or Digital Devil Saga should be familiar with this combat system are both use a modified version of Press Turn. It's real simple: discover/use weakness= more turns, use attack that's actually their strength/element=you lose your turn. Again, to get thorough this game you will need to master the art of press turn to survive the massive onslaught of enemies and random encounters. Another key element of battle would be the Magatama system in which the abilities and stats are determined by which one you have by the time you level up. The thing that I do not like about this (and this was fixed in DDS) is that once you learn a skill when your move list is full (and this will happen sooner then you think) you HAVE to erase a skill (the newly learned skill or the ones your have) this will create problems down the road and again requires thinking and advance planning (notice a theme here?)
Music:
Instead of explaining my love of the music, I'll just post a link to the OST..........what are you waiting for?
Conclusion:
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is one hell of an ride that I was glad I experienced. From the gameplay to the massive amount of dungeon crawling, the game is quite rewarding when you finally beat the game. With every boss you beat and every puzzle you solve, it provided a sense of accomplishment that can only be matched by only a few selective titles. For those who want something different from the usual in terms of battles, setting and soundtrack, then Nocturne is the game for you. If for whatever reason you are on the fence, then let me tell you that the game is only $20
. This RPG is a one of a kind experience and should be enjoyed by more folks
