Buy Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse by Atlus for Nintendo 3DS at GameStop. Find release dates, customer reviews, previews, and more. I don't know much about the Shin Megami Tensei games and aside from Pokemon i haven't really played RPGs in a while. I did play games Like Golden Sun, Kingdom hearts and recently picked up Dragon Quest VIII for the 3DS which i really enjoyed and which got me back into the RPG genre.
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AtlusTechnobubble covers games, gadgets, technology and all things geek. Follow Technobubble poobah Jason Hidalgoâs shenanigans on Twitter @jasonhidalgoAh, yes, the spin-off game.Most of the time, offshoot titles of main series games end up like diet soda. They just donât have the same kick or substance of the original, resulting in a taste that falls flat. Once in a while, however, that rare spinoff game comes along that does justice to the main game that itâs based on.âShin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypseâ is one of those games. AtlusTo be honest, I had low expectations at first. As someone who has played my fair share of spin-off titles that underwhelmed, itâs a conditioned response akin to Pavlovâs dog.
For a while, it appeared as if those fears were justified as I was introduced to an initial set of characters that felt like they were ripped off from Anime Tropes 101. Consider it the downside of reading a ton of manga and watching a boatload of anime for decades. Iâve pretty much seen it all.As I continued to soldier through the game, however, something happened. The game slowly but surely started to grab my interest. Soon enough, a smirk started to form on my face, pun so totally intended, as I found myself more invested in what was happening. A big part of it involves the game's premise. Set in the same world as its predecessor, Apocalypse lets you experience the events shortly before the end of âShin Megami Tenseiâ through the eyes of a different cast of characters.
This includes the unlikely pairing of protagonist Nanashi and the demon Dagda, which is one of the more compelling aspects of the gameâs story.A member of the Hunterâs Association, Nanashi is a fledgling apprentice who spends his days scrounging up a tough living with the rest of humanity in Tokyo. For humans caught in the violent struggle between angels and demons, itâs a rough existence that involves salvaging old technology and food sources (you probably wouldnât want to know what meat they eat sometimes) while trying to avoid death. The dark, gritty setting of post-Apocalyptic Tokyo is definitely a sharp contrast from the medieval kingdom of Mikado at the beginning of SMTIV.An encounter with the demon Adramelech ultimately causes Nanashi to enter a pact with Dagda, which comes at a price. Donât all pacts with a demon, do? Itâs this relationship between Nanashi and Dagda, combined with the mystery behind Dagdaâs background and goals, that anchors the plot of Apocalypse and makes it a fascinating romp. I actually found myself hooked into the story a lot faster than I was with its predecessor, which was a great game in its own right.Of course, combat is a big part of any Shin Megami Tensei game and Apocalypse does a good job in building on SMTIVâs system while also fine-tuning it at the same time. This includes the return of the Press Turn System, which is one acronym short of PTSD, but provides some pretty fun battles due to the ability to stack your attacks by acting multiple times in one turn.
AtlusYouâll start out with an extra attack here and there but can ultimately string up to eight actions consecutively once you get the hang of it. Also making a return is one of the best named moves ever, âSmirk.â By learning about enemy weaknesses and exploiting them, you can land a critical attack that can put you in Smirk status. In addition to your character literally smirking, the status also makes all your attacks critical while temporarily nullifying your weaknesses. Both press turn and smirk are awesome features, until you realize that enemies can do them to you, too. Given how tough enemies can be in this game, youâll definitely want to be on your toes so you donât find yourself frequently getting pressed, smirked and eating pavement.
This means taking advantage of the assist gauge to launch Assist Attacks that deal a blow to enemies while also cancelling their actions.Another key part of any Megaten game is the ability to negotiate with and recruit demons, which is present in Apocalypse as well. Depending on the demonâs personality, youâll want to cajole, intimidate or bribe it in order to successfully get them on your side. This is one of the funnier parts of the game at times as I feel like a schizophrenic character whoâs aggressive one minute then totally submissive a couple minutes later when Iâm trying to recruit these different monsters. Just keep in mind that monsters will not join you if they outlevel you but they will send a replacement to join you instead. Later on, you can fuse demons as well to create more powerful allies. Demons you recruit also can be surprisingly chatty and will talk to you occasionally, which youâll want to pay attention to as they can request upgrades or give you stuff.In addition to fleshing out your team and fighting for you, demons can also teach you their moves via Whisper Events that can be triggered when they level up. This means you can customize your protagonist any number of ways, depending on your fighting style and combat preferences.
Further rounding out Nanashiâs build is the ability to purchase apps that provide perks that range from the ability to receive items from monsters to boosting the experience you get. Challenge quests, meanwhile, give you more things to do on top of the main quest line. Add multiple endings and the game provides hours upon hours of gaming. AtlusAs much as I enjoyed Apocalypse, however, it also has a few issues. Mapping, for example, is improved but itâs still a bit of a pain to use. The game also reuses several assets from SMTIV, which makes sense on one hand but also removes some of the new car shine from Apocalypse.
Flynnâs insertion at certain points in the game also takes the focus away from Nanashi a bit, though I thought it was nice to cross paths with characters from the previous game. Apocalypse has some dialogue issues, too, though theyâre pretty minor in my book, and the lack of a Japanese audio option might disappoint some fans. Lastly, the game can be unforgivingly difficult even when played at the normal level, which should suit its more hardcore fanbase just fine but might overwhelm newcomers or less seasoned JRPG players.
Then again, you can always lower it.FINAL THOUGHTSDonât think of Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse as just some throwaway cash-in title. This spin-off game builds on the solid foundation of its predecessor and even outshines it in some aspects. Admittedly, it reuses several assets from the previous game and mapping, while improved, could still be better. A likable cast of characters combined with an intriguing story and compelling combat, however, makes Apocalypse a worthy addition to anyoneâs JRPG collection.
Rating: 4.25 out of 5. Cost: $49.99, 3DS. Official site:http://atlus.com/smt4a/.
Nintendo 3DS
The eternal struggle begins now! Will you choose peace or anarchy?
The story of Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse focuses on a Hunter cadet protagonist who gets killed by one of the demons treating post-apocalyptic Tokyo as their personal playground. However, the mysterious god Dagda resurrects the protagonist in exchange for his fealty, and sets him on a perilous path that treads a fine line between peace and anarchy. Is Dagda simply an opportunistic lesser god or is he part of something much bigger?
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