(en) the god soul: Shin Megami Tensei V Review
A few months ago, I continued picking up Godot, the game engine, and tinkered with it. Before, I was just coding features that I might need if I ever make a game, like a sequential events system and a message box system. This time, I have a game I want to make in mind. I wrote a story for it, characters, game systems, all that. I even tried coding a battle system and I actually made one—it was super complicated, the backend code is super haphazardly interconnected. The craziest thing though wasn’t the coding part, but balancing the game formulas. I had to use a graphing calculator like some math freak from ITB to balance how much damage comes out depending on attack/defense stats, chances of critical and hit-miss chance, and how much stat buffs should impact the numbers. But pretty sure all this math shit is what it means to be a “programmer.”
Aaaanyway. Working on that game made me critically think about game features. What should be put into a game? What shouldn’t? What works together and what doesn’t? All that thinking pushed me to write another game review. This time, it’s going to be on Shin Megami Tensei V, which is basically the cousin of the game I reviewed last time.
So, last month I had a friend lend me his copy of Shin Megami Tensei V. It being a lent item, I had no choice but to play it religiously so I can return it to him as soon as possible. … Ha, kidding. I played it religiously because I was freaking absorbed. But why? Of course because it was good. But what’s so good about it? Here I will try to spell it out. Or at least what my brain thinks about it (which means this is very subjective).
Shin Megami Tensei V
There will be spoilers in this review. Also, I will be frequently comparing this game to another Megaten games I’ve played (Persona series, Devil Survivor series, and the mainline predecessor, SMT IV) so there might also be mild spoilers on them.
The Story
I’m more of a gameplay-over-story man myself but JRPGs are known for their stories, you know?
So I think I’ll begin with SMT V’s weakest part, which is this, the story.
What was that about?
SMT V truly is the Dark Souls of JRPG. And by that, I mean I have no idea of what it’s about even after finishing it.
I accept Soulsborne games being hard-to-understand because they don’t shove plot in your face. This game, though, has a lot (though IMHO not that much by JRPG standards to be fair) of story sequences and dialogues and yet I don’t think all of that shit tell one cohesive story.
I do get what the main thing is about: The One True God is dead and Tokyo is a simulation because the real Tokyo is dead and gone too. Now all the other gods fight each other because they want to be The God. The protagonist also plays a role in this war, and like the previous mainline SMT, has to fight his friends who also wants to be The God and fulfill their own ideals.
Despite putting on the protagonist’s shoes and being a key player in this battle royale, I find it hard to care about any of it.
Weak Setting
The game has two main worlds: Tokyo and the Netherworld. The Netherworld is where the main part of this game happens. On the contrary, Tokyo is so unimportant and unintersting, I wonder why it’s a permanently visitable place at all.
I loved SMT IV’s post-apocalyptic kilometers-under-the-ground Tokyo. People lived with and against the demons, had their own living, breathing society and technology around it. Here, it’s just… Tokyo. There are some people around you can talk to and they’ll tell you that “something’s kinda wrong” and that’s it. I say the game developers should’ve nuked the city, moved the important bits to the Netherworld, and erase it from the game after the first parts of the game is done.
Oh, and the school. Protagonist and friends are school kids so they go to this certain school. I think it’s an important background set for a certain story piece (the bullying of Itsukishima and her subsequent retaliation) but it’s so unneccessary. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with the characters being young students… but this is so underutilized that I think they shouldn’t even bother. It feels to me that they’re trying to lure Persona players into thinking this game has somewhat close gameplay to it.
The Netherworld is… normal. On visuals, it looks great for a post-apocalyptic cityscape. But story-wise, the demons that roam it just… do. There are demons here, there are demons there, there are demons everywhere. That’s all. You know, despite the Netherworld being Tokyo but 18 years after the apocalyptic event, there’s no interesting parallels to make. If Akihabara was full of geeky demons that kill each other over their waifus or something like that, it would’ve made it more lifelike and interesting.
Weak Characters
SMT V has the classic plot of having your friends follow their own ideals and choose between Law and Chaos.
I liked how Dazai was weak-spirited, but choose to give up his own life for the sake of realizing God’s plan. How he went from “normal guy with weak bones” into “scary religious boogeyman” felt really forced though.
I also liked Itsukishima killing her bullies, I appreciate the devs putting this kind of dark shit in game. I hate how she got killed off though, should’ve had a redemption arc instead. Now her murders are nothing but meaningless petty revenge.
My favorite might be Yakumo. He’s a police man with strong opinions. He isn’t as important as the other “main” characters are so he doesn’t show up all that much, doesn’t go through any character arcs either, but honestly, I think his infrequent appearance fits the game. You go through the game mostly alone anyway, so characters shouldn’t be shown too many importance in the story.
The rest of the characters are so insignificant I’m just gonna describe them in one single paragraph. Atsuta Yuzuru was the strong cool guy and I thought he’d be the idealist man like Jonathan in SMT IV, but midway through the story he just gets relegated to Tsukuyomi’s lapdog. His sister, Atsuta Miyazu, just gets forgotten a quarter through the story. Tsukuyomi himself was meh—it’s interesting to see he’s the prime minister of Japan but is actually an ancient god who wants the world to have many gods (like Shintoism?) and not One True God. But since the game is barely set in Tokyo anyway there’s no real significance to him being Japan’s bigshot. Isonokami is the kind hearted girl that gets killed off but… her death wasn’t really significant. Everyone seems to have forgotten her the next week. Well, to be fair, none of the characters seem to be close in the first place.
In SMT IV, I get to care about the other main characters because I adventure together with them, discovering new places together, getting caught in traps together, and even battling bosses together (as they sometimes join as guest members). Here, Isonokami is the only one that’s really ever tags along with you (and only for a short time, I’ll add) and helps you in combat, though only by healing you after battle.
Proto-fiend, the being that fused with the Protagonist to become Nahobino, is the person you spend most of the time with (he’s always together actually). But in the end, also nothing. Through the game, he asks about and comments on how humans think and act, making me think that this is the “robot-gaining-humanity” story not unlike what we saw in Persona 5 Strikers’ Sophia, but nah, it doesn’t amount to anything. He swears loyalty to us whatever stupid shit we say to him. He’s just a guy we’re joined by the hip with and that’s it.
And the last, most important piece…. the Protagonist. I know unnamed protagonists are usually bland and blank but holy hell is he empty. He just does what the story dictates because people tells him to. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care about anything besides not dying. He doesn’t have a strong connection to Tokyo, and none to his “friends” either. He just becomes God because he can. Kinda badass now that I think about it.
Oh, there’s also a red-skinned muscular monk. I don’t know why the fuck he’s even in the game.
Weak Everything
I struggle to find anything good with the story. It doesn’t have anything deep it wants to tell you, and not enough interesting things happening in it to entertain you either. For the former, maybe it’s just me who doesn’t get it… but even if that’s the case, then I say they’re really bad at communicating it.
The Gameplay
Now this… this is where the game shines. I play the game on Hard difficulty so I might have misjudged some aspects, but I don’t think ATLUS states which difficulty is the “real way to play” anyway.
A New Angle on Exploration
Unlike previous titles, SMT V has a platformer-style 3D exploration. You can naruto run to zip zoom around enemies and jump around to reach high places and find treasures. At first I thought “what the fuck does this have to do with Shin Megami Tensei” but not long after I started loving it. It fits the game’s methodical-but-fast-paced gameplay atmosphere, and slipping slopes or failing to make jumps might send you down to a den of enemies which also fits the game’s risky-and-dangerous feel.
In turn, the world more of a open space, unlike the tight areas and claustrophobic dungeons found in SMT IV. There are also dungeons in this game, albeit small and few. The dungeons also have Zelda-ish gimmicks like wind gusts that push you and time-stopping gateways, but these are only silly additions that amuse you a for a little bit. Not like the game’s combat itself, these dungeon puzzle gimmicks aren’t that complicated to solve.
Oh, and no random encounters! Just like in SMT IV, monsters physically show up on the world and battle is only initiated if you touch/attack them. I don’t hate random encounters, but any RPG with free form exploration feels better like this.
Buuuut that’s in the Netherworld. In Tokyo, you move yourself as a pin on a 2D map like in SMT IV. Thing is, SMT V’s Tokyo doesn’t have treasures lying around for you to discover, or blocked passages you have to go around to while crossing poisonous lakes. Just places to go and people to talk to. Can’t they just make Tokyo navigation into a vertical list like in portable Persona games or Devil Survivor games? I think this is a stupid decision with no real merit.
Them Collectibles? In My Megaten Game?
Along with the free-form 3D exploration comes along the collectible-collecting part. But it’s not entirely pointless like in other games where collecting these things will unlock an achievement and nothing else, finding these little guys called Miman will grant points that can be spent to upgrade the main character. Story-wise they don’t add anything much (not that the story has anything much in the first place), but it’s fun looking into weird spots and then finding these guys hiding there.
Also, the devs are kind enough to provide the option to show the location of all these little guys just by paying some in-game money. Even then, having their locations marked on your map, the game still gives you a platforming challenge because these guys hide in hard-to-reach areas.
Scary Battles
It’s just as tight as every other Megaten games. I can’t tell if it’s better, but it’s definitely as much fun as the others.
This game makes it really easy to grind levels, so I can comfortably fight bosses on the same level as them or even one or two levels above if I’m being extra pussy. But higher stat numbers don’t guarantee a victory. Knowing the enemy’s strength and weakness is always key, and cutting corners in preparation will cost you greatly. Every single action you take in the battle is a choreographed dance, a careful decision taken from weighing the risks. Even before that battle, deciding which party members you take with what resistances, what weaknesses, what skills they have… it’s all part of the battle. It’s really deep, but also really simple at the same time. Chef kiss.
It really feels like Dark Souls sometimes. If you don’t know the enemy (esp. bosses), you’ll get killed easily. But in the first place, you can’t know them if you haven’t battled them so you’d have to retry battles a lot. The odds also feels like it’s always stacked against you. Even if you double buff your party’s agility, the enemies still hit you, but if the enemies were the ones getting the double buff on their agility, your attacks always miss them. Carefully controlling the field of battle is a must. These two things makes victories really sweet for me.
SMT V’s big addition to combat is Magatsuhi Skills, which is basically a “Limit Break” skill that you can use occasionally, after filling up a certain bar. This, especially the “ensures all attacks to be critical” one becomes an interesting piece that fits really well, as it combats the aspect of SMT’s combat (lol) that can get monotonous since you tend to repeat things every turn (which is also why I said the battle is a choreographed dance).
I’ve said my two cents about Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE’s “return to base” teleport function killing the resource management of Megaten games. This game also has that teleport function… but also made changes to the Megaten formula to incorporate it better. For example, all skills cost MP now. Usually, physical skills cost HP, so dumbass demons who don’t have much MP can fight just as long. Now, physical skills cost MP, and magical skills cost even more MP, so your demons tend to run out of energy mid-battle on long fights. And because boss battles really take a lot of turns to finish, either you waste MP-restoring items (which is really rare) or you take a couple dozen demons with you so you can swap them out when they’ve ran out of juice. Essentially, resource management has moved from “is this MP enough for me until I can find the next save point” into “is this MP enough for me to last this battle.” Compared to SMT IV, you don’t get as much dungon-crawling thrills anymore, but boss battles become scarier.
Essential Customization
SMT V gets rid of IV’s equipment system, but replaces it with Essences, which essentially made customization even more bonkers. Essences are obtainable items that has the data of a demon’s skills and resistances and weaknesses, and you can consume it and apply them to your character. This ability to swap resistances and changing out skills willy nilly gives the developers an excuse to throw you bosses that hit super hard, because they can go “why don’t you come into the battle with ice resistance against an ice demon, you stupid baka?”
But this system gets even crazier because you can apply the essences to your demons too. You can make a full 8 demon party that nullifies fire attacks and make a fire elemental boss into a helpless pinata if you have the tenacity to grind and look for the essences.
I think this system is a good one because it enhances the Megaten experience I know of, which is the puzzle-like approach to battles. Other JRPGs have you repeat fights to get stronger, while SMT V gives you tools to solve problems.
Good Subquests
The optional quests in game are enjoyable. They’re very simple and straight-forward: collect these and come back, fight these kinda enemies, kill this mid-boss for me, those kinds of things. Each one doesn’t take too long, but since battles are basically difficult, they’re not exactly easy either. The rewards you get (mostly EXP) is also worthwhile, and sometimes, outright neccessary if you don’t want to grind by repeating normal encounter fights.
They don’t help you learn the lore of the game, though. Just the individual gods’. Like, thanks to the subquests I know Demeter is the sister of Zeus. But that has nothing to do with the main plot anyway.
The Atmosphere
I don’t know how to explain music and visuals, but I will say that this game sounds and looks awesome, and both are cohesively in tandem with the game’s themes. Even the UI’s shapes and colors too. I think it all fits really well.
The Meta
Now the following points has nothing to do with the game’s contents itself.
Gengoteki na Sakoku
Non-Japanese version of the game does not have Japanese text, and Japanese version of the game does not have English text nor English voice acting.
Why? This game had a simultaneous global release! Why not put everything in both versions? Another defeat for gamers that are non-native Japanese speakers…
No Need to Switch Up
It’s clear to me that SMT V being a Switch exclusive is an excuse to sell more Switches and nothing more. The game doesn’t incorporate any gameplay features that the Switch is known for such as motion sensors, nor it is in any way multiplayer so there’s no difference playing it on a home console or a portable one.
The sad thing is, they don’t even make it like it belongs on the Switch. SMT IV has the main characters equip gauntlets with a screen on it, so every time you interact with the 3DS touchscreen, it feels like you’re the main character touching the screen on his gauntlet. They incorporated the console’s second screen into the lore! But in SMT V? Nothing like that, at all. This game could be ported to PS4 with exactly zero gameplay changes.
The saddest thing is, this should’ve been released on home consoles and not the Switch. The beautiful graphics sometimes tank the FPS. I even had it lagging on a cinematic cutscene at very late in the game. Such choppiness for an important set piece…
The Verdict
Despite being narratively lackluster, this game is GOAT for gameplay reasons alone. I love it. I’d definitely buy my own copy if I had the money.