Shin Megami Tensei 4 Apocalypse Review

[Minato arisato 253]

Yo guys, been playing through since day one of it's Release and I've been enjoying it like a lot. And this is a Surprise since SMT4 to me is a mediocre game and RPG compared to Nocturne or Strange Journey. SMT4 had a lot of problems, with pacing, gameplay, and even some other things.

 

But SMT4A seems like they knew what went wrong and had the time and money to give it their all, and fix what should have been a great game for the franchise. Bouncing back with a good presentation and throwing you into the fray off the bat and within a hour. I will now list and compare the improvements of Apocalypse with 4. 

 

SMT4A had simplified Demon fusion and making the UI to Menu speed more like a moblie game, with basic fusion from the past games and simply selecting a demon with another Demon. In 4 you couldn't do this, and use a search system; Only a search system to go through what demons you can fuse.

 

SMT4A has a better tutorial overall than 4. It throws you in the fray with demons and a new dungeon.  With explaining simple mechanics with a snap.

 

Characters and plot are also a big thing to the game. The Samurai of Mikado were pretty boring and stoic compared to our colorful cast in this game. Narrave and Asashi already bring the game more personality than what he got in 4's introduction. Nozomi and Dagda also sell the game for me. Dagda is a Irish god who brings you back from the dead and only directly speaks to you. so when Asashi said something comforting to "Nanashi" (The MC), Dagda told how worthless those words were and to throw your life away as he'll bring you back again and again.

 

 

Gameplay wise it's not easy as people made it out to be, this time i'd say balanced is the correct term. You'll actually have a tough time with demons now as you can't sweep the enemy lines with the press turn system. you now a choice over your partner now as well. You do have a sort of Assist bar that basically skips the enemies turn so your team can attack, buff and give you Smirks. Sounds broken but you can't really abuse it. Another thing that is pretty welcome is you no longer have to pay to come back from the dead, instead you'll just be warped back to where you last died at.

 

 

 

I'd say get this over 4 because it's just that good, the plot also gets good as you won't be in Flynn's Shadow the Entire time. If you want to get it at another time, for sure you should get it at 30 bucks and that isn't going to be soon. But this is the game for newcomers. I can say this despite only having 9 hours with the game. 

Edited September 24, 2016 by Minato arisato

[RuDoe Ry 139]

First day it came out I played till I couldn't see straight. Yeah its good lool love the shin megami series juat everything about it not gonna make a book out of it ha. now that's all that's left is Dragon Ball fusions god the battle system looks fun as heck.

Edited September 24, 2016 by RuDoe Ry

[Guest]

So, should I ignore Shin Megami Tensei 4 altogether for Apocalypse?

[Joker 1,560]

Apocalypse can be enjoyed without playing IV at all. Theres refenences and some story details that wont make sense but this is Nanashi's story not Flynn's anymore

[Dio Brando 5,810]

Yo guys, been playing through since day one of it's Release and I've been enjoying it like a lot. And this is a Surprise since SMT4 to me is a mediocre game and RPG compared to Nocturne or Strange Journey. SMT4 had a lot of problems, with pacing, gameplay, and even some other things.

 

But SMT4A seems like they knew what went wrong and had the time and money to give it their all, and fix what should have been a great game for the franchise. Bouncing back with a good presentation and throwing you into the fray off the bat and within a hour. I will now list and compare the improvements of Apocalypse with 4. 

 

SMT4A had simplified Demon fusion and making the UI to Menu speed more like a moblie game, with basic fusion from the past games and simply selecting a demon with another Demon. In 4 you couldn't do this, and use a search system; Only a search system to go through what demons you can fuse.

 

SMT4A has a better tutorial overall than 4. It throws you in the fray with demons and a new dungeon.  With explaining simple mechanics with a snap.

 

Characters and plot are also a big thing to the game. The Samurai of Mikado were pretty boring and stoic compared to our colorful cast in this game. Narrave and Asashi already bring the game more personality than what he got in 4's introduction. Nozomi and Dagda also sell the game for me. Dagda is a Irish god who brings you back from the dead and only directly speaks to you. so when Asashi said something comforting to "Nanashi" (The MC), Dagda told how worthless those words were and to throw your life away as he'll bring you back again and again.

 

 

Gameplay wise it's not easy as people made it out to be, this time i'd say balanced is the correct term. You'll actually have a tough time with demons now as you can't sweep the enemy lines with the press turn system. you now a choice over your partner now as well. You do have a sort of Assist bar that basically skips the enemies turn so your team can attack, buff and give you Smirks. Sounds broken but you can't really abuse it. Another thing that is pretty welcome is you no longer have to pay to come back from the dead, instead you'll just be warped back to where you last died at.

 

 

 

I'd say get this over 4 because it's just that good, the plot also gets good as you won't be in Flynn's Shadow the Entire time. If you want to get it at another time, for sure you should get it at 30 bucks and that isn't going to be soon. But this is the game for newcomers. I can say this despite only having 9 hours with the game. 

Great review buddy

 

I'll post mine once I bash certian yellow heads to the ground

 

Apocalypse can be enjoyed without playing IV at all. Theres refenences and some story details that wont make sense but this is Nanashi's story not Flynn's anymore

Yeah although references to past even won't be as clear but it's not a big deal

[Minato arisato 253]

Great review buddy

 

I'll post mine once I bash certian yellow heads to the ground

 

Yeah although references to past even won't be as clear but it's not a big deal

I'm probably gonna make a another post regarding further thoughts on the game, and already 30 hours in, and around the midpoint. I'm been busy getting a team as team management is a lot more tough in this game.