Demons and angels locked in a post-apocalyptic, generation-spanning blood feud to the backing of a tough synth-metal soundtrack… however make it a tough-as-nails RPG – that’s the Shin Megami Tensei expertise. I sang the praises of Shin Megami Tensei V again in 2021 due to the way in which it embodied the sequence’ ethos in fashionable kind, and as per regular with developer Atlus, we now have a extra definitive model a number of years later in Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. Although it doesn’t essentially change what already made the unique nice, its new separate storyline and high quality of life enhancements are motive sufficient to play (or revisit) this masterclass in turn-based fight and demonic environment.
The very very first thing you do is select whether or not to play the unique route or go down the Path of Vengeance, which is an alternate path that remixes occasions with new plot threads, new characters, and a few wild new battles. There aren’t any tough selections to make or particular selections required to see this content material this time. Hell, you don’t even have to think about siding with competing ideologies at any level, as had been SMT custom – you simply choose the Vengeance route and comply with it to the top. Since I already spent 80 hours getting 100% completion within the authentic sport, I solely centered on the Vengeance-specific marketing campaign. It took me about 60 hours to complete since I used to be already accustomed to a majority of its challenges and largely sought out the brand new sidequests, of which there are loads. While I do prefer it extra total, it’s not precisely a big leap over what was already there.
The story begins off the identical in that you simply’re a highschool child in Tokyo who stumbles into being the chosen one, or a Nahobino – a human who can possess supernatural powers and remodel right into a demigod. Tokyo as you already know it begins to crumble as you journey to and from a post-apocalyptic future in a battle to find out the world’s destiny. For roughly one-third of the runtime, occasions play out pretty equally in Vengeance, besides for 2 main factors: the presence of each a brand new villainous group of demons often called the Qadistu and a brand new ally named Yoko Hiromine. All of those further characters sport fantastic designs that carry out one of the best in SMT’s artwork type and so they present higher context for this specific story’s occasions.
The factor I admire most is that the Vengeance path places extra emphasis on its human characters and will get them extra instantly concerned. Yoko is obtainable as a playable social gathering member for a big chunk of the story and sometimes appears like an integral a part of it quite than tacked on since she could be very a lot a spotlight of this route. Existing characters like Tao have a extra outstanding function as nicely, becoming a member of the social gathering early on and having an even bigger focus all through. While the 4 members of the Qadistu are extra of a mechanism to ship new plot factors quite than absolutely shaped characters, they not less than present an adversarial dynamic that wasn’t beforehand there.
Where Vengeance takes a tough flip is within the third area, which is totally changed by a brand new one which’s constructed to embody the shift in sure story beats. This additionally results in a change within the mid-game dungeon that has its personal distinctive aesthetic and set of gimmicks, though you possibly can inform it borrows a variety of design ideas from what it changed. Things finally merge again onto the unique path, so the brand new mainline Vengeance content material isn’t essentially “in-addition-to,” however quite a detour to raised match the story occasions. And by the point you attain the finale, it should have handled you to a few of SMTV’s finest moments, Vengeance or in any other case.
Its bigger theme of revenge doesn’t precisely take heart stage, although, and the trope of destroying the world to begin anew doesn’t get some form of significant examination because it’s lacking the connective tissue essential to make all of it work. So because it tries tougher to ship extra story, it opens itself up to a couple pitfalls alongside the way in which. In its grand moments, the philosophical platitudes are what drive its occasions and that’s form of the SMT approach. Regardless, I can not less than admire the trouble that Vengeance places into higher contextualizing your exploration of Tokyo’s demonic wasteland and the hard-fought battles you’ll overcome there.
SMT has all the time staked its declare on unforgiving turn-based fight, and there are moments by which Vengeance doubles down on that precept. You’re nonetheless honing in on the basic affinities of your enemies and constructing a roster of demons who can exploit these weaknesses. But on this model, I bought “SMT’d” extra usually – that means I’d get completely wiped by an enemy in a single flip and there wasn’t something I might actually do about it. Of course, in probably the most tense battles the place I wanted to rigorously assume steps forward to plan buffing spells, hit weaknesses to earn additional turns, or strategically substitute completely different demons in my social gathering primarily based on elemental affinities, I used to be reminded that SMT’s fight system has among the finest turn-based mechanics round, even when it may be as punishing as it’s rewarding.
You’re nonetheless negotiating with demons to seize them, having them struggle in your social gathering, and fusing them to create extra highly effective demons, and the standard stream of constructing your roster stays one among SMTV’s strengths. There are a handful of recent unlockable perks that will help you in battle and among the new demons I earned via fusion are ones that got here in clutch within the late-game. It’s that satisfying Pokemon-like nature of biking via more and more highly effective monsters and staying on prime of masking your bases as you stage up your foremost character, and making good use of them in crucial moments.
Having performed on regular issue, being on the similar stage because the bosses alone shouldn’t be sufficient to get via them, and you’ll be examined in your mastery of the system as a complete. Even if you come ready and assume tactically about all of the assist abilities, gadgets, and components out there, your social gathering goes to be fragile. There comes some extent the place mainlining the story isn’t sufficient to maintain tempo, both, basically encouraging you to hunt out sidequests and stage up that approach. And boy howdy, does Vengeance lay on a thick serving of sidequests.
As far as I can inform, all the authentic ones stay within the Vengeance route, and the aforementioned new area is jam full of its personal set of sidequests. Some of them rope you into robust minibosses, require you to search out gadgets out on the earth, or spin off into quick minigames. Big and small, sidequests all feed into portray a extra detailed world as you develop a greater understanding of the connection dynamics of the demons in SMT’s mythological multiverse. There’s a humanizing side to a few of these little tales, so to skip out on sidequests would even be to overlook a little bit of SMTV’s allure – significantly in Vengeance, the place it may well get as foolish as it’s difficult.
There’s one thing particular concerning the perspective of an SMT sport that I can merely describe as badass – a lot of which comes via in its environment and artwork course. From the deranged demon designs which have advanced over time to the sinister vibe of a Tokyo destroyed by the hand of godly powers, SMTV manages to evoke a singular sense of dread that lingers over its world. It is aware of it’s cool and doesn’t care an excessive amount of about being nice or palatable; even when Vengeance appeals to our humanity extra so than the unique, it nonetheless maintains a sure darkness the sequence is understood for.
It’s additionally a credit score to its soundtrack, which effortlessly pumps you up for particular battles or units an unmistakable temper in its overworld, bouncing between synth-infused steel and eerily catchy ambient tunes. The new battle theme is an enchancment over what was already an ideal observe, and generally I’d sit there mid-battle not doing something simply to take heed to it loop a number of instances. SMT soundtracks get into thrash-style rock as usually because it will get experimental with its instrumentation to create some haunting melodies and harmonies, and Vengeance nonetheless carries that custom.
New music was one of many issues I regarded ahead to most with Vengeance, however on the extra technical aspect it was beautiful to replay SMTV as a a lot better visible expertise. If you play on PC, PlayStation 5, or Xbox Series X|S, you’re handled to considerably increased resolutions and body charges together with higher draw distances to let SMTV’s world pop in a approach it merely couldn’t when it was a Nintendo Switch unique. Vengeance continues to be out there on Switch with all of the important options, in fact, however I do assume you’d be lacking out on among the best elements of this rerelease taking part in it there, particularly contemplating how the unique struggled by way of technical efficiency.
Quality of life enhancements don’t finish on the technical aspect both. New mechanics additionally make the expertise smoother with out sacrificing the difficult nature of SMTV. For instance, the Demon Haunt is a hub space you possibly can go to at save factors and speak to demons in your roster, who will then generally supply gadgets or get a lift in stats. As you progress within the story, you’ll have the ability to get free bonus stat factors to spice up the principle character’s attributes within the Demon Haunt as nicely. Exploration within the overworlds was fairly tedious in SMTV (and nonetheless form of is) however now you possibly can pull up a fowl’s eye view at any level to get each a lay of the land and a greater concept of methods to get to hard-to-reach areas. This coincides with the addition of Magatsu Rails that are shortcuts sprinkled all through the open areas that you simply skate on to get throughout the map sooner or attain secret areas. And with the ability to save wherever now could be a lot extra handy, as a result of nobody needs to lose chunks of progress as a result of they bought unfairly “SMT’d” in between save factors.
