『SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI』Protagonists Support Thread. (Awaiting Reincarnation...)

[ThatShadowLink]

I mean, it wouldn't be the weirdest crossover between ATLUS properties by any means haha. I believe Trauma Center characters have already randomly appeared in Etrian Odyssey...

Yup! That was due to Trauma Center and Etrian Odyssey both being spear-headed by the same person. The head doctor appears in EO1 and the protagonists appear in EO2. And Angie is the inkeeper in 3 for some reason.

 

[amageish]

Yup! That was due to Trauma Center and Etrian Odyssey both being spear-headed by the same person. The head doctor appears in EO1 and the protagonists appear in EO2. And Angie is the inkeeper in 3 for some reason.

Oh, nice! Well, I guess I have encountered the characters before in a sense then haha. EO3 is my favourite EO game and Angie was fun in it, so that's a good sign.

 

[Wunderwaft]

Looks like we're finally getting some information on Shin Megami Tensei V after years of silence from Atlus.

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[chocolatejr9]

Looks like we're finally getting some information on Shin Megami Tensei V after years of silence from Atlus.

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It's gonna be another teaser for a teaser, isn't it?

 

[amageish]

Well, it's nice to see a new Jack Frost image, if nothing else... This does make me feel more confident that they probably actually show something this year, as opposed to the 2018 claim they would show something in 2019 that never panned out.

 

[Idon]

Hey all, sorry I haven't been around lately, holiday and family and all that, but at least I get to be around long enough for this:

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Finally, a pretty likely chance of actually getting SMTV news! Considering the confidence of this post from the official megaten twitter and the very likely January/February Direct, we may very well have a substantial trailer to pore over!

And of course, a Happy New Year and well wishes to all of you!

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I'll catch up on all your posts later, until then ciao!

 

[PSIGuy]

The one bright side to Byleth's inclusion...

...it gives me hope they'll put in a SMT rep to promote SMTV. Flowerboy could really go a number of ways for moveset.

• Another Demon Whisperer like Flynn/Nanashi with summons?
  • SMT4 alts for half his palettes
  • Pure magic has far less overlap than any other possible archetype
  • Potential for demon co-op, or levelling skills as a mechanic
  • Demons appear briefly for attacks allowing for loads of cameos
• A part-demon like Demi-fiend?
  • Can use natural abilities (ie WORLD OF STR/MAG)
  • Demons support his fighting rather than doing an equal share; buffs and debuffs, heals, occasional attacks
  • Could be Demi-fiend himself. Potential for meta-crossovers with Dante vs Demifiend vs Bayonetta. A perfect double reveal for E3!
• A classic style sword/shoot/summon protagonist?
  • Can have SMT1/2/4/5 skins, repping all the Nintendo releases
  • Weak gun/sword attacks reinforce how vital it is to have a full party (although EWW ICKY SWORDS?)
  • Managing summons with magnetite; no-one has resource management quite like this yet
  • There isn't a character who has multiple options for 'support' yet; Rosalina sticks to Luma, Joker only has Arsene etc. "Powercreeping" base roster characters with better versions of their gimmicks is standard for DLC.
  • Demons make up a key part of the moveset and do most of the fighting

Either way, there's enough to go off for a full moveset if they let Sakurai know how he fights.

If they're just gonna Spirit Board event us though, I hope they do it as soon as possible and get it over with.

 

[Sunredo]

It'd be cool if SMT V reappeared at E3, or at least got a trailer there like Persona 5 did. It's impressive how the fanbase for this series grows even without constant stimulation from Atlus. I know Apocalypse was controversial and SJR wasn't really wanted by fans at the time (I remember people wanting the 3D project to be a remake of 1 & 2) so the fact people keep on getting into the series despite that is great.

On the "news" side, I noticed no one brought this up last month; SEGA/ATLUS European PR Manager Sarah Wellock knows a lot about Shin Megami Tensei V, but can't say anything about it. Pretty big if you asked me. This kind of communication within the branches of Atlus on SMT V yet info being kept so secret is kind of insane when you think about it. Goes to show how potentially huge this game could be, really seems like they're giving it their all. Since apparently foreign Atlus branches already got a ton of info about the game then maybe they're aiming for a worldwide release? I wouldn't count on it myself but the possibility is there. At least the development of the game seems to be going well if they can keep some branches updated.

Anyway, sorry for the ramble. I'd like to be a supporter.

 

[amageish]

This kind of communication within the branches of Atlus on SMT V yet info being kept so secret is kind of insane when you think about it. Goes to show how potentially huge this game could be, really seems like they're giving it their all. Since apparently foreign Atlus branches already got a ton of info about the game then maybe they're aiming for a worldwide release? I wouldn't count on it myself but the possibility is there. At least the development of the game seems to be going well if they can keep some branches updated.

I mean, SEGA claimed that they were going to help ATLUS do more worldwide releases and the only thing that has happened thus far is ATLUS USA rebranding as ATLUS West... SMTV was also announced for localization prior to it starting full development, so... I'm not celebrating yet, but I think it's a reasonable hope to have?

 

[Impa4Smash]

The one bright side to Byleth's inclusion...

...it gives me hope they'll put in a SMT rep to promote SMTV. Flowerboy could really go a number of ways for moveset.

• Another Demon Whisperer like Flynn/Nanashi with summons?
  • SMT4 alts for half his palettes
  • Pure magic has far less overlap than any other possible archetype
  • Potential for demon co-op, or levelling skills as a mechanic
  • Demons appear briefly for attacks allowing for loads of cameos
• A part-demon like Demi-fiend?
  • Can use natural abilities (ie WORLD OF STR/MAG)
  • Demons support his fighting rather than doing an equal share; buffs and debuffs, heals, occasional attacks
  • Could be Demi-fiend himself. Potential for meta-crossovers with Dante vs Demifiend vs Bayonetta. A perfect double reveal for E3!
• A classic style sword/shoot/summon protagonist?
  • Can have SMT1/2/4/5 skins, repping all the Nintendo releases
  • Weak gun/sword attacks reinforce how vital it is to have a full party (although EWW ICKY SWORDS?)
  • Managing summons with magnetite; no-one has resource management quite like this yet
  • There isn't a character who has multiple options for 'support' yet; Rosalina sticks to Luma, Joker only has Arsene etc. "Powercreeping" base roster characters with better versions of their gimmicks is standard for DLC.
  • Demons make up a key part of the moveset and do most of the fighting

Either way, there's enough to go off for a full moveset if they let Sakurai know how he fights.

If they're just gonna Spirit Board event us though, I hope they do it as soon as possible and get it over with.

Using the demons as the attacks would be the coolest thing ever.

*sigh* I just want some news on V

 

[ThatShadowLink]

I made a set a long time back for Flynn that made pretty heavy use of Demon Whisper in an attempt to appease the anti-sword audience. But like, I couldn't care less about that anymore, so just give me whatever as long as it's fun.

As I've said before, a "Hero" type character which has skins for a few major protagonists would be ideal, especially since they all have similar body types and weaponry. I think the V protagonist is going to be the default no matter what if they go with an SMT rep, so assuming the V protagonist uses swords and guns again and isn't like Demi-fiend, it would work out being V/I/II/IV. If he is like Demi-fiend they could do V/III. If the former is the case they can make a Demi-fiend semiclone or echo in a future installment, which may be ideal because he's the most popular protagonist so him having his own slot would be good for the fans.

 

[chocolatejr9]

I should probably preface that this most likely means nothing, but if a recent consumer survey is anything to go by, Atlus is at least willing to port some SMT games to Switch.

 

[amageish]

I should probably preface that this most likely means nothing, but if a recent consumer survey is anything to go by, Atlus is at least willing to port some SMT games to Switch.

Ahhhh, ATLUS survey season. Always interesting to see what they're asking this time.

SMT ports would make sense, though I'd hope they'd go for more variety this time. Every MegaTen game on DS got a port to 3DS; let's not have that just happen again on Switch please. A IV/IV-Apocalypse dual-pack could be fun, if not really a priority. What I would like more (and what sadly isn't an option) would be old SMT games getting official translations as part of the SEGA Ages line-up. SMT1 currently only being localized for smartphones is, uh, not great...

Also, like, if they ever get to that Nocturne remake idea, that'd be swell. I'd like an accessible modern way to play that game. I also like the idea of a Nintendo character taking the Dante/Raidou slot on Switch...

 

[PSIGuy]

I have the SMT1 iOS port and I can't even play it anymore because it's not compatible with newer iOS updates. I at least beat the game before then, though.

I do wonder about the specifics for some of them. Nocturne will undoubtedly use Maniax as a base, but will they layer even more content on top of that? And IV/IVA were largely 2D battles with 3D Overworld, so the presentation might need some updating to appeal more. Making all 450~ demons in 3D is probably beyond them, but could they make all bosses use 3D models and animations?

 

[ThatShadowLink]

SMT IV's huge compendium was largely possible due to using artwork and sprites for battles over 3D models. Nocturne, being the first mainline 3D game in the series, had a very small compendium, and had every single demon redesigned by Kazuma Kaneko to be able to transition to 3D better. Atlus has produced a lot of new high quality 3D demon models because of Persona 5, and SEGA upped that by around 30 for the SMT mobile game, all the while retexturing and touching up the P5 models to have more realistic texturing and modelling, which seems to be the direction they might go for SMTV so we'll probably be seeing those models in that. I believe most of the Nocturne demons are present in the mobile game, though some are using alternate designs like Lucifer using his SMT2 angel design due to the Lucifer in Persona 5 being a JoJo Stand. If they ever remake SMTIV though, I hope they have Doi redo every single one of the guest demon designs. While we got some nice designs like Minotaur, most of them were awful, and they were vastly improved when Doi redesigned the returning ones for Apocalypse.

 

[Idon]

SMT IV's huge compendium was largely possible due to using artwork and sprites for battles over 3D models. Nocturne, being the first mainline 3D game in the series, had a very small compendium, and had every single demon redesigned by Kazuma Kaneko to be able to transition to 3D better. Atlus has produced a lot of new high quality 3D demon models because of Persona 5, and SEGA upped that by around 30 for the SMT mobile game, all the while retexturing and touching up the P5 models to have more realistic texturing and modelling, which seems to be the direction they might go for SMTV so we'll probably be seeing those models in that. I believe most of the Nocturne demons are present in the mobile game, though some are using alternate designs like Lucifer using his SMT2 angel design due to the Lucifer in Persona 5 being a JoJo Stand. If they ever remake SMTIV though, I hope they have Doi redo every single one of the guest demon designs. While we got some nice designs like Minotaur, most of them were awful, and they were vastly improved when Doi redesigned the returning ones for Apocalypse.

Agreed.

Some of them I thought could still see the sketch marks from the artists drawing. They really didn't try to merge the artstyles at all unfortunately.
Even the designs I liked were a bit... off? Chemtrail's a great design but it really does look like a .png of a 3D model from a different game, lol.

 

[amageish]

I have the SMT1 iOS port and I can't even play it anymore because it's not compatible with newer iOS updates. I at least beat the game before then, though.

I do wonder about the specifics for some of them. Nocturne will undoubtedly use Maniax as a base, but will they layer even more content on top of that? And IV/IVA were largely 2D battles with 3D Overworld, so the presentation might need some updating to appeal more. Making all 450~ demons in 3D is probably beyond them, but could they make all bosses use 3D models and animations?

Ouch. I own it, but uninstalled it after my playthrough and haven't tried reinstalling since then. Sucks that it hasn't been kept alive though.

Yeah, it's weird. The question's phrasing makes it sound like they'd all be straight ports, but that just... wouldn't work for dual-screen games? You'd need some basic design changes for all of them (and a major gameplay overhaul for Etrian Odyssey)... I think SMTIV's 2D battle UI on the Switch would just make it look kind of cheap, but I think it could work. I mean, Rune Factory 4 is getting an enhanced port on Switch which looks... very 3DS game, to say the least.

Nocturne getting a straight PS2 port would be kind of underwhelming at this point IMO. I'd be great to have more people be able to play it, but I'd also like a proper remake of it and ATLUS has already been teasing one... They could pull a Catherine Classic and port it when a remake is also incoming, but still.

Agreed.

Some of them I thought could still see the sketch marks from the artists drawing. They really didn't try to merge the artstyles at all unfortunately.
Even the designs I liked were a bit... off? Chemtrail's a great design but it really does look like a .png of a 3D model from a different game, lol.

Chemtrails is somehow both one of the worst and one of the best designs in all of MegaTen. It definitely doesn't belong aesthetically, but it is also amazing.

 

[Idon]

Any of you here avid manga fans?

Well, as it turns out, our locally home-grown gacha game appears to be having a... Berserk crossover!

Shin Megami Tensei x Berserk is now... a thing.

I don't play the game anymore, but a crossover like this is radical nonetheless.

Also they're rerunning the Bayonetta collaboration:

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[chocolatejr9]

Any of you here avid manga fans?

Well, as it turns out, our locally home-grown gacha game appears to be having a... Berserk crossover!
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Shin Megami Tensei x Berserk is now... a thing.

I don't play the game anymore, but a crossover like this is radical nonetheless.

Also they're rerunning the Bayonetta collaboration:

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I guess a Berserk crossover isn't TOO out of place, but the things I saw in that manga when Mangastorian was still around... yeah...

 

[TheYungLink]

Thought this was funny:

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Thankfully never happened to me in my playthrough.

 

[Idon]

Thought this was funny:

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Thankfully never happened to me in my playthrough.

I GET A TURN. YOU I GET A TURN, EVERYONE I GETS A TURN!

 

[chocolatejr9]

Oh good, I'm not the last person to comment here anymore. Now I can post what I wanted to show you guys!

You guys know about the SMT Multiverse thing? Fire Emblem Heroes just made that a bit more complicated...

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[Idon]

Oh good, I'm not the last person to comment here anymore. Now I can post what I wanted to show you guys!

You guys know about the SMT Multiverse thing? Fire Emblem Heroes just made that a bit more complicated...

We all know what makes Jack Frost a perfect mascot for a convenience store.

 

[amageish]

Thought this was funny:

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Thankfully never happened to me in my playthrough.

I feel like I've never experienced any of the iconic MegaTen difficulties.... I never had any Mot problems in Nocturne... Misturu never overused Marin Karin in Persona 3...

Oh good, I'm not the last person to comment here anymore. Now I can post what I wanted to show you guys!

You guys know about the SMT Multiverse thing? Fire Emblem Heroes just made that a bit more complicated...

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I find it kind of surprising how much FEH played up the multiverse element exclusively with Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE characters. Like, obviously they're stand-outs in terms of time period, but I'm not personally convinced that it is weirder to see a modern-day high schooler summoning Caeda as a mirage then it is for there to be Chrom, Christmas Chrom, Horse Chrom, and Bunny Chrom just... chilling out together.

 

[Idon]

Another direct gone by with no news...

How much longer they gonna make us wait for this, lol.

Also I've been replaying DDS, and man I really like it more than I remember.
Thinking about making a Serph moveset so look forward to that I guess.

 

[amageish]

Welp. TGS is being moved online. I'm really glad they're being proactive for people's safety and reorganizing to an online event early. Hopefully ATLUS does something for the online event, as it seems like it'd be most likely place for the promised SMTV news...

Until then, you can always run around in Animal Crossing and pretend you are a SMT protag... The new facepaint function is good for that.

 

[VongolaFair]

Sign me up for the cause, Demi-Fiend is one cool dude and Nocturne is an amazing game!

 

[amageish]

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So, another event is joining the brigade of digital events replacing E3 this year... This one seems to be the "Japanese games for a western audience one" and ATLUS West is a presenter.

Now, given the event's western focus, I'm like 99% sure it'll just be P5S, but who knows. Maybe SMTV was planned for Nintendo at E3 and is going to be here instead. Maybe we'll get some old SMT games ported via Sega Ages. Maybe Sega will announce the next Sega All-Stars Racing and Jack Frost will be in it. Who knows.

but for real, I'm expecting to be waiting until the digital TGS event in September...

 

[Idon]

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So, another event is joining the brigade of digital events replacing E3 this year... This one seems to be the "Japanese games for a western audience one" and ATLUS West is a presenter.

Now, given the event's western focus, I'm like 99% sure it'll just be P5S, but who knows. Maybe SMTV was planned for Nintendo at E3 and is going to be here instead. Maybe we'll get some old SMT games ported via Sega Ages. Maybe Sega will announce the next Sega All-Stars Racing and Jack Frost will be in it. Who knows.

but for real, I'm expecting to be waiting until the digital TGS event in September...

Fingers crossed, dude.

Personally, I'm hoping they show us maybe some in development screenshots. Incomplete stuff like character renders and art and all that would be a nice way to sustain fans for a bit.

 

[amageish]

Fingers crossed, dude.

Personally, I'm hoping they show us maybe some in development screenshots. Incomplete stuff like character renders and art and all that would be a nice way to sustain fans for a bit.

Yeah, that'd work for sure. I'd take something like the original Sword/Shield reveal at this point - reveal a few new demon designs and the main setting, then do some interviews with developers accompanied by concept art. Something to show the direction the game is going in and give people fodder for hour-long in-depth analyses on YouTube... This may be asking too much though, given ATLUS' pattern of behavior...

 

[KirbyWorshipper2465]

It'll be the announcement of an announcement, despite the fact that it's the ideal time to announce something, because ATLUS.

 

[ThatShadowLink]

Koei Tecmo is there too so I wouldn't hold out hope considering they're apparently localizing the Persona 5 Warriors spinoff. It's probably going to be a localization announcement of that, but I really hope it's Shin Megami Tensei V.

 

[amageish]

It'll be the announcement of an announcement, despite the fact that it's the ideal time to announce something, because ATLUS.

I think we’re at least at the “showing off a character model with vague narration” stage of ATLUS’ habit of overindulgent teaser trailers.

Koei Tecmo is there too so I wouldn't hold out hope considering they're apparently localizing the Persona 5 Warriors spinoff. It's probably going to be a localization announcement of that, but I really hope it's Shin Megami Tensei V.

I mean, it is almost definitely Persona 5 Strikers in part. Question is if that’s all ATLUS will have to show... I haven’t seen any articles providing a rough number of how many games will be shown, sadly...

Also, I find it kind of funny how many articles reporting on this have phrased it as an event featuring “Sega, ATLUS, and more.” I know ATLUS still does it’s own thing versus Sega, but that headline is still effectively “Event includes Sega, a Sega subsidiary, and non-Sega companies.” I think that kind of undersells the variety haha.

 

[Idon]

On some unrelated news, here's the Berserk x SMT crossover event for Dx2

Not many people play it, but it does look neat to be able to summon Dante, Bayonetta, and Guts in the same game, lol.

 

[amageish]

So, SEGA's making another retro console for their anniversary. The Game Gear Micro is happening and includes Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible (localized for the Game Boy as "Revelations: The Demon Slayer") and Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible Special.

We don't know if this console will be coming out in English (or if it'll have different games in English), but it would be kind of neat to see Last Bible get more releases in English... Though, frankly, I think a potential exclusive English localization of Last Bible Special for a Mini Game Gear that looks too small for anyone to practically enjoy playing would be worse then SMT1 being only localized for smartphones...

 

[PSIGuy]

Nothing at that EXPO thing that was on today about SMT.

Try not to feel too bad.

 

[amageish]

Yeah, the New Game Plus expo turned out to, overall, be a pretty fantastic summary of known ports and localizations (some of which have already been released) and... like... a couple new DLC announcements plus a Bloodstained game and Suda pranking people with an obstructed No More Heroes 3 gameplay reveal. Overall, mildly anticlimatic...

I also do find this...

Also, I find it kind of funny how many articles reporting on this have phrased it as an event featuring “Sega, ATLUS, and more.” I know ATLUS still does it’s own thing versus Sega, but that headline is still effectively “Event includes Sega, a Sega subsidiary, and non-Sega companies.” I think that kind of undersells the variety haha.

...funny when it turns out the only way it contained "Sega and ATLUS" is that they counted a brief mention of 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim as "Sega" and Catherine Full Body as "ATLUS" in spite of how... both are ATLUS?

Oh well. We shall wait for the digital replacement of the Tokyo Game Show, I guess... Hope everyone's doing well.

 

[Wunderwaft]

Nothing at that EXPO thing that was on today about SMT.

Try not to feel too bad.

I've practically grown numb to the lack of information regarding SMT.

 

[ThatShadowLink]

I expected the bare minimum and they ended up shooting even further below that. Thanks ATLUS lol.

 

[amageish]

SMT is on Nintendo Switch Online... only in Japan!

In English, we got... a Natsume Wrestling game.

I think Japan may have gotten the better deal here.