In my assessment of the unique Shin Megami Tensei V again in 2021, I wrote, “…it’s been a very long time since I’ve disliked the beginning of a recreation as a lot as Shin Megami Tensei V’s.” And but, in 2024, I began it once more. Why? Two causes.
First, as a lot as I hated the primary 15 hours of SMTV (and another components that continued all through), I used to be nonetheless capable of suggest the sport. Second, as a result of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance not solely delivers a completely new story, but it surely additionally corrects the sport’s largest design flaw that sapped the enjoyable out of the unique launch. Let’s begin by trying on the story.
Vengeance begins with the identical pitfalls as the unique; we meet a couple of college students at a Japanese highschool, and we’re given no purpose in any respect to love or care about these individuals earlier than we’re plunged into an apocalyptic world with the primary character who has merged with a demon to be reborn as a Nahobino.
We’re then set free to discover an enormous wasteland known as Da’at. Within the authentic, the one incentive we’re given for that is that there’s nothing else to do. Run round, combat demons, recruit demons, push onward. Now, relying on the trail you choose firstly of Vengeance, we at the least get a human companion. In the beginning, we see a silhouetted character and are warned in opposition to taking her with us. In the event you don’t, you play the unique model of the sport. In the event you do, you play the brand new storyline involving this character and new Qadištu enemies.
I like to recommend you’re taking this woman no matter whether or not you performed the unique, because the “Vengeance” story does a a lot better job at being an precise story.
You may then resolve if it’s price one other full journey to play the unique path. There’s worth to that, as a result of there’s a lot to discover, discover, and gather that your second “completionist” playthrough might be virtually as compelling as your first “story” playthrough.
It helps, too, that the world of Da’at is such a singular place to go to. The preliminary desertscape is definitely overwhelming, but it surely’s nonetheless reasonably gorgeous to see, and every new space turns into extra compelling to discover. Additionally, no recreation I’ve ever performed has made mass destruction appear so concurrently bleak and exquisite.
I’m not going to enter an excessive amount of element on the sport’s mechanics, as they’re largely the identical as earlier than (once more, you possibly can seize the small print in my authentic Shin Megami Tensei V assessment). Principally, it concerned partaking in turn-based fight with an assortment of demons and utilizing the “press flip” system to emerge victorious. This entails figuring out their weaknesses and utilizing the suitable assaults to take advantage of them. The extra you accomplish that, the extra assaults you get. In fact, enemies can exploit the weaknesses of your self and your demons, too. So, you wish to be sure to have the appropriate demons in place and that you just’re leveling them up appropriately.
You get the demons by both recruiting them in fight (appropriately guessing the appropriate solutions to their reasonably goofy questions, then agreeing to surrender cash, well being, or objects) or by fusing them. Some should be fused, so that you wish to gather as many demons as attainable. You will have a restricted variety of slots for them, so that you’ll have to fuse demons to open up new slots. However you don’t wish to do that too rapidly or the demons received’t purchase their higher abilities to move alongside when fused. There’s far more to contemplate, however we received’t fear about that proper now. As an alternative, let’s speak about how Vengeance makes this complete course of far more pleasurable.
Within the authentic, your progress may solely be saved on the Leyline Founts the place fusion takes place. There aren’t loads of these, so you might theoretically go a full hour with out the power to save lots of. As a result of the demons can one-shot kill your major character, this meant you’d should consistently backtrack to a Leyline Fount each time you recruited a very tasty demon, discovered a fantastic merchandise, or overcame a hard adversary; you both moved backwards otherwise you risked dropping any important progress. The sport compelled you to play defensively, and that’s not enjoyable. Now, it can save you the sport everytime you need. About to face a tricky battle? Save. Lastly recruit a difficult demon? Save. Wish to see in the event you can soar to a hard-to-reach space? Save. The sport now not wastes your time; it retains you transferring ahead.
Sort of. Vengeance additionally introduces Demon Haunts to the Leyline Founts, that are locations the place you possibly can hang around with the demons you collected and get to know them. Why would you need that when the demons solely exist to be sacrificed and fused? I assume the youngsters simply can’t dwell with out their social sims as of late.
Oh, and the demons provide you with further objects and stage up quicker in the event you discuss to them (glad my actual life buddies don’t work that method). These visits sluggish issues again down, however not sufficient to harm the general expertise.
All of this implies you’re much less prone to keep away from fights whereas exploring, thereby engaging you to really play the sport whereas enjoying the sport. And in the event you’re a kind of gamers who beloved grinding by way of the problem of the unique model, no worries; there are many difficulties to maintain everybody joyful.
Even with all of those adjustments, the gameplay loop stays; discover a giant space, stage up, purchase demons, face a boss, get a story dump, repeat. Vengeance does a greater job of protecting issues attention-grabbing alongside the best way, however V nonetheless has the least attention-grabbing storyline of the half dozen Shin Megami Tensei video games I’ve performed. That’s positive, as a result of the exploration of the huge wastelands of Da’at, the turn-based fight, and the demon-fusion mechanic are sufficient to hold gamers by way of.
The repetition might flip some away (particularly contemplating the general size), however repetition is less complicated to take care of so long as I really feel like I’m regularly making progress. The standard-of-life enhancements made right here permit for that, and that permits gamers to lastly soak up all that Shin Megami Tensei V gives with out the necessity for anger administration lessons.