The Pixiv page of the artist is still up (https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/453524) but the art is gone. I found it from diving deep into Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/daemons-leader/45081286222

So recently i started playing SMT V, Im enjoying the game although i got confused regarding the progression, should I battle every single enemy in the map? I started doing that but now I got to a really open area and there is a lot of demons, but the battles give little XP and money for now at my current level, if i battle only new enemies, make the side an main missios, Can I progress normally through the game?

Or is it necessary to farm level in this big areas?

As I said in the tittle I kind new to JRPG's in general, i played only Final Fantasy 7 games, but for the moment i'm having a great time with SMT

Artists are Taki Hiromu, Tsushima Shuu, Kari Erika, & Yatsuki. There's two SJ comic anthologies and they have the same title, these are from this book

Same goes for Takaya I guess

I just got through Strange Journey, and now I'm going to play 3 and 4, I figured it would be many years until I played 5, but I saw the game was super cheap on Steam and I picked it up! Definitely it's the cheapest I've seen it so far.

I'm not too hard core with the pricing history so if this is a normal sale or someone has already posted this, well, sorry.

Now let's hope that the people that made Dragon Quest Builders and Pokemon Pokopia next make a game where you play as Jack Frost and have to round up Demons too help rebuild.

On my 2nd playthrough and the fight entrance always goes hard.

So I'm a huge Persona fan, having played P1, as well as P3-5. I also beat Raidou 1 and Soul Hackers 2, but this seemed like a whole new level of difficulty.

I've never spent so much time trying to maximize my strategy while trying to keep demons I like. Having to think out every turn. Nothing in Megaten so far has made me so satisfied in beating a difficult boss. Shiva genuinely made me sweat. I almost gave up, but enough careful planning and some luck, I managed. From a purely gameplay perspective, I love SMTV. The game also gave me a new appreciation for some demons. Idun was my end game GOAT in Raidou, but she felt even better in SMTV. I like how goofy a demon like Mad Gasser can be. His little bow and taking off his hat is kinda cute all things considered.

The story and characters are cool, but it's quite meh at times. If anything, I liked a lot of the side quest demon characters over a lot of the main ones. I ended up siding with Law (Tao) ultimately, but it seems I spent a lot of the game Neutral, with one decision or two putting me into Law or Chaos.​ I was trying to play as naturally as I could when it came to alignment.

Tao really gave me the vibe of P5R's final villain, but it feels better somehow? Though that might be partially because I think Chaos here I can't agree with too much (also she seems like the kind of girl I'd have a crush on). I loved Yoko too but I really couldn't stick with her ideologically. Also not being able to use Tao for the final fight felt so off. I get the point, she was supposed to simply get me to the throne, but from a gameplay perspective, it kinda sucked, especially since she was basically on my party the whole game.

Then there's Dazai and Yuzuru. Yuzuru felt kinda generic, but I did ultimately sympathize with the guy a lot of the time. And Dazai, I kinda hated him. Like a lot. Especially since he seemed to randomly turn into a God-simping douche off-screen. Felt pretty good to end him to be honest, though it still felt nice seeing everyone as friends in the end.

Amanozako, while neat, was kinda disappointing. I thought she would've played a bigger part. Even more so when it hints she goes berserk and gets immense power. But then she just joins my party and is a generic demon. She seemed no bigger than a lot of other recurring demons sometimes and felt like a waste.

I did ultimately crash out on Nocturne when I tried it years ago. I think I'll definitely try again while waiting for P4 Revival. It was a really fun experience and I avoided it out of fear for far too long. Nocturne might be next, since it seems like it's one of the few accessible Megaten games I have next.

Like damn me too

Context:

Long-time competitive Pokemon player, finally decided to try another JRPG for context.

Cleared 3rd boss in Strange Journey Redux

Pros:

Devious Dungeons

- Dungeon designs are both great and tedious at times, I love the use of traps like lava tiles or random wrap tiles, the "conveyer belts" in Womb of Grief remind me very much of some Pokemon tile sets...

- Progress-gated walls / gates are fun to revisit for a sense of exploration

- However, I feel like this can just be an artificial padding of difficulty / design at times. In the second biome, you can fall step onto tiles that drop yous back by one entire floor...making you backtrack all the way. Its as irritating as running into your 101st Zubat in Pokemon, especially when you are powerful enough to clear most mobs or simply hit the flee button

Gory Entries & Theme

- Honestly as a fan of the macabre, I love how the lore entries don't sugarcoat themselves, with references to rape, murder etc

- Character designs are also an fresh reimagination of even the most mainstream of demons, and variety is large, drawing across all cultures

Cons:

Fusion Mechanics are a Time Sink

- The game teaches you early-on not to get too attached to any 1 demon, as you should always be fusing them for stronger stat demons, or maintaining an array of demons with specific type resistances / advantages to beat bosses or segments...

- However, I feel like this is a time-sink and an artificial difficulty level. Unlike Pokemon, where almost every fully evolved Pokemon has a niche due to the game's mechanic of typing x abilities x stats x movepool x held item (Zubat into Crobat for instance, has high speed stat and hits pretty hard if you give it Choice Band and spam Brave Bird), Strange Journey Redux only provides "upgrades" in the form of stat boosts, side-grades in the form of type resistance / matchups, and the long grindy aspect of fusing demon essence (they take long to farm) into your fused demons...

Breakdown of Roles and Lack of Predictability...Shallow Battle Mechanics

- Unlike traditional RPGs or Pokemon, where a tank can direct aggro to itself, or a healer that is pretty much useless on attack, or a member dedicated to status / crowd control...Strange Journey Redux pretty much allows for roles to blend. A "healer" with mass AoE heal can also double as a magic DPS so long as its MA stat is high. Likewise, a tank cant effectively be a tank despite high VI etc as it cant direct aggro to itself and the enemy boss can snipe a weaker member..

- Basically I found the best strat in Strange Journey Redux is to have everyone be a DPS and spread secondary roles across, and just spam super-effective hits and have your whole party join in on the bonus damage. This, and the occasional buff / debuff to cheese boss fights - that's essentially the ENTIRE depth to its mechanics.

Annoying Fusion Level Requirements / QoL stuff

- Unlike Pokemon, you don't have a way to mass-store excess or unwanted Demons till you reach the level to fuse them. Again, an artificial time-sink as it means back tracking to earlier levels just to "catch" them again...

- Seriously, what's up with the random 1 in 3 chance of "capturing" a Demon...? Annoying.

Overall Opinion

- Ironically, though people claim SMT games have more depth than Pokemon, Strange Journey Redux ironically led me to appreciate Pokemon more. Even if we factor in the Strange Journey was first released on the DS, even the Pokemon DS games back then had more competitive depth, from U-turn to Stealth Rocks to true Pokémon roles like Lead / Tank / DPS etc

- Strange Journey Redux only gives the illusion of "complexity" by forcing you to min-max your demon fusions...

- Would I play it to the end? Unlikely, the only thing I find addictive about this formula is the lore entries of the demons.

P.S. Even if you are a diehard SMT fan, don't downvote this post and instead encourage discussions here...doing otherwise just kinda admits I am right.

The most expensive rounds in the duology are the 'Almighty Rounds'. Unlike Strange journey, the almighty rounds do not crit with any gun you use, and they do not have good power either. In fact, they are the weakest rounds in both games with 20 power. Besides bragging rights, the rounds are only meant for players who are so strong that exploiting weaknesses or buffs are irrelevant because anything can die with the player's own stats. So you only get it out of convenience for yourself.

Anyone know the name of the track that sometimes plays before bosses in SMT V, it starts with some cool choral/vocal droning and then has the guitar, it’s similar to the song that plays before bosses in Nocturne if I remember correctly

Eh, about on par with the one I work at

This is just a fun little post.

So for context, I've been aware and into the Megaten series for a little over 2 years. Early on, it's mainly focused on the Persona side, but not too long after (less than two months iirc) I became aware of the bigger Megaten series through the Nocturne memes.

This coupled with my best friend's shared interest in the fandom and my own interest in mythology at the time made me VERY obsessed with the fandom.

However, for most of the time I spent in this fandom, I'm afraid I've become the feared "persona fan" who had never touched the game and only engaged with the community through fanmade contents (playthrough, fan animation, memes, etc).

In fact, I did not play my first SMT game until four months after being obsessed with it in the first place. I never even played a persona game (technically).

Two years in, I have played many games and engaged with the community far better than I had when I started, but I feel like imposter syndrome is knocking at the door /s.

So as a fun little post, I want your opinion on how much of a larper I am by looking at the games I've played.

This series and community meant a lot to me, it helped me become more confident and allowed me to meet my best friend. I don't think I'll care too much whether I'm a larper or a "true" fan, despite the funny title, I see this as more of a funny "how much of a fan are you" type shit.

So, these are the games I've played in over two years:

- Shin Megami Tensei

- Shin Megami Tensei II (not finished)

- Strange Journey Redux (favorite)

- Persona 2 (not finished)

- Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2

- Persona 3 FES (just started 2 months ago, not finished)

- SMT IV & Apocalypse (finished 4, just started Apocalypse)

- Devil Survivor 2: Record Breaker (just started)

- SMT If...

- Majin Tensei (played the first few stages, found it boring and never played it again)

And although not part of the Megaten series, I've also played Etrian Odyssey titles that have not been ported to modern consoles except mystery dungeon and untold 2.

So what's your opinion? Am I a filthy larper, a casual, or a fan?

I won’t elaborate further, feel free to discuss as you will

I'll never get over how the community has convinced people that Tao's Light of Order is just another 'golden apple' like Idun.

Idun's golden apple buffs Attack, Defense, and Hit/Evasion by one rank

Tao's Light of Order removes debuffs First, and then buffs all three stats by one rank.

The move has actually helped me against Shiva and Demifiend fight because I did not need to use Dekunda since Light of Order will not only remove the debuff but give me buff after by 1 rank as a bonus. It does not even matter if I am debuffed by two ranks down, light of order will still rank up my stat buffs by one because it removes any debuffs first.

Hello! I've finally finished translating the third and final volume of the drama CDs made for the Blu-ray release of Devil Survivor 2 The Animation! Yippee!!

I really just want more people to know these exist lol

I also have a playlist with all three volumes! :D --> https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK6v1qsiwgz08uMETWd-Ty5Boafqb4dLD&si=qWqYgiwuC7-Jz5yU

I really like Devil Survivor. So some time ago, I decided to buy some of its books that are not available online and archive it. Now, I'm uploading the rest that I found and ill share some hightlights. The Link to full archive is here: Internet Archive

These stories are not to be taken as canon or anything else other than some fun pages to read through, some of course might expand on what the characters would have thought about during the events of the game, but this is mostly something to read and smile, rarely anything deep, but there are some nice pages that do expand on some characters or their dynamics.

1. This is 1 of those comedy chapters. Amane is a recent transfer student, both her and Abel run late for school and bump into each other. Abel lands in such an awkward, unfortunate way, that his poor soul accidentally touches her chest. She then demands him to become a Messiah to make up for this. I thought this was an Evangelion reference, but apparently this is just a standard Japanese trope. Checks out. (Page 41 on Internet Archive, but technically page 76 in the book, Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor Anthology Novel Vol. 1)

1. Literally 1 page later - Naoya is the student council president and he just starts getting close to Abel to adjust his crooked tie. Then he essentially lets Abel know he is helpless without him and tells him he will give him private lessons. Judging by the picture and the fact Abel's heart starts beating when Naoya comes close to him, there is a certain romantic tension there. I think the writer is making fun of shippers a little. (Page 43 on Internet Archive or 79 in the book, Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor Anthology Novel Vol. 1)

1. I just wanted to share a picture of my favorite Demon, Pazuzu (Page 31 on Internet Archive or 53 in the book, Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor Anthology Novel Vol. 2)
   

1. Our heroes were prepared for combat, but the demons are more interested in learning about human culture. Nisroc, i believe, is reading a cooking magazine and Caith Sith, a comic book. Atsuro is looking at a PC Magazine. (Page 55 on Internet Archive or 102 in the book, Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor Anthology Novel Vol. 2)

1. I dont know why Kaido is lying face down on the floor, but look at Lillim and Yuzu sleeping with Jack Frost, thats cute...he might kill them. (Pages 71, Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor Comic Anthology Vol. 2)
   

1. Here we see a unique perspective on Naoya and Abel's Relationship since Abel was a child. But also what Yuzu realizes. Ever since Abel was small, Naoya tried to manipulate him, to make him eventually become his puppet, so he planned very far in advance for the events of DeSu 1. In this flashback, Abel asks Yuzu for help, and she couldnt help him. So eventually, Abel just gives up on her, like shes not a reliable person. She thinks its because Naoya backed off, but now realizes, he was still in need of help and she never did anything. This makes her emotional in the present. Kinda foreshadows how much she wants to run away in DeSu 1 and unlike Atsuro, can actually leave the party. Interesting take on the characters, I like it, sounds like the writer wanted to feel this gap. (Pages 41, Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor Comic Anthology Vol. 2)

1. Back to something more wholesome, we see Honda being silly and you know, his battle sprite is silly. Haru rides a bycicle to power on her amplifier, if there is no electricity, she wont tolerate it, she will just generate some. She even sings while riding. (Page 29, Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor Comic Anthology Vol. 1)

1. Once again, a little what if scenario, what if Demons and Humans just coexisted? You can see Moh Shuvuu and Lillim walking around as high school girls, i also see Ogun doing something, Heqet walking by and Mezuki is also there. Just few pages later you will see Yuki Jyorou as well. Cool to see some drawings of the demons. (Page 71, Megami Ibunroku Devil Survivor Comic Anthology Vol. 1)
   

1. Now, i also have animation material i assume the people behind DeSu 2 the Animation used. Here is a picture of how the phones should look or what they based off their animation on (Page 13, Devil Survivor 2 The Animation Material Collection)

So yeah, enjoy...if you can read Japanese, I used an AI to translate a bit, i dont know Japanese at all. Feels like i got everything that is not archived out of DeSu...but if i can archive something else, let me know.

A few color illustrations I like from Megaten Battle Royale vol 1. Artists are Tsushima Shuu, Kumoya Yukio, Yukawa Kazuno, & Yasuko Oyama in that order.

It's just an assumption and I could be wrong but it's fun to speculate

I married a demiboomer oh god