tem muitos problemas, mas fodase!, amo esse jogo
Basically RPG Turn Based DOOM
Bum bum bum bum bum
Mega banger
This review contains spoilers
(Finished on Neutral Route)
I think that this is one of the only semi-tolerable 1st person MegaTen games besides a few like Devil Summoner and SMT 1, but this game is so overrated. It might be a controversial opinion, but IDGAF.
Plot
Strange Journey's overall aesthetic are interesting, but the story is nowhere near as good as people say it is, with it being some "Humanity ruins earth so humans bad" plot, and that's just an oversimplification. It feels like a Nusona game, where all they do is just repeat the surface-level themes while saying nothing that's actually meaningful. But I'll give the game props for using its areas to display how cutthroat the Schwarzwelt can be, while also having a lot of bleak moments to show that not everything will go 100% correctly.
There were only 2 characters who I liked. Those two being Jimenez and Zelenin. Commander Gore was alright, but he's absent for a good portion of the story so I couldn't really enjoy him that much. Even the actual interesting characters like Louisa Ferre and the Three Wise Men are just there for the sake of being there. All they ever do is just try to convince you to join their side and they're not used in any meaningful ways. Everyone else is just some boring nobody that I don't care about. They're so unimportant that they didn't even give them their own portraits. They changed this in Deep Strange Journey, but that game's not worth mentioning.
Gameplay
The gameplay is pretty satisfying at times, I enjoyed walking around the dungeons and collecting forma to make new items. But at the same time the dungeons can be so long and boring to the point where I have to contemplate on whether or not it's even worth my time. Eridanus and Horologium are the worst offenders here, they're both tediously long and require a lot of backtracking.
I think the sub apps are a good feature. They make the gameplay more interesting and make SJ stand out from other MegaTen titles. The battles are also good, until they're not. Sometimes the fights can be the most unbalanced, one-sided bullshit ever.
I didn't particularly like fighting the final bosses of Eridanus and Horologium because they were overpowered and always spammed moves that guaranteed death. I only got lucky with the Sector E boss, Sector H's final boss is a fucking nightmare. No matter how many times I fused new demons to fight her, she still overpowered me. And I wasn't going to grind to the maximum level to fight her, because it takes what feels like a thousand years to even grind to ONE level, even with the Sub App named White Album that boosts your EXP.
I was just about to abandon this game, but then I found some codes of demons that reflected almost every single attack the boss could throw at them. I had to CHEESE the fight of the final boss to win, that's how bad it was. The final boss of the Neutral route genuinely killed my motivation to do the Chaos and Law routes, and it was a shame because I could just barely tolerate the game up to that point.
Verdict
This game is just okay at best. I respect this game for what it tried to do, but I can't bring myself to say it's an awesome game. I think that there are other MegaTen games that offer a more polished experience, and this one's definitely not one of them. It's only remembered fondly because of the art direction, the soundtrack and the unique setting. If you like this game, that's alright; but this one's just not for me.
I think that this is one of the only semi-tolerable 1st person MegaTen games besides a few like Devil Summoner and SMT 1, but this game is so overrated. It might be a controversial opinion, but IDGAF.
Plot
Strange Journey's overall aesthetic are interesting, but the story is nowhere near as good as people say it is, with it being some "Humanity ruins earth so humans bad" plot, and that's just an oversimplification. It feels like a Nusona game, where all they do is just repeat the surface-level themes while saying nothing that's actually meaningful. But I'll give the game props for using its areas to display how cutthroat the Schwarzwelt can be, while also having a lot of bleak moments to show that not everything will go 100% correctly.
There were only 2 characters who I liked. Those two being Jimenez and Zelenin. Commander Gore was alright, but he's absent for a good portion of the story so I couldn't really enjoy him that much. Even the actual interesting characters like Louisa Ferre and the Three Wise Men are just there for the sake of being there. All they ever do is just try to convince you to join their side and they're not used in any meaningful ways. Everyone else is just some boring nobody that I don't care about. They're so unimportant that they didn't even give them their own portraits. They changed this in Deep Strange Journey, but that game's not worth mentioning.
Gameplay
The gameplay is pretty satisfying at times, I enjoyed walking around the dungeons and collecting forma to make new items. But at the same time the dungeons can be so long and boring to the point where I have to contemplate on whether or not it's even worth my time. Eridanus and Horologium are the worst offenders here, they're both tediously long and require a lot of backtracking.
I think the sub apps are a good feature. They make the gameplay more interesting and make SJ stand out from other MegaTen titles. The battles are also good, until they're not. Sometimes the fights can be the most unbalanced, one-sided bullshit ever.
I didn't particularly like fighting the final bosses of Eridanus and Horologium because they were overpowered and always spammed moves that guaranteed death. I only got lucky with the Sector E boss, Sector H's final boss is a fucking nightmare. No matter how many times I fused new demons to fight her, she still overpowered me. And I wasn't going to grind to the maximum level to fight her, because it takes what feels like a thousand years to even grind to ONE level, even with the Sub App named White Album that boosts your EXP.
I was just about to abandon this game, but then I found some codes of demons that reflected almost every single attack the boss could throw at them. I had to CHEESE the fight of the final boss to win, that's how bad it was. The final boss of the Neutral route genuinely killed my motivation to do the Chaos and Law routes, and it was a shame because I could just barely tolerate the game up to that point.
Verdict
This game is just okay at best. I respect this game for what it tried to do, but I can't bring myself to say it's an awesome game. I think that there are other MegaTen games that offer a more polished experience, and this one's definitely not one of them. It's only remembered fondly because of the art direction, the soundtrack and the unique setting. If you like this game, that's alright; but this one's just not for me.
Literally self harm
Seems really cool, I just didn't have the patience to meet its difficulty halfway and finish it.
The gameplay in this is superb. Probably the best of any SMT title. The atmosphere, story and characters in this game are all really good. Not quite as good as nocturnes atmosphere, but still great. The music is pretty bad tho
i wish it was fun
Favorite SMT game.
Favorite dungeon crawler so far
Really really good atmosphere but id rather just fucking kill myself than play it again
Mamma mia i cooka da pizza
really fun, but i still prefer 3D
Jogo incrível, mas não é 5/5 porque DEMONICA é uma péssima sigla.
Strange Journey is a return to the first-person dungeon crawling roots of the Megami Tensei series. It makes an interesting choice by having the story be set in a military context, completely bucking the trend of high school aged protagonists. It's an RPG on the DS so there are a lot of little tactile upgrade systems to sift through as you explore. There's no open world, instead the entire game's story is told through interfacing with a hub area thats basically just a menu and just like... exploring big ass dungeons. And I mean big. These things are winding, there's every annoying dungeon crawling trick in the book: damage floors, teleports, conveyor belts, one-way doors and invisible walls.
This game is super peculiar as a follow-up to Nocturne, so that makes it all the more shocking that this game actually gets pretty damn close to matching Nocturne's greatness.
All the things I mentioned earlier work really well in this context, and they contribute to an absolutely oppressive tone that makes the dungeons get under your skin as they tell you stories about humanity's failures in their effort to convince you to give it all up. This game is hard, it's actively fighting you the entire time and it feels like a challenge you actually want to overcome. The characters as well as the way this game deals with routes can be a little predictable (and def simplistic compared to Nocturne's stuff with Reasons) but that doesn't make it not compelling. The story events that led into the big route split-off were especially great.
All that being said, the atmosphere being so oppressive can make the game a slog, especially in times when you can feel the dungeon get long in the tooth (looking at you, Eridanus). Also, the Demon Co-Op system is just a straight up downgrade from Press Turn. The fact that it feels so limiting for just an extra little bit of almighty damage really hurt the pacing of the battles for me at times. It's not a wonder why it never stuck around.
Demon passwords were really cool though. What an extremely Nintendo DS feature to have.
This game is super peculiar as a follow-up to Nocturne, so that makes it all the more shocking that this game actually gets pretty damn close to matching Nocturne's greatness.
All the things I mentioned earlier work really well in this context, and they contribute to an absolutely oppressive tone that makes the dungeons get under your skin as they tell you stories about humanity's failures in their effort to convince you to give it all up. This game is hard, it's actively fighting you the entire time and it feels like a challenge you actually want to overcome. The characters as well as the way this game deals with routes can be a little predictable (and def simplistic compared to Nocturne's stuff with Reasons) but that doesn't make it not compelling. The story events that led into the big route split-off were especially great.
All that being said, the atmosphere being so oppressive can make the game a slog, especially in times when you can feel the dungeon get long in the tooth (looking at you, Eridanus). Also, the Demon Co-Op system is just a straight up downgrade from Press Turn. The fact that it feels so limiting for just an extra little bit of almighty damage really hurt the pacing of the battles for me at times. It's not a wonder why it never stuck around.
Demon passwords were really cool though. What an extremely Nintendo DS feature to have.
Eridanus am i rigth fellas?
This review contains spoilers
Everyone Say Eridanus is the hardest parte of the game and they are correct but it get's worse Just like just seeing MA remaids me of something i want to forget
Before playing it I thought that I would hate it, how ironic since it is now my favorite Shin Megami Tensei title.
Superb dungeon crawling with some of the best dungeons of the series. A really solid story and lore, and some of the best characters you could get from these games.
I absolutely loved exploring the Schwarzwelt and its secrets.
Oh, and Eridanus wasn't that hard and clearly is one of the best sectors.
Superb dungeon crawling with some of the best dungeons of the series. A really solid story and lore, and some of the best characters you could get from these games.
I absolutely loved exploring the Schwarzwelt and its secrets.
Oh, and Eridanus wasn't that hard and clearly is one of the best sectors.
doom guy mitooooooo
"Visuals Novels is shit. I'll be here fighting angels in the name of chaos while you cling to Chee. Can you even take on the armies of YHVH and fight in the name of Chaos? I bet you dream of holding Chee's hand instead of claiming the world in Lucifer's own glory. Do you even dungeon crawling? Try not to feel too bad, but the objective best waifu in the entire series is actually Louissa Ferre, from Strange Journey, and Chee is but a bakuh and unpure girl compared to her."
-Rog, 2014 (RIP)
Playing SMTV has kinda made me think back to what it is about this game that'll make it always hold that special place for me that is "my favorite RPG." It's pretty far from my favorite one from a gameplay standpoint, or a story standpoint, really my favorite in terms of much except for one thing: A phenomenal sense of atmosphere. Strange Journey is a game that does almost everything in service to making an atmosphere of absolute hostility. The dungeons are sprawling labrynths of hidden doors, poison traps, and random teleporters. Just about every boss is infamous for some kind of bullshit status ailment abuse or overpowered attacks (Asura Roga funny moments). The music, while hardly my favorite in the series, looms over like a constant blanket of dread. The game really goes to efforts to make you feel like the small, powerless grunt in a foreign hellhole that you are. Every challenge, while maybe not the fairest thing in the world, makes you feel like an absolute god once you overcome it.
The other stuff is good too! While SMT as a series isn't really known for its stories, this one's about as rock solid as the franchise gets. Plot's cool and got some neat twists and turns, Zelenin and Jimenez are objectively the best alignment reps in the franchise, and the BBEG being someone other than YHVH or Lucifer is certainly a nice change of pace. Also, it's cool how this is like the only game that doesn't fully incentivise going down the neutral path to get all the content in the game, since each ending has it's own unique shit to do. Rare neutral L is appreciated. Combat's good. It's an SMT game, the combat's generally gonna be good. The lack of press turn is maybe a little unfortunate, but giving alignment an actual gameplay purpose was a cool addition to it.
Shin Megami Tensei peaked as a franchise when the stupid bucket head man went into the earth bussy and we need to free ourselves from the shackles that Cuckturne and Peesona 5 set upon us. Reject press tvrn, retvrn to massive fvcking teleporter mazes. It's fun, i swear
-Rog, 2014 (RIP)
Playing SMTV has kinda made me think back to what it is about this game that'll make it always hold that special place for me that is "my favorite RPG." It's pretty far from my favorite one from a gameplay standpoint, or a story standpoint, really my favorite in terms of much except for one thing: A phenomenal sense of atmosphere. Strange Journey is a game that does almost everything in service to making an atmosphere of absolute hostility. The dungeons are sprawling labrynths of hidden doors, poison traps, and random teleporters. Just about every boss is infamous for some kind of bullshit status ailment abuse or overpowered attacks (Asura Roga funny moments). The music, while hardly my favorite in the series, looms over like a constant blanket of dread. The game really goes to efforts to make you feel like the small, powerless grunt in a foreign hellhole that you are. Every challenge, while maybe not the fairest thing in the world, makes you feel like an absolute god once you overcome it.
The other stuff is good too! While SMT as a series isn't really known for its stories, this one's about as rock solid as the franchise gets. Plot's cool and got some neat twists and turns, Zelenin and Jimenez are objectively the best alignment reps in the franchise, and the BBEG being someone other than YHVH or Lucifer is certainly a nice change of pace. Also, it's cool how this is like the only game that doesn't fully incentivise going down the neutral path to get all the content in the game, since each ending has it's own unique shit to do. Rare neutral L is appreciated. Combat's good. It's an SMT game, the combat's generally gonna be good. The lack of press turn is maybe a little unfortunate, but giving alignment an actual gameplay purpose was a cool addition to it.
Shin Megami Tensei peaked as a franchise when the stupid bucket head man went into the earth bussy and we need to free ourselves from the shackles that Cuckturne and Peesona 5 set upon us. Reject press tvrn, retvrn to massive fvcking teleporter mazes. It's fun, i swear
PURE CHALLENGE! This game much like the previous ones does a great job of RPG realm telling a unique story mixed with bit of dungeon crawling and training creatures (demons in this case) in a way like Pokemon, great lovable characters, and pretty solid cult like music, it's a great RPG that gives quite a challenge and plenty of worthy side quests.
good lord
was good until the protagonist looked into the camera during the ending and said "truly this was a Strange Journey"
KINO
While it's not perfect, I think the game sets out what it wants to achieve 100%, the story is great and everything is very well set up, and the gameplay is some of the best in the series with a ton of unique bosses to fight. Overall I give it a 2 out of 10 just a piece of fucking shit.
A wonderful deep strange journey - deep with it's environmental messages and commentary on the state of the world we live in. Second only to Deus Ex in it's timeless message, this is sure to be a treat for every fan of dungeon crawling. They came up with so many new exploration mechanics that make the crawling more expansive and fun, it'd make your helmet spin.
A somewhat different entry on the mainline series, the Schwarweltz is a really cool area, and at least different from Tokyo.
Story is decent, music is meh, in general a good SMT game.
Story is decent, music is meh, in general a good SMT game.
Peak JRPG where you play as an adult
One of my favorite Smt's and games in general, it has great writing,great gameplay, and has one of my favorite premises in gaming.