The Megaten fanbase at large seems to regard this as the inferior version, I could not disagree more. There are issues for sure and I agree that the new art is inferior (especially Jimenez, what did they do to my boy), but the slew of changes made to balancing, the quality of life features to make exploring some of this game's torture chamber dungeons slightly less maddening and the brand new content which blows the original's out of the water in creativity and overall quality is undeniable.

Commander skills embrace the main character's role as a support in the late game by expanding his kit so he has more to do than throw items around, the brave heart skill specifically also provides a better way to deal with the shower of ailments bosses throw at you which is much appreciated.

The womb of grief isn't my favorite dungeon ever but it is far more creative and far less grating than any sector in the main game. My personal favorite area is the fifth sphere, featuring the first ever good teleporter maze in an SMT game, being far less expansive than the hellhole that is sector Eridanus while also requiring more thought as you need to use certain teleporters in a certain order.

The new bosses offer far more interesting fights than the originals thanks mostly to almost a decade of hindsight and better designed games to pull from. Their gimmicks all force you to engage in their fights differently from any other boss, and most importantly they never resort to cheap tricks like the main game bunch, the new ending bosses are a particular highlight.

If this game was just the new content it would probably be my second favorite Megaten entry (Devil survivor cannot be beat, sorry), however, the original game is still here which makes me reluctant to replay it any time soon.

If you are torn between the two, please play this version.