Shin Megami Tensei V is the newest entry in the long running JRPG series from Atlus, and my favorite series of all time. Does this long awaited JRPG live up to the hype and anticipation built up to it's long and troubled development? The short answer is yes and no. There are aspects to this game I really enjoy, and other aspects not so much. To start off with the positives is that SMTV is definitely the next big step of the series as this time the developers reduced the focus on big dungeons in favor for big open areas that serve as micro open worlds full of content such as side quests, treasure, various different demons to recruit and fight. One of the original concepts for Nocturne was to have a big open world to be able to see demons walking around the world, and being able to look up and get a scope of the world and how you fit into it and now it feels like that vision is finally coming to fruition and Atlus, and Team Maniax stick the landing for the most part. One of my major qualms with with the open world however is it feels like they didn't take full advantage of being able to sneak in tons of secrets like Nocturne. Nocturne had so many hidden boss fights and areas like Mara slime, and Masakado's palace with the Devas, and this would've been the perfect opportunity to explore those kind of hidden secrets even more but sadly there isn't much to be found on the over world in terms of secrets. The combat is the best that the series has ever been, with the press turn system, but also the introduction of Magatsuhi skills which allow you to pull off moves that don't take a turn that can either buff your party or deal heavy damage to your foes but thankfully the game is balanced in such a way that the Magatsuhi skills don't break the game. There is still plenty of challenge to be had, as enemies can also take advantage of Magatsuhi skills. This small tweak to the SMT formula really helps keep the combat fresh and allows for a lot of strategy when facing a boss as you may have to choose between several magatsuhi skills which could make or break the fight. Now to briefly touch on my biggest problem with the game is the story. My problem with the story doesn't stem from the writing per se as I feel it's a massive step up from Apocalypse, however the story just kinda ends. The final bit of the game just kinda deflates and it feels like a quick race to the finish line which is a huge juxtaposition to other games in the series like SMT IV and Nocturne where those game's final parts were considerably longer and delivered a lot more of a pay off. It might be because development on this game restarted part way through, or because of covid but it feels like this game just kinda ends 3 quarters of the way through the story, and that really deflated my positivity for this game. Maybe we will get an expanded release one day as the game files seem to suggest but until then SMTV is a very solid entry in the series, and is mostly a course correction from Apocalypse, but it's still far from reaching the heights and the glory of earlier Mainline titles.