This review contains spoilers
(Note: Replayed on emulator because it runs better, still kind of rough on Ryujinx)
Okay so I actually managed to beat the game after holding off on it for god knows how long and while I don't think it's a 5/5 it's pretty close. Just a really solid video game. Story was interesting when it wasn't doing goofy shit, ATLUS please remember what the sense of direction for SMT is supposed to be. It's not like scenes such as the Lahmu one and the Dazai one would be that out of place for SMT1 or SMTif but this is neither of those, this is a spiritual successor to Nocturne. I think Hayataro being on the box really says everything. Dude says three lines and then enters your party at level 40. It was actually confirmed several times that he was supposed to have a bigger role, like a dog Nahobino could travel on before being relegated to a different role... and then being relegated to a smaller role. Khonsu gets a really good side quest but why is he on there, he's not really a part of the main story. I thought the ideas were interesting, but the execution was weak, basically, especially with the chaos guys, Yuzuru and whoever the other one was, I can't even be assed to remember his name. Hayataro is also a part of their business. I got the chaos ending so I'd know how underdeveloped it was. I liked Tao but her resurrection was a little weird, this is SMT but I don't even know what happened, like did some god just resurrect her or something? In that case why didn't Odin do it for his dead half, or whatever they called it? Again I am probably missing something there. Dazai and Abdiel were fine enough I suppose, I liked what they represented and if I were to guess they most likely have the best ending. (I know True Neutral's and it's pretty stupid)
Locations are also somewhat lame. They were fun to explore for the most part, but I had to turn off the audio because of those fucking Anzu in Chiyoda. Not only that, but Anzu are auto-aggro, and they have a pretty big hitbox. On my first playthrough I went Hard, so these fucked me over so many times. It was better on Normal and I learned how to avoid them, but when the area itself isn't that great, they make things worse. In fact that entire area is just bad to explore, and the castle was the last middle finger. Cool area, not too confusing, just really, really annoying. I just spent at least ten hours running around fallen skyscrapers and bridges with an uninformative map doing side quests and cleaning up Ishtar's shit and you're telling me I need to fight two more bosses and do a janky fan maze? Yes ATLUS, I'll bend over for the 4PM session.
Minato was a pretty good area, though. You don't know much about the game, so when you see Lucifer show up to announce God as dead, you know shit's up, and then you're met with the Hydra who's got one of the best cutscenes and a pretty good fight to boot. He's a good introduction to the game, and I think everything up to Lahmu (2) keeps up the pace. I don't have much else to say about the area, but it does everything it's supposed to do and was fun to navigate, unlike a certain area later which I've already gotten into. Only getting the Return Pillar after Hydra was also a good choice, and I think SMTV did early game right. There's a lack of options, but it doesn't feel the same as how Nocturne did it, which is probably a good thing seeing as Nocturne's early game is kind of lame in my opinion. Not like IV's which was one of the best parts of the game. (I'm not the type who thinks the rest sucked, since Blasted/Infernal Tokyo was pretty cool)
Shinagawa was pretty good too. I don't have much to say about it either, but I enjoyed the King Frost fight and Lahmu was also a rather fun boss, I've also already pointed out my issues with the latter. I don't remember an awful lot about what was going on, but the school was neat to explore too. I recall there being this one warehouse and it was slightly annoying but only because I was going for Miman. Take it from me: you don't need them. The best you get are Talismans which you obtain entirely once you get about 100 or so Miman. Avoid the shitty ones - the ultimate reward is a Balm set which is good but may not be worth your time.
People told me Taito was going to be a bad experience but I actually really liked it. I did use the Mitama DLC to level up though so maybe I cheesed it too much, after all things did become rather easy, but I got Murakumo on my side, I wasn't about to feel weak in endgame with that shit. It's kind of weird how they drop you into a place with enemies way above your initial level but they aren't exactly the toughest enemies, not to mention you can instakill a few of them with Hama/Mudo spells. If you aren't carrying those by endgame, genuinely what are you doing. The bosses mostly went down with ease, but no shit, I was way overleveled and just felt like beating the game. I actually modded Lucifer to be slightly harder (level 90) so it was a lame fight, I didn't know the strategy so I simply spammed moves he resisted until he died.
All that aside, it's just fun, especially on a replay. There's a reason the skip button exists, and it feels good to know the routes to blast through everything. I haven't finished NG+, but when I do I'll take care of Shiva and Demi-fiend.
Prepare yourselves, superbosses. I've got a save editor, but no time or shame.
Okay so I actually managed to beat the game after holding off on it for god knows how long and while I don't think it's a 5/5 it's pretty close. Just a really solid video game. Story was interesting when it wasn't doing goofy shit, ATLUS please remember what the sense of direction for SMT is supposed to be. It's not like scenes such as the Lahmu one and the Dazai one would be that out of place for SMT1 or SMTif but this is neither of those, this is a spiritual successor to Nocturne. I think Hayataro being on the box really says everything. Dude says three lines and then enters your party at level 40. It was actually confirmed several times that he was supposed to have a bigger role, like a dog Nahobino could travel on before being relegated to a different role... and then being relegated to a smaller role. Khonsu gets a really good side quest but why is he on there, he's not really a part of the main story. I thought the ideas were interesting, but the execution was weak, basically, especially with the chaos guys, Yuzuru and whoever the other one was, I can't even be assed to remember his name. Hayataro is also a part of their business. I got the chaos ending so I'd know how underdeveloped it was. I liked Tao but her resurrection was a little weird, this is SMT but I don't even know what happened, like did some god just resurrect her or something? In that case why didn't Odin do it for his dead half, or whatever they called it? Again I am probably missing something there. Dazai and Abdiel were fine enough I suppose, I liked what they represented and if I were to guess they most likely have the best ending. (I know True Neutral's and it's pretty stupid)
Locations are also somewhat lame. They were fun to explore for the most part, but I had to turn off the audio because of those fucking Anzu in Chiyoda. Not only that, but Anzu are auto-aggro, and they have a pretty big hitbox. On my first playthrough I went Hard, so these fucked me over so many times. It was better on Normal and I learned how to avoid them, but when the area itself isn't that great, they make things worse. In fact that entire area is just bad to explore, and the castle was the last middle finger. Cool area, not too confusing, just really, really annoying. I just spent at least ten hours running around fallen skyscrapers and bridges with an uninformative map doing side quests and cleaning up Ishtar's shit and you're telling me I need to fight two more bosses and do a janky fan maze? Yes ATLUS, I'll bend over for the 4PM session.
Minato was a pretty good area, though. You don't know much about the game, so when you see Lucifer show up to announce God as dead, you know shit's up, and then you're met with the Hydra who's got one of the best cutscenes and a pretty good fight to boot. He's a good introduction to the game, and I think everything up to Lahmu (2) keeps up the pace. I don't have much else to say about the area, but it does everything it's supposed to do and was fun to navigate, unlike a certain area later which I've already gotten into. Only getting the Return Pillar after Hydra was also a good choice, and I think SMTV did early game right. There's a lack of options, but it doesn't feel the same as how Nocturne did it, which is probably a good thing seeing as Nocturne's early game is kind of lame in my opinion. Not like IV's which was one of the best parts of the game. (I'm not the type who thinks the rest sucked, since Blasted/Infernal Tokyo was pretty cool)
Shinagawa was pretty good too. I don't have much to say about it either, but I enjoyed the King Frost fight and Lahmu was also a rather fun boss, I've also already pointed out my issues with the latter. I don't remember an awful lot about what was going on, but the school was neat to explore too. I recall there being this one warehouse and it was slightly annoying but only because I was going for Miman. Take it from me: you don't need them. The best you get are Talismans which you obtain entirely once you get about 100 or so Miman. Avoid the shitty ones - the ultimate reward is a Balm set which is good but may not be worth your time.
People told me Taito was going to be a bad experience but I actually really liked it. I did use the Mitama DLC to level up though so maybe I cheesed it too much, after all things did become rather easy, but I got Murakumo on my side, I wasn't about to feel weak in endgame with that shit. It's kind of weird how they drop you into a place with enemies way above your initial level but they aren't exactly the toughest enemies, not to mention you can instakill a few of them with Hama/Mudo spells. If you aren't carrying those by endgame, genuinely what are you doing. The bosses mostly went down with ease, but no shit, I was way overleveled and just felt like beating the game. I actually modded Lucifer to be slightly harder (level 90) so it was a lame fight, I didn't know the strategy so I simply spammed moves he resisted until he died.
All that aside, it's just fun, especially on a replay. There's a reason the skip button exists, and it feels good to know the routes to blast through everything. I haven't finished NG+, but when I do I'll take care of Shiva and Demi-fiend.
Prepare yourselves, superbosses. I've got a save editor, but no time or shame.