SMT5 is one of the best examples of a game being painfully boring. Everything about this game is boring, both comparatively to past megaten entries and just as a standalone product.
The opening few hours are pretty neat, but it's one of those things where the intrigue of a mystery is significantly more fun than watching the mystery unfold, and as it continues it loses all the appeal. SMT is one of my favorite franchises of all time and one of the reasons is how they're bursting with creativity in every corner. Even back in the Super Famicom days, games like SMT1 and 2 have so many memorable set pieces and story events that make them unforgettable- but in 5 you walk around an empty desert- no dungeons or towns or anything of the sort- then copy and paste that 4 times with a different camera filter. The story and characters in SMT are criticized for being thin, which is something I have never agreed with in the past, but this game feels like the exact target those critics are pointing at. Nothing happens in this game, nothing is exciting or meaningful, and the characters presented are so bland and forgettable that I legitimately struggle to remember some of their names. It feels so empty, unplanned, and half baked.
The gameplay is another area that fell short of expectations, as it completely removed the fun of the SMT3/4 battle system with its tweaks here. Those games were so fun because of how much you could experiment in so many different ways and ultimately make it so you could wipe the floor with enemies and bosses even if they were leaps of levels above you, assuming you can face the risk of them doing the same to you. This time, there's a level scaling system that makes it so if you don't match similar levels- you will just not be effective. It pads every fight, removes the need and fun for experimenting and creative problem solving, and ultimately makes it unfun. That's not even mentioning things like the new magatsuhi meter which removes even more of the fun, or how bosses are loaded with piercing moves that negate the need to plan a party strategically as it won't matter.
What we are left here is a jrpg with a boring story, cast, gameplay system, atmosphere, music, and more. There's hints of good stuff here- the demons especially are great to see in 3D and have tons of great and fun dialogue, and fusion is always satisfying, as some examples- but those aspects are buried underneath one of the most unsatisfyingly empty and shallow experiences I have ever had in the genre. I am thoroughly disappointed with this game, not because I was super hyped going in or for how it doesn't live up to its predecessors- but because this is just not a very good video game in general.
The opening few hours are pretty neat, but it's one of those things where the intrigue of a mystery is significantly more fun than watching the mystery unfold, and as it continues it loses all the appeal. SMT is one of my favorite franchises of all time and one of the reasons is how they're bursting with creativity in every corner. Even back in the Super Famicom days, games like SMT1 and 2 have so many memorable set pieces and story events that make them unforgettable- but in 5 you walk around an empty desert- no dungeons or towns or anything of the sort- then copy and paste that 4 times with a different camera filter. The story and characters in SMT are criticized for being thin, which is something I have never agreed with in the past, but this game feels like the exact target those critics are pointing at. Nothing happens in this game, nothing is exciting or meaningful, and the characters presented are so bland and forgettable that I legitimately struggle to remember some of their names. It feels so empty, unplanned, and half baked.
The gameplay is another area that fell short of expectations, as it completely removed the fun of the SMT3/4 battle system with its tweaks here. Those games were so fun because of how much you could experiment in so many different ways and ultimately make it so you could wipe the floor with enemies and bosses even if they were leaps of levels above you, assuming you can face the risk of them doing the same to you. This time, there's a level scaling system that makes it so if you don't match similar levels- you will just not be effective. It pads every fight, removes the need and fun for experimenting and creative problem solving, and ultimately makes it unfun. That's not even mentioning things like the new magatsuhi meter which removes even more of the fun, or how bosses are loaded with piercing moves that negate the need to plan a party strategically as it won't matter.
What we are left here is a jrpg with a boring story, cast, gameplay system, atmosphere, music, and more. There's hints of good stuff here- the demons especially are great to see in 3D and have tons of great and fun dialogue, and fusion is always satisfying, as some examples- but those aspects are buried underneath one of the most unsatisfyingly empty and shallow experiences I have ever had in the genre. I am thoroughly disappointed with this game, not because I was super hyped going in or for how it doesn't live up to its predecessors- but because this is just not a very good video game in general.