This was my first game in the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series. I don't think I could have asked for a more comfortable entry to the franchise. This game took a lot of time for me to adapt to, but I think all of the challenges it presented were enjoyable for the most part. The core loop of making progress and constantly updating your team of demons took some getting used to as a long time pokemon veteran. I really enjoyed the fusion system and how it allows you to create unique versions of demons.

I think some of the dialogue choices that lead to a fixed reaction is something I didn't really enjoy, especially in a game that allows actual dialogue choices that impact the end of the game. Especially because in some moments it's very unclear if those conversations will or won't have any actual impact. But that's a very personal take.

I've had some distance from the game prior to writing this, so I've lost a lot of my general thoughts to the ether. I had fun and it was challenging. Visual presentation was generally good, but 75% of the open world areas are genuinely hard to look at. The combat is incredible when it's going your way, and can turn on you in an instant which was brutal to get used to - again a pokemon fan, I come from games that let you just steam roll your opponents 24/7. I hope SMTVV fixes balance issues and damage scaling, and I can't wait to see this game on something other than 7 year old hardware. 4/5 because there's no Hee-Hobino in this one.

Forget about all the progress made through SMT I, II and III being answers to each other. We're back to the foundations, which means there is absolutely nothing special to offer with this game on its own storywise compared to the rest of the series. It is, however, a solid video game, and a well paced story with great twists, and it is not limited by the fact that it's an old game like I and II while using a similar style of setting, so it's not entirely pointless as a creation. It's just tired. The real "Mid".