Megami Tensei series

[Anonymous No.2487927]

I'm not really a fan of the modern Persona games, but recently I've been reading about the precursor to the Persona series, Shin Megami Tensei. Unlike the spinoff, these seem like high concept RPG games that are stuffed with really interesting ideas and unique mechanics.

The problem is, I have no idea where to begin with such a huge series. Do I start with the original NES Megami Tensei games? Is the SNES a better place to begin? Or are the later titles in the series like the PS2 game the best places for a newcomer to begin?

[Anonymous No.2487930]

>>2487927
The carriage thing looks like a giant platinum dick.

[Anonymous No.2487951]

>>2487927
The first couple NES games were remade for the SNES on a single cartridge. Get the translation of that and start there. Then play the first couple SNES games.

[Anonymous No.2487952]

snes are the only ones that are translated
there's a bug in the translation patch of the second game that will get you stuck, something to do with items not showing up in the shop menu
>>2487930
nah it's just you, anon

[Anonymous No.2487956]

If you want to start with retro, then play SMT 1 and 2, just keep a guide handy for spell names.

Nocturne for PS2 is also a good starting point since it's less clunky than the SNES ones. Also lets you (slowly) level demons instead of just fusing. Still recommended though.

[Anonymous No.2487957]

>>2487927
>Is the SNES a better place to begin?
I'd say so but I'm biased because SMT1 is my favorite. Don't listen what the fanbase say, they see the retro games and dated and unplayable.
Honestly SMT 1 isn't a hard game, it's not Pokemon where you find a demon and as long as you'll level him up you'll be able to use him. You will need to negotiate and fuse every so often, you'll know when your demons aren't being as useful as they should be.
Also one thing that the fanbase likes to say is that it's a hard dungeon crawler, it's really not. It's easily dungeon crawler on the SNES and only 1-2 dungeons can be confusing.
Also use the Orden patch, fixes a bug that was present in the AGTP translation.

[Anonymous No.2487958]

>>2487952
here's the fix, make sure you patch this on top of the translation
http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/988/

[Anonymous No.2487960]

>>2487952
>snes are the only ones that are translated

Original NES game is translated IIRC and the remake of 1&2 on SNES is translated.

[Anonymous No.2487961]

>>2487960
hm, didn't know that

[Anonymous No.2487970]

>>2487927
So this is basically satanic pokémon where you kill dick monsters?

[Anonymous No.2488043]

>>2487970
Pretty much. Depending on the spin-off, you will play a tech savvy Japanese high school kid or a marine traversing the antarctic.

[Anonymous No.2488103]

>>2487970
So just like pokemon then

[Anonymous No.2488127]

>>2487958
>http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/988/

Thank you for the patch link, I had no idea that it would have issues like that.

[Anonymous No.2488518]

Strange Journey

[Anonymous No.2488595]

>>2487927
I really really really really really really really like this image

[Anonymous No.2488613]

>>2488043
I like the ones where you play a sword toting police man/detective

is very sugoku hard-boiled desu

[Anonymous No.2488921]

SMTif... when

[Anonymous No.2488930]

>>2488921
Never, read the Learn Nihongo or read the Let's Play translation.

[Anonymous No.2488931]

>>2488921
>Wanting SMT IF before Majin Tensei
Especially considering Majin Tensei is how SMTxFE should have played.
Thankfully, a translation is in the works.

[Anonymous No.2489535]

I started with Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei, the remake of the famicom games on the sfc. It's fairly grindy so far but this fills my yearning for a hardcore first person dungeon crawl. I was going to start with the famicom original, but the automapping is extremely convenient. The plan is to play through the two games here, then move on through the SMT games in chronological order.

I also took some advice and printed out a list of spell names and effects, since there doesn't seem to be anything in the game that lets you know what they do.

[Anonymous No.2490257]

>>2487958
>>2488127
Actually you have to patch it on top of the original rom.
The more politically correct way would be to make the patch from AGTP's, but people already have a lot of issues patching games and I figured it would be a lot more complicated.

By the way, there's one bug I think I couldn't deal with. In the Law and Chaos routes you can acquire alignment-specific armor near the end of the game, but the door that should become available when you meet the requirements doesn't open. I tested it in the Japanese rom and it still didn't open, so I don't know if I didn't follow all the steps, it's an emulator issue or the problem lies in a previous flag that was broken in the translation patch.

[Anonymous No.2490291]

>>2490257

I read the instructions and did that, so its good to go when I get to SMT. I also fired up the original famicom game for a few minutes today, and it seems like I'm not missing too much if I experience it via the snes remakes.

I am a little regretful though, since some of the art is pretty great, and the music doesn't survive the transition to sfc that well. Still, the updates make the game much more playable for me.

[Anonymous No.2491362]

I really like the fusion system in this game. It keeps you motivated to experiment with all the different monsters in the game, and gives the currency and item systems some meaning rather than just stockpiling things.