Shin Megami Tensei IV 3DS

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Anyone playing this or going to get it? I just picked it up today and have never touched a Megaten game but I have played Persona titles which are similar in some ways I heard but on totally different levels of complexity (megaten being tougher and a little more hardcore). What am I in for and what should I expect?

I got the limited edition with the art book/guide and Megaten soundtrack. I like this packaging a lot and the art design is really cool IMO. Anyway I just wanted some thoughts on this if anyone knew anything about it.
 

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
4,464
6
81
Yup, mine is going to arrive tomorrow from NewEgg. I'm pretty excited; SMT games are great.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Is there anything I should be prepared for when I start it? Not sure what to expect.
 

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
4,464
6
81
Probably better not knowing :) This game is a great entry to the series so you can discover what they're like/about.

Note that the most recent game that's an actual SMT game is SMT: Nocturne on PS2. The others, like Persona, are similar but different play-styles.
 

ImpulsE69

Lifer
Jan 8, 2010
14,946
1,077
126
Probably better not knowing :) This game is a great entry to the series so you can discover what they're like/about.

Note that the most recent game that's an actual SMT game is SMT: Nocturne on PS2. The others, like Persona, are similar but different play-styles.

I love Nocturne. I actually own that game :D but it's not the most recent. There were 2 on DS : Devil Summoner 1 and 2. While not as ambitious as Nocturne or the earlier series, the gameplay is more or less the same.
 

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
4,464
6
81
I love Nocturne. I actually own that game :D but it's not the most recent. There were 2 on DS : Devil Summoner 1 and 2. While not as ambitious as Nocturne or the earlier series, the gameplay is more or less the same.

Nocturne is the most recent Shin Megami Tensei: # game. Devil Summoner are of the Devil Summoner series.

And I was wrong myself anyways; I forgot about Strange Journey, which was supposed to be IV but they re-titled it as a stand-alone and not IV. Because of this I still count Nocturne, which is actually III, as the most recent SMT game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Megami_Tensei_media
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Played about 2 hours and am finding the difficulty pretty high but I am only starting out. Not much real story. More like this is you, this is your location, here is your quest. It is different.

Is there a way to know what dialog choices to make with the demons? Sometimes I enter the dialog to get them yo join me and lose all my turns when I answer incorrectly lol. Sometimes they ask for items I don't have. Should I just use the ones I have for now and level up or is it best to try to get the new ones as they appear?

Also in the persona games the enemies drop money. In this game I don't see that happen so what is the easiest way to get money?
 

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
4,464
6
81
Played about 2 hours and am finding the difficulty pretty high but I am only starting out. Not much real story. More like this is you, this is your location, here is your quest. It is different.

Is there a way to know what dialog choices to make with the demons? Sometimes I enter the dialog to get them yo join me and lose all my turns when I answer incorrectly lol. Sometimes they ask for items I don't have. Should I just use the ones I have for now and level up or is it best to try to get the new ones as they appear?

Also in the persona games the enemies drop money. In this game I don't see that happen so what is the easiest way to get money?

The game just came out man! We don't have all the answers yet ;)

Do some googling.
 

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
4,464
6
81
Just got mine today from Newegg; morons put it in an envelope, not a box. The case is all bent to hell. They're hearing from me for sure.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Just got mine today from Newegg; morons put it in an envelope, not a box. The case is all bent to hell. They're hearing from me for sure.

That sucks...one of the nice things about buying locally is I can see the one I get and if it is damaged in some way I can say no thanks.

I'll play more tonight. So far the game is decent enough but it is a departure from what I am used to. You don't actually walk around town and talk to people and interact. You basically use a menu to select what location you want to go to and then there are some random people there and it asks you who you want to talk to. This will take some getting used to for me. The gauntlet you wear is actually a pretty interesting idea. You can buy apps for it that allow you more skill slots, reduce the amount of mp a skill costs, give you more dialog options for demon negotiation and such. It is an interesting way to add abilities. You get app points when you level up.
 
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gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
4,464
6
81
Checked my local GameStop and they're all a little banged up too; said it was because of the shipping.

I'm going to RMA this and I asked them to ship the next one in a box; they said they can't guarantee it but will ask them to in the RMA request. I figure either way it can't be worse than what I've gotten/seen so far.
 

exdeath

Lifer
Jan 29, 2004
13,679
10
81
Mine from Amazon came in a box and its a little bit bent convex on one of the ends, nothing I'm worried about. Most of my boxed DS games like that have been similar. I don't think its shipping, I think it's just they seal it too tight in the shrink wrap.
 

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
4,464
6
81
I've seen online that people are having good luck with the ones they get from Best Buy, so I put in a site-to-store in hopes of getting a good copy. If not I'll just return it.
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
I'm up to around 4 hours now and just did the first "boss" battle. Still no real story to drive things, just quests. It sort of feels like an MMO in some ways because of that.

The only real complaint I have is that when you try to get demons to join you the dialog is trial and error. You basically remember the answers that are right and hope they don't ask you for too much life and items. Sometimes they even demand you kill off one of your current demons before they will join. Overall that part is lame to me but it is what it is.

As for money... There are a couple apps you can get for the burroughs(your personal AI assistant). First is an app that allows you to request money from demons during battle. Pretty much the first time always works and you get a random amount. Some demons carry more than others. Then you can either stop the dialog or demand more money. If you demand more there is a chance they give more but also a chance they get angry and you lose all your turns and they get to attack. The second app gives you extra money when you request it. Basically it will give you a random amount like before but then say "the demon was holding out...here's 10 more." or something. So if you find the right demons who have money on them (they have infinite amounts but the amount they give varies from each), you can repeat this 2-3 times in a row and end up with almost 100 macca a pop. There is a 3rd level of this that increases the amount of money they give for each successful request. For instance if you beg for money and get 30, the next try will give more than 30 never less if it is successful, and the next attempt will be even more. It also helps if you bind a demon before asking for money. If they are bound it is guaranteed to succeed and you can use it 3 or 4 times in a row. Then there is one that gives money for successfully scouting a demon (getting it to join you). Sometimes they will give up and ask you to let them go. You can choose to have them join you, give you an item, give you money, or you can just tell them to die and continue fighting. Lastly some of the relics you pick up randomly in the dungeons are valuable indeed and they respawn all the time. If you leave and come back it'll reappear. I found one spot that gave 1200 macca in one shot, but it was totally random as to how valuable it is. I went back and ended up with less.

It's an interesting experience so far. A few minor things irk me a bit, but overall the battles are enjoyable which seems to be the main portion of the game aside from the fusing of demons to create new ones.
 
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Randum

Platinum Member
Jan 28, 2004
2,473
0
76
I think I'm at about the same point as the above poster, I hit just over 4 hours on my commute this AM- and I am really enjoying it. Really tough though - I cannot beat the creature on the 3rd level - but I think its because I need to take advantage of "fusing" the demons together?? My own character seems to be strong enough but my demons need some leveling/fusing.

The app upgrades is kind of neat - so far I like the light story, and the going to places is a little weird with the menu system, but at the same time, on a handheld, it seems to work just fine so far. I only played Persona 4 on the ps2/vita, which I actually have yet to complete but seems very similar in combat, but the battle scenes, I wish I could see some animation of the fight! Still just as enjoyable.

Glad I picked it up and I don't play on putting this one down for a while- the visuals/sound is fantastic, I have to take a look at that artbook/strategy thing that came with it as well. I picked it up from a local game place, definitely worth it so far.

No tips I have to contribute so far, but grab the free DL packs, I outfitted my guy with the "white samurai" outfit, and it helps quite a bit!
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Yeah it's less about your overall level and more about your demons. You need to take advantage of the enemies' weakness. If they are weak to fire you need a demon that has Agi or maybe two. If the demon likes to use Ice spells you should buff ice resistance if possible (get demons that are strong against it but also have skills that are strong against the enemy). For random battles its not as important, for critical "boss" battles it is.

For the demon on the 3rd floor you want to burn it with fire. It's weak to it so if you use agi, you get a free turn and can win before it has a chance to attack.

One thing I noticed is this game has almost zero defense. It's all evasion based (via agility and luck). So you want to try to get any skills or items and armor you can find to buff yourself against whatever demon you are facing.

The $1.99 DLC will give you a quest that you can do once you level up (I guess above lv20) to help you get free experience points and allows you to fuse a special demon upon completion. There will be one later on that gives you lots of money. Basically Atlus makes the game hard but offers paid DLC for people who want to do things quicker.

Also if you die twice you can change the difficulty to a lower one.
 
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Randum

Platinum Member
Jan 28, 2004
2,473
0
76
Yeah it's less about your overall level and more about your demons. You need to take advantage of the enemies' weakness. If they are weak to fire you need a demon that has Agi or maybe two. If the demon likes to use Ice spells you should buff ice resistance if possible (get demons that are strong against it but also have skills that are strong against the enemy). For random battles its not as important, for critical "boss" battles it is.

For the demon on the 3rd floor you want to burn it with fire. It's weak to it so if you use agi, you get a free turn and can win before it has a chance to attack.

One thing I noticed is this game has almost zero defense. It's all evasion based (via agility and luck). So you want to try to get any skills or items and armor you can find to buff yourself against whatever demon you are facing.

The $1.99 DLC will give you a quest that you can do once you level up (I guess above lv20) to help you get free experience points and allows you to fuse a special demon upon completion. There will be one later on that gives you lots of money. Basically Atlus makes the game hard but offers paid DLC for people who want to do things quicker.

Also if you die twice you can change the difficulty to a lower one.

Thanks! This did help, I am now in the forest - sure story is rather basic, but its enjoyable. I do like fusing the demons together etc. So far I can't put this game down...
 

cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
357
126
Glad it helped. I am on naraku level 6 now and stopped for now. I'll go back again to this game later and play in short bursts. I am not liking the lack of real story and actually walking around town with your character. I also dislike the lack of any defense. When you are 10 levels above a random demon and they still do 100pts of damage that is terrible design IMO. Almost no point to your level in these situations. I find the menu system tedious so I needed a break.

The battles are not bad though.
 
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gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
4,464
6
81
Well, I finally got a good condition of the game without too much damage and Newegg is going to give me an additional $15 off the copy I bought from them. So, I'll be using theirs to play and keep the other sealed; works out for me.
 

gothamhunter

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2010
4,464
6
81
Finally opened one of my collector editions last night to play. I had enough time to start training # 2 - capturing a demon. I captured one, and my next fight was against two and they killed me instantly.

Love it.