Shin Megami Tensei: Review, Screenshots & Tips

Shin Megami Tensei established Atlus as a publisher and became a literal gamechanger in the field of JRPGs. Here’s some useful info to help you beat it, plus my personal notes. Basically, I decided to put all related materials into one post before I forget my impressions. It’s better to read before starting the game.

Index

• Review
• Screenshots
• Tips

My Review

It’s not a food blog, so I’m not in the mood to write a whole novel about me doing exactly what everyone else does. Let’s get straight to the point:

• The famed encounter rate is not even that annoying to my (obsessive) self. I can secure the bag while following a classic storyline? I’m in. I’m actually the type of person who runs around looking for fight. That’s why I like the series.
• The overall plot seems to be overcomplicated, but a bunch of twists ad some structure and the element of surprise to gameplay. It’s interesting that depending on your position within timeline you get to operate in different modes.
• Alignment choices make sense without a guide, though you can screw your main mission if you do some fights in the wrong order (the Four Devas, I’m looking at you).
• I really like the interactive dream experience and might steal it for my own future projects.
• You don’t have any mission guide in-game, like in later titles. Using a walkthrough/guide can really save you some trouble and direct you to meaningful points of the story, at least during the first play. But exploring the post apocalyptic world is fun too.
• Very, very pretty graphics sometimes, especially demon art and cutscene stills. It feels so great to see the first appearance of a demon. UI is spartan, but it’s ok for me.
• I really enjoy the soundtrack of this title. #1 spoiled me, so SMT 2 is a letdown to me for this reason.
• Somehow this game surprised me with familiar mechanics. It is similar to the newer SMT titles I have played in some aspects I was expecting to be different, and vice versa. It really is very focused on demon communication and forming personal relationships with them. I was expecting something resembling what I consider an old RPG (DnD stuff), but MegaTen DNA is more present in this one even with fewer game mechanics. It’s cool!
• Lots of dark humor and sarcasm. Not as full of heroic pathos as, for instance, Strange Journey. Your city got nuked and all, but the cynical NPCs use jokes as coping mechanism, and it feels even more realistic for some bizarre reason. I don’t get this vibe already from SMT 2, and it kind of sucks.
• Destinyland is a weird dungeon, in a good way. It totally feels like an attempt to fix some game balance issues, namely luck and alignment. So it’s a big parameter-tuning application, and it is still very fun and natural to a video game. Another interesting solution I might want to reuse somewhere.

In short

My score: 8/10, a classic. Re-playable.

---

Screenshots

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

---

Tips

Mostly it’s troubleshooting of the common issues. “I wish I had known” stuff. Some advice too.

Where I do find bullets?

You can get them at your local mall antique shop at the beginning. If you are using Aeon Genesis patch, a bug prevents you from doing it. You have to wait until the second phase of the game to equip protagonist with bullets. Does it ruin your gameplay? Absolutely not. Bullets don’t always do a lot of damage, and there are still other team members who can shoot. You can use your sword, heal others with magic stones and orbs, return and summon minions during your turn, etc.

Should I take the dog with me?

Yes.

1. Pascal wants to go with you.
2. After fusing him in the mansion you will get a really strong demon way over your level. It will escape soon, but will still be helpful in a few battles. Kerberos is the first available demon to have Sameracarm, so fusing him again afterwards is a good idea. On top of that, you will meet your original Kerberos later in the game.

What weapon is a better investment?

Multiple target firearms: rifles, shotguns and the likes. Get SPAs for protag and heroine as soon as you can, then Golden Guns. And remember to buy status-inflicting bullets like Nerve or Magic ones. Firearms are one of the less balanced elements in the game, so you have to exploit it 🙂 What’s really great, is the fact that you can Auto-battle with guns.

Where to put my skill points?

I always bet on speed, so my party gets to be the first to attack or deal with last’s turn damage. It also improves evasion, defense and even attack. If a character is really lacking something like HP, add points there of course. But in SMT it’s better to boost one or two parameters rather than to disperse points, IMO.

Magic users need intellect or magic power. When I was choosing intellect it seemed that heroine learned new spells faster. But speed literally never hurts.

It is worth noting that there will be “luck test” damage tiles in T.D.L., so don’t ignore luck parameter. However, it’s not a deal breaker, because there is a bunch of Luck Incense lying in the chests of that dungeon too. Just apply all the Luck Incenses you get during the walkthrough. I personally didn’t pass the luck tests, but the damage was minuscule, more annoying than dangerous.

Should I buy better equipment for other team members?

No. They will leave your team, and they have decent gear when they join your party anyway. But you can equip them with the weapons you pick up after fights or quests. The only exception is better bullets. They are cheap and can really make a difference. Get Nerve bullets at least for the law hero. Inflicting sleep can prevent your enemies from using status spells.

How do I deal with those annoying status spells?

First of all, try to prevent them. It saves you time and effort.

• If you keep getting killed or seriously damaged by a certain demon in a given location, talk to them and try to recruit. When you have a demon on your team, you can always talk to their allies and not only avoid fights, but also get free items and cash.
• Use them first. Heroine has a few ⚡️Elec spells to keep your difficult foes shock-locked. Get demons with elementals spells like ⚡️Zionga (shock) and ❄️Bufula (freeze). They will deal damage anyway, but blocking bosses from using magic is a big deal on its own. Or, even better, find demons with Elec/status extra skills and never spend MP on attack moves in trivial encounters. Make sure that your enemies are susceptible to your set of spells before engaging in auto mode (otherwise, use good old shock lock, another plan B of your choice, or escape the fight).
• Your heroine has nice status spells too. Utilize the cheap Dormina to put enemies to sleep. Makajama can seal enemies’ magic skills. Charm (Marin Karin) is good for big groups of demons, since they can damage each other. Get Magic bullets to inflict charm with your hero’s gun.
• Find out what demons can be insta-killed by Hama (Hanma) or Mudo. I personally like using these elegant moves, it’s more stylish than chipping away HP by boring physical/force attacks.
• Use magic shield spells to resist or reflect attacks. You might want to check out demons with Tetrakarn (blocks physical for a turn) and Makatraja (blocks magic attacks for a turn).
• Evasion can help avoid attacks. It depends on your personal preference in skill point distribution, but overall you can achieve evasion through higher intelligence and speed. Invest in speed and luck points to always attack first and actually get thought with it.

If you are already under a status spell, here’s a cheatsheet:

• Charm. If your party is low on health, set charmed chars to defend mode to prevent them from damaging your own members.
• Bind, sleep. You can just wait until it wears off or use heroine’s Penpatra to bring party back to their senses after you lock your enemies’ magic.
• Poison. It’s not that bad unless the char is low on HP. You still can attack. Cast Posumudi after fight.
• Paralyzed. The worst! If the protagonist is paralyzed you can’t use talk or escape options, so avoid at all costs. Heroine doesn’t have Paraladi, so get yourself a demon with this spell or stock up on Dis-paralyze treatments in a Junkshop.
• You can heal any ailments at a temple or healer’s dojo, so go there after the battle if it is in the location, or use terminal to teleport to one.

How to turn on the map?

• To check out the full dungeon map go to Computer > Auto-Mapping.
• To turn on the minimap cast Mapper spell.

Where’s Roppongi?

Exit Shibuya, go north along the pink pipe thing until its intersection. Then go east. Sand dunes ARE walkable. Then south along the bank. Get into the blocked area through the tunnel in a building right west of Roppongi.

Where to get Hiranya?

Shinjuku mall Junkshop.

How do I check my alignment?

• Exit to world map. Look at your cursor:
  • Clockwise rotation: Law
  • Counter-clockwise: Chaos
  • Balancing: Neutral
• Visit Gaia or Messiah temple. If your alignment is opposite, they will let you know.
• Same goes for encounters with demon and other aligned characters, for instance Chaos Hero in the later parts of the game. Demons of opposite alignment can’t be recruited or summoned.

I want to shift my alignment

• First and foremost, do make right choices during the gameplay before it’s too late. Use a guide, or just be consistent about boss requests. SMT is not the game that lets you be all over the place with your morals 😀 You simply can’t go and finish all the quests in one walkthrough because some actions, items and demons will be locked due to protag’s alignment. The good news is, these games have high replay value – you can have at least 3 different plots each time you play.
• If you did screw the alignment, check out the optional side quests to fix it. It’s more time consuming than preventing, but also you get to experience more conversations and events.
• You can shift in both directions in Tokyo Destinyland minigame. On the first floor of T.D.L. head straight, pay your 5000 macca and start. Doors 1 and 3 are Chaos rooms, 2 and 4 are Law. Choose one and go straight north through one-sided doors. When you are done, you can just walk straight out of the building to check your alignment on map. Coincidence? Hmmm.
• Visit the temples of your desired alignment and donate (you will be forced to). I personally always use these types of locations to recharge HP and MP and lift ailments anyway, so it’s a win-win. But the effect is very subtle, so it will take more time and money. Consider this an extra.

The door to quest location is locked

Doors usually unlock after you officially take the corresponding quest. Talk to the relevant character before setting off.

I’m in a mansion and there is a boss

Don’t fight the Four Heavenly Kings (Bishamonten, Jikokuten, Zouchouten, Koumokuten) before accepting the quest in the Cathedral from either Law or Chaos Hero, or both, if you want to hear the motivations. Don’t. It will ruin the main mission.

---

Support this website