Current Events > Are SMT1 and SMT2 worth playing?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Or should I just skip them?

Skip.

If you have a method of playing them translated. Yes its worth it.

I'd say try Soul Hackers and if you liked it, going back to older MegaTens will likely be fine

comicfire posted...

I'd say try Soul Hackers and if you liked it, going back to older MegaTens will likely be fine

Which version of Soul Hackers would you recommend?

Killmonger posted...

Which version of Soul Hackers would you recommend?

The 3DS port of SMT Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

-it was localized in the US
-has post game stuff
-stays true to the SMT gameplay
-has a demon compendium (meaning you wont have to fuse demons blindly and hope for the best)

i think they're endearing but they're pretty annoying to play and really easy thanks to broken mechanics

play digitil devil saga 1 and 2

at least that has a plot

I just finished SMT 3 and 5 on Switch - I enjoyed them a lot, with 3 being a little clunky and 5 being a bit too easy. Overall, those are my only real complaints.

I played some of SMT 4 part 1 on 3DS but never beat it.

The magnetite system might be frustrating but I think theyre worth a shot. Do not expect anything like Nocturne though

While on the subject, are Soul Journey/Redux worth playing as well? If so, should I play the games in chronological order?

I thought SMT II was really good when I was playing it, but what happened is that I got to a huge backtracking section took a break (actually still have my save file from like 10 years ago) and just had no idea what the hell I was doing anymore. So unless a new version comes out I won't be going back to it.

Speaking of new versions SMT 1 recently got a Playstation 1 English translation but I have not spent much time with it.

Killmonger posted...

While on the subject, are Soul Journey/Redux worth playing as well? If so, should I play the games in chronological order?

Strange Journey is its own thing.
Strange Journey was originally a Nintendo DS game, and Redux is a enhanced version of with some extra stuff that. Redux came out on the 3DS.

to sum it up. You dont have to play the game in chronological order as it is a standalone game.

a lot of SMT games could be played in any order, as many of them are spin-offs or standalone games that deviate from the mainline franchise.

Killmonger posted...

While on the subject, are Soul Journey/Redux worth playing as well? If so, should I play the games in chronological order?

Strange Journey (DS, not Redux) is probably my favorite game in the series, love it to death. Plays like an evolution of the classic style, though no Magnetite to keep track of and demons can level up as well unlike the 90s games.

The games don't tend to follow a strict chronology; you can play them pretty much any order you want. Some may have nods to earlier entries, but rarely are straight up sequels to each other. Exceptions include Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2 which are two halves of one story and 4 Apocalypse which is a semi-AU semi-sequel to 4, among others.

As for the earlier question, 3DS version of Soul Hackers for sure. It even comes with "hacks" which are lil cheats for things like filling in the map, adjusting difficulty on the fly or ignoring demon alignments for your party if you want to ease in more.

Soul Hackers was good. I think Soul Hackers 2 was honestly a solid game with some issues. I feel like it is getting a bad wrap purely because how modern Atlus can be and how most people blindly follow the narrative that it's a trash sequel as if Soul Hackers really was some 10/10 game anyway. :/

Playing as a cast of adults was a nice change in SH2 too.

Kamil posted...

Soul Hackers was good. I think Soul Hackers 2 was honestly a solid game with some issues. I feel like it is getting a bad wrap purely because how modern Atlus can be and how most people blindly follow the narrative that it's a trash sequel as if Soul Hackers really was some 10/10 game anyway. :/

Playing as a cast of adults was a nice change in SH2 too.

Yeah, I had a better time with it than I figured I would. But the later patches definitely helped. If I paid $60 for a game that carved out its content to sell back for another $10 day one that didn't have a run button without a specific skill, I wouldn't have liked it lmao

comicfire posted...

Yeah, I had a better time with it than I figured I would. But the later patches definitely helped. If I paid $60 for a game that carved out its content to sell back for another $10 day one that didn't have a run button without a specific skill, I wouldn't have liked it lmao

That's fair I mean I didn't play it until this February and the run button is especially nice in the Soul Matrix. The story dlc wasn't even that good tbh. I feel like I got ripped off on the 10 dollars extra I spent haha shoulda been in the damn game to begin. I only paid 40 for the base game and the collector cards do look cool at least.

So overall I liked it. I consider trying a new game plus run but I just keep trying to find some new stuff instead.

Kamil posted...

Soul Hackers was good. I think Soul Hackers 2 was honestly a solid game with some issues. I feel like it is getting a bad wrap purely because how modern Atlus can be and how most people blindly follow the narrative that it's a trash sequel as if Soul Hackers really was some 10/10 game anyway. :/

Playing as a cast of adults was a nice change in SH2 too.

yeah I really enjoyed the adult cast, like I did with Strange Journey. I had a good time with SH2 but its pretty similar in feel to Tokyo Mirage Sessions which is polarizing. Its not a classic or anything but its still fun.

it went on gamepass not long after it released, I was kind of annoyed but I dont mind supporting franchises I love

Soul Hackers 2 is really weird. Some aspects scream budget game. No real city to explore, just very small areas and static images for vendors and quest givers. 2 pieces of exploration music, one for regular levels and one for the soul matrix. A real simplified battle system compared to SMT (however, boss fights with other summoners are actually good, too bad there are barely in the game).

The characters are outstanding though. All 4 party members have compelling stories and none of them feel like dead weight and they are all important to the story. The villain isn't a mastermind or an idiot (at least so far, I haven't beaten the game). As the game goes on the customablity of the battle system is great, but its REALLY simple at for first part of the game. Music is also fantastic beyond the 2 exploration tracks.

I hope the bad sales of the game don't have Atlus move back to silent protagonists. Ringo is one of the best protagonists in the SMT universe.

Is SMT some kind of Persona spin off?

Tyranthraxus posted...

Is SMT some kind of Persona spin off?

SMT is Persona without the heart - IGN

The Dark Souls of Persona

Tyranthraxus posted...

Is SMT some kind of Persona spin off?

Correct. Oddly enough, like persona, SMT also starts at SMT 3

I love SMT 1 and 2, especially the PlayStation ports. If you like DRPGs (games like Wizardry, first person dungeon crawlers) then they're great. The peak for first person dungeon crawling in the series is Soul Hackers and Strange Journey, but these are still great games, with fun dungeons and interesting stories.

Kloe_Rinz posted...

Correct. Oddly enough, like persona, SMT also starts at SMT 3

Atlus is the Anti-Valve confirmed

would highly recommend playing soul hackers and if you like that give the sfc games a try

Tyranthraxus posted...

Is SMT some kind of Persona spin off?

SMT If was a prototype in some ways for Persona 1. Then again talking about the Persona games before 3 is like talking about Fight Club.

Kamil posted...

SMT If was a prototype in some ways for Persona 1. Then again talking about the Persona games before 3 is like talking about Fight Club.

Maybe if people didn't actually play them. Persona 1 is a good dungeon crawler and the Persona 2 duology is among the best in the series.

^29 I liked them though I do think Persona 1 is flawed it is worth a once through. Persona 2 Innocent Sin I really liked though Eternal Punishment is a bit of a bugaboo for me. I tried playing it recently with all my new knowledge and some aspects of the combat system are a bitch still.

if EP's gameplay was better it'd be the best persona game by a mile

Nightmare_Luna posted...

if EP's gameplay was better it'd be the best persona game by a mile

What got me is that damn old maid/Joker mechanic. I don't think saying that is very spoilerly, but I read up on how to counter act that but I still never quite got it and my party members could just go bonkers anyways.

People say that Innocent Sin was a cake walk ( I played the transhacked version released Gemini and Translator Tom) but yea it wasn't very difficult also you don't have to just spam the same fusion attack either that ya found that was OP.

EP had the best atmosphere of any persona hands down

ryudo500 posted...

EP had the best atmosphere of any persona hands down

Best music and demons interactions too!