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The unique Shin Megami Tensei V was an RPG I loved loads regardless of its shortcomings. It is considerably of a lopsided sport, placing heavy emphasis on turn-based battle & development mechanics and fewer on character writing or storytelling. In methods, it is also a really totally different kind of sport than something Atlus has made earlier than (or since), even among the many diverse Shin Megami Tensei sequence itself. Whereas SMT has roots in dungeon crawling, its fifth mainline entry moved in a special course as an alternative, choosing open-zone exploration gameplay. I praised the sport for its rock-solid press-turn fight and ambition, regardless of rising pains for its new course.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, then, is a chance to iron out a few of these sore spots. Not solely is there a model new path to the sport, providing an alternate tackle the primary story of Shin Megami Tensei V, however many changes and additions have been made globally, bettering the expertise as a complete no matter which route within the sport you resolve to take.

Proper on the very starting of the sport, you will be given the choice to decide on between the unique storyline, referred to as Canon of Creation, or the brand new storyline, referred to as Canon of Vengeance. The sport is express right here, and it will ask if you’re positive of your choice, so there is no ambiguity about which route you might be enjoying.

So far as narrative, dialogue, and characters go, Canon of Creation is virtually the identical because it was. I will be sincere, loads of my dialogue in my prolonged unique assessment nonetheless holds legitimate for this new re-release, at the very least so far as Canon of Creation goes. For now, it might not be very helpful to revisit parts like the sport’s fight system, which more-or-less features the identical because it did earlier than. As an alternative, this assessment will concentrate on parts new to Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, each world changes and the brand new Canon of Vengeance route. 

First, I will discuss changes new to the sport, no matter which route you resolve to play.

There are a number of additions made to Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance that returning gamers ought to start to note comparatively rapidly upon beginning a brand new sport. For one, it can save you wherever, not simply at leylines. There are quite a few new demons, some new quests, new mechanics, and different small changes all through. It is nonetheless a sport over in case your MC falls in battle, although.

Of all the brand new world changes made to Shin Megami Tensei V, in all probability probably the most instantly purposeful addition is that of the brand new Magatsuhi Rails. All through every of the explorable zones in Da’at, you’ll find rail spots. Typically, these rails result in small new areas inside every zone, generally providing new treasures, demons, or quests that weren’t within the unique sport. However extra importantly, a number of rail spots have been added performing as shortcuts to make re-traversal a bit simpler for every zone. Bear in mind all these areas in Chiyoda the place you must run round ‘the great distance’ to get to the opposite aspect of a cliff or canyon? A lot of these areas now have a rail you’ll find so you’ll be able to simply cross from one aspect to the opposite upon revisits. These rails relieve a substantial chunk of the backtracking tedium, merely making it a bit simpler to get round.

One other important new mechanic within the sport is the Demon Hang-out. Principally, you’ll be able to hang around together with your demons at any leyline. Talking together with your demons and giving them items can elevate their stats. That is simply the addition I am most lukewarm about, as you will continually get notifications about demons wanting to talk with you, and it is extra annoying than useful or attention-grabbing. There’s some amusing quirkniess, however for probably the most half, setting apart time to provoke generic repetitive dialogue together with your quite a few demons will get previous very quick, and it finally ends up feeling extra like a chore than something compelling, though you might be leaving some stats on the desk for those who ignore doing these. This complete system is nearer to a internet unfavorable than a internet constructive to me, anyway.

There are quite a few new quests, even within the unique Canon of Creation route. These quests are available all types of sorts, together with new boss encounters, gathering objects on the map, getting a sure demon in your get together, and extra. One of many new quest sorts entails you taking management of a demon for a brief time frame to provoke some dialogue with different demons. This can be a minor criticism, as a result of there aren’t many of those, however most of these quests did nothing for me, as you primarily simply comply with a linear path to the tip with out a lot precise enter from the participant.

There are many different smaller additions too, together with a ‘sky view’ to allow you to see your location from a birds-eye perspective, a digital coach boss-rush mode, changes to demon negotiations, and fairly a bit extra. There are additionally new mixture assaults you are able to do with sure teams of demons in your get together, however all through my 100+ hours with the sport throughout quite a few playthroughs, I by no means bothered with these in any respect. 

For probably the most half, each mechanical adjustment made to Shin Megami Tensei V is an appreciated one, Demon Haunts apart. Personally, as somebody who enjoys SMTV primarily for its fight, the components of the sport I loved most are the quite a few boss-type encounters. There are actually a number of extra of those, together with a number of new high-level super-bosses, that basically take a look at your battle preparation and get together configurations. Extra quests, extra demons, improved exploration, and a better-performing sport on PC make Canon of Creation higher than it was earlier than, even whether it is essentially unchanged.

Nonetheless, there are a few small missed alternatives that I felt may been touched on on this re-release, however weren’t. I want the Temple of Eternity and the ultimate space had been extra attention-grabbing than they ended up being, however they work the identical as earlier than. I want these factor block objects could be extra restricted or dearer, as a result of they will trivialize some boss encounters regardless of being extraordinarily reasonably priced, which is an odd factor relating to sport steadiness. 

Now, let’s focus on the Canon of Vengeance route new to Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. As I stated earlier than, you choose into this on the very starting of the sport. 

I believe it’s best to think about Canon of Vengeance as an alternate tackle Shin Megami Tensei V, quite than a basic shake-up to what was already there. It is not inherently a wholly totally different sport than the unique model of Canon of Creation, and you may spend most of your playtime enjoying by means of the sport the identical approach you’ll in any other case. Three of the 4 zones are the identical as in Canon of Creation, though with some slight alterations right here and there. I suppose what I am attempting to say is, do not count on Canon of Vengeance to show SMTV on its head or something like that, it simply … rotates it a bit. When you’ve already put loads of time into the unique sport, Canon of Vengeance does retread loads of the identical floor as the unique. There are particular variations, however do not count on it to really feel like a brand-new sport.

Those that felt Canon of Creation had skinny characters have one thing to stay up for right here. Virtually each named character in Shin Megami Tensei V will get somewhat extra fleshing out in Canon of Vengeance – together with Yuzuru, Ichiro, Tao, and Miyazu. Considerably unexpectedly, maybe, I really feel like the prevailing character that advantages most from this new route is definitely Yakumo, the katana-wielding demon hunter who aligns himself with the demon Nuwa. Very similar to Canon of Vengeance itself, none of those characters are essentially totally different than they had been in Canon of Creation, however every simply will get somewhat bit extra time to intersect with the primary story, extra interplay with one another, and provide only a bit greater than they did earlier than. The Bethel Egypt questline with Khonsu and Miyazu is definitely tied into the primary narrative of Canon of Vengeance to some extent, as an alternative of being a totally optionally available side-story because it was in Canon of Creation, though it progresses somewhat in a different way between the 2 routes.

Yoko is, in fact, the newly added character for Canon of Vengeance, and is unsurprisingly a significant participant for the brand new storyline. If I needed to boil down the place Canon of Vengeance is most functionally totally different from Canon of Creation from a personality perspective, it is how Tao and Yoko will tag alongside together with your foremost character for a majority of the route’s runtime. With out spoiling any main new story beats on this route, Tao and Yoko successfully work as a shoulder angel and shoulder satan, commenting on a few of the selections you make and asking to your opinion every so often. On this approach, whereas I beforehand stated characters in Canon of Creation really feel like Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne in my unique assessment, as an alternative, Canon of Vengeance feels somewhat extra like Shin Megami Tensei IV, as Tao and Yoko provide continuous reinforcement for their very own private philosophies.

Canon of Vengeance has one new zone and one new dungeon, successfully happening as substitutes for one of many zones and one of many dungeons in Canon of Creation, such that the sport movement is comparatively comparable between the 2 routes. The brand new zone, Shinjuku, is the place loads of the brand new story beats in Canon of Vengeance begin to take type, and issues are somewhat bit extra dramatic and express than in Canon of Creation. The brand new dungeon, Shakan, is considerably much like the Demon King Citadel that it replaces on this route, however it makes use of a room-turning puzzle as an alternative of air gust platforming. Boil it right down to the basics, although, and exploring Shinjuku is actually no totally different than how you’ll strategy another location within the sport.

Narratively, I nonetheless have some important criticisms about how Canon of Vengeance approaches its world-altering end-game eventualities. I am unable to be too particular right here with out spoiling, however I want Yoko’s general philosophy and causes had been somewhat extra convincing or well-established than they really find yourself being. As an alternative, I did not actually latch onto the ending polychotomy, much like how I felt in regards to the unique sport.

It goes with out saying that enjoying the sport on PC as an alternative of Nintendo Swap alleviates nearly all the efficiency points I took with the unique sport. Excessive-end PCs will simply be capable to hit 60 FPS or extra at 4K. Regardless of much-improved efficiency, I nonetheless want menus had been only a bit snappier than they’re, however it is a minor nitpick.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance makes a litany of changes and additions to enhance an RPG that I used to be already fairly keen on. It would not essentially change what Shin Megami Tensei V is, and people upset within the course Atlus took with the unique sport is probably not swayed by this new model both, however Vengeance provides Shin Megami V the revamp it deserves.

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