Let’s get one thing out of the way right now, by RPG standards, Atlus's
Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne is not for the faint of heart. Its Mature rating is deserved, but that should not be the only thing that might attract potential game-players.
Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne has a compelling and dark storyline that initially draws the player in and will keep him/her hooked within the first hour of gameplay. Consider the plot something like a Japanese take on the western concept of the Armageddon. A Tokyo High school student (whom you can name as you please) has a disturbing dream that the world is about to end, and his dream comes true—in a manner of speaking—shortly thereafter. A bizarre cult has somehow managed to turn the entire world inside out in a process known as the Conception, and now demons roam the earth while lost souls huddle in fear for fear of being devoured by the demons. Some humans managed to survive this Conception, but they are far and few between. Fortunately for you, Satan Itself has taken an interest in you for reasons that are initially unclear. It inserts a parasitic life-form known as Magatama into your body that turns you into a demon. Saying anymore would give too much of the plot away, but it quickly becomes very complex.
Initially, you’ll have to fight alone, which is a very dangerous situation. But soon after, you’ll be able to recruit different varieties of demons into your ranks through negotiations during battle. Some will see something in you right away and will not hesitate to join up. Others may demand gifts and/or money and still may refuse to join your team. That being said, it shouldn’t be too difficult to round up eight other demons for your party, the maximum the game initially allows. Even with only a total of nine members (this number can increase later on in the game depending on your actions)—inactive party members do not level up so it can be difficult to keep all your characters strong. The solution to this lies in the mysterious Cathedral of Shadows, where a dark priest fuses two demons of your choosing to create a new type of demon—more often than not of a significantly higher level than the two demons you fused. Demon fusing is a complicated process, and all sorts of combinations can result in a multitude of unique demon creations that even inherit a portion of the skills of the initial fused demons, giving you many opportunities to customise the “perfect” demon. It’s fun, and while there are some risks involved, more often than not you’ll be happy with the result.
As you travel from locale to locale with your growing posse, often getting lost in the process, random battles will occur. SMT’s combat is always challenging and intense, and things can turn ugly for you in every battle you encounter, no matter how well you think you are doing. Battles can also be very unforgiving. For example, if your main character dies, it’s always a game-over with no exception, regardless of the health of your comrades. More importantly, however, is the game’s elemental and critical hit system. All demons, including your main character, have inherent strengths and weaknesses to certain elements. If a demon hits a party member with an elemental attack that he/she is weak to, not only will the member sustain double the amount of damage, but the opposing team gets an extra turn in battle. What this means is that an unbalanced party filled with demons that are all weak against ice attacks can be decimated without even getting a chance to run away from battle if the enemies use ice magic and stock up a bunch of free turns. In the case of your main party member, the magatama he has currently ingested reflects his current elemental alignment. The same concept applies to critical hits; enemies get extra turns whenever they score a critical hit, so the double damage you can receive ends up being the least of your worries. Of course, these same tactics work when applied to your enemies as well, but remember that the reverse also holds true; if you hit an enemy with an attack that he can absorb or is immune too, you’ll lose a turn. Thus, you really have to make every turn count to succeed in this game. Unfortunately, although every turn counts, many battles can end up becoming old fashioned slugfests using the Attack command, as the MP used for most special attacks is generally in short supply. Using the Attack command is not always wise, particularly against enemies that are resistant to physical attacks, but sometimes it’s the only conceivable option available if you want to conserve your MP for the game’s challenging boss fights. Compounding the strong challenge of the battles is the lack of save points that are available. You cannot save on the world map, and save terminals are by no means numerous. You are especially vulnerable in the first few hours of the game, and it is not unfeasible to lose up to two hours of progress while fighting hordes of dangerous enemies just before finally reaching the save point. Some will be turned away by the frustration factor; others will welcome the intense challenge and find it very fun.
A more bizarre part of the game is the level-up system. It’s a very random process. Every time your main character levels up, his HP and MP automatically increases, and you can choose to raise one of his other attributes by one point—either strength, vitality, luck, agility, or magic. At random times after a level up, your main character's magatama starts to react violently within his body, and if you choose to let this continue, any number of random things can occur, from receiving a negative status ailment, to fully recovering, or getting a bonus point to one of your attributes. When your team-mates level up, one of their attributes is increased at, you guessed it, random. This isn’t always good; you might not want a spell-caster to get a boost in strength, but you won’t have any say in the matter. Sometimes your demons may evolve into new types of demons at significantly higher levels, and sometimes they might give you gifts. Again, there does not seem to be any precise way of knowing how or when this will occur, so those who like surprises will find the level-up screen one of the most enjoyable parts of Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne.
SMT has a wonderful fully 3D graphics engine. The colours and textures are excellent, yet the anime design will not appeal to everyone. Although the game’s subject matter is dark and sometimes disturbing, its anime influence takes some of the edge off, which isn’t so bad when you think about it, as it makes the few interludes of “comic relief” seem more appropriate. The rock and heavy metal influence you’ll hear when fighting fit the theme of this post-apocalyptic world well.
The very best part of SMT might be the fact that it has real multiple endings. I emphasise real because the way to get to these endings are not like in Chrono Trigger or Chrono Cross, where there is generally one ending and the rest are only available in “new game plus modes” where you just beat the final boss at different stages of the game to get the different endings. This game truly has multiple paths with multiple choices to make that can affect the conclusion of the game.
All in all, Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne is a very fun game that is also very challenging and sometimes quite frustrating. Combat can at times be cheap to your party, but you can dole out the same type of punishment right back. Those willing to take up this game’s intense battle system will find a game with a dark, compelling story that quickly becomes addictive. The ability to create your own unique demons at the Cathedral of Shadows only adds to the fun, and the graphics and sound represent the best of what the PS2 hardware is capable of. A purchase should definitely be considered.
