Preview: Shin Megami Tensei 3 HD Remaster adds quality of life updates

18 years ago, Atlus launched Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, a post-apocalyptic role-playing game that many still call one of the best of all time. His mechanics, mature themes and demonic drawings live in the Persona series, a spinoff of the Shin Megami Tensei series. However, like many role-playing games of the time, SMT 3 it has several archaic design options that can keep newcomers away.

Fortunately, Atlus has an HD remaster of the cult classic coming on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Windows PC on May 25. I’ve found that it seems to correct past issues and make the game more accessible to anyone curious, while building an even better experience for veterans.

Shin Megami Tensei 3 takes place in its own version of modern Tokyo, separate from the rest of the SMT series. Into the SMT 3, the player can immediately see that something is wrong. Cultists have caused a stir and there is talk of rebuilding the world because of an event called “Conception”. Once the Conception comes, the protagonist is caught in the crossfire and becomes a hybrid man-demon in order to survive in this new post-apocalyptic world full of demons and lost souls. Along the way, you’ll need to build a team of demons to help you and interact with other characters to shape the future of this world, maybe even befriend a familiar guest character along the way. These interactions decide how the story will end, with a multitude of different ways in which it can go.

Updated version of Shin Megami Tensei 3 it has the original gameplay and story elements that fans fell in love with all those years ago, with all the added bells and whistles that any HD remaster should have. The press-tower combat system that inspired the “Once Upon a Time” mechanic of Persona and Demon Negotiation returns in an untouched remaster and as good as ever. Updated models and remastered backgrounds in HD are part of this new version, but also for the first time, nocturne will include voice in Japanese and English, as well as an updated English localization and French, German, Italian and Spanish subtitles. Players will also be able to choose between the two guest characters, Raidou and Dante (from the Devil May Cry series), the latter being available through the Maniax downloadable content.

Image: Atlus through polygon

What really caught my eye were the new features I make nocturne a digestible experience for more people than just classic SMT fans prepared for the sometimes unforgivable difficulty. During your first game of the original game, even in the slightest difficulty (which was “Normal”), you would die a lot, because the game could sometimes be hard to follow. In the past, this has been a turning point for anyone interested SMT 3, including Persona fans series that might want to play the role of the father of that spinoff.

enter SMT 3 HDThe new choice of difficulty: the Merciful mode. For those who are not sure they want to enter the game with all their might, this easier difficulty mode is available as free DLC. SMT series director Kazuyuki Yamai explained why the module was introduced in an IGN interview: “I felt we needed a way that a lot of different people could play … There are those who enjoy of the battles with high difficulties and those who want to finish those parts as soon as possible and the story follows. “This mode allows players who are more familiar with the difficulty settings of Atlus RPG games such as the Persona series to have the chance to witness where its story elements come from. Players will also have the ability to change the difficulties on the go, so anyone facing a challenge that is too big normally or too light in Mercy mode can switch as needed.

Image: Atlus through polygon

SMT 3 HD has another new supplement: suspended rescue. It is a much needed option for any RPG, allowing players to save progress whenever and wherever they need using the pause menu. Along with these additions come the patches and updates that the original Japanese version received to fix various early bugs and introduce functional improvements.

While the game looks phenomenal, the full experience will come at an additional cost, as players will have to purchase the $ 69.99 Deluxe Digital Edition or pay a $ 9.99 DLC fee to play the original Dante version of Devil May Cry series. Shady DLC options aside, Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD looks like a great entry for any new fan as well as fans of the original PlayStation 2. Let’s just hope it can help hold everyone back until we finally get more news Shin Megami Tensei 5, which was announced until 2017 and is due to appear in 2021 (but does not yet have a release date).

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated that the Deluxe edition of the game would cost $ 99.95 and that the Maniax Pack DLC would cost $ 14.95. (These prices are correct in some territories.) This story has been corrected to refer to North American store prices.