Gaming Shin Megami Tensei question

[DaFixer]

Hi becease I like RPG's and read allot good things about Shin Megami Tensei serie on 3ds.
But I never played a Shin Megami Tensei game before, so witch one I can best start with it?

 

[invaderyoyo]

You can start with any. The stories are self contained. I really liked SMT IV.

There's a twist in there that really got me and it's not about kids in High School, which is always a good thing for me.

 

[Flirkyn]

They are almost all independant story wise. Play the 4rth one (and it's sequel) on the 3DS, it's a really good game and pretty "easy" to begin with. You can also play Nocturne (Lucifer Call in EU) on PS2, who are SMT 4. But be carefull, it's a lot harder than SMT 4 and not maybe the best one to begin with. You should definitely do it one day tho

Be carefull tho, even if the 4rth is not as hard as the other, it's STILL a SMT, which is a saga reputated for being quite difficult (the 4 are on the first hour, it became less difficult after but can have some spike, especially if you do all side quest).

Ofc, I'm talking about main saga, there's a lot of spin off to play. On the 3DS, Soul Hackers is really good, but can be difficult to start with (it's a remake of a saturn game).The Devil Survivor's are good too but it's a tactical RPG, so it's up to you if you like that genre (they're difficult too). Can't talk much about Persona Q, haven't really played it yet.

For game who are not on 3DS, I recommand the Persona Saga. They're all good, but my favorite are the 2 Innocent Sin (haven't play is sequel Eternal Punishment yet) and the 5. The3 and 4 are really good too. The first are good but haven't aged well. You can do 3/4/5 independant of the other, they're no link in story. 1 and 2 have some link but can be done independantly. The two Persona 2 (Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment) are linked. EP is a sequel of IS and should be done after it.

They're also the Digital Devil Saga on PS2 who are reaaaally good.

 

[sarkwalvein]

On 3DS you have to very different types of SMT.
Two classic SMTs: SMT IV, and SMT IV Apocalypse
Two SRPG SMTs: SMT Devil Survivor 1 and 2.

Take into consideration the both of them have very different gameplay.
Also, if you would like to play a DS game or wait for the almost identical remake for 3DS, play SMT Strange Journey, a very classic SMT that I personally hold very dear.

 

[Flirkyn]

On 3DS you have to very different types of SMT.
Two classic SMTs: SMT IV, and SMT IV Apocalypse
Two SRPG SMTs: SMT Devil Survivor 1 and 2.

Take into consideration the both of them have very different gameplay.
Also, if you would like to play a DS game or wait for the almost identical remake for 3DS, play SMT Strange Journey, a very classic SMT that I personally hold very dear.

You forgot about Devil Summoner Soul Hacker and Persona Q for the 3DS

 

[sarkwalvein]

You forgot about Devil Summoner Soul Hacker and Persona Q for the 3DS

When you are right, you are right.

 

[BORTZ]

I am sure I will get ninja'd but I will examine this question in detail. As I too, am a SMT enthusiast.
Currently there are 6 SMT games for the 3DS, with a 7th on its way this summer. Those would be as follows:

Traditional turn based:
Shin Megami Tensei: IV and Shin Megami Tensei: IV Apox - I would suggest starting with these two. The first (SMTIV) is the newest installment in the mainline SMT series. It is a 3rd person adventure RPG with turnbased battles and a heavy emphasis on monster collection and fusion. The difficulty can be scaled to however you like to play. There are 4 endings and tons of side missions to consume your time. SMTIV:A is technically not a sequel per say, but another game featuring a different perspective to the concurrent story of IV. Apox gives you 4 more endings to the overall story that spans IV and IV:A.

Tactics:
Devil Survivor Overclocked and Devil Survivor Break Record - These are my personal favorites on the 3DS. Both are enhanced ports from the DS with loads of new content. BR has a completely new second story that lengthens the game a good 30 more hours. The Devil Survivor series focuses more on story and turn based tactical combat. You usually are in control of up to 4 teams consisting of a human and two flanking demons. When you and an enemy team get close enough to fight, the battle shifts to a single round of traditional turn based battle. You and the enemy get 1 action each with criticals and other special actions scoring you a chance to gain an action in the extra turn phase (does not stack). There are lots of demons to collect and fuse as well as being highly customizable. I think the story and setting are the coolest of all the 3DS SMT games to play.

FP Dungeon Crawlers:
Soul Hackers - Ok this one is much like SMTIV but the setting is quite different. It's a First Person crawler with balls to the wall difficulty. Your demons do not level up so you must rely on fusion and demon collecting. The original was a region locked Sega Saturn game later ported to the Playstation, but never localized for us. The graphics and gameplay are largely unchanged. ATLUS was very smart with their update. While optomizing the game for the 3DS, they added in game "hacks" that essentially act as cheats you can collect and enable. The 3D adds (quite literally) a layer of depth to the immersion this game offers. It feels old, sounds old, and plays kinda old, but all in a more nostalgic way rather than clunky. You can play the game at whatever level of technical skill you like.
Persona Q - Basically, another Etrian first person RPG but with non canon spinoff stories featuring the characters from Persona 3 and 4.
TB Released: Strange Journey DEEP: Another first person dungeon crawler, but more along the lines of a main line SMT game.

I hope you find something you like

 

[The Catboy]

You forgot about Devil Summoner Soul Hacker and Persona Q for the 3DS

Devil Summoner Soul Hacker sounds like a good idea, but I feel like someone just starting out might be a little overwhelmed by it.

I personally started with Devil Survivor. It's not completely the same as other SMT games, but it got me interested in the series.
But I would really suggest SMT IV for someone starting out.

 

[NZ_reg]

Persona Q - Basically, another Etrian first person RPG but with non canon spinoff stories featuring the characters from Persona 3 and 4.

It is quite canon.
http://www.siliconera.com/2014/06/20/persona-q-shadow-labyrinths-story-canon/

 

[Deleted User]

Devil Summoner Soul Hacker is best but it is strong for newbies......

 

[Clydefrosch]

theres two things that make these games hard.
instant-kill spells and that nonsense where you have to waste turns talking to monsters to try and win them over to your cause (which is 90% random even when you start to get a feel for the overall monster characters and how to reply to them)
maybe reflection too. and of course, the bonus turn system can work really hard against you.

tbh, some games in the series are more of a chore than a game.

IV was pretty ok for most of the game, though it did peak really, really early. the first two bosses are pretty hard if you don't yet know about certain game mechanics that give you the right monsters to fight

 

[wurstpistole]

I personally am not into the SMT main games... but Persona is something I can get into - played 4G on Vita and recently 5 on PS4, 5 was really awesome. Will play P3P one day, probably on my phone

 

[DaFixer]

Thanks for all the infomation.
Want I read i'm thinking to start with SMT VI.
if I like it I will try the other games.

 

[Zetman]

I started with SMT IV apocalypse and i loved it

 

[Funkentanz]

Now that we talk about SMT IV: Are there any NTR plugins for that game aka cheats? The Beginning is soooo hard, I die so many times, it is not funny, but I would like to play for story.