During today's Nintendo Direct Mini Partner showcase, Nintendo announced that Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster is coming to the Nintendo Switch.
The title was unveiled as part of the final announcement of the Direct, immediately followed by a formal announcement of Shin Megami Tensei 5's release window. Shin Megami Tensei 5 was actually originally announced way back in January of 2017, during the hybrid console's unveiling showcase. The title has been a long time coming, so to not only have the game get an update as well as an HD Remaster of one of the series's past games is surely to please fans of the franchise.
In the trailer, the newly upgraded visuals are shown off for the Nocturne HD Remaster, which look like quite a big upgrade compared to the original PS2 classic game. This remaster marks the first time that the title will be available on a Nintendo console, with the game originally releasing on the PlayStation 2 and then later getting a port to the PlayStation 3's PlayStation Network.
Originally released in Japan back in 2003, and 2004 in the United States, Shin Megami Tensei 3 was released to critical and commercial success with it being awarded RPG game of the year by G4tv in 2004. The title is a follow up to Shin Megami Tensei 2 which released in 1994, nearly a decade prior on the Super Famicom system. Like the Persona franchise, the Shin Megami Tensei series is notorious for taking a long time in between sequels, with the fifth installment being no exception.
By the end of the Direct, we learned that both Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster and Shin Megami Tensei 5 would both release for the Nintendo Switch in 2021, with Nocturne getting a Spring 2021 release window, and 5 simply getting the general window of 2021. It seem the most likely that Nocturne will release first, with the new title coming sometime afterwards.
Back in February of this year, Atlus conducted a survey to Nintendo Switch owners in order to gauge interest in potential ports of their franchises such as Persona and Shin Megami Tensei. Through this survey is likely where Atlus found the fan demand for more Shin Megami Tensei games and ports.
Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster is slated to release for the Nintendo Switch in Spring 2021.