While the sister series of Atlus' seminal JRPG series briefly stole the spotlight with its Persona anniversary announcement, Shin Megami Tensei still has a highly anticipated mainline entry coming this year. It's going to be big, too: Eight years have passed since the release of Shin Megami Tensei 4, with a few spin-offs and a sequel in-between. However, Shin Megami Tensei 5 is prepping a major comeback for the series, ever since it was announced on the 25th anniversary of the Megami Tensei series in 2017. In similar fashion to Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, Shin Megami Tensei 5 is a big-budget revitalization that's going to be a big step forward for Atlus.
Fans of Nocturne, Persona fans, or even just JRPG enthusiasts in general will find a lot to love with Shin Megami Tensei's fifth entry. Like the third game did way back in 2003, Shin Megami Tensei 5 brings the franchise back in a new light: A new development engine, new and overhauled Demon designs, revamped combat, a similarly ambitious storyline, and plenty more innovations. This Nintendo Switch-exclusive entry does play out like a true revitalization in its opening hours, and while hardcore fans of Nocturne may not be thrilled with the game's efforts in streamlining, it's clear Shin Megami Tensei 5 is catering to a much more massive appeal, which isn't a bad thing.
Players begin with a comparatively brief opening and introduction to Shin Megami Tensei 5, taking way less time introducing players to the world of demons than Nocturne had done previously. Players are introduced to the Netherworld, a corrupted Japan 20 years into the future, where the silent protagonist attains the power of the "Nahobino." Known as "neither human nor demon," this power allows players to commune with and fight back against demons, and it's up to players' in choosing how to shape this new world.
It's hard to avoid comparisons to Nocturne, as the narrative setup is functionally similar; retreading similar territory in an albeit much quicker manner that gets players right in the action. Rather than slicing out dedicated time to get to know your fellow students and other characters prior to the world's apocalyptic turn, players are given just enough hints before converting Tokyo into the barren desert ruins of Da'at. Shin Megami Tensei 5's opening sequence is much more vague and mysterious compared to Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne's distinctly dreadful Hospital opening sequence, saving most of its exposition until players reach the end of the world.
In terms of aesthetic and graphical detail, Shin Megami Tensei 5 is certainly a huge step up for the series, as well as Atlus itself. Utilizing Unreal Engine 4 for the first time, the iconic demon creations of the Shin Megami Tensei universe seem to blend well into this new engine with the game's high-contrast art style. Sepia-tone barren deserts mix well with the flashy particle effects of staple SMT magic, adding distinct flair to the action. However, much of this graphical style does not come without its inherent flaws, at least on the base Nintendo Switch platform.
Players will quickly realize that Shin Megami Tensei 5 pretty noticeably runs at (or even under) 30 FPS at all times, especially during busier scenes where there's a ton of action going on. Shin Megami Tensei 5's art direction actually takes this into account and lends itself well towards masking this, almost at times where it's unnoticeable. Otherwise the game is functionally solid, it's just in grander scenes, players concerned with or expecting higher framerates won't necessarily find what they're looking for in SMT5, at least as long as it's exclusive to Nintendo Switch.
Exploration of the world in Shin Megami Tensei 5 is taking an open-world-esque approach, with larger sandbox areas for players to explore the dilapidated ruins of Tokyo. In a way, Shin Megami Tensei 5 is sort of what Nocturne always wanted to be when it comes to environmental exploration. Players will definitely be more satisfied searching through every nook and cranny of the open areas, as there's plenty to find and discover, like new NPCs and side quests in the open world.
Players will encounter various Abscesses that impede their progress, which are meant to be destroyed through combat. Abscesses in the world represent large collections of demons that players need to battle, concluding in a slightly stronger mini boss with unique weaknesses/characteristics. Defeating demons controlling the Abscess will further unlock the open world, allowing players to explore the furthest reaches of Da'at.
There are no random encounters; instead, borrowing from modern JRPG design and placing demons into the overworld where players can initiate combat at their will, similar to Persona. Veterans of Shin Megami Tensei will find that combat has been streamlined in a lot of ways that may be hit-or-miss. Foundational changes, like physical skills costing SP instead of HP, an abundance of Health/SP found in the open world, or the discovery of demon weaknesses being much easier, do make Shin Megami Tensei 5 a bit less challenging. Really the only thing that remains traditional about combat is demon negotiation, a staple of SMT that returns in this entry.
At least in the early game, the "Normal" difficulty is not nearly as punishing or difficult, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Obviously a big draw of Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne was its inherent difficulty, but Shin Megami Tensei 5 being easier upon first impression doesn't detract from the overall experience much at all. It's clear the fifth entry is appealing to a much wider audience now, with Persona and SMT's popularity increasing drastically in the last decade, so this design makes sense.
One aspect where streamlining and modernization makes a lot more sense is in demon fusion. Fusing, levelling up, and creating demons in Shin Megami Tensei 5 offers a much more comprehensive and easily digestible system of combinations that makes increasing the demon compendium much less clunky or outdated. Melding design influences from Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei 4, the various systems of demon fusion in SMT5's World of Shadows is much easier to manage. Dyad Fusion utilizes the traditional melding of two demons in the player's party to create a stronger demon, allowing players to discover possible fusions organically.
However, Shin Megami Tensei 5 also includes three new methods of fusion: Reverse Fusion, Reverse Compendium Fusion, and Special Fusion. Reverse Fusion collects all possible demon fusions based on the player's existing party and displays them in one menu. Reverse Compendium Fusion does the same, but also includes purchaseable demons registered in the compendium. Special fusion exists for specific demon recipes outside of normal fusion. This system of gathering and forging new demons in SMT5 is much better, giving players options on how they want to fill out their compendium. As an aside, the fusion animation is thematically insane in SMT5 as well.
Overall, there's a lot to love with this relatively modern take on the Shin Megami Tensei series. Shin Megami Tensei 5 has dedicated a lot of its development time into streamlining and enhancing the experience for all levels of play; whether players have been enjoying SMT games for over a decade, or this is their first one, SMT5 is solid. This streamlining does have its slight drawbacks, as things like difficulty and the combat changes might not necessarily vibe with SMT veterans, at least at first. Plus, there is the factor of game performance on the Nintendo Switch, which should only be meant to set expectations, rather than serve as a knock on the game.
None of these overall changes detract from the notion that the SMT series as a whole is taking a major step forward with Shin Megami Tensei 5. Even if this preview was brief, the overall systems in place will certainly make for an excellent entry in Atlus' storied JRPG franchise.
Shin Megami Tensei 5 releases on November 12, 2021, for Nintendo Switch.