Your favorite game in the MegaTen seiries

[klaynexas3]

The topic seems pretty self explanatory. What's your favorite game in the MegaTen series? I would ask for those that are going to say one of the Persona games, if you have played other games in the series, please also pick from those alongside your Persona pick. I know this site loves its Persona, and I have express that I too have a great love for the games(except the first one, that one was kind of meh), but it's like saying Ocarina of Time was your favorite Zelda game.

Also, as a quick side question, if anyone here has played the Devil Summoner Raidou games, are those any good? I've heard a lot about DDS, Nocturne, and the Persona games, but the Raidou ones simply seem to go under the radar for some reason. Are they bad? Or are they just not that memorable?

Oh, as another question, are the Persona 2 games much different from the first one, and by that, much better? Or are they pretty similar?

 

[shrekfan246]

Wind Waker is my favorite Zelda game. It's also the only one I've ever completed.

Ocarina hasn't aged well and the Water Temple was infuriating. Also it has boring combat.

...

I think that's the meat of my post, actually, because I've only really played Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden. I have Shin Megami Tensei IV, but I'm still only a few hours into it, and I've watched a good amount of Nocturne streamed (probably 15+ hours or so) and on top of post-apocalyptic stuff not really being my jam, the combat seems just slightly too luck-based for me to be able to get into. I don't like when random encounters can just insta-kill the main character and cause you to get a game over. And I've not yet played any of the Digital Devil Saga, Devil Summoner, or Devil Survivor games.

So, I mean... Persona 4 Golden is my answer, and I guess I suck because I don't have a non-Persona pick. I'm a terrible human being.

 

[Strain42]

I have played the Raidou games, they actually are overall my favorite in terms of characters, story, music, atmosphere, etc. etc. I'm still really hoping we'll eventually get a 3rd Raidou game but we probably won't...sad...

HOWEVER lemme be up front that the first one is...well kinda bland. The gameplay is very repetitive, the fact that you can run into enemies practically EVERYWHERE gets very annoying very fast, and your demon partner AI is pretty bad. The first game has a lot of problems, almost all of which were fixed by the 2nd one, but I still recommend checking out the first one.

To answer your question if Persona 2 is better than 1. Short answer: Yes. Long answer: It depends on what you mean by better. Persona 2 does fix a lot of the problems P1 had. They're no longer first person, the story and characters are better developed, they ditched that stupid grid based battle system, demon negotiation is still kinda crap, but they made it slightly more entertaining, and thankfully it's pretty much optional anyways...

But the people who started with 3 and 4 and just think "Okay, this is what Persona is supposed to be." may still be pretty turned off by 2. Overall though, I would say 2 still has some flaws gameplay wise, but nothing that makes it overly frustrating, and as far as the story goes it's pretty amazing. One of the best in all of MegaTen, not just Persona.

I want to give runner up credit to the Devil Survivor series though. I think overall the Devil Survivor series is pretty amazing, and if it weren't for the fact that I actually hate a lot of the characters from both games, it would probably be my favorite of the entire franchise.

The Devil Survivor series is the perfect middle ground between the new and the old. It features many of the themes people love about the more classic games (religious tones, cyberpunk elements, the mythology of the demons themselves working into the story, multiple paths where no alignment is the "right" one, characters can die pretty brutally based on your decisions, etc. etc.) while also featuring a lot of the stuff people like about the new games, particularly the Persona games such as brighter colors, more humorous dialogue, and overall more realistic feeling characters.

So yeah, for me my overall answer is the Raidou series, and then the Devil Survivor series.

But honestly if I had to pick just a single game rather than a compilation of games in the franchise, it would go to Persona 3. I've just gotten so much enjoyment from that, whether I'm the one playing it or not.

 

[klaynexas3]

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That's good to hear about Persona 2; the first one turned me off a fair bit of wanting to try the second one, so I'm glad to hear it gets better. The main thing I don't like about one is that it just lacks characters that grab me, and the plot itself is just kind of meh considering the other games in the series as a whole. I'll have to give the second one a look. Would you say the PS1 copy is better or the PSP one?

And I'll have to give the Summoner games a try when I can. I'm hopefully getting DDS 1 in the mail(if the postal service can actually find my address, they got it wrong the last two days), still need to beat Devil Survivor 2, Nocturne, and Strange Journey, but after all that, I'll give it a try. So long as I beat all these before the next Persona games, anyway.

 

[Strain42]

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I would say go for the PSP one if you can. I mean it's just overall better. The gameplay got touched up a little bit so it's a bit more convenient, it's got some extra side missions and stuff in it. I think overall it's worth it.

The only problem is that since Persona 2 is actually two games (Innocent Sin and Eternal Punishment) you're never going to really find both of them together.

See, when it comes to the PS1 version, Innocent Sin was never localized (though there is a fan translation) while Eternal Punishment was.

And with the PSP version, Innocent Sin was localized, but we never got Eternal Punishment (twas very sad) but to sorta make up for that they put the PS1 version on PSN so it can be played without tracking down a copy.

So if you play the PSP Innocent Sin, it might be a bit jarring to have to go back to the PS1 version. It's not a huge difference, but there are probably gonna be a few things you realize quickly you may have taken for granted lol

Either way, yeah. I recommend checking them out.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Unfortunately I havent played many I have only finished Persona 3 and 4 oh and Arena if that counts. So far my favourite is Persona 4 the ultimate in mayonaka arena followed by Persona 4 and then 3. I have recently purchased Lucifers Call so look forward to starting that soon I hear its really good but I am not getting over hyped I have been disappointed by supposedly really good games before, hopefully it will be very good though.

 

[Exhuminator]

What's your favorite game in the MegaTen series?

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
http://www.atlus.com/smt/main.html

Persona 4 is MegaTen for the breezy masses.

Nocturne is MegaTen for hardcore psychos.

 

[ScrabbitRabbit]

Nocturne/Lucifer's Call is not only my favourite MegaTen game, but my favourite game altogether. It has the best combat of any JRPG ever. Ever. It's nowhere near as difficult as people make it out to be; it's tough, but fair and addictive as hell. The plot is great, too, though there are other games in the franchise that top it. For the whole package, though, it's all about Nocturne. Fun, beautiful to look at, engrossing, great soundtrack... just... wonderful.

Persona 2 is very different to the first game and its sequels. It has the best story, characters and soundtrack, imo*, but the combat takes some getting used to (still quite fun) and it's not visually amazing. Worth a play though!

*[small]It should be noted that most people here seem to hold the Persona 3 and 4 soundtracks in high regard, but I strongly dislike them both with the exceptions of one or two tracks.[/small]

 

[Exhuminator]

It has the best combat of any JRPG ever.

I agree, this man is correct.

It's nowhere near as difficult as people make it out to be; it's tough, but fair

Well, Nocturne is only as difficult as the player isn't paying attention. Speaking holistically though, Nocturne is certainly of a higher caliber of difficulty than the standard modern JRPG. I think that's a good thing though. I want a game to make me strive to win, not hand me victories on a silver plate.

 

[anthony87]

Awh.....no love for Digital Devil Saga?

It's got the sweet combat from Nocturne but sets itself apart just enough by actually letting you be a demon, rather than having to recruit or fuse them.

Sure, the plot is a bit snooker loopy but what plot in the MegaTen series isn't?

 

[fnakao]

I love the Megaten series. I like the new persona games like anyone, but to me, some of the best were released before it.

Persona 1 was good, had a pretty good story, but really hasn't aged well, it has way too much grinding, and awful battle.

Persona 2.1 and 2.2 had an AMAZING story, I really recommend getting at least the psp one( which is 2.1) each of them is a separate game and doesn't really need the other, but it complements the story very nicely. Though the games feel a bit dated.

I won't be talking about Nocturne and new Personas, because they are great and others have talked about it.

In the end, my favorite Megaten game is Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tunner for the PS2, it has a sequel, but the first part is better.

It has a sci-fi setting, with the same "engine" from Nocturne, but instead of summoning creatures, you play with your 3 people squad. I'd say it has the best story of any PS2 game.

Though it being released only on the PS2 makes it hard to play nowadays

ps: Hito Shura - The main character from Nocturne is a hidden boss, the most powerful enemy on the game

 

[ayvee]

I can never decide between Strange Journey and the Devil Survivor games. All three are underrated, as this series goes, and the first DeSu has some of my favorite writing in all of gaming (particularly for an apocalypse scenario).

 

[scorptatious]

So far, I've only played Persona 4 Golden and am currently playing Persona 3 Portable.

What non Persona MegaTen games would you guys recommend?

 

[Foolery]

Also, as a quick side question, if anyone here has played the Devil Summoner Raidou games, are those any good?

They're decent. They actually happen to be my favourites in the series, along Soul Hackers.
Similar to the Tales series' combat with the usual SMT demon collecting. And you get to be a kick-ass 1920's detective in a somewhat film-noir setting.

 

[klaynexas3]

So far, I've only played Persona 4 Golden and am currently playing Persona 3 Portable.

What non Persona MegaTen games would you guys recommend?

Since you like Persona, try the Devil Survivor games. The gameplay is different, but the writing is more similar to the Persona games. Past that, it's hard to find a bad one(that's still in circulation anyway)

A quick off topic thing to say, apparently SMT 1 is getting an English release on IOS next week. Anyone gonna pick that up when it's out?

 

[Sakurazaki1023]

Awh.....no love for Digital Devil Saga?

It's got the sweet combat from Nocturne but sets itself apart just enough by actually letting you be a demon, rather than having to recruit or fuse them.

Sure, the plot is a bit snooker loopy but what plot in the MegaTen series isn't?

It's difficult for me to pick just one, but I'd have to say either Digital Devil Saga or Persona 3. While some people found the lack of ally control and exhaustion system in P3 to be annoying, I actually liked the feeling it gave the game. I love P4, but P3 just feels more like a struggle against an unknowable eldrich force instead of a small-time murder mystery.

As far as Digital Devil Saga is concerned; the plot is completely insane, the combat is a refined version of Nocturne's already excellent system, and the Hindu-inspired art design is completely unique for a JRPG. The voice-acting could be a bit off at times, but the characterization was top-notch and the story made every character seem unique and important. I'd also like to mention some of the most unexpected plot-twists in gaming, but I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone.

 

[Vern5]

My favorite would have to be Devil Survivor 1. I've played a bit of Persona 4 and SMT 4 so i would say that, in terms of gameplay, they are all extremely enjoyable. However, the Devil Survivor's plot and themes just grabbed me by the throat.

You'll never look at pokemon the same way after you've seen someone's pet demon burn another Demon Tamer to death.

 

[Mahorfeus]

I'm on that ever-teetering scale that weighs Persona 3 against Persona 4.

At the moment I like 3's characters and story more, while 4 clearly has the superior gameplay; but that opinion tends to shift a bit every now and then.

Also, I really, really tried to like Shin Megami Tensei IV, but I just couldn't get into it. I don't know, it just felt... archaic. Like I was playing an inferior version of Persona. I know, blasphemy. It's a shame, because there is a pretty interesting if not convoluted narrative there.