Shin Megami Tensei IV

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Shin Megami Tensei IV
Part of the series: Megami Tensei
Original title 真 ・ 女神 転 生 IV
Studio Atlus
Publisher Atlus
Erstveröffent-
lichung		 JapanJapanMay 23, 2013 July 16, 2013 October 30, 2014
North AmericaNorth America
EuropeEurope
platform Nintendo 3DS
genre role playing game
Game mode Single player
Age rating
PEGI recommended for ages 12 and up

Shin Megami Tensei IV ( Japanese 真 ・ 女神 転 生 IV , Eng. "True Goddess Reincarnation") is a Japanese post-apocalyptic computer role-playing game developed by Atlus for the Nintendo 3DS . It is the fifth entry in the “Shin Megami Tensei” series, the central series of the “ Megami Tensei ” franchise. There is no direct narrative connection to previous parts of the series. It was published in Japan in May 2013 and in the United States in July 2013. In Europe, it was published digitally in October 2014. The gameplay follows the formula of the previous "Shin Megami Tensei" games. The turn-based press-turn combat system was retained. Here, players and opponents use weaknesses to gain extra options for action in their own turn or to lose them.

The story is about Flynn, a samurai who protects the medieval kingdom of Mikado from attack by enemy demons. When a mysterious black-clad female samurai begins to turn the residents into demons, Flynn and three comrades are sent to take them prisoner. The pursuit of the black-clad samurai throws Flynn and his comrades into a surprising revelation and a power struggle between angels and demons.

Development began after the completion of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey , with the decision to develop a fourth numbered entry in the series at the request of fans. The team wanted to evoke the style and atmosphere of the original " Shin Megami Tensei ". The original story was written by the series creator Kazuma Kaneko. The main characters and some demons were designed by Masayuki Doi. He is known for his contribution to the "Trauma Center" game series. It sold well when it was released in Japan and was one of the better selling games of the year. Reviews of the game have been generally positive, both in Japan and the West.

Game mechanics

In "Shin Megami Tensei IV" the player controls the samurai Flynn. The navigation takes place both in a third person perspective with 3D rendered surroundings and in a 2D world map with a bird's eye view. On the world map, icons represent the player's characters and opposing demons. Fights take place in a first-person perspective. Opponents are shown on the upper screen and options for action and the status of group members are shown on the lower screen. As with other computer role-playing games, the character becomes stronger and levels up by completing assignments. Macca can also be earned. This is the in-game currency that can be used to purchase items and equipment. Some missions are part of the main story and are mandatory, while others are optional. Should the player be defeated, they can return to the game by paying Macca. Nintendo game coins can be used in place of Macca. Repeated dying unlocks a simple mode. In this mode, players can escape from combat if they want.

Enemies move in the area that Flynn is scouting. A fight starts when Flynn attacks an opponent (the player gains an attack advantage), an opponent runs into Flynn from the side or from behind (the opponent gains the attack advantage), or when both run straight into each other. In combat, the player controls Flynn and three demons with a support character controlled by an artificial intelligence. During combat, both player and opponent actions are determined by the turn-based press-turn system. This combat system was adopted from earlier parts of the "Shin Megami Tensei" series. The system revolves around exploiting physical or elemental weaknesses: if a character hits another character's weakness or lands a critical hit, the group gets an extra turn. If an attack is again absorbed or blocked, the group loses one turn. If a character hits a weakness or successfully takes a critical hit, there is a chance to get into what is known as the "smirk" status. Smirking increases character damage, negates elemental weaknesses and increases the likelihood of evasive maneuvers for a certain amount of time.

Other systems from earlier parts of the series are demon recruitment and demon fusion. To recruit demons, the player talks to a demon instead of fighting it and must negotiate with it in order to obtain its services. These negotiations can involve flattery, bribery, and intimidation. Up to 400 demons are available for recruitment. Demon Fusion involves fusing two demons into a new form that has new abilities. During a merger, the player can choose which skills will be taken over and which will expire. The demon's fusion history is recorded for review later in the game. Negotiations and mergers also give the player experience points. Some demons change form on their own regardless of a fusion. Instead, they must level up through combat experience. As Flynn levels up, new fusions will be unlocked. Tamed demons teach Flynn new skills. The StreetPass feature on Nintendo 3DS allows players to trade demons.

action

Setting and characters

"Shin Megami Tensei IV" takes place in a world separate from the rest of the "Shin Megami Tensei" games, although the same demons and abilities are present. The two main locations are the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado, a feudal society inspired by medieval Europe and secretly controlled by angels, and Tokyo , a modern city locked in a rock dome and overrun by demons. Prior to the events of the game, when Tokyo was becoming a demon fortress and threatened by angelic destruction, a member of Tokyo's anti-demon unit tamed the demon Masakado. He merged with him to create the protective dome over Tokyo. Mikado was erected on top of the dome. After the creation of the dome, it takes only twenty years in Tokyo, but over a thousand years in Mikado. Remnants of Tokyo's technology are scattered throughout Mikado and are being studied by the church as "mystical relics".

The player controls a samurai who is the reincarnation of Tokyo's savior. Its default name is Flynn. As with previous "Megami Tensei" player characters, he is a silent protagonist whose actions and attitudes are determined by the player. Three other characters accompany Flynn on his journey, representing the three main moral orientations. These are Jonathan, who represents order, Walter, who represents chaos, and Isabeau, who represents neutrality. Other important characters are Burroughs, Flynn's artificial intelligence assistant, Lilith, a powerful demon from Tokyo, and Issachar, a childhood friend of Flynn.

history

"Shin Megami Tensei IV" begins when Flynn and his friend Issachar travel to Mikados Castle to take a test to determine whether they are worthy to become samurai. Samurai are the protectors of Mikado who both confront and control demons. Issachar fails the exam. Flynn is successful and is promptly initiated along with other candidates. Among them are Walter, Jonathan and Isabeau. The new samurai apprentices are given electronic gauntlets that contain artificial intelligence . Flynn's artificial intelligence named Burroughs supports him with advice throughout the game. Shortly after the inauguration, there was unrest in the rural areas. A character who calls himself the "Black Samurai" distributes cursed books written to spread "knowledge and wisdom." Some Mikado residents, including Issachar, are turned into demons when they read these books at gatherings called "Sabbaths." The samurai are dispatched to confront the resulting demons and the black samurai. After the restoration of peace in Mikado and the killing of Issachar, the samurai are ordered to pursue the black samurai to the legendary land of Tokyo below Mikado. The samurai follow a tunnel down to the top of a skyscraper. You discover that Tokyo is a city enclosed in eternal night by a stone dome, while Mikado lies on top of the dome.

The group explores Tokyo. In search of the Black Samurai, she confronts a multitude of opponents: the demons that have infested Tokyo, the Ashura-kai, a yakuza organization that controls the city and offers a semblance of order, and the Ring of Gaea, a cult who serves his leader Yuriko. The group discovered that the black samurai was Yuriko. In truth, she is a demon named Lilith who wanted to bring chaos to the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado and undermine its orderly and still structure. The group also rescues three masked men from Tokyo on the orders of Sister Gabby, a member of the Mikados Church. Walter is convinced by Yuriko that the Ashura-kai should be defeated and that more demons should be unleashed on Tokyo. Meanwhile, Gabby convinces Jonathan that Lilith must be killed. Flynn can assist either Walter or Jonathan. Regardless of his decision, both are successful. Lilith's Ring of Gaea and the Ashura-kai are defeated, and demons are unleashed on Tokyo through the Yamatareactor, a source of energy that connects parallel dimensions. Flynn, Jonathan and Walter explore two different Tokyo timelines: one where order dominates and another where chaos rules. In both worlds, Flynn's previous reincarnation was killed.

After viewing the alternate worlds, a score based on Flynn's moral choices as the game progresses decides whether the player is on the path of order, chaos, or the neutral path. In addition, the player always has the option to destroy the world. This is done at the behest of the whites, the personification of human despair, who demand complete oblivion. Jonathan joins the "new leaders" of Mikados: the four archangels Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael and Michael, Sister Gabby and the three captives who saved the samurai. They merge into Merkaba , God's chariot. Walter joins Lucifer, the strongest demon, and merges with him. You plan to destroy Mikado. Should Flynn turn to order, he and Merkaba defeat Lucifer. To prevent further corruption of the Mikado residents, they destroy Tokyo and die while carrying it out. Should Flynn turn to chaos, he and Lucifer defeat Merkaba. After destroying Mikado, they start a new war with God. Isabeau returns on both the Route of Order and the Route of Chaos to stop Flynn in the name of humanity. After she is defeated, she commits suicide. On the neutral route, Flynn and Isabeau team up in the fight against Merkaba and Lucifer. They commit Masakado's help. After Merkaba is defeated, Isabeau evacuates the residents of Mikado to Tokyo. After Flynn defeats Lucifer, Masakado uses his powers to destroy the dome. This will destroy the mikado and restore Tokyo's sunlight.

development

Development of "Shin Megami Tensei IV" began in August 2009 after development of "Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey" for the Nintendo DS was finished, and lasted three and a half years. Atlus listened to their fans and decided to develop a fourth numbered part of the "Shin Megami Tensei" sub-series. That hasn't happened in Japan since the 2003 release of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne. The reason for the ten-year break between "III" and "IV" was that the company produced other successful titles and therefore had no time to develop "Shin Megami Tensei IV" on the side. It was planned in the early phases of development to develop “Shin Megami Tensei IV” for a portable platform. The reason for this was greater convenience for the players. Originally it was supposed to be developed for the Nintendo DS, using the "Strange Journey" - [game engine | engine]. Eventually development was moved to the Nintendo 3DS, which led to the decision to use a different engine. The development team, called Team Maniacs, included employees who had worked on previous Shin Megami Tensei titles as well as those who did not. There were differences in the mindsets of the two different types of employees, which led to conflict. As an example of this, Director Kazuyuki Kamai cited that some employees were used to contemporary games that included "cute" female characters saying "nice things" and as a result they wanted to add that "cute" to "Shin Megami Tensei IV". Meanwhile, Yamai saw the show as having "bitter" content and said that it was not possible to add "sweetness" to it. In addition, the employees had different ideas about the meaning of "Shin Megami Tensei". Yamai felt that the good parts of each staff member's interpretation should be incorporated into the aspects of the game they were responsible for, while not deviating from the "bitterness."

The concept of the game was inspired by the punk atmosphere , which the original "Shin Megami Tensei" recreated . A character creator and scenario writer on the series named Kazuma Kaneko came up with the original scenario and concept of medieval Mikado and modern Tokyo. The main reason for this was to present a contrast in values ​​between the demon-hunting residents of Mikado and the people of Tokyo living under the control of the demons. While constructing the game's locations, the team studied history books to learn about medieval customs and armor. The demons that appear in the game have been selected to match the bosses that appear in the scenario. These also include some demons that were believed to attract the player's attention and some that were chosen because of their popularity. While traversing the dungeons in "Strange Journey" was designed to be like the "old school" Megami Tensei, in "Shin Megami Tensei IV" it was designed to be more like "Nocturne". The press-turn combat system that was used for the first time in "Nocturne" received a revision. The gameplay difficulty was designed to be customizable to attract new players to the Shin Megami Tensei series. The series had built a reputation for having a high level of difficulty. The "recommended mergers" feature was also beneficial for new players. It was implemented after seeing many new players fail to fuse their demons. The story and gameplay were developed in an attempt to change the opinion of Japanese gamblers that "social games" are good enough and to please an older generation of gamers. Eiji Ishida, who worked on "Nocturne" and "Strang Journey," served as the game's art director. Masayuki Doi first designed the main characters after previously working as an environment designer for "Nocturne". He was brought in because of his work on the " Trauma Center " series. The main characters were designed according to certain archetypes. Jonathan and Walter were designed to represent order or chaos, respectively, while Isabeau personified neutrality. Burroughs (an evolution of the artificial intelligence companion from "Strange Journey"), Isabeau and other female characters were also designed to be determined and of strong stature. This is based on “strong female archetypes.” The protagonist's clothing was created to be fairly expressionless, which emphasizes the player's control over his actions and his portrayal. Your equipment was designed to represent both the kingdom of Mikado and elements of traditional Japanese clothing. The final design included a combination of eastern and western clothing elements. Their fighting stances and the handles of their katanas were inspired by the Jedi of the " Star Wars " films. His design work was inspired by earlier work by Kaneko. Doi also designed the protagonist's accessories and equipment, as well as the clothing for half of the non-playable characters. The designs of the demons were created by several designers, including Doi, Keita Amemiya, Yoshihiro Nishimura and Kyouma Aki. Because Yamai liked "Super Sentai" and "Kamen Rider" and aimed to adapt some demons to Kaneko's designs and to have inspired others from the "Ultraman" series, many of the demon designers selected were Tokusatsu artists. The artists received material about the mythological background of the demons, but were otherwise free to design the demons according to their interpretation.

music

The music for “Shin Megami Tensei IV” was mainly composed and arranged by Ryota Koduka, with additional compositions by Kenichi Tsuchiya and Toshiki Konishi. Their work started late in the production period and lasted about a year. Originally, at Yamai's request, they set an upper limit on the number of songs, but as they progressed the number of songs skyrocketed. Themes from earlier "Shin Megami Tensei" games have also been incorporated to create a sense of familiarity among the series fans. A four-CD soundtrack was released on February 26, 2014 in Japan by Mastard Records under catalog number LNCM-1043 ～ 6 . It reached number 64 on the Oriconcharts and stayed there for two weeks.

Reviews

In its first few weeks of launch in Japan, the game topped the weekly charts with 188,562 copies sold. It overtook the PlayStation 3 -exclusive "Kamen Rider: Battride War" and the PS3 port of " Resident Evil: Revelations ". In a later review it was given as Atlus' second best-selling title in recent history, only 4000 copies behind the sales figures of the debuts of Persona 4 in 2008. by the end of 2013, the game was 251,334 times sold in Japan and was in annual sales to thirtieth place. As of January 2014, the game had sold 90,000 copies in the US since it was released in July. As of July 2015, more than 600,000 copies had been sold worldwide. The title received positive reviews in both Japan and the West. The aggregate site Metacritic gave it a score of 83/100 based on reviews from 48 critics. The combat system received general praise: Famitsu , IGN , GameSpot , Eurogamer , Joystiq , Destructoid and Game Informer described the combat system as highly entertaining - despite the difficulty peaks - and praised the concessions made to new players. The negotiation and merger systems were also praised. Some reviewers saw it as entertaining and an improvement on previous versions. One aspect of gameplay that drew criticism was navigating the world map, which was labeled either difficult to follow or poorly designed. The story and characters had mixed reviews. While Destructoid was generally positive, other reviewers, such as Eurogamer and Game Informer, suggested that the characters only served to represent the moral path of the player. IGN, Joystiq and Gamespot were in a pretty negative mood, calling them either irritating or easy to forget. The graphics have received critical acclaim from some critics, but have been described as "blank" or "poor quality" by others.

continuation

A follow-up title called " Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse " was released in 2016 for the Nintendo 3DS. It is a side story in the same world with a new player character.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Romano, Sal: Shin Megami Tensei IV Japanese release date set . Gematsu. February 19, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  2. ↑ Karen Halloran: Shin Megami Tensei IV Dated for 30th October in Europe . Nintendo Life. October 18, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Brown, Peter: Shin Megami Tensei IV Review . GameSpot . July 15, 2013. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved on July 15, 2013.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Edwards, Matt: Shin Megami Tensei 4 review . Eurogamer . August 5, 2013. Archived from the original on July 23, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h Kat Bailey: Shin Megami Tensei IV Review . IGN . July 10, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ a b Gmyrek, Roland: Shin Megami Tensei IV: demon growth, whisper events, fairies, StreetPass, Samurai missions, and challenge quests . Gematsu. March 22, 2013. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h Wallace, Kimberley: Shin Megami Tensei IV - Changing The World Isn't Easy . Game Informer . July 16, 2013. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  8. ↑ a b Slayton, Olivia: Shin Megami Tensei IV: battles, grinning, difficulty, and revival . Gematsu. February 11, 2013. Archived from the original on October 11, 2013. Retrieved on October 20, 2014.
  9. ↑ a b Sato: Shin Megami Tensei IV Developers Answer Fan Questions . Siliconera. April 27, 2013. Archived from the original on December 29, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  10. ^ A b c Wallace, Kimberley: Blending Realism and Fantasy - Insight Into SMT IV's Character Design . Game Informer . June 28, 2013. Archived from the original on November 14, 2013. Retrieved on October 20, 2014.
  11. ↑ a b c Brian: Shin Megami Tensei IV details . Nintendo Everything. September 18, 2012. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  12. ↑ a b c d Parish, Jeremy: The Stylish Apocalypse of Shin Megami Tensei IV . US gamer. June 14, 2013. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g Intabyū & Inpuresshon . In: ASCII Media Works (ed.): Dengeki Nintendo . July 2013, pp. 70–74.
  14. ↑ a b Gifford, Kevin: Shin Megami Tensei 4's director talks about the series and its 'punk' ethos . Polygon . April 24, 2013. Archived from the original on July 10, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  15. ↑ a b 「真·女神転生IV」はただのナンバリングタイトルではない!ファンだからこそ抱く"革新"への不安をディレクターの山井一千氏が払拭. Dengeki Online . May 3, 2013. Archived from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  16. ↑ Yip, Spencer: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Maniacs Director Returns For Shin Megami Tensei IV . Siliconera. June 29, 2012. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved on September 22, 2014.
  17. ↑ Mucferran, Damien: Shin Megami Tensei IV Team Want To Change The Mindset That social games "Are Good Enough" . Nintendo Life. June 5, 2013. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  18. ↑ Spencer: Shin Megami Tensei IV Interview: Making Law And Chaos Heroes . Siliconera. June 21, 2013. Archived from the original on December 20, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2014.
  19. ↑ 新生 ア ト ラ ス 始 動！ 『真 4』 の 裏 設定 や メ ガ テ ン ＆ ア ト ラ ス の の 独自 の 世界 を 『真 ・ 女神 転 生 IV』 の サ ウ ン ド 担当 る 良 憲 一 一 る 塚 良 憲 一 一 る 塚 良 憲 一 一 る 良 と 一 一 る . Dengeki Online . April 29, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2014.
  20. ↑ 『真 ・ 女神 転 生 IV』 の オ リ ジ ナ ル サ ウ ン ド ト ラ ッ ク が 発 売 売 、 そ れ を 記念 し た 衣装 展 が 期間 限定 で 開 催 . Famitsu . February 24, 2014. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved on November 8, 2014.
  21. ↑ 真 ・ 女神 転 生 IV オ リ ジ ナ ル ・ サ ウ ン ド ト ラ ッ ク . Oricon. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
  22. ↑ a b Shin Megami Tensei IV for 3DS Reviews . Metacritic . Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  23. ↑ a b c d e f North, Dale: Review: Shin Megami Tensei IV . Destructoid . July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  24. ↑ a b Gifford, Kevin: Japan Review Check: Japan Review Check: Shin Megami Tensei 4, RE Revelations HD . Polygon . May 15, 2013. Retrieved May 15, 2013.
  25. ↑ a b c Arendt, Susan: Shin Megami Tensei 4 review: Devils in the details . Joystiq . July 10, 2013. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015. Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved July 10, 2013. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.joystiq.com
  26. ^ Whitehead, Thomas: Shin Megami Tensei IV Storms to Number One in Japanese Charts . Nintendo Life. May 29, 2013. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  27. ↑ Sato: This Week In Sales: Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final Gets Summoned . Siliconera. February 1, 2016. Archived from the original on February 17, 2016. Retrieved on February 17, 2016.
  28. ↑ GEIMIN.NET／2013年テレビゲームソフト売り上げランキング （フ ァ ミ 通 版） ( Japanese ) Archived from the original on April 24, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  29. ^ Brian: December 2013 NPD: lifetime sales for Wii U and 3DS titles . Nintendo Everything. January 17, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  30. ↑ 「真·女神転生IVアトラスベストコレクション」全世界で60万本以上を売り上げた大ヒットRPGのベスト版が登場! ( Japanese ) Famitsu . July 27, 2015. Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. Retrieved on July 27, 2015.
  31. ↑ Nakamura, Toshi: Shin Megami Tensei IV Final Isn't an Update, But an Entirely New Game . Kotaku . October 6, 2013. Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
  32. ↑ Oxford, Nadia: Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final Coming to North America This Summer . USgamer . April 14, 2016. Archived from the original on April 14, 2016. Retrieved on April 14, 2016.