Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is a hell of a good time.
[Spoiler free review]
Over the last few months, I took the plunge into SMT 3. I have played thousands of games over my life, and I can confidentially say I have never experienced anything quite like this title. For context, this review is based on my completion of the True Demon Ending, which took just under 65 hours.
It’s an amazing game - a timeless masterpiece that stands head to head with the other renown classics of JRPGs. It’s brutal in difficulty, but not unfairly so. The story is morally ambiguous, and forces you to draw your own conclusions on what is just. The setting is captivating, but at the same time horrifying with it's usage of liminal horror and occult themes. The cel-shaded artstyle is slick and aged like wine. Perhaps most importantly, the gameplay is some of the most satisfying turn based combat I have ever experienced. If that wasn’t glowing enough, SMT 3 even has Dante in it, for some reason. Some extra cool points for that inclusion.
Story
In the first 20 minutes of the game, the world ends and a blonde kid forcefully implants a demonic parasite in your body, transforming you into something less than demon but more than human (Demi-Fiend).
Unlike most JRPG stories, the world already ended; your goal is to more or less navigate through the new apocalyptic Tokyo and.. survive. Most of the dialogue is in philosophical bits-and-pieces from spirits you meet around the world (pretty much everyone but five humans perish in the world-ending event). While the story isn't the main focus, the bits given are loaded -- leaving you a lot to think about long after the game's conclusion. In general, it's a refreshing twist on a genre with such strong tropes and cliches.
Gameplay
SMT 3 largely shines in gameplay more than anything else. This game was the godfather of the 'press-turn' system; a mechanic that greatly rewards you for exploiting enemy weaknesses (and punishes you for lack of doing so). It still feels fantastic to this day. Combat is fast and fun. I was also blown away by the sheer amount of bosses in this game - if you are aiming to best them all, Google suggests there are over 50 in the game alone!
The core gameplay loop here is understanding boss strategies and weaknesses, and retrofitting your team composition to handle whatever comes your way. This is made quite doable with demonic fusion - a way to fuse two demons together to create something new entirely. It's easy to reacquire your old demons, so the game is flexible in encouraging experimentation. Once you get the loop down, it's hard to resist.
The difficulty spikes I felt were highly enjoyable. As mentioned online, the second I hit Matador it became clear what SMT 3 had in store for me. You definitely need to be an individual who enjoys challenge to get mileage out of this game.
For dungeon design and world design: in general, there are a mix of good and mediocre dungeons. I really enjoyed the Diet Building, that was awesome. The Labyrinth of Amala was pretty cool, but I needed to cite a guide for the fourth Kalpa. I think the only design I felt was genuinely frustrating was the final dungeon crawl, which felt like a slog with many random teleports, high demon encounter rate, etc. I would gently encourage folks interested in the game to keep a guide handy just in case.
Art
I also want to point out that this game looks awesome for a 2003 title. The cel-shaded artstyle looks like it could've been created today. Seriously, great art direction and a lot of great set-pieces to accommodate this.
Music
The soundtrack is pretty awesome as well. It fits the liminal horror vibe of the game with ease and has some great tracks (Labyrinth of Amala fight track is fantastic).
Critiques
Especially near endgame, the demon encounter rate is unreal. You can't walk three steps without engaging in a fight, and half of the demons will just spam Mamudoon. Felt a little tedious to me. Additionally, the endgame is loaded with super cool demons you are able to unlock; by the time you are able to utilize them the game is over. The optional puzzle-boy minigame desperately needed save state abilities.
Conclusion
Overall, this is an unmissable JRPG. I am glad I played it. I would put this as the same tier as Final Fantasy X in terms of overall quality, which is a pretty high bar in my mind. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a challenge and finds the art or setting somewhat interesting.
Edit: One last thing, there are some great QoL mods for the PC version that I would encourage. They do not detract from the difficulty or experience.
- The mini-map QoL enhancement saves you from spamming the map key every five seconds.
- Hex-editing so the game renders at 4K is a huge game changer.