r/Megaten

I’m very excited for this SMT 2 is literally peak fiction and I hope someday in the future we also get an SMT if PSX translation! <3

Artist credits:

Kataba: https://bskyx.app/profile/chazeyrain.bsky.social/post/3maiwyd4x6k2i

Naoto Kat: https://brinkofmemories.tumblr.com/

Katsuru: https://bsky.app/profile/knewnothing.bsky.social

Ann Kat: u/Rodeo4613

Nanashi when he encountered Demifiend on diamond realm

A little difficult for the repetitive ones, but its a proper sendoff to the OG, now we wait to see how good Revival is...

Unofficial birthday art for the beloved celebrity Mai. Thigh-highs were added as inspiration from a friend who drew her with them on instead of just bare legs

Link 1: https://x.com/wanderjegson/status/2073053235993088266?t=gYAxxLTslkiniCzjSzickA&s=19

Link 2: https://x.com/wanderjegson/status/2073074368037466189?t=gYAxxLTslkiniCzjSzickA&s=19

Link 3: https://x.com/wanderjegson/status/2073089916880265368?t=gYAxxLTslkiniCzjSzickA&s=19

Links: Soundtrack (YouTube), VGMdb page

Today I've found out about something called Decision to Survive. An album released in Japan in 2009 containing nine remixes of Devil Survivor's music. VGMdb says Takami Asano (the game's composer) worked on it however I'm pretty sure he's just referenced as the author of the original songs. The links on the photo of the back cover are either dead or direct to smth not directly related to the album.

The actual songs are in my humble opinion... not that great. 2, 3, and 9 (5 is labeled wrong on both sites it's a remix of Coldheartedness, and 9 is wrong on VGMdb it's Garuda) are decent, while others range from mediocre to CBT. A lot of these songs are random ass techno tracks you'd hear your neighbor play at a party with one rhythm from the original DeSu music.

One thing I'm most unsure about is if this thing is official at all. Does Atlus or even just Asano know about this and gave it a seal of approval or is this completely unlicensed? The title and logo give off a slight bootleg vibe, and VGMdb mentions "Doujin/independent" and "fan remix" so I'm leaning into the latter. I'd really appreciate if anyone of yall knew something more about this obscure piece of DeSu history.

Edit: It seems to be fully unofficial. It was released on some sort of event? And I found some discussion about it on a french forum, people there also saying it sucks. And one of the websites still works (ytrrecords...) and there I found out that track 5 being incorrectly attributed to Coldheartedness and 9 to Garuda were done by the original publisher.

Represented by the highest-level demon of their respective race.

In this post I will go over why some >!demon!< races are clearly better than others.

As I replayed the game with Unkillable + Focused challenges (no leader deaths and no free battles) on New Game I've been paying a little more attention to the strategic aspect of it than usual so decided to post this ranking after changing my mind on a few racial skills from the game over the course of the playthrough. All of this is subjective ofc, feel free to fight me.

18: Fallen's Sacrifice (Team restores HP and MP whenever user defeats an enemy)

This genuinely does nothing. You are never fusing a Fallen demon for this skill. It sounds strong, being able to restore MP just for killing a guy, but in this game MP isn't a huge concern (important, but doesn't need crazy managing. also, Drain and a certain other race exist) and the amount of it and HP that Sacrifice restores is pitiful. Plus the condition of the Fallen demon needing to kill the enemy. Just an awful race.

17: Fairy's Charm (Heal a little hp of your own or nearby team, small chance of side effect)

Slightly more useful than Sacrifice, it has utility and there's cases it can make your team when it would die otherwise. But the amount it heals is so little, and the chance for one of the additional effects is small (plus it can give you one that won't help you, like crit chance up on a magic team). Better in early game for sure.

16: Jaki's Bind (Reduce an enemy's movement to 1 for one turn)

Definitely the weakest from the movement-based abilities but not useless. Useful if you want to get first drop on an enemy but they're just a little out of reach. Sometimes tho they can get a double turn before your next one) especially if they have Genma so that fucks you over. Also useful on NPC missions.

15: Divine's Blood Wine (Costs HP, team restores some MP)

Blood Wine is definitely an ability you can build an entire team around, having guys with low mp count or using high-cost skills being able to do so thanks to it. The reason I put it so low is just that it's a slightly niche team setup, and like I said MP isn't a huge concern + you will be needing to use it more than once if you spam high cost spells since the restore isn't too big, which will slow down your turn speed. There's a reason it's in the okay tier and not bad.

14: Femme's Devotion (Heals own or nearby team by 50% of the user's HP)

Definitely not a bad racial however it is very outclassed by one much later. The biggest problem with it is that when your Femme demon is low (AKA, when you would want to heal the most) it barely does anything. Still it's useful for keeping your team at high health and freeing a move slot for Media or smth.

13: Snake's Constrict (Enemies next to the user have 1 move range + initiative up when being attacked)

This is a racial I've slept on for sure, if I made this list when I first played it would probably be in the bottom three. The actual effect isn't too big however it can come into play and save your ass when being ganged on by lot of enemies especially. Plus it has a pretty nice synergy with Dragon and Vile, leaving you less defenseless when getting ambushed. From my personal experience not something you make a demon for, but a nice thing to have.

12: Touki's Aggravate (After activation, first phys hit of each team member becomes a guaranteed crit)

GOATED in early game with a huge fall-off later on, only nice on bosses then. When you have only basic attacks and anger hit (which you won't use with Aggravate ofc) for physicals it increases your damage by a ton both with crit damage and extra turns. It works nice with Power Hit too. But the fact it only affects the first enemy you hit when you use it kills its lategame potential, as all targets is practically only thing you use phys for then (boosting only one hit from the 21-hit Multi-Strike lol). Maybe I should've put it higher just for early game power.

11: Vile's Chaos Wave (-1 movement, no extra turns, turn cost when moving increased, +2 range)

Like a Dragon, this race is one that comes with downsides so you want to make a full team around it. It's usually worse than Dragon, the -1 movement being not comparable to the +1 range, however it has a niche of countering said Dragons. Anyways this is an absurdly powerful racial if you use it properly (aka have good enough dps letting you one tap enemy teams) however the drawback is so big which is why I can't put it higher.

10: Beast's Animal Leg (Move action refreshed after attacking)

Good although slightly overrated synergy with Kishin. Otherwise it's just fine, I most often used the bonus move to just retreat and not let enemies get first drop on my team, however it's not always too useful and I preferred two other passive movement abilities later on the list.

9: Kishin's Double Up (You can use the attack command twice)

Great for bosses and when used together with Dragon, Vile, and Beast, otherwise it's not that great. Mainly due to the attack comand being heavy on your turn speed, which means if you use it twice your next turn comes noticeably later (same reason for why I think Beast + Kishin is just good and not amazing). Plus DeSu is a game where you can kill a lot of regular enemy teams in one battle, or at least leave them with just the leader which will die when ambushing you, so getting to fight twice on regular missions isn't a huge boon.

8: Avatar's Switch (Swap places with another team up to 6 tiles away)

Potential man the racial. Insane utility and allows for some pretty convoluded plans at the start of a battle (especially when trying to crack a skill that's far away). If you use it correctly it's Devil Speed but better, that only moves you for 7 while Switch + move action can much more. And it can save your ass at most random times, and great on NPC missions. Only reason it's not higher is being a bit specific.

7: Wilder's Devil Speed (After activation, move speed increases to 7 and initiative up for 1 turn)

Very simple reason for being good, being able to get first drop on an enemy from far away is great. Biggest downside is that it noticeably slows down next turn, which is noticeable especially with Dragon/Vile. Not much more to add I think everyone who played this game think it's at least decent.

6: Dragon's Evil Wave (No extra turns, turn cost when moving increased, +1 range)

Vile but better. I feel that Vile has better individual demons but I only care about the skill itself and in that regard Dragon easily wins. Being able to hit people without getting hit back is something only these races can do and it's just that good, even if your total damage is lower due to no extra turns.

5: Genma's Phantasma (Turn cost when moving decreased, can move over obstacles)

Very underrated ability, I thought of putting it a tier higher for a bit. While Avian's +1 movement is generally a better effect in my opinion, the turn cost decrease is very noticeable, and of course the flying effect is super good on certain maps. Good Devil Speed synergy as well, which is smaller with Flight since it already provides bonus movement.

4: Tyrant's Tyranny (Team restores MP based on damage dealt + Enemy turn pushed back more when attacking)

This ability singlehandedly solves all MP issues you might have. The healing is both more consistent AND usually bigger than whatever Fallen provides. And on top of already shitting on Fallen it has a second effect too, making it THE best racial for bosses in the game, if you attack a boss enough with a tyrant on the team its turn won't ever come, which synergizes greatly with the other boss killer race, Kishin. Just great abilility to have at all times.

3: Avian's Flight (+1 movement, can move over obstacles)

Another race that is just always good for a simple reason. Passive +1 makes ambushes much easier and moves you around the map quicker. May be controversial with how simple it is and not having a huge potential instead just being consistent, but to me it felt very great to use. And of course it shits on some maps just like Genma (Belberith fight lol)

2: Megami's Affection (Large heal + ailment cure to own team or an ally team up to 4 tiles away)

You may ask why is this so high. Well I feel this is the best heal ability in the game due to its range, allowing you to do stuff while healing an ally instead needing to be right next to them, and for all of the game, ever since you get Sarasvati it functions as a slightly smaller Prayer at a level as low as TWELVE, the healing is so much it'll bring you to very high or max health each time. Plus just like Devotion, lets you put something else instead of a healing skills when making a team. It's not really flashy, no large movement or big damage buff just nice to have, very strong and consistent healing.

1: Deity's Awakening (After activation, each team member does 1.5x damage with first magic attack)

HOW DID THIS PASS TESTING LMAO awakening allows you to crank out absurd fucking damage numbers, making you kill enemies with resisted hits and absolutely nuke through boss health. The MP cost isn't high at all, doesn't increase turn cost by that much even, makes using Dragon/Vile pretty much risk free since you're pretty much guaranteed to one tap the enemy, and most importantly works for all hits and not just one like Aggravate. I always thought it's good but after the replay it's easily the best racial skill in the game to me.

Anyways bye. Let me know which of these races are cool and which are you racist towards.

Hello everyone, welcome to the second part of this review series. I just graduated from college and so you can guess that it doesn't really feel all that satisfying. But in the meantime, among all the chaos and other Megaten games, I finally finished Persona 2: Innocent Sin at around 30 hours, and not to spoil everything but what a game. I thoroughly enjoyed it from top to bottom, and I am excited to play Eternal Punishment.

To establish a quick and easy format, I'll discuss briefly the story and gameplay, subdivided into what I think are relevant highlights, and then give my conclusions and final score, so please enjoy if you read this and larp with me.

Story:

Cast:

Okay let's get this out of the way. The Innocent Sin cast is the easiest 11/10 ever. I love everyone here. The main cast in incredible and the character writing in the game is near impeccable. My favorite is of course Ginko, the silly little goober, but everyone else is not far behind.

Jun, despite joining late, had incredible development in Xibalba, oh my god. The twists and turns he goes through. The slow unravelling of the mysteries surrounding him. The final reveal of his father and mother. Simply amazing.

Maya was really good, and I bet I'll like her more in Eternal Punishment, but she was probably on the lesser side of the cast for me, but the intrigue she added to the story is second to none. The clash of reality and fiction and her interactions with it really made the main plot great.

Michel is really fun and his side plot with his girlfriend is really nice actually. The sudden twist in his constellation dungeon about her was fantastically done (LOVE), and I will hear him say LET'S GO EVERYBODY for weeks to come.

I love Ginko. I love how earnest she is, I love how true she is. She accepts her flaws immediately, but she still exhibits how genuine she is about her feelings about everyone, while still being half of the comic relief duo with Eikichi. Yes, I said yes to her. I fall hard for sincerity.

And finally the returning cast being Brown, Maki, Elly, and Nanjo. I love how we know how they're doing because I genuinely do love P1's cast. The more I think about them, the more I love them. Maki being a therapist is perfect, Elly dropping hints about P1 MC (New headcanon, P1 MC actually DID get with Elly), Brown being a lameass comedian (Hell yes, that's a good niche actually), and Nanjo aura farming just to give an ultimate weapon while still trying to be Japan's top dog, is really nice.

Yukino is amazing, I love how she actually got with someone outside the main crew, I love how she acts like the big sister of the group, how mature she's grown, and we even learn she failed at her ventures, which is why she's here with us now. I will say closing her character arc with her relinquishing her Persona is a PERFECT end to a Persona user's journey and I wish we got more.

Yeah, I would give this cast a solid 12/10.

Main plot:

Bonkers. That's the most apt description of this main plot. And I love it. There's a lot of moving parts, a lot of red herrings, and the whole idea of rumors becoming reality is a really good premise and it was done very well here, but I'm gonna say it, this story hinged on its cast. This is an extremely character driven narrative that focuses on the effect of external stimuli on one's mental state, the effect of trauma and mental stress on one's way of seeing the world.

It did get a bit convoluted at times but I feel like most threads were closed very satisfyingly, especially Jun's story.

That being said it may be a surprise but I actually do like Persona 1's story more. But I'm not a stickler for the rules, my grading has as much integrity as an Oreo dipped in milk.

They both deserve a 9/10. While Persona 1's story was lacking in volume but had good execution, Persona 2 Innocent Sin felt like it had a bit too much story. So I think they can both fit in this echelon. Spoiler alert, they're the best in the series for me. Nyarlathotep and Kandori are going to be very interesting think pieces for me for days to come.

Yes I punched Philemon.

Gameplay:

Dungeons: Okay, so I will say I really enjoyed the dungeons in this game. There's a good complexity to them that really tickles my brain, and it feels really good to fill out a map. My favorite I believe was the Abandoned Factory (Yes, really) because of all the connecting passages and the note scavenger hunt, although I think the best dungeon is Xibalba because of the theming and the way finding is really good.

My only complaint is the lack of vertical complexity of any dungeon in the game, but they made up for it by having multiple access points. Just needed a bit more after Persona 1 blew my mind. The dungeons get a solid 8/10.

Combat: Fusion spells are really fun. I enjoyed discovering them and then just consulting a guide because I'm missing so much damage just using the medium and high damage skills and need the DX based skills.

I finished the game 14 levels below Nyarlathotep, even with the difficulty mod for the ROM which I had to hunt down, so it is a very easy game, but by being very underlevelled, I was taking more damage and my damage never went over 300 by the end so I think I still got a good challenge out of it.

Kids, gamble in SMT games, you WILL become a millionaire.

The rumor mechanic is fantastic but getting the ultimate weapon rumors were ASININE but I still had to do it because I wanted to see Nanjo. Overall, I really enjoyed the combat and the gameplay surrounding it, but I kinda wanted the grid gameplay to happen as well. Though of course people don't like it but I did and Fusion Spells could be interesting. I'm not rating what ifs.

It's solid, and I liked it. 7/10.

Conclusion:

OldSona magic strikes again. Instead of a really deep and interesting dive into Jungian psychology, we get a crazy complicated and insanely long and fun plot, where the central cast is at the center of it all. This makes the cast so much more fleshed out and incredibly relatable. I love all of them and wouldn't trade them for the world.

Gameplay improves from P1 but each has their own issues and upsides, both of them have ungodly encounter rates but I got through most of them without Estoma so idk, it really depends on the player and their tolerance. Disguise Kits ftw though.

I cannot sing the praises for this cast enough. I think I need to start making a new copy pasta.

P1 best story

P2 Best cast (Bar none, it makes almost every other Persona cast look like sock puppets)

P5 best gameplay

Although P2 has two games so it might be cheating but to be fair, even just the Innocent Sin cast plus P1 cameos completely overshadow NewSona casts for me. Please play it, do your due diligence of talking to everyone, and fall in love with them as I did.

Final score: LET'S GO EVERYBODY/10

From his twitter.