Although it is a spin-off of a spin-off, personThe overwhelming success made it the most famous of the Shin Megami Tensei RPG series. But in 1994, two years before the very first person Game arrived on PlayStation, the blueprint for these future games was laid down in another lesser-known side story with a peculiar title.
Shin Megami Tensei, if … for Nintendo’s 16-bit Super Famicom offered a reduced version of the Shin Megami Tensei Formula. Instead of a doomsday disaster that plunges mankind into pandemia, a single school has been transported into a demonic dimension known as expanse. And instead of participating in an apocalyptic battle between law and chaos, the great evil is a student who is tired of being bullied.
If this sounds familiar, there are good reasons: Shin Megami Tensei, if … was the basis for that person Series. Katsura Hashino, who started at Atlus as a designer If… and is known today as person‘s head honcho said so much during a 2009 interview with the now defunct one Play magazine. The school environment appears to have been so well received that Atlus gave the go-ahead in 1996 Megami Ibunroku Persona—The Atlus USA localized as Revelations: Persona– as the first game in a new series about “the inner struggles of young adults”.
But it goes beyond the setting. Shin Megami Tensei, if … opens, while the Japanese campus of Karukozaka High School is transposed from our everyday reality into a decidedly more demonic dimension. In those early moments, when the game is doing its best to teach you how to play as bluntly as possible, you are introduced to three other students: your close friend Yumi Shirakawa, honor student Reiko Akanezawa, and self-centered punk Shinji “Charlie” Kuroi.
Depending on who you immediately decide to spend time with, the game presents you with one of three courses of action. (There’s a fourth character, Akira Miyamoto, who won’t join you for a second run through.) It’s not quite as involved as that person The show’s “social link” system, where working on your relationships improves the fighting skills of your group, but the idea that friendship affects the progress of the story has not been widespread in the past Shin Megami Tensei Games.
A big part of Shin Megami Tensei, if … also revolves around unique demons known as guardians. While the game is similar to its predecessors in that you recruit demons drawn from folklore and myth to join you in battle, your two human party members – your own high school student and whichever of the others will accompany you too – also closely related to a guardian who changes every time he dies.
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Yes, death isn’t the end of the story in Shin Megami Tensei, if …even if the main character bites the dust. As you progress and gain experience to level up, a separate Guardian display will also be created. The higher it is when you die, the better guardian you become when you are resuscitated. This kindred spirit affects your characters’ stats and what spells they can use.
Again, not quite as involved as games in the person Series in which the protagonist can freely switch his equipped persona demon and the other party members have specific, often story-based partners, but the idea clearly has its roots in the Super Famicom classic.
Here’s Hashino again, from the same 2009 interview:
“The first title I worked on after joining Atlus was Shin Megami Tensei if …where I was responsible for the Guardian system, ”said Hashino. “Now that I think about it, this Guardian system became the foundation of the person
Apart from these aspects, however Shin Megami Tensei, if … plays pretty much the same as the main line Shin Megami Tensei Games this time. You’ll spend most of your time navigating sprawling dungeons in a first-person view, with combat being less complicated than the weakness-based systems introduced in later games. Sure, it’s still darn difficult, with loads of backtracking and other oddities that make these particular role-playing games a chore so often, but you will probably have a lot of fun with it Shin Megami Tensei, if … assuming you like it already Shin Megami Tensei.
After his Super Famicom debut Shin Megami Tensei, if … would be ported to the PC and the original PlayStation. Thanks to the Wii virtual console and Nintendo Switch Online (where it debuts) next week in Japan). As atlus celebrates person25th anniversary and fans have a possible sixth entry in their sights, it was fun to try out the game that served as a prototype for the now globally popular RPG series.
Shin Megami Tensei correct may not be as stylish or well received as the newer ones person Games, but it’s hard to deny that the former has a certain subliminal charm that is later used as the basis for personFinally, explosive success. And considering it all started in a game with such a silly, awkward name.
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