The character in blue and white is the protagonist, and the other demonic women on the cover are characters added to the Vengeance version. The protagonist is fairly androgynous, but he is male. Battle Marici is a very recent track that was added in a recent patch. They keep adding stuff to the game for free, which is kind of rare for Atlus, and much appreciated. SMTV (and Vengeance in particular) feels like a resurgence for the franchise's popularity. SMT is sort of the dark and edgy underdog of the JRPG world (though it has a long history and is pretty huge in its own right, it doesn't have the mass appeal of Persona like you said). Alkalic Acid Rush is the boss theme... for... well... anyway... SMT is allllll about mythology and transcendentalism. I think you'd really dig it. You can jump in on any, so SMTV Vengeance would be perfect.
SMT 5 had around 19 battle themes with vengeance adding an additional 20 battle themes adding up to 39 battle themes. This duo kozuka and konishi went unnecessary hard
Additionally, I just want to say how well SMT V's soundtrack does of mixing more divine and spiritual sounds with more electronic sounds. The series started with a spinoff of a manga about summoning demons through a computer, and it is so cool to see that come to fruition with the soundtracks
@@Skullkaiser smt is a reboot of the video game adaptation, not a spin-off. The development of the first game began as a SNES remake of Megami Tensei II and 'Shin' is often used for reboots or new interpretations of a franchise, as seen with Shin Godzilla for example
SMT5 is an excellent place to start. Alternative starts would be Nocturne or Digital Devil Saga. If you do start with 5 I would recommend hard mode over normal, especially in SMT5: Vengeance where it's a lot better balanced. also as the requester of 'Humans, Demons and...' I am anticipating your switchover if you do end up playing it :)
Yes sir, SMT V Vengeance definitely adds a LOT more....let's say "PIZAZZ" that was missing from SMT V originals soundtrack, while I do enjoy the more straightforward and "subdued" approach to the tracklist, Vengeance is a lot more spicy~
SMT 5 was my first Shin Megami Tensei game, and the soundtrack was a significant reason I enjoyed every minute of it. A few years later, Atlus releases SMT 5 Vengeance, with a whole new scenario and features. On top of that, the soundtrack somehow went even harder than the original, and it motivated me enough to finish a new playthrough on the hardest difficulty.
Aw dang, no Beelzebub or Qadistu themes? Really hope those will come up at some point here. Easily two of the best tracks that came out of SMTV Vengeance.
SMT V music really goes hard into the whole " u are in a world full of demons and gods" idea and really has unique music, its one of those rare games where u never confuse the music with that from another game. If u ever want to begin with a SMT game, SMT V Vengeance is a great way to get into it, just don't expect much from the story, its really about the gameplay and boss battles. SMT 4 on the other had IS about story, though u'll need a emulator to play that one. The thing with SMT is is that the last game was over a decade ago before SMT V released and it always has been something of a niche series becouse of its high difficulty and a strong focus on gameplay over story,while Persona(a spin off series from SMT) is more about story and has a relatable setting while SMT is all about godslaying and saving or destroying all of existance. Its also one of those rare games thats not very fun to watch someone play, since it always makes u wanna backseat or just go play it yourself.
The blue character is male. The others pictured are female. There are other male characters in the game though. As for the music, base game SMTV has a great OST, but man they really killed it with the Vengeance tracks.
One thing I will say about SMT: it is often considered one of the harder JRPG series out there, and even the relatively "newbie friendly" SMT V can still be brutal to people unfamiliar with the genre or mechanics. Not only does it require a lot of thinking, the SMT systems are known for combat that can flip on a dime, changing a fight that might normally be winnable into something that obliterates your party in a second. If you're willing to adapt and overcome, however, you will rarely find combat that is quite so satisfying when it *clicks.*
Def should check out the Battle - Beelzebub & Battle - M's revelation! tracks from this game as well. The entire soundtrack for both vanilla and Vengeance are killer though. Megaten games have some of the best battle tracks in gaming for 30+ years now and counting
SMT is the mother to the Persona series. Personally I think part of the reason you see folks talk about Persona more than SMT is because dispite coming first SMT has a smaller fan base than it's spin off series. I think a large part of that is that SMT tends to be overall a lot harder and less character focused. Most folks I know who get into Persona do it because of the grene of music the modern titles focus on or they see a character they like or hear about from a fan. SMT's music is great it's style, it's tone, it's whole package as a series is very uncompromising, even if it's got less market appeal. Very little of SMT 5 set out to outsell Persona 5 because they didnt want to compromise the feel of the series. I got a lot of respect for SMT even if I am not good enough to beat any of them lol
The blue and white character at the very front is the main character, the Nahobino(basically human fused with a godly being or equivalent demon. Is a term you learn within the first 20-30 minutes of the game, once you get introduced properly to the demons and the like in the very first zone of the game). He's pretty strong as far as lore goes, among things, and that is fairly well reflected in gameplay by mid to late game, given the options you have). The other characters on the screen are members of the Qadištu('Qa' like car or cat, 'diš' like sheesh with a d at the front and 'tu' like two/to/too per game pronunciation iirc), a faction you only encounter in the game's Vengeance Route. The game has two main routes, Creation and Vengeance, which you choose at the start of the game and each has a few endings depending on your choices by the end of things, though the start of each is similar. The game is pretty beginner friendly compared to the base release of SMT V and has a lot of Quality of Life features in regard to combat and out of combat adjustments, some tweaks to existing music in addition to a great deal of new tracks including over 20 battle themes. It starts out somewhat rough, but if you read, pay attention or otherwise settle down on a focus for your build(you can choose what stats increase each time you level and you have good control of what skills you have at just about any given time and what skills you excel in among things via a system in game) you can break the game in half if that's what you want to do. The Marici battle theme is actually rom a free update the game got not too long ago adding in a quest where you encounter her, among things. Alkalic Acid Rush is the boss theme of an optional enemy that is related to a sidequest, but can be fought without doing it, in the latter half of the game. Edit: Oh right, the composers for SMT V: Vengeance are on the record saying they didn't particularly have a genre in mind for the music they added, which isn't a bad thing imo. The overall stuff added from Vengeance felt like they were just having fun more than going for a particular idea and it works very well.
"Alkalic Acid Rush".. well, when you find out who the song was made for, the first word definitely adds a lot of meaning. Very creative name. I'm no SMT expert, but I'd say SMTV is a decent starting point for the gameplay. More focus on the RPG combat, less so on story (though it does have one). There is a bit of a learning curve to the difficulty, as the series does have a reputation for making players "learn the hard way", but from my experience, figuring out how to tackle a combat scenario is what makes it fun.
Like I said a long while ago, SMT is the moodier, darker, edgier cousin of Persona, and thus has a more a niche audience, hence why it is less popular. It also (for the most part; there are exceptions) places less of an emphasis on story/characters and more on atmosphere, narrative themes, and aesthetic, which really bleeds into its art and music, as you heard here. It also has a reputation of being MUCH harder than Persona, though I would argue it isn't really that hard if you know what you're doing. In any case, yeah, SMT is great for those who like darker stuff and are really into mythology/religion. But Persona is amazing, as well. It just focuses on different things and has different vibes than SMT, and their stories tend to be very emotionally involved/character-driven and bring out a lot of "feels." Both series are definitely worth playing in their own right. Now, both of these battle themes are, believe it or not, only played for one boss fight each. SMT 5, Vengeance in particular, has an interesting tendency to have tracks dedicated to singular moments, sometimes not even related to the main story. Marici is played for a free DLC boss fight with a Buddhist sun goddess, but Alkalic Acid Rush... hm, I'll just tell you now, it is played for a fight with a giant talking penis demon riding a golden chariot. ... Yep. You talked about how weird and experimental this series can get, and I can assure you it lives up to that weirdness and then some. Mostly because mythological creatures in general are pretty freakin' weird. But what I love about both of these tracks is how they embody that weirdness and otherworldliness of SMT just perfectly. They needed to sell unnerving and creepy to the SMT fanbase, and with Ryota Kozuka's gritty, bleak industrialism, the doctor definitely delivered.
yeah, its like streamlined Persona without all the life sim, school stuff, relationships. Persona games tend to have better character development, but to me SMT games have better pacing and are less tedious. Also the monster collecting is sort of like Pokemon, but better IMHO.
SMT is Persona's DAD not a cousin... C'mon... If you want Cousin then look at Devil Summoner or Soul Hackers series. But SMT is a parent series. I mean c'mon it is like calling regular Megaman a cousin of Megaman.EXE
@@Ghostel3591 I know. I already explained to Jesse in earlier SMT reactions that Persona sprang from SMT. The point of the cousin analogy is not where they are in a family tree, but that from a casual outsider's perspective, when you put the two together, it conjures up the kooky mental image of SMT being the Goth/rebellious member of the family not as many people pay attention to. It was never meant to be a precise, serious comparison.
Been waiting for you to cover the rerelease of this game cause it's my GOTY and the new songs added with it made it my favorite soundtrack in the series
The psycho mantis reference hits solid here. As a HUGE fan of this series you are 100% correct that the music is deliberately experimental. When it hits it HITS.
If you play SMT 4 or 5 I think it will be a fruitful experience for you just so you can see what Kozuka can really do. Like you said Meguro produces amazing music and hits with persona - but Kozuka's progressive style in the apocalyptic setting of SMT gives you experiences you haven’t had before. He just makes music that has you like “what the f*** was THAT?!” But in a great way
definitely a nice call on that SMT Persona comparison, SMT despite being the originator has definitely become the underdog. seeing an SMT V playthrough would be absolutely killer
What’s great about this series is how well they’ve done the “today on a normal day on planet earth- aaaaaand it looks like normalcy is gone.” SMT 1 roughly has a large open tutorial that eases you into the shenanigans, and I feel they’ve done it really nice for each game too.
If you want to get into SMT you can’t really miss with 3, 4 and Vengeance. Of those three I’d say 4 is probably the most well rounded experience when considering gameplay, story/characters and the classic post-apocalyptic, demon infested setting. And 4’s Tokyo map theme is amazing! Edit: Nice! I saw that you did a video on the Tokyo map theme already. :)
Should definitely check out battle for reclamation, primordial goddess, battle masakado and eon. There is definitely more but these have been stuck in my head everytime i encounter anything atlas related lmao especially marici which is 9 times out 10 is being blasted when I drive at night
SMT v vengeance it's probably a top 5 contender of my favorite ost ever, can't wait until you hear more, there's so much amazing music still to discover and I'm certain vengeance in specific almost every track you are gonna like
I am playing SMT V Vengance right now and there are so many bangers in the soundtrack! Highly recommended, Jesse! To answer your questions, in SMT V, you are a high school student but itnis only to establish story relationships. The main character in blue on the cover is a young man. Yes, it is turn-based.
SMT V and Nocturne are probably the best starting points for the series if you know nothing about it and don't want to start with persona. I'm also partial to Soul Hackers and Strange Journey myself, but those aren't great entry points.
Kozuka is genuinely one of the best composers out there, and even within SMT, Kozuka's work is the top of the top, even compared to the big ones like Meguro (who i also love)
SMT has such a shitposty meme soundtrack but I find that hilarious. I like that they fully embrace their identity, just being unapologetically goofy as hell with their tracks.
Vengeance was the best OST this year and only Rebirth comes close (VERY close). The children yearn for Vengeance for Reclamation, Beelzebub, and Da'at - Shinjuku Gyoen
Alkalic acid rush always reminded me of a sound track that would fit in a streets of rage or even any beat em up beat that side scrolls back in the day. But that’s just me.
SMTVV is a great starting point, but I think specifically for you, Digital Devil Saga would capture you the most for its music. Let's just say Meguro went hard on it
If you want to play a SMT, but don't know where to start, SMT V: Vengeance is really a great place to start. Lower barrier to entry than previous entries, great story, tons of content, and very satisfying. Other SMTs can be kind of unforgiving if you're not used to it yet.
The thing about SMT or Megaten in general is that the franchise never hit the WEST until the third main game and even that is like a Hidden gem under a lot of other PS2 games. You can say that Megaten is a Lost midia in the west that gained a lil more view recently.
It needs to be said, ryota kozuka is an absolute madman when it comes to the smt soundtracks, I mean, I counted the number of battle themes in Vengence and I think it's 36? What other game has 36 unique battle themes for various battles? And the entire ost is about 200 tracks, so, 1/5 of it is devoted to fights. But there's a ton of really good atmospheric stuff for the like, locations outside of battles, so I hope you get to hear more of it! Shinjuku 3rd block is a favourite of mine, might have to request it.
It's actually 42 battle tracks if you include marici! it's really impressive. With vengeance it's wild that Kozuka managed to explore so many different styles and remain consistent, and consitently great.
Shin Megami Tensei is Atlus' Main Series while Persona is a Sub Series, but Persona sells more, if i had to guess its because SMT is a really dark game Series and also infamously brutal gameplay wise, while Persona is way more accessible and while still dark it doesn't go AS heavy on it, but if i had to say something in common its that their games always tend to mirror our real life and you will most likely feel the connection to something similar that happened to you, or notice about. Also there's no reason not to start with playing Vengeance if you're interested, everyone seems to agree it was an amazing game, its an enhanced version of an original game, original game was my favourite game of all time, Vengeance was somehow miles better its absolutely incredible.
You know, it's funny hearing you talk about how SMT feels like the niche underdog that stands out to you because it's different, because growing up in the mid-late 2000s, that's exactly what the Persona series felt like to me. Having an RPG take place in a modern day setting instead of being fantasy was something you almost never saw and was really unique. Of course the irony is that Persona was a spin off of SMT, and Atlus would even put SMT in front of the title back in the day (ex. SMT: Persona 3) to market that Persona was part of their biggest series. Now Persona is so big they've dropped SMT from their title altogether, establishing it as it's own thing, while the main series it came from, while more popular then its ever been, continues to be quite niche by comparison.
Persona always was it's own subseries, that's true for all the so called spin-offs, besides maybe, Strange Journey, Nine and if... Still, it's impresive how big Persona 5 got, but honestly, the number SMT is doing are great, it's basically in the same spot Persona 4 Golden was before P5, even better I would say, if SMT VI has a more apealing story and refines it's system I can see it getting rpg of the year unless something like Baldurs Gate III drops, getting a bit more fame.
SMT5 Vengeance is easiest to jump into and probably has what you want, weird ass soundtrack and a lot of variety. Though I started with Nocturne which is also a good jumping in point, though its a PS2 game and a fair chunk more difficult, but the atmosphere is fantastic. Either way they're both odd games in the best possible way and really make you use your brain when it comes to turn based stuff👍👍
SMT games are kinda vauge in how you interprete the story. These games make me think alot about what I do in these games like "Am I doing the right thing?" As your actions feel genuine. add that with the weirdness to the music and it really is a confusing fun time. This game also makes me think my life decisions as I stare at my Game Over screen the x'th time
Smt is one of the oldest rpg series. It’s lesser known cause it’s less broad appeal. You’re summoning demons to kill god. You can assume why that’s a little more cult classic vibe 🤣 but it’s def the underdog after persona came as a spin off then over took smt lmao
I think it's time to unsubscribe and assume my 3 year old paid request is never happening. Good to see you're still asking for extra money from people to jump ahead in the queue.
I see the HZD request. I'm aware the wait is long, the regular progression is in January '22 while yours is from Feb '22. There's only one of me and 6k songs. The people who want to jump ahead is their own volition. Idk what else to say, but whether you stay or leave, it's gonna happen anyway.
I'll even add that it's the worst part of this gig. I've mentioned multiple times since I started I hate how long the wait is. Like yea, it's cool being in demand and whatnot, but at what cost? Anyway, if you don't hate me and acknowledged you read this, I'll see whatsup for Christmas.
@@JessesAuditorium No hate, man (though admittedly some frustration). I get that you have to pay your bills and that requires new requests incoming, but I'm sure you can see how it looks from the other side. People pay more to skip ahead of their volition, but are able to do so because the option is prevented. It is basically an opportunity for increased money by letting other viewers pay to make the experience even worse for people who have already been waiting for a long time. As long as the option exists for people to pay extra to further hold back old requests, it's going to be messy at the least. That said, now I feel like a big fat jerk, but just being honest. I don't know how you can realistically tackle this, but I do wish ya the best of luck figuring out how to balance things.
nah its all good. I think about this all the time. I live and do this all day since 2021. I commission stuff all the time and the thought of anything over a month seems ludicrous, I get it. See you on xmas.
My personal fave is SMT5 Vengeance, plus its on all modern consoles and PC. SMT4 is good too, but a 3DS exclusive game, same with SMT4 Apocolypse and many SMT spinoffs are DS or 3DS. SMT3 Nocturne was a PS2 release originally, buts on modern consoles too, but its much more cryptic and harder to get into IMHO. PS2 also had 2 good SMT Digital Devil Saga games too which were solid, but no modern release.
As somebody who started with SMT IV, then played SMT IV Apocalypse and V, i know i'm biased when i say this but i would highly recommend starting with SMT IV. I only played 5 for a few hours and stopped because of how boring it was, it felt like a desert walking simulator. Main protagonist had no outfit customizations, could not use guns like the previous. Very boring ambient music aside from the starting bosses, wich were extremely difficult, and the story progressing didn't feel nearly as impactful. Let's just say it left a really sour taste in my mouth after having played and loved the previous title, but you can start with wichever one you want. SMT is an amazing series.
SMT will often play with your musical expectations. One minute you’re hearing rock or funk the next you’re getting a song with TTS reciting scripture.
WAR BROKE OUT IN HEAVEN
"What if we made a game series about tribulation from the bible?"
"Yes."
The character in blue and white is the protagonist, and the other demonic women on the cover are characters added to the Vengeance version. The protagonist is fairly androgynous, but he is male.
Battle Marici is a very recent track that was added in a recent patch. They keep adding stuff to the game for free, which is kind of rare for Atlus, and much appreciated. SMTV (and Vengeance in particular) feels like a resurgence for the franchise's popularity. SMT is sort of the dark and edgy underdog of the JRPG world (though it has a long history and is pretty huge in its own right, it doesn't have the mass appeal of Persona like you said).
Alkalic Acid Rush is the boss theme... for... well... anyway...
SMT is allllll about mythology and transcendentalism. I think you'd really dig it. You can jump in on any, so SMTV Vengeance would be perfect.
Ah yes,nothing like going that particular path in Taito and seeing THAT in the distance
SMT 5 had around 19 battle themes with vengeance adding an additional 20 battle themes adding up to 39 battle themes. This duo kozuka and konishi went unnecessary hard
Additionally, I just want to say how well SMT V's soundtrack does of mixing more divine and spiritual sounds with more electronic sounds. The series started with a spinoff of a manga about summoning demons through a computer, and it is so cool to see that come to fruition with the soundtracks
One correction, SMT is a spin off of Megami Tensei which is based on a series of novels.
@@Skullkaiser smt is a reboot of the video game adaptation, not a spin-off. The development of the first game began as a SNES remake of Megami Tensei II and 'Shin' is often used for reboots or new interpretations of a franchise, as seen with Shin Godzilla for example
SMT5 is an excellent place to start. Alternative starts would be Nocturne or Digital Devil Saga.
If you do start with 5 I would recommend hard mode over normal, especially in SMT5: Vengeance where it's a lot better balanced.
also as the requester of 'Humans, Demons and...' I am anticipating your switchover if you do end up playing it :)
I'll be playing the demo this week :)
@JessesAuditorium hellllll yeah brother
Yes sir, SMT V Vengeance definitely adds a LOT more....let's say "PIZAZZ" that was missing from SMT V originals soundtrack, while I do enjoy the more straightforward and "subdued" approach to the tracklist, Vengeance is a lot more spicy~
I love Marici's battle theme. I recommend Battle Beezlebub, Battle - M's revelation! The soundtrack is so good!
Its perfectly fine to start wirh V Vengeance, its already ~20 usd during sales too
Btw, he's gonna try the game tomorrow in twitch for anyone that wants to see it!
When exactly?
It needs to be mentioned again, Digital Devil Saga is THE game soundtrack for you good sir. GOOD DAY.
it’s the game soundtrack for everyone
Literally peak meguro
SMT 5 was my first Shin Megami Tensei game, and the soundtrack was a significant reason I enjoyed every minute of it. A few years later, Atlus releases SMT 5 Vengeance, with a whole new scenario and features. On top of that, the soundtrack somehow went even harder than the original, and it motivated me enough to finish a new playthrough on the hardest difficulty.
Aw dang, no Beelzebub or Qadistu themes? Really hope those will come up at some point here. Easily two of the best tracks that came out of SMTV Vengeance.
SMT V music really goes hard into the whole " u are in a world full of demons and gods" idea and really has unique music, its one of those rare games where u never confuse the music with that from another game.
If u ever want to begin with a SMT game, SMT V Vengeance is a great way to get into it, just don't expect much from the story, its really about the gameplay and boss battles.
SMT 4 on the other had IS about story, though u'll need a emulator to play that one.
The thing with SMT is is that the last game was over a decade ago before SMT V released and it always has been something of a niche series becouse of its high difficulty and a strong focus on gameplay over story,while Persona(a spin off series from SMT) is more about story and has a relatable setting while SMT is all about godslaying and saving or destroying all of existance.
Its also one of those rare games thats not very fun to watch someone play, since it always makes u wanna backseat or just go play it yourself.
The blue character is male. The others pictured are female. There are other male characters in the game though.
As for the music, base game SMTV has a great OST, but man they really killed it with the Vengeance tracks.
One thing I will say about SMT: it is often considered one of the harder JRPG series out there, and even the relatively "newbie friendly" SMT V can still be brutal to people unfamiliar with the genre or mechanics. Not only does it require a lot of thinking, the SMT systems are known for combat that can flip on a dime, changing a fight that might normally be winnable into something that obliterates your party in a second. If you're willing to adapt and overcome, however, you will rarely find combat that is quite so satisfying when it *clicks.*
Def should check out the Battle - Beelzebub & Battle - M's revelation! tracks from this game as well. The entire soundtrack for both vanilla and Vengeance are killer though. Megaten games have some of the best battle tracks in gaming for 30+ years now and counting
SMT is the mother to the Persona series.
Personally I think part of the reason you see folks talk about Persona more than SMT is because dispite coming first SMT has a smaller fan base than it's spin off series. I think a large part of that is that SMT tends to be overall a lot harder and less character focused. Most folks I know who get into Persona do it because of the grene of music the modern titles focus on or they see a character they like or hear about from a fan.
SMT's music is great it's style, it's tone, it's whole package as a series is very uncompromising, even if it's got less market appeal. Very little of SMT 5 set out to outsell Persona 5 because they didnt want to compromise the feel of the series. I got a lot of respect for SMT even if I am not good enough to beat any of them lol
Is mother to Pokemon series.
The blue and white character at the very front is the main character, the Nahobino(basically human fused with a godly being or equivalent demon. Is a term you learn within the first 20-30 minutes of the game, once you get introduced properly to the demons and the like in the very first zone of the game). He's pretty strong as far as lore goes, among things, and that is fairly well reflected in gameplay by mid to late game, given the options you have). The other characters on the screen are members of the Qadištu('Qa' like car or cat, 'diš' like sheesh with a d at the front and 'tu' like two/to/too per game pronunciation iirc), a faction you only encounter in the game's Vengeance Route. The game has two main routes, Creation and Vengeance, which you choose at the start of the game and each has a few endings depending on your choices by the end of things, though the start of each is similar. The game is pretty beginner friendly compared to the base release of SMT V and has a lot of Quality of Life features in regard to combat and out of combat adjustments, some tweaks to existing music in addition to a great deal of new tracks including over 20 battle themes. It starts out somewhat rough, but if you read, pay attention or otherwise settle down on a focus for your build(you can choose what stats increase each time you level and you have good control of what skills you have at just about any given time and what skills you excel in among things via a system in game) you can break the game in half if that's what you want to do.
The Marici battle theme is actually rom a free update the game got not too long ago adding in a quest where you encounter her, among things. Alkalic Acid Rush is the boss theme of an optional enemy that is related to a sidequest, but can be fought without doing it, in the latter half of the game.
Edit: Oh right, the composers for SMT V: Vengeance are on the record saying they didn't particularly have a genre in mind for the music they added, which isn't a bad thing imo. The overall stuff added from Vengeance felt like they were just having fun more than going for a particular idea and it works very well.
"Alkalic Acid Rush".. well, when you find out who the song was made for, the first word definitely adds a lot of meaning. Very creative name.
I'm no SMT expert, but I'd say SMTV is a decent starting point for the gameplay. More focus on the RPG combat, less so on story (though it does have one).
There is a bit of a learning curve to the difficulty, as the series does have a reputation for making players "learn the hard way", but from my experience, figuring out how to tackle a combat scenario is what makes it fun.
Like I said a long while ago, SMT is the moodier, darker, edgier cousin of Persona, and thus has a more a niche audience, hence why it is less popular. It also (for the most part; there are exceptions) places less of an emphasis on story/characters and more on atmosphere, narrative themes, and aesthetic, which really bleeds into its art and music, as you heard here. It also has a reputation of being MUCH harder than Persona, though I would argue it isn't really that hard if you know what you're doing. In any case, yeah, SMT is great for those who like darker stuff and are really into mythology/religion. But Persona is amazing, as well. It just focuses on different things and has different vibes than SMT, and their stories tend to be very emotionally involved/character-driven and bring out a lot of "feels." Both series are definitely worth playing in their own right.
Now, both of these battle themes are, believe it or not, only played for one boss fight each. SMT 5, Vengeance in particular, has an interesting tendency to have tracks dedicated to singular moments, sometimes not even related to the main story. Marici is played for a free DLC boss fight with a Buddhist sun goddess, but Alkalic Acid Rush... hm, I'll just tell you now, it is played for a fight with a giant talking penis demon riding a golden chariot.
... Yep. You talked about how weird and experimental this series can get, and I can assure you it lives up to that weirdness and then some. Mostly because mythological creatures in general are pretty freakin' weird. But what I love about both of these tracks is how they embody that weirdness and otherworldliness of SMT just perfectly. They needed to sell unnerving and creepy to the SMT fanbase, and with Ryota Kozuka's gritty, bleak industrialism, the doctor definitely delivered.
yeah, its like streamlined Persona without all the life sim, school stuff, relationships. Persona games tend to have better character development, but to me SMT games have better pacing and are less tedious. Also the monster collecting is sort of like Pokemon, but better IMHO.
@@kevinnguyen4711 I just want to say, things are always easier in any endeavor if you know what you are doing lmfao
@@blastermaster7261 True, but in a few cases, knowing what you're doing can be only half the battle.
SMT is Persona's DAD not a cousin... C'mon...
If you want Cousin then look at Devil Summoner or Soul Hackers series.
But SMT is a parent series.
I mean c'mon it is like calling regular Megaman a cousin of Megaman.EXE
@@Ghostel3591 I know. I already explained to Jesse in earlier SMT reactions that Persona sprang from SMT. The point of the cousin analogy is not where they are in a family tree, but that from a casual outsider's perspective, when you put the two together, it conjures up the kooky mental image of SMT being the Goth/rebellious member of the family not as many people pay attention to. It was never meant to be a precise, serious comparison.
SMT V Vengeance is absolutely my Goty 2024, if only cuz it's the only RPG with like 40+ battle themes it's crazy lol most games got like 5-6 max.
I love how unconventional the Shin Megami Tensei soundtracks are.
Been waiting for you to cover the rerelease of this game cause it's my GOTY and the new songs added with it made it my favorite soundtrack in the series
The psycho mantis reference hits solid here. As a HUGE fan of this series you are 100% correct that the music is deliberately experimental. When it hits it HITS.
If you play SMT 4 or 5 I think it will be a fruitful experience for you just so you can see what Kozuka can really do. Like you said Meguro produces amazing music and hits with persona - but Kozuka's progressive style in the apocalyptic setting of SMT gives you experiences you haven’t had before. He just makes music that has you like “what the f*** was THAT?!” But in a great way
Never even played this series but I love this music !!!
definitely a nice call on that SMT Persona comparison, SMT despite being the originator has definitely become the underdog.
seeing an SMT V playthrough would be absolutely killer
What’s great about this series is how well they’ve done the “today on a normal day on planet earth- aaaaaand it looks like normalcy is gone.” SMT 1 roughly has a large open tutorial that eases you into the shenanigans, and I feel they’ve done it really nice for each game too.
Need that Qadistu battle theme reaction, that track in particular goes pretty hard, and one you hear a lot in game as you are capitulated to pleasure.
If you want to get into SMT you can’t really miss with 3, 4 and Vengeance. Of those three I’d say 4 is probably the most well rounded experience when considering gameplay, story/characters and the classic post-apocalyptic, demon infested setting. And 4’s Tokyo map theme is amazing!
Edit: Nice! I saw that you did a video on the Tokyo map theme already. :)
Should definitely check out battle for reclamation, primordial goddess, battle masakado and eon. There is definitely more but these have been stuck in my head everytime i encounter anything atlas related lmao especially marici which is 9 times out 10 is being blasted when I drive at night
SMT v vengeance it's probably a top 5 contender of my favorite ost ever, can't wait until you hear more, there's so much amazing music still to discover and I'm certain vengeance in specific almost every track you are gonna like
I am playing SMT V Vengance right now and there are so many bangers in the soundtrack! Highly recommended, Jesse!
To answer your questions, in SMT V, you are a high school student but itnis only to establish story relationships. The main character in blue on the cover is a young man. Yes, it is turn-based.
SMT V and Nocturne are probably the best starting points for the series if you know nothing about it and don't want to start with persona.
I'm also partial to Soul Hackers and Strange Journey myself, but those aren't great entry points.
Kozuka is genuinely one of the best composers out there, and even within SMT, Kozuka's work is the top of the top, even compared to the big ones like Meguro (who i also love)
I recommend listening to "The Adversary" and "M's Revelation!" from smt v as well!
SMT has such a shitposty meme soundtrack but I find that hilarious. I like that they fully embrace their identity, just being unapologetically goofy as hell with their tracks.
Alkalic acid rush was the first track I heard when the soundtrack dropped before the game came out
So damn good. Kozuka in general is just the goat
Vengeance was the best OST this year and only Rebirth comes close (VERY close). The children yearn for Vengeance for Reclamation, Beelzebub, and Da'at - Shinjuku Gyoen
Alkalic acid rush always reminded me of a sound track that would fit in a streets of rage or even any beat em up beat that side scrolls back in the day. But that’s just me.
SMTVV is a great starting point, but I think specifically for you, Digital Devil Saga would capture you the most for its music. Let's just say Meguro went hard on it
If you want to play a SMT, but don't know where to start, SMT V: Vengeance is really a great place to start. Lower barrier to entry than previous entries, great story, tons of content, and very satisfying. Other SMTs can be kind of unforgiving if you're not used to it yet.
The thing about SMT or Megaten in general is that the franchise never hit the WEST until the third main game and even that is like a Hidden gem under a lot of other PS2 games.
You can say that Megaten is a Lost midia in the west that gained a lil more view recently.
It needs to be said, ryota kozuka is an absolute madman when it comes to the smt soundtracks, I mean, I counted the number of battle themes in Vengence and I think it's 36? What other game has 36 unique battle themes for various battles? And the entire ost is about 200 tracks, so, 1/5 of it is devoted to fights. But there's a ton of really good atmospheric stuff for the like, locations outside of battles, so I hope you get to hear more of it! Shinjuku 3rd block is a favourite of mine, might have to request it.
It's actually 42 battle tracks if you include marici! it's really impressive.
With vengeance it's wild that Kozuka managed to explore so many different styles and remain consistent, and consitently great.
@@jeanmarcmichel5719 Damn, I must've miscounted then huh. There's so many it's actually hard to keep track of lmao
:D new atlus music reaction!!! my night has been brightened and my atlus obsession heightened!
Dude you’ll love SMT it’s so metal. I would start with either 4 or Nocturne. 4 is one of the best games I’ve ever played with a crazy deep story
I would love to see you playing at least the first two or three hours of Shin Megami Tensei V. It's a fantastic game.
I'd love to see what you think of calmer but still weird music from this game like Da'at Tennozu, hopefully that comes up some day
Shin Megami Tensei is Atlus' Main Series while Persona is a Sub Series, but Persona sells more, if i had to guess its because SMT is a really dark game Series and also infamously brutal gameplay wise, while Persona is way more accessible and while still dark it doesn't go AS heavy on it, but if i had to say something in common its that their games always tend to mirror our real life and you will most likely feel the connection to something similar that happened to you, or notice about.
Also there's no reason not to start with playing Vengeance if you're interested, everyone seems to agree it was an amazing game, its an enhanced version of an original game, original game was my favourite game of all time, Vengeance was somehow miles better its absolutely incredible.
FOR SURE digital Devil Saga or SMTV both are good starting points and have more of a story/character focus.
Digital Devil Saga games, wish they got modern remasters, they are still stuck on PS2.
I would honestly say SMTIV is more character focused , but since its stuck on the 3ds , yeah , V is the best
You know, it's funny hearing you talk about how SMT feels like the niche underdog that stands out to you because it's different, because growing up in the mid-late 2000s, that's exactly what the Persona series felt like to me. Having an RPG take place in a modern day setting instead of being fantasy was something you almost never saw and was really unique. Of course the irony is that Persona was a spin off of SMT, and Atlus would even put SMT in front of the title back in the day (ex. SMT: Persona 3) to market that Persona was part of their biggest series. Now Persona is so big they've dropped SMT from their title altogether, establishing it as it's own thing, while the main series it came from, while more popular then its ever been, continues to be quite niche by comparison.
Persona always was it's own subseries, that's true for all the so called spin-offs, besides maybe, Strange Journey, Nine and if...
Still, it's impresive how big Persona 5 got, but honestly, the number SMT is doing are great, it's basically in the same spot Persona 4 Golden was before P5, even better I would say, if SMT VI has a more apealing story and refines it's system I can see it getting rpg of the year unless something like Baldurs Gate III drops, getting a bit more fame.
There's a free SMT V Vengeance demo if you're curious !!
I really love that game hehe
haha woops how did that get in my download queue
@@JessesAuditorium 👀👀👀
You should definitely play SMT V: Vengeance. (The new route)
SMT5 Vengeance is easiest to jump into and probably has what you want, weird ass soundtrack and a lot of variety. Though I started with Nocturne which is also a good jumping in point, though its a PS2 game and a fair chunk more difficult, but the atmosphere is fantastic. Either way they're both odd games in the best possible way and really make you use your brain when it comes to turn based stuff👍👍
willy music 😁👍
SMT games are kinda vauge in how you interprete the story.
These games make me think alot about what I do in these games like "Am I doing the right thing?" As your actions feel genuine. add that with the weirdness to the music and it really is a confusing fun time.
This game also makes me think my life decisions as I stare at my Game Over screen the x'th time
SMTV Vengeance is so cool
Smt is one of the oldest rpg series. It’s lesser known cause it’s less broad appeal. You’re summoning demons to kill god. You can assume why that’s a little more cult classic vibe 🤣 but it’s def the underdog after persona came as a spin off then over took smt lmao
cant wait to see if you play an atlus game man. (Vod enjoyer)
If you were going to play an SMT game I would start with SMT 3 Nocturne or SMT 5
game and music is fking match XD you can try SMTV:V u will love it
I think it's time to unsubscribe and assume my 3 year old paid request is never happening. Good to see you're still asking for extra money from people to jump ahead in the queue.
I see the HZD request. I'm aware the wait is long, the regular progression is in January '22 while yours is from Feb '22. There's only one of me and 6k songs. The people who want to jump ahead is their own volition. Idk what else to say, but whether you stay or leave, it's gonna happen anyway.
I'll even add that it's the worst part of this gig. I've mentioned multiple times since I started I hate how long the wait is.
Like yea, it's cool being in demand and whatnot, but at what cost? Anyway, if you don't hate me and acknowledged you read this, I'll see whatsup for Christmas.
@@JessesAuditorium No hate, man (though admittedly some frustration). I get that you have to pay your bills and that requires new requests incoming, but I'm sure you can see how it looks from the other side. People pay more to skip ahead of their volition, but are able to do so because the option is prevented. It is basically an opportunity for increased money by letting other viewers pay to make the experience even worse for people who have already been waiting for a long time.
As long as the option exists for people to pay extra to further hold back old requests, it's going to be messy at the least. That said, now I feel like a big fat jerk, but just being honest. I don't know how you can realistically tackle this, but I do wish ya the best of luck figuring out how to balance things.
nah its all good. I think about this all the time. I live and do this all day since 2021. I commission stuff all the time and the thought of anything over a month seems ludicrous, I get it.
See you on xmas.
My personal fave is SMT5 Vengeance, plus its on all modern consoles and PC. SMT4 is good too, but a 3DS exclusive game, same with SMT4 Apocolypse and many SMT spinoffs are DS or 3DS. SMT3 Nocturne was a PS2 release originally, buts on modern consoles too, but its much more cryptic and harder to get into IMHO. PS2 also had 2 good SMT Digital Devil Saga games too which were solid, but no modern release.
If you want to play smt, just be aware that all of the games have some level of really stupid bs, lol. The games are not forgiving of mistakes
As somebody who started with SMT IV, then played SMT IV Apocalypse and V, i know i'm biased when i say this but i would highly recommend starting with SMT IV. I only played 5 for a few hours and stopped because of how boring it was, it felt like a desert walking simulator. Main protagonist had no outfit customizations, could not use guns like the previous. Very boring ambient music aside from the starting bosses, wich were extremely difficult, and the story progressing didn't feel nearly as impactful. Let's just say it left a really sour taste in my mouth after having played and loved the previous title, but you can start with wichever one you want. SMT is an amazing series.