*crunch* *munch* 'Skull-tacular' *crunch* 'A BATTLE AMONG GODS''epic, dark romp'
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, the 3rd game in the overall shin megami tensei series, and first game both on PS2, and first game of the proper shin megami tensei series to make it to north america.
ask yourself; 'am i an RPG fan?' 'am i hardcore enough' a bit before proceeding, it seems those two are a requisite.
the world of nocturne exists after the end of our world and before the beginning of the next. it's all about varying factions of demons vying for enough power to create the very next world. recruit, collect, level up, and fuse over 180 demons before the final battle to see who's the strongest in this world, this vortex world.
Graphics: spell effects are pretty awesomely epic, especially towards the endgame. you won't find an attack like freikugel in a final fantasy game. every demon is very detailed, and has a great deal of personality in regards to animation in combat. the art style is somewhat minimalistic, somewhat reminiscent of TRON in parts, very unique, very cool throughout. it's all cell shaded, to great effect. there's a great deal of variety among the demons, and in the environments, plus the main character gets a whole lot of unique attacks as well.
Sound: music is perfect, ambient, never obtrusive, fitting to the content of the game. demon shouts, rock guitars, and also soothing, spacey kinds of tracks. good work here.
Gameplay: nocturne shines in this department. think pokemon with demons, 8 skill slots, a hell of a lot of awesome skills to play around with, and 180 different awesome demons to put said skills on. the fusion system is deep, and rewards forethought, and patience (especially when selecting or 'rolling' a demon). the skills inherited by the fused demon change every time one reselects the two demons to be fused. abusing this system by reselecting over and over and over allows greater precision in what abilities you want on your demons. long story short, you can make just about any demon have just about any different skillset, with enough work at it. it's one of the deepest RPG's around.
not to mention the battle system is highly strategic and will force you to think during every battle something a lot of other RPG's lack. it basically amounts to, do good, hit weaknesses, get criticals, get more turns in battle. and vice-versa.
Story: again, nocturne shines in this department. the narrative is spartan, i.e. cutscenes are few and far between at times. yet pretty much every one is very, very worth it. different demons rise to power in this vortex world, many of them coming directly from various classical mythologies. if you consider yourself a fan of such mythologies, religious/occult themes, you'll definutely love this one for that reason. i will say after the game is over, it ends up being very mythological feeling, a tale of 'who ate the stars' something to that effect. in short, you'll feel very powerful by the end of the game.
Overall: it might not be for everyone, but i advise those into things such as kingdom hearts or final fantasy, i.e. stylish, artistic epic RPG games to look into shin megami tensei: nocturne. while the narrative is sparsely told, the storyline is 100% unique in a cookie cutter genre. the gameplay is very, very addicting, and rewards intelligent play. not for those without patience, the game is a grind, but worth it every bit for those looking for something different, while still satisfying many of the criteria for a japanese RPG.
PRO:
-great art style, dark atmosphere throughout
-unique, cool story, lot of cool moments
-the demons are awesome. thor, shiva, odin, vishnu? sign me up! some of them are 'funny' or 'cute', as well!
-some satisfyingly good music to hear for hours on end
-the game is great at grinding, after a certain point, you'll never run out of mana, or you can make mana yourself with the right setup
-great battle system for RPG veterans
-fusion system highly addicting, carries through entire game. few games have such a single compelling feature. this reviewer certain did obsess over 'perfecting' certain demon skillsets. be warned.
-rewards multiple playthroughs, as at the end of the game, you can carry over your demons to a new game+, saving all your hard work for the next cycle!
CON:
-the game is a grind
-the world feels lonely, which is part of a design choice i know, it just feels a bit *too* lonely at times. then again you do have your demons to keep you company, even though they don't say much. they tend to kill things.
-definutely not for everyone, if you hate 'grinding' in an RPG game, you'll most likely become impatient with this one.
playtime: 220+ hours
potential endings: 6
100% demonic compendium
ending; 'true', 'demon'
SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI III: NOCTURNE MANIAX (USA)
9/10 'a dark romp that will satisfy a veteran RPG lover's quench for hours and hours of epic battles among gods, angels, and demons'
subtract 1-2 points if you're not sure about RPG's, or level grinding
add one point if you like RPG's