This series's MMO isn't all that special, but fans should be able to love it more than anyone else.
- Successfully captures the feel of the SMT world
- Numerous customizations, demons and places
- Excellent graphical and sound quality
Negative
- Might have painful lag when demons and other players are around
- Some pacing and camera issues
- A little unbalanced difficulty with a ton of level grinding
Imagine Online successfully captures the feel of this series. Although I'm not an MMORPG fan and have only played 2 before this, Imagine is far from the best. There is a lot for fans to enjoy here, but outsiders might not find it appealing enough. Despite that it's a fan MMO with a few drawbacks which are not found in the other SMT games.
Very similar plot and setting to the other SMT games, the game is set in a world filled with demons after a great disaster. There are many survivors this time around. The world isn't exaggerated big but there are many places and dungeons to explore and you can get lost easily. Of course like every single MMO (I suppose) you get to create your own character; male or female and other stuff. It may take some time since there is a lot to choose from. After that you start with basic training, and throughout the game you can take ACT missions to move forward in the story but there are a ton of side quests to do. The story focuses on you being a new demon buster trainee and you get involved in some accident and that's where the story starts.
After the initial training, you get your own demon, Cerberus. It sure did fall some levels but anyway every beginner in the game has only the "wounded Cerberus" so you'll see a lot of players with the same demon. There are many, many demons you are sure to recognize if you played other SMT games like Pixie, Slime, Angel and a lot more. At Home III a lot of shops can be found. Thankfully you can change your character's appearance if you grow tired of it. Different weapons and armors give color to your character. It has to be a big coincidence to meet a player looking exactly like you. The Cathedral of Shadows makes an appearance here and allows you to fuse demons. Works very much like the one in SMT III: Nocturne (I first saw it here) and you can fuse 2 or 3 demons to create a strong one. Obviously you have to be at the same level or higher of that of the demon to create him. You are forced to level up alot in order to proceed. There aren't any particular interesting quest to follow so you are force to level up on your own, and this news is enough to scare people away.
The gameplay isn't the start this time around. Some pacing issues and camera problems diminish the fun but you might handle this situation differently. Moving and zooming the camera with the mouse can cause problems in combat. Frequent lag when not in a dungeon is quite a pain in the neck when demons and players are around but mostly demons. Rarely you will find a demon alone and most of the time they are in a group. Some demons attack you even if you don't do anything to them, simply pass by. Others don't unless you attack them. Demons almost never help their demon friends so there is no issue of being outnumbered. When you defeat a demon 90% of the time they have items. Left-click on the item that appears near the name of the defeated enemy and you get your items. Some strange objects like treasure chests can be found as well. By pressing on the "plasma" you won't get the treasure immediately. But they are easy to get.
There are several skills to acquire in this game. Basic magic skills such as Agi, Bufu and Dia are still here. You can transfer them by dragging them into the number slot at the bottom left hand of the screen. By using this method you avoid opening the menu and stuff. The numbers that have to be used are the numbers on the letters of the keyboard. Combat is exactly what I've seen in MMORPGs. Similar to an RTS game with you attacking and after the enemy but there are no turns. You can avoid attacks by moving backwards and not take damage (unlike WOW). The buttons don't always respond and it's worse with your demons. The F keys on top are for your demons. By pressing F1 your demon is supposed to attack but it doesn't always do this.
Like Nocturne and Devil Summoner you can recruit demons to join you. It more trouble than worth if you ask me. When talking to demons they generally take and ask you to play a game. After some time they may join you or simply refuse. It's annoying to follow them around thanks to the camera. The fairly unbalanced difficulty makes matter worse since you normally won't know the level of the demon you are facing. When not strong enough they refuse immediately. Strong enemies may kill you but that's not a game over. You can choose whether you want to be resurrected at the same spot you died with little HP or at the last terminal. Also when you die you will earn less experience than before.
The game is free to download from Aeria Games. You need an account and 3 hours of just download + almost half an hour of installment. The game's laggy problems can be infuriating like I said before when outside, but I'm not sure if it's because of my lack of power in my pc. I have an NVIDIA GeForce 5200 if I'm correct and it's old and the game hasn't been released a long time ago. So some may not experience lag or maybe less than me. It's easy to notice the lag since you move at a slow rate and the frame rate would be a big choppy. Movement becomes a drag because of this.
The demon-filled world looks beautiful. Graphics are very similar to most Shin Megami Tensei games. The environments are great looking, the character models are superb and thanks to the almost endless customizations you sure don't lack variety. Sound holds up well. There is no voice acting (not surprising really) but the music fits perfectly. Sounds made by demons are always great.
No particular movements to talk about in cutscenes. When talking with guards or people which aren't players, a dialogue appear on their heads and they tell you things. They don't even move their mouths so obviously no voices here. You can find players with different demons than yours. There are a lot of them and all of them are found in other SMT games.
If you are able to make this game work smoothly on your pc and you are a fan of the series, this MMO is right for you. It's free to download, a beautiful world to explore and a ton of customizations, items and demons make this game worth it. Not short of problems, Imagine should be left out by those not interested in the series. Lag, some camera issues and the unbalanced difficulty are enough to overshadow an otherwise great attempt to put one of the RPG series ever made.
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Graphics = 8.4
Everything looks like one would expect from an SMT game, even if the creators are not ATLUS.
Sound = 7.9
No voice acting isn't a real bummer especially if the soundtrack is good.
Presentation = 7.2
Lag problems might render the game irritating. Camera can turn out a big pain for some people and the cutscenes could have been slightly better.
Gameplay = 7.3
ENDLESS customizations, countless demons to collect and places to visit. Although the real-time gameplay may not completely satisfy thanks to some non-responding controls, but overall fun. Fans should appreciate this game more than new comers.
Story = 7.0
Interesting setting with a merely good story. I still have to say something on parties and other stuff. Numerous side quests to take though.
OVERALL = 72 / 100
It's the first time I've written a review on an MMO and took almost an hour. There is a lot to say. Imagine is far from perfect, if you have lag problems the game can become quite annoying. But overall, this series first online game doesn't hit the spot completely. There's still room for improvement but there's enough to satisfy fans.