Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster brings a classic to a new generation – Hands-on preview impressions
Information technology's been nearly 20 years since Atlus Japan released the third master entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series, Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne, for PlayStation two in 2003. The flagship JRPG franchise follows each game'due south protagonist as they navigate an apocalyptic Tokyo, teaming up with the demons that infest the ruined world and try to bring about law, chaos, or something in between. Other than the diverse demon recruiting and fusion mechanics, the series is best known for its alignment system, which changes the ending depending on your actions and dialogue choices throughout the game.
Dissimilar previous titles, Atlus sought to change up the SMT formula with Nocturne by featuring a more than contemporary setting, a half-demon protagonist, dungeon crawling in 3rd-person view, and cell-shaded graphics. The initial version was so popular in Nihon that Atlus released several new versions featuring more than content and guest characters. In 2004, it went on to be the first SMT game released in the West, introducing a new moving ridge of JRPG fans to this unique franchise.
Now Atlus is hoping to recapture that magic and bring in a brand new audition to the cadre franchise with Shin Megami Tensei Iii Nocturne HD Remaster. This make new remastered version is coming to PlayStation four, Nintendo Switch, and PC with two versions: the Standard edition for both physical and digital, and the Digital Deluxe Edition, which comes with all DLC.
I was able to get my easily on the game in an early on preview, capping off in one case the protagonist arrives at the underground shopping center in Shibuya. And judging from what I've played so far, Nocturne HD Remaster is the best mode to experience this classic championship.
Visuals
The visuals — both character models and environments — have been upgraded to a much crisper loftier definition. This goes an incredibly long way to making the game more accessible to newcomers who are used to the Hard disk drive look from Persona five and Purple, and information technology's a much-needed comeback to the original'south muddy graphics.
Other than the apparent upgrades, the cell-shaded art manner and stark, nearly simplistic lighting hold upward well, despite Nocturne'southward historic period. The battle animations are yet charming, fluid, and surprisingly well suited to the personalities and abilities of each demon.
Nocturne's overworld map is easy to navigate, with each of Tokyo's explorable prefectures recreated with impressive accuracy and detail. The contrast between pre- and mail-Formulation Tokyo is staggering, with the former a lively and crowded metropolitan jungle while the latter is filled with bleak and empty desert, occasionally broken up by tiny pieces of city scraps.
Story Thus Far
You play as the protagonist who witnesses the destruction of Tokyo in an event called the Conception. Afterwards, a strange young boy infuses him with a Magatama, which turns him into the one-half-demon known as Demi-fiend. From there, he explores the newly fabricated spherical version of Tokyo, known as the Vortex Earth, along with his ally Hijiri.
Nocturne is a profound story of intrigue and tragedy as you witness those who struggle to make their mark on a ruined world. The minimalist storytelling pairs with the dark colour palette, which perfectly represents how oppressive and bleak the Vortex World is. It's full of complex characters and well-laid twists, coupled with the weight of your choices throughout the game that ultimately make up one's mind the fate of everyone involved.
Gameplay
Nocturne was the title that first introduced the now-iconic Press Plow system. You have a set number of turns based on how many demons are in your political party, and with each critical hit or attack that exploits a weakness, you gain an boosted half turn. If you lot miss an attack or target an enemy's forcefulness instead, you lose turns. It's a unproblematic premise, only it offers unmatched strategic depth equally you piece of work to maximize your turns while minimizing your foes.
The mainstays of the franchise, demon negotiations and demon fusion, make their return here. Demon negotiations are battle commands that allow Demi-fiend (or maybe a party member) to negotiate with a demon in battle for money, items, or to join your side. Not but is the practice itself vital to gaining new allies, but it's a deep mechanic that takes serious effort to master. Demon personalities autumn under several archetypes, too as possessing individual characteristics that must be taken into account when choosing dialogue options and answering their questions. In that location's still an element of surprise in the process, even afterwards mastery, since some demons may bail on you regardless, while others may join y'all with no effort.
Meanwhile, the Cathedral of Shadows is the home of demon fusion, in which you lot combine two or more demons to create an entirely new 1. Fusions are a smorgasbord of complex rules that are both broad in arroyo however precise and consequent in each outcome. Mastering each dominion isn't necessary to beat the game but volition reward you with more powerful demons than normally possible. For instance, using an Elemental demon increases the rank of the result within that demonic race, while using a Mitama demon in a fusion significantly boosts the resulting demon'due south stats.
There's also the Magatama system, which are parasites that grant the protagonist demonic power and teach him a diversity of skills. Combined with the power to classify stat points as you level up, you can completely customize Demi-fiend'southward build to what best suits your playstyle. The Magatama organisation is decently balanced, with both physical and magic-based builds existence equally viable. However, the principal caveat is that Demi-fiend can only possess viii skills at a fourth dimension, and in one case yous forget a skill, it's gone forever. Creating a build with the proper synergy between stat growth and a complementary skillset requires quite a chip of foresight and planning, which many newcomers may non realize until it's too belatedly. And considering the difficulty of Nocturne in the first identify, messing up on the protagonist'due south build could render a game nearly unplayable.
New Features
The Merciful difficulty tier makes its debut through the DLC, which is Nocturne Hard disk drive Remaster's easy mode meant for those who just prefer enjoying the story. The ability to suspend save is besides new, making dungeon runs much more forgiving since players won't be stuck relying on the sparsely distributed terminals. Despite 1 of the game'southward selling points existence its infamously brutal gameplay, these ii features will practice wonders in making Nocturne more than accessible to the new playerbase migrating from the more forgiving Persona series.
The title now features English and Japanese voice work for the get-go time, and both are exceptional, perfectly complementing the reworked localization and animate new life into already compelling characters. As someone who played through the original version, the voice work fits surprisingly well.
There are three other DLC packs that players tin purchase: the Maniax pack that replaces the default guest graphic symbol Raidou with Dante, the Mercy and Expectation map packs, and the Shin Megami Tensei BGM packs that replaces sure battle and background themes with the corresponding music from SMT I through Four/Iv: Apocalypse. They're optional but offering some customization options for those who are willing to spend the money.
Final Thoughts
Other than quality-of-life changes such as suspend saves, a reworked localization script, and English language and Japanese voice work, Shin Megami Tensei Iii Nocturne Hard disk Remaster holds upwardly substantially well through the strength of both its story and gameplay. It's a well-paced and engaging JRPG with a nighttime and intense atmosphere that'southward enhanced by the minimalistic storytelling and morally complex cast. And thank you to the patches carried over from the Japanese version that take been implemented for its Western release, the port is much smoother and more than functional. That said, we still noticed the rare example of slowdown during gameplay, made fifty-fifty more noticeable since the game normally runs at 30 FPS.
Veterans of the franchise will notice just enough new features and content, both paid and free, to make this Remaster worth the buy (other than the main selling point of console accessibility). New fans, meanwhile, volition be treated to a wholly unique experience compared to both the Persona serial and even within the mainline franchise, which is certain to satisfy.
Shin Megami Tensei 3 Nocturne Hard disk drive Remaster hopes to attract a new generation of fans by bringing the title to electric current-gen platforms, and from what nosotros've played then far, it does the chore swimmingly.
Source: https://www.gamepur.com/features/shin-megami-tensei-iii-nocturne-hd-remaster-brings-a-classic-to-a-new-generation-hands-on-preview-impressions
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