Shin Megami Tensei If... - Super Famicom/Playstation
Super Famicom Cover
Shin Megami Tensei If... SFC
Shin Megami Tensei If... SFC
Shin Megami Tensei If... is a sidestory to the other Super Famicom games, rather than a direct sequel. Harkening
back before the nuclear apocalypse of the original game. SMT If... takes place in Karukozaka High School, which is mysteriously warped
off into the realm of Makai (the demon world.) If the strange void outside of the school weren't enough, you see
visions of a student named Hazama - a rather shady fellow who disappeared recently, but now claims to be
the ruler of Makai. After equipping yourself with shoulder pads and other sportsgear from the gym locker, it's up to you to venture through the world of the demons, investigate Hazama's role in this, save yourself, and maybe save your educational institution. While you spent some time in Makai briefly in the original Shin Megami Tensei, SMT If... lets you
explore more into the world of demons - there are five worlds, based on the seven deadly sins (yes, some
of them are missing.)
Shin Megami Tensei If... is the only game in the series that doesn't assume that you're a guy - you can
actually choose your gender, in fact. Your opening stats are determined by a creepy fortune telling machine, who
asks you questions similar to Ogre Battle, although of a much simpler nature (do you like video games, do you do
your homework, etc.) The game's heroine appears in the Persona games with the name Tamiki.
Almost the entire soundtrack (and some of the graphics) are lifted and remixed from the first two games, making this feel like
more of an expansion pack than a true sequel. The janitor is actually the same graphic as the gladiator from SMT 2 - even his
theme music is the same. Whether this was an intentional joke or just laziness is beyond me. However, there are plenty of gameplay differences to distinguish itself. No longer is your ending path chosen by your alignment - instead, at the beginning of the game, you can choose to ally yourself
with one of four fellow students. Whoever you pick will somewhat alter the course you take through the game, with
each path exploring the plotline of your chosen partner, taking you through different dungeons and ultimately deciding the ending. So while SMT If... is quite a bit shorter than the other games, there is at least a heavy replayability factor.
(From left to right): Charlie, Yumi, Tamiki (heroine), Reiko, Akira
The other major addition is the Guardian System. In Shin Megami Tensei 2, when you died, you were escorted across
the river by Charon, then booted back to the title screen so you can reload your last saved game. Not so here. When either one of your human characters is killed, they are granted a Guardian Spirit, then whisked back to the last
fountain of life. This Guardian can alter the statistics when you gain a level - if they have a high power rating
than you do, you'll gain a little bit of extra strength. It works in the opposite direction too - if they have a lower
magic ranking, you'll lose magic strength. They'll also alter the magic skills of your human partner. It's an interesting
system, although it's a little weird to have to kill yourself under certain conditions so you can get a different
Guardian.
The If... in the title refers to the constant "what if" statements used in the games intro and ending narratives. It also may be inspired by the
British 1968 cult film If..., about a boarding school with many dark secrets. The font used for the movie title is
identical to the one used on the SMT If... cover.
The high school setting and the concept of monsters guarding your characters is undoubtedly the inspiration behind
the Persona series. As much fun as it is to fight demon professors, SMT If... lacks the driving plot or philosophical/religious quandaries of the other two games, it's still pretty good.
Just like SMT 1 and 2, If... was granted a remake for the PSOne, including the usual enhancements and two difficulty levels. A special edition was released with a large box and a DVD with interviews about Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne. Apparently there was also a special chapter of the game released for cellphones starring Hazama.
One of the recurring bad guys in SMT If... is your science teacher, Ohtsuki-sensei. He's one of the first bosses you fight, but as you fight him later in the game, he starts adding mechanical parts to his body until he's nothing but a giant mech with a human head. It's an interesting display of Megaten's bizarre sense of humor.
Some other cool bosses from the SFC Shin Megami Tensei games (from this site):
The first 32-bit Shin Megami Tensei game, Devil
Summoner, made its way to the Saturn in 1995. Moving
away from the apocalyptic themes of the original
series, the setting is modern day suburban Japan,
although demons have started to roam free. As the game
begins, you’re on a date with your girlfriend, and
while heading back to her apartment building to grab
some concert tickets she forgot, you’re attacked by
demons. No worries - you’re saved by a suave demon
hunter named Kenji. Unfortunately, shortly after his
heroic rescue, Kenji is killed under mysterious
circumstances. Things aren’t going too well for you
either - you’re kidnapped and subsequently murdered by
a crazy lunatic named Sid. Things in the afterlife
don’t go quite as planned, and your soul ends up in
the reanimated body of Kyouji. After crawling out of
the morgue, you team up with your partner Rei and try
to solve the mysteries of the demon infiltration, as
well as attempting to get everyone's soul back in the
right place.
Kyouji
The devil hunter who saves your ass, and later gets a little pissed off that you've inhabited his body. His ingame
artwork lacks the silly pompadour seen in the cover artwork.
Rei
What good would devil hunters be without a sexy partner? No good, that's what. Rei is here to fill that void.
Sid
The star in his head looks goofy, but he first traps you inside of a warehouse, forcing you to run around like
scared mouse. After toying for a few moments, he grants relief by sadistically murdering you. In other words, this
is a very bad man.
The 3D dungeons are now full screen and now possess a lot
more detail, making them look much better than any of
the previous games. This being the Saturn, however,
the movement is pretty choppy and the draw distance is
pretty low. The maps are now polygonal, and not
particularly impressive looking. The battles have
changed a little bit, as you now have a front row and
back row, with only the characters in the front able
to directly attack. The general flow of the battles
are slower than the previous games, especially the
plodding pace of the auto-battle. The enemy graphics
are lacking, as they tend to look like barely
animated, blurry masses of pixels. and the backgrounds
are weird psychedelic clouds of color. The battle
transitions are rather cool, as the floors and walls
fly off into the distance before you face your
opponents.
The conversation system has been changed slightly, as
the monsters now will ask specific questions. More
questionable is the introduction of the demon loyalty
system. You need to keep your demons happy, otherwise
you won’t be able to directly control their attacks.
In the worse cases, they’ll ignore your commands
altogether or even leave your party. It's an attempt
to give depth to the game that adds more aggravation
than fun. The multiple pathways and endings are also
gone, as your alignment only determines what monsters
can join your party. The dungeons can also grow to be incredibly difficult. It's a decent enough game, in
spite the loyalty system and slow pace, although it
feels very unpolished overall.
A few months after release, Atlus released "Devil
Summoner: Akuma Zensho" or "Devil Dictionary", a fan
disc that includes data and extra artwork about all of
the monsters included in the game. Some of it is
interesting, as it details the mythological origins
behind all of the creatures, although more character
artwork would have been nice, since it's pretty
useless unless you can read Japanese. Devil Summoner
was popular enough to warrant a reissue under the
Saturn's "Sega Collection" label. A "Devil Summoner
Special Box" was also released that included the game,
the Akuma Zensho, a thick instruction manual that gave
extra bits about the game's characters, and an 8 cm
audio CDs that have a few arranged music tracks and
commentary from the developers.
Devil Summoner was also ported to the PSP, with reduced difficulty and
other minor conveniences. According to sources, Atlus was interesting
in translating the title, but was blocked by Sony America for not having
enough new content added. Hooray Sony!
Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers - Sega Saturn/Sony Playstation (1997)
Japanese Saturn Cover
Soul Hackers
Soul Hackers
The sequel to Devil Summoner gives practically every
aspect the ol’ spit shine and ends up with a
drastically improved game. While it uses the same
engine, the draw distance is quite a bit better. The
overworld map has been replaced with 2D CG rendered
backdrops. Kazuma Kaneko's artwork finally hit its
apex here, as the character artwork is far superior to
all of the games prior. There's a lot of CG cutscenes, which is why the game
is two CDs, although none of them are very impressive. The
battle system is still ugly and slow, although the
loyalty system has been fixed to make it less
irritating than before. The dungeons are less painful too, although the more hardcore fans my balk at their relatively
straightforward design, at least compared to the previous games. There are several bits of software you can install into
your computer that help you out, including a useful onscreen map or the ability to save anywhere. Some of the music is good,
despite some weird instrumentation, although a vast
majority of the tracks are atmospheric.
And this is saying nothing of the plot. Taking place
in the near future, you hack your way into a virtual
reality world called Paradigm X. While it seems like
your normal MMORPG, things get a bid wonky when you
get creepy messages from an unknown source, threatening to steal your
soul. Before you’re sucked dry, you’re saved by a
fellow named Redman, who takes the form of various
animals. For some reason, you have the souls of
several other people trapped inside them. As you
progress through the game, you’re sent on several
Native American-like vision quests, where you live the
final moments of these trapped souls, most of whom
were demon hunters before they were killed. Using the
information you learn in taking on the roles of these
people, you investigate the mysteries in the real
world, and learn more about shady Algon Software
Corporation, who created Paradigm X. It's sorta like that episode of the
Simpsons where Homer eats the really spicy chili,
except with the usual SMT theme of demonic
programmers.
Even though the number of player characters is limited (as usual), there are plenty of personalities
abound in Soul Hackers:
Hitomi
The main character's best friend, Hitomi is a shy girl who is technically skilled but somewhat
unsure of herself. She accompanies you until she is possessed by a demon known as Nemissa.
Nemissa
Nemissa isn't so much evil as mischievous. She's everything Hitomi isn't - brash, confident and sexy. She also has a taste in black leather. Nemissa does not have full control over the body, as Hitomi struggles to keep control. Their combination makes for one heckuva woman.
Spooky
The leader of the Spookies, he's one of the most mature members
Lunch
Tis a silly name, but Lunch is another member of the Spookies, and will often communicate via walkie-talkie.
Six
Much like Lunch, Six runs backup and little else.
Yuichi
The junior member of the Spookies.
Urabe
The first character you play as in your Vision Quest adventures, he's a hardened detective.
Suda
The second Vision Quest character.
Naomi
The third Vision Quest character.
Zhido Zhido never talks, but he's one demon in your party
that never questions his loyalty and can be fused with any demon to drastically change his appearances. He starts off
looking like your stereotypical Area 51 alien, except with a leash (??).
One of the central bits of technology at the heart of
Soul Hackers is the GUMP. Having nothing to do with
Tom Hanks, GUMP stands for "Gun COMPuter", and allows
for both demon summoning and old fashioned shooting.
While your primary party is sparse, your investigation
is aided by the Spookies, a group of hackers who are
also none too pleased about the outbreak of demons on
your fair island. Certain characters, from the first
Devil Summoner, like Victor and his creepy
maid, make a return as well.
While the battle system is still somewhat dull, the
incredibly cool story (it's like .hack but without all
of the extraneous nonsense) and characters (the
Hitomi/Nemissa combo is one of the coolest female
characters in all of video game-dom) elevate Soul
Hackers to a level of awesomeness that make it one of
the Saturn's best RPGs.
Like Devil Summoner, an Akuma Zensho disc was also
released separately. Soul Hackers was also ported to
the Playstation, although it is mostly the same as the
Saturn original. The only real difference is a bonus demon called the P-Mecha, which you can raise with your
Pocketstation and take into battle. It also has a playable demo of Persona 2: Innocent Sin. At one point, Atlus considered Soul
Hackers for English localization, although it was
turned down by Sony.
