That Shin Megami Tensei V was one of the brightest exponents of the JRPG genre recently appeared on consoles is a consolidated fact: welcomed with great favor by critics and the public, the fifth chapter of the historic Atlus brand (from which the famous Persona saga derives) boasted a well-written plot, a very solid play structure and the usual, unattainable artistic direction that characterizes the products of the Japanese team (here is the review of Persona 3 Reload). Yet, upon a slightly closer look, it was clear what this long-awaited incarnation of MegaTen brought with it some small technical problems and some content waivers.
Fortunately, Atlus and Sega have decided to develop a revised and corrected version which on the one hand promises to resolve most of the technical uncertainties shown by the basic edition and, on the other, to offer an even more complete package as well as a wide range of improvements general. Here, then, is Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance, a re-release released on June 14th on Nintendo Switch but also for the first time on PC and on PlayStation and Xbox systems. We flew to London to preview the game and we are ready to share our impressions with you.
The new face of the Nahobino
The first substantial novelty that enriches the work is the presence of a new interpretation of the campaign, divergent from the original in terms of plot development and including some pleasant additions in the cast of characters.
After starting a new game, you will be able to select one of the two narrative paths created by the development team: the so-called ‘Canon of Creation’, the story already tested in the basic edition, and the newly introduced ‘Canon of Vengeance’, which starts from similar assumptions and then proceeds in significantly different directions. For those who don’t know, the story of Shin Megami Tensei V revolves around the exploits of the protagonist, a high school student who, after being involved in a terrible earthquake, wakes up in a distorted version of Tokyo, devastated and populated by supernatural creatures of ‘all sorts: the Da’at.
During his pilgrimages in this nightmarish setting, the boy meets the spirit Aogami who invites him to merge with him to give life to the powerful Nahobinoan entity halfway between human and demonic who possesses the abilities necessary to decide the fate of an ancient conflict between angels and demons that seems to be about to reach its dramatic climax, throwing the entire planet into chaos.
Although the incipit appears almost similar for both narrative paths, as we were saying, the Canon of Vengeance introduces an unprecedented and fearsome group of adversaries, whose mere presence should change the cards on the table as regards the development of the story. We are talking about the Qadištu collective, led by the ferocious Lilith. Our test, which lasted about a couple of hours, did not give us the opportunity to delve into how Atlus intends to upset the events of the game but it did allow us to get to know a new entry in the already large roster of supporting characters and explore the new Da’at of Shinjuku, one of the most renowned neighborhoods in Tokyo. For more detailed information on the quality of the new narrative plot, we obviously refer you to the review that will arrive on these pages over the next few months.
New allies, new adversaries
During our test we entered the Shinjuku imagined by Atlus and we met a new classmate from Saint Marina high school, Yoko Hiromine. The latter, according to the developers, will play a key role in the economy of the story of the Canon of Vengeance, with her actions having serious repercussions on the fate of the Nahobino and the entire world.
In the brief exchanges that we were able to have with her, we discovered that the girl he is an indecipherable character, whose past is shrouded in an aura of mystery but, at the same time, has proven to be a very powerful ally on the battlefield. Yoko, in fact, is considered a ‘Saint’, since she is capable of channeling magical energy from an early age and unleash devastating attacks of Darkness (like the inevitable Mudo, Mamudoon and so on spells), very useful for getting rid of entire groups of creatures in the initial stages of navigating the new scenario.
It must be said, however, that the introduction of a figure so skilled in combat does not simplify the battles of Shin Megami Tensei V – Vengeance in any way, which remain absolutely brutal to be tackled even at the lowest difficulty levels. The fifth iteration of MegaTen retains a high challenge ratewhich requires users to maximize their resources to survive the numerous battles that come their way.
At the end of our test, for example, we conducted a very demanding boss fight which required painstaking management of the team with the respective techniques of strengthening allies and debuffing enemies, necessary to avoid being completely annihilated in the space of a few shots. As if that wasn’t enough, Vengeance includes over fifty new types of demons with certain strengths and weaknesses to discover, for a total of more than 270 creatures that it will be possible to fight or subjugate to replenish the ranks of our team. Among these adversaries we find the wind demon Karasu Tengu or the fire spirit known as Efreetwhich will guarantee the player further valid options to compose the right team for any situation.
Return to the Da’at
The Da’at of Shinjuku, for its part, presented itself as a vast area overflowing with enemies to clash with and secrets to discover. We fought against large groups of angels and demons, we participated in long multiple-choice dialogues that would certainly have had an impact on the continuation of the story, we completed a couple of secondary missions and we even competed with a colossal optional boss (which obviously eliminated us in a few minutes).
This large area divided into multiple sections already promises to be an authentic hotbed of different experiences just waiting to be revealed, but Atlus has already confirmed that Shinjuku is just one of the new explorable areas included in the Vengeance package: it will take approximately eighty additional hours to also complete this second ‘route’ of the game (for a total total that breaks the ceiling of 150 hours of content).
The news, however, does not end here because the development team has thought well of implementing a whole series of structural changes with a view to making the experience more pleasant and fluid than in the past.
The criticized checkpoint system has been revisited to reduce the frustration phenomena resulting from the having to repeat long portions of the campaign after each of the frequent deaths. Furthermore, a bird’s eye view has been introduced, useful for getting an idea of the lay of the land and setting a safe route during exploration. Also worth mentioning is the creation of a rail circuit aimed at quickly transport our protagonist from one part of the scenario to another, often also revealing otherwise inaccessible places. The latter is the element that convinced us least of the entire operation: not having the possibility of predicting in which direction we will be projected riding one of these tracks, it is easy to find ourselves in sections of the map that we had not yet explored or surrounded by entire groups of opponents, perhaps in particularly critical moments. However, we reserve a more complete opinion during the review.
The beauty of destruction
On the technical front of this re-release of Shin Megami Tensei V, we find ourselves faced with one of the main workhorses of the project.
Being able to count on the additional power guaranteed by current generation machines, Vengeance shows off a significantly improved visual impact compared to the original version. Our test, based on code for PlayStation 5, showed a level of detail much higher than what we have seen in the past, with a stable frame-rate at 60 frames per second even in the most hectic situations.
Polygonal models of protagonists and opponents enjoy greater refinementthe general effects appear more refined and the excellent artistic direction that distinguishes Atlus products shines in a whole new light.
There remain some doubts about the level design of some areas, far too tangled and difficult to read but it is still too early to express a definitive judgment in this area.
