Hello and welcome to the Otaku Mind. First off, I do want to apologize that there was no Otaku Mind last month. Due to work and the stress of holidays I was unable to write up a topic. Hopefully I can make it up this month with a second Otaku Mind later. For now, let’s turn the clock back a bit. So the year is 2009. I am now starting my junior year of college and have just moved in with my new roommates. My old roommates decided to live off campus which was something I didn’t want to do so I had to find new roommates. Me and my new roommates who I would come to see as life-long friends quickly hit it off. Despite having different majors we get along quite well and discover that we share the same interests. We like the same shows, we’re fans of anime, and we like videogames. On one evening one of my roommates introduces me to Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3, a game that would change my life forever and go on to be my favorite videogame of all time. The game was unlike anything I had ever played before and I couldn’t get enough of it. I loved the concept, the characters, the battling system, the music, everything just hit all the right notes with me. My roommate went on to explain that the Persona series is actually a spin-off from another game series called Shin Megami Tensei or SMT for short. SMT was darker and harder than Persona from what I could find online, but the series had a fandom with the games being praised by players. Unfortunately finding the games were very hard and I decided to just focus on playing and beating the Persona games at that time. Although, looking back I do regret not getting the chance to check out the original SMT series. But that all changed this year. Atlus would release a remastered version of SMT 3: Nocturne as well as the long-awaited release of SMT 5 and after playing both games I definitely see why this series has such high praise and I also find myself boggled on why videogame critics are slamming SMT 5 because it’s not Persona 5.
I really do find myself confused by the comparisons between these two games and why critics expected SMT 5 to be like Persona 5. Did everyone expect that? Because I sure as hell didn’t. Aside from the personas and the same studio these games really don’t have that much in common and gave me two complete different experiences that I found myself enjoying. While I like the Persona series more, I still think the original series is great and worth checking out if you liked the Persona games and wanted to play a more challenging JRPG with darker and more serious elements sprinkled into the mix. If you like the SMT series over the Persona series that’s fine too. I can see why people would prefer SMT over Persona. However, my issues come from critics who outright bash SMT 5 because it’s not Persona 5. That’s like me deducting points from the Judgment games because it’s not like the Yakuza games. They weren’t meant to be the same game. While it’s true both games came from the same studio and even had the same team from both games working on them their focus was on different elements.
The Yakuza series at its core is about grown men who have a set of morals and a code of honor stuck in a system that’s trying to consume them and their struggles to break free from that system. While the game has its fair share of silly moments the game never loses sight of its main focus, the characters. This is a character driven series. Throughout the games we get the chance to learn more about these characters, develop a bond with them, find out what they believe and see their struggles. Judgment is the opposite. Judgment is a more story driven series where the emphasis is placed on the case Yagami and the others find themselves in. While we learn a good deal about Yagami and the others, the story takes more priority over them, how they react to the events around them, and their determination to solve the case no matter who or what gets in their way. This same logic can apply to Persona and SMT. One of the complaints a lot of critics had with SMT 5 was that the characters aren’t as interesting or developed as the ones in Persona 5. Well that’s because the two games have different focus. Persona 5 is a more character driven game. We interact with these characters on a day-to-day basis. Developing a bond with them and help them through their struggles. The game wants us to learn more about these characters and interact with them more as a way to show their themes and help you unlock stronger abilities and personas as the game progresses. SMT 5 on the other hand is more story driven. It puts more emphasis on the world you’re in and you being caught in the middle between two conflicting ideologies choosing what you believe is right and how you will adapt to the world around you. What do you value? What are you willing to sacrifice to protect what you value? These are some of the questions SMT 5 presents to you throughout the game and will ultimately affect the ending that you get.
Bottom line, I’m not here to say the way I criticize stuff is perfect because it’s not. If anything it’s far from perfect. However, the one thing I never do is criticize an anime for not being like my favorite anime FMA: Brotherhood or any other anime for that matter. They’re not the same and I understand this. I believe it’s important to criticize stuff for what it is rather than what it’s not. I’m glad that people in the west loved Persona 5 so much and that the series is finally being noticed for how good it is, but to expect another game to be exactly like it when clearly it’s doing it’s own thing (which you will notice if you play the first hour of the damn game), it’s a clear sign at how inept you are at judging games on their own merit and how these so called “game journalists” who get paid to play and review videogames for a living have no idea what they’re doing and are an embarrassment to journalism. Seriously, I would kill to have a job like that where I get to review anime or videogames and share my honest (no strings attached) opinions with everyone and get paid for it. Still, the one thing that makes me upset the most is how these “game journalists” ruin the experience for everyone out there. For a lot of people SMT 5 will be their first exposure to the SMT series and these journalists paint the game as being an inferior version of Persona 5 which it is not and how long time SMT fans are just bitter people who are jealous that Persona is more popular. Why are you trying to pit fans against one another? What does that accomplish? Yet despite all their complaints and bad mouthing the game, they still give it a high score so everything is alright, right? No! It’s not alright. If you don’t like the game that’s fine but give me concrete reasons why you don’t like it. Don’t just compare it to another game you like and bash it because it’s not like that game. That’s not a valid argument and shows how you can’t judge games on their own merit.
Folks, here’s my advice to you if you’re still on the fence about trying out SMT V. If you like Persona 5 or the Persona games in general and wanted to see what the main series was like, then definitely check this game out. It’s a good starting point for newcomers to the SMT series and a game I think longtime SMT fans will like. Don’t go into the game expecting it to be like the Persona games. While the fighting mechanics are similar, the way you fight will be different as well as how you play and what you’ll focus on throughout the game. I love the world that we got to explore in this game as well as the various demons you could fight and recruit. The side missions are a lot of fun and there’s a good level of challenge and strategy throughout the game. The CPUs are smart and will usually focus on finding your weaknesses and capitalizing on that. After you finish this game and liked what you saw, then check out Nocturne remastered. It’s considered by many to be one of the greatest JRPGs of all time. It’s harder than V in my opinion and there are a few mechanics that are a little outdated (I’ll talk about them in a later blog) but the story is great and you can even recruit Dante from Devil May Cry to your team. How cool is that? My final score for SMT V is a 9/10. A great game that made me wish I got into the SMT series a long time ago and a game I know you won’t regret buying. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.