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It took nearly a decade, but the third game in the
true Shin Megami Tensei series was finally released for the Playstation 2 in 2003. In a similar setup to the first game, SMT: Nocturne puts in the role of a Japanese boy who
survives the Conception, an apocalypse which is in
preparation for the rebirth of a new world. Reborn as
a demon, you learn that some of your friends are still
alive - including your school teacher, who is one of
the people that brought about this
destruction. As you explore the wastelands of
shattered Tokyo, you learn that you may be the chosen
one, the demon to shape the new world. Unlike the
other SMT games, where you are simply divided between
Law, Chaos and Neutral, SMT: Nocturne allows you to
ally yourself with the philosophies of the other
players in the game, or simply make your own path.
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Hero
The main character whom you get to name. After the Conception, you awaken, transformed into a demon. Fate has bestowed upon you the ability to change this new world.
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Chiaki
One of the hero's schoolmates, Chiaki seems unharmed initially, although she does harbor something darker. Chiaki eventually follows the path of "Yosuga", or the Darwinian "might makes right" philosophy.
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Isamu
Another of the hero's classmates that survived the Conception, Isamu follows the reason of "Musubi", a philosophy focused on individuality.
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Hijiri
The writer for a magazine on the occult, Hijiri still remains alive after the Conception, despite not being the school. He seems to enjoy exploring the new world. Although Hijiri never fights, he is always helping the Hero, especially in uncovering the mysteries of the terminal.
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Hikawa
Hikawa is the leader of the cult that brings around the Conception. He rules the Assembly of Nihilo, Hikawa follows the reason of "Shijima", which is very similar to the "Law" alignment of the previous games.
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Yuko
The hero's school teacher, Yuko is Hikawa's right-hand woman, and is destined to become the Maiden of the new world. Still, she spares the lives of three of her students. Why?
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Nocturne is a split between the original old school
games and more modern RPGs. It's still maddeniningly
difficult (wait until you fight any of the Fiends),
and you'll need to spend a lot of times hunting and
fusing demons to get just the right spells you'll need
to beat certain enemies. The dungeons are tremendously
large, and save points are sparse. Some things have changed tough, as
the game is now entirely third person, including the
battles. All of the cyberpunk elements are gone - you
no longer use computers to summon demons, seeing as
how you're a demon yourself (and an awesome looking
one at that.) Demons now gain experience, although not very quickly, so
fusing them is still important.
Speaking of which, the fighting has been given a
complete overhaul as well. Completely new is the Press
Turn system - if you hit an enemy with attack they are
weak to, you'll get an extra turn. On the other hand,
if you use a spell that an enemy is invulnerable to,
you lose a turn. Naturally, the same principles apply
to your party, so much of the strategy revolves around
carefully balancing your demons to properly exploit
this. Paying attention to character elemental
strengths and weaknesses has always been a big part of
the SMT games, but now it's even more important.
For the first time, a Shin Megami Tensei game actually
has decent production values. Kankeko's character designs were first rendered in 3D
in Maken X, but they look particularly breathtaking here. The landscapes,
while not extraordinarily varied, have a unique style
to them that oozes demonic creepiness, whether you're exploring deserted shopping malls or making your way through expansive hallways of demonic architecture. Parts of the
game is seen through a hazy filter, thoroughly
amplifying the nightmare-ish effect of the world.
While there's no voice acting, the music is incredible
- the hard rock battle themes (mixed with
appropriately demonic voices blaring) are something
you rarely hear in an RPG. There are several battle themes, and each one has several variations with
different riffs, making each fight an savory aural delight. For some reason though, the sound quality
in the battle scenes is in noticeably low quality.
The rest of the soundtrack, mostly atmospheric mood music (along with a few arrangements of old songs) is almost as amazing.
While the plot can be slow to unfold beyond the beginning, and certain bosses will kick your ass
for hours, the incredible amount of depth in Shin
Megami Tensei: Nocturne guarantees that anyone who's
really into RPGs will get themselves lost in this
incredible game.
Nocturne got a "director's cut" rerelease under the
name Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne Maniacs. It adds several new monsters (including the Fiends, many of which are from previous Megaten games),
an extra final dungeon (which opens up a sixth
ending),and balances many gameplay aspects, mostly in making the game a little bit less unfair. The most hyped addition is the addition of
Dante from Capcom's Devil May Cry series. Taking the
role of a demon hunter, he hunts you down at the
beginning, and depending on your alignment, will
either continue to haunt you throughout the game, or
join up with you at near the end. It's a relatively
minor addition, and some hardcore SMT fans feel that
Dante's presence is out of place, although it is cool
for fans of Capcom's action series. Thankfully,
Nocturne Maniacs was the version that Atlus chose to
localize and release in English - the first true Shin
Megami Tensei game to reach outside of Japan, although they dropped the "3" from the title. First print runs even included a single CD soundtrack with
most of the best songs from the game. The PAL version is subtitled "Lucifer's Call".
A third version of the game was released in Japan in 2008, bundled only with the special edition of Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon. It's essentially just the Maniacs edition, with Dante being replaced by Raidou.
MP3s
Boss Battle
Isamu
Large Map ~ Last Area
Normal Battle ~ Large Map High quality, from soundtrack
Normal Battle Variation 2 Ingame version
Normal Battle Variation 3 Ingame version
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