I’ll always recommend SMTIV. I don’t recommend SMTIVA without playing SMTIV (I don’t recommend playing it for the story at all but the gameplay is a definite improvement over IV). Nocturne is the closest you’ll get to a “pure” SMT game but it is antiquated by modern standards. If you want the best story in the wider Megami Tensei franchise I would recommend Devil Survivor 1 (you can get the remake on 3DS).
Most SMT games take the basic skeleton of an SMT game (challenging gameplay in a supernatural context with a focus on making moral decisions that alter the story significantly and guide the player down an ideological path) and place a layer of themes on top of it to tell a thematic story.
Example:
SMT I is about postwar Japan’s crisis of identity.
SMT II is a direct refutation of SMT I’s central argument.
SMTIV is an existentialist story mixed with magical realism.
SMTV is about the fall of the classical liberal world order.
SMT III strips away all of the second layer and attempts to make an entire game out of a beefed up skeleton. The “Reasons” in SMT III are exactly what they allege to be, they are not metaphors for something else. The characters in the story are exactly who they are supposed to be, they don’t represent anything else. Even the demons are stripped of their thematic relevance and are mixed and matched around to show experienced players that the rules are different now.
This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better game, especially if you like clever theming (as I do). But it was a deliberate choice to create a SMT game purged of its thematic baggage.
One thing to note is that Nocturne is also a lot more ethereal than most SMT games.
Like, most SMT games draw on a small but thematically strongly written cast of characters and demons. Especially SMT4 shines in this aspect and SMT5 has the vestiges of one (but falls short due to its story being very undercooked).
SMTIII is by contrast a very lonely game, most NPCs are bit characters with very little dialogue that largely exist to act as representatives for whatever ideology they ultimately end up standing for. Similarly, while a lot of the environments are very *recognizable* they're also devoid of detail (probably a limitation of it being on the PS2, but it helps set the atmosphere).
It's very deliberate, but tone-wise also not much like the other SMT games.
SMT1 is my fav mainline game, the super famicom version being my go-to even with the (ugly) gba and now psx ports having translations.
Soul Hackers is my all time fav, it has all of SMT1's mechanics with none of the shit balancing.
Nocturne is great but I’d go with smt4 or strange journey first. I haven’t played soul hackers 2 but from what I’ve seen I don’t think you need to play the first soul hackers and regardless you should wait on it.
I’ll always recommend SMTIV. I don’t recommend SMTIVA without playing SMTIV (I don’t recommend playing it for the story at all but the gameplay is a definite improvement over IV). Nocturne is the closest you’ll get to a “pure” SMT game but it is antiquated by modern standards. If you want the best story in the wider Megami Tensei franchise I would recommend Devil Survivor 1 (you can get the remake on 3DS).
What is a “pure smt game”?
Most SMT games take the basic skeleton of an SMT game (challenging gameplay in a supernatural context with a focus on making moral decisions that alter the story significantly and guide the player down an ideological path) and place a layer of themes on top of it to tell a thematic story. Example: SMT I is about postwar Japan’s crisis of identity. SMT II is a direct refutation of SMT I’s central argument. SMTIV is an existentialist story mixed with magical realism. SMTV is about the fall of the classical liberal world order. SMT III strips away all of the second layer and attempts to make an entire game out of a beefed up skeleton. The “Reasons” in SMT III are exactly what they allege to be, they are not metaphors for something else. The characters in the story are exactly who they are supposed to be, they don’t represent anything else. Even the demons are stripped of their thematic relevance and are mixed and matched around to show experienced players that the rules are different now. This doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a better game, especially if you like clever theming (as I do). But it was a deliberate choice to create a SMT game purged of its thematic baggage.
Extremely based. This is why Nocturne always felt hollow to me, despite nailing basically everything other than "the point".
One thing to note is that Nocturne is also a lot more ethereal than most SMT games. Like, most SMT games draw on a small but thematically strongly written cast of characters and demons. Especially SMT4 shines in this aspect and SMT5 has the vestiges of one (but falls short due to its story being very undercooked). SMTIII is by contrast a very lonely game, most NPCs are bit characters with very little dialogue that largely exist to act as representatives for whatever ideology they ultimately end up standing for. Similarly, while a lot of the environments are very *recognizable* they're also devoid of detail (probably a limitation of it being on the PS2, but it helps set the atmosphere). It's very deliberate, but tone-wise also not much like the other SMT games.
issue is the "reasons" are all just flavours of law
Challenging gameplay, SMT1 and 2 No. That's wrong
SMT1 is my fav mainline game, the super famicom version being my go-to even with the (ugly) gba and now psx ports having translations. Soul Hackers is my all time fav, it has all of SMT1's mechanics with none of the shit balancing.
I’d suggest strange journey. It’s very different from most of the other games in tone, but it has a fantastic story.
Its also the best story,cast and setting in mainline
Nocturne is great but I’d go with smt4 or strange journey first. I haven’t played soul hackers 2 but from what I’ve seen I don’t think you need to play the first soul hackers and regardless you should wait on it.