Tag Archives: Atlus

Devil Survivor 2 and the Personafication of MegaTen

Written by Daryl Heard on April 3, 2012 at 9:12 pm

For the last few years, the Persona subseries has stood tall as the representative of the Shin Megami Tensei series. Both Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 and Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 were successes, so why not milk that cow for what it’s worth? Atlus is doing just that: there are ports, merchandise, anime adaptations, and even a live action stage play of Persona 4. All the while, other Shin Megami Tensei subseries have been ignored as of late. Persona has become the face of the series. Aside from the exceptions of the Devil Survivor subseries and old school throwback Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, the series hasn’t done much else lately. Those games get nowhere near as much attention and adoration as the Persona series, though.

With its popularity, it was only a matter of time before Atlus applied the unique social elements that made Persona 3 & Persona 4 so likable in order to improve other properties. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 is where I can say “This was inspired by Persona 3 & Persona 4 ” full of certainty.

Devil Survivor 2 is a commodity

Written by Tom Auxier on March 2, 2012 at 12:42 pm

The original Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor for the Nintendo DS was one of my favorite games ever. Its cousin, SMT: Persona 3, sits beside it on any “Favorite Game Ever” list I’ll never be commissioned to make. Both of these games had highly hyped sequels, Persona 4 and the recently released Devil Survivor 2. Four hours into Devil Survivor 2, I can’t help but draw a parallel.

Persona 3 was one of the most authentic games I’ve ever played. It was rough at times, a little unpolished, but it put us in a world we were dying to explore, with characters who had that certain something that made them more than stereotypes. Persona 4 fixed nearly all of its problems, but this comes with a caveat: the game didn’t have as much soul. It felt more like a commodity than a piece of art. Persona 3′s edges had been whittled down to perfect, but you could tell that Persona 4 had been coolly designed to appeal to an audience, while Persona 3 felt like a labor of love.

Persona 4: The Golden has lots and lots of bikes

Written by Daryl Heard on February 1, 2012 at 6:40 pm

Persona 4: The Golden seems to be adding a lot of new things that weren’t included in the original Persona 4, one of them being bikes. That’s right, bikes. At some point in the game you can obtain a bike license which can be used to travel to more places and trigger new events. You can even use the bikes to beat down Shadows, but I’m not sure how the party will sneak them into the TV at Junes. To be honest, I think the bikes are silly. Of all the things you could add to Persona 4: The Golden you add bikes? They don’t take anything away from the game though, so I probably shouldn’t complain.

Aside from that, animation studio Madhouse is creating a new opening for The Golden which includes more bikes, rainbows, and kaleidoscopes so far. From my experience, Madhouse’s animation in anime is usually pretty decent. They’re no SHAFT, but I trust they’ll get the job done with Persona 4: The Golden.

Persona 4: The Golden is looking ‘beary’ cool so far

Written by Daryl Heard on January 11, 2012 at 8:57 pm

Persona 4: The Golden, the Vita port of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 for the PS2, is looking pretty good so far. You could even say it’s looking beary good. Like many ports, there are a few new things to marvel at. One of the most notable is the winter trip in January, complete with winter wear to keep the gang warm and cozy inside the Midnight Channel. I’m really curious to see how the trip will fit in the game without ruining the pacing, seeing as what happens in January in the original.

Aside from that there are unique team attacks, new evolved Persona, and additional difficulty settings. In the original we were limited to three settings, but now we have Safety, for players who just want to experience the story, and Risky, for players who crave a challenge. Add that to previously known additions, such as new animated cutscenes and the mysterious Mari, and Persona 4: The Golden is looking… well pretty damn golden.

Atlus hasn’t said anything about a US release date yet, but it’s Persona. I bet my lunch that the game will be localized, it’s really just a matter of when at this point.

New Devil Survivor 2 trailer reminds us Devil Survivor 2 exists

Written by Tom Auxier on January 5, 2012 at 2:58 pm

The original Devil Survivor is notable because it is the game I own the most copies of (three), and because it was a sparklingly brilliant strategy RPG for the Nintendo DS. A combination of Japanese RPG series Growlanser with Persona and a shockingly diverse and cruel choice system, it’s a game I have played the hell out of.

Devil Survivor 2, meanwhile, is coming out next month. It’s coming out for the Nintendo DS. Really, it is. Trust me. Not the 3DS, the regular old, vanilla DS. Also trust this trailer, which shows us no gameplay (but we really don’t need to see more strategy RPG gameplay) but sells us on the game’s atmospheric plot, which combines ideas from the original game with Persona 4. Cool, right?

Honestly, in a crowded Spring release schedule, at least for JRPG fans, Devil Survivor 2 is the game I’m most pumped for. The original was one of the most creative takes on JRPGs in years, and I’m curious to see whether Atlus keeps pushing the envelope in the new year. At the very least, they will continue pushing it in terms of bust size:

Review: Rock of Ages

Written by Tom Auxier on January 3, 2012 at 12:33 pm

Something went wrong here.

Let’s not talk about the Terry Gilliamisms. Those are lovely, and why you’ve already played the game. If you haven’t, and you appreciate Monty Python, here is my six word review for you: go watch Life of Brian again. If you’ve watched it a hundred times, maybe get Rock of Ages.

Again, something went wrong here.

Rock of Ages shares a lineage with its developer’s previous title, Zeno Clash, in that its taking a major genre (the Katamari, possibly Marble Madness, though it’s sold as Katamari) and mixing it with another genre (tower defense). They skipped an important step, though, early on in the process, something very critical: they didn’t pay attention to what made each genre enjoyable to play.

Playing Catherine as a cheater

Written by Patricia Hernandez on November 6, 2011 at 12:00 am

I cheated.

After spending the last three years of my life slowly being consumed by my grave misstep, I’ve finally come out to say it. I cheated on my ex-partner.

I’ve never been one for using video games as escapism–I like games that force me to face hard and ugly truths, uncomfortable subjects and unconventional angles. At least, I thought so. When the prospect of Catherine arrived, a game whose entire plot rested on a huge, secret source of anxiety for me, I hesitated. Was I really about to play a game that had me repeating a mistake that had so much impact on me, I hadn’t spoken about it to anyone for years?

Yes. Yes I was.

Claims of how unrealistic and stereotypical the context of the game were abundant in the critique following its release. Yet, as I played the game, the parallels seemed eerie. Vincent, becoming frightened at the prospect of a serious relationship with his long-time partner, makes an irresponsible, and frankly repulsive, choice.

Heh. Easy–and perhaps hypocritical–to condemn when it isn’t me, eh? ‘It doesn’t matter what the context was, Vincent!,’ I thought to myself. You are responsible for your actions, just like any other adult!

And yet I …

Persona 4: Blazblue Edition

Written by Tom Auxier on September 8, 2011 at 12:21 pm

A trailer has been released for the new Persona 4 fighting game, and I’m just going to come out and say it: this is Persona 4 characters ported into the Blazblue engine. And I have absolutely no problem with that.

But look at them. P4′s protagonist looks like a cross between Ragna and that annoying doll character I could never play as. Yosuke looks to pretty much be Jin. Chie looks to have some Noel in her, though this might just be because everyone’s beating the shit out of her; I used to play Noel, and that was a pretty familiar sight. As far as cast list, those three and Aigis (apparently “Aegis” in Japanese; who knew?) are confirmed, though all the P4 characters are shown via silhouette which makes them pretty likely.

Oh, and Teddie as El Presidente. Probably the best thing ever.

Honestly, I don’t know about you, but an Aksys P4 fighting game sounds like pretty much the best thing ever. I’m just hoping that Teddie plays like Arakune and distorts himself so that his physical form rivals the horror that is his personality. I just want to see him stretch and …

A protagonist is you

Written by Stefan Samurai Terry on August 11, 2011 at 2:41 am

Many a time the statement the main character has no dept has been uttered since games have gotten more complex, and nearly every time I could not help but think someone was missing a point. While not always true in modern games (Final Fantasy ___ makes for a good set of exceptions), most protagonists are empty, hollow shells in need of something to fill them. Trouble is, many players these days are under the impression the protagonists’ characterization is predetermined by the designers and writers. Players have forgotten that in many cases that emptiness is put there to be filled by players.

That's a mighty obvious hint, I'd think

While modern games to have methods of telling players “this character is you,” such as choice systems, dialog trees, or right out telling them they should be responsible for their actions, I would like to take a few steps back in gaming to a time before every other game had multiple endings and/or dialog trees. Games as a genre began to grow in complexity sometime late in the 90s. A lot of genres and series took the leap from pixels to polygons, and suddenly plot was more than a feature advertiseable on …

Catherine First Impressions

Written by Patricia Hernandez on July 27, 2011 at 11:56 pm

Vincent Brooks, you poor, poor sod. I really don’t like you. Your highest aspiration is that things stay exactly where they are; you’ve lived life completely on cruise control. Honestly, I’m surprised you’ve gotten this far–that you have a job, friends or a girlfriend at all.

Catherine is full of, well, unlikeable characters. Not in the sense that they’re bad characters or anything, they’re good characters. They are not there to be liked, they are there to press buttons more than anything else. Each of Vincent’s friends is the embodiment of an ideology or approach when it comes to love. You’ve got the wide-eyed sap, the stoic mystery man and the jaded cynic…and then there’s you, the wildcard.

This is a huge departure from the common picture-perfect depiction of love found in most games (at least, that I’ve played). These people are older and flawed, permanently flawed. They’ve already done their growing up, this is who they are. I don’t get the sense you will influence them or see them grow, and that will throw a lot of people off. You do uncover their story, but it doesn’t seem like you are there to fix them or put them back together. They’re …

Archives

Tag Archives: Atlus

Devil Survivor 2 and the Personafication of MegaTen

Devil Survivor 2 is a commodity

Persona 4: The Golden has lots and lots of bikes

Persona 4: The Golden is looking ‘beary’ cool so far

New Devil Survivor 2 trailer reminds us Devil Survivor 2 exists

Review: Rock of Ages

Playing Catherine as a cheater

Persona 4: Blazblue Edition

A protagonist is you

Catherine First Impressions

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