Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse - Nintendo 3DS

SMT IV: Apocalypse is fantastic. If you liked the earlier SMT games like Soul Hackers you'll feel right at home with this one. It fixes a lot of things about SMT IV that were turn-offs to long time fans of the series and is a sequel to the game, not a remix or re-imagining of SMT IV.The music is top-notch, especially because Shoji Meguro isn't involved (finally!) and Persona veteran Kenichi Tsuchiya is amongst the composers. It's a different sound from the original Persona games, but it's still great and lacks all of the repetitive musical tropes and tired J-Pop appeal Meguro relies on too heavily in his later work. The voice acting is also superb, not a single character has a unexceptional delivery.Battles are fast-paced which offsets the high encounter rate, though you can see enemies and outrun them when needed. The plot is interesting and has a lot of twists and turns, and the character development is pretty good. There's a lot of new faces in the game, but they are all unique and interesting. It's a moderately long game and you definitely will put some serious time into it.The graphics are a mixed bag; the backgrounds and 3D chacter/demon models are very well made. The demon portraits were made by several different artists and one of them is absolutely terrible, so it's jarring to cycle through your demon roster and see very impressive illustrations and then some amateur ones. Some of the background objects like trees and bushes have a bizarrely low polygon count and look like something from an original Playstation game. On the whole it's all above average, however, just a few things stick out.Like all modern Atlus games the translation is well done but rife with spelling and grammatical errors. For some reason both Atlus and Aksys Games steadfastly refuse to proof-read their work.I'd highly recommend this game to any SMT fans, especially those of you enjoyed Strange Journey and Soul Hackers. It's fine return to form and shows that Atlus can still make good games for hardcore fans even if they also have to churn out garbage like Persona 3 and 4 for casual gamers to make money.

What we have here is a product of trial, error, and redemption. And though some may not see it as such, keeping in mind that this is in fact the FIRST direct sequel in the mainline series of Shin Megami Tensei- I'm certain that like the game that preceded it, there will be contention about whether or not it is a "true" SMT.Let me just say that I have played this series since the first in the "Shin" series on Super Famicom (as I was too young to appreciate the two Famicom titles that preceded it) and have even sought out the novels that inspired this series. This is a very solid game, even if it does have a "newcomer friendly" feel and reduced difficulty. The quality of life improvements, as well as the characters and story, still elevate this game well above the modern drivel that is churned out. For those desperate for a hardcore RPG experience (even though the game is not as difficult as others in the series) I feel it meets expectations and gives you the tools to play the way you desire, which is much more attractive than simply forcing you to pick a specific play style to maximise your efficiency.Truly a stellar experience. Great soundtrack, classic feel, modern amenities. If this is indicative of where the series is headed, then I feel as though the series is once again in good hands.It is not for everyone, and though some may pine for what they perceive to be "lost" from the series, I can say with no hesitation that this is a fine example of what SMT represents.The only negative I can levy are the designs. As a fan of Kamen Rider I don't dislike the designs, I just feel they are occasionally misplaced or miss the point of Kaneko's art. Doi's redraws definitely help them fit in (they were jarring before), but I desperately wish to see more Kaneko artwork.Character design has improved massively as well. Nanashi, Toki, and Hallelujah all look appropriate.All in all, a great game, great localisation that stays true to the feel of the original game, and an experience that shouldn't be missed by fans.