Remasters and remakes are games loved and hated alike among users who rejoice to be able to enjoy old glories again and others who prefer that companies focus on releasing new products. In the case of the former, they are not without reason, because not all have grown up in the same times or have all the consoles, hence the launch of Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is partly long-awaited.
About a month ago we left you with our first impressions after having been able to play the first three hours of this new version and at that moment it already left us with mixed feelings, although we did not want to anticipate too much until we could play it thoroughly and thus offer you our final verdict .
So, we invite you to read below our analysis of this JRPG that was originally published on PS2 18 years ago in Japan and that a year later (in Europe in 2005) it returned with an edition with some additional content , which is precisely in the which this remastering is based on.
A dark plot in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by demons
Every good RPG worth its salt must be accompanied by a great argument so that it is able to hook us to the screen for dozens of hours. In the case of this installment of the saga, the story is set in Tokyo, on any given day in which a group of students goes to a hospital to visit their teacher. So far everything seems normal when suddenly there is a turn in events and the city of Japan is plunged into chaos.
A demonic cult has invaded the world to establish the Conception , an ethereal apocalypse whose purpose is to bring about rebirth in the world from scratch. Consequently, Tokyo takes the form of a kind of dome, devastating the districts by leaving them in ruins and turning its inhabitants into spirits, except for a few humans, including our protagonist and two of his friends.
Precisely the character that we will incarnate will remain unconscious after these events and upon recovering his appearance will have changed completely by transforming into a semi-demon , thus granting him the ability to survive this terrible event and at the same time granting him powers that will be vital to try to restore order throughout the world. From there, a journey through this post-apocalyptic Tokyo invaded by demons will begin, roaming freely everywhere, with a most sinister plot.
In that sense, it is striking that the franchise is Persona’s sister, because in many respects they are similar, but the game bets on a darker touch at all times , although it hooks its own thing and over time it becomes more and more interesting to As you get to know more main characters and you discover the purposes of the villains and many other mysterious figures that will constantly parade.
Perhaps during the first bars the argument is somewhat confusing until the doubts that will not stop arising are resolved little by little. What from a personal point of view has been the most confusing for me have been the Japanese names and terms that are used throughout the game, being very strange and until you get used to them, it is difficult for you to understand well what they are talking to you.
In any case, the adventure lasts its good handful of dozens of hours with a good rhythm . In between the areas with a bit more calm, we will have to overcome very labyrinthine dungeons in which it is tremendously easy to lose yourself due to its number of corridors and floors, so in that sense it is to be appreciated the map that we can use at all times to be clear where we are. In addition, the theme of these places and their atmosphere completely matches the history and the ruined world in which we are trapped, so a magnificent job has been done in that regard.
Allying with our enemies in turn-based battles in which strategy prevails
Moving on to talking about the gameplay, Shin Megami Tensei II Nocturne HD Remaster is a classic JRPG in which the fighting will be turn-based with random encounters . While we move around the map we will be able to observe a kind of signal that will change color depending on the level of danger of the area in which we are, so that when it changes to a reddish color it will mean that from one moment to another a group of enemies. And we already warn you that sometimes this happens more often than we would like.
The point is that the game is no walk. We have chosen at all times for an intermediate level of difficulty and there has been more than one moment in which we have had a bad time , because the artificial intelligence of the enemies is high and they will not hesitate to unleash their most devastating attacks whenever can. If you add to this that sometimes very large groups of enemies get together, then there is no choice but to have an ace up your sleeve or a good strategy that allows us to live to tell about it.
In the end it is not that we have been forced to grind in order not to have any problems, because as we said having a good plan is vital in most confrontations. This is because all enemies (and our own characters) have resistances and weaknesses , therefore, if we make an attack of a certain type we will cause more damage than normal. In turn, that same will grant us an additional turn, but if we miss the impact, we will lose a turn, just as the same will apply in the case of our opponents, so it is a point to take into account to rise with the victory.
Our protagonist will not be alone at any time, since being a semi-demon he will be able to count on the help of other creatures that will join our cause . Of course, it will not be as easy as it sounds, because to achieve it you have to try to convince them and you can be sure that you are going to suffer a lot to get it, because they are all the most naughty and greedy, so they will ask you for money, healing objects or even adulterate them with comments. Even so, not even paying attention to everything they tell you means that they are going to take your side.
At least, sometimes they will heal us or give us something in return, but you have to be too patient to achieve the goal, because demons tend to get angry easily if we reject their proposal or even if we try to haggle them. In spite of everything, we must insist on it, because having a varied and complete group makes things considerably easier , especially if the demons are of different types in order to have more diversity of attacks and abilities in the face of the weaknesses of the enemies.
On the other hand, in something that the game also resembles the Persona saga, apart from because certain demons are identical, it is because at a certain point in the adventure we will have the option of merging them to give life to a different and more powerful creature. . Thus, the more demons we have in our ranks, the more mergers can be carried out, although there will also be other ways to obtain demons by exchanging the rarest gems, so it is not that we are going to stay much of the time with our protagonist as unique character and little else.
Precisely, speaking of him, as the story progresses we will obtain Magatama, a species that we can ingest and that will serve to alter its statistics by enhancing different sections , but the most important thing is that, depending on which one is carrying, it will allow you to learn Some skills or others when leveling up, in addition to providing resistance and skills, so there it will be up to each one to choose one or the other, although we already warned you that there are quite a few to choose from.
In short, everything indicated so far cannot be ignored or ignored, because we must insist on the fact that the game is not easy and the battles against the final bosses will present very high difficulty peaks , so more It is worth being well prepared for this type of battle in terms of objects, life points and team formation.
All the news that we will find in this new version
At this point, it’s time to talk about the remastering itself and everything that differs from the original game. Of course the graphics have changed and have improved somewhat, but don’t expect an amazing modification that will surprise you or leave you speechless. A filter has just been added to fine-tune all the textures and character modeling, but not as much in the case of scenarios.
In general, it gives the impression that very little effort has been spent trying to make a great remastering and that Atlus has thought that applying an HD filter is enough, but the truth is that it is not. In itself, the game is too noticeable that it comes from the PS2 era due to the design of the menus, the settings, the characters and their movements, as well as that of the camera, so that the graphic change is not up to date. height of current platforms.
Nor is it that we ask for a remake, but a little more effort to improve everything that is seen on the screen, because the cinematic sequences have not even been modified one iota. The resolution of the adventure is now panoramic, but it is that in the sequences that we tell you are in 4: 3 and it shows that the originals have been copied and pasted because of how pixelated they are, which is quite shocking due to the fact that see the characters from one form to another in such a rough way.
Luckily the news is not limited only to its visual section. For the occasion , all the texts have been translated into Spanish for the first time in order to make things easier for those who do not speak another language and, above all, the result is excellent, being one of the aspects that we liked the most. For their part, the characters have also been dubbed, so that in the options we can select whether we want to hear them in English or Japanese.
And if someone chokes too much the game can reduce the difficulty with the Godly level so that those more inexperienced in this type of games can focus more on the story than on the strategies and on improving the characters without stopping. In addition, the possibility has also been introduced to suspend the game at any time and resume it whenever we want, which does not mean that the advance is saved at that moment, because it is only a temporary save point.
In fact, the places to save the advance must be kept in mind because in the event that our protagonist is eliminated we will lose everything we have done since the last time we saved the game. What’s more, we warn you that the save points are not very numerous in some dungeons , that is why it is so essential to be well prepared for any situation.
To top it off, this new version features Maniax Mode that allows Dante from Devil May Cry to appear in the game, hence the ” Featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry Series ” meme. Exactly what he does is replace the character of Raidou Kuzunoha, from Devil Summoner. However, unlike the original title that came to the West in which this mode was included as standard, here you will have no choice but to go through the box to get this DLC.
If you are one of those who played Shin Megami Tensei III at the time and liked it, then Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is for you without any doubt. That does not mean that the game is not going to love others, because it is still a wonderful JRPG , but the negative points that we have been pointing out so far are too heavy.
Could more effort have been put into achieving a better remastering? Yes. Is it worth giving it a try? Also, although the truth is that for the few news that it brings, it would not have been bad for its price to be 20-30 euros at most, but it is good news that it is translated into Spanish and that new generations can discover why this delivery of the saga deserved to come back to life, despite not having happened in the best possible way .
Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster
| Platforms | Nintendo Switch, PC and PS4 (analyzed version) |
|---|---|
| Multiplayer | Not |
| Developer | Atlus |
| Company | Atlus |
| Launch | May 25, 2021 |
The best
- Turn-based fighting and convincing demons to help us.
- The new features that have been added, despite being few, are to be appreciated.
- The translation into Spanish along with the voices in English and Japanese.
Worst
- Graphically it is not one of the best remasters we have seen.
- The fact that the sequences have not been improved and are identical to the originals.
- It feels like a retro game in too many ways.
