Hey i wanna try out the SMT series and dont know which game to start with.

i want a more recent game; one with the best battle systems and character development systems, but not Persona 3 cuz the dating part puts me off.

i have considered Nocturne cuz it sounds cool with gettin demons on ur side, letting them evolve and fusing them etc, so it sounds pretty cool. and other people have said Nocturne is the best. (and Dante appears xD)

DDS1 seems obsolete since DDS2 is out, yet DDS2 sounds less interesting than nocturne.

so, you guys, the fans, tell me: is nocturne the one to go for?

thanks!

DDS1 is no way obsolete! DDS1 and DDS2 and part A and B of the same story; you should pick up both to get the full thing.

Nocturne is definitely the best, and Dante does appear for one boss battle (unless you do the bonus dungeon); it is however out of print and hard to find. But it's definitely the best.

If what puts you off Persona 3 is having to date girls you don't like, you are in no way oblige to date them, or forge social links with anyone (you don't just date girls, you meet all kinds of people you can befriend as well), really. It's just strongly recommended (and rewarded) by the game.

There's also Devil Summoner, an action RPG; the story and character development departments lack a bit, though.

I guess this tl;dr babble can be summed up by PICK UP NOCTURNE if you can.

NOCTURNE

woah it arrived this morning and ive already clocked 4 and a half hours on it - its quite good!

its not exactly Final Fantasy but its damn cool and has enough depth to it. the demon development system is awesome!

the walkthrough (lol, im not gonna use any walkthroughs from this point on) in the back of the book says DO NOT let Pixie leave u because she evolves into a mega strong demon in some place near the end of the game, so i kept her, but she evolved into a High Pixie.

shud i have let this happen and let her evolve again later? or was i supposed to keep her as a Pixie until the part near the end of the game and THEN let her evolve?

thanks

You're right, it's not a FF. It is INFINITELY SUPERIOR.

Don't feel bad about the walkthrough thing, the game can get a bit complicated. Don't worry about your Pixie though; her evolving into High Pixie is normal (at level 80 she can evolve into Queen Mab too). In fact, you can even use her in fusion and the trick at the end of the game will still work. What you MUST DO, however is 1) keep very careful track of what demon she is fused into so you can find the demon she is in at the end of the game and 2) NEVER, EVER DISMISS HER OR THE DEMON SHE IS IN. If you do that you are utterly SCREWED.

When I played I forgot to keep track, but since I had never dismissed any demon what I did was try each of my boys until the trick worked.

i saw in an evolution FAQ that pixie can become queen mab at lv 16??

Fairy Pixie (lowest possible evolve at lv6) --> Fairy High Pixie (new starting level lv10)

Fairy High Pixie (lowest evolve lv16) --> Night Queen Mab (born at lv56)

anyone had this happen before?

Oops, my mistake.

I dunno if anyone kept High Pixie that long. For High Pixie to evolve into Queen Mab, you have to get your High Pixie to level 56, and that would be incredibly tedious...

yea i bet! the main character is overtaking High Pixie with levelling up - she takes so much exp for 1 level!

when she first evolved she was lv10 and I was lv8, now im far into lv13 and High Pixie is only just approaching lv12

im not sure if i will stay interested in this game long enough just to grind tediously and get Queen Mab :/

also, what level/demons did u finish the game at/with?

finally: got any tips or advice on demons to get/ stats to increase/magatama to get etc?

quote simonpotface

yea i bet! the main character is overtaking High Pixie with levelling up - she takes so much exp for 1 level!

when she first evolved she was lv10 and I was lv8, now im far into lv13 and High Pixie is only just approaching lv12

im not sure if i will stay interested in this game long enough just to grind tediously and get Queen Mab :/

No no, you're not going the right way about this. You can level your demons, of course, especially when they have good skills to offer you, but to get better demons you need to take advantage of the Cathedral of Shadows and fuse your demons together to make new, more powerful ones. The priest guy in office at the Cathedral can explain further, but basically, you can take two demons (like your High Pixie and any compatible demon in your party) to make a new, bigger, badder one.

As I said earlier, you do not need to keep High Pixie until the endgame (the spot you want to take that very first Pixie is only at the end of a long bonus dungeon as well, so it's extra long time to haul her dead weight around). You can fuse her, provided that you always keep track of the demon she is inside of. For example, a good fusion when you'll near level 21 is High Pixie with Angel (you can recruit an Angel in Ginza). It'll make an Uzume, who has a nice healing spell that targets the entire party. Fuse your High Pixie, then make a note on a sheet of paper or a file on your computer that Pixie is inside Uzume. Then, when you'll fuse Uzume, note down who she has become now, and so on and so forth until you reach the spot where you need your Pixie.

quote simonpotface

also, what level/demons did u finish the game at/with?

finally: got any tips or advice on demons to get/ stats to increase/magatama to get etc?

I haven't actually finished on my game (I finished it with my friend, on her save file). Currently I am in the last dungeon, 3 bosses away from the final boss and the bonus uber final boss, at level 89s and my party consists of Mithra, the uber demon you get as reward for keeping Pixie, Atropos, The Harlot, Dante, Sakahagi, Picasa (for his skill that lowers enemy encounters), Futomimi, Nyx, Gabriel and Yurlungur. The Ellimist can probably give you a better final lineup than me, though.

Given there are 184 demons, it's a little hard to tell you what to get. It depends on your playing style a lot. For example, if you make Shu (your character) into a physical fighter, you'll probably want to have good magic caster in your party, or vice versa. Make sure you have a balanced party (spells of all elements, physical fighters) so you can handle everything the game throws at you. Here are a few skills you should cherish:

- Fog Breath and War Cry. These will save your ass in boss fights. Fog Breath reduces the enemy's accuracy, and War Cry, its attack power. Personally I only kept War Cry on my Shu and tried to keep Fog Breath on my demons, but it's up to you.
- Focus, Mind Charge if you're making a magic-focused Shu. Yeah at first it's not so awesome, but when you start doing damage in the thousands and Focus/Mind Charge allows you to more than double that... you get my drift huh?
- Gaea Rage. How does 999 points of physical damage right off the bat sounds to you?
- Freikugel would probably be good too. Almighty damage, thus unblockable.
- Always have a demon with a -dia- skill if you don't have one yourself. Those are the healing skills. Dia, diarama, diarahan, and Media, Mediarama and Mediarahan. The Dia- targets one ally; the Media-, all allies.

Gaea Rage and Freikugel are endgame skills for your character only; Fog Breath, War Cry, Focus and Mind Charge, as well as the healing spells, can be used by your party as well.

Stats: DO NOT NEGLECT AGILITY. EVER. This could make the difference between life and the nice Game Over screen. It does actually influence your chances of dodging in this game. Aside from that, I believe you should really try to maintain balanced stats, maybe leaving aside Luck a bit more than the other. I think Luck only influences item drop rates and such...

Magatamas: If I were you, I would get all the magatamas. Yes, some are a pain in the freakin' ass to get, and the Collector Manikin is a bit of a cheapstake, but it's very much worth it. If you can get all 24, you get a hidden, 25th magatama that makes you immune to EVERYTHING (except Almighty).

Demons: I must admit I am a bit useless here, because I tend to get ridiculously attached to cute/hot demons Trying to think of demons not too far from what I presume is your level... my Inugami served me well (you can evolve him into Makami). You should be able to get Angel and Apsaras in Ginza, as well as Hua Po if you don't already have one. Don't forget to register everything you recruit in the Cathedral's Compendium (I don't know if it's an option for you yet; when it will be, the priest will give you a tutorial on it). The Compendium (you can see an online copy of my current Compendium here) allows you to buy back a demon you have fused or gotten rid of, and to keep a record of fused demons with particularly good sets of skills.

Here are some demons that are useful, or that I love:
- Mitamas, which cannot be recruited, are useful to raise your demons' stats. You can buy the from the jewels shop;
- Elemental demons aren't bad in combat, but you want to use them in fusions to transform a demon into the next one, or the previous one, of its race. Example: you could take your High Pixie, fuse it with the right Elemental, and obtain a Pyro Jack, the next strongest of the Fairy race.
- I got an extremely long mileage out of my Picasa, but it was a special demon I bought from a shady individual in the bonus dungeon.
- Cu Chulainn has served me well during an extremely long time. He's levelled up so high he gives incredible bonuses to my demons as sacrifice fodder.
- I have good memories of the Dis I had earlier in the game. She's hot too.
- As a general rule, demons of the Lady ( Kikuri-Hime, Kushinada, Parvati, Kali and Skadi) and the Megami ( Uzume, Sarasvati, Sati, Laksmi and Scathach) make great demons. They are healers and usually kick ass at magic.
- Divine (all the angels) is another good race IMHO.
- Daisoujou is also awesome, as are demons of the Fiends race in general, but there are special conditions you must meet to fuse them.
- Sakahagi is crazy psycho love. I disagree with whoever said he is useless; he can be powered up with a sacrifice and he is born with a high-end spell of each element.
- Dante is awesome. 'Nuff said.

ETA: My friend wants you to know that, in the endgame, Shiva and Vishnu kick all sorts of asses.
ETAA: Her endgame party: Dante, Shiva, Vishnu, Beelzebub, Futomimi, Sakahagi, Metatron, Mithra, Trumpeter, and maybe one or two more she can't recall.

For further, more tailored help though, it'd be useful for us to know if you intend to play a more physical, magic, or in-between main character, and which Reason (ending) you are aiming for, if any.

... wow, that was verbose.

This message was edited by Lady_Sparda on Feb 23 2008.

wooooah thats a lot of information! (don't worry lol i had the decency to read it all) very helpful, thanks Lady_Sparda & friend!

i don't really know what i want my main character to fight as, but it seems he's my physical damage dealer at the moment and i'm liking it that way. so far I've added his stats to STR, AGI and mainly Luck (i felt adventurous heheheh). i only recently started adding to AGI as i realised that he was missing out on turns and that his AGI was still 3 around lv10. im in the weird underground area with the manikins now and i have a Hua Po, Asparas(from fusion), Angel (very good Expel skill!), High Pixie of course, Sudama (for the lulz and unexpected high Zan damage) so u made a very accurate guess! whats an Inugami? is it those stingray type things like Forneus? or those weird mop-head things - i cant remember what one is...

as for endings, i didnt even know there were different endings...so i dont have a "Reason"-related aim as of now.

thanks for taking the time to write all of this, and sometimes its fun to remember parts from a game and relay them to a beginner isn't it?

(also, weirdly, im starting to feel somewhat claustraphobic while playing this game, due to the lack of voice acting and human interaction/socialising (ive been spoilt by FF12!) and also im not used to the dark, depressing settings and enemies lol!)

Yes, you need a good AGI stat to go first and actually hit the enemy. As you must have figured out by now, losing turns can be the death of your party. Be careful!

Okay, you have reached the Underpass (the manikins are creepy/cute, aren't they? Learn to love the Collector, he'll help you out well). Watch out, because the Matador boss fight is coming up and it's a really though one at this point in the game. Here's Inugami, and its evolution, Makami. Uzume, whom I've talked to you about, will be a great asset in the upcoming Matador fight because of her healing and because she's immuned to Force magic.

Yes, there are 6 endings that depend on the choices you make during the game. You can also not aim for any Reason and ally with whoever you want; it'd be interesting to see how the game judges your motivations at the end.

quote simonpotface

thanks for taking the time to write all of this, and sometimes its fun to remember parts from a game and relay them to a beginner isn't it?

Yup, very much. I hope it helps you enjoy the game even more!

quote simonpotface

(also, weirdly, im starting to feel somewhat claustraphobic while playing this game, due to the lack of voice acting and human interaction/socialising (ive been spoilt by FF12!) and also im not used to the dark, depressing settings and enemies lol!)

lol Well, human interactions... there aren't any humans left except a handful. I think the Manikins are the closest thing to humans to chitchat with, but they are a bit... unsettling. I would have enjoyed being able to talk to the demons in my party, personally :/ But don't worry, you'll get cuter, more cheerful enemies as you go on too! Except it might creep you that they're so cheerful while grinding your nose in the dirt

Megaten games: Life Sucks and God is a Dick (but there might be hope!)

quote Lady_Sparda

Megaten games: Life Sucks and God is a Dick (but there might be hope!)

I thought Mara was the dick?

You gotta admit Mara is a little... flaccid in Nocturne

out of all the MegaTen games i've played i would definately suggest Nocturne but good luck finding it... I would also have to say that P3F was what got me into the MegaTen games so that might be a good one to start off with but it don't even pale in comparison to Nocturne nor does P4

Nocturne was reprinted recently so it's easier to find than before. It blows P3/P4 out of the water.