SMT: Strange Journey, part 1

So I picked up Strange Journey again last week, after beating Etrian Odyssey II. I thought I didn't like it before, and while some of those criticisms still stand up (I still think bonus damage based on alignment is stupid) I'm finding myself largely liking the game.

By the end of Etrian Odyssey II I was sick and tired of mapping. I mean usually I like it, but when I'm trying to just get to the final boss as quickly as possible to finish the game I hate it. And when I started playing SJ again, I was glad I didn't have to map myself - I was trying to like the game mechanics, and had to fuss with them first and foremost.

The demon fusing is pretty streamlined, although costly. I really like the password feature - if I find myself stuck later in the game, I'll probably cheese my way through with some password-generated demon I find on the internet.

Does that make me a cheater? Yeah probably. I haven't done it yet, but I'm keeping that trick up my sleeve to prevent endless grinding if I can.

Speaking of which, I think that password thing is pretty damned awesome. Look here and here and here to see how fricking flexible the thing is. Have you fused a demon? Do you like it? Generate a password for it, and share it with your friends/the internet! I mean LOOK at some of Eirikr's demons - reflects all physical and magical attacks, and has Null Light and Dark. The only thing that can even DAMAGE those guys is Almighty damage!

Even if you aren't fusing ridiculous uber-demons who can kill God with their thoughts, the password system is still pretty useful. There are some secret passwords built into the game that Atlus put there for some useful demons (I've actually had a Mara sitting in my PWD hopper at level 86 or something because its a freaking penis monster given to me by the company who made the game!

Anyway, so I'm in the Delphinus sector, the fourth sector in the game, which is basically a trash heap so far. I had stopped in Bootes, the second sector, because I couldn't stand damage floors (still can't, actually!). I beat the boss of that sector, and then flew through Carina, the third sector, yesterday. I'm going to try to slow down, because I think I need to level up quite a bit to continue any farther. And I need to fuse some of these damned demons away - fricking Hathor has been around forever!

I really like how the story is presented in this game, though. Maybe I'm just naive to how the military works, but the way your characters progress through the story is very military-like. You are given orders to go do whatever, and when you do whatever, you are given more orders. This means there is no teenage celebration about victory like in almost every other MegaTen game - not to say I always hate that, but it's nice to not have to encounter it EVERY TIME. Also, all the characters are adults - which is nice, too, because you don't see that too often in RPGs. In fact, the main character looks like he is in his early 30s, MAYBE late 20s. I wish more RPGs were this way.

I'll have more thoughts as I play through it. It is definitely a weird game... It's basically Etrian Odyssey: Shin Megami Tensei. Sounds good, doesn't it? I think it's a little early for me to judge, but I think it brings both the good and bad qualities of those two series to the table. I'll probably talk about that next time if I still feel that way.