Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey – Angels, Demons, and a Heart Full of Neutrality

Last May I found myself wanting to play another JRPG after having just recently finished Final Fantasy XIII. Eventually I narrowed down my choices to two DS games. It was a toss up between Pokémon SoulSilver and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. Both games were strong RPGs with an addictive monster collecting element to them. I decided I was in the mood for collecting demons rather than Pokémon so I went with Strange Journey. I figured it couldn’t be a very long game and I’d be done with it soon enough. Little did I know this game would become completely addictive, factor into my giving up on Shin Megami Tensei: Persona, and take more than 100 hours to complete.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is the forth game in the mainline Shin Megami Tensei series. Strange Journey returns the SMT series to its roots after a six year gap between mainline games. Although this game can be thought of as Shin Megami Tensei IV its international setting places it outside the realm of previous mainline games; hence the omission of a number in the title. Strange Journey embarks on quite a journey by eschewing the traditionally Japanese settings for Antarctica and even stranger lands. Despite making the transition to the Nintendo DS Strange Journey is very much a dark and epic journey worthy of the attention of any hardcore RPG fan.

 

In the 21st Century humanity prospers as the worldwide population reaches seven billion. Yet mankind’s prosperity isn’t all positive as war, greed, and environmental problems have reached a critical mass. Suddenly a strange vortex opens up in Antarctica and swallows several scientific research bases stationed at the South Pole. The ever expanding vortex is referred to as the “Schwarzwelt,” and vaporizes everything in its path. In response to the threat the United Nations forms an investigation team composed of elite scientists and soldiers from around the world. Equipped with the world’s most advanced armor and technology the investigation team board four ships and descend into the Schwarzwelt. The goal is to discover a way to stop the vortex from enveloping the entire Earth.

Unfortunately for the investigation team conditions quickly deteriorate upon entering the Schwarzwelt as the four ships lose power, are separated, and crash. You, the silent protagonist, are stationed on the main ship, the Red Sprite. Upon landing the powerless ship is immediately assaulted by demons and you along with other soldiers fend off the demon attack. The crew manages to get the Red Sprite running again and is immediately contacted by several unknown entities. The entities grant the crew the power to use a strange summoning program in order to call forth demons as allies. The mission of destroying the Schwarzwelt is nearly forgotten as the remnants of the Red Sprite crew push forward desperately looking for a way to return to Earth.

 

Strange Journey encompasses an epic sci-fi adventure gone horribly awry and ties the plot to an overly preachy environmental message. The sci-fi side of this game’s plot is extremely compelling and managed to pull me into the story. The game is filled with plot twists and deep philosophical questions that are uncommon to most JRPGs. Very few RPGs set up conditions which draw direct parallels to real life and go as far to question the nature of 20th and 21st century human progress, humanism, monotheistic religion, and even the pagan gods. If this latest Shin Megami Tensei game were as popular as Mass Effect or Pokémon its subject matter would draw controversy from an easily offended public. The downside to Strange Journey’s plot is its heavy-handed environmental message. Many gamers many will roll their eyes with annoyance at how many times the game preaches at them about the downside of modern human society. Pollution is a problem, greed is a problem, war is a problem– yes, we get it already. This message is an integral part of Strange Journey’s overall plot but it would have been nice if Atlus Japan didn’t constantly beat the gamer over the head.

Strange Journey is a pure a first person dungeon crawler that is reminiscent of old school RPGs. Exploration consists of finding randomly generated items, treasure boxes at fixed locations, puzzles, enemy encounters, and a marked destination on the map. A refreshing lack of random enemy encounters, clearly marked objectives, and interesting puzzles kept this RPG from feeling dated despite its old school vibes. However, the abundance of trap floors, damage tiles, odd warp tile puzzles, and huge sprawling dungeons might turn off many fans not up to the challenge. Furthermore, side quests and mini-games might not provide a fully satisfying distraction for gamers looking for in-game downtime. The upside to dungeon exploration is the overabundance of save spots and healing terminals within each area. They ensure you won’t lose too much progress if you die and they also allow you to play the game in shorter chunks. Given that Strange Journey easily stretches on for 80 to 100 hours the abundance of save points is a blessing.

 

The turn-based combat in Strange Journey will most likely be more of the same for veteran SMT fans and even avid RPG players. Attacks are comprised of melee weapons, gun damage, and magic. Your team will always contain the protagonist and three demons of your choice. The protagonist is the only human in the party and can attack with a sword, an assault rifle, or can simply use items. His growth is directly tied his customizable high tech armor known as a “Demonica.” Armor types determine the protagonist’s strengths and weakness while various rifles and special items allow him to use different types of magic. Demons can use all types of attacks but can’t use items at all, nor can they revive the protagonist if he dies. This last point is important because once the main character goes down it is an instant game over just like in many SMT titles. This fact alone means you’re bound to see the game over screen a few times thanks to a cheap shot by an enemy or a surprise attack. If you’re the type of player who generally plays RPGs with reckless abandonment with no consideration for strategy Strange Journey will kick your ass.

Nearly all allies and enemies are vulnerable or outright weak to specific attacks. Exploiting these weaknesses along with using party buffs and enemy debuffs are essential to survival. Strange Journey also has its own version of all-out attacks known as demon co-op attacks. Once an enemy’s weakness is exploited party members will unleash a devastating almighty or non-elemental attack that cannot be blocked. For a co-op to work at least two party members must be of the same alignment type. Character alignments consist of three factions (Chaos, Law, and Neutral) common to the mainline SMT games. The protagonist starts off as Neutral but can switch to other alignments and work with demons from opposing alignments. But the more same aligned demons you have in your party the stronger the co-op attacks.

Demons are at the heart of every mainline Shin Megami Tensei game and Strange Journey is no exception. They are enemies who can be turned into allies by way of negotiation and fusion. During enemy encounters many demons can be persuaded to join your party. While negotiation isn’t overly complex the process can be an exercise in frustration. A single incorrect answer generally causes demons to attack and you generally have no clue as to what constitutes a right and wrong answer. The hardest part is figuring out demon personality types and the best answers to go along with the different personalities. The fact that you generally only get one or two questions to impress a demon before negotiation fails is irritating. The addition of a Persona style mood meter would have been a huge help in this game.

Party building is the enjoyable side of dealing with demons in Strange Journey. Players that enjoy customizing their party members and partaking in the practice of min-maxing will find numerous options in this game. The majority of demons are gained through fusion, i.e. the process of fusing two or more demons together to create a new demon. Skills are inherited from the demons being fused, the new demon’s inherent skill set, and from skill sources obtained from a completely different demon. These skills are known as demon sources and they contain entirety of a particular demon’s skill set. These sources can allow fused demons to learn moves they ordinary wouldn’t. For example, a demon weak to fire magic can have its weakness completely removed by giving it a source that contains the skill “null fire” during the fusion process. The ability to mix and match skills and traits for demons allows for all types of customization.

Players can also share or receive custom demons via the game’s password system. The password is made up of a 32-digit code consisting of letters, numbers, and symbols. Every time a demon is registered to the game’s compendium a special password can be created on the fly. In addition to user created passwords various demons can only be obtained by special passwords obtained from various side quests or released directly by Atlus. Between demon customization and special passwords there are boundless ways for players to tinker with stats and character growth.

In contrast to recent RPGs such as Golden Sun: Dark Dawn, Dragon Quest IX, and even Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, Strange Journey doesn’t come close to pushing the graphical capabilities of the DS. The game’s graphical engine was lifted directly from the Etrian Odyssey series. The 3D models aren’t particularly impressive to look at but they serve their purpose. With the exception of a handful of very short cut scenes there is almost no animation outside of enemy encounters. Strange Journey seems only a few steps removed from being a visual novel or an adventure game. In fact, many of the game’s major events are told through text descriptions that leave the player’s imagination to fill in the rest. While I didn’t have a problem with this approach I can understand how some would be disappointed with the minimal visuals. One impressive area of the game does lie with the 2D visuals used for character and demon portraits. The artwork is really slick and made demon discovery a joy for me just to see the artwork assets within the game. Kazuma Kaneko’s demon designs have never looked better– especially the designs unique to Strange Journey.

In terms of sound there is virtually no voice acting to be found within this latest mainline SMT game. Demons may make generalized sounds if you talk to them but I would be extremely hard pressed to call that a voiceover. Instead, you’ll find yourself completely immersed in Shoji Meguro’s compositions. Meguro’s work on Strange Journey is a fascinating departure from the J-Pop, J-Rock, guitar riffs, and piano themes fans have become accustomed to in recent years. Instead his music is dark, foreboding, and matches the overall atmosphere of the game very well. Many pieces consist of heavy drum beats, tambourines, horns, violins, and ominous Gregorian chants. Some songs have a militaristic and almost heroic feel to them while others are piano compositions which decidedly sound more like Meguro’s work. All and all, Strange Journey’s soundtrack is richly diverse with high emotional moments that feel epic and low moments that can feel disturbing. That said, the music within Strange Journey may not appeal to everyone. If you prefer Meguro’s work on the recent Shin Megami Tensei spin-offs you may find yourself uninterested in the game’s soundtrack.

 

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is Atlus’ latest mainline Megaten title. The unique combination of a complex plot and gameplay is sure to please any hardcore RPG traditionalist. This game never strays far from the formula that has made SMT titles and their spin-offs so successful over the decades. Demon collecting and customization has never been more fun and the monsters are as interesting as ever. The philosophical and occasionally uncomfortable plot is worth thinking about long after you’ve finished the game. Nevertheless, Strange Journey can be a frustrating title with overbearing preaching, punishing difficulty, massive dungeons, and an 80 to 100 hour commitment rarely found on handheld games. The time commitment and overall difficulty of the game may prove to be too daunting for average RPG gamers. If you hate the idea of spending more than 50 hours on a single title you might want to skip this game in favor of something shorter. Anyone looking a rewarding challenge, alleviation from run-of-the-mill JRPGs, or more SMT in general will be well served by Strange Journey.