Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse on Nintendo 3DS

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is technically a followup to the original Shin Megami Tensei IV, picking up just before the ending of the original game and carrying things well past that. With a host of new characters and a brand new storyline that changes the events of SMT IV, you don’t necessarily need to have played the original to enjoy or understand Apocalypse. It’s full-fledged, new adventure in a demon infested Tokyo that stands supremely well on its own, keeping its events self contained and efficiently catching players up with backstory.

In Apocalypse, the world is victim to a devastating attack by demons, one that wipes out most of the planet’s population. The citizens of Tokyo live under a giant rock dome that was erected during the attack, saving the city from devastation. Demons have infested the city, along with the opposing forces of angels, and different groups of humans have banded together to survive and combat both menaces.

One of these groups is called the Hunters Association, who use a “Demon Summoning Program” on their smartphones to capture demons and use them to fight and protect themselves. Your character, called Nanashi by others, is a young novice hunter just barely learning the ropes of surviving in Tokyo with his lifelong friend Asahi.

Apocalypse really does pick up right at the end of Shin Megami Tensei IV with Flynn, the main character of the original, about to make his move against the forces of Lucifer (demons) and Merkabah (angels). Nanashi and Asahi head out on a routine food gathering mission with their mentors, where they’re suddenly ambushed by a group of demons. Their mentors are killed and Nanashi has to make a deal with a mysterious being named Dagda to survive, who then makes you his “Godslayer.”

Things get kicked up a notch when you’re tricked into releasing powerful beings into the world known as “The Divine Powers.” This third faction immediately takes over part of Tokyo and has a grand plan to defeat the demons and angels, and bring about mankind’s Salvation.

The story really is one of the main draws of Apocalypse as well, telling a gripping tale of opposing divine powers and the humans trying to survive in between. Dagda has possessed Nanashi and protects him from death, communicating with you through your smartphone. As the rest of your party and the other humans start to learn more of you and Dagda, they begin to question your true motives. This tension comes into play the entire game, and for most of the experience, even you the player are questioning just what Dagda really wants.

The structure of Apocalypse is simple enough, with a mix of third-person exploration and world map traversal. The world map itself has you as just an icon moving around, and it’s dotted with various locations, collectibles, and treasure chests. You get quests sent to you by the Hunters Association on your smartphone in two different varieties, story quests and challenge quests. Story quests are exactly what they sound like and make up the bulk of what you’re doing, moving the narrative along.

Challenge quests are optional objectives you can undertake that vary in their objectives. Some have you exploring certain areas of the world to track down an item or defeat an enemy, while some might require you to capture a certain demon.  These quests in no way have to be completed, but doing so can gain you quite a bit of experience and money. Relics of the days past dot the environments of the game, and by collecting them you can then turn the relics in later for a tidy profit at a shop.

On that note, Apocalypse’s gameplay revolves around the tried and true mechanic of the Shin Megami Tensei series: demon capturing. When you encounter demons in battle, you have an option to speak to them, and then choose various responses to their questions. If you answer the correct way and provide the correct tributes to them, the demons will join your party. There’s an enormous list of recruitable demons, and an in-menu fusion option opens up options to create even more.

Their designs can range from unnervingly cute to downright creepy, and the art as a whole is well done. It’s fun to try and figure out what responses work best for what demons, and it’s easy to craft the party you want based on your play style.  The good news is as you expand your demon inventory, you can carry upwards of 20 at any given time, and they all gain experience from battle.

You’ll need to carefully create your party of course and plan for weaknesses, because Apocalypse can be a punishingly difficult game. Battles pit enemies of different types and weaknesses against you, and boss battles are even more challenging. Finding enemy weaknesses is the key to success in battle, but these foes can do the same to you.

Luckily, Apocalypse lets you change the difficulty between three different settings at any time. The settings go from Skirmish to Conflict, and then to War. Changing the difficulty doesn’t affect the rewards you get from battle in any way, letting players who just want to experience the story power through battles, while fans that want the challenge can keep it there.

Both your character and your demons level up when they’ve gained enough experience. Demon’s stat boosts are random when they level, while you choose how you want to distribute your five stat points. In addition to stat boosts, when Nanashi levels up you get 10 app points. These points can be spent in the menu to get a variety of things, like expansions for your demon stock, increases to your skill slots, stat boosts for your demons, and much more. Finding the dead bodies of Hunters in the world can also gain you app, once you send their info back to the society.

Various characters join you along the way during Apocalypse, and they take the role of partners during battle, taking a turn after all of your turns have been depleted. Each partner has their own skills and strengths, Asahi for example comes equipped with a ton of healing magic, while Gaston is a physical fighter with combat skills and Navarre gives you status boosts. An Assist Gauge fills up as partners take actions in battle, and once filled it allows all of your current partners to unleash a devastating attack on the enemy at once.

Partners also factor into the story, as they’ll all be present during story scenes and will send you emails based on what’s going on in the game. Apocalypse’s cast of characters turn out to be surprisingly deep, as they each have their own motivations and reasons for joining you. You’ll learn a lot about each partner throughout the game, and they’re each well-rounded characters that are fascinating to learn more about.

The voice cast does a great job of providing detail and emotion to each role as well, and even minor characters are voiced well. Your character, Nanashi, is voiceless and mostly represents you, the player, being put in the world. Though silent, he has his own fascinating mysteries to uncover.

If there’s one thing that Apocalypse absolutely nails, it’s the tone. You’re living in an apocalyptic world inhabited by demons and angels, and every piece of the game reinforces the desolation of this theme. Tokyo has been obliterated, neon shop signs still glow in the darkness of lifeless streets. Character designs are varied and reflect each individual’s life post-apocalypse. On top of that, the game’s soundtrack is appropriately moody, its dark tones matching the mystery and desperation of the world.

While the story is fascinating, lengthy dungeon crawling sections on main quests can keep you from seeing the plot progress for long periods of time. There’s nothing wrong with dungeon crawling of course, but sometimes you just want to see more story content as you piece your way through an area. There’s also quite a bit of backtracking, as you’re basically just running around the city of Tokyo the entire time.

Apocalypse is a game that can easily stand on its own, even if you haven’t played the original Shin Megami Tensei IV. Of course, having played the original will give you more context and understanding of the world and its different characters and factions. However, Apocalypse’s brand new story, engaging characters, and deep gameplay systems are more than enough to warrant a playthrough for fans both new and old. If you’re looking for a lengthy, satisfying handheld RPG to play, Apocalypse is a great candidate.

SCORE: 4.5/5- GREAT