Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Before there was Persona, there was Shin Megami Tensei. Developed by the good folks over at our favorite JRPG company Atlus, Shin Megami Tensei was an incredibly dark series of games that often involved our morally ambiguous protagonist having to choose between the forces of Law and Chaos, and killing off some of his friends as consequences of his decision. You’ll also have to fight God or Lucifer and their hordes of demons, depending on the alignment you choose to go with. Yeah, it’s all very morbid stuff.
Nocturne was a particularly outstanding entry in the series because of its presentation and intriguing characters. Nocturne pulled no punches in the manner it unfavorably depicted religion and in underlining the hypocrisy of the people you meet. Ultimately, it’s a subtle story of excessive greed, selfishness, self-destruction, and all that other happy stuff. And you, as the protagonist, get to land right in the middle of it, and decide how you want to remake the world.
The gameplay itself is masterfully executed too; Persona fans will be familiar with the demon fusion system (oh did I forget to mention they’re called demons, and not Personas?) where you can fuse two or more demons to create an even more powerful abomination to fight for you. Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne doesn’t joke around when it comes to fighting enemies either; the foes you face, even in random encounters, will be tough. You’ll need to constantly review your party of demons and make sure you exploit their strengths and cover their weaknesses in order to come out victorious.
Nocturne certainly doesn’t carry any of that happy-go-lucky attitude that Persona 4 has plastered all over itself. However, a game that’s so unafraid to tackle socially taboo subjects is hard to find indeed, especially one as hauntingly immersive as Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.
