Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne

[Shibusawa jr.]

After numerous pushbacks I finally received a copy of SMT:N, a chapter in a series not previously released in the west.

Now I'm not one that cares for graphics much but aesthetics and design the more and this game has some of the most striking character designs I've witnessed thus far. Like Xenosaga it really has that anime feel but the setting in SMT is a lot darker.
Gameplay contains a lot of random battles and except for boss encounters no visible enemies. There's some short cutscenes, well spread out between the dungeons thus far (about 6 hours in, taking my time) and in the beginning they help you learn the games uncomplicated mechanics such as demon recruiting and fusing.
Unlike most RPG's you create you're own party by for instance talking to demons you encounter in battle. During these 'negotiations' demons will ask for money or something else and pending on the outcome join the group.(I've read it works out like Pokemon, so that might give you an idea.) As the possibilities of recruiting and creating unique and powerfull demons are seemingly endless it really is one of the games greater strenghts.
Caught a short glimpse of Dante 'coming to town' and look forward to battling it out with him later on

Hope I'm not the only one enjoying this beauty right now ?

[Prof Frink]

Nope your not the only I have a copy on order should hopefully get here monday. Looking forword to this as it looks a little different to most RPGs and it has Dante.

[Bleeders]

Isn't this one done by Atlus of Disgaea and La Pucelle Tactics fame?

[scarredbyvideogames]

I hope to get my hand's on this before too long.

I've been anticipating it for a while......please post more impression's as you continue.

The variety and design of the various demon's in the bestiary (I have the DoubleJump Guide) look sublime and overall,well,this game just reek's of style to me.I especially hope that it's as challenging an experience as I'm led to believe.

Have fun

[Melon_bread]

Isn't this one done by Atlus of Disgaea and La Pucelle Tactics fame?

Published by yes, not developed by.

[Bleeders]

Ah right, thanks. Might have to pick this one up.

[Shibusawa jr.]

The variety and design of the various demon's in the bestiary (I have the DoubleJump Guide) look sublime and overall,well,this game just reek's of style to me.I especially hope that it's as challenging an experience as I'm led to believe.

Have fun

Oh I'm till having fun allright . The enemies are getting tougher though, and fusing 'balanced' demons, those who have different offensive and defensive skill in good relation to other partymembers, is proving tough. There's some real 'frustrating' moments to be had when you're negotiating with some cool looking demon: it asks you for some money, then some more, then hesitates and asks finally for some rare item and after giving it he laughs in your face and decides to attack you after all the effort.

I haven't needed a guide yet but ran into a Grim Reaper called Matador and he wooped me so vigorously that I might have to pay a visit to gamefaqs later. Also ran into Loki a while back and while he was wasting his time in the bar I raided his room for some juicy items

So far it's shaping up to be a very nice action RPG with a reasonably high difficulty, absolutely stellar character design (could be an acquired taste though) and an unusual theme. I'll keep on playing, interested to hear your opinions.

[Corrosion]

I've clocked up 20 hours over the last week on Nocturne and can't decide whether I love or loathe it.

The battle system appears to be typically turn-based, but there is an added dimension of strategy with each demon your recruit (and battle against) posessing their own strengths and weaknesses. Determining the type of attack used by enemies, particularly bosses, is crucial, so that you can form a party that has no weaknesses. The "turn press" system comes into play here - basically you get four turns per round, but a single turn can be taken twice if you hit an enemy with an attack that it is weak against. Conversely, hit an enemy with an attack it's unaffected by and you lose a turn. Of course, this works for your opponents too so forming a party without weaknesses is essential for victory. The Matador uses a lot of Force attacks, by the way...

Sadly the old-school dungeon design is rather unispired, with angular corridors and samey locations aplenty. Nocturne is very much a dungeon crawler, so expect much time fighting (random) battles in dull-looking mazes. No towns or anything here. The game undoubtedly achieves what it set out to do, but personally I'm finding it tiresome after 20 long hours.

The narrative has, thus far, been rather sparse yet the set-up remains intruiging, but forget character development; there are no human companions in your party and the main character doesn't speak or show any emotion I'm finding it tough to forge a bond with anything in the game.

An acquired taste indeed, then. Fighting is pretty good, demon fusion is a great fun to experiment with but the almost constant crawling is tiresome, for this gamer at least.

[Shibusawa jr.]

Ah you love it

I agree that the dungeon design sometimes looks a bit uninspired but so far they haven't been too large and save and healing points are seperated logically so far. I hope it stays that way though.

I think it would be cool if you're character altered in his appearance (where did we see that before) after gaining a few levels. He's become a demon after all and it would sorta stay in line with the game's own logic.

I also wouldn't mind some more backstory to the whole goings on but I'm happy to get bits of info from the souls every now and then. I'm about ten hours in (?- no timer) and so far there was a small and stylish cutscene every two hours or so. I think that's quite balanced but then again, I'm not that far yet.
Running into demons like Matador is also proving quite an incentive to delve deeper. Thought his intro was quite amusing. Unfortunately nobody on my team is immune to force attacks so I'll have to be creative tonight

[fuse]

I've been reading up on this after seeing someone else rant and rave about it on another forum, and I must admit I quite like the sound of it; not so much for the battle system and all, but rather the suggestions of the plot and mood being rather dark, moody, and generally more 'adult' than your standard RPG affair; what can I say, I'm a sucker for it. To those of you playing; any comments on what the plot and such is like? Although at the end of the day I'm not going to play it through if the fights are frustrating and dull, but I'm far more interested with how the story is going to be told.

[Corrosion]

Shibusawa: Well, the pendulum swings between love and loathe pretty frequently. Maybe I'm just a little burnt out due to the abudance of dungeons and random battles.

Fuse: The plot is definitely interesting, dark and somewhat unique amongst the RPGs I've personally played, but the story so far has been told in small chunks between dungeons. Initially (or at least very early on) it's disorientating because you're unsure of what's happened and why, but this actually works because you're viewing events through the main character and feeling his confusion about the situation. It feels like the polar opposite of a Xenosaga, with the focus much more on combat and experiencing the story yourself to a greater degree. Your mileage may vary, but one thing is for certain; you won't find any twee music, adorable villiages, or Symphonia-esque cheesey dialogue (as endearing as that was sometimes).

The fighting isn't dull IMO, but can be frustrating and tough at times. There are items that help avoid random battles and certain demons posess skills to repel them, though. It's all about learning the system and adapting when necessary.

[Shibusawa jr.]

Funny you say that about Xenosaga. Apart from both being very stylish in their own way and maybe old fashioned dungeon design they're clearly opposites. I loved Xenosaga and so far I'm loving SMT more every step I progress. (As said in the first post I'm a sucker for great style and sometimes SMT looks like moving artwork )

After some proper fusing I managed to get me some proper demons last night. Got a level 19 Megumi (?) and a level 18 Divine Knight (?) to help me take down Matador, still he put up a decent fight. (Seriously when I got the previously mentioned demons I spend some minutes just looking at them....... )
The lady wearing 'progressive headgear' (a character worth a point alone imo ) is now asking me to come to some place but I'm not sure how to go there. Found a faq that talks about the Amada Zone (?) but unfortunately doesn't say how to get there. (Maybe it does but have you seen the size ?)
I'm thinking of getting the guidebook (for the art naturally), anybody know where's the place to get them ?

[scarredbyvideogames]

^^
http://www.doublejumpbooks.com/nocturne/

Only source I know sorry.US based so by the time you get it,probably too late.......exellent guide though;much more an actual strategy guide than a 'walkthrough'.

EDIT:btw,I looked in the guide on your behalf,but aren't sure where your at.....you mean 'Amala' yes?..perhap's if you go to the forum (link in above page,then the answer may already be there...or you could ask.)

[Bassman]

My game arrived a few days ago, but having been unwell (and then facing a considerably longer than normal journey for work Monday and Tuesday) I have yet to play it.

I must say that I was impressed with the Strategy Guide which is of A5 format and runs to almost 400 pages. Not really studied it to any great extent yet though.

[Corrosion]

Megumi Uzume? She's very helpful for that fight becuase of her immunity to force and healing skills. Good choice

To get to the Amala network you just need to find an Amala Link (i.e. save point) and warp there, same as you would to any other destination.