Finishing this game is bittersweet - it feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders, but at the same time, I really came to love the challenge and atmosphere of it. This is a long video for sure, but I had to make sure I covered everything. Hope you guys check out Akira's route, it's definitely worth the trouble.
Technically you get a secret cutscene with Steven if you complete all routes on your save file but even I didn't do that because I was exhausted too, I just did the two routes you did 😁 EDIT: Also as Eevster said you should play SMT1 and 2, they're actually slightly more polished than If but they're similar levels of crazy, SMT1 is barebones with the routes, you play 1 on neutral and you get to fight both the Law and Chaos bosses instead of replaying 3 times, SMT2 is really crazy and has different routes with re-used content, not as different as If's main route and Akira's route, but still was different enough for me to go through it all. I've played through them all and I really love how weird the game is, I miss that SMTIV and onwards aren't as weird, well actually I take that back... Apocalypse was weird because of Krishna's actions haha. Sorry for the wall, but seriously, play SMT 1 and 2 they're amazing, and if you were skilled enough to be able to get obscure knowledge to beat If you can definitely beat 1 and 2.
@@MarshSMT Devilman inspired (among many others) the original author of the novels. Some early demon designs are also based on the devilman manga. A pretty good piece of paper to read. If you like Megaten related stuff, you'll love it for sure!
The story for this route still sounds amazing honestly. You and Akira just V-clip into a different game and beat the shit out of everyone until the credits roll.
The SMT1 Hero's Dog is also a rare High Tier Guardian (for context, early on in SMT1 you fuse the dog with a demon to get a Lvl 50ish Cerberus with some unique skills... and then loose it after the next boss fight.)
Not just the Hero! There's an equal chance for the Law Hero and Chaos Hero to be guardians from the same parameters! They're all level 32 and function roughly the same
Some things Marsh hasn’t gone over that I found interesting. First, Hazama was originally going to have his own route as a prequel but it was made into a separate game instead. Don’t know what happened since it’s now been lost. Secondly, Charlie has his own dungeon that the others don’t, the World of Wrath, replacing the World of Envy. Third, if you beat all four routes you get approached by Stephen with a proposition for you. Not that rewarding as the game ends right after he asks that question. Fourth is just something I noticed but there is no World of Lust in the game, which I found a bit weird. Fifth is how this game spawned two timelines, the manga and book timeline with the male protagonist with Yumi as his partner and the game timeline with the female protagonist that leads to both Devil Summoner and Persona.
I think this style of alternate story was re used in persona 1 given the snow queen quest, having an exclusive character and just having an entirely different story
Wait I just realized. The partner is named Akira and he’s possessed by Amon. It’s Devilman. Akira’s route straight up just turns him into Devilman. I love that.
@@MarshSMT That's great to hear. You have a real talent for these narrated playthrough type videos. I could really feel your pain in the Megami Tensei 1 video.
Amazing review. It's sad this kind of content isn't getting that much recognition from the Megaten comunity, but since I suppose that with time it will become more relevant for the large majority of the fanbase who haven't played this game, keep up the great work.
I appreciate it. I'm going to review as many of the older titles as I can, since TH-cam is very lacking in discussion on them. Hopefully more people check out this one, I'm sure like you said that it'll grow in popularity eventually.
It's just a shame that the PSX version remains untranslated... The battle theme and especially the Old Enemy battle theme are both incredible for the Akira Volume. (You ever heard "Normal Battle ~Amala Network~" or used the SMT if... costume in Persona 5? Yeah. That song.)
here is a little something in smt If... int and mag are for defensive stats for the protagonist magic can destroy you and instant death have higher chances to kill you on low int so is not suggestable to midmax in this one since low int and mag characters die a lot in smt if sebek you can just not fight him and have him join you if akira has 12 str and int thot joins you if you have both sebek and hathor with you (he is a god send vs that witch) Hazama in the akira route is actually stronger, in the other routes his level is tops 99 in the akira route hazama is level 125 (he is as strong as stephen in smt4a level wise) is just that rakunda is fucking busted in this game akira actually has a fiend as one of his guardians and he can be debastating early game with if you look for it thats all good luck
Great info, details for this game are quite obscure and sometimes even wrong. However for sobek you need only 12 strength OR intelligence for akira. At the very least I got him with akira having 12 strength and less than 12 int.
My first try at Hazama's boss fight on Akira's route he kicked my ass, but on the second try? Ooooooh boy I kicked his ass SO HARD with Orochi's power breath
The PS1 version is even more interesting. Shame that version, nor any of the SMT PS1 ports are translated, because they are objectively improvements over the originals. I remember asking Tsukasa Masuko about the OSTs and differences of the two versions of if... and he said something along the line of 'I feel sorry for the guy that had to convert my tracks for the PS1 version'. Another interesting factoid was that he said he used General Midi and usually had a Roland SC-55 to compose tracks when it was released. Actually sent me a GM copy of the Jakyou track from the game. I think he did do some stuff for the anniversary of SMT a year or so back that he really wanted to do.
"Which SMT character is a half-demon high-schooler with a lotta strength and he climbs a tower to fight a god-like final boss?" C'mon man, the correct answer is All of them
@@franciscocataldo9238 Aleph is a lot closer to a demon than you guys give him credit for. Yeah he LOOKS human, but he's a replicant clone of something. And you know what else the Center was cloning? Demon cows
It’s been two years since this video released (somehow), and I still discover new things about the game. If Marsh ever comes back to the game I’d recommend playing the other two routes as upon the completion of all 4 routes Stephen shows up to give the protagonist some mission. I feel like this was a cancelled sequel or a botched translation cause the next time we see the SMT if Protag she is dating one of the Devs of Persona 2:IS and working for the Kuzunoha detective agency. I guess Stephen really cared about Sumarou City?
Don't mind me, just here to check out the Devilman/Amon/Fudo Akira references I know are in this scenario and feeding the youtube algorithm with interactions!
I know this is kinda late, but thank you for letting me know about this smt game. I just beat akiras route (with map guide of course) and i fucking love this game, its so simple yet so fun. Every smt fan should try this game out.
akira's route i felt was way harder, but you had more stuff to beat it. at the beginning i got hathor and sebek, but tbh, sebek is kind of a pushover compared to thoth and hathor. the latter 2 really carry you through the end, thoth with Liftoma and Mapper and Hathor with megido and healing. This was the route where I tried to get the strongest guardians, im not sure how i did it, but I don't remember actually trying to grind to get it. It was mostly just me walking up and down back and forth to heal spots as kind of "checkpoints". If i felt like I couldn't keep going on the dungeon, id head back to the heal spot (which probably took longer than getting up). Ultimately it just made me more and more familiar with the dungeon's layout each time I went through. Some of the dungeon layouts I felt were made to be nearly impossible to figure out, since I could never find a map online the time I played. I specifically remember one part on I think was the nomos of heaven where nearly anywhere you went was a teleport tile, and for most of it the COMP was disabled, meaning I had to use the mapper. I ended up just tracking where I'd end up by screenshotting the map before hand and then looking at the map the next tile I was able to look at the map. That way I was able to experiment with different routes, because mind you, everything looks the same so you dont really know each time you go through if the path you take is a new one, especially since the layout is sort of replicated on many different parts, so without the full map you cant really tell where you are. My experience is also probably way different to many people, because I played on an emulator on my phone, rather than on a computer or something. I was also on a trip, so I was pretty much on my phone for 90% of car/bus/airplane rides. I played through SMT 1, 2, and if... on this trip, which by the end took out the whole "patience" challenge, since it was either be bored looking outside or toil through this puzzle. Also Pro-Tip Divine Retribution is an Extra skill that uses up a ton of MP but takes off a huge chunk of a bosses health depending on what alignment they are. The wiki says its 1/8th, I think its a lot more than that though. the caveat is the alignment requirement. It will only hit enemies that are oppositely aligned to the user, meaning neutral demons on your party also get hurt, and if you use it on an enemy boss thats the same alignment then there is no damage dealt. If you want to give it a try get a metatron or something because Hazama's final boss is actually chaos aligned. I never did this myself, but I only put the pieces together after fought Hazama and the 2 other SMTs i played.
16:36. Gosh this is both funny and sad at the same time seeing him fall just like that. Poor Hazama.......😅😓 Edit: The music really nails it...... And oddly enough, no enemy makes me think harder than zombie students......like really....they're not demons. They're once fearful kids killed or drained of life to be shambling minions with a peculiar thirst for flesh. The ones they once were are gone......i wonder what their zombie selfs feel like.....if they can.....and if they still have memories........have they ever shrieked in agony of what they've become........?
This ending is actually a bit of a downer to me, though I guess like TDE in Nocturne, depending on your perspective it could be good or bad. On one hand Hazama gets what was coming to him - but the fact that you're likely to have seen Reiko's ending beforehand is where it gets you, because you know that there's a better way. Yeah, the students are pretty messed up, right? There are zombie teachers too. Definitely wouldn't want to be stuck wandering around those crazy hallways forever.
Never knew that you could recruit those early bosses on Akira's route by being on a particular moon. I kept trying to talk to them on the wrong moon phase and they kept telling me off and fighting me. I ended up grinding massively to beat Sebek and never looked back!
Well, I finally beat it and it feels so, so good. Just one piece of advice and one correction: Final guard is not obtained from the casino, but from regular junk shops which even appear in the 3rd Nomos. Buy View Spheres to use in no-comp zones. It does the same thing as the Mapper spell.
I only played a few of the megaten games (P2, P3, DS: Raidou Kuzonoha) but these playthrough/review videos are done very well - I love them! I can't get enough of them!
3:28 I'm sure many people have pointed this out to you already, but in order to recruit Sebek you need to have a STR and INT above 13 on one of the main characters. This is incorrectly stated on the gamefaqs map. To get Thoth you just need both of them.
Dude you weren't kidding Bushyasta sucks ass. FInished the fight with Hathor and Archangel's magic sealed and everyone else paralyzed. Got kinda lucky towards the end since the dude already tanked my attack but kept wasting his turns debuffing.
I am really glad you made these videos because I just started Persona 1 foolishly thinking "This is where the series begins so I should start here" and then realizing "There's no backstory or tutorial... something's wrong. What did I miss?"
in smt V I feel like I was robbed of great experience even though I payed 10 dollars for Return of a true demon. I ducking whipped all the fiends asses with demi-fiend being the only real challenge. Day one story dlc like this is just anti-consumer and should be looked down upon.
@@iloveemiliaandrem9443 Gaming has really developed a problem with paid dlc in recent years, and it sucks to see Atlus going down the same path. I get wanting to make more on extra content, but charging for something that was clearly supposed to be in the base game is just scummy.
It's hard to find content about these games, I really like your editing and you have a nice tone in your voice which makes the videos even more enjoyable. Thanks for putting this up :)
As of now I've started to play this game taking Reiko's route. I'm prepared for the sins and countless retries. Thank you for showing me this game, Mash!
Watching your reviews made me nostalgic to play the game again so I downloaded it and gave it another go and I finished Reiko's route! I struggle to describe the feel of playing the game a lot more than the gameplay itself, even if the former is why I love it so much. I played SMT I and If... feels very cozy and small in comparison. I can remember every dungeon in If. I can't remember every dungeon in SMT 1. The dungeons felt huge the first time around,but they felt cozy and very familiar by the end. I'm only recently starting the second Nomos but just the Earth Nomos was enough to make me feel cozier than I thought I could in the Reiko route. I'm sure by the end I'll remember the Nomos too. I never thought I'd enjoy the feeling of getting lost in a videogame but If... is just the perfect experience for that feeling of discovery. (Also I found Bushyasta today and walked into her boss room without knowing that was it so like, 4 mp Akira fight LETS GOOO)
Personally, I felt great with this route. Only because I didn't have to deal with emotions and just go full balls to the walls battle mode. Though that tidbit about the rooms is new to me, I sort of want to jump back in and take that challenging tower again with this new knowledge.
I wonder if we will ever get another game where it has multiple routes like IF and P1. Not the no turning back law/chaos/neutral route half way or so in the game but at the start.
So like, you are a really cool youtuber, your insight is pretty good and the content you upload here is pretty amazing. Hope you continue with reviews of other obscure games!
13:24 What are you talking about? Mappara was part of the game and had been in the series for a while at that point, the only map related emulator "feature" that exists is the map hotkey patch for SMT 1.
FYI for marsh and the rest of you: not actually the hardest route, Charlie strips down two dungeons from even Yumis route and his best sword without significant grinding is a great fusion sword you can get for free that’s notably worse then Hinokagutsuchi due to the demon fire blade having insane power, and the ending reflects this with Hazema surviving and it leaves you feeling like you barely held him off, and he just plopped you home because it was fun to watch you struggle and win in a test fight, it’s creepy, the world of wrath is lonely and difficult, it’s just a great and very hard route
This game intrigues me after watching this video. I was a big fan of Persona 1 and Persona 2 Enternal Punishment for PS1 and Innocent Sin for PSP so this seems like another step for me since I’m not a huge fan of the more modern cartoon like Persona games
i finally finished the Akira route today and i gotta say it was one hell of a ride, this vid was one big help since it was kind of like a guide, idk if i'll ever play if... again but hey maybe
Well this was interesting, as someone who never played the games, I learned a lot from this, especially about how to better scale an enemy in these games.
Apparently there was a Java Cell Phone prequel game where you play as the main bad guy...wondered if you considered checking that out like you did with the cell phone port of the first megaten game?
Ah yis, SMT If, the game where DevilMan and Ashita No Joe are a thing in this game world (Akira being posessed by a demon named Amon and the Janitor being a reference to Danpei from ashita no joe)
"New game+ exclusive character" and "special route with hard as dick bullshit dungeons" is something Revelations: Persona did too, though separately this time. You can really tell those games were developed consecutively.
im watching and rewatching your four smt videos while i play genshin impact, very nice and chill review/guide, reminds me of mandalore's videos in tone and presentation, keep it up, only thing that i think lacks is a list with timestamps to the music you use. ps. sorry for any english errors :p
I finished the Akira route yesterday, but not without a lot of help from Gamefaqs, the Megami Tensei fandom Wikia, and this vid (yep, you helped a lot, Marsh, so thanks for that). I played it on an emulator too, and even with save states, the game was still really hard. My guess: Atlus knew one day there'd be something like guides and emulators to make the Akira route somewhat easier. So they made it even harder than ever, even with these tools. The final 2 dungeons and most boss fights were still a pain. I did like the rearranged music and the story behind Akira's route though.
So, I know I'm just as late to this as I was your original vid on SMT if, but! I did just clear this route a few hours back after going through it. Gotta say, I rather enjoyed it. Mind, the toughest part definitely feels like it was around the First Nomos, given that's before you get some truly _substantial_ gear, and Bushyasta is especially obnoxious for around that point. While it wasn't a _cakewalk_ once I got past her and snagged Death Colts and the Cavalry set from the Casino (also the Candy. That too), it made things _way_ more manageable. Mind, I feel like the difficulty wound down around Mammon onwards, _especially_ after beating his ass and getting the Kagutsuchi... Not that I'm complaining, mind. It was _super_-satisfying swinging that thing around, especially given my MC had like ~32 STR by the end of things. That, and I got to pop Hazama with a crit that did 1100+ damage in the end, so if _that_ doesn't scream 'catharsis', then I dunno what does. But, yeah. Pretty enjoyable overall, though I prob'ly wouldn't go back to SMT if any time soon, especially given I completed both Reiko and Akira's routes and I'd rather just not suffer through the Domain of Sloth again any time soon just for Yumi or Charlie's routes.
Bushyasta is pretty manageable to deal with if you make Akira spam Tarukaja to counter her Tarunda and have two demons attack with physical skills from behind. I had Archangel spam Heatwave and Rakshasa spam Spin Strike and Daruma Gaeshi. Have multiple demons with Paraladi and Pen Patra to heal her stun, sleep and mute ailments. Hathor has Pen Patra, Archangel also has Paraladi and Ramiel has both spells. Lastly use Hathor's Mediarama to heal your party should you lose a lot of HP from her physical attacks + Rakunda.
Amazing smt content, def gonna sub and look forward to more of your stuff. Recently got into the series a bit more and its great seeing the passion the community has. Great job!
I am playing through this right now, close to the end of Nomos of Heaven, and have discovered that if I do three demon infusion that includes two Fallen demons and a Yoma, the result on the fusion chart will be a question mark. The fusion result appears to be pretty much anything at/below your characters level. You can keep backing out and re-fusing the same combination of demons until you get a result you like. No idea why it does this but the specific demons don't appear to matter.
Finishing this game is bittersweet - it feels like a weight lifted off my shoulders, but at the same time, I really came to love the challenge and atmosphere of it. This is a long video for sure, but I had to make sure I covered everything. Hope you guys check out Akira's route, it's definitely worth the trouble.
Play SMT 1 and 2. They're cool 100 hour messes.
Traditionally, Bushyasta is an embodiment of Sloth. Looks like you couldn't get away, after all! ;p
Technically you get a secret cutscene with Steven if you complete all routes on your save file but even I didn't do that because I was exhausted too, I just did the two routes you did 😁 EDIT: Also as Eevster said you should play SMT1 and 2, they're actually slightly more polished than If but they're similar levels of crazy,
SMT1 is barebones with the routes, you play 1 on neutral and you get to fight both the Law and Chaos bosses instead of replaying 3 times, SMT2 is really crazy and has different routes with re-used content, not as different as If's main route and Akira's route, but still was different enough for me to go through it all. I've played through them all and I really love how weird the game is, I miss that SMTIV and onwards aren't as weird, well actually I take that back... Apocalypse was weird because of Krishna's actions haha.
Sorry for the wall, but seriously, play SMT 1 and 2 they're amazing, and if you were skilled enough to be able to get obscure knowledge to beat If you can definitely beat 1 and 2.
For him to have been difficult, what do you think Hazama would have needed?
Considering the length of your future videos it's kinda funny to see you call this one long LOL
Akira being possessed by a demon named Amon it's a Devilman reference.
Pretty obvious but I saw no one pointing it out so here you go.
That's pretty cool, I'm not into anime much so it went right over my head.
@@MarshSMT Devilman inspired (among many others) the original author of the novels.
Some early demon designs are also based on the devilman manga.
A pretty good piece of paper to read. If you like Megaten related stuff, you'll love it for sure!
Based and debirumanpilled.
@@KarcharodonAstra fk yes
Yeah, literally his name is the same as the protagonist of Devilman.
The story for this route still sounds amazing honestly. You and Akira just V-clip into a different game and beat the shit out of everyone until the credits roll.
I love it.
gotta see "the Charlie experience"
@@VirgoanSub where'd you hear that?
Just me and the boy Holdin our nuts and kickin' demon ass
5 minute video let's goooooo
It’s just the two heroes grabbing their crotches the whole time.
Charlie gets his own dungeon and that one couple has more of a story role, which is pretty neat. I'd say there's enough for a quick 10 minute video.
fun fact! if you die on a full moon, there's a miniscule chance that you'll get the hero from SMT1 as a guardian
The SMT1 Hero's Dog is also a rare High Tier Guardian (for context, early on in SMT1 you fuse the dog with a demon to get a Lvl 50ish Cerberus with some unique skills... and then loose it after the next boss fight.)
Not just the Hero! There's an equal chance for the Law Hero and Chaos Hero to be guardians from the same parameters! They're all level 32 and function roughly the same
@@aweigh1010 a lot of people spell lose as loose, so like.. I just figured fuck it.
I did not know this! Man a lot of things I didn't know. Then again I sort of just brute force my way through with only debuffs and buffs.
@Lucas the player character, to be exact, there's also the chaos-aligned party member and the law-aligned party member
Akira miyamoto sounds like the japanese equivalent of john smith
You're just wandering the vacant halls of your highschool one evening. You decide to enter the janitor's closet; when suddenly; Nick Fury.
You didn’t ask for this, you didn’t choose this
@@ryankitzan But here you are, climbing a Tower alongside your demonized delinquent schoolmate, beating up demons on your way to beat up the quiet kid
Some things Marsh hasn’t gone over that I found interesting. First, Hazama was originally going to have his own route as a prequel but it was made into a separate game instead. Don’t know what happened since it’s now been lost. Secondly, Charlie has his own dungeon that the others don’t, the World of Wrath, replacing the World of Envy. Third, if you beat all four routes you get approached by Stephen with a proposition for you. Not that rewarding as the game ends right after he asks that question. Fourth is just something I noticed but there is no World of Lust in the game, which I found a bit weird. Fifth is how this game spawned two timelines, the manga and book timeline with the male protagonist with Yumi as his partner and the game timeline with the female protagonist that leads to both Devil Summoner and Persona.
I think they have translated the script though
Yeah the script is translated. I’ve read it. Can find link on the megaten wiki
If you look of shin megami tensei If hazamas chapter on the wiki you can find the translated script.
@@ojgsk8ter Ooh neat!
Marsh becoming a game reviewer what a revolution
someone has to megami the tensei
@@MarshSMT But shin already has?
We need a hack that gives Akira lines of dialogue from the 90s Devilman dub.
Is it okay if I wear my shoes in here?
HOW THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN KEEPING, THEN?
"Ok, open the door and lets take a swing at the motherfuckers!"
@@dooo5303 "I don't give a shit"
"Well i am a good man"
I think this style of alternate story was re used in persona 1 given the snow queen quest, having an exclusive character and just having an entirely different story
> Akira gets possessed by a demon named Amon.
Devilman route? 👀
Demi-fiend route
Yes
"Somehow we fucked up"
Jimenez Route
Pretty much
This kind of content would be reserved for a re-release or port by current Atlus. Crazy how it's hidden away in NG+ for the base game.
Wait I just realized. The partner is named Akira and he’s possessed by Amon. It’s Devilman. Akira’s route straight up just turns him into Devilman. I love that.
It literally is just a devil man reference
Just found your account, fantastic SMT content! loved these two SMT: If vids. keep it up
Glad to hear you liked them. I'll be making more as soon as I can.
@@MarshSMT That's great to hear. You have a real talent for these narrated playthrough type videos. I could really feel your pain in the Megami Tensei 1 video.
Amazing review. It's sad this kind of content isn't getting that much recognition from the Megaten comunity, but since I suppose that with time it will become more relevant for the large majority of the fanbase who haven't played this game, keep up the great work.
I appreciate it. I'm going to review as many of the older titles as I can, since TH-cam is very lacking in discussion on them. Hopefully more people check out this one, I'm sure like you said that it'll grow in popularity eventually.
Views on these videos say otherwise, glad they are doing well
Don't worry, bro
Ppl will acknowledge that SMT: If... is essentially the inspiration for Persona one day
Seeing as the video now as 175K views... I'd say it's getting recognition now. I remember when it was just a couple thousand...
It's just a shame that the PSX version remains untranslated... The battle theme and especially the Old Enemy battle theme are both incredible for the Akira Volume.
(You ever heard "Normal Battle ~Amala Network~" or used the SMT if... costume in Persona 5? Yeah. That song.)
here is a little something in smt If... int and mag are for defensive stats for the protagonist magic can destroy you and instant death have higher chances to kill you on low int so is not suggestable to midmax in this one since low int and mag characters die a lot in smt if
sebek you can just not fight him and have him join you if akira has 12 str and int
thot joins you if you have both sebek and hathor with you (he is a god send vs that witch)
Hazama in the akira route is actually stronger, in the other routes his level is tops 99 in the akira route hazama is level 125 (he is as strong as stephen in smt4a level wise) is just that rakunda is fucking busted in this game
akira actually has a fiend as one of his guardians and he can be debastating early game with if you look for it
thats all good luck
Great info, details for this game are quite obscure and sometimes even wrong.
However for sobek you need only 12 strength OR intelligence for akira. At the very least I got him with akira having 12 strength and less than 12 int.
I used to think SMT4 had a mean early game.
I then played Akira's route in SMT If...
Thanks, Marshal.
>Akira casts Mudoon!
> *Oh no, it was reflected!*
Marsh: This is fine.
The janitor is also a reskin of your trainer in SMT2.
everything in this game is a reskin of smt2 lmao, even the music
The Janitor is also based on Tange Danpei from Tomorrow Joe
@@ahmedbenkhalfallah6502 Joeeeee!!!
@@ahmedbenkhalfallah6502 I knew he looked familiar.
My first try at Hazama's boss fight on Akira's route he kicked my ass, but on the second try? Ooooooh boy I kicked his ass SO HARD with Orochi's power breath
the spritework in this game looks fantastic
It's mostly reusing smt 1 and 2 assets but it is still pretty good
The PS1 version is even more interesting. Shame that version, nor any of the SMT PS1 ports are translated, because they are objectively improvements over the originals.
I remember asking Tsukasa Masuko about the OSTs and differences of the two versions of if... and he said something along the line of 'I feel sorry for the guy that had to convert my tracks for the PS1 version'. Another interesting factoid was that he said he used General Midi and usually had a Roland SC-55 to compose tracks when it was released. Actually sent me a GM copy of the Jakyou track from the game.
I think he did do some stuff for the anniversary of SMT a year or so back that he really wanted to do.
How'd you meet him?
Smt 1 PS1 translation released! It's a blast to play.
@@frogmemo4153 Saw it on a front page and immediately downloaded.
Always thought that SMT IF was just a simple precursor to Persona, but it's cool seeing how it had its own charm
"Which SMT character is a half-demon high-schooler with a lotta strength and he climbs a tower to fight a god-like final boss?"
C'mon man, the correct answer is All of them
_sad Aleph noises_
Kazuya, Aleph, Flynn arent demifiends. Just Akira/Nanashi and Demifiend (duh)
@@franciscocataldo9238 Aleph is a lot closer to a demon than you guys give him credit for. Yeah he LOOKS human, but he's a replicant clone of something. And you know what else the Center was cloning? Demon cows
@@TARINunit9 ok but his strength is gun
@@sponge1234ify i mean look at Dante.
It’s been two years since this video released (somehow), and I still discover new things about the game. If Marsh ever comes back to the game I’d recommend playing the other two routes as upon the completion of all 4 routes Stephen shows up to give the protagonist some mission. I feel like this was a cancelled sequel or a botched translation cause the next time we see the SMT if Protag she is dating one of the Devs of Persona 2:IS and working for the Kuzunoha detective agency. I guess Stephen really cared about Sumarou City?
Hope you will continue doing this review type content
That's the plan, I've been having a lot of fun doing them so far. Glad to hear there's interest in more.
Don't mind me, just here to check out the Devilman/Amon/Fudo Akira references I know are in this scenario and feeding the youtube algorithm with interactions!
You're becoming my favourite, megaten vids mixed with your personality is really refreshing!
Thanks, it means a lot. I try to keep the reviews from being just giant info dumps - glad to hear it.
I know this is kinda late, but thank you for letting me know about this smt game.
I just beat akiras route (with map guide of course) and i fucking love this game, its so simple yet so fun.
Every smt fan should try this game out.
akira's route i felt was way harder, but you had more stuff to beat it. at the beginning i got hathor and sebek, but tbh, sebek is kind of a pushover compared to thoth and hathor. the latter 2 really carry you through the end, thoth with Liftoma and Mapper and Hathor with megido and healing. This was the route where I tried to get the strongest guardians, im not sure how i did it, but I don't remember actually trying to grind to get it. It was mostly just me walking up and down back and forth to heal spots as kind of "checkpoints". If i felt like I couldn't keep going on the dungeon, id head back to the heal spot (which probably took longer than getting up). Ultimately it just made me more and more familiar with the dungeon's layout each time I went through.
Some of the dungeon layouts I felt were made to be nearly impossible to figure out, since I could never find a map online the time I played. I specifically remember one part on I think was the nomos of heaven where nearly anywhere you went was a teleport tile, and for most of it the COMP was disabled, meaning I had to use the mapper. I ended up just tracking where I'd end up by screenshotting the map before hand and then looking at the map the next tile I was able to look at the map. That way I was able to experiment with different routes, because mind you, everything looks the same so you dont really know each time you go through if the path you take is a new one, especially since the layout is sort of replicated on many different parts, so without the full map you cant really tell where you are.
My experience is also probably way different to many people, because I played on an emulator on my phone, rather than on a computer or something. I was also on a trip, so I was pretty much on my phone for 90% of car/bus/airplane rides. I played through SMT 1, 2, and if... on this trip, which by the end took out the whole "patience" challenge, since it was either be bored looking outside or toil through this puzzle.
Also Pro-Tip Divine Retribution is an Extra skill that uses up a ton of MP but takes off a huge chunk of a bosses health depending on what alignment they are. The wiki says its 1/8th, I think its a lot more than that though. the caveat is the alignment requirement. It will only hit enemies that are oppositely aligned to the user, meaning neutral demons on your party also get hurt, and if you use it on an enemy boss thats the same alignment then there is no damage dealt. If you want to give it a try get a metatron or something because Hazama's final boss is actually chaos aligned. I never did this myself, but I only put the pieces together after fought Hazama and the 2 other SMTs i played.
16:36. Gosh this is both funny and sad at the same time seeing him fall just like that. Poor Hazama.......😅😓
Edit: The music really nails it......
And oddly enough, no enemy makes me think harder than zombie students......like really....they're not demons. They're once fearful kids killed or drained of life to be shambling minions with a peculiar thirst for flesh. The ones they once were are gone......i wonder what their zombie selfs feel like.....if they can.....and if they still have memories........have they ever shrieked in agony of what they've become........?
This ending is actually a bit of a downer to me, though I guess like TDE in Nocturne, depending on your perspective it could be good or bad. On one hand Hazama gets what was coming to him - but the fact that you're likely to have seen Reiko's ending beforehand is where it gets you, because you know that there's a better way.
Yeah, the students are pretty messed up, right? There are zombie teachers too. Definitely wouldn't want to be stuck wandering around those crazy hallways forever.
Man, I had no idea Akira had this route, like you mentioned, not much exists about it, but now I really want to finish SMT If...
05:35 She is so lazy and stuff that she appeared only in 1 of the Megaten games.. LMAO I mean the description tells it clearly. Makes sense ^^
Never knew that you could recruit those early bosses on Akira's route by being on a particular moon. I kept trying to talk to them on the wrong moon phase and they kept telling me off and fighting me. I ended up grinding massively to beat Sebek and never looked back!
Well, I finally beat it and it feels so, so good. Just one piece of advice and one correction:
Final guard is not obtained from the casino, but from regular junk shops which even appear in the 3rd Nomos.
Buy View Spheres to use in no-comp zones. It does the same thing as the Mapper spell.
This is just Devilman
So basically Akira is Devilman lmao
I mean they do have the same name
I'll let Hathor beat the s**t out of me
finally someone gets it
Man of culture
it's pretty cool; and totally understand that they made this New Game Plus only just because they figured out how brutal this would be.
I only played a few of the megaten games (P2, P3, DS: Raidou Kuzonoha) but these playthrough/review videos are done very well - I love them! I can't get enough of them!
Just found your channel and I'm really loving it so far, this is the kind of content the SMT community needed
There is something special the way he narrates his videos. Its so addicting.
3:28 I'm sure many people have pointed this out to you already, but in order to recruit Sebek you need to have a STR and INT above 13 on one of the main characters. This is incorrectly stated on the gamefaqs map. To get Thoth you just need both of them.
I think it has to be specifically on akira
Akira needs 12 strength OR int. I did a playthrough a while back.
Dude you weren't kidding Bushyasta sucks ass. FInished the fight with Hathor and Archangel's magic sealed and everyone else paralyzed. Got kinda lucky towards the end since the dude already tanked my attack but kept wasting his turns debuffing.
Me when I see 8 monkey things: oh boi time for megido
I am really glad you made these videos because I just started Persona 1 foolishly thinking "This is where the series begins so I should start here" and then realizing "There's no backstory or tutorial... something's wrong. What did I miss?"
In those days the tutorial was called reading the manual
Sometimes I forget how old PSP really is because it has held up so well over time.@@velvetbutterfly
@@iPYW Persona 1 was also on PSX, which also had manuals
@@iPYW
I still play my PSP regularly.
Hell, I still play game boy color and game boy games on my gba.
So even in this old game there is a NEW whole campaign with completely different things? Damn!
Nowadays this would be a paid DLC of course.
in smt V I feel like I was robbed of great experience even though I payed 10 dollars for Return of a true demon.
I ducking whipped all the fiends asses with demi-fiend being the only real challenge.
Day one story dlc like this is just anti-consumer and should be looked down upon.
@@iloveemiliaandrem9443 Gaming has really developed a problem with paid dlc in recent years, and it sucks to see Atlus going down the same path. I get wanting to make more on extra content, but charging for something that was clearly supposed to be in the base game is just scummy.
Your videos are Underated Gems.
My man.
I loved the If vids that i started playing them right now.
Thabk you for your recomendation.
It's hard to find content about these games, I really like your editing and you have a nice tone in your voice which makes the videos even more enjoyable. Thanks for putting this up :)
As of now I've started to play this game taking Reiko's route. I'm prepared for the sins and countless retries. Thank you for showing me this game, Mash!
2:33 This isn't the jack frost I know and love
But I'm sure I can learn to love him also.
Yo, I love your voice and these vids! Seriously, I needed something like this, thank you!
managed to beat Bushyasta like two days ago and holy shit you werent kidding with it being horrible, i grinded so long and i still had a hard time
Watching your reviews made me nostalgic to play the game again so I downloaded it and gave it another go and I finished Reiko's route!
I struggle to describe the feel of playing the game a lot more than the gameplay itself, even if the former is why I love it so much. I played SMT I and If... feels very cozy and small in comparison. I can remember every dungeon in If. I can't remember every dungeon in SMT 1. The dungeons felt huge the first time around,but they felt cozy and very familiar by the end. I'm only recently starting the second Nomos but just the Earth Nomos was enough to make me feel cozier than I thought I could in the Reiko route. I'm sure by the end I'll remember the Nomos too. I never thought I'd enjoy the feeling of getting lost in a videogame but If... is just the perfect experience for that feeling of discovery.
(Also I found Bushyasta today and walked into her boss room without knowing that was it so like, 4 mp Akira fight LETS GOOO)
Personally, I felt great with this route. Only because I didn't have to deal with emotions and just go full balls to the walls battle mode. Though that tidbit about the rooms is new to me, I sort of want to jump back in and take that challenging tower again with this new knowledge.
I don't know what is this game
. I don't know how I got here. I have no idea but this is nice to watch even if I will not play the game.
I wonder if we will ever get another game where it has multiple routes like IF and P1. Not the no turning back law/chaos/neutral route half way or so in the game but at the start.
I ididn't knew anything about the Akira route, I need to try it now, thanks!
>Akira
>gets possessed by Amon
>become debiruman
Yeeeeaa man we need more of these, I ate up all your vids. You def earned this subscription
So like, you are a really cool youtuber, your insight is pretty good and the content you upload here is pretty amazing. Hope you continue with reviews of other obscure games!
Btw sorry if my english sounds weird I’m not native!
13:24 What are you talking about? Mappara was part of the game and had been in the series for a while at that point, the only map related emulator "feature" that exists is the map hotkey patch for SMT 1.
Got me there man
FYI for marsh and the rest of you: not actually the hardest route, Charlie strips down two dungeons from even Yumis route and his best sword without significant grinding is a great fusion sword you can get for free that’s notably worse then Hinokagutsuchi due to the demon fire blade having insane power, and the ending reflects this with Hazema surviving and it leaves you feeling like you barely held him off, and he just plopped you home because it was fun to watch you struggle and win in a test fight, it’s creepy, the world of wrath is lonely and difficult, it’s just a great and very hard route
This game intrigues me after watching this video. I was a big fan of Persona 1 and Persona 2 Enternal Punishment for PS1 and Innocent Sin for PSP so this seems like another step for me since I’m not a huge fan of the more modern cartoon like Persona games
i finally finished the Akira route today and i gotta say it was one hell of a ride, this vid was one big help since it was kind of like a guide, idk if i'll ever play if... again but hey maybe
Well this was interesting, as someone who never played the games, I learned a lot from this, especially about how to better scale an enemy in these games.
Apparently there was a Java Cell Phone prequel game where you play as the main bad guy...wondered if you considered checking that out like you did with the cell phone port of the first megaten game?
she shin on my megami, till i tensei
Another banger. Ngl, a remake would be crazy. Might just have to bit the bullet and play this thing
Ah yis, SMT If, the game where DevilMan and Ashita No Joe are a thing in this game world (Akira being posessed by a demon named Amon and the Janitor being a reference to Danpei from ashita no joe)
I appreciate you, I appreciate SMT.
Fuck man this was 3 years ago
"New game+ exclusive character" and "special route with hard as dick bullshit dungeons" is something Revelations: Persona did too, though separately this time. You can really tell those games were developed consecutively.
im watching and rewatching your four smt videos while i play genshin impact, very nice and chill review/guide, reminds me of mandalore's videos in tone and presentation, keep it up, only thing that i think lacks is a list with timestamps to the music you use.
ps. sorry for any english errors :p
Yeah dude genshin impact is fucking cool, just wish multiplayer was easier to unlock.
3 years already? damn
Bushyasta needs to come back in a later game
I finished the Akira route yesterday, but not without a lot of help from Gamefaqs, the Megami Tensei fandom Wikia, and this vid (yep, you helped a lot, Marsh, so thanks for that). I played it on an emulator too, and even with save states, the game was still really hard.
My guess: Atlus knew one day there'd be something like guides and emulators to make the Akira route somewhat easier. So they made it even harder than ever, even with these tools. The final 2 dungeons and most boss fights were still a pain.
I did like the rearranged music and the story behind Akira's route though.
I'm so glad i found this channel. You've got a awesome personality dude 👍 love the smt vids
Wait wait wait wait wait
A teenager named Akira fuses with a demon named Amon
Really nice touch SMT if 10 out of 10 devilman reference
So, I know I'm just as late to this as I was your original vid on SMT if, but! I did just clear this route a few hours back after going through it. Gotta say, I rather enjoyed it. Mind, the toughest part definitely feels like it was around the First Nomos, given that's before you get some truly _substantial_ gear, and Bushyasta is especially obnoxious for around that point. While it wasn't a _cakewalk_ once I got past her and snagged Death Colts and the Cavalry set from the Casino (also the Candy. That too), it made things _way_ more manageable.
Mind, I feel like the difficulty wound down around Mammon onwards, _especially_ after beating his ass and getting the Kagutsuchi... Not that I'm complaining, mind. It was _super_-satisfying swinging that thing around, especially given my MC had like ~32 STR by the end of things.
That, and I got to pop Hazama with a crit that did 1100+ damage in the end, so if _that_ doesn't scream 'catharsis', then I dunno what does.
But, yeah. Pretty enjoyable overall, though I prob'ly wouldn't go back to SMT if any time soon, especially given I completed both Reiko and Akira's routes and I'd rather just not suffer through the Domain of Sloth again any time soon just for Yumi or Charlie's routes.
If you beat all 4 routes there's a cutscene with Steven afterwards.
Akira and Amon... Wait a minute...
I don’t know what it is about the SNES synths but the SMT1/If boss theme sounds better here than any other version- PSX, Mega CD, arranged, whatever
Wait, half demon... half human...
A guy named Akira gets possessed by
A demon named Amon...
Are wa dare da dare da dare da Are wa debiru
Debiruman Debiruman!!!
Plug is inserted. Ready to go 🫠 Love your videos Marsh!
>Character named Akira
>Becomes possessed by a Demon
>Demon in question is named Amon
*Me, A DevilMan Fan:*
th-cam.com/video/BLXq9D0RuGw/w-d-xo.html
Awesome video and channel, insta subscribbed. Love that you can hear the game's ost clearly in tha backgrund too.
8:42 - You can encounter Fiends on Akita’s route, right? Because that sounds like a funny way to force the Pascal encounter on minimum battles.
Bushyasta is pretty manageable to deal with if you make Akira spam Tarukaja to counter her Tarunda and have two demons attack with physical skills from behind. I had Archangel spam Heatwave and Rakshasa spam Spin Strike and Daruma Gaeshi.
Have multiple demons with Paraladi and Pen Patra to heal her stun, sleep and mute ailments. Hathor has Pen Patra, Archangel also has Paraladi and Ramiel has both spells.
Lastly use Hathor's Mediarama to heal your party should you lose a lot of HP from her physical attacks + Rakunda.
A kid named Akira being taken over by a demon named Amon huh.
*where have I seen that before*
Amazing smt content, def gonna sub and look forward to more of your stuff. Recently got into the series a bit more and its great seeing the passion the community has. Great job!
I am playing through this right now, close to the end of Nomos of Heaven, and have discovered that if I do three demon infusion that includes two Fallen demons and a Yoma, the result on the fusion chart will be a question mark. The fusion result appears to be pretty much anything at/below your characters level. You can keep backing out and re-fusing the same combination of demons until you get a result you like. No idea why it does this but the specific demons don't appear to matter.
New here, saw your two if videos and it looks quite fun
Gonna try if out after I finish IV, thank you
4:34 isn't that the SMT1 boss music?
Demi fiend more like tiny peened
This is the best video intro ever made
So basically, Jimenez, Demifiend and Akira are Devilmen All along? kek
8:12 that was no monkeys, that was 8 Pretas - imagine 8 x Macca Beam !!!
There are like what 3 half demons, hitoshura, Abel and Nanashi.
Wow can I get the demi friend Capri sun MP4 it's fucking beautiful ngl