The criticism about the two screen usage is just a result of your streamer needs. The new UI takes advantage of the extra space, it just isn’t convenient for you.
That's a you problem???? One of the most charming things about the hardware is using both screens at the same time. That's what makes playing any DS/3DS game so charming and unique @TsukiZer0
@@The-Zer0th-Law Nintendo kept the 2-screen design for over a decade, through all the DS and 3DS iterations. Also the DS is among the best selling consoles of all time. The design can hardly be considered a failure.
The issues are "It's not ball crushingly hard as the original", "it doesn't ask you to grind on it as if it was a 2nd job" and "It adds new endings that are not a different flavor of "Grats on destroying humanity"". Non of which are bad in any way, form or shape. You can choose to nit use the MC and let it be as useless as it was in the original if you want the game to be harder. You can choose to grind as much as you want if you want and you can literally choose if you get the old or new endings. There's basically no reason to play the original aside from nostalgia or having some sort of extreme purist mindset, which Nam clearly has for SJ. Just the title of the video gives that away.
@taigaaisaka6305 Alex was intrusive and felt more out of place in the campaign than P4 Golden Marie. Yeah. I said it. Plus my old passwords don't work anymore so no Ubermensch Gore and x4 regular attack for me.
My biggest counter point towards your critic of the new endings is that you really downplay the amount of work the player has to do to get them. You made it sound like it’s just something you can get by picking the right dialogue options in a cutscene and not by continuously going back to the hardest dungeon in the game both combat and puzzle wise. In my opinion it proves upon the Amala network because it gives a reward to all the routes in the game by giving them a more idealized ending instead being like nocturne’s true demon ending that’s basically the main character taking his ball and going home because he thinks everyone else is being dumb.
Complaining about this game making optimal use of the the 3DS's double screens because "moving eyes hard", and especially complaing about streaming being inconvenient immediately tells me you hate this game for really stupid reasons.
To be honestly like the new endings, how we get there is….not great and could have been done better, but I do think it was needed to contrast the original endings. Law and Chaos were extremely cynical endings in the original, and Neutral was idealistic to the point of naivety in its attitude towards Neutral. The new endings meanwhile end up being on the opposite extreme. Where Law/Chaos are now idealistic and hopeful, while Neutral is, hilariously enough, very realistic in its cynicism in expecting humanity to actually heal the planet we take for granted.
I think I have to agree with Nams here that because the endings just kinda get rid of a crucial consequence of a grand decision, they're a bit ruined. I think in real life, you often make decisions without realizing the full extent of the consequences, or what happens is good enough for you to accept those consequences. This is a new writing staff, and they obviously fumbled it, and then fumbled it a bit further if they were in any way involved with writing SMT5.
The problem with the new endings is they are not alternative outcomes of your path, but "fixes" over the originals. The originals had an impact that is lost in the moment you introduce a way to "fix" them.
I think that in essence the changes they made for the endings are somewhat strange (Ha!) in the sense they are the same than the original, but with a but. Law ending is heaven order but human have autonomy, chaos is demon strong society, but they protect the humans, and neutral is all stays the same, but now you are an immortal doomslayer (Best ending right here). I don't think it did affect my overall enjoyment of the game ( And after 150 hour playing on my first playthrough i would've hated if the endings sucked).
A couple things: - Something which Nam didn't really touch on in this video is the voice acting. As the game's presentation was completely changed, ATLUS went all-out and hired a Japanese Hollywood-grade cast to provide this game's voice talents. *Every* actor perfectly matched their character and brought them to life, it was magnificent. It's a compelling reason to return to this one despite everything else. - He should do the Radiant Historia games at some point. Their development history is virtually identical to SJ and SJR.
@@user-ro7xr8ro9w Thing is, usually these games have great English dubs. Persona 4 and 5 especially have really iconic English VA, and the voice acting for IV and Soul Hackers tends to be pretty decent, too!
I disagree about the hud, the game was design for the 3DS and uses it’s hardware for that. I don’t see that as an issue besides future porting. Which shouldn’t be an issue at all. You can’t criticize Wii gimmick montion controls when a game does end up using them at full potential 😂 than complain how there going to port said motion controls to other ports. Besides that, I agree with everything you said. Besides the HUD, SMT4 hud is slick and modern and it fits with the 3DS so freakin much and I love everything about it. It’s nice to see the second screen used and I can spam my buttons almost instantly with the stylus. With that said, I also don’t have an issue about strange journey one hud either both are great
You lost me at your critique on the usage of the bottom screen for information; I get not liking it because it clashes on how it looks when having to stream it, but I doubt developers think or should think of that. It's a DS (double screen) game. That said, all your points are valid. I wish commander skills were implemented better because it's honestly my favorite mechanic and distincts the MC from any other one from the series
I really don't like the bottom screen being used for information, as someone who is not a streamer, I prefer ds games to keep the bottom screen minimal, I think some of the Pokemon games executed it pretty well iirc
Ok, Second point lost at saying the "new neutral ending" is "devoid of any implications". Same of the others. But for the neutral the mental strain the MC must bear is something he seemingly can't see.
honestly if its something like an rpg idrc if its over 2 screens, although 1 screen is definitely perferrable it becos an issue in gaes with high intensity like ssb4
SMT fans hate any type of positive ending because they circle jerk how "dark" the series is. The new endings could've been implemented better but they're fine thematically/narratively
@@ephemeralbrothe new endings are idealized versions of law and chaos. New neutral is just bad. Ideal law is just eternal peace where everyone is equal while ideal chaos is competition where everyone competes to become the very best with demons acting as guardians
him saying that an ending where the MC has to be alone and fight for the eternity is "devoid of any consequences" kinda show he did not analyze them much
I actually really like the Redux Neutral ending. The fact that the Schwarzwelt keeps reappearing and how tired the protagonist looks keeps the essence of how cyclical human nature is. I dunno, maybe I just like it because it stays pretty bleak lol
Catherine Full Body - Rin Persona 5 Royal - Kasumi Persona 4 Golden - Marie SMT Strange Journey Redux - Alex All of them were TRASH, anime trope, waifu bait.
I personally like the changes they did with Redux. The Art and UI changes are just visual changes that are up to preference, I personally enjoy them. Commander Skills are weird I agree with that and can be unbalanced at times, but I prefer this over permeant dead weight and at least give the protag more identity The App system in this game is easier than in the original, but honestly in the original I had like 7-8 app points used on the same apps all the time and most apps just became useless / not appealing to me. So with the Redux, I can now use the apps without it feeling like I'm nerfing myself for using some of them. The Endings are bad, and I agree with our take on them, but at least the OG endings still exist and were not removed. Overall Great Video and even when I do not agree myself with some of your takes I still feel like you did a great job explaining yourself
@@kevinalfaro7150 Think about it this way: if they're on cooldown, it's a waste NOT to use them, especially during exploration. It makes a third (or so; I don't wanna do the math) of your turns more efficient. That adds up! You've got extra levels from the new dungeon... A bevy of new, more powerful apps you equip freely... And a costless cooldown rotation that lessens the impact of resource drain and keeps you safer longer. It protracts the rhythm of tension and relief between soldiering on and returning to base without significant opportunity cost or long-term resource expenditure, weakening the risk/reward of dungeon crawling.
@@ArshadZahid_nohandleideas I mean, those are random. "No MP" isn't that powerful in explorations if you have equiped reduced encounter and MP regen walking, and with bosses it hardly makes a difference, if this was SMTV where all spells cost a ton of MP maybe. And free luster candy is the same, you have to be buffed if you don't want to die to bosses on hard, so when it happens you are already on max or make a boss trigger dispel on all, wasting it.
Makes sense that I liked Redux; it was my second SMT game, following IV :P Maybe I've been spoiled, but when I see the original, the menus look so... "crunched up" to me. And I really like seeing the higher-res demon artwork as well. My friend was playing the original Strange Journey and was absolutely suffering at bosses like Jack and Ouroboros; fights which were made so much more manageable with the new commander skills which my friend lacked. Maybe some people prefer the challenge but I'm glad I wasn't in his shoes. But I still got plenty of challenge in the final bosses, including the one for the Redux endings. That was one of the longest and most grueling battles I've had in an RPG in a very long time. Has a pretty epic theme too. And admittedly: I also liked the new endings. Something about turning the protagonist into Doomguy is incredibly amusing to me.
I feel like the experiences aren't that similar but doesn't make one better than the other just different. Original Strange Journey has an older-going-new mentality, where it's not obnoxious like SMT I and II (great games but obnoxious), but still quite limiting and over-challenging like SMT III (which doesn't take away it's great traits). Strange Journey Redux takes a more SMT IV feeling where it's still challenging but gives a lot more resources to deal with things, you feel great getting progresssively stronger instead of being on your toes all the time which can get away the challenge and makes it only annoying. For people that likes this "on your toes" challenge approach, SMT IV and Redux feels lackluster, there is no dramatic challenge, but for more casual players it gives an enough amount of challenge, and the original can still be a great experience as well because it isn't all that difficult, just different. I would recommend both but not expecting them to be similar.
I like Jack in the original, honestly. He's a fun challenge, and I don't agree with the severe nerfs he got in Redux. But fuck Ouroboros, that shit is just "RNG: The Boss Fight."
See, the new endings, at least to me, weren't the problem. They showed how Law/Chaos can be beneficial forces when not taken to extremes. The new Neutral ending made a lot of sense as far as what happened after the OG Neutral ending (the "We beat it once, we'll beat it again, so who cares if it comes back" mentality is something I would have absolutely expected from the human governments). However, the issue, again, at least to me, comes from how they were implemented. Rather than being blended more directly into the story, they had you go through an entire side dungeon, with zero changes to the plot, before suddenly dropping a choice on you at the end of the game that, if you pick a certain one, lets you tackle the out of nowhere true final dungeon and equally out of nowhere true final boss. A final boss whom, might I add, is so stupidly difficult that even if you use an online password generator and spend stupid amounts of time grinding Macca (for Compendium summons) so you can go into the fight rocking an absolutely perfect party, AND you come stocked up on as many Dekaja Stones, Dekunda Stones, and SP restoring items as you can carry, you'll still more likely than not get wrecked if RNG is not on your side. So, to sum it all up: .) New endings aren't really tied into the plot until literally the very end of the game .) New endings, rather than require the player to do certain things or make certain choices throughout the game, just requires the player to beat the new side dungeon before progressing past a certain point in the story, make a certain choice at the end of the game, go through the new FINAL final dungeon, then beat the new true final boss. .) The final boss the player needs to beat for these new endings is stupidly difficult even by SMT standards.
Nah man, the final boss wasnt that hard, especially compared to YHYV(or however its spelled) in Apocalypse(mainly Massacre route, but still): he kept smile Charge + Nuking my team, to the point i was FORCED to buy the DLC just to have enough HP to not get wiped. Literally got to Level 100, got the stat as high as i could get it(even using Doping in the fight), and that combo still did enough damage to instantly drop my entire team
To be fair that was kinda what nocturne did when they added the labyrinth of amala None of your choices matter in the game if you want the new ending you just beat the labyrinth
I actually really like the new endings. In the OG Neutral was the only reasonable choice because the law and chaos endings were SO BAD. And even then, Neutral in the OG was extremely unsatisfying and just felt like another bad ending. When you spend 40+ hours on a game (or in my playthrough of Redux's case, over 100) you want a satisfying ending. Redux's new endings provide that giving actually good and equal law and chaos endings that don't suck and show the positive side of those alignments, which never happens in this series. The only thing I don't like about Redux is that Floor 5 of the Womb of Grief and the true final dungeon suck so much and are so annoying. I had to use a guide for those they were SO bad when I never used a guide for Eranius or Grus. Otherwise Redux is really good and the QoL makes going back to the OG near impossible. I never once used Commander Skills in my playthrough and yes I agree they're bad and unbalanced, but they don't ruin the game. Really the only use I found for them is as a crutch to get you out of a bad situation with the auto skills but that's about it. The app system in the OG was really annoying because there were a bunch of apps that you practically NEEDED on at all times and not having them made the dungeons incredibly painful. You had almost no room to experiment because so many slots were taken up by apps that by all means should have been permanent upgrades. I agree that app points shouldn't have been removed, but instead of removing them they could make some more necessary apps permanent and other ones cost AP.
The thing is that the endings were supposed to feel like Bad endings, humanity was so shity that the demons had to come and take the Earth away from them, the thing the original Game tries to tell you is that it's already too late to get a good ending, Even the new neutral ending points to this
The original endings were "flawed" on porpourse because it insentivies decision making: no matter what you do it comes with negative consecuences, the thing then becomes, with which consecuences are you willing to go through to solve the conflict. This creates an ethical dilemma. The new endings trivializes any and every dilemma, who cares about your decisions and its concecuences if at the end everything will become an utopia no matter what.
@@fredalejandro9932 While true, I feel like the negativity was a tad too much for what it's worth, making everything feel rather pointless. It's a case of "damned if ya do, damned if ya don't", there was no winning here
@@kichiroumitsurugi4363 As I said, going to the other extreme just kills decision making and throws to the trash the origibal endings. SJ story is a bleak one and this disney fairytale endings just clashes with what the original story tried to convey.
I watched both of your videos on SJ. I partially agree with some of your criticisms. Maybe give the hero quests to increase the Sub Apps memory or something like that instead of letting them equip all the Apps. I see the appeal. It's the closest thing to letting you customize your hero since stat gain is randomish. However, the Commander skills and use all the Sub Apps get at a mechanic you liked in vanilla, but most people saw as a flaw. The dungeons were difficult and a slog, especially that infamous Sector that you sigh at when people ask for a map for. The majority didn't like them. You're in the minority of Strange Journey fans when you did like those annoying difficulties and slogging. The changes curb that, too much without fixing the dungeons to begin with; however, that came from a place of most folks thinking these were the worst dungeons in the modern SMT series. Very few thought they were great. I played both versions and the second Sector is annoying. I dread to see that infamous Sector. I like the series of SMT, but that stuff sucks. You liked it. Great, but those old mazes seemed to be a limit of the technology back then. The developers can move past that now. I doubt we'll see a lot more of these annoying, flow breaking mazes anymore in the future games. As for the story, the whole point of the journey is to prevent an upcoming apocalypse event. Naturally, someone is gonna respond to your least awful choice. As for the New Neutral ending, it doesn't sound that hopeful. You take care of the new Demon Netherworld every time that pops up. Doesn't sound like humanity learned their lesson. You're now stuck cleaning up after them each time. That sounds like a stagnant and awful event, similar to Promenthus. That sucks. The other endings do smooth out the sharp edges and I agree with your problems that come from that. These are SMT Demons after all, not Disgaea ones. Most new fans will gravitate towards the Redux to enjoy the game as opposed to the very bothersome elements few people enjoyed in vanilla. Or just emulate since Nintendo enables scalpers and does little to preserve their history.
So funnily enough I literally just finished Redux yesterday on the New Neutral ending. I also watched the original endings for all three routes since I finished the Womb of Grief and don't really plan on doing any of the original endings. While I won't speak on the gameplay changes since I haven't played the original so I can't really judge them, I gotta say I really disagree with you assessment of the endings especially in regards to the ending that I got: New Neutral. When I watched over the original neutral ending I ended up being...unimpressed to say the least. It ends on such an anticlimactic note with so many dangling plot threads and the Red Sprite just...going home after Mem Aleph. It's not that there's no consequence as Arthur still has to stay behind and you had to kill your friends but none of the "bite" you mentioned ever really manifested. The crew just heads home. Sure the possibility of humanity never changing is brought up but there's no expansion on that fact and the fact that Gore is so openly pro-humanity and that he can literally see the future just makes the whole ambiguity come off as more of an afterthought than an actual consequence of the ending. By contrast the New Neutral route feels exactly like what you described the original endings as: forced to make a choice for the greater good but at a major cost. Here, the protag is forced to sacrifice himself alongside Arthur to ensure that the Schwarzwelt never returns. The idea of humanity never changing which felt more like an afterthought in the original is here given full focus as not only is it confirmed that in one possible future humanity will fail but there's a question if the protag's actions really saved humanity, giving them opportunity to change or if it just doomed them to never suffer the consequences of their actions. It's an ambiguous ending that came at the cost of the protag's own life but it's not wholly pessimistic as the optimistic message of hope: that humanity always deserves a second chance and the belief the given enough time, humanity can become a better species and that the chance to prove ourselves is always worth fighting for is at the core of this ending far more than the original. In particular, the ending scene I think will always stick in my mind: The protagonist alone save for Arthur looking at a home he can no longer return to. The ring: the symbol of a promise he made hundreds of years ago and the hope that his species can overcome their own flaws, a hope that he fights an endless battle for. Arthur poses the question: Has the protagonist lost his own humanity so that everyone else can maintain theirs. Without answering, he goes to fight again in a possibly fruitless battle but maintaining the determination that he promised Gore he'd hold onto: that eventually, the Schwarzwelt will stop appearing. The whole thing comes off as bittersweet and tragic, maintaining both the ambiguity and optimism of the original Neutral ending but expanding upon them and giving a unique form of cost for this "happy ending" the protagonist's own humanity. While I need more time to fully decide, I really think this ending is one of my favorite if not absolute favorite ending in the entire SMT franchise. I want to play the New Law and New Chaos endings in the future so I really can't speak to their quality but I do think the original law and chaos also leave much to be desired. I get wanting consequences for your actions but both the Law and Chaos factions come off as so hypocritical and so monstrous that the ending seems less "you made a philosophical choice that came with consequences" and more "this is a bad ending, you should've gone neutral suckers". The chaos ending is particularly baffling as having the Schwarzwelt and the demons take over the earth is literally what happens in a game over. There's no difference between getting the chaos ending and dying to a pixie in Antlia which just makes the whole story feel utterly pointless. Indeed the endings seem to favor neutral so heavily in the original (which again I already found to be a subpar ending) that it doesn't really feel like an actual philosophical choice was made and the "consequences" feel less like necessary sacrifices and more like mistakes. Also I know I said I wouldn't be talking about gameplay but I found the Womb of Grief to be really fun. Sure it's just a worse Labyrinth of Amala but the Labyrinth of Amala is REALLY good so even a watered down version comes off as a great dungeon. I also appreciated how the Womb seemed to be more puzzle focused than Amala. Also despite the complaints about balancing I found the bosses to be decently challenging and fun even at standard difficulty (Ishtar is a more difficult and more rewarding boss than Matador in Nocturne and I will die on this hill). Also I never found the commander skills to be too game-breaking as I rarely used the activated commander skills near the end game and the random commander skills were balanced by their lack of consistency.
I disagree. See, SJ was intended to be a dark game about the consequences of the actions of humanity. It wasn't meant to be a happy story where humanity solves everything. It wasn't neutral biased at all, the entire game shits on humanity and the idea of "human potential" that IVA so lovingly embraced. Humanity were the true villains of SJ. Redux then comes along and utterly disrespects this theme. It makes the original endings(which had their defenders) look worse, especially chaos where Alex says humanity gets wiped out(contrary to everything original chaos was about). This is disrespectful of the new writers to shit on the endings of the old writers. Instead, the new writers gave us 3 new endings that all feel like neutral endings, but with chaos and law-ish flavors of neutral. Redux is the true neutral biased version. Frankly, I found it hard to believe that Angel Zelenin and Demon Jimenez would suddenly abandon their beliefs and allies just because Alex, Lucifers daughter(lol) from the future, gave them a unverifiable sob story while after trying to kill them the entire game. The only thing I disagree with in this video is the new endings aren't flawless. Take New Law for example. Humanity gets turned into sheep with little to no protection, and given that Zelenin made enemies of both demons and angels, almost certainly mean that the peace that's attained in New Law is at best temporary, unlike classic Law where humanity was protected by the armies of God, ensuring a much longer if not eternal peace. Both Redux and SMT IV Apocalypse feel like dumb down SMT made for the Persona crowd.
@@Recon868 Sometimes, I do feel like that the demons do have a point to deny human potential, considering what they have done and how they are the reason for the Schwarzwelt
I respectfully disagree, Redux is probably one of the best remasters of a game I've seen in a long time. The Game is gorgeous inside and out and it alongside its original, are two of the best games of all time.
I never finished the original but bought Redux and played it till the end and I thought it was amazing, on the best SMT. I understand people may not like the new content but I thought it was fine. And if you want you can ignore most of it anyway
Admittedly, thus game has only one issue - Alex. She was not properly designed with SJ in mind, and would work better as the MC of a new SMT game, if anything
Agreed, Alex is very much a shoehorned in character to Strange Journey. Now, maybe if instead of making Redux, they made a side story or sequel with a new setting, her theme of trying to find new ways to correct humanity's ills in response to them seeming inevitable would have worked better.
Make her older and give a proper demonica and i think she would have fitted right in She looks cool but smt 4 cool with doesnt fit strange journey militaristic look compared to the urban enviroments the games usually have Also she should have kept the helmet the entire game it honestly takes a bit from the fantasy when every character is whearing a helmet to survive the place exept for her
When I do get to play my copy of Redux, out of all the "new endings" part of me wants to try the new neural ending due to how in my eyes almost shows the beautiful pros and cons of just neutralizing the whole thing for only temporarily. The ending giving this bleak and vague hope that even after this being the 7th attempt, your still fighting for humanity. You, the soldier rookie, believes that humanity deserves a chance even if the cycle keeps repeating and we continue bringing it back. I find that beautiful and also sad that I kinda like it.
New neutral ending isn't very positive at all imo. The humans forced him to live alone out of fear exactly as the demons said they would, the schwartwelt comes back faster and faster implying humanity is getting worse. The lone soldier is an enabler and someone humanity has to rely on because they're too pathetic to solve their own issues. It's just like the law and chaos endings, humanity relies entirely upon the soldier. It's the most cynical neutral ending in the franchise. They simultaneously become like the brainless angels relying upon their god in Law, while also living a life of excess and no self control like the demons in Chaos.
The three new endings seem like an inverse of the usual formula recent SMTs like 4 and 4A use; with those law and chaos make you feel like you did something wrong while the neutral endings are just you winning to various degrees. In Redux it seems like the new Law and Chaos endings exist to show how those endings can benefit humanity rather than stagnate or destroy it while the new neutral ending displays the risks of not making a choice, being an endless cycle of suffering due to a flawed status quo. Frankly I think that approach should be used a bit more often, since recent endings have conditioned people like me to turn the brain off and go neutral no matter what.
I like both versions of strange journey. I feel like it would have been better if you were locked into doing the main strange journey endings for the first play through (Alex not appearing at all) and making it so that all of the redux stuff didn't actually appear until the second playthrough. I feel like the Redux endings are really more of what if x ending did work out, which I feel like is nice for me, someone who has already played the original game, but I can understand how it can feel like the endings are superseding the thought provoking endings of the original.
think about people who, no matter how much they like a game, are not willing to play it all over again given its duration, which in this particular game is not exactly short
Horrible idea. Why the fuck would anybody wanna chore thru an entire playthrough just to experience the new content that the game is marketed with...... hey wanna try out the new great/ultra balls this new Pokémon has instead of the normal ones? To bad you have to play to completion and then start over new playthrough to do so.
@@byronbarrientos8471 Yeah.... better to mess up the balance of the base game content with the new dungeons making you overleveled and ruin the original ethical dillema of the endings? Also how many people actually bought both? Most people I know of got ether one or the other. So why not give Redux players the chance to experience the original intent? And god forbid you have to work extra for the "the same outcome, but better in every way" endings. And if it such a problem they could have given you the option to play or not play the new-game-plus from the start with a "for people who have already beaten the game" note, so those people who had both could jump straight in, while new players didn't have to compromise. Or make it all endgame stuff that unlocked on your old save after you got any of the old endings and then reloaded that save. Really the way it was integrated was the worst way they could have done so.
@@Painocus My dude, I don't know what kind, but you definitely need to be a crazy mofo to try to argue that: Humanity becomes slaves with no will, Humanity is forced to live in a living hell on which they need to kill humans and demons alike to survive daily and You wasted your time and accomplished nothing because in a few years everyone will die anyway, are "hard ethical dilemmas". They are not. Ethical and Moral dilemmas are that, dilemmas, because they have equal amounts of good and bad in them, hence the dilemma "I am doing something bad, but by doing it I will help or be able to help X or Y and thus do good". The original endings are all literally: "How do you want to destroy humanity?". There's no nuance to them, no pros and cons to make you doubt, think and question yourself about about which one is the better choice. Humanity is destroyed in all 3. That's why the original endings are so bad. It makes the player choice completely and utterly meaningless.
@@PainocusOverleveled? The New Dungeon fixes the problem of the sudden level spikes throught the campaign, in fact you're supposed to go there whenever you feel like underleveled in the main story. I completed the game and fully did the new dungeon, and even I struggled with the "base" dungeons because even if I got stronger in the new dungeon, bosses like Ouroboros would still kick my ass so much, I'd spend like a week just trying to overcome them. If you don't like being "overleveled" and don't like the new endings (because you feel like they ruin the original ethical dilemma of the old ones), you can literally just play throught the main story and forget about most of the new additions. Some of us don't have a lot of time to play an already long game twice, much less 6 times if you want to see every ending. Maybe instead of trying to gatekeep people with lives and whine about "muh original experience is tainted!" like a purist, why not just ignore the new additions (since Alex only bothers you few times, most of it being towards the ending) and play it as you feel like it should be played? Or better, why not just stick to the original version of the game if you like it so much?
It's a shame that one of my favs is looked down so badly by the fans of the original, but I appreciate how respectful you were with it. Tho I must admit that the only reason why I played Redux instead of the original was due to availability. Game stores in my country didn't know what a Shin Megami Tensei was 'til V's release... and then forgot again a week later. I loved managing apps in Soul Hackers, though, so I'm personally bummed by that change now. That and shoving Alex down my throat 40 hours before telling me who she even was, but the fights she brought to the table were compensation enough. Btw, vanilla P4 ftw!! 🦀🐙🦀
I'd argue that having perfect endings isn't bad. Look at Devil Survivor Overclocked, where the Naoya and Amane ones have no real issue for humanity. How is that different here, when both stories have "edge" to them?
If i had to give a justification, most endings in devil survivor are given pretty positive spins to them. Gin/Haru's ending is just as positive after all, the original strange journey intended for all endings to be pretty bleak and redux kind of went and decided not to do that. I personally don't mind redux though it was the first version i played and I just didn't bother with the new content and because I didn't know about Alex's backstory I didn't notice those implications.
Because that was how they were designed originally. The desu endings were pretty positive overall but there are still some obvious drawbacks. Things like Overclocked just give us more details on what happened. With Redux it straight up replaces them. You have no reason to go after them anymore and they’re presented as the wrong choice because one leads to a good ending and the other leads to a more bleak outcome. In Overclocked you still have to do the original ending to get to the 8th day and you even have the option to choose to just make your save file there and not continue. So even if you don’t like what the 8th day does you can just stop there. But with Redux you do have to deal with Alex.
There is missing that the newest Neutral ending isn’t that positive. It’s one man, spending an eternity dealing with a problem because humanity won’t learn from it, and even the instigator of the new endings in Lucifer is more amused at what will happen first: Humanity being destroyed by the earth or Space Marine losing his humanity and destroying humanity himself. And he clings onto it through the Ring of what is implied to be his daughter.
Overclocked doesn't have an awful character like Alex and the 8th days feel like a natural progression of the story meanwhile the alex and womb bullshit is forced on the player and drags down the story even if you go for the og endings.
redux is a mixed bag. QoL is infinetivelly superior, the new interface is less cluttered and more streamlined, if inferior in design. the binary of the app is somewhat annoying, but I'm for the flawed position of "once you are at max level you get more points than what you need to have everything going at once", so I'm not impartial; the main story is more balanced in this version, where in the base the grinding sessions feels absolutely imperative, often even during a buildup in the story, here it feels like you can just farm during the descending phases and when you reach the new areas and still get things done. this is NOT the case with the womb, due to it's design. the thing is supposed to be tackled reaching the halfway point on any floor, get back to the story, get back in the womb to complete the flor and start the next part, and that messes up the flow with my horrible luck, I can go many, many fights without see any of the auto team abilities activating, and I agree that a separate bar would have worked better for the manual ones I must say, the silver-a the hedge story was not too intrusive, if not for the very final extra boss fight. the orginal ending made pivot of not working completely if at all, and while it's disillusioned in their course corrected new version, the whole thing it's the literal application of "hindsight is 20/20", as the whole thing is that we got a full review of how thing did not work the first time and why, and it's a more solid fight back against the trio in white the additional monsters, bosses and little things are all positives in my book. a few favourites of mine did not get a chance, but that's a given with how wide is the raw number of monsters in the serie. still believe they should drop the older thanatos and just redesign him. I'm gonna argue on one thing there, a good friend of my grandpa was pretty much a carbon copy of redux cap jack (I actually went on a hunt to see if someone in the graphic team was from the same city. hell, even most of the expression are the same), and was one of the most affable old men you'd ever seen.
Pros Redux: - new endings, i like them, they are not that ,,edgy'' like in original, but still have negatives - new post game content - QoL changes - better customization - animated sprites, this is the best thing in Redux - new content / new dungeon / new apps - you can just ignore them, and play like in original - additional OST: The Great Sign, and Shekinah are bangers - animated cutscenes - new interface is fine - new demons (Anahita, Zeus, Maria, Amon) - last boss fight in Redux was challenging, but fair - you can change difficulty in any time, this helps a lot with grinding before Mem Aleph - japanese dubbing is very good Coins Redux: - new artsyle < old artstyle - Jimenez looks awful - Alex is another Atlus ,,waifu bait'' character - Demeter is loli WTF ??? - save game in every moment, Commander Skills and some apps greatly decreasing difficulty of original game - they nerfed some boss fights (Captain Jack, Mem Aleph) - Sector Eridanus was nerfed - Womb of Grief and Empyrean Ascent are worst dungeons in game - atmosphere from original gone Personally i like both versions.
As someone who prefers the redux over the OG one, because of all the Quality of life stuff + the gameplay felt more customizable and the womb bosses / dungeons, I still gotta say the UI from the OG was so much cooler than what the redux version got, whoever thought "just make it blue lol" for redux should be in jail
I really disagree on your point with new endings. In the original, neutral option is the no-brainer golden ending, no matter how you look at it. In REDUX, both Law and Chaos have finally become viable choices that offer something to strive for and to hope for, while a new neutral is essentially the affirmation of the flawed nature of a man, cursed to be saved by the suffering of a few. Hell, REDUX does a better job at making players sympathise with options other than neutral than SMT 1, 2, if, 4 and the original combined.
Like he said in the video, it's not always about having a happy ending. The point of the original endings was that they weren't happy endings. Neutral seems like the obvious choice, but it's left up to player interpretation if humanity was able to change (implied probably not, confirmed in redux). Law and chaos would permanently rid of the schwarzvelt.
Also I personally don’t care when people say that the Smt endings are supposed to be bad and awful. So? That doesn’t mean I have to like it. I just don’t like those original endings.
While I definitely respect the fact that the original was better, unfortunately I'm a baby gamer, so whatever rerelease makes a game easier I'll probably lean towards, lol, but even though I played and enjoyed redux, nams vid on the original does tempt me a bit to go out of my way and buy the original
@@n2badsam420 it's also more that I have a massive backlog and I just want to play on the easiest difficulty to experience it, though I do go for harder difficulties on games I replay, JRPGS id rather not have be difficult if I can, since they're such a time sink, lol
I've only played Redux, not the original, and I didn't know most of the differences until now. I completely agree about the gameplay aspects you stated and i can see why the changes were made for say the sake of accessibility and quality of life in mind even if it saps the experience. I do find the changes objectively worse in Redux as you stated. I don't like the menu in Redux for instance, and knowing all the info Used to be on one screen is irritating to know haha Story wise I figure for most it's subjective, I totally understand why people would prefer the bleaker, harsher story options. However my philosophy is this, the harder and longer you have to work for something the more it should be worth. Not that it will be, but that it should be, especially for the time investment put into a long thing like an RPG. Playing this game is a long time investment, and the womb of grief by itself is as well. After going through the original, and the new game, and the extra dungeon, I see the new endings as gifts for for players investments in time and effort as well as intelligence. These new endings aren't saccharine and childish at their core like I've seen put in as "Good" endings to many games, forced and without thought. An honestly intelligent person with a heart should be able to see their faults better and not give into their first answer to solve problems especially with a character like Alex to be a reminder of asking "Why?" Why is this all happening, what am I doing, and what are the real ramifications? Seeing a glimpse of the future through Alex then being given options for a better world that I really would want to work hard for is a gift for my 200 hours I spent playing this with my friend. I want that time to mean something and yes with the old endings it would have, and the sour taste I would have gotten would be impactful, but I also know I would ask was it worth the life I spent putting into them. But that's me personally. Right after I beat Redux and got the Good Chaos ending I went and played Xenoblade 3 for 120 hours and regret every minute of it by the end in stark contrast to this game where I felt glad I sunk the time in. I don't see the new endings making the old ones a waste, I found them to be questions of "how could this be better? Can I make this world without the worst aspects that always echo on the reaches of Law and Chaos in SMT?" I got sick of the repeated neutralish Law and Chaos endings, for a game this good and well told, I thin people deserve a chance to make a good difference. Best SMT game in the series by far for me. I've played nearly all of the main titles save SMT 2 and Devil Survivor.
@@carhighh Thank you very much. It's part of a perspective I got from my fave animation director Don Bluth. "Every character deserves a good ending, but they should go through Hell for it." Paraphrasing, but that's about it.
@@carhighh I'm an artist in RL. I also write stories and make D&D settings while selling my art work. Bluth's philosophy is one I carry with me in most of my work along with many other positive perspective influences so I know it well and have put it to practice myself. It's beautiful to see a decent+ person (or at least a person trying to be decent) go though something horrible and get a great outcome, that isn't just sugar sweet without intelligent writing, to make the ending all the more worth it. Especially when even just nuggets of what happened before are echoed by the end because those little moments matter too. Thank you for listening.
To each their own, I can see where you're coming from but I still love Strange Journey regardless of which version. The new art style of the characters took some getting used too, but it wasn't as drastic as, say going from PS2 Ratchet and Clank to their PS3 versions My only major complaint about the Womb of Grief is how going through it throws the original games difficulty and progression off balance with all the extra exp and maybe one or two of the new demons while you're exploring it. Nowhere near as bad as some of the EXP DLC for other recent Megaten games but still. I do appreciate the streamlining of the apps system but I can also appreciate the decision making that comes with the original design. I can also definitely understand why they did it considering the Franchises' reputation of difficulty to ease in people who may have issues with the game itself, micromanaging your sub apps? Nah uh just set it and forget it. And at least they're in the game itself without freaking mircotransactions. Though I do admit that praising a game for doing the bare minimum of decent game design is like congratulating a random person for not going postal. The Commander Skills, I personally never had a problem with the main character in the original Strange Journey but hey more options never hurt, though the random ones were still BS and kind of glad they got rid of them when Atlus used it again in Soul Hackers 2. Long story short Redux has its highs and lows but it's still Strange Journey at the end of the day.
Never played the original but redux was fine imo, it still offered the old endings. While I get that the new Chaos/Laws ending were really bad addition compares to the originals. I actually don't mind the new neutral ending at all, or even prefer it over the original neutral ending. Alex's addition might seems extra and intrusive but I enjoy her character and her battle theme is bad ass so.
Redux is good bro. I don’t get this whole “disrespect” angle some people try to take on it. It’s just a nicely updated version with some optional added story stuff you can pretty much ignore if you don’t care about it
@@Recon868you can still do old endings and kill the Mary Sue aka Alex by doing so. TBH shes the only major flaw Redux has art bar some artstyle compliants overall
I do share your opinion except that I hate the womb of grief and like the new neutral ending. The OG Neutral ending has stagnation and the threat of the Schwarzwelt coming back as a possibility, but the newer ending is so much worse. We know that Humanity will never learn it's lesson and that you are now more or less cursed to save them over and over again knowing that you could have elevated humanity into a new era instead.
Everybody has their own opinion. I love this game and urge people interested to give it a go and judge for yourself. Either way, a lotta bang for your buck which is very nice.
Tbf, it really depends on the player. Me personally, as much as I love the original I prefer playing the 3ds because of the new endings. Though I agree with the combat UI and apps part.
Setting aside the idea of “disrespecting the original creators’ vision” (because that’s honestly neither here nor there, and isn’t relevant from a critical perspective), I think that the New Alignment Endings were the perfect direction for Redux to go, and perhaps the only responsible direction. The original Strange Journey used its endings to tie up its themes of human irresponsibility and environmental catastrophe in a way that was, if bleak, at least honest. It wallowed in the misery of the three potential outcomes, but made a salient point about how screwed we all were (again, highly relevant to the theme of climate change and environmental catastrophe). Redux is the adult version of that story. Where Strange Journey wallows in how miserable things are, the New Endings in Redux are about taking responsibility, owning up to flaws, and solving problems in a way that just isn’t possible when you’re so caught-up in how terrible things are. Do I think the New Endings were executed perfectly? No, and I’m not even sure they were executed _well._ I do think, regardless, that narratively and philosophically, they were exactly what Strange Journey needed - a stepping stone away from doomerism, toward a belief that things can actually be fixed.
The context of the original Law and Chaos endings makes it seem like their Redux versions just try to delude you into thinking their respective problems are fixed. It just presents them in a more idealized fashion, which is exactly what their proponents would want. Whereas there is no such proponent for the Neutral ending, thus the Redux version expounds upon the original and reinforces that there is no true fix.
I actually think the original Law and Chaos endings are way too bleak with obvious amoral actions like brainwashing, thus the new endings are actually made them more hopeful with clear benefit to humanity while still flawed like they are, even if they were fixed. Not only that, they balanced that out with the most cynical Neutral ending can be, removing the hopefulness that original Neutral has and blalantly show the unchanged nature of humanity that caused a toll on the protagonist, even if there is a solution.
@@kichiroumitsurugi4363 I do think it's a bad idea to flat out showed that these original endings are bad for humanity. The writing should have make the alignment characters go through different development in the new route that compell them to choose different method without know the bad outcome. There shouldn't be an option to choose original ending after know the outcome because beside Jimenez, I don't see Gore and Zelenin would choose the original endings since they did care about the betterment of humanity.
I like the double screen split up of the UI, I mean I dont like having an extra screen sitting there doing nothing. The changes to look like SMT IV are great because fit the latest iteration of the franchise in the system they're in, making it jumping from one to other feel more consistent ( sort of like the updated luigi's model on the 3ds remake being consistent with current standard luigis model) The change in art style... I cant notice sorry. I like colors so more vibrancy is welcomed the bigger screens and wider aspect ratio on 3ds is it a must to me, and the fact that alex exist makes it more like a sequel/reboot of the original correcting original's ending to a more pleasent/better future and you still have the same endings while in concept are equally interesting to me. It IS more accesible although I agree is not the most intelligent balancing they could've go for. Overall for me yes, redux is the best version.
Aw :( I love Strange Journey Redux. It fixed some of the darkness-induced apathy for me. In SJ, I felt like I was stuck with Neutral, because Law and Chaos were simply too extreme and unethical. Why the hell would I pick them? They're awful plans with huge problems, and that neuters any sort of dilemma when I can just pick Neutral. This extremism also damaged my opinion on the two opposing Alignment Reps and their relatability. Like, I get why they're both like that. I do, IMO they get their time and writing to express it. But then they become zealots, and the ensuing struggle between us comes across not as tragic, but just having to stop two dangerous idiots. And Redux has a character, Alex, who... tests their ideology. Eugh. I don't especially like her, like at all, but she dies no matter what happens so I'm not as bothered. It gets them to change via voicing my thoughts and problems through her, and I vastly prefer the new endings they each get. I can actually get why each new ending could be considered "right" now, in the circumstances. They make much more compelling cases! And because, IMO, the characters and story are so paramount to what I love about Strange Journey, I do genuinely prefer Redux.
Thank you for this. Darkness-induced apathy is a thing and I'm sick of endings being pointlessly bleak, especially in games where you can choose the endings. You can have the 'experience' in a blind first playthrough, but in hindsight, when one choice is so far and above the better pick than the other, there is only one choice. Redux at least tries to fix this, and for that I'm grateful.
I will say that Auto-Commander skills are not a problem, at least to me. While it is a strategic game, not everything can rely on strategy, and adding randomness to a game is essential to make moments stand out. I think that, while not executed perfectly, auto-commander skills do add that extra fun randomness to battles and it can either be an extra small bonus, to a crucial luck moment where you turn the tables.
What are you referring to when you say P5R's port last year "took away stuff"? Are you talking about the Raidou costumes and changing of the Almighty icon?
@@ArshadZahid_nohandleideas Like a lot of times, you can blame the CCP for that. They don't even know that Raido (and the rest of SMT by extension) takes place in an alternate history where the atrocities committed before and during WW2 by Japan never happened and the democracy of Japan was greatly extended instead of going facist like in our timeline.
Honest to god I feel like you're wrong on a sub-atomic level, but hell, it's not like you're prohibiting people to play Redux, so you do you. I mean, even if the game didn't come with anything else, Redux is already better just for having The Great Sign.
I might try redux honestly. The reason is because while the original is absolutely fantastic and the endings being dark were very poignant, I have vivid memories of how ball-crushingly hard it was to the point where it may be the most difficult game I ever completed. While yes, defeating those challenges felt incredibly rewarding and have stuck with me years later, I'm not sure I have it in me to go through them again. I was stuck on Mem Aleph for literally a year. edit: I would love for a new rerelease to include options that set you back to the original's difficulty, or even if it included both versions. Unfortunately I don't think this masterpiece was a big enough hit to justify that, which is a shame.
Mem Aleph is hell. Worst boss in the series IMO. I thought that original SJ being hard is over-exaggerated with me feeling completely comfortable with difficulty without any grind. Until Mem Aleph. I got to her while being in late 50s - early 60s levels with vitality build. She one-shotted me until i grinded for 10 more levels. Then she 2-shotted me. Resulting fight still felt not like a tactics or endurance test but like literal gambling on whether this thing decides to kill you for no reason or spares you for one more turn. And there was no saving - she had all elements, and damaged enough to hurt hard even with resistances in place. My advice for people: just don't bother with this fight, look up some reflect jack frosts and sit in defense position throughout the fight. Doesn't mean she won't oneshot you anyway, but at least you wouldn't need 10+ hours of grinding and the fight will last only 1 minute in case you are lucky enough to not get killed.
@@GrayFoxHound9 actually I figured out a strategy: get a doppelgänger and train it to reflect or null literally every single attack she can throw at you. And then yeah, just like you did, just sit there and try not to die while she slowly destroys herself. I remember it took me a while to train one like that but afterwards it was not a problem. It took me a long time to figure out and implement this tactic but it worked.
@@GrayFoxHound9 but also I’m glad it’s not just me, that fight was like the most difficult and painful boss I’ve ever fought in an rpg. Maybe in any video game. But what I do appreciate about SMT is that 90% of the time purposeless, blind grinding is pointless. And Mem Aleph is still an example of that even if she is a huge pain in the ass.
I hope you can make a video on how much Atlus fucked up Catherine with Full Body, no one comments on what the hell they were thinking with that re release.
As long as it doesn't boil down to "Rin bad" sure. There's a lot more issues with this shit. Awful gameplay change, remix mode is ass BUT the new redo/no life system even manage to ruin the original game mode too. Katherine being made nicer, having flashback, sending you pics etc, ruin so much of the grey morality the original tried to go for. And randomly throwing Rin in the middle ruined the pacing of the original. And .. yeah there's just way too much more than "me no likey Rin because Rin is an alien with a Penis 😢"
@@claire6452 Rin is pretty bad though as well. For a "one more Waifu" Atlus add-in, they're not great by any means lol But I can't say that, they have a penis, so 'obviously' Rin was needed in the plot.
Ui : "oh no my streaming" Yeah, sure. Doesnt matter Artwork : new ones are better. New app system : can be ignored. Doesn't matter. Just turn them off and play like you used to. Done. Commander skills : don't use them. Disable them. The game give options. It doesn't force anything on you. The new app and commander system are a "build your own difficulty" option. Nothing more. Doesn't take a genius to see it. Crying about how strong they are when they exist only to make the game easier is .. very stupid. If they were forced on you, sure. It's a choice for a reason. You don't pick easy mode and then complain that the game is easy, do you? Same thing here. New dungeon : Cool. You HAVE to go once then you can ignore it. I like it. Some don't. If you don't, ignore it. Again, the game give you choice. That's a quality. Even if the dungeon was ass (it's not) it wouldn't matter. New story : Oh look. Another thing you can 100% chose to ignore unlike with many of their re-release. Damn shit game giving me CHOICE. I hate it. Give you something more to aim for after you're done with the original endings. Or, if you don't care for them, just ... don't do it. Once again, it doesn't take away anything. Complaining would be only valid if they replaced the old endings and forced you onto those one. They didnt. I disagree saying they try to push you into these new ones. The game straight up tell you it's the new content. You have one forced meeting to tell you "this is where the new content is". That's it. Then you never see any of it ever again unless YOU WANT to. TLDR : It's better than the original in every possible way. If you want the original experience : it's still there. It's a choice. If you want something new? You can also do that. It's a 2 in one. Unlike something like P3P that ruined everything without giving you any choice on the matter. This is how re-release should be. If you want the same experience, you can make it. But you also a ton of new shits that are OPTIONAL to have fun with.
Dismissive comments like this are a plague to discussion so i will dispute everything you just said because it's kind of foolish. Also by the way this comment reads I have a sneaking suspicion you haven't actually played the original ui and artwork: subjective, there's no way to objectively state that one of better or worse. You may like how they look more, but plenty of people (like me) prefer the original art and ui. app system: doing this would be very cumbersome, as different apps took up more space than others (10 blocks, some apps take 1, some take up to 5). You would have to remember the apps storage or constantly cross reference a table with their costs, which is kind of annoying to do. commander skills: yeah I guess you could just turn them off, but why should that make it beyond critique? The game gives you the choice to not use them but like. It's pretty obvious they want you to, it's an exciting new thing after all. Just because you can remove them doesn't mean you can't point out that the rng based nature of the auto skills is questionable, or that some effects are too powerful. Also the easy mode is, well, easy mode. Using commander skills is not an easy mode. They're on by default, you're obviously "supposed" to keep them on. The hard mode of the game is, well, hard mode. New dungeon/story: Again, just because you can "ignore" them doesn't mean they are above criticizing. You can ignore the womb of grief, but you can't ignore alex fully. You still encounter her in Bootes and Carina, and you still have to fight her before mem aleph if you take the original endings. Alex's very existence changes the story. She frames the original endings as "bad endings" which, while that may seem obvious, there was more that was left up to interpretation in the original. Besides that, the original endings tied into the games theming much better. The law and chaos endings seem awful (which, ig they are), but they permanently destroy the schwarzvelt. The neutral ending seems better, but it's up to the player to decide if humanity course corrected, or fell back into old habits. It was about human nature and our treatment of the environment, and if such drastic changes to stop the schwarzvelt from ever reappearing is even possible without interference from gods and demons. Alex and the new endings throw this all out the window by removing all the consequences from the original endings, thus muddying their meaning and thematic purpose. This cannot be ignored no matter how much you want to pretend Alex isn't there. To conclude, it's not a definitive upgrade. While you might not care about small touches in the original like the ui and artystyle, as well as the colors being a bit different, these all give a different atmosphere that you just can't do in redux because they don't exist like that in redux (also the original is 60fps and redux is 30fps, it doesn't matter much in a game like sj but I thought it was worth pointing out). You can self impose as many restrictions all you want, but some things are just not there in redux. It isn't stupid to critique these things. To reiterate, being optional does not absolve something from critique.
@@harmless_xd4107 Is not that hard to avoid, it literally screams "New content" the new dungeon and leader skills, and dungeon crawling apps are in there. So you can play like in the original just fine ( I did that minus the sub apps because I didn't know), and you can equip 6 sub apps, because let's be realistic, you will always use the one that reduce your space in 7 and changes all sizes to 1.
@@harmless_xd4107While true, the new content makes itself very easily evident, especially WoG since it's introduced via a forced Alex encounter in Bootes
Ok after watching the video, you kinda convinced me to play Redux instead of the original XD, everything you said seems to make the game better, I dislike the extreme amounts of grinding SMT games require even though I thoroughly enjoyed it back when I was in middle school/high school but now I barely have time to play let alone spend that much on a single game, so it seems they made the game easier or more accessible which is great for me, the artstyle seem typical Atlus/SMT art style which I honestly love, and finally the endings ok this may be controversial but I always hated how bad endings in SMT games always seem to be, like evey ending is a bad ending and I don't agree with any of them I know some people love that in a way there's no perfectly good ending but instead there's alway a positive that's outweighed heavly by the negative so every ending is bad, and I don't like that in fact I hate it it always feels terrible to reach one of these endings and it seems they kinda fixed that in this game, so in conclusion I think I'll play Redux.
Completely disagree on wmt alignments being actual choices Smt1,og nocturne and smt4 basically say everything else is shut pick netural/freedom. Can't say about smt2 because of the dodgy fan translation and 5 went through development hell.
Smt 1 i think that Law and Chaos are somewhat working endings If you aren't going for neutral. I recall a great video essay that basically sums up how Smt 1's message is about extremism being bad and how neutral is good, and yeah that proves your point
@@jettlucashayes8508 really? me personally, my biggest complain with the smt 2 fan translation was that it was too accurate to the original script, which made a few things uncomprehensible. Japanese sentence structures doesn't work in English. Not to mention that they didn't translate the demon race names.
@@iwannaseehowlongyoucanmakethis nope they altered tons of things, ssatan doesn't try to say god commited genocide in the og scrip and just says you gonna die.
The re release games give new content and better endings I don't hate the new characters since they fit in well enough not the worst thing and better graphics are good. I rather have new content rather than no content and just better graphics
As someone who generally tends to not like most remakes/remasters I agree with most of your points. The only point I disagree on would be the new endings. Maybe I'm just too simple-minded or something but the endings in Strange Journey lacked anything interesting or worth discussing. I liked the morbid implications behind the OG endings but I think Nocturne handles this balancing act better. I recognize that the pessimism baked into the endings ties into the themes and atmosphere but I consider them so low quality compared to say Nocturne or Devil Survivor's endings that it's hard for me to be attached to them. Redux's endings are arguably too uplifting for their own good, but there are still substantial enough differences in the endings that I feel like more interesting conversations can be had about the Redux endings than the original's.
SJ is probably my favourite game in the series. IMO the challenge is the only major difference between the two versions. And the one thing I dislike about Redux is that its not the artwork by Kaneko. I started playing Persona 1 just because of his artwork.
Not gonna dig into the visual presentation stuff because that's inherently incredibly subjective, but the idea that Redux's gameplay is worse than the original SJ's is absurd to me. Lacking March to Death in SJ original meant you were constantly at risk of a game over to a single Mudoon. Lacking Brave Heart meant you had literally no choice but to pray an enemy's ailments missed. Further, there absolutely is a reason to avoid using a Commander skill every time you have the chance. Summing up the Protagonist as a 'support character' is missing the fact his gun skills let him swap around elemental abilities, and lets him set up Co-Op attacks more consistently than any demon. Any turn you choose to use his Commander Skill is a turn you are choosing *not* to make use of his other, quite compelling, abilities. Also, the idea that you "cannot capitalize on auto-Commander skills," is just flat out factually wrong. Take a look at Blitzkrieg. Knowing you are guaranteed to get the first turn allows you to change decisions about how you heal. I remember countless occasions where it meant I could afford to save a healing item (and Protag's turn) because Blitzkrieg guaranteed that my healing demon would be able to throw out a Mediarama/Diarahan/Whatever before the boss swatted them down. Lastly, I disagree with your evaluation that Redux's writing is worse than the original's. Having every endings in SJ be grim doesn't make the writing automatically better. On the contrary, this is the first time an SMT game has made me actually think about alignment since Nocturne. If Alignment is going to continue to be a part of MegaTen, the choice needs to be more interesting than, "Support the blatantly evil demons, support the blatantly evil angels or support neither." New Law's ending is the first time I've genuinely felt compelled to take a Law ending, and the claim that there are 'no downsides', is, once again, a failure to read the actual text. The New Law Ending specifically takes the time to make you question how humanity will fare against the possibility of an invasion or attack from some other future antagonist when they have been stripped of their drive for violence. As your pinned message said, there is value in respecting other opinions, and I agree with that, but I find your analysis and evaluation of Redux to be pretty shaky. In my book, this is an even better game than Nocturne.
@@thatitalianlameguy2235Because of the way auto commander skills work, deciding their impact is quite easy - Blitzkrieg is a pretty good one, letting you act first
I think the part that hurt me the most about this release is that for the 25th anniversary, they didnt bother with an english voice over and instead they gave it to 2 other titles.
I dunno about the criticism of the endings. I mean, it's been a while for me since I looked up the new endings, but isn't there a line of text in each ending explicitly stating how it isn't a perfect solution? Like how the harmony of the new law ending will only last as long as people are still affected by the peace-enhancing vibes of the law hero, or the fact that humanity is basically starting from square one in the new chaos ending, or how the Schwarzwelt will one day engulf the whole Earth when the neutral hero finally loses sight of their humanity. Even if there is no line of text and I'm just crazy, I'd hardly call the great reset of human techological and societal advancement a perfect ending. Or the fact that the Schwarzwelt keeps returning a perfect ending either.
So in conclusion it may be an enhancded rerelease however it ain't a "definitive" version unlike other Megaten rereleases. So do your research and pick whichever version sounds the most appealing to you
These are well argued points. Unfortunately all I have is a digital copy of Redux I bought before the eShop closed in order to avoid high physical prices. I haven't played it yet but I hope I won't be missing out too much.
I agree with some points, I feel the same way about Persona 3 Fes vs. Reload. There's a lot of changes that alter the original experience. But to say games like Reload or Redux are a BAD way to experience the game is a bit much.
I just played through redux and accidentally ignored all of Alex's story and I just had a extra boss fight every once and a while and idk it seems like we're comparing a chocolate cake to a fancy chocolate cake like they're both good and worth eating
I ptefer the apps in redux tbh. By making the apps limited they aren't making the game mofe challenging but rather making it more tedious, sure i can't regen MP passively but i can always just go back to a terminal and heal. Same goes for the negotiation apps especially, it isn't more challenging to be limited to certain apps, because y9u can just go back to the sprite and change it depending on what demon you require. As far as the endings go i also prefer redux, imo if somebody gas the power to guarantee himself a good ending, they should get it. In Nocturne you can choose the freedom ending and flip off the great will indefinitely, if I as the Marine want to guarantee a good life for humans, and have achieved the power to do so, there is no logical reason as to why i wouldn't defend humanity forever, it is what i desire therefore it is what i do. Same goes for the other endings but unlike other smt games in SJ I've only ever like the neutral and true neutral endings, not even New law can convince me it's good because from my moral perspective humans losing their will to fight just makes them glorified puppets
Whilst unlile the og SJ i never finished redux (I've seen the finales on TH-cam cause i was burnt out) i also like the commander skills In the og game i had luck support, which was semi good since i had light resistance, but dealt borderline no damage compared to my demons, so in the final fight (in which my light resistance was useless) i just used marine for healing items and demon summoning when was KO'd
Wasn't this game built in the 3DS Etrian Odyssey engine just like the original used the DS games' engine? How hard could it have been to have the Alex chase work like an FOE?
Ill havw to disagree with the claim of lack of nuance to the new endings. The consequences for the new law ending for example was brought up that due to their non violent tendencies being quelled they wont be able to fight back against whatever foreign adversary invades.
I actually like the new neutral ending better than the old one. Spoilers ahead. You become immortal and you and Arthur choose to dedicate yourselves to stopping the Schwarzwelt ever time it appears. Arthur comments on humanity having triggered the schwarzwelt's return yet again, the seventh time it's appeared and I find it fittingly bittersweet for a megaten ending. Doomguy and Arthur keep fighting for humanity, no matter how many times it comes back, no matter how futile it may seem when humanity just keeps triggering it's return.
i agree w alot of the stuff in this video, but i do disagree with one point. the new endings DO have big drawbacks, as each one has a huge gamble attached to it. New Chaos- humans & demons now co-exist without the whole "survival of the fittest" mindset but as pretty much ever SMT game shows, humanity & demons hanging out is a massive risk as wars can very much break out against one another New Law- humanity is now in complete total peace with one another, but this means we are also completely vulnerable to any outside invaders. humanity is basically a sitting duck, praying nobody notices them forever New Neutral- cool in some parts but also more depressing then the og. the protagonist is now a super-saiyan protector of the earth against demons but as the ending shows, humanity hasn't improved at all. if anything it shows that the is Schwartz popping up constantly, meaning he's doomed to protect a stagnant humanity forever unless they actually decide to improve
And yet i find Redux the better version the original i found needlessly depressing or tough i like tough games but smt strange journy was needly tough st parts so im glad you enjoyed the original but for me the original doesnt even hit a 2/10
That’s how I feel about SMT nocturne… like is a fun game but hard mode takes away the fun. I don’t mind hard mode in games, persona games and SMT V do it well imo. But nocturne is entirely luck, grinding is a pain.
I agree on the gameplay part, but I disagree on the new endings. In either of the original endings the humanity is doomed anyway, but the new ones make your actions have a true positive impact. Especialy after going through the whole new dungeon, not just choosing an extra option.
It's interesting to me how you consider P5:R a rerelease done right, but this one is terrible. P5:R also completely destroy the games balance and though the extra story content is nice. It's a bit jarring the way it's introduced and how it fundamentally changes the ending of the game.
The new additions do make the game much better gameplay wise tho. Aside from showtimes being free nukes, the rest makes the overall mechanics more fun to use, the technicals upgrade, the guns not being so limited, the confidant perks upgrades, the easier more in depth social link grinding, not having to unlock Baton pass with every party member, mementos being less shit ...
I have yet to play either Strange Journey or Redux, but I plan to try them both as I'm falling further down the MegaTen rabbit hole. However, there is one criticism of Redux I find strange... Why should a game aimed for a dual-screen console need to have a HUD that looks good on a single screen capture? It's not built for that, so naturally, it'll look clunky on a single screen. And of course, a port would have to redesign the HUD because it's not the original game's job to be futureproofed for a potential port to something it isn't aiming to be, it's kinda like criticising Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3 for using analogue button inputs because the Xbox 360 will require a different control scheme.
I played this game not knowing about the changes from the original, it was my first mainline SMT. Eventually I found out about the changes, and honestly I initially didn’t mind too much. I didn’t like either version’s artstyle, and I barely used commander skills (I did in the Asherah fight but it was still one of the hardest bosses in the game and it sounds like the original version’s fight is straight up bs). I saw there were new endings, learnt that you need to complete the Womb of Grief to unlock them, and that they’re still optional. So I went through the game, enjoyed it, got the chaos route, occasionally made progress in the Womb of Grief, and saved in 2 slots for the new endings. I temporarily dropped the game in Horologium because it became a bit much. Eventually, I blasted through the rest of the dungeon, and got to the end of the game, and decided to go for the original ending first, meaning I had to fight Alex before I could talk to SPOILERS and go on to fight the final boss. This fight is weirdly difficult, which honestly just felt annoying compared to the other tough bosses, and I ended up looking things up related to the fight to see if it could be cheesed (it couldn’t, not in the version of the fight where she has 2 demons at least), and that’s when I found out that I got lucky picking chaos, since she is literally the final boss in the old law and neutral endings. That is quite possibly the most insulting thing an atlus rerelease has done, and that says a lot.
Having once taken part in a heated discussion on just how flawed New Law (complacent and defenseless) and New Chaos (a hard reset on civilization) actually are, I can't agree with the notion that the new endings take all of the consequences away. I can however see how it may look that way when looking up from the abyss that is presented by the original endings, and the fact that you get to them by jumping off those original routes doesn't help. To me, the new endings by themselves land in the goldilocks zone of "palatable, but with big implications attached", and the player should definitely know better than to trust the ideologue at their side saying that things are good now. I can accept that the way the old endings are now treated as "bad" is disrespectful, but I don't think that the new ones erase consequences at all. Which is about everything nice I can say about the story additions because Alex's parentage is absurd, Louisa is now such a complete good guy she's actually less interesting as a result, and the integration is clumsy as all get out. I do like Redux mostly for the original SJ parts, I just think that the new endings are on their own a good thing and make the choice at the end more meaningful than "pick Neutral if you want any hope whatsoever".
just fishing playing throught both arcs in SMT devil survivor 2 record breaker and most of the issues with the ends of this game could be said about the Daichi Shijima ending of the septentrion arc and the world creation end ending for the triangulum arc, some of the games endings don't have that ominous feeling but it doesn't mean they are bad
The new neutral ending has consequences tho, it's still stagnation, your protagonist, is stuck on a moon for eternity, as humans refuse to learn. The consequence is the MC going through a cycle of closing up the Schwartzelt because humans refuse to learn.
I don't know... I think my problem is that I played this version before the original one. When I went back to the original I was like: Why is X feature missing, why does X dungeon feel shorter, what happened to X boss It's like Nocturne Maniax: Whenever I play that game, I always go for the Lucifer ending. Not because it has a good story, but because that's the one with the most content.
I have no bond to it besides reviews, but I don't like how ATLUS keep releasing games with poor development, I'm not against having a femc etc, but they don't put much effort into it
Without playing the original i enjoyed redux a lot but i won't say its better without playing both, from what i've heard the original is way harder and i struggled enough with redux as is so i don't think i'll be revisiting the original any time soon but redux has become my second favorite smt game for what its worth. In a vacuum its a pretty fun game (fuck the fusion UI though i hate cycling through every single demon in my stock)
You know what sucks? Opinions. But you know what doesn't suck? Respecting other people's opinions. Let's all try to keep it civil here.
Based nam
Based
Based
Based
Chad thumbnail
The criticism about the two screen usage is just a result of your streamer needs. The new UI takes advantage of the extra space, it just isn’t convenient for you.
Tf you mean it's turn based, that only makes sense for action games
That's a you problem????
One of the most charming things about the hardware is using both screens at the same time. That's what makes playing any DS/3DS game so charming and unique @TsukiZer0
@@The-Zer0th-Law Because of people like you without object permanence? lol
@@vanilla8956 No, because splitting the player focus is bad, but people without no brain (like you) can't focus anyway.
@@The-Zer0th-Law Nintendo kept the 2-screen design for over a decade, through all the DS and 3DS iterations. Also the DS is among the best selling consoles of all time. The design can hardly be considered a failure.
I think saying SJR is "a terrible way to experience Strange Journey" is hyperbolic. It has issues but it's still a solid version of the game.
The issues are "It's not ball crushingly hard as the original", "it doesn't ask you to grind on it as if it was a 2nd job" and "It adds new endings that are not a different flavor of "Grats on destroying humanity"". Non of which are bad in any way, form or shape. You can choose to nit use the MC and let it be as useless as it was in the original if you want the game to be harder. You can choose to grind as much as you want if you want and you can literally choose if you get the old or new endings. There's basically no reason to play the original aside from nostalgia or having some sort of extreme purist mindset, which Nam clearly has for SJ. Just the title of the video gives that away.
@taigaaisaka6305 Alex was intrusive and felt more out of place in the campaign than P4 Golden Marie. Yeah. I said it. Plus my old passwords don't work anymore so no Ubermensch Gore and x4 regular attack for me.
@@taigaaisaka6305 Strange Journey is hard… until you remember how broken demon sources are and then it turns into a joke
Clickbait at its finest👌
@@taigaaisaka6305Late af but you’re entirely right lol
My biggest counter point towards your critic of the new endings is that you really downplay the amount of work the player has to do to get them. You made it sound like it’s just something you can get by picking the right dialogue options in a cutscene and not by continuously going back to the hardest dungeon in the game both combat and puzzle wise. In my opinion it proves upon the Amala network because it gives a reward to all the routes in the game by giving them a more idealized ending instead being like nocturne’s true demon ending that’s basically the main character taking his ball and going home because he thinks everyone else is being dumb.
Complaining about this game making optimal use of the the 3DS's double screens because "moving eyes hard", and especially complaing about streaming being inconvenient immediately tells me you hate this game for really stupid reasons.
this truly was a _strange journey redux_
Perhaps you could even say it was a persona 5 royal?
Featuring Yukiko from Persona 4 series
“Goddamn, my Journey is Stranging the f*ck out!!!” - hemenez
Strange Journey Redicks
@@ArshadZahid_nohandleideas Strange Journey RIDDICK :D
To be honestly like the new endings, how we get there is….not great and could have been done better, but I do think it was needed to contrast the original endings. Law and Chaos were extremely cynical endings in the original, and Neutral was idealistic to the point of naivety in its attitude towards Neutral. The new endings meanwhile end up being on the opposite extreme. Where Law/Chaos are now idealistic and hopeful, while Neutral is, hilariously enough, very realistic in its cynicism in expecting humanity to actually heal the planet we take for granted.
I think I have to agree with Nams here that because the endings just kinda get rid of a crucial consequence of a grand decision, they're a bit ruined. I think in real life, you often make decisions without realizing the full extent of the consequences, or what happens is good enough for you to accept those consequences. This is a new writing staff, and they obviously fumbled it, and then fumbled it a bit further if they were in any way involved with writing SMT5.
The problem with the new endings is they are not alternative outcomes of your path, but "fixes" over the originals. The originals had an impact that is lost in the moment you introduce a way to "fix" them.
I think that in essence the changes they made for the endings are somewhat strange (Ha!) in the sense they are the same than the original, but with a but. Law ending is heaven order but human have autonomy, chaos is demon strong society, but they protect the humans, and neutral is all stays the same, but now you are an immortal doomslayer (Best ending right here). I don't think it did affect my overall enjoyment of the game ( And after 150 hour playing on my first playthrough i would've hated if the endings sucked).
The original already did this
Neutral was the worst in the game world because its only temporary
@@ibilesfighter3.16 And that was the point. Humanity can't change and will forever repeat its cycle of corruption and decay.
A couple things:
- Something which Nam didn't really touch on in this video is the voice acting. As the game's presentation was completely changed, ATLUS went all-out and hired a Japanese Hollywood-grade cast to provide this game's voice talents. *Every* actor perfectly matched their character and brought them to life, it was magnificent. It's a compelling reason to return to this one despite everything else.
- He should do the Radiant Historia games at some point. Their development history is virtually identical to SJ and SJR.
Too bad they didn't consider the English side one bit
@@user-ro7xr8ro9w None of these characters are supposed to speak Japanese
@x literally the only game in the entire megaten franchise where it would make sense for the characters to speak english.
Radiant historia release fucking sucks
@@user-ro7xr8ro9w Thing is, usually these games have great English dubs. Persona 4 and 5 especially have really iconic English VA, and the voice acting for IV and Soul Hackers tends to be pretty decent, too!
I disagree about the hud, the game was design for the 3DS and uses it’s hardware for that. I don’t see that as an issue besides future porting. Which shouldn’t be an issue at all. You can’t criticize Wii gimmick montion controls when a game does end up using them at full potential 😂 than complain how there going to port said motion controls to other ports. Besides that, I agree with everything you said. Besides the HUD, SMT4 hud is slick and modern and it fits with the 3DS so freakin much and I love everything about it. It’s nice to see the second screen used and I can spam my buttons almost instantly with the stylus.
With that said, I also don’t have an issue about strange journey one hud either both are great
You lost me at your critique on the usage of the bottom screen for information; I get not liking it because it clashes on how it looks when having to stream it, but I doubt developers think or should think of that. It's a DS (double screen) game. That said, all your points are valid. I wish commander skills were implemented better because it's honestly my favorite mechanic and distincts the MC from any other one from the series
I really don't like the bottom screen being used for information, as someone who is not a streamer, I prefer ds games to keep the bottom screen minimal, I think some of the Pokemon games executed it pretty well iirc
He lost the first point at the misinformation of P5R not having something from P5. That's simply untrue.
Ok, Second point lost at saying the "new neutral ending" is "devoid of any implications". Same of the others.
But for the neutral the mental strain the MC must bear is something he seemingly can't see.
honestly if its something like an rpg idrc if its over 2 screens, although 1 screen is definitely perferrable
it becos an issue in gaes with high intensity like ssb4
You’ve convinced me to play redux, thanks!
Lmfao real
Gonna respectfully disagree. That’s all.
You're not giving any points as to why it wouldn't be true
I mean, that’s Nam’s opinion, so?
Thin skinned
@@vandagylon2885 anyone who cannot take opinion takes your comment and actually does it to the commenter just without the "thin" =:
Why
Counter point. Every ending in the original fucking sucks. Either stagnant death of humanity, 1984 or survival of the fittest bullshit
SMT fans hate any type of positive ending because they circle jerk how "dark" the series is. The new endings could've been implemented better but they're fine thematically/narratively
@@ephemeralbrothe new endings are idealized versions of law and chaos. New neutral is just bad.
Ideal law is just eternal peace where everyone is equal while ideal chaos is competition where everyone competes to become the very best with demons acting as guardians
him saying that an ending where the MC has to be alone and fight for the eternity is "devoid of any consequences" kinda show he did not analyze them much
Bad take
It's like you haven't played an SMT game.
Also the new neutral ending is not happy. That shit is fucking sad
I actually really like the Redux Neutral ending. The fact that the Schwarzwelt keeps reappearing and how tired the protagonist looks keeps the essence of how cyclical human nature is. I dunno, maybe I just like it because it stays pretty bleak lol
Truly the worst victim of Atlus Rerelease Extra Girl syndrome
Perhaps, full body is pretty bad too
@@toooydoeur nah Alex is worse than q Catherine.
@@kingteddieP4 disagree but both are pretty shit
Catherine Full Body - Rin
Persona 5 Royal - Kasumi
Persona 4 Golden - Marie
SMT Strange Journey Redux - Alex
All of them were TRASH, anime trope, waifu bait.
@@nr2676 dude kasumi ain't compatible to the others lmao
I personally like the changes they did with Redux.
The Art and UI changes are just visual changes that are up to preference, I personally enjoy them.
Commander Skills are weird I agree with that and can be unbalanced at times, but I prefer this over permeant dead weight and at least give the protag more identity
The App system in this game is easier than in the original, but honestly in the original I had like 7-8 app points used on the same apps all the time and most apps just became useless / not appealing to me. So with the Redux, I can now use the apps without it feeling like I'm nerfing myself for using some of them.
The Endings are bad, and I agree with our take on them, but at least the OG endings still exist and were not removed.
Overall Great Video and even when I do not agree myself with some of your takes I still feel like you did a great job explaining yourself
Leader skills are really that powerful? For me they are pretty useless, I almost never used them, they are very situational.
@@kevinalfaro7150 Think about it this way: if they're on cooldown, it's a waste NOT to use them, especially during exploration. It makes a third (or so; I don't wanna do the math) of your turns more efficient. That adds up! You've got extra levels from the new dungeon... A bevy of new, more powerful apps you equip freely... And a costless cooldown rotation that lessens the impact of resource drain and keeps you safer longer. It protracts the rhythm of tension and relief between soldiering on and returning to base without significant opportunity cost or long-term resource expenditure, weakening the risk/reward of dungeon crawling.
@@kevinalfaro7150 Free Luster Candies and no MP costs!? Who wouldn't pass that up?
@@ArshadZahid_nohandleideas I mean, those are random. "No MP" isn't that powerful in explorations if you have equiped reduced encounter and MP regen walking, and with bosses it hardly makes a difference, if this was SMTV where all spells cost a ton of MP maybe. And free luster candy is the same, you have to be buffed if you don't want to die to bosses on hard, so when it happens you are already on max or make a boss trigger dispel on all, wasting it.
@@kevinalfaro7150 well that's fair
Makes sense that I liked Redux; it was my second SMT game, following IV :P
Maybe I've been spoiled, but when I see the original, the menus look so... "crunched up" to me. And I really like seeing the higher-res demon artwork as well.
My friend was playing the original Strange Journey and was absolutely suffering at bosses like Jack and Ouroboros; fights which were made so much more manageable with the new commander skills which my friend lacked. Maybe some people prefer the challenge but I'm glad I wasn't in his shoes.
But I still got plenty of challenge in the final bosses, including the one for the Redux endings. That was one of the longest and most grueling battles I've had in an RPG in a very long time. Has a pretty epic theme too.
And admittedly: I also liked the new endings. Something about turning the protagonist into Doomguy is incredibly amusing to me.
I feel like the experiences aren't that similar but doesn't make one better than the other just different.
Original Strange Journey has an older-going-new mentality, where it's not obnoxious like SMT I and II (great games but obnoxious), but still quite limiting and over-challenging like SMT III (which doesn't take away it's great traits).
Strange Journey Redux takes a more SMT IV feeling where it's still challenging but gives a lot more resources to deal with things, you feel great getting progresssively stronger instead of being on your toes all the time which can get away the challenge and makes it only annoying.
For people that likes this "on your toes" challenge approach, SMT IV and Redux feels lackluster, there is no dramatic challenge, but for more casual players it gives an enough amount of challenge, and the original can still be a great experience as well because it isn't all that difficult, just different.
I would recommend both but not expecting them to be similar.
I like Jack in the original, honestly. He's a fun challenge, and I don't agree with the severe nerfs he got in Redux.
But fuck Ouroboros, that shit is just "RNG: The Boss Fight."
@@yep9462Jack responded with Pure Blue if he was ever debuffed, but honestly, at the very least he should've kept Rain Strike
See, the new endings, at least to me, weren't the problem. They showed how Law/Chaos can be beneficial forces when not taken to extremes. The new Neutral ending made a lot of sense as far as what happened after the OG Neutral ending (the "We beat it once, we'll beat it again, so who cares if it comes back" mentality is something I would have absolutely expected from the human governments). However, the issue, again, at least to me, comes from how they were implemented. Rather than being blended more directly into the story, they had you go through an entire side dungeon, with zero changes to the plot, before suddenly dropping a choice on you at the end of the game that, if you pick a certain one, lets you tackle the out of nowhere true final dungeon and equally out of nowhere true final boss. A final boss whom, might I add, is so stupidly difficult that even if you use an online password generator and spend stupid amounts of time grinding Macca (for Compendium summons) so you can go into the fight rocking an absolutely perfect party, AND you come stocked up on as many Dekaja Stones, Dekunda Stones, and SP restoring items as you can carry, you'll still more likely than not get wrecked if RNG is not on your side.
So, to sum it all up:
.) New endings aren't really tied into the plot until literally the very end of the game
.) New endings, rather than require the player to do certain things or make certain choices throughout the game, just requires the player to beat the new side dungeon before progressing past a certain point in the story, make a certain choice at the end of the game, go through the new FINAL final dungeon, then beat the new true final boss.
.) The final boss the player needs to beat for these new endings is stupidly difficult even by SMT standards.
Yea, that is the problem with the new endings - the side dungeon associated with it
Nah man, the final boss wasnt that hard, especially compared to YHYV(or however its spelled) in Apocalypse(mainly Massacre route, but still): he kept smile Charge + Nuking my team, to the point i was FORCED to buy the DLC just to have enough HP to not get wiped. Literally got to Level 100, got the stat as high as i could get it(even using Doping in the fight), and that combo still did enough damage to instantly drop my entire team
To be fair that was kinda what nocturne did when they added the labyrinth of amala
None of your choices matter in the game if you want the new ending you just beat the labyrinth
I actually really like the new endings. In the OG Neutral was the only reasonable choice because the law and chaos endings were SO BAD. And even then, Neutral in the OG was extremely unsatisfying and just felt like another bad ending. When you spend 40+ hours on a game (or in my playthrough of Redux's case, over 100) you want a satisfying ending. Redux's new endings provide that giving actually good and equal law and chaos endings that don't suck and show the positive side of those alignments, which never happens in this series. The only thing I don't like about Redux is that Floor 5 of the Womb of Grief and the true final dungeon suck so much and are so annoying. I had to use a guide for those they were SO bad when I never used a guide for Eranius or Grus. Otherwise Redux is really good and the QoL makes going back to the OG near impossible. I never once used Commander Skills in my playthrough and yes I agree they're bad and unbalanced, but they don't ruin the game. Really the only use I found for them is as a crutch to get you out of a bad situation with the auto skills but that's about it. The app system in the OG was really annoying because there were a bunch of apps that you practically NEEDED on at all times and not having them made the dungeons incredibly painful. You had almost no room to experiment because so many slots were taken up by apps that by all means should have been permanent upgrades. I agree that app points shouldn't have been removed, but instead of removing them they could make some more necessary apps permanent and other ones cost AP.
The thing is that the endings were supposed to feel like Bad endings, humanity was so shity that the demons had to come and take the Earth away from them, the thing the original Game tries to tell you is that it's already too late to get a good ending, Even the new neutral ending points to this
The original endings were "flawed" on porpourse because it insentivies decision making: no matter what you do it comes with negative consecuences, the thing then becomes, with which consecuences are you willing to go through to solve the conflict. This creates an ethical dilemma.
The new endings trivializes any and every dilemma, who cares about your decisions and its concecuences if at the end everything will become an utopia no matter what.
@@fredalejandro9932 While true, I feel like the negativity was a tad too much for what it's worth, making everything feel rather pointless. It's a case of "damned if ya do, damned if ya don't", there was no winning here
@@kichiroumitsurugi4363 As I said, going to the other extreme just kills decision making and throws to the trash the origibal endings. SJ story is a bleak one and this disney fairytale endings just clashes with what the original story tried to convey.
@@kichiroumitsurugi4363 So you just want sappy happy endings and nothing else. Don't bother playing the other SMT games especially the older ones.
I watched both of your videos on SJ. I partially agree with some of your criticisms. Maybe give the hero quests to increase the Sub Apps memory or something like that instead of letting them equip all the Apps. I see the appeal. It's the closest thing to letting you customize your hero since stat gain is randomish.
However, the Commander skills and use all the Sub Apps get at a mechanic you liked in vanilla, but most people saw as a flaw. The dungeons were difficult and a slog, especially that infamous Sector that you sigh at when people ask for a map for. The majority didn't like them. You're in the minority of Strange Journey fans when you did like those annoying difficulties and slogging. The changes curb that, too much without fixing the dungeons to begin with; however, that came from a place of most folks thinking these were the worst dungeons in the modern SMT series. Very few thought they were great. I played both versions and the second Sector is annoying. I dread to see that infamous Sector. I like the series of SMT, but that stuff sucks. You liked it. Great, but those old mazes seemed to be a limit of the technology back then. The developers can move past that now. I doubt we'll see a lot more of these annoying, flow breaking mazes anymore in the future games.
As for the story, the whole point of the journey is to prevent an upcoming apocalypse event. Naturally, someone is gonna respond to your least awful choice. As for the New Neutral ending, it doesn't sound that hopeful. You take care of the new Demon Netherworld every time that pops up. Doesn't sound like humanity learned their lesson. You're now stuck cleaning up after them each time. That sounds like a stagnant and awful event, similar to Promenthus. That sucks. The other endings do smooth out the sharp edges and I agree with your problems that come from that. These are SMT Demons after all, not Disgaea ones.
Most new fans will gravitate towards the Redux to enjoy the game as opposed to the very bothersome elements few people enjoyed in vanilla. Or just emulate since Nintendo enables scalpers and does little to preserve their history.
I just love hearing the Japanese voices while playing, makes me feel like im playing my favourite game juiced up with badass Gundam Dialogue.
So funnily enough I literally just finished Redux yesterday on the New Neutral ending. I also watched the original endings for all three routes since I finished the Womb of Grief and don't really plan on doing any of the original endings. While I won't speak on the gameplay changes since I haven't played the original so I can't really judge them, I gotta say I really disagree with you assessment of the endings especially in regards to the ending that I got: New Neutral. When I watched over the original neutral ending I ended up being...unimpressed to say the least. It ends on such an anticlimactic note with so many dangling plot threads and the Red Sprite just...going home after Mem Aleph. It's not that there's no consequence as Arthur still has to stay behind and you had to kill your friends but none of the "bite" you mentioned ever really manifested. The crew just heads home. Sure the possibility of humanity never changing is brought up but there's no expansion on that fact and the fact that Gore is so openly pro-humanity and that he can literally see the future just makes the whole ambiguity come off as more of an afterthought than an actual consequence of the ending.
By contrast the New Neutral route feels exactly like what you described the original endings as: forced to make a choice for the greater good but at a major cost. Here, the protag is forced to sacrifice himself alongside Arthur to ensure that the Schwarzwelt never returns. The idea of humanity never changing which felt more like an afterthought in the original is here given full focus as not only is it confirmed that in one possible future humanity will fail but there's a question if the protag's actions really saved humanity, giving them opportunity to change or if it just doomed them to never suffer the consequences of their actions. It's an ambiguous ending that came at the cost of the protag's own life but it's not wholly pessimistic as the optimistic message of hope: that humanity always deserves a second chance and the belief the given enough time, humanity can become a better species and that the chance to prove ourselves is always worth fighting for is at the core of this ending far more than the original. In particular, the ending scene I think will always stick in my mind: The protagonist alone save for Arthur looking at a home he can no longer return to. The ring: the symbol of a promise he made hundreds of years ago and the hope that his species can overcome their own flaws, a hope that he fights an endless battle for. Arthur poses the question: Has the protagonist lost his own humanity so that everyone else can maintain theirs. Without answering, he goes to fight again in a possibly fruitless battle but maintaining the determination that he promised Gore he'd hold onto: that eventually, the Schwarzwelt will stop appearing. The whole thing comes off as bittersweet and tragic, maintaining both the ambiguity and optimism of the original Neutral ending but expanding upon them and giving a unique form of cost for this "happy ending" the protagonist's own humanity. While I need more time to fully decide, I really think this ending is one of my favorite if not absolute favorite ending in the entire SMT franchise.
I want to play the New Law and New Chaos endings in the future so I really can't speak to their quality but I do think the original law and chaos also leave much to be desired. I get wanting consequences for your actions but both the Law and Chaos factions come off as so hypocritical and so monstrous that the ending seems less "you made a philosophical choice that came with consequences" and more "this is a bad ending, you should've gone neutral suckers". The chaos ending is particularly baffling as having the Schwarzwelt and the demons take over the earth is literally what happens in a game over. There's no difference between getting the chaos ending and dying to a pixie in Antlia which just makes the whole story feel utterly pointless. Indeed the endings seem to favor neutral so heavily in the original (which again I already found to be a subpar ending) that it doesn't really feel like an actual philosophical choice was made and the "consequences" feel less like necessary sacrifices and more like mistakes.
Also I know I said I wouldn't be talking about gameplay but I found the Womb of Grief to be really fun. Sure it's just a worse Labyrinth of Amala but the Labyrinth of Amala is REALLY good so even a watered down version comes off as a great dungeon. I also appreciated how the Womb seemed to be more puzzle focused than Amala. Also despite the complaints about balancing I found the bosses to be decently challenging and fun even at standard difficulty (Ishtar is a more difficult and more rewarding boss than Matador in Nocturne and I will die on this hill). Also I never found the commander skills to be too game-breaking as I rarely used the activated commander skills near the end game and the random commander skills were balanced by their lack of consistency.
I disagree. See, SJ was intended to be a dark game about the consequences of the actions of humanity. It wasn't meant to be a happy story where humanity solves everything. It wasn't neutral biased at all, the entire game shits on humanity and the idea of "human potential" that IVA so lovingly embraced. Humanity were the true villains of SJ.
Redux then comes along and utterly disrespects this theme. It makes the original endings(which had their defenders) look worse, especially chaos where Alex says humanity gets wiped out(contrary to everything original chaos was about). This is disrespectful of the new writers to shit on the endings of the old writers. Instead, the new writers gave us 3 new endings that all feel like neutral endings, but with chaos and law-ish flavors of neutral. Redux is the true neutral biased version. Frankly, I found it hard to believe that Angel Zelenin and Demon Jimenez would suddenly abandon their beliefs and allies just because Alex, Lucifers daughter(lol) from the future, gave them a unverifiable sob story while after trying to kill them the entire game.
The only thing I disagree with in this video is the new endings aren't flawless. Take New Law for example. Humanity gets turned into sheep with little to no protection, and given that Zelenin made enemies of both demons and angels, almost certainly mean that the peace that's attained in New Law is at best temporary, unlike classic Law where humanity was protected by the armies of God, ensuring a much longer if not eternal peace.
Both Redux and SMT IV Apocalypse feel like dumb down SMT made for the Persona crowd.
@@Recon868 Sometimes, I do feel like that the demons do have a point to deny human potential, considering what they have done and how they are the reason for the Schwarzwelt
Anahita alone makes this version superior
I respectfully disagree, Redux is probably one of the best remasters of a game I've seen in a long time. The Game is gorgeous inside and out and it alongside its original, are two of the best games of all time.
I never finished the original but bought Redux and played it till the end and I thought it was amazing, on the best SMT. I understand people may not like the new content but I thought it was fine. And if you want you can ignore most of it anyway
Admittedly, thus game has only one issue - Alex. She was not properly designed with SJ in mind, and would work better as the MC of a new SMT game, if anything
Agreed, Alex is very much a shoehorned in character to Strange Journey. Now, maybe if instead of making Redux, they made a side story or sequel with a new setting, her theme of trying to find new ways to correct humanity's ills in response to them seeming inevitable would have worked better.
Make her older and give a proper demonica and i think she would have fitted right in
She looks cool but smt 4 cool with doesnt fit strange journey militaristic look compared to the urban enviroments the games usually have
Also she should have kept the helmet the entire game it honestly takes a bit from the fantasy when every character is whearing a helmet to survive the place exept for her
@@valletas isn’t it cuz she’s half demon
When I do get to play my copy of Redux, out of all the "new endings" part of me wants to try the new neural ending due to how in my eyes almost shows the beautiful pros and cons of just neutralizing the whole thing for only temporarily. The ending giving this bleak and vague hope that even after this being the 7th attempt, your still fighting for humanity. You, the soldier rookie, believes that humanity deserves a chance even if the cycle keeps repeating and we continue bringing it back. I find that beautiful and also sad that I kinda like it.
New neutral ending isn't very positive at all imo.
The humans forced him to live alone out of fear exactly as the demons said they would, the schwartwelt comes back faster and faster implying humanity is getting worse. The lone soldier is an enabler and someone humanity has to rely on because they're too pathetic to solve their own issues. It's just like the law and chaos endings, humanity relies entirely upon the soldier. It's the most cynical neutral ending in the franchise.
They simultaneously become like the brainless angels relying upon their god in Law, while also living a life of excess and no self control like the demons in Chaos.
The three new endings seem like an inverse of the usual formula recent SMTs like 4 and 4A use; with those law and chaos make you feel like you did something wrong while the neutral endings are just you winning to various degrees. In Redux it seems like the new Law and Chaos endings exist to show how those endings can benefit humanity rather than stagnate or destroy it while the new neutral ending displays the risks of not making a choice, being an endless cycle of suffering due to a flawed status quo. Frankly I think that approach should be used a bit more often, since recent endings have conditioned people like me to turn the brain off and go neutral no matter what.
Never played the original so redux was thoroughly enjoyable to me
I like both versions of strange journey. I feel like it would have been better if you were locked into doing the main strange journey endings for the first play through (Alex not appearing at all) and making it so that all of the redux stuff didn't actually appear until the second playthrough. I feel like the Redux endings are really more of what if x ending did work out, which I feel like is nice for me, someone who has already played the original game, but I can understand how it can feel like the endings are superseding the thought provoking endings of the original.
think about people who, no matter how much they like a game, are not willing to play it all over again given its duration, which in this particular game is not exactly short
Horrible idea. Why the fuck would anybody wanna chore thru an entire playthrough just to experience the new content that the game is marketed with...... hey wanna try out the new great/ultra balls this new Pokémon has instead of the normal ones? To bad you have to play to completion and then start over new playthrough to do so.
@@byronbarrientos8471 Yeah.... better to mess up the balance of the base game content with the new dungeons making you overleveled and ruin the original ethical dillema of the endings? Also how many people actually bought both? Most people I know of got ether one or the other. So why not give Redux players the chance to experience the original intent? And god forbid you have to work extra for the "the same outcome, but better in every way" endings. And if it such a problem they could have given you the option to play or not play the new-game-plus from the start with a "for people who have already beaten the game" note, so those people who had both could jump straight in, while new players didn't have to compromise. Or make it all endgame stuff that unlocked on your old save after you got any of the old endings and then reloaded that save. Really the way it was integrated was the worst way they could have done so.
@@Painocus My dude, I don't know what kind, but you definitely need to be a crazy mofo to try to argue that: Humanity becomes slaves with no will, Humanity is forced to live in a living hell on which they need to kill humans and demons alike to survive daily and You wasted your time and accomplished nothing because in a few years everyone will die anyway, are "hard ethical dilemmas". They are not. Ethical and Moral dilemmas are that, dilemmas, because they have equal amounts of good and bad in them, hence the dilemma "I am doing something bad, but by doing it I will help or be able to help X or Y and thus do good". The original endings are all literally: "How do you want to destroy humanity?". There's no nuance to them, no pros and cons to make you doubt, think and question yourself about about which one is the better choice. Humanity is destroyed in all 3. That's why the original endings are so bad. It makes the player choice completely and utterly meaningless.
@@PainocusOverleveled? The New Dungeon fixes the problem of the sudden level spikes throught the campaign, in fact you're supposed to go there whenever you feel like underleveled in the main story. I completed the game and fully did the new dungeon, and even I struggled with the "base" dungeons because even if I got stronger in the new dungeon, bosses like Ouroboros would still kick my ass so much, I'd spend like a week just trying to overcome them. If you don't like being "overleveled" and don't like the new endings (because you feel like they ruin the original ethical dilemma of the old ones), you can literally just play throught the main story and forget about most of the new additions.
Some of us don't have a lot of time to play an already long game twice, much less 6 times if you want to see every ending. Maybe instead of trying to gatekeep people with lives and whine about "muh original experience is tainted!" like a purist, why not just ignore the new additions (since Alex only bothers you few times, most of it being towards the ending) and play it as you feel like it should be played? Or better, why not just stick to the original version of the game if you like it so much?
It's a shame that one of my favs is looked down so badly by the fans of the original, but I appreciate how respectful you were with it. Tho I must admit that the only reason why I played Redux instead of the original was due to availability. Game stores in my country didn't know what a Shin Megami Tensei was 'til V's release... and then forgot again a week later. I loved managing apps in Soul Hackers, though, so I'm personally bummed by that change now. That and shoving Alex down my throat 40 hours before telling me who she even was, but the fights she brought to the table were compensation enough.
Btw, vanilla P4 ftw!! 🦀🐙🦀
I'd argue that having perfect endings isn't bad. Look at Devil Survivor Overclocked, where the Naoya and Amane ones have no real issue for humanity. How is that different here, when both stories have "edge" to them?
If i had to give a justification, most endings in devil survivor are given pretty positive spins to them. Gin/Haru's ending is just as positive after all, the original strange journey intended for all endings to be pretty bleak and redux kind of went and decided not to do that. I personally don't mind redux though it was the first version i played and I just didn't bother with the new content and because I didn't know about Alex's backstory I didn't notice those implications.
Because that was how they were designed originally. The desu endings were pretty positive overall but there are still some obvious drawbacks. Things like Overclocked just give us more details on what happened. With Redux it straight up replaces them. You have no reason to go after them anymore and they’re presented as the wrong choice because one leads to a good ending and the other leads to a more bleak outcome. In Overclocked you still have to do the original ending to get to the 8th day and you even have the option to choose to just make your save file there and not continue. So even if you don’t like what the 8th day does you can just stop there. But with Redux you do have to deal with Alex.
There is missing that the newest Neutral ending isn’t that positive. It’s one man, spending an eternity dealing with a problem because humanity won’t learn from it, and even the instigator of the new endings in Lucifer is more amused at what will happen first: Humanity being destroyed by the earth or Space Marine losing his humanity and destroying humanity himself.
And he clings onto it through the Ring of what is implied to be his daughter.
Overclocked doesn't have an awful character like Alex and the 8th days feel like a natural progression of the story meanwhile the alex and womb bullshit is forced on the player and drags down the story even if you go for the og endings.
The new endings miss the theme and feel of Strange Journey.
redux is a mixed bag. QoL is infinetivelly superior, the new interface is less cluttered and more streamlined, if inferior in design. the binary of the app is somewhat annoying, but I'm for the flawed position of "once you are at max level you get more points than what you need to have everything going at once", so I'm not impartial; the main story is more balanced in this version, where in the base the grinding sessions feels absolutely imperative, often even during a buildup in the story, here it feels like you can just farm during the descending phases and when you reach the new areas and still get things done. this is NOT the case with the womb, due to it's design. the thing is supposed to be tackled reaching the halfway point on any floor, get back to the story, get back in the womb to complete the flor and start the next part, and that messes up the flow
with my horrible luck, I can go many, many fights without see any of the auto team abilities activating, and I agree that a separate bar would have worked better for the manual ones
I must say, the silver-a the hedge story was not too intrusive, if not for the very final extra boss fight. the orginal ending made pivot of not working completely if at all, and while it's disillusioned in their course corrected new version, the whole thing it's the literal application of "hindsight is 20/20", as the whole thing is that we got a full review of how thing did not work the first time and why, and it's a more solid fight back against the trio in white
the additional monsters, bosses and little things are all positives in my book. a few favourites of mine did not get a chance, but that's a given with how wide is the raw number of monsters in the serie. still believe they should drop the older thanatos and just redesign him.
I'm gonna argue on one thing there, a good friend of my grandpa was pretty much a carbon copy of redux cap jack (I actually went on a hunt to see if someone in the graphic team was from the same city. hell, even most of the expression are the same), and was one of the most affable old men you'd ever seen.
Pros Redux:
- new endings, i like them, they are not that ,,edgy'' like in original, but still have negatives
- new post game content
- QoL changes
- better customization
- animated sprites, this is the best thing in Redux
- new content / new dungeon / new apps - you can just ignore them, and play like in original
- additional OST: The Great Sign, and Shekinah are bangers
- animated cutscenes
- new interface is fine
- new demons (Anahita, Zeus, Maria, Amon)
- last boss fight in Redux was challenging, but fair
- you can change difficulty in any time, this helps a lot with grinding before Mem Aleph
- japanese dubbing is very good
Coins Redux:
- new artsyle < old artstyle
- Jimenez looks awful
- Alex is another Atlus ,,waifu bait'' character
- Demeter is loli WTF ???
- save game in every moment, Commander Skills and some apps greatly decreasing difficulty of original game
- they nerfed some boss fights (Captain Jack, Mem Aleph)
- Sector Eridanus was nerfed
- Womb of Grief and Empyrean Ascent are worst dungeons in game
- atmosphere from original gone
Personally i like both versions.
As someone who prefers the redux over the OG one, because of all the Quality of life stuff + the gameplay felt more customizable and the womb bosses / dungeons, I still gotta say the UI from the OG was so much cooler than what the redux version got, whoever thought "just make it blue lol" for redux should be in jail
I really disagree on your point with new endings. In the original, neutral option is the no-brainer golden ending, no matter how you look at it. In REDUX, both Law and Chaos have finally become viable choices that offer something to strive for and to hope for, while a new neutral is essentially the affirmation of the flawed nature of a man, cursed to be saved by the suffering of a few. Hell, REDUX does a better job at making players sympathise with options other than neutral than SMT 1, 2, if, 4 and the original combined.
🤡
SMT 2 Chaos Ending was great. The only one objectively as good like in Neutral in rest of games.
Like he said in the video, it's not always about having a happy ending. The point of the original endings was that they weren't happy endings. Neutral seems like the obvious choice, but it's left up to player interpretation if humanity was able to change (implied probably not, confirmed in redux). Law and chaos would permanently rid of the schwarzvelt.
@@harmless_xd4107 Yea, though the implications didn't help the situations either, so yea, it was a bit of a mess
Also I personally don’t care when people say that the Smt endings are supposed to be bad and awful. So? That doesn’t mean I have to like it. I just don’t like those original endings.
While I definitely respect the fact that the original was better, unfortunately I'm a baby gamer, so whatever rerelease makes a game easier I'll probably lean towards, lol, but even though I played and enjoyed redux, nams vid on the original does tempt me a bit to go out of my way and buy the original
You should it's awesome. It's not really that hard either
I mean hey, if you're a "baby gamer," that doesn't matter to me there's always a time to improve your skills if you want to
@@n2badsam420 it's also more that I have a massive backlog and I just want to play on the easiest difficulty to experience it, though I do go for harder difficulties on games I replay, JRPGS id rather not have be difficult if I can, since they're such a time sink, lol
Redux is still pretty damn hard, but it seems to attract masochists so I'm not surprised.
@@DogginsFroggins are you really calling people masochists just because you find a game hard? (Which it isnt)
I've only played Redux, not the original, and I didn't know most of the differences until now. I completely agree about the gameplay aspects you stated and i can see why the changes were made for say the sake of accessibility and quality of life in mind even if it saps the experience. I do find the changes objectively worse in Redux as you stated. I don't like the menu in Redux for instance, and knowing all the info Used to be on one screen is irritating to know haha
Story wise I figure for most it's subjective, I totally understand why people would prefer the bleaker, harsher story options. However my philosophy is this, the harder and longer you have to work for something the more it should be worth. Not that it will be, but that it should be, especially for the time investment put into a long thing like an RPG. Playing this game is a long time investment, and the womb of grief by itself is as well. After going through the original, and the new game, and the extra dungeon, I see the new endings as gifts for for players investments in time and effort as well as intelligence.
These new endings aren't saccharine and childish at their core like I've seen put in as "Good" endings to many games, forced and without thought. An honestly intelligent person with a heart should be able to see their faults better and not give into their first answer to solve problems especially with a character like Alex to be a reminder of asking "Why?" Why is this all happening, what am I doing, and what are the real ramifications? Seeing a glimpse of the future through Alex then being given options for a better world that I really would want to work hard for is a gift for my 200 hours I spent playing this with my friend. I want that time to mean something and yes with the old endings it would have, and the sour taste I would have gotten would be impactful, but I also know I would ask was it worth the life I spent putting into them. But that's me personally.
Right after I beat Redux and got the Good Chaos ending I went and played Xenoblade 3 for 120 hours and regret every minute of it by the end in stark contrast to this game where I felt glad I sunk the time in. I don't see the new endings making the old ones a waste, I found them to be questions of "how could this be better? Can I make this world without the worst aspects that always echo on the reaches of Law and Chaos in SMT?" I got sick of the repeated neutralish Law and Chaos endings, for a game this good and well told, I thin people deserve a chance to make a good difference.
Best SMT game in the series by far for me. I've played nearly all of the main titles save SMT 2 and Devil Survivor.
Well said.
That’s a really good take that I’ve never really heard before
@@carhighh Thank you very much. It's part of a perspective I got from my fave animation director Don Bluth.
"Every character deserves a good ending, but they should go through Hell for it." Paraphrasing, but that's about it.
@@Locaneo That’s a really optimistic perspective, I quite like that thank you for sharing
@@carhighh I'm an artist in RL. I also write stories and make D&D settings while selling my art work. Bluth's philosophy is one I carry with me in most of my work along with many other positive perspective influences so I know it well and have put it to practice myself.
It's beautiful to see a decent+ person (or at least a person trying to be decent) go though something horrible and get a great outcome, that isn't just sugar sweet without intelligent writing, to make the ending all the more worth it. Especially when even just nuggets of what happened before are echoed by the end because those little moments matter too.
Thank you for listening.
To each their own, I can see where you're coming from but I still love Strange Journey regardless of which version. The new art style of the characters took some getting used too, but it wasn't as drastic as, say going from PS2 Ratchet and Clank to their PS3 versions My only major complaint about the Womb of Grief is how going through it throws the original games difficulty and progression off balance with all the extra exp and maybe one or two of the new demons while you're exploring it. Nowhere near as bad as some of the EXP DLC for other recent Megaten games but still. I do appreciate the streamlining of the apps system but I can also appreciate the decision making that comes with the original design. I can also definitely understand why they did it considering the Franchises' reputation of difficulty to ease in people who may have issues with the game itself, micromanaging your sub apps? Nah uh just set it and forget it. And at least they're in the game itself without freaking mircotransactions. Though I do admit that praising a game for doing the bare minimum of decent game design is like congratulating a random person for not going postal. The Commander Skills, I personally never had a problem with the main character in the original Strange Journey but hey more options never hurt, though the random ones were still BS and kind of glad they got rid of them when Atlus used it again in Soul Hackers 2. Long story short Redux has its highs and lows but it's still Strange Journey at the end of the day.
Never played the original but redux was fine imo, it still offered the old endings. While I get that the new Chaos/Laws ending were really bad addition compares to the originals. I actually don't mind the new neutral ending at all, or even prefer it over the original neutral ending. Alex's addition might seems extra and intrusive but I enjoy her character and her battle theme is bad ass so.
Redux is good bro. I don’t get this whole “disrespect” angle some people try to take on it. It’s just a nicely updated version with some optional added story stuff you can pretty much ignore if you don’t care about it
It's disrespectful because it shits on the older endings.
@@Recon868 y’all act like the game forces you to do the new endings lol
@@Recon868you can still do old endings and kill the Mary Sue aka Alex by doing so.
TBH shes the only major flaw Redux has art bar some artstyle compliants overall
@@RinaShinomiyaVal Hell, I am pretty sure you can just ignore Womb of Grief entirely and never encounter Alex after the forced Bootes encounter
@@Recon868the older endings were trash and didn’t have any nuance
I do share your opinion except that I hate the womb of grief and like the new neutral ending. The OG Neutral ending has stagnation and the threat of the Schwarzwelt coming back as a possibility, but the newer ending is so much worse. We know that Humanity will never learn it's lesson and that you are now more or less cursed to save them over and over again knowing that you could have elevated humanity into a new era instead.
Everybody has their own opinion. I love this game and urge people interested to give it a go and judge for yourself. Either way, a lotta bang for your buck which is very nice.
I recently completed Redux and enjoyed it, but appreciate your honest take of the game compared to the original. Big ups on another solid video!
Tbf, it really depends on the player. Me personally, as much as I love the original I prefer playing the 3ds because of the new endings. Though I agree with the combat UI and apps part.
I liked being able to save anywhere in Redux 😅
Setting aside the idea of “disrespecting the original creators’ vision” (because that’s honestly neither here nor there, and isn’t relevant from a critical perspective), I think that the New Alignment Endings were the perfect direction for Redux to go, and perhaps the only responsible direction.
The original Strange Journey used its endings to tie up its themes of human irresponsibility and environmental catastrophe in a way that was, if bleak, at least honest. It wallowed in the misery of the three potential outcomes, but made a salient point about how screwed we all were (again, highly relevant to the theme of climate change and environmental catastrophe).
Redux is the adult version of that story. Where Strange Journey wallows in how miserable things are, the New Endings in Redux are about taking responsibility, owning up to flaws, and solving problems in a way that just isn’t possible when you’re so caught-up in how terrible things are. Do I think the New Endings were executed perfectly? No, and I’m not even sure they were executed _well._ I do think, regardless, that narratively and philosophically, they were exactly what Strange Journey needed - a stepping stone away from doomerism, toward a belief that things can actually be fixed.
Yea, I do agree on the matter. Just the way you get there could be better, but otherwise, pretty solid
They cannot solve problems tho
@@thatitalianlameguy2235 Without further context, your argument holds no weight
The context of the original Law and Chaos endings makes it seem like their Redux versions just try to delude you into thinking their respective problems are fixed. It just presents them in a more idealized fashion, which is exactly what their proponents would want. Whereas there is no such proponent for the Neutral ending, thus the Redux version expounds upon the original and reinforces that there is no true fix.
I actually think the original Law and Chaos endings are way too bleak with obvious amoral actions like brainwashing, thus the new endings are actually made them more hopeful with clear benefit to humanity while still flawed like they are, even if they were fixed. Not only that, they balanced that out with the most cynical Neutral ending can be, removing the hopefulness that original Neutral has and blalantly show the unchanged nature of humanity that caused a toll on the protagonist, even if there is a solution.
Yea. You COULD argue that they overcorrected, but whatever
@@kichiroumitsurugi4363 I do think it's a bad idea to flat out showed that these original endings are bad for humanity. The writing should have make the alignment characters go through different development in the new route that compell them to choose different method without know the bad outcome. There shouldn't be an option to choose original ending after know the outcome because beside Jimenez, I don't see Gore and Zelenin would choose the original endings since they did care about the betterment of humanity.
@@MinhLe19303 Yea, this is mostly there to appeal to the people who'd cry foul if they couldn't do the old endings
Atrocious take
I like the double screen split up of the UI, I mean I dont like having an extra screen sitting there doing nothing. The changes to look like SMT IV are great because fit the latest iteration of the franchise in the system they're in, making it jumping from one to other feel more consistent ( sort of like the updated luigi's model on the 3ds remake being consistent with current standard luigis model) The change in art style... I cant notice sorry. I like colors so more vibrancy is welcomed the bigger screens and wider aspect ratio on 3ds is it a must to me, and the fact that alex exist makes it more like a sequel/reboot of the original correcting original's ending to a more pleasent/better future and you still have the same endings while in concept are equally interesting to me. It IS more accesible although I agree is not the most intelligent balancing they could've go for.
Overall for me yes, redux is the best version.
Aw :( I love Strange Journey Redux.
It fixed some of the darkness-induced apathy for me. In SJ, I felt like I was stuck with Neutral, because Law and Chaos were simply too extreme and unethical.
Why the hell would I pick them? They're awful plans with huge problems, and that neuters any sort of dilemma when I can just pick Neutral.
This extremism also damaged my opinion on the two opposing Alignment Reps and their relatability.
Like, I get why they're both like that. I do, IMO they get their time and writing to express it.
But then they become zealots, and the ensuing struggle between us comes across not as tragic, but just having to stop two dangerous idiots.
And Redux has a character, Alex, who... tests their ideology. Eugh.
I don't especially like her, like at all, but she dies no matter what happens so I'm not as bothered.
It gets them to change via voicing my thoughts and problems through her, and I vastly prefer the new endings they each get.
I can actually get why each new ending could be considered "right" now, in the circumstances. They make much more compelling cases!
And because, IMO, the characters and story are so paramount to what I love about Strange Journey, I do genuinely prefer Redux.
Thank you for this. Darkness-induced apathy is a thing and I'm sick of endings being pointlessly bleak, especially in games where you can choose the endings. You can have the 'experience' in a blind first playthrough, but in hindsight, when one choice is so far and above the better pick than the other, there is only one choice. Redux at least tries to fix this, and for that I'm grateful.
I will say that Auto-Commander skills are not a problem, at least to me.
While it is a strategic game, not everything can rely on strategy, and adding randomness to a game is essential to make moments stand out.
I think that, while not executed perfectly, auto-commander skills do add that extra fun randomness to battles and it can either be an extra small bonus, to a crucial luck moment where you turn the tables.
I feel like enemies like Jack should have been able to use those as well
i disagree.
What are you referring to when you say P5R's port last year "took away stuff"? Are you talking about the Raidou costumes and changing of the Almighty icon?
The Almighty icon was inconsequential, but the lack of Raidou content is painful
@@ArshadZahid_nohandleideas Like a lot of times, you can blame the CCP for that. They don't even know that Raido (and the rest of SMT by extension) takes place in an alternate history where the atrocities committed before and during WW2 by Japan never happened and the democracy of Japan was greatly extended instead of going facist like in our timeline.
@@krimsonkatt 😕
@@krimsonkatt well that actually sounds worse. Saying that theym tragedies just never happened and japan is perfect .
@@thatitalianlameguy2235I don't think an AU really insinuates that, gonna be real
Having played both the original and Redux I have to say I like them both equally.
Honest to god I feel like you're wrong on a sub-atomic level, but hell, it's not like you're prohibiting people to play Redux, so you do you.
I mean, even if the game didn't come with anything else, Redux is already better just for having The Great Sign.
I might try redux honestly. The reason is because while the original is absolutely fantastic and the endings being dark were very poignant, I have vivid memories of how ball-crushingly hard it was to the point where it may be the most difficult game I ever completed. While yes, defeating those challenges felt incredibly rewarding and have stuck with me years later, I'm not sure I have it in me to go through them again. I was stuck on Mem Aleph for literally a year.
edit: I would love for a new rerelease to include options that set you back to the original's difficulty, or even if it included both versions. Unfortunately I don't think this masterpiece was a big enough hit to justify that, which is a shame.
Mem Aleph is hell. Worst boss in the series IMO. I thought that original SJ being hard is over-exaggerated with me feeling completely comfortable with difficulty without any grind. Until Mem Aleph. I got to her while being in late 50s - early 60s levels with vitality build. She one-shotted me until i grinded for 10 more levels. Then she 2-shotted me. Resulting fight still felt not like a tactics or endurance test but like literal gambling on whether this thing decides to kill you for no reason or spares you for one more turn. And there was no saving - she had all elements, and damaged enough to hurt hard even with resistances in place. My advice for people: just don't bother with this fight, look up some reflect jack frosts and sit in defense position throughout the fight. Doesn't mean she won't oneshot you anyway, but at least you wouldn't need 10+ hours of grinding and the fight will last only 1 minute in case you are lucky enough to not get killed.
@@GrayFoxHound9 actually I figured out a strategy: get a doppelgänger and train it to reflect or null literally every single attack she can throw at you. And then yeah, just like you did, just sit there and try not to die while she slowly destroys herself. I remember it took me a while to train one like that but afterwards it was not a problem. It took me a long time to figure out and implement this tactic but it worked.
@@GrayFoxHound9 but also I’m glad it’s not just me, that fight was like the most difficult and painful boss I’ve ever fought in an rpg. Maybe in any video game. But what I do appreciate about SMT is that 90% of the time purposeless, blind grinding is pointless. And Mem Aleph is still an example of that even if she is a huge pain in the ass.
@@jordanforbes149 If you have demons who repel all elements, she start spaming with Algmighty atacks and Asura Roga :)
@@nr2676 oh damn it’s been so long I forget how I dealt with that but I must’ve somehow
I hope you can make a video on how much Atlus fucked up Catherine with Full Body, no one comments on what the hell they were thinking with that re release.
As long as it doesn't boil down to "Rin bad" sure. There's a lot more issues with this shit. Awful gameplay change, remix mode is ass BUT the new redo/no life system even manage to ruin the original game mode too. Katherine being made nicer, having flashback, sending you pics etc, ruin so much of the grey morality the original tried to go for. And randomly throwing Rin in the middle ruined the pacing of the original. And .. yeah there's just way too much more than "me no likey Rin because Rin is an alien with a Penis 😢"
@@claire6452 Rin is pretty bad though as well. For a "one more Waifu" Atlus add-in, they're not great by any means lol But I can't say that, they have a penis, so 'obviously' Rin was needed in the plot.
Ui : "oh no my streaming" Yeah, sure. Doesnt matter
Artwork : new ones are better.
New app system : can be ignored. Doesn't matter. Just turn them off and play like you used to. Done.
Commander skills : don't use them. Disable them. The game give options. It doesn't force anything on you.
The new app and commander system are a "build your own difficulty" option. Nothing more. Doesn't take a genius to see it. Crying about how strong they are when they exist only to make the game easier is .. very stupid. If they were forced on you, sure. It's a choice for a reason. You don't pick easy mode and then complain that the game is easy, do you? Same thing here.
New dungeon : Cool. You HAVE to go once then you can ignore it. I like it. Some don't. If you don't, ignore it. Again, the game give you choice. That's a quality. Even if the dungeon was ass (it's not) it wouldn't matter.
New story : Oh look. Another thing you can 100% chose to ignore unlike with many of their re-release. Damn shit game giving me CHOICE. I hate it. Give you something more to aim for after you're done with the original endings. Or, if you don't care for them, just ... don't do it. Once again, it doesn't take away anything. Complaining would be only valid if they replaced the old endings and forced you onto those one. They didnt.
I disagree saying they try to push you into these new ones. The game straight up tell you it's the new content. You have one forced meeting to tell you "this is where the new content is". That's it. Then you never see any of it ever again unless YOU WANT to.
TLDR : It's better than the original in every possible way. If you want the original experience : it's still there. It's a choice. If you want something new? You can also do that. It's a 2 in one. Unlike something like P3P that ruined everything without giving you any choice on the matter. This is how re-release should be. If you want the same experience, you can make it. But you also a ton of new shits that are OPTIONAL to have fun with.
Dismissive comments like this are a plague to discussion so i will dispute everything you just said because it's kind of foolish. Also by the way this comment reads I have a sneaking suspicion you haven't actually played the original
ui and artwork: subjective, there's no way to objectively state that one of better or worse. You may like how they look more, but plenty of people (like me) prefer the original art and ui.
app system: doing this would be very cumbersome, as different apps took up more space than others (10 blocks, some apps take 1, some take up to 5). You would have to remember the apps storage or constantly cross reference a table with their costs, which is kind of annoying to do.
commander skills: yeah I guess you could just turn them off, but why should that make it beyond critique? The game gives you the choice to not use them but like. It's pretty obvious they want you to, it's an exciting new thing after all. Just because you can remove them doesn't mean you can't point out that the rng based nature of the auto skills is questionable, or that some effects are too powerful. Also the easy mode is, well, easy mode. Using commander skills is not an easy mode. They're on by default, you're obviously "supposed" to keep them on. The hard mode of the game is, well, hard mode.
New dungeon/story: Again, just because you can "ignore" them doesn't mean they are above criticizing. You can ignore the womb of grief, but you can't ignore alex fully. You still encounter her in Bootes and Carina, and you still have to fight her before mem aleph if you take the original endings.
Alex's very existence changes the story. She frames the original endings as "bad endings" which, while that may seem obvious, there was more that was left up to interpretation in the original. Besides that, the original endings tied into the games theming much better. The law and chaos endings seem awful (which, ig they are), but they permanently destroy the schwarzvelt. The neutral ending seems better, but it's up to the player to decide if humanity course corrected, or fell back into old habits. It was about human nature and our treatment of the environment, and if such drastic changes to stop the schwarzvelt from ever reappearing is even possible without interference from gods and demons. Alex and the new endings throw this all out the window by removing all the consequences from the original endings, thus muddying their meaning and thematic purpose. This cannot be ignored no matter how much you want to pretend Alex isn't there.
To conclude, it's not a definitive upgrade. While you might not care about small touches in the original like the ui and artystyle, as well as the colors being a bit different, these all give a different atmosphere that you just can't do in redux because they don't exist like that in redux (also the original is 60fps and redux is 30fps, it doesn't matter much in a game like sj but I thought it was worth pointing out). You can self impose as many restrictions all you want, but some things are just not there in redux. It isn't stupid to critique these things. To reiterate, being optional does not absolve something from critique.
cant believe there are people as delusional as you out there
@@harmless_xd4107 Is not that hard to avoid, it literally screams "New content" the new dungeon and leader skills, and dungeon crawling apps are in there. So you can play like in the original just fine ( I did that minus the sub apps because I didn't know), and you can equip 6 sub apps, because let's be realistic, you will always use the one that reduce your space in 7 and changes all sizes to 1.
@@harmless_xd4107While true, the new content makes itself very easily evident, especially WoG since it's introduced via a forced Alex encounter in Bootes
Ok after watching the video, you kinda convinced me to play Redux instead of the original XD, everything you said seems to make the game better, I dislike the extreme amounts of grinding SMT games require even though I thoroughly enjoyed it back when I was in middle school/high school but now I barely have time to play let alone spend that much on a single game, so it seems they made the game easier or more accessible which is great for me, the artstyle seem typical Atlus/SMT art style which I honestly love, and finally the endings ok this may be controversial but I always hated how bad endings in SMT games always seem to be, like evey ending is a bad ending and I don't agree with any of them I know some people love that in a way there's no perfectly good ending but instead there's alway a positive that's outweighed heavly by the negative so every ending is bad, and I don't like that in fact I hate it it always feels terrible to reach one of these endings and it seems they kinda fixed that in this game, so in conclusion I think I'll play Redux.
Casual
Completely disagree on wmt alignments being actual choices
Smt1,og nocturne and smt4 basically say everything else is shut pick netural/freedom.
Can't say about smt2 because of the dodgy fan translation and 5 went through development hell.
In SMT 2 the best ending in Chaos Ending.
@@nr2676 that could be the fan patch like I said, it completely changed a lot of law and isn't accurate to the original script
Smt 1 i think that Law and Chaos are somewhat working endings If you aren't going for neutral. I recall a great video essay that basically sums up how Smt 1's message is about extremism being bad and how neutral is good, and yeah that proves your point
@@jettlucashayes8508 really? me personally, my biggest complain with the smt 2 fan translation was that it was too accurate to the original script, which made a few things uncomprehensible. Japanese sentence structures doesn't work in English. Not to mention that they didn't translate the demon race names.
@@iwannaseehowlongyoucanmakethis nope they altered tons of things, ssatan doesn't try to say god commited genocide in the og scrip and just says you gonna die.
The re release games give new content and better endings I don't hate the new characters since they fit in well enough not the worst thing and better graphics are good. I rather have new content rather than no content and just better graphics
As someone who generally tends to not like most remakes/remasters I agree with most of your points. The only point I disagree on would be the new endings. Maybe I'm just too simple-minded or something but the endings in Strange Journey lacked anything interesting or worth discussing. I liked the morbid implications behind the OG endings but I think Nocturne handles this balancing act better. I recognize that the pessimism baked into the endings ties into the themes and atmosphere but I consider them so low quality compared to say Nocturne or Devil Survivor's endings that it's hard for me to be attached to them.
Redux's endings are arguably too uplifting for their own good, but there are still substantial enough differences in the endings that I feel like more interesting conversations can be had about the Redux endings than the original's.
SJ is probably my favourite game in the series. IMO the challenge is the only major difference between the two versions. And the one thing I dislike about Redux is that its not the artwork by Kaneko. I started playing Persona 1 just because of his artwork.
Not gonna dig into the visual presentation stuff because that's inherently incredibly subjective, but the idea that Redux's gameplay is worse than the original SJ's is absurd to me. Lacking March to Death in SJ original meant you were constantly at risk of a game over to a single Mudoon. Lacking Brave Heart meant you had literally no choice but to pray an enemy's ailments missed. Further, there absolutely is a reason to avoid using a Commander skill every time you have the chance. Summing up the Protagonist as a 'support character' is missing the fact his gun skills let him swap around elemental abilities, and lets him set up Co-Op attacks more consistently than any demon. Any turn you choose to use his Commander Skill is a turn you are choosing *not* to make use of his other, quite compelling, abilities.
Also, the idea that you "cannot capitalize on auto-Commander skills," is just flat out factually wrong. Take a look at Blitzkrieg. Knowing you are guaranteed to get the first turn allows you to change decisions about how you heal. I remember countless occasions where it meant I could afford to save a healing item (and Protag's turn) because Blitzkrieg guaranteed that my healing demon would be able to throw out a Mediarama/Diarahan/Whatever before the boss swatted them down.
Lastly, I disagree with your evaluation that Redux's writing is worse than the original's. Having every endings in SJ be grim doesn't make the writing automatically better. On the contrary, this is the first time an SMT game has made me actually think about alignment since Nocturne. If Alignment is going to continue to be a part of MegaTen, the choice needs to be more interesting than, "Support the blatantly evil demons, support the blatantly evil angels or support neither." New Law's ending is the first time I've genuinely felt compelled to take a Law ending, and the claim that there are 'no downsides', is, once again, a failure to read the actual text. The New Law Ending specifically takes the time to make you question how humanity will fare against the possibility of an invasion or attack from some other future antagonist when they have been stripped of their drive for violence.
As your pinned message said, there is value in respecting other opinions, and I agree with that, but I find your analysis and evaluation of Redux to be pretty shaky. In my book, this is an even better game than Nocturne.
how is a random chance something you can plan around
@@thatitalianlameguy2235 You have an impressive amount of investment in a text-heavy RPG for someone who never learned how to read.
@@thatitalianlameguy2235Because of the way auto commander skills work, deciding their impact is quite easy - Blitzkrieg is a pretty good one, letting you act first
I think the part that hurt me the most about this release is that for the 25th anniversary, they didnt bother with an english voice over and instead they gave it to 2 other titles.
I dunno about the criticism of the endings. I mean, it's been a while for me since I looked up the new endings, but isn't there a line of text in each ending explicitly stating how it isn't a perfect solution? Like how the harmony of the new law ending will only last as long as people are still affected by the peace-enhancing vibes of the law hero, or the fact that humanity is basically starting from square one in the new chaos ending, or how the Schwarzwelt will one day engulf the whole Earth when the neutral hero finally loses sight of their humanity. Even if there is no line of text and I'm just crazy, I'd hardly call the great reset of human techological and societal advancement a perfect ending. Or the fact that the Schwarzwelt keeps returning a perfect ending either.
Yeah that kinda makes Nam’s criticisms fall flat to me.
You know what sucks? Your opinions. You know what doesn't suck? Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux. Let's all try to keep it smart here.
So in conclusion it may be an enhancded rerelease however it ain't a "definitive" version unlike other Megaten rereleases. So do your research and pick whichever version sounds the most appealing to you
10:23 Very good video but...was the dds 2 spoiler really necessary?
1:30 what did they take away?
the raidou kuzunoha costume. youve probably found out by now though lol
also i think they changed the almighty skill's icon. not too sure though
played only redux and it was fine, tho got extra lenght with extra dungeons, had to fix my "3ds" and lost my save so now its gone done and lost
These are well argued points. Unfortunately all I have is a digital copy of Redux I bought before the eShop closed in order to avoid high physical prices. I haven't played it yet but I hope I won't be missing out too much.
Tbf a cib copy of the original isnt too expensive rn
You can always emulate the DS version!
its still a good game, so you should still play it
I mean Redux is essentially Strange Journey but better in every way except art style, which isn’t even bad
Hack your 3ds holy shit
I agree with some points, I feel the same way about Persona 3 Fes vs. Reload. There's a lot of changes that alter the original experience. But to say games like Reload or Redux are a BAD way to experience the game is a bit much.
First I looked to the thumbnail and after that I read the title, but the shock of you saying that SMT SJ sucks was so big that I audibly gasped irl
I just played through redux and accidentally ignored all of Alex's story and I just had a extra boss fight every once and a while and idk it seems like we're comparing a chocolate cake to a fancy chocolate cake like they're both good and worth eating
I ptefer the apps in redux tbh. By making the apps limited they aren't making the game mofe challenging but rather making it more tedious, sure i can't regen MP passively but i can always just go back to a terminal and heal.
Same goes for the negotiation apps especially, it isn't more challenging to be limited to certain apps, because y9u can just go back to the sprite and change it depending on what demon you require.
As far as the endings go i also prefer redux, imo if somebody gas the power to guarantee himself a good ending, they should get it. In Nocturne you can choose the freedom ending and flip off the great will indefinitely, if I as the Marine want to guarantee a good life for humans, and have achieved the power to do so, there is no logical reason as to why i wouldn't defend humanity forever, it is what i desire therefore it is what i do.
Same goes for the other endings but unlike other smt games in SJ I've only ever like the neutral and true neutral endings, not even New law can convince me it's good because from my moral perspective humans losing their will to fight just makes them glorified puppets
Whilst unlile the og SJ i never finished redux (I've seen the finales on TH-cam cause i was burnt out) i also like the commander skills
In the og game i had luck support, which was semi good since i had light resistance, but dealt borderline no damage compared to my demons, so in the final fight (in which my light resistance was useless) i just used marine for healing items and demon summoning when was KO'd
Wasn't this game built in the 3DS Etrian Odyssey engine just like the original used the DS games' engine? How hard could it have been to have the Alex chase work like an FOE?
SMT IV and 3DS EO is same engine.
God, the story additions feel like teenage fanfics
I think straight up good endings can work in SMT, but you have to work really hard for it like in 4.
I haven’t played any of these games but I love the way they look. I didn’t know Redux was so different. Great vid 🔥
Ill havw to disagree with the claim of lack of nuance to the new endings. The consequences for the new law ending for example was brought up that due to their non violent tendencies being quelled they wont be able to fight back against whatever foreign adversary invades.
I actually like the new neutral ending better than the old one. Spoilers ahead.
You become immortal and you and Arthur choose to dedicate yourselves to stopping the Schwarzwelt ever time it appears. Arthur comments on humanity having triggered the schwarzwelt's return yet again, the seventh time it's appeared and I find it fittingly bittersweet for a megaten ending. Doomguy and Arthur keep fighting for humanity, no matter how many times it comes back, no matter how futile it may seem when humanity just keeps triggering it's return.
What are you referring to at 1.30? (stuff removed from P5)
i agree w alot of the stuff in this video, but i do disagree with one point. the new endings DO have big drawbacks, as each one has a huge gamble attached to it.
New Chaos- humans & demons now co-exist without the whole "survival of the fittest" mindset but as pretty much ever SMT game shows, humanity & demons hanging out is a massive risk as wars can very much break out against one another
New Law- humanity is now in complete total peace with one another, but this means we are also completely vulnerable to any outside invaders. humanity is basically a sitting duck, praying nobody notices them forever
New Neutral- cool in some parts but also more depressing then the og. the protagonist is now a super-saiyan protector of the earth against demons but as the ending shows, humanity hasn't improved at all. if anything it shows that the is Schwartz popping up constantly, meaning he's doomed to protect a stagnant humanity forever unless they actually decide to improve
And yet i find Redux the better version the original i found needlessly depressing or tough i like tough games but smt strange journy was needly tough st parts so im glad you enjoyed the original but for me the original doesnt even hit a 2/10
That’s how I feel about SMT nocturne… like is a fun game but hard mode takes away the fun. I don’t mind hard mode in games, persona games and SMT V do it well imo. But nocturne is entirely luck, grinding is a pain.
@@lulu_TheWitchBoy yea same its why redux is the betrer.version if you dont like the new ending just dont go for them?? Like its thats easy
I agree on the gameplay part, but I disagree on the new endings. In either of the original endings the humanity is doomed anyway, but the new ones make your actions have a true positive impact. Especialy after going through the whole new dungeon, not just choosing an extra option.
Redux good
It's interesting to me how you consider P5:R a rerelease done right, but this one is terrible. P5:R also completely destroy the games balance and though the extra story content is nice. It's a bit jarring the way it's introduced and how it fundamentally changes the ending of the game.
The new additions do make the game much better gameplay wise tho. Aside from showtimes being free nukes, the rest makes the overall mechanics more fun to use, the technicals upgrade, the guns not being so limited, the confidant perks upgrades, the easier more in depth social link grinding, not having to unlock Baton pass with every party member, mementos being less shit ...
I have yet to play either Strange Journey or Redux, but I plan to try them both as I'm falling further down the MegaTen rabbit hole. However, there is one criticism of Redux I find strange...
Why should a game aimed for a dual-screen console need to have a HUD that looks good on a single screen capture? It's not built for that, so naturally, it'll look clunky on a single screen. And of course, a port would have to redesign the HUD because it's not the original game's job to be futureproofed for a potential port to something it isn't aiming to be, it's kinda like criticising Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3 for using analogue button inputs because the Xbox 360 will require a different control scheme.
Because the original did and the new one looks worse and less comfortable
that the most useless complaint i've ever seen. You conviced me that actually Strange redux was a better experience lol
youd be wrong
@@toooydoeur yeah and i guess that i should play to RE1 PS1 instead of rebirth
@@dumbsurvivor1 what are you talking about, what is rebirth? I know resident evil 1
@@toooydoeur Resident evil rebirth... the remake of resident evil 1... on the gamecube
I played this game not knowing about the changes from the original, it was my first mainline SMT. Eventually I found out about the changes, and honestly I initially didn’t mind too much. I didn’t like either version’s artstyle, and I barely used commander skills (I did in the Asherah fight but it was still one of the hardest bosses in the game and it sounds like the original version’s fight is straight up bs). I saw there were new endings, learnt that you need to complete the Womb of Grief to unlock them, and that they’re still optional. So I went through the game, enjoyed it, got the chaos route, occasionally made progress in the Womb of Grief, and saved in 2 slots for the new endings. I temporarily dropped the game in Horologium because it became a bit much. Eventually, I blasted through the rest of the dungeon, and got to the end of the game, and decided to go for the original ending first, meaning I had to fight Alex before I could talk to SPOILERS and go on to fight the final boss. This fight is weirdly difficult, which honestly just felt annoying compared to the other tough bosses, and I ended up looking things up related to the fight to see if it could be cheesed (it couldn’t, not in the version of the fight where she has 2 demons at least), and that’s when I found out that I got lucky picking chaos, since she is literally the final boss in the old law and neutral endings. That is quite possibly the most insulting thing an atlus rerelease has done, and that says a lot.
Having once taken part in a heated discussion on just how flawed New Law (complacent and defenseless) and New Chaos (a hard reset on civilization) actually are, I can't agree with the notion that the new endings take all of the consequences away. I can however see how it may look that way when looking up from the abyss that is presented by the original endings, and the fact that you get to them by jumping off those original routes doesn't help. To me, the new endings by themselves land in the goldilocks zone of "palatable, but with big implications attached", and the player should definitely know better than to trust the ideologue at their side saying that things are good now. I can accept that the way the old endings are now treated as "bad" is disrespectful, but I don't think that the new ones erase consequences at all.
Which is about everything nice I can say about the story additions because Alex's parentage is absurd, Louisa is now such a complete good guy she's actually less interesting as a result, and the integration is clumsy as all get out. I do like Redux mostly for the original SJ parts, I just think that the new endings are on their own a good thing and make the choice at the end more meaningful than "pick Neutral if you want any hope whatsoever".
Blud wanted to do something different and cook with this review but burnt down the kitchen in the process.
You know what, wii u was perfect console to port al ds and 3ds smt games to.
True. Switch is a good choice, too.
just fishing playing throught both arcs in SMT devil survivor 2 record breaker and most of the issues with the ends of this game could be said about the Daichi Shijima ending of the septentrion arc and the world creation end ending for the triangulum arc, some of the games endings don't have that ominous feeling but it doesn't mean they are bad
The new neutral ending has consequences tho, it's still stagnation, your protagonist, is stuck on a moon for eternity, as humans refuse to learn. The consequence is the MC going through a cycle of closing up the Schwartzelt because humans refuse to learn.
I don't know... I think my problem is that I played this version before the original one. When I went back to the original I was like: Why is X feature missing, why does X dungeon feel shorter, what happened to X boss
It's like Nocturne Maniax: Whenever I play that game, I always go for the Lucifer ending. Not because it has a good story, but because that's the one with the most content.
I have no bond to it besides reviews, but I don't like how ATLUS keep releasing games with poor development, I'm not against having a femc etc, but they don't put much effort into it
Without playing the original i enjoyed redux a lot but i won't say its better without playing both, from what i've heard the original is way harder and i struggled enough with redux as is so i don't think i'll be revisiting the original any time soon but redux has become my second favorite smt game for what its worth. In a vacuum its a pretty fun game (fuck the fusion UI though i hate cycling through every single demon in my stock)
Redux is technically harder then OG cause OG had no hard mode