Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

Some guy once sang that “people are strange, when you’re a stranger.” He’s dead now, but the words are no less true. SMT: Strange Journey is indeed strange to players unfamiliar with its mechanics or its universe, but to those of us experienced with both, it’s not strange at all but rather a wonderful mesh of dungeon crawling, role playing, and Shin Megami Tensei. However, it’s called Strange Journey for a reason. The majority of the SMT games, of which Persona and Devil Summoner are prominent examples, are set in Japan and feature young people in desperate situations. The popular and constant attributes that just about every game carry over are the ability to summon or control demons, usually fuse those demons, and use their skills to exploit enemy weaknesses. Strange Journey keeps the latter but changes up the former by throwing characters from all over the world into the coldest reaches of Antarctica.

In many ways, Strange Journey adds a new layer of depth to the some of the series’ standbys. But before we get to that, let’s talk about just what is so strange about this journey. The game takes place in the not too distant future. Technology is advanced, but not beyond the scope of our present imagination. Unfortunately for mankind, a giant field of weirdness has all the sudden appeared where Antarctica usually slumbers, and it seems to expanding. And when I say weirdness, I mean everything it touches evaporates into non-existence. This is troubling. It’s troubling enough that the countries of the world send in a team of the planet’s best scientists, engineers, and soldiers to find a solution. They are equipped with the latest technological wonders and told not to come back until this issue is solved. As soon as they arrive, things get hairy and they become trapped, with escape and discovery as their only options. The story is very unique, and despite the dungeon crawling nature of the gameplay, really sucks players in with its mystery and odd twists.

The area that our intrepid world-savers head into is dubbed the Schwartzveldt, and for players this becomes the massive dungeon that they will crawl through. It is layered into sectors, with each sector boasting multiple floors and intricacies that will make players wander around for hours just attempting to complete an entire map. As players progress down the dungeon, they encounter tougher enemies and more story. To anyone who has ever picked up an Etrian Odyssey game, the look and feel will be very familiar. The maps even look nearly identical with their grid-based structure that opens up as players walk around. However, Strange Journey does some things flat-out better than its peers. For one, maps are automatically drawn as the characters walk around, so none of that pesky “I have to draw this myself?” business. The protagonist’s suit of armor actually acts as a giant walking computer that records nearly everything seen, heard, or touched in the game. It’s called the Demonica, and though it never had the power to summon or control demons before it entered the Schwartzveldt, it picked up a few new tricks thanks to the trip.

The Demonica is really the most important part of the game, even if it is just a glorified menu screen or user interface. It does a few things better than most RPG menus, however. For one, it’s upgradable and customizable. There are applications that can be added that will find hidden treasure or hidden enemies, provide battle or victory bonuses, etc. So aside from its general record keeping and maintenance duties, it actually provides a whole new way to customize one’s character. And as said before, it allows the summoning and control of demons.

Ah demons, you provide such a welcome staple of the Shin Megami series that it’s becoming hard and harder to…demonize you. The demons are always so friendly, even if at times it’s merely to sucker you into giving them health. Strange Journey adds a combat option, much like the original Persona did, to converse with demons. Talking to a demon instead of bitch-slapping it around can get players items, money (called macca), and most importantly, it can get them to join the team. How a demon reacts to a player’s dialogue is dependent on what answer a player gives from the little multiple choice list of options, as well as alignments. Alignments are a relatively unfamiliar addition to Shin Megami Tensei. There are three different main alignments, as well as some subgroups within each main vein. For any Dungeons and Dragons veterans, this is familiar business. One odd aspect about the game is that players never really know what alignment the main character is. Demons, the party members that share the spotlight in combat, are all color-coded and even have the title description of their alignment. My Jack Frost, for instance, is Chaotic Neutral. Players are color-coded, thankfully, but the subtle shifts are never known. What alignment does exactly is pretty interesting. In combat, if a player finds an enemy’s weakness and exploits it, every member of the party with the same alignment will team up to throw an attack on to that enemy. For instance, if I cast Bufu with my main character and it shows up as a weakness to what I’m fighting, I’ll then basically get an extra attack added on that increases in damage with every member of the party that shares my alignment. It’s a bit of a double-edged blade as building a party of like-aligned people will benefit players wishing to do well in battle, however, those of us with a Pokemon-like need to catch ‘em all (and use ‘em all) mentalities, will often be left with mismatched parties. There are benefits to leveling up every single demon in the game, so it’s not just a compulsive thing either. When demons reach a certain level, they’ll gift the protagonist with a source. The source can be used in other demon fusions to give created demons a chunk of skills. It adds an even deeper dimension to an already deep system, and it gives players a measure of control over just what their demon might inherit. No more trial and error at the fusion screen.

Exploration and combat take place in the first-person perspective in a classic style we don’t see much anymore. Do I prefer it? No. No, I don’t. Perhaps I’m a little too in love with the new Persona combat styles where I get to see my dudes kicking butt. Honestly though, with this game and with Devil Summoner I can see why they would make it all 2D. I’m sure the task of even drawing the portraits for the 100+ demons they offer is a monumental undertaking. Rendering all those in 3 dimensions would probably have delayed the game quite a bit.

As far as the game’s problems go, there really aren’t any. Technically this game is nearly perfect. Its pacing is excellent, it offers a wide array of customization, it’s bug-free and looks great. It sets out to be a dungeon crawler with some heart, and it does that 100%. So what do I say bad about it? Anything apparently negative is going to be completely subjective, so instead of listing cons, I’m going to give some ifs.

If you’re as in love with the SMT universe as I am, chances are pretty solid you will enjoy the familiar here. If dungeon crawler is your thing and you sailed through both Etrian Odysseys, Dark Spire, and Class of Heroes with nothing but love, Strange Journey will become your idol of worship. If you like your RPGs difficult, but rewarding, you’ll probably like Strange Journey.

If you can’t stand exploration, I’d advise against this game. The same goes for backtracking. If you like your RPGs to be light-hearted and simple to navigate, stay away. If you’re looking for something short on a handheld that you can slip through in a dozen hours or so, pretend you never saw this review. Strange Journey is a massive affair. If you tried but disliked the stand-by traits of the SMT universe, this one will probably turn you off as well.

With all that said, Strange Journey might be the single best original RPG on the Nintendo DS. It is simply that good, that deep, and that expansive. If nothing else, it should at least share the crown with The World Ends With You. The main difference between the two simply being that Strange Journey does not innovate. It uses timeless conventions in an updated manner with near perfection.

I conclude this review with a bit of a disclaimer. 95% of the time I will finish a game before I review it. I wanted to do that with Strange Journey, particuarly as I received it in advance. However, it’s just too long. On top of that, it’s not exactly smooth sailing throughout the majority of it. That said, I believe my review score is accurate, and if my opinion happens to change in the next 20 hours or so of gameplay, I will come back and update this review. I can’t see that happening though because this game is very, very good.

Doin It RIGHT: - One of the deepest and most engrossing experiences on a handheld. - Classic SMT fusion mechanics and series standbys. - Outside the box story replete with weirdness and oddities galore.	Doin It RONG: - Could have been an amazing console RPG. - Very difficult at times.
FINAL SCORE: 9.5 / 10