Instead, you play as a young punk who has only ever known the demonic hellscape of post-nuclear Japan, hoping to do his part to help ensure humanity's survival in the wake of the mounting battle taking place in Tokyo. Some of the dungeons carry over as well.īut this time, you don't play as an otherworldly "samurai" returning to the devastated real world from the sequestered bubble of a fantasy realm. "Towns" here consist of different metro stations within the Yamanote circle, all rendered with loving care to perfectly resemble real-world train stops cluttered with the debris and wear of housing survivors for 25 years while demons maraud overhead - the same stations (with the same non-player characters!) that you journeyed through in SMT4. Apocalypse takes place almost entirely in locations from SMT4: The near-future ruins of Tokyo, the last bastion of humanity in a world otherwise devastated by nuclear war. Instead, what we're left with is an odd creature, like an RPG hermit crab: A new story that's moved into another game's shell. As such, Apocalypse recycles a great deal of SMT4's content, yet it doesn't entirely feel like a rehash.įamiliar environs, even if you've never been to Japan. It's more of a side story to SMT4 than a sequel, tied closely to the previous game's plot while centering on a new hero. Called "SMT4 Final" in Japan, Apocalypse evidently began as a remixed ultimate version of the 2013 RPG before mutating into a work that goes in its own direction but doesn't quite stand alone.
I do, however, find my feelings regarding its sequel Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse somewhat more mixed. Due to its 3DS exclusivity, SMT4 never really found the enormous audience it deserved, but any serious RPG fan has, in my opinion, an obligation to experience it for themselves. Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei IV remains one of my favorite games of this decade - a deep, complex, and incredibly surprising RPG built on a fascinating premise.
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