真・女神転生

In 1992, Atlus lacked the resources and experience to match the epic fantasy RPGs that Enix and Square were making. Atlus also lacked the interest to pursue the familiar; instead, it paved the way for a unique series that broadened the scope of what an RPG can be while embracing the foundation of actual role-playing via narrative choice in a way most other JRPGs still don't.

Inspired by the darker works of manga artist 永井豪 and The Fist of the North Star, SMT pushed the boundaries for how grim a JRPG could be on the Super Famicom. SMT starts in the '90s with the player taking the role of a school boy who foresees chaos and doom in a dream. The demons and allies he dreams soon enter his life, and the streets of Tokyo are overtaken by blood-hungry monsters. Soon after America invades Tokyo, trying to stop a coup within the Japanese government that is using occult rituals to overpower the establishment at the risk of citizen's lives.

It's not a simple story, but that's to SMT's strengths. There is never a clear good or bad path in the game, though it will occasionally trick the player into thinking there is one. At several scenes in the game, the hero can side with a faction or side against all (a "neutral" path). It's not always clear what happens specifically as a result of the player's actions, but the game does a great job of reminding the player of previous choices. Nowhere is this reminder more constant than enemy encounters.

Like most JRPGs, you have a party of characters, manage health & magic resources, and explore dungeons while encountering random battles. The uniqueness of SMT, which carried onto the majority of sequels and spin-offs, is the ability to recruit monsters to fight alongside the hero's party by bribing, charming and threatening them. Depending on stats, luck and moral alignment, the monsters will react to actions differently. Though this may seem a gimmick at first, it becomes a crucial part of the game, providing money, magnetite (a fading resource that keeps the connection to the party's monsters alive) and strongest allies. It's not as exhausting as it sounds and goes a long way toward keeping encounters fresh and unpredictable, to a degree.

Though the combat has unique qualities and moves at a quick pace, it's an unbalanced, frustrating mess at times. Certain enemies can kill the majority of the party with one spell (mudo/hama) or stunlock indefinitely with freeze and status ailments. These cheap tactics go both ways, opening up the enormously overpowered gun and nerve/magic bullets combo that will make the majority of the game a breeze for players -- assuming you don't get unlucky with stunlocks and one-hit blows. For as many systems as SMT contains, battles lack strategy and variety. With such overpowered tactics and enemies, there is little variation to experience. From the easiest enemies to the final boss, I never had to stray from my basic gun and default attacks.

SMT is full of memorable atmosphere, plot twists and ideas but Atlus lacked the experience and resources to fully realize its ambitious vision fully in 1992. Despite the maddening maze dungeons, cheap enemies and numerous UI flaws, SMT is more than a historical curiosity. It is the purest vision of the SMT series -- the one which all that came after built upon. When the combat and dungeons aren't driving me crazy, SMT immerses me in its dark, imaginative vision of Tokyo.