<— Image from the fan-translated version of the first game in the Shin Megami Tensei series.
The Shin Megami Tensei series has had a bit of what I would consider a mixed release to countries outside of Japan. In Japan, most games in the Shin Megami Tensei series are purchasable through mediums such as the Wii Virtual Console store and considering they keep re-releasing them on such media, the game series has proved popular. I have no qualms with ATLUS USA releasing the games they do, after all – if they were not releasing them, we might not have had such timely releases of games such as Persona 4 with some really awesome dubbing (To which they hold the Superlative Dubbing trope alongside NIS America).
It was recently reported that there was going to be a release of Majin Tensei from the Super Famicom system on the Wiiware store very soon. Whilst I have not played the game, it is supposed to be a tactical RPG game that is similar to Devil Survivor in a way that there is a mix of first and third person views in battles. I was then rearranging my collection of games this evening (With so many PS2 games, you have to ensure everything is packed away tidy) when I came to the realization that we only have fragments of the Shin Megami Tensei storyline that have not had the original material to go with it.
The first game I bring your attention to is Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, also known as Megaten and Shin Megami Tensei Online. This is an online game that is distributed in English by the company Aeria Games and as a free to play game, you can register and download the game HERE. The game dives right into the storyline after the world has nearly been destroyed due to the Earth being overrun by Demons. With the world in underground shelters, your character is a new Demon Buster who travels the world and tames Demons whilst undertaking quests. You can play the game blissfully unaware of the link – but the game actually takes place between Shin Megami Tensei I and Shin Megami Tensei II, both of which were never actually released to the English market. References to the other games are spread throughout, however this game does lack the backstory to why the world is in ruins – and would benefit from the story delivered in the first games.
Another game that comes to mind is Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne or Shin Megami Tensei: Lucifer’s Call (Depending on if you have the ATLUS or Ghostlight version). This is actually a long shot as I am not sure how much of the game actually has a link to the first two (I haven’t dived that far into the first games), but another name for this game is Shin Megami Tensei III.
I know there are at least some people who think that Shin Megami Tensei = Persona, and honestly… when I started playing the games I had that mindset as well. However over the years, whilst Persona has remained the top tier of SMT in modern games, we have still had the Devil Survivor, Devil Summoner, Digital Devil Saga, the original Megami Tensei series and the much forgotten Devil Children series.
You may have realized what I am getting at, after all this is an opinionated article over my normal news articles. I would personally like to see Shin Megami Tensei I and II, alongside even some of the other series make it outside of Japan at some point and into the English market. I am not going to expect them to do a Virtual Console release – as for the price the games sell (Considering these are Super Famicom games) would most probably not cover the price to translate two full games – as these games are quite lengthly, but I would love to see a remake of the games, perhaps on the DS or Vita consoles, however I would not object to a HD remake on a console. Who knows, this long awaited for “Shin Megami Tensei” on the Playstation 3 might just be my wish come true…. if it actually was more then just a title since it was released several years ago…
Oh, and as I said at the start, Majin Tensei is due out on the Japanese Virtual Console store for the Wii in September. For those who are curious, I have a quick gameplay video below!
