So I let my dogs (all three of them) out today because they were whining and begging at the door (not an unusual happening). Since it was nice out and I had been trying to wean myself away from the eBay habit all day (unsuccessfully), I wandered out with them.

There I witnessed our male Dachshund sprinting across the yard to launch himself at… a bird. Not a cat. Not a badger. No tetrapods for him. He actually managed to snag a bird as it was taking off.

I watched in amazement as the bird flopped to the ground and then desperately lifted itself up (obviously wounded/stunned) and got half-way up the garden chain fence. This escape was brief as the Dachshund Tennessee leapt once again to knock it down. Tennessee grabbed the bird in his mouth and trotted back to me, quite pleased with himself. He dropped it at my feet as if to say, “Look, I am the mighty hunter!”

Yes, it did fall (pun) to me to have to remove the corpse from the yard.

Another gaming milestone for me today. I officially passed the 600 mark in video game collecting - this is unique games only (no duplicates/variants counted) and is games only - no hardware counted. This collection ranges from the Atari 2600 and Intellivision to all 4 of the current generation systems. I wish I could get a pic up, but too much of the collection (especially all of the older stuff) is in boxes.
Oddly, nearly half of that is my Dreamcast collection - I have about 24 games left to go till I have a complete US collection.

The 600th game was Tales of Destiny I which is my third Tales title (already have Destiny II and Symphonia). Also netted the rare Block Buster rental variant of Kartia: Word of Fate. Sometime soon I hope to get a “collections” page up and running.

Also netted Rival Schools - the PSX predecessor to one of my favorite 2D fighting games - Project Justice for the DC.

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I made my usual rounds this last Friday (the 13th) and had some good luck. I sold off a bunch of crappy games to pawn shops and made some decent money.

Found Brokedown Palace DVD for $2 - not a great movie by any means, but I have this thing about Claire Danes… so yeah, I grabbed it.
Found Karaoke Revolution 1-3 (with mic), Scrabble (PSX) and Koudelka (PSX) for $54. The Karaoke alone will net me double on eBay, so I’m pretty happy about that. Koudelka isn’t in the original case - unfortunate since I want this game for my collection. However, Scrabble is mint and complete - so it joins the collection.
Found Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego for the NES - complete for $5! Comes in an outer cardboard shell and is packaged with instructions and a desk encyclopedia! This is sweet - game is mint, and though the box/encyclopedia is a bit beat-up, it’s still in great shape. R5 rarity according to Digit Press.

E3 kicked off and all three console makers have pushed the PR machines into high gear.

Looks like all three have jumped on the bandwagon of backwards compatibility - Sony betting that it can duplicate the success of the PS2 with the PS3. Who can argue with a machine that has an installed base of 2400+ games on launch day? That ought to give them an edge (not like they actually need one) in the upcoming console war.

Microsoft is first out of the gate, hoping that the holiday shopping season will boost their much touted Xbox 360. Nintendo is being relatively tight-lipped about its console, but the Revolution is known to be backwards compatible and feautre DVD player capability - belying Nintendo’s previous approach to its consoles being for games only. All three are expected to feature expanded online play.

It looks like all three will feature wireless controllers as standard - a first for any console. Though wireless controllers have come and gone in the past, it was only with the recent advent of cheap radio frequency technology that controllers were freed from “line of sight” play. Nintnedo’s Wavebird controller for the Gamecube was very well received (especially by this gamer), and several 3rd party hardware makers have introduced good controllers (I especially prefer the new Logitech Precision for both Xbox and PS2). I do hope that the console makers will offer corded support (IE, controller ports on the console) for gamers who wish to use old-style controllers with their old-style games.
Images on next page.

Rumors have it that the Revolution will feature downloadable games from the NES, SNES and N64. If Nintendo could pull this off correctly, then the console is truly deserving of the appelation “Revolution.”

Another annoucement - the Game Boy Micro. It’s for the GBA line of games and is supposed to be absolutely tiny (iPod size).
(further rumination…)

In most RPGs, you must gather a dewy-eyed group of heroes to save the world from impending doom, an evil corporation, nasty demons, or the wicked witch of the west. In SMTN, the world blows up after twenty minutes of gameplay, and you promptly get turned into a demon.

SMTN comes from a series of games, most of which have not been released in the US. Including spin-offs, there’s some fourteen games in the series, only six of which are US released: Last Bible, Persona, Persona 2, DemiKids, SMTN, and Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga. Of those games, four are spin-offs, thus leaving the US without a main Megami series release until SMTN. Consequently, there are some connections (themes/similar characters/etc) between the games that may not be readily apparent, but SMTN does stand on its own. The title "Shin Megami Tensei" indicates a cycle of death/rebirth that dominates everything - including the world. The US version is actually a director’s cut with additional content and one extra ending.

Set in post-apocalyptic Tokyo, the protagonist is one of the few to survive the catastrophe. Therefore he is given the opportunity to explore the world around him and to ultimately help/hinder the rebirth of the world. As he journeys, he can gather demonic allies to aid him. The main party will consist of four characters, though more demons may be held in reserve to be called up in the midst of battle.

One of the strongest (yet possibly confusing) aspects of SMTN is its mythological rooting. The demons (generic term - some "demons" are actually good guys in their respective pantheons) who inhabit the world are not random pickings of a game developer’s imagination - they are drawn from mythologies diverse as Greek, Hindu, Celtic, Christian, etc. The sheer number of demons (200+), each with its own history, will leave all but the most knowledgeable reaching for an encyclopedia at some point. Although some gamers will undoubtedly care less about the mythological significance of some demons, Atlus included special interactions/conversations between demons of the same pantheons for those who understand their significance.

Battles are random, but a color-changing indicator relieves some frustration. SMTN uses a "press-turn" battle method, rewarding players who exploit enemy weaknesses and punishing those who think it’s fun to use an ice spell to kill an ice demon. An "auto" button can make easy battles less tedious by significantly speeding up the battle process.

The philosophical underpinnings of SMTN will appeal to gamers tired of the same "save the world" RPG frameset used over and over. The protagonist is introduced to a variety of Reasons, each seeking to become THE Reason that shapes the world rebirth. Conversation choices and actions ultimately determine which Reason (if any) that the protagonist is aligned with.

While the philosophical/mythological backdrops provide an involving atmosphere, the actual plot itself lacks coherency. The Reasons are separate and rarely intersect story-wise - enough so that the game felt a bit formulaic in the standard "jump through each hoop" so that the game can continue. Adding further insult, much of the early game bears little to no consequence on the endgame - much less the actual ending. Story branches are practically non-existent - if you replay the game for each ending, the actual plot will be much the same unless you choose to do the one significantly different ending. Some of the decisions of characters in the game defy all logic and are never adequately explained.

One notable feature of SMTN is its incredibly deep demon fusion system. Think Pokémon with demons drawn from most of the world’s mythological pantheons. Not only are there many demons to discover, but you can actually customize skillsets with proper forethought and ultimately create uberdemons. Almost every boss you fight can eventually be fused and they are usually significantly more powerful than their common brethren. Of course demons can level up and gain skills just as the protagonist. And once a demon is caught/fused, it will always be available (for a price) at the Cathedral of Shadows. This director’s cut also includes a guest appearance from Dante of Devil May Cry fame.

Challenge-wise, SMTN is not for everyone. At times, the game can be infuriatingly tough. Walk into a boss battle with the wrong resists and your party is toast. Actually, your party doesn’t have to be toast - if the protagonist eats it, it’s game over. Though the fusion system has many merits, much of the challenge will come from finding which demons work particularly well in each area and against the bosses. Bosses can be incredibly cheap and easily kill even a well-prepared party. The difficulty is not such that one needs to power-level at any point in the game, but higher levels mean that you can control better demons thus making the game much easier.

Many of the dungeon areas are insanely huge and though save terminals dot most of them, the warp function from within a dungeon is one-way: you can warp out from a save terminal, but you have to start completely over. A good automapping system and manual camera control alleviate angle problems, but teleporters and other traps often make navigation hazardous. Random battle frequency can be upped/lowered through the use of items/skills.

In terms of visuals, SMTN offers up a darker cel-shade design intended to reinforce not only the catastrophic events but the sheer other-worldliness of the new Tokyo. You won’t find jaw-dropping animation, FMV cut-scenes, or cutesy anime-style interruptions to the gameplay. All video sequences are rendered from the game engine, creating a smooth transition from gameplay to story sequence.

Characters/demons/enemies are unique and draw upon their various mythological backgrounds to provide memorable character design. Each family of demons has a set look that creates a uniformity that is to be expected, but usually avoids the trap of making a green slime that’s tougher than a red slime that’s tougher than a blue slime ad nauseum.
The only major complaint is the reuse of various backdrops; every tunnel looks exactly like the last tunnel (and there were a lot of tunnels) - eventually the world just looked artificial instead of believable.

For the audiophiles, Atlus produced a limited edition version that includes the soundtrack. Much of the music is dark and battles are punctuated with a heavy rock theme that will either set your adrenaline pumping or have you reaching for the ear plugs. The music was not outstanding or epic in scale, but it certainly did not detract from the overall experience. Atlus chose not to include full voice acting in this release though some conversations are punctuated with monosyballic utterings ala Skies of Arcadia.

SMNT features six different endings for replayability. None require multiple play-throughs to achieve, and each ending reflects choices made throughout the game. The demonic compendium gives gamers the opportunity to collect 100% of the available demons and register them. Any demons registered in the compendium can be used for the new game+ save file. If you register all of them, the broker sells them for half price (a significant discount), so there is incentive to catch them all.

SMTN can easily be recommended for a mature RPGer who is tired of saving the world in pseudo-medieval settings and wants something darker. However it will take dedication (and the use of a good FAQ) to master some of the game aspects, especially given the limited skillset available and that once a skill is discarded, it is gone forever. SMTN is easily one the more unique games on the market, and even if you decide not to achieve all six endings, it is well worth a single playthrough simply to be exposed to an RPG so different from the run-of-the-mill. For extra enjoyment, consider looking up some of the settings/demons to expand on the short descriptions that Atlus provides and create an even more engaging atmosphere.

The website isn’t in English, but it doesn’t have to be. Just watch the video and rethink your criminal aspirations. Or at least start big and get caught for world domination plans by a super-agent.

Click for the ouch.

Remember: sucks to be him in prison.