Shin Megami Tensei General

So yeah, I'm sure one or two of you at least have played a game in the Shin Megami Tensei series. As much as I enjoyed the SMT:4 Duology, I think that Shin Megami Tensei III: Lucifer's Call was the best one in the series.
But enough about me, let's talk about Shin Megami Tensei.
(*bows out before disappearing*)

 

I actually bought that one (3), but never got around to playing through the core SMT series beyond testing the waters. Maybe someday... However, I really have a fondness for SMT: Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2. Game was out here about the same period I discovered Cave Story, many years ago.

Not sure if the gameplay holds up to today's standards, but it really left an impression. This trailer still makes me nostalgic.

 

I might actually buy both Digital Devil Saga games, if I can find them in CeX (still miss Chips though, great game store). But back to SMT 3: enjoyed that game. The gameplay stands out from any other RPG, the graphics still hold up by today's standards, and I got all Magatama, all demons (try getting Metatron or Beelzebub without a guide, I dare you) and the True Demon Ending. Honestly, the boss fight with Lucifer is one of the best fights in the entire game, if not the SMT series.

 

I'll have to go back and play SMT III someday, as it's the one I remember from my brother playing it when I was a child. (The cinematic of the wormy thing (probably magatama?) being used on the protagonist near the beginning showed up in dreams a few times over the years...)

In the meantime, though, I've tried what I have access to, which is Persona 3 Portable (fun and cute but got a little stressful in the brief period where I considered trying to max social links) and Shin Megami Tensei IV. IV is super cool, the music is banging and I love the huge variety of cute and/or inoffensive beings to ally with. I only got near the end of the first mission for Unclean Ones before getting caught up in wondering how to fuse my beloved party going forward, but I'm looking forward to playing more of both, and exploring the big backlog of older and side games.

...Atlus games are such a time investment, though...I was already an Etrian Odyssey fan and those are long enough as it is. @^@

 

Thanks for the response, Polaris. Please do go back and replay SMT III. Perhaps I'll have to do that myself and try for one of the other endings.
I haven't played any of the Persona games, though I've played SMT IV and SMT IV:A, and I agree with you regarding the music (the boss themes are my favourite). The fusion system is also far better than SMT:III's.
Then again, time investment is pretty much expected of the RPG genre really.