RPG Progress Report

[pierrot]

This has to be one of the best town themes on the Famicom:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KlDuNO ... _aSPrK05Uy

Nah, there's better. Way better, actually: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGEzqWGp2WA&t=128s.
Here's one that's even better than that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGEzqWGp2WA&t=725s
There's also this, although if memory serves, it's actually from Rag's Shop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGEzqWGp2WA&t=1367s

Lastly, there's a death song exclusive to the remake of the first game that is just about the best sounding thing to ever be produced by the SNES: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNo8IG0wcAc&t=2048s


Nice to hear that you're liking Megami Tensei. It's one of my favorites of the games I've played in recent-ish years. I would not have recommended the original Famicom version, but kudos to you if you manage to stick with it past the Minotaur.

You could safely skip Megami Tensei II, though, unfortunately. It's not bad at all, but the last stretch of the game is a little overly intense, and it's basically like a prototype version of Shin Megami Tensei, anyway (which is the better game of the two, soundtrack not withstanding).

[BoneSnapDeez]

kudos to you if you manage to stick with it past the Minotaur.

Got owned by this boss.

I got cocky as I was having no problem with the regular enemies, even on the lowest floor, without having any demons summoned. Stumbled into that boss battle and it was a slow slaughter. Over the course of 10 minutes or so my HP was whittled away to zero.

I went in with a crappy demon line-up. I have Trent, who's like a tougher Dryad with some good offensive spells. But my other pal was Lemurian, and he sucks. 35-ish HP and no magic. He just poked vainly at the Minotaur, ultimately dying off first. Good news though: later on I grabbed a Cancer, fused him with Lemurian, and now I have Baku, who seems quite promising. I'll keep plugging away and then I'll take another run at the boss.

[pierrot]

He just poked vainly at the Minotaur, ultimately dying off first.

I feel like that's pretty typical of the series. If you don't spend a fair amount of time continually mixing monsters, and trying to get ones with multi-hit regular attacks, or heavy duty spells (and high intelligence), bosses are mostly impervious to your party. I can't remember if the Famicom version has all the buff/debuff spells like Tarukaja, Rakukaja, Tarunda, Rakunda, etc. Those are usually pretty important for bosses, too.

[BoneSnapDeez]

I would not have recommended the original Famicom version

Yeah I've grown tired of it.

There was something "wrong" with the game, something nagging at me, that I couldn't place until now.

I think the problem is that exploration is so unrewarding. There are entire floors with no treasures, no landmarks, nothing. Just up/down ladders and dead ends. Very tedious to explore & map first-person games, and then get nothing tangible out of the process. Also, I find the screen refreshing that occurs with each step very disorienting.

I still love the aesthetics and demon-fusion aspect. But this is too meaty of a game for someone who only squeezes in 45-60 minutes of play a day. I like the game; I just don't like it right now. On hiatus it goes.

[pierrot]

Yeah, the "scrolling" during movement is really the thing that I can't abide in the Famicom version, but it's also just too archaic in that form. Megami Tensei II looks, sounds, and plays really well on the Famicom, at least.

[Kuruwin]

Beat Lulua and i guess i liked it but it felt way too long. I was ready to be done around 20-25h mark but it took almost 36 hours to get true ending. Overall this is step for the right direction but E&L was much better.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Yeah, the "scrolling" during movement is really the thing that I can't abide in the Famicom version, but it's also just too archaic in that form. Megami Tensei II looks, sounds, and plays really well on the Famicom, at least.

If the Famicom versions are so rough, are the Super Famicom versions of Megami Tensei or the SMT games worth checking out? :O
I'm nearing the end of FFV, and I'm always on the lookout for more stuff to hop into on the Wii U VC ^w^

[marurun]

Don’t forget there are CD SMT titles, too

[PartridgeSenpai]

Don’t forget there are CD SMT titles, too

But are THOSE on Wii U Virtual Console, Maru? :b

[pierrot]

If the Famicom versions are so rough, are the Super Famicom versions of Megami Tensei or the SMT games worth checking out? :O
I'm nearing the end of FFV, and I'm always on the lookout for more stuff to hop into on the Wii U VC ^w^

There's just the two Megami Tensei games on the Famicom, and the the only one of them that's really rough is the original Megami Tensei. I would totally recommend playing that one on the SFC in the Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei remake. The second one, if you really want to play it, is way better on the Famicom than on Kyuuyaku Megami Tensei. You could kind of skip Megami Tensei II, though, because it's sort of like a prototype version of the first SMT, and the late part of Megami Tensei II is really drawn out, and kind of crappy.

If you want to start with SMT, the SFC version should be good. Some people swear by it. The PS1 version has some quality of life additions, and might be more definitive (I think there's also a smartphone version that's based on PS1 version). I personally played it on Sega CD, which was good, but it was made by SIMS, and had some changes that I kind of liked, but purists might not. The only other one I've played through is SMT if..., and I would just skip that one, unless you really love SMT.

I actually ordered SMT II on the SFC (again, because the last time I did, I was sent another FF Mystic Quest cart--), and may actually take the time to finally play it, soon. The thing with this franchise, and especially the first SMT, is that they are very involved if you get into the monster melding, and end up taking a lot of time to finish. They're probably about twice the length of the Final Fantasy games on the console.

SMT on the SFC is a really good place to start. I think that was actually the first game I finished (on the Sega CD). I would also recommend playing the SFC version of Megami Tensei, though. Those two are really the best games I've played in the series so far.