Shin Megami Tensei V Review (Switch) | 66 Hours Later | Backlog Battle
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
- Thanks to Atlus for providing this game code!
After years of waiting, Shin Megami Tensei V is finally here! And with that, comes the longest video review posted on Backlog Battle, ever! Aiming to cover everything from the perspective of both seasoned veterans and newcomers jumping in from Persona, this review will dissect and answer as many questions as you have about the game, without spoiling a single thing! So hit that play button and check it out!
Chapters
0:00 - Introduction
0:39 - Meta Data and Premise
1:50 - Combat, Progression, and New Systems
8:57 - Story (spoiler-free)
14:08 - Presentation
19:34 - Closing Remarks
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#SMTV #ShinMegamiTensei #Atlus 
Игры
Quite possible the most comprehensive and detailed review of this game that I've come across. Always appreciate your reviews and the work you put into them. Can't wait to jump into SMT V later today.
Glad you think so! Hope you enjoy the game just as much as I did!
agree and honestly what i love the most about SMT is the “lack” of JHS sim. high school was great 20+ years ago, don’t want to relive it as an adult 😉
@@shabladooo I don't mind it from time to time but it seems like most jrpgs these days have some degree of highschool sim. It's definitely nice to get a break from it.
Can't wait to play Persona without a Heart V!
Ok, with the obligatory jab at the IGN review out of the way, in all seriousness, thank you for making such a comprehensive review and giving this game the amount of attention and effort it deserves. Been looking forward to your review just as much as I have been the game! Thanks Alex!
It's always been my wish to elevate conversations surrounding JRPGs and put them on a pedestal alongside other genres! I'm so so happy you enjoyed this review and got a lot out of it!
Mine is due to arrive today. Been replaying Nocturne this week to get in the groove. Glad you haven’t prattled about Persona 5 all the way through.
I'm old school! I played SMT III and intimately know of its identity, spanning all the way back to the early Nintendo days! If anything, I wanted to address both vets and Persona 5 fans who were interested in picking this up, and I think I achieved that!
@@BacklogBattle yeah great review. Loving the game so far. I’m 53 and very old school too!
What a well constructed and in-depth review, you told me more about the game than all the other reviews I’ve watched put together and totally avoided any spoilers. Thank you 🙏
You're very welcome!
got my copy yesterday n loving the first 2 hours. i know imma spend my weekends, heck tonight playing this game. love from Malaysia, Alex.
Hope you enjoy it for many, many more hours!
This review covered so many important facets of SMT V. There was such a deep dive into the elements that make SMT unique. So many other reviews waste so much time discussing comparisons or wish list features instead of discussing the actual game at hand. I sincerely hope that people new to SMT, coming from Persona, or just starting an interest in JRPGs find this review and watch it.
A few people were on the fence on SMT until I forwarded this review. After watching it, they were convinced and have purchased copies of SMT V. It's always great to have more people come into a series. With reviews such as these, it truly helps in making a choice to dive in or not.
Another excellent review with an incredible amount of work put in. Please keep up the great work but don't forget to be mindful of your own physical and mental health.
I always want people to understand the games they’re looking to get! But more importantly, helping people see if it’s the right fit for them! Thank you for showing your friends this review and I hope you all enjoy the game!
Been with channel since Tales Of Arise, and you haven't disappointed. What a great and comprehensive review. You've helped me make up my mind on purchasing this game.
It's all about the music to me! Once I find the songs to play against all that footage, the writing just flows like water! I hope you enjoy this punishing yet incredibly fulfilling game!
Yeah! I've been waiting for this! As always, your reviews stand head and shoulders above your peers with respect to delivering the most comprehensive overview of the game--not just for its features, but what to expect from the world and the overall feel of the game. I'll have to watch your first Ryza review again, but I think this might be your best work. As always, thank you, Alex.
P.S: I am so deeply in love with this game. You're so right about the exploration. It's always been such an issue with SMT games. And the fact that they've not only solved it with this one, but made it a primary feature, has just made the game impossible to put down.
Thank you so much! I always try to get better at reviewing games and while this one was pretty long, it did address a lot of people’s concerns! I’m really happy that the review mirrored your experience!
It has been a while since I last watched one of your videos and I feel like an idiot for ever leaving. Some of the best reviews on RUclips. Makes me both happy and envious. Well done! :D
Thank you so much! And welcome back!
Excellent review as always! Going to be diving in this weekend. Keep up the great work!
I hope you enjoy it! I expect a follow-up!
What an awesome review! After watching and reading several from big game outlets I still wasn't sure whether to buy this game immediately or not even though I‘m a big SMT fan. Then I ordered 2 minutes after watching yours.
Thank you for all the time and dedication you put into your reviews. I‘m always amazed by how deep you delve into story, game mechanics, soundtrack etc. It‘s always a joy to watch!
That’s so awesome to learn that my review helped with your decision to get this game! I hope you have a blast collecting everything and fusing demons!
Thank you for this great in-depth review! It's gonna be my first SMT game (so far I only dabbled in Persona 5 Royal, but it didn't really click for me), and I'm so excited to play this game! Unfortunately, my copy won't ship until next week (although I pre-ordered as soon as it was available in my country back in August), but there's nothing I can do about that, so a bit more excitedly waiting it is 😅
I've been hearing so many people's shipments getting delayed! Hang in there! You'll get to play this game soon enough!
I’ve watched a number of reviews on this game and yours is one of the two that makes the Breath of the Wild comparison, which seems to be a better comparison than the Persona 5 one that most reviews include. I can’t say for sure since I haven’t played it yet, but that the feeling I get based on all of the footage I’ve seen. Great review as always. This will game will be my first SMT experience, so I’m pretty psyched.
That's very interesting! As a rule, I never check out other people's reviews until mine goes live, so it's interesting to see that only one other person made that comparison! Sure, it's not quite Breath of the Wild, but the areas are MASSIVE! I hope you enjoy SMT V! I think it's an incredible game to start with if it's your first time!
@@BacklogBattle I can definitely understand not looking at reviews as a reviewer yourself. Glad to see this game receiving pretty much universal praise. This is another series (along with Persona, Yakuza, and Tales) that I wish I’d given the chance back in the day during the PS2 era. Better late than never, though.
Same for me I just got the last copy of the game at my GameStop hoping it lives up to what people are saying
I appreciate your explanations of gameplay mechanics here, as well as how you help potential players set expectations about the game’s storytelling. Thanks!
That’s exactly what I was trying to do! I’m glad you got that out of the review!
I didnt expect such an comprehensive review... really good and in depth review ... keep it up bro
Thanks a ton! Glad you enjoyed it!
This was my 1st SMT game, I've played P5 3 times (twice Royal) and P4 Golden.. I was not ready for the difficulty here, despite knowing it would be hard. Ill be honest I played the game on casual but I was able to see the game through to the end. All the same it was still just tough enough that I couldn't let my guard down. I really enjoyed my time playing, I was surprised when I found myself hooked exploring every nook and cranny of the maps. The characters didn't attract me like Persona does, still I found myself liking them well enough.
Loved the in depth video review you made for SMTV senpai!
Great review as always Alex! Probably the most in-depth review I’ve watched regarding this game so far. Keep up the great work!
Thank you! That was my goal!
I have been very curious about SMT for a while now since it has such a cult following. But I hesitate because of the difficulty. Your review has clarified a lot for me and saying that it is one of the best turn based jrpgs is high praise. The last jrpg I played was ni no kuni and while I liked it as a whole, the battle system left a lot to be desired.
So far, I have gone through a ton of reviews and it seems the highlight of SMT V is the gameplay. Thankfully, you went to explain it in greater detail than in the reviews I have seen so far and that has helped me make up my mind. Kudos to your brilliant work!
Thank you so much! Always a pleasure to clarify things that other reviews dance around!
Sub ! This is the review I love to watch. It’s different in a good way from others and have factor wether I buy this or not. Thanks a bunch.
What's up everyone, the end of the world is here! SMT V being this good just makes me happy even though I only played SMT IV on 3DS. This just means JRPGs are really hitting an upswing! Stoked for the future of my fave genre! Keep the quality content pops! (3DS or Vita JRPGs look back or a must have list perhaps most especially that collecting for it is booming, that is, if you got the time too pops!)
Got no time! The backlog battle keeps going!
I just watched this and picked up the game after two years… same save file, and fell right back into it. It’s so addictive.
Fantastic review as usual! I appreciat how thoroughly you explain the gameplay mechanics. Overall, you do a great job giving a solid sense of what the game is like. I can't pick it up now--too busy with Blue Reflection!--but it's definitely going on the Christmas wishlist!
You’re gonna have a blast with this one when you get it!
Great review. Got my copy today can’t wait to start playing.
I hope you have a blast!
Amazing review!!! You deserve all the subs for the hard work and effort put into your videos.
Thank you so much! I appreciate it! Hope you enjoy the game if you pick it up!
@@BacklogBattle Definitely did! I am playing it on Hard like the hardcore SMT fan I am!
I like, how we're seeing you more and more lately in the videos.
Me too! I've been planning this for about a year now and while it's not yet the way that I want it to be, I'm learning a ton just by doing it!
@@BacklogBattle keep it going! You've got a really wholesome vibe on camera!
Was just excited for this review as much as I did the game!
I love the first few minutes of this review, but that’s probably bias talking 😉
I have been playing through this and leveling the Nahabino in mostly magic. I am starting to regret that decision, as my demons seem to hold their own with magic abilities. I think next playthrough I will try to make the MC a support/luck specialization. Love your review!
Thank you so much! Glad you're enjoying the game!
Nice review, im definitely getting this sucks i can't play it today because the shipment got delayed but a little bit of a wait will be worth it once i get my physical copy.
Shipment delays are terrible but temporary! Having the game in your hands will be priceless! Hang in there!
This is going to be my first foray into the SMT series. I'm not great at turn based JRPGs so the difficulty does intimidate me, but I'm glad to hear how much fun you had with the exploration as that is one of my favourite aspects of RPGs!
At least you can adjust the difficulty if you want to! Just don’t choose Hard right away! You might even enjoy Normal!
I started with normal but it was a little too difficult after the first 2nd boss so I switched to casual. normal in this is like hard. casual is working fine by me so far. I would start with normal and see what you want to do later
Well my tip for newcomer is, don't ignore buffs and debuffs, they are key to survive hard fights and can be applied more than once.
At first use skunda the agility down debuff, making the enemy miss is key to your survival, as the game progress combine it with masukukaja the all party agility buff, so the enemies will miss their attacks even more.
Lastly try to have in your party the skills dekunda to clear your bebuffs and dekaja to clear the enemies buffs.
This is just the tip of the iceberg but i think it helps newcomers to smt to hit the ground running.
Just checking back in to say I've just finished the game including the super boss on normal.
Everytime the game got challenging cough-Taito-cough, it forced me to engage with all the core mechanics of the game - the demon fusion, the essences, the combat mechanics, careful party planning - and I loved it for that.
Really glad that I played this one. I had a blast.
@@shinynewjb congratulations! Super happy you finished it and enjoyed it! What ending did you get?
Dude, you should get more likes and subs, you reviews are top quality stuff. I find myself watching your reviews of games I've already beat.
Thank you so much! I’d appreciate it if you help spread the word on social media and elsewhere! Liking, subscribing and commenting like this does a lot as well, so I greatly appreciate it!
Love the review !
Thank you so much for watching!
But like some Masterchef contestants, they only put Nocturne on the plate and forgot Smt4 and Smt4 Apocalypse in the table, instead putting into the plate. 😅
I love MasterChef!
@@BacklogBattle
Meet too, especially the Australian version. But did you get the allegory?
@@Pduarte79 of course!
@@BacklogBattle
To me, I enjoyed more the Strange Journey Redux, Smt4 and Smt4 Apocalypse experience, because they are a more complete Smt experience, Smt4 Apocalypse, being my first Smt experience. SMTV, to me is like discussion between FF13 and FF15, most praise 15 and despise 13, but I prefered the linear maps and convoluted story than 15 empty open world and weak story or absence of one. That depends on the reason why you play the game in the first place and what you consider the most important story or gameplay or both. Is sad to me, when Catherine tells a better story and has more interested cast of characters than V. Or Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, that besides it's bugginess and issues, is still a fun ride and I liked the cast and Arwen ark is sad. V fails it that department, storywise and character wise, the only fun coming, from the gameplay, exploration and ost.
I’ve said this before and I’ll keep saying it. You deserve more subs. So much more subs. Your work is amazing.
Thank you so much! I love representing our JRPG crowd, so I try my best each time I make a video! Glad to know you've enjoyed this one!
Noticed one of the demon is called “Aitvaras” in Lithuanian language its folklore name of a spirit who visits homes :) wonder how Japanese know about that :)
Many of SMT’s demons are actually deities, gods, or creatures from different religions and cultures!
Just got the game like 2 or 3 days ago. Having fun with it
After 100 hours I needed a break and now i'm back into the game. The game plays still fantastic. I'd like to emphasize one point. I have red many people missed dungeons. Personally I think the level design was a big step up from the games before. SMT dungeons always had the same rooms for hours. I'd take exploring the SMT world/levels without many dungeons over the tedious dungeons of the predecessor every day.
Well done I really enjoyed your review and can't wait to dive in
Ps: you look lovely ;)
Thank you!
Another great review Alex 👍 I like how you throw a few beginner tips in there too. Good job man 😃
Concerning the endings;
Only one set of choices matters on deciding the ending you get, before the very final moments of the game.
However, additional content may be locked if your previous choices do not match up with the current ending you’re gunning for.
For example, if you’ve been giving Chaotic answers and are doing the Law ending, you won’t be given the opportunity to do and/or get certain things. Your choices technically do matter, but to a limited extent.
Patiently waiting for my Premium edition to come. Thank you for the video.
That's probably one of the sad things about reviewing games early - you only get it digitally!
Claps hands! Definitely happy that this game got a good standing ovation and I also give you major props for only using the persona comparison to bring up why each are different and not ' Oh it's not like persona and it doesn't have the heart of persona 5'. Personally I am very very happy that this game came out especially after the massive drought of persona 5 nonsense we were getting to finally see an actual SMT game back is like a welcome back home..... With a kick to the teeth because of how difficult it is lol. Despite my personal feelings about the main character's design as well as his God form which then resulted in me and my friends basically dubbing him by a name that I'm not gonna say because because I'm just not, this game really does sounds like it is indeed worth it. Will get it today although I'm probably gonna have to just dive deep and hope to God I get the neutral ending in my 1st run because I'm more of a neutral ending kind of guy and because getting either law or chaos will suck lol. Anyway fantastic review as usual Alex!
Good luck getting it! I heard that there's been some shipment delays with this game!
@@BacklogBattle Well I am currently downloading it on my switch right now lol.
@@MrDarksol That's an easier way to do it!
Just in time. My premium edition arrived today as well. Excited to try it as my first smt mainline game.
Nice! Good luck with the RNG!
You give the best reviews. You talked me into Tales of Arise, and I don't regret it - great game. I'm still not completely sold on this though 😕
I recommend checking out other videos out there if you're not quite sure! Check out SuperDerek, Taylor (GamingShelf), and davidvinc's videos! I've watched and enjoyed them
I just got the game today, and I'm having a blast with so far!
Awesome! So happy to hear that!
I beat SMT 5 last night, well I got the neutral ending a few days ago and got the true ending last night. Currently going on a review binge. With 169 hours total, I feel like this game is the same as my experience with "xenoblade chronicles X" but better. The gameplay, combat, and world of the game is amazing. However, the story needs work. With what SMT5 is referencing though, it does its job. Not to mention SMT wise, these are the best quest in the franchise yet. The 5 year wait is worth it and you can see the ambition and love ATLUS put into the game. Just about everything you said is hitting the nail on the head for SMT5. Thank you. c:
That’s amazing! I’ve always told people that they should check the review again after finishing because the story stuff I talk about “change” when you beat the game! SMT V is a magical game!
Awesome review!!! Can't wait to get it but heard sad news my preorder was delayed by at leaat a week. Ugh
Also. Love the Persona 4 Golden poster in the back!
NO! Not a week! Hope it arrives sooner than estimated!
And thank you! Atlus sent that over last year! So happy to show it off!
Awesome review of the best SMT and Switch game of all time. I am 30 hours in and have loved every second of it.
If the game is consistent through the rest, this may well be my favourite game of all time, which says a lot, as I'm 44 and have played a lot of games.
It was pretty consistent imo, and it just escalates as you would expect a SMT game to be!
@@BacklogBattle Thanks for the heads up! I'm only in the second stage (where you're saving the humans in the fairy village), but it has been amazing so far.
I am new to the series and excited. Question about the one shot deaths you mentioned. What happens when you die. Is it like old school games go back to the last manual save point or do you get a retry/ checkpoint restart?
Old school! GAME OVER! No auto saves here! You gotta manual save! Shin Megami Tensei can be very selfish. 😉
I think what a lot of people still aren't realizing in combat changes is that they clearly wanted you to have a more robust party. You're encouraged to swap out members rather than simply revive and heal them. It's an active tactic to keep MC up front so you can switch out a party member down the line for specific encounters, because it only acts as a half turn. I was far too late in the game before realizing this tactic. It makes the age old tactic of fusing demons that have 2-3 multi hit element attacks somewhat unnecessary.
With that said, I found fusing demons in V drastically less satisfying than, say, Nocturne. The essence system and nature of the combat now made planning out your demon fusing far easier, with less consideration required.
here to drop the regular like and comment, but you know I'm not gonna watch till I spend considerable time with the game :D
Hope you follow up with a comment later when you do!
@@BacklogBattle of course i will!
Great video bro
Thanks a ton man! Always nice to see you commenting and watching my videos!
@@BacklogBattle 😄👌
13:32 Isn't like Strange journey alignment system or like the kharma thingy in Catherine's game, the ending is picked in the final dungeon, meaning the choices you made during your playtrought until that point weightless and meaningless. 😅
Meaning, even you sided with Leanan Sidhe, Black Frost or the Lilim, you can still have the Law ending.
counting the hours until i can snag a physical copy tonight
Hope you manage to get a copy! Been seeing people saying their orders are getting delayed!
I may have cried a few tears of joy when SMTV Vengeance was announced to be multi-platform 😅 This game demands more capable hardware than Switch
3 years later no less!
@@BacklogBattle Yessss!
I won't be able to pick it up on launch, but wow this game just looks phenomenal. I can already see myself pouring hundreds of hours in just exploring and filling out the compendium
That's what I'm planning to do now that I've beaten the game! Too bad the Switch doesn't have trophies/achievements!
@@BacklogBattle Well, we can still go for that Platinum in our hearts xD
I'm loving this game its absolutely amazing ! Out of all the Personas and shin Megamis this is now my favorite .
No blabbering on about crap for hours on end ! just great atmosphere and great gameplay 👌
Glad to hear!
100 % agree.
How's the story?
@@neoandroid8586 story is cool so far its more focused on fighting gameplay and atmosphere which I really like
@@neoandroid8586 Hard to answer. Some people like lots of story exposition, dialog and character development. There's background story, world building and story telling. For example take the world of Diablo. I think it has an excellent story, but you won't find much story telling. The story of SMT V is epic, but again not much story telling. The focus is clearly gameplay.
gameplay over everything else. I can't deal with the ridiculous amounts of cut-scenes and dialogues in persona games anymore
While I personally don't mind the excess of story in Persona, sometimes I'm in the mood for a systems heavy RPG. I'm really happy Shin Megami Tensei V fulfilled that for me!
Nearly a 22 minute review. Best go make a coffee first for this one.
Hope you enjoy it!
@@BacklogBattle Great review. Pumped now for when it gets delivered later today
As you should! It’s going to be an incredible journey!
Next SMT game I want double the roster size and customizable fits for the MC.
Low key never played the franchise before but then picked Shin megami tensei 3 nocturne remaster and had to get this day one
There’s something satisfying about what is essentially a harder version of mechanics that we’re familiar with. Hope you enjoy this one!
I am getting my switch this year and this is the first game I am going to get
WORTH IT!
how do you change your magatsuhi? i have so many talismans
Once you get the talismans, it automatically applies every time you have a demon of that race in your party. Once you get to that demon, that race’s Magatsuhi becomes available!
@@BacklogBattle ohh okay gotcha, thank you so much for the quick reply!!
Just finished playing for the night, full team, no deaths so far…I’m sure that will change soon. I’ve played enough megten to know how fickle Lady Luck is.
Little do you know, Lady RNG is beating up Lady Luck in the back alley 😉
i love the game, but agree with the story. its the lightest part but still enjoyable. like the others or the series, there were no happy endings the best you could hope for was to break even
hey Alex ! ^^
you know after i watched some stuff for "SMT3" i Notice you look Similar in your "look" like "Isamu Nitta" ^^ (this is not meant to be offensive or to offend you)
HAHAHA! That was not my intention, but if it evokes that imagery, I guess it's totally appropriate given the circumstances! 😂
It seems to be a very good game, but i im going to wait and see if it gets a PC/PS5 release.
I think that'd be surprising, to say the least! Outside of SMT3, the Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei games have traditionally been on Nintendo platforms, going all the way back to the Famicom/NES era, much like how Persona is mostly on PlayStation. But never say never!
@@BacklogBattle Persona 4 sold very well on PC. I played it there. Maybe it endup going the same path. Keep your awesome work sir Alex.
Dont wait. Buy now
Long awaited SMT5....even more so if you are still waiting for it to come to PS4.
Can't help but think having this on PS5 would have fixed any of the performance issues mentioned. That said I am very happy to see the fast teleporting as PS5 spoiled me and many switch games now annoy me in that regard lol.
Once I got into the gameplay, all that desire to have it on a different platform just melted for me. I was more trying to uncover as much of the map as possible! It's addicting!
I think it's just the quirks of unreal engine
This is how you compare smt to persona, not "this isn't persona and that's bad. Trust me guys, it's persona but bad". Ign, relax and take notes.
i Watched ign review and i don't think they implied that. i think they think it would've benefited if it stole more elements from persona, that's their opinion.
I find it baffling when people say something like "the demons are where the similarity with Persona ends" while the Press Turn system is RIGHT THERE. Like.... no. This has WAY more in common with Persona than the demons. Persona is more than social links. Not having those in SMT :V doesn't make it a fundamentally different experience in every way. Persona is still, at the core, far more similar to SMT as compared to... idk, Dragon Quest in terms of actual gameplay. It's not just the same demons. Never was.
The Press Turn system in SMT V functions very differently than what Persona has, especially with how turns work. If you’re calling the whole attacking enemy weaknesses as the Press Turn system, then I’m sorry to say that that’s false. The Press Turn system, unlike Persona, prevents you from keeping your turn forever, whereas you can in the latter, especially with mechanics like the Baton Pass in play. In fact, this specific gameplay feature is what many Persona players love about its combat, so trying to say that it’s the same thing for both is absolutely wrong.
You actually look like someone who will give me a quest...
I don't have any Macca to give though 👀
@@BacklogBattle aha, Nice 😝
The press turn system is basically the 1 more system. Im not sure why fans pretend theyre night and day. Youre exploiting weaknesses for extra turns and both have limitations to keep you from unlimited moves.
First!