Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster review

Our Verdict

Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster is mostly for the diehard Atlus and JRPG fans.

For

• Runs smoothly
• Campy sense of humor
• Preservation of an older game

Against

• Relentless difficulty (on Normal)
• Clunky interface
• Persona fans may be disappointed

Tom's Guide Verdict

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Hard disk Remaster is generally for the diehard Atlus and JRPG fans.

Pros

• +

  Runs smoothly

• +

  Campy humour

• +

  Preservation of an older game

Cons

• -

  Relentless difficulty (on Normal)

• -

  Clunky interface

• -

  Persona fans may be disappointed

I really wanted to love Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne Hard disk drive Remaster: a re-release of the 2003 Japanese roleplaying game (JRPG) on the PS2. That said, I approached it as a fan of developer Atlus' more modern games: Persona five and Persona four: Golden. This is no Persona game, fifty-fifty though it shares some of the same Deoxyribonucleic acid.

While Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster has some of the aforementioned turn-based, monster-fighting structure of the more recent Persona games, it's lacking a bit of Persona'due south charm. That's non necessarily a bad affair. Equally I'll explicate in this Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster review, the bigger problem is that it's a punishing game (even on Normal difficulty), and does picayune to help the gamer. Consider information technology Persona four and 5's goth cousin — ane that doesn't really care if information technology's the life of the party or not.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Hard disk Remaster review: Story

(Image credit: Atlus)

I didn't expect SMT Iii to be a lot like a Persona game, merely information technology did leave me longing for the streets of Inaba and Yongen-Jaya. Shin Megami Tensei Iii: Nocturne begins with your grapheme exploring a creepy hospital, and so the earth seemingly falls apart. Tokyo goes full Inception, with the plates of the planet seemingly folding in on themselves. This is something chosen The Conception: an apocalyptic calamity triggered by a demonic cult holed up in the basement of an abased hospital. The game gets really dark and chilling quite chop-chop.

While you take friends at the start of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, they don't join your quest, which may exist confusing to Persona fans such every bit myself. Instead, yous fight on your own, and later recruit monsters to fight alongside you. Gone is the party-based esprit, replaced with a weird and unique humor where monsters barely talk in English language, and mostly growl.

(Paradigm credit: Atlus)

That said, I credit the translation and localization work that went into Shin Megami Tensei Three: Nocturne Hd Remaster. While the game seems weird at times, that never appears to be a mistake.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Hard disk drive Remaster review: Gameplay

SMT3 is difficult. About mercilessly so. I played plenty of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Hd Remaster (on Normal) to realize that I'd probably want to become back and gear up the game on Merciful if I wanted to finish it without wasting a lot of my fourth dimension. I don't say "wasting" lightly. Even early in the game, I institute that battles but would non end, with new enemies constantly respawning until I died. Atlus has added an easier Merciful mode via free DLC, which is prissy to take.

(Prototype credit: Atlus)

Building upwardly my party of demons and monsters — an essential task, as I could not final long with only one character — was likewise tricky, equally the game doesn't really walk yous through the agile recruitment procedure. If you don't realize that the Hero (and only the Hero) has a Talk command (cached in menus), you lot'll rely on monsters volunteering to join y'all, which is especially rare. Recruiting monsters can be pretty annoying, every bit they will often demand a lot of treasure, and still walk away once you give it to them.

If you don't put some endeavor into figuring out what's going on, Shin Megami Tensei Three: Nocturne HD Remaster volition punish you accordingly. Heck, information technology will even kick your butt for fun, such as when the Angel monster casts the Hama magic spell, on you lot. While this spell's success rate isn't high, it'southward an insta-kill assail, which always feels unfair. That's not a criticism of difficult games. The Nighttime Souls games are difficult, just fair. SMT3:N, though, but seems similar it's out for revenge.

(Image credit: Atlus)

The interface is a chip obtuse, and you'll need to talk to anybody to figure information technology all out. For case, you lot'll probably stare at the Kagutsuchi moon phase counter in the peak left corner for a while before you sympathise that information technology correlates to treasure, fusions and more.

Shin Megami Tensei Iii: Nocturne Hard disk drive Remaster review: Graphics and performance

The Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster ran perfectly on the PS5, which it should, since it was a PS2 game originally. Its truly low-fi visuals — the world map may remind you of the game of Life, moving a peg around a map — are a large reminder of how bones games had to expect in the PS2 era. The underworld'south visuals — a agglomeration of cherry dots flowing through the floor — don't taxation the organization much at all. Still, it's dainty to see older games kept alive.

(Epitome credit: Atlus)

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster review: Verdict

(Epitome credit: Atlus)

After dying a lot in the early hours of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster, I can say with some confidence that it's a game or diehard Atlus and JRPG fans. The folks who loved Persona four Golden and Persona v Regal and need more of Atlus' magic, even if it's non as polished, may also savor it. The chief takeaway from this Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster review should be that Atlus has washed a good affair here. Keeping its back catalogue in apportionment, without the need for retro consoles and emulation, is a good thing. I just wish the game weren't dead gear up on killing me.

Henry is a senior editor at Tom's Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past six-plus years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He'southward as well covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other manufacture veterans.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/shin-megami-tensei-iii-nocturne-hd-remaster

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