| Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne review |
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The lucrative Megaten series has a popular following in Japan; sadly, none of the games have officially made it to the West (forgetting the butchered Persona series). Once again, Atlus have taken on the task of translating an under-the-radar RPG, giving us Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne and Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga. Praise be; there’s a lot to be thankful for.
Nocturne, like the majority of other titles in the series, is set in a modern-day Tokyo beleaguered by a mysterious occult force; a welcome departure from the more usual fantasy and sci-fi themes that seem to overwhelm the role-playing market. The story begins with a visit to the hospital, not because the nameless main character is ill, but to visit a sick teacher with a group of his friends. What transpires is a "little" catastrophic. It unfolds that two cult factions are fighting each other in the nearby city park, that a doomsday prophecy is in full swing and that the teacher is the fulfilment of that prophecy: she destroys the city. Just another day in paradise then.
So, the story starts where many games climax: the end of the world. The end in this case is the rebirth of the land of Nocturne, the “Conception”, and numerous demon factions want to shape it to their desire. The plot in the game is quite odd, almost theological in nature; the character's part in it unfolds very slowly, and it is strongly player-led, making the narrative relatively austere. That doesn't mean the story isn't interesting, in fact, these cocaine-laced bread crumbs make the trail all the more addictive. The direction of the game, and also the ending you’ll see, is driven by the choices made; it can be calm or chaos, this is the game's premise. It’s not something as obvious as the light and dark of KOTOR; it’s more subtle than that, and gives a genuine role-playing aspect to it.
Nocturne is a very inimitable world. The cel-shading concept has been done to death in video games, but in Nocturne the style has such a unique look that is works tremendously well and suits the tone of the game perfectly. It has a dark and ominous feel that adds an enormous amount to the foreboding atmosphere of the game. There is somewhat a lack of detail in places, but this can be forgiven by the variety of demons that’ll be encountered. Flaming skulls, eagles, fairies, yetis and even angels who are clearly into the whole bondage thing, all make an appearance.
As the often Spartan and labyrinth-like environments are explored, it’s soon discovered that there are a lot of random battles in Nocturne, far more than even Skies of Arcadia. At first these can seem almost overwhelming, given that health and magic points disappear rapidly, and healing items are thin on the ground. Some may find this overwhelming, as it's certainly unforgiving at times, but once the technicalities are understood it gets much easier. Every enemy has a weakness to a certain type of attack, and likewise, a resistance to another. If this is used to attack it can even heal instead of hurt. It’s therefore vital that the right selections are made to accelerate victory when fighting.
The combat engine isn’t particularly unique. It’s a standard turn-based affair, allowing for physical and magical attacks, or item use; however, the interface also gives rise to what is perhaps one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game: demon recruitment.
On the main character’s turn there is the option to talk to the enemy being fought. It is here that demons can be recruited into your party, collecting them in an almost Pokémon way. Of course it’s not just as simple as speaking and them joining, at least not most of the time. Many will ask for money or items as bribes before they'll agree, they may even ask a question, and given the response might attack, join or run away. There are other factors such as how bright the Kagutsuchi is (think of it as the moon in Nocturne’s day rotation) and how powerful the main character is, that determine how easily demons will join the party. Some of the recruited members can also try to persuade others to join, using seduction and nagging. It makes for an interesting strategy.
Nocturne is an RPG, and given that fact, there is the obligatory character levelling. As experience is gained, characters improve over a number of statistics; strength, magic, vitality, agility and luck; nothing overly complex on first glance. Look deeper and things becoming more interesting. Nocturne has another ace up its sizable sleeves: Magatama. Magatama is the mystical power of elements and demons embodied in a physical object. These can be consumed and by doing so instil bonuses, penalties and abilities, based on its type; be that fire, ice, force or one of the other two dozen or so Magatamas discovered throughout the game.
There is even more to it: the type of Magatama currently consumed determines what abilities the character will gain when reaching his next level. To get a truly powerful well-rounded character, the right selection of Magatama is essential, considering the earlier notion of enemy weakness and strength to magic types. The Magatama can be switched at anytime, changing the stats of the hero, so it’s a very flexible system but it requires a bit of thought to make the most of it.
The demons also level-up as they gain experience; however, the player has no control over their progression. At certain stages of development they will evolve. Again similar to Pokémon, this not only changes their abilities, but also their appearance. Further to this is the facility, in special shrines, to fuse two demons together. It’s a simple process of selecting the two demons and combining them to generate a new fiendish entity. The fusion screen shows what the outcome (in terms of monster and level) will be before the processes are committed, but the abilities that remain once fusion is complete can seem a little random. It is a very quick way of powering up the party; the only drawback being creatures above the current main character level cannot be controlled, and so cannot be created.
This makes Nocturne the enigma that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Whilst a number of features are the mainstay of many RPGs, others are unique in their execution. This combines to make it a superlative experience.
If there is one aspect of the game that annoys, it’s the game camera, the way it auto-centres gradually as one moves about the corridors and expanses of the various locations makes the player dizzy. It’s tempting to use the analogue stick to change the angles, but this only leads to the - mostly useless - first-person perspective mode. The viewpoint can be moved using the shoulder buttons, but it doesn’t help the motion issues very much.
Apart from this one main bugbear, there is little else about which to criticise Nocturne, and a great deal to commend. Some may find the constant random battles a bit irritating, but then this is true of many other RPGs. What Nocturne does provide is an atmospheric and refreshing change to the angst-ridden-teen-saves-the-world, bread and butter adventures we’ve come to expect of the genre. Dedicated RPG fans should definitely check it out. |
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System: Sony PlayStation 2
Genre: Role Playing Game
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Players: 1
Version: United States
Reviewed: Apr 2005
Writer: Marty Greenwell
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Pros:
- You get to collect demons
- Not the usual "teen-ridden-angst" story
- Flexible levelling system
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Cons:
- Lots and lots and lots of random battles
- Can be very unforgiving at times
- Camera movement makes you dizzy
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Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Video: 6.9MB
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