Devil Buster HQ (YCM's Shin Megami Tensei & Persona Fan Gathering)

[The Warden]

Damn it, I wanted to make up the Such-and-Such on Motorcycles gag.

Still, it's good that Rise is finally pulling her weight, but, technically, doesn't she get that ability at a high level that passively heals the Party after battle?

[~Tico~]

[quote name='BrokenHeart15' timestamp='1337519384' post='5943218']

Still, it's good that Rise is finally pulling her weight, but, technically, doesn't she get that ability at a high level that passively heals the Party after battle?
[/quote]

There weren't that many details given, so it's unclear whether this is an -n-battle ability or what. For all we know, we might be getting something similar to that Oracle Tactic Fuuka had (which more often than not damned your party to getting their HP and SP reduced to 1. Ugh :/)

[Hydra of Ages]

Oracle was hilarious. [i]Unnecessary, [/i]but fun as heck when grinding out floors on Tartarus.

Yeah Rise had healing wave, but it was almost entirely pointless considering health is cheap in P4. A small amount of mana recovery following battles would have been much more appreciated. Besides, she gets it at such a high level that you'll have Lucifer (and Victory Cry) within two dungeons if you hadn't already gamed a Victory Cry off of Kaiwan earlier.

Rise healing is interesting if it's reliable; it'd definitely make a no-weakness team a lot more practical (assuming Yukiko and Teddie don't lose their weaknesses with their second Persona Evolution). Joining in team attacks makes me wonder if she's going to drop a magical nuke on the crowd while the rest of the team is rushing in.

By the way, The Golden along with the Disgaea 3 updated rerelease have justified my future Vita purchase. It's pretty rare that I'm willing to buy a system solely for remakes, but there you go.

[The Warden]

Disgaea 3? I've heard of the series, but sadly never played it. It seems absolutely hilarious to play.

[Hydra of Ages]

Every Disgaea game is great and 3 is arguably the best (and also most meta). You know you're in for something different when Character Titles are a primary plotpoint and the main protagonist advocates cheating rather than grinding out levels.

They're tactical RPGs in the same vein as Fire Emblem or Devil Survivor (though without the traditional RPG aspects), and I'd recommend picking up a copy to anyone even somewhat interested in games of that sort. Fair warning, they get hard as all hell by the second third of the game (though if you're a member of a SMT club, I hardly see why this would dissuade you).

[The Warden]

I watched the Disgaea anime, it was pretty amusing I'll say, and the Red Moon part was quite touching.

Tactical RPGs are always quite fascinating, one I enjoy was a rather old one called Brigandine.

[Hydra of Ages]

The anime was meh at best, but it did have its moments. Red Moon was pulled off at least as well as it was in the game, my only complaint being that we didn't get to hear the entire Red Moon theme... but it makes up for that by having Mid Boss present, which is an opportunity they did [i]not [/i]take in the game itself. (For the record, the Anime only covers Disgaea 1, though there are mangas for 2 and 3).

Tactical RPGs [i]are[/i] fascinating. To tie this back to SMT, Devil Survivor is great for combining the usual TRPG dickery with the usual Shin Megami Tensei fair-difficulty... the second game far more so than the first, however. Devil Survivor 2 is one of my favourite games of all time at this point, whereas its very difficult for me to muster up the effort required to struggle through Devil Suvivor 1's boss gauntlet. Also, it's [i]way[/i] too easy to accidentally kill Keisuke (unless you know the exact secret for doing it right...).

By the way, for those who have played SMT 2 before: Al Saiduq route[i] all the way baby[/i]. The only truly satisfying ending in my opinion.

[~Tico~]

[quote name='Hydra of Clocks' timestamp='1337753183' post='5945347']
By the way, for those who have played SMT 2 before: Al Saiduq route[i] all the way baby[/i]. The only truly satisfying ending in my opinion.
[/quote]

Yes, Kingmaker was indeed the best ending. It tied up pretty much everything and had much more of a True Ending feel to it, unlike Daichi's, which, despite being seen as a "True" Ending, did not have the same degree of lingering satisfaction. Liberator (Daichi's "Kill Polaris" route) ended off on a somber mood, what with only the land untouched by the Void remaining, and Japan still in ruins. Restorer was somewhat better, especially the Triumphant version (all 13 Demon Tamers are alive), but it left off with an implication of the disaster possibly playing out once more, which kinda renders their efforts up to that point pointless, as everything could just play out again. And of course, Meritorious and Egalitarian were over-the-top justice in the eyes of their respective advocates, one pushing for humans to push themselves to their full potential, while the other supports everyone helping each other while rendering competitiveness moot. Kingmaker managed to tie it all up and present a promising final scenario for mankind's future, now with a benevolent god to watch over them. So yeah, best ending of Devil Survivor 2. Now, one goal remains for me in DeSu 2: beat Alice.

[The Warden]

Alice, she is certainly a charming demon. Seriously, where would you ever find an attack called 'Die for Me'.

[~Tico~]

Probably not the biggest of news, but there will apparently be a Shin Megami Tensei IV. Unfortunately, it'll be for the 3DS. :/ And the only reason I know about this is because the official Japanses site is up, although the site has really no info on it at all.

[iCherry]

Username: iCherry
Favorite Mega-Ten game: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Favorite SMT demon/Persona: Thanatos/Messiah
Anything else you want to mention: I claim to be the official Minako.

[Desu the Blue Nerd]

[quote name='Corona Ray' timestamp='1338429939' post='5949597']
Probably not the biggest of news, but there will apparently be a Shin Megami Tensei IV. Unfortunately, it'll be for the 3DS. :/ And the only reason I know about this is because the official Japanses site is up, although the site has really no info on it at all.
[/quote]

[color=#0000CD]Damn DS getting the Shin Megami Tensei main titles. Oh well, we still get Persona.[/color]
[quote name='iCherry' timestamp='1339400203' post='5955280']
Username: iCherry
Favorite Mega-Ten game: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Favorite SMT demon/Persona: Thanatos/Messiah
Anything else you want to mention: I claim to be the official Minako.
[/quote]

[color=#0000CD]I was wondering when you'd join.[/color]

[iCherry]

[quote name='Desperado of Finale' timestamp='1339432739' post='5955402']
[color=#0000CD]I was wondering when you'd join.[/color]
[/quote]

I wasn't even here when this got made.

[~Tico~]

[quote name='iCherry' timestamp='1339400203' post='5955280']
Username: iCherry
Favorite Mega-Ten game: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Favorite SMT demon/Persona: Thanatos/Messiah
Anything else you want to mention: I claim to be the official Minako.
[/quote]
Well, look who's back. Hi there, Cherry! I don't think anyone's gonna be taking the position of Minako, so...yeah.