I'm about to dust off my ps2 and play Nocturne for the first time

I'm about to dust off my ps2 and play Nocturne for the first time.
Any tips? Is this really the best SMT game?

Hijacking your post to ask:

Are teh story and characters really that bad? Because that's the main reason I stick with JRPG's. I can't tolerate ones with a bad story.

It's not the best SMT game because opinion exists. Some would say II or SJ is better

Tips:
If a Magatama is vibrating crazily, you are getting a skill from it on the next 1-2 level up
Build Str

Strange journey exists so no.

Characters in SMT games largely are only vehicles for whatever alignment they represent. If you really want character interactions go play Devil Summoner, Persona, or DDS.

>are only vehicles for whatever alignment they represent.
Vehicles in character trait? Or are they just literally for gameplay benefit

sj, raidou and dds exist so no

>SMT
>Story

Just play Persona. SMT has the most bare bones story.

Scratch Devil summoner, I meant Devil survivor.

ugh that's so shitty though
why the fuck would you play a TURN BASED GAME for the gameplay
unless you're 8years old and playing Pokemon

>thinking SJ is better when the press turn system exists

If by character trait you mean an Edgy mall shooter who fuses with a demon for "Muh power" or a faggot cock sucker who only sucks YHVH'S cock than sure.

I think DDS1/2 together are maybe slightly better then Nocturne mostly because DDS1 is so amazing. But singular Nocturne is my favorite jrpg along with Shadow Hearts Covenant and the original 4 .Hack games.

Because the gameplay is actually fun?
Because of the characters (both demons and other characters) are charming?
Because unlike Pokemon you are treating your demon like a RTS unit rather than your pet?

Will you listen to Reason? Strive for Freedom? Or perhaps go for the True?
>Featuring Dante

desu it's pretty dated
it was by far the best for its time though, but the bad graphics, rigid camera and awkward moving animations will make it feel much emptier than it is

SMT story isn't bad really its just filtered slowly and not meant to be the main thing. Story is a reward for making it alot further and surviving enough to become relevant to the big players and their ailments. At the start of Nocturne besides Lucifers belief in you everyone else just sees you as a shitter.

>Because the gameplay is actually fun?
No turn based gameplay is fun.
P5's the closest to "fun" I've used but it's still not fun to pick from menus.
>Because of the characters (both demons and other characters) are charming?
That's not what everyone else is saying

I just got to Amala Temple. How can I tell if I've missed out on an ending?

Always True kill everything become the one and only being. Reject everyone and surpass existence itself. Fuck chaos fuck law fuck neutral i want to be the only being ever.

Then don't play Nocturne and play Raidou or whatever that game is. Its in real time. I have yet to play it but it looks pretty good. Dunno about the story though.

Also if you don't like turn based games then don't play them fagtron.

>that bad?

They're not bad. The story is fairly neat usually and the characters are fine, it's just that the interactions are very few and far between so it's relatively straightforward. The characters exist primarily to represent an alignment or a "reason" (ideology) and interact with you only so you can make choices that move you closer to one of the endings. There's nothing bad about it but if you want lots of talking and lots of story driven gameplay Persona really would be more up your alley. SMT is about killing bosses first and foremost

The humie chicks dig you still
Just one went full Darwin

I like turn based as long as there's some actual substance around it like in Persona

The character has no development, that's true, but their dialogue are pretty funny and add to the post-apocalyptic settings

It's a fairly good turn based game because of the amount of customization you have, since unlike Persona you have an arsenal of hundreds of demons for your 4-man party, which is what you will have to do against the bosses

so you're an idiot then

>Picking from menus.
Bad mind set. Its like playing chess and saying "oh im just moving pieces around".

Good turn based combat is satisfying because its about decision making. Its not mechanical in a executional sense at all but it builds good fundamentals to make a game around good decision making.

I kind of like that. It sounds a bit like Metal Gear in how the characters are more for thematic purpose than some linear character development.

Or I guess the Shadows in Palaces for P5.

SMT 4 Apocalypse is literally Persona lite. Try that.

Yeah I'm an idiot for not appreciating "pure gameplay" like Bayonetta, great job degenerate.

SMT is not fucking chess.
I don't have a 3DS though.

Persona works in basically the exact same way as it does in SMT only you've got knockdowns for crits/weaknesses instead of the press turn system. The bosses are also much easier and less care needs to be put into forming your party other than "make sure you don't have an associated weakness the boss can exploit"

I like Persona but you're kidding yourself if you think the combat isn't just a slightly more simplistic version of SMT with easier boss fights. Speaking of Persona/SMT rivalry I still don't get why there's so much inter-fandom hate. Both game series are fine and have their own things going for them and from my perspective if you like one you really shouldn't have anything against the other. It's not like Persona being popular has killed SMT. The worst thing about SMT IV was smirk and that had nothing to do with Persona

>I don't have a 3DS though.

Well I can't blame you. I liked the SMT 3ds games but playing this shit on mobile is a huge turn off.

No its not chess not by a long shot but again if you can't see what i was trying to say you're a retard. Its the same as chess in that aspect its the same executional you move pieces on a board and in some settings no timer completely turn based. Its about decision making skills.

Don't be a insecure brat that can't see what i'm saying chess is a 100 times smarter by default since its a competitive game but SMT still takes making good choices.

Pretty sure he meant it as substance wise in terms of story. Try some reading comprehension before going on your anti Persona tirade SMTfag.

>people genuinely believe SMT mainline is just nocturne and strange journey

so this is what it's like to be living the worst alignment ending

Persona combat isn't super good, it's just mildly fun turn based.
I'm just saying that "you play it for the gameplay" only works for Metal Gear Rising, not some turn based JRPG.

>I like turn based as long as there's some actual substance around it like in Persona
>turn based
>substance wise in terms of story

Yeah, I sure loved that turn based storytelling. Fucking retard. Maybe you should try learning how to articulate yourself like someone who speaks English as their first language.

>anti-Persona tirade

You didn't even read my post did you?

Could be worse. Could be like 70% plus of the Persona fanbase that doesn't even know mainline SMT exists and thinks they're better because its such a casual spin off its mainstream tier.

Nobody gave that impression and you're just looking for ways to be better than people

first time i heard of persona i didn't even know it was an SMT spin off

>Persona
>Substance

Ill never get why people think generic high school anime is good because its in gameplay form just because you get to pick from generic anime waifus each with a trope. I get why some people like it. But not as many as do.

or
>what was your first Persona? 3 or 4?
1 and 2 might as well not exist at this point to most of the fanbase

Pretty sure Persona is how a huge part of the fanbase was introduced to the series.
It was for me at least.

The top amazon review says "more of a college course than a game"

is this bullshit? like how could it be vapid in terms of story, but also "a college course?"

A good turn based combat is how much customization you have and how they affect each fight dynamically, which you get in SMT from the infinite options for your party and the enemy and bosses's unique patterns and traits

>amazon review

It's challenging and has story elements that come across as smart or philosophical. Whether that's true is up for debate.

You wish. Most people i know into Persona including 1 of my best friends and his best friend have only touched 4/5 and blindly praise Persona over SMT because MUH STORY MUH WAIFUS!

Saying dumb shit like "I haven't played this but Persona is probably better because popularity." But in the past the second popularity is brought up when he likes some niche game its irrelevant.

In my experience its SMT players who play Persona also who are chill. People who start with Persona seem to never try other shit like FFags of Persona.

>People who start with Persona seem to never try other shit like FFags of Persona
no you're just pretentious and out of touch
Persona isn't Final Fantasy, Persona 5 selling 1.5 million was considered a huuuuuuuuuuuuuge event.

meanwhile FFXV: unfinished edition sells what, 6 million?

What? Give me 1 reason Kamoshida is intelligently written or has anything to do with philosophy. Hes the intro to the game and hes literally just a rapist abusive shitter with a ego.

>people genuinely believe

Nobody believes that. It's just that nobody wants to go back and play the SNES games because they've aged like dogshit and everything about the gameplay is worse than every mainline game that followed, regardless of if the dungeon crawling was third or first person

Christ do all SMTfags have this must anger towards Perosna? That can't be healthy. Go outside dude.

He meant Nocturne, where the Reasons are more philosophical than Alignments in a way

All of them are shit though

Alright fair enough. I got told to play Persona by a friend who was really into P3 at the time, when I got an interest in the main series he kinda brushed it off because those games are 'hard'. I still like both, but almost everyone I know irl is only interested in Persona.

Aren't they called
>Law approved Chaos

No anger towards the games. Not even anger if you're a fan. But blind retards in any fanbase are just intolerable and pathetic since talking to them is like talking to a 5 year old. They sit and tell you why x thing is the best with no objective points and if argued throw a fit.

I'm not saying Persona can't be argued objectively i'm saying said people can't do it. Its a big common in the Souls community/FF community hell i play fighters and SFV is just recently getting the much needed buckets of negative criticism it needs to grow as a game.

t. Faggot

Law approved Chaos
Autism
More Law than even Metatron can handle

>"gameplay" means "combat" and nothing else

get necked

>People actually take them seriously.

Fuck man they're awesome but no because of philosophy or some crap like that. Its because

Law are blind robot retards
Neutral is a reset button
Chaos is only good for those with power and just a firey shit storm of constant rape and death
True is just killing everything.

Its comical as fuck and they're in a serious tone but always feel done in a way that is meant to be a joke.

what's your point
does SMT have shallow story/characters or no

But Isamus ending would just give me my own world where i could kill everything without effort? But his world was one of fake realities and getting whatever you want for free is nonsense so he had to go.

Isamu is also literally just a collection of weak shitters merged together. Like i care for such a fucking faggot. Also he gets wrecked like 10 over.

Too be fair angel cunt was just law merged with some small bits of chaos and the other fucker just kinda found out about shit and got a head start and wanted a wage slave world.

The plot is simplistic and told little by little without much infodump

then fuck I guess I won't like it
that's sad

I wish they'd put this on PSN for PS4 already. Pain in the ass to take my PS2 out of storage.

It's the demon souls of persona

I think SMT IV is better simply because of convenience features.

If they literally just took Nocturne and put it into SMT IV's engine it would be GOAT.

but Demon's Souls is loved for its story, characters, and atmosphere and hated for its gameplay.
IDK if I should just get the PS2 classic edition on PS3 or get a PS2 copy and play it on component.

Choosing lucifer ending is no different than siding with isamu's reason. Without opposition, you have nothing to really use all that power for

You get to punch YHVH and the DDS gang

But you get pierce and that's what really matters.

Isn't the Great Will after your ass though?

Doesn't SMT3 Protag die anyway? Wonder if he got as raw of a deal as Aleph