I'm at Shibuya past the missiles hit but I give up. There is something very wrong about the gameplay in this version. I thought I still had a ludo kino version of the game left to play, and it's true that it is kino, the visuals and musics are great, often better than the PSX version I would say; but it's not ludo. I don't know what they did but this version is basically press X to win. There are tons of weird shit going on, it feels like guns deal more damage (you know, the thing that was ALREADY broken in the original), and I know for a fact that drops are completely different and they hand out a shit ton more money and mag (though weirdly, the human messian enemies which were money whales in the original don't drop any money in this version).You know what else is weird? I'm doing a low agility run for the protag so he still has 8 agility, but he's STILL getting turns before most enemies most of the times. I also feel like oftentimes the dmg I am dealt is super low and that's when enemies DO manage to hit me because most of the times they don't.What pisses me off is that there is nothing documented about gameplay changes in this version anywhere I checked, not even on Japanese sites. This is why you can't trust ports, you never fucking know what they fucked up.
And because you shouldn't take my word for it, here is the proof>original version7 zealot -> 2016 money
>>12553838>SCD version3 Zealot -> no moneyit's the same with every Messian enemy. Now this just proves that changes exist, not that the game is easier, but I'm telling you there is largely made up by how every other enemy drops more
Have you tried the PC engine CD port?
>>12553941No, because everyone says it's a straight port of the SFC version but with different music and a new critical bug at some pointWith that said I don't know which info to trust anymore so it may be worth a try. Megatenwiki claims that regarding the PSX version of SMT1, "normal = easier" and "advanced = SFC difficulty" but after doing a few tries between both versions that does NOT seem correct? I feel like I'm definitely taking more damage in advanced mode on PSX than I am on SFC.
>>12553807>often better than the PSX versionPS1 version has that B effort feel to it. It just feels cheap, MEGA CD one feels like SIMS(it was a joint venture with SEGA) put in a lot of effort.
>>12554834Yes, the PSX version made no effort for the environements, they're all 1:1 to SNES pretty much.Meanwhile the MCD has so much extra detailing, it's really nice, and it's not just visuals too, it helps gameplay as well since you can tell where shops/healing places/exits etc are from a distance thanks to the extra detail.I'm also really found of how the MCD version handled the mini map. It may be too big for its own good (arguable), but what I like about it is its placement. When I play (S)MT I often find myself glued to looking at the mini map to the point I'm barely looking at the environment, but in the MCD version you can look at both at once easily.That's without mentionning the other things about this version I like, such as seeing each idividual enemy in combat and getting to see which ones are getting hit as combat take places; the cutscenes are nice as well etcSo I'm really pissed off they messed with the gameplay and made the game almost braindead. It could have been the best version but they just HAD to fuck up the most important part.Although on the downside the overworld map is kinda of a mess in post apocalypse, it's hard to tell where you can and can't walk (plus they changed the layout so it doesn't help)
That's unfortunate since it does indeed seem very cool visually.By the way would you recommend SNES or PSX for a first playthrough? I got partway in to the SNES version a couple years ago but got distracted by other games, so I don't mind restarting with PSX since it's been so long.
>>12555056PSX version has QOL like item/spell description which is really helpful on a first playthrough especially if you're not familiar with the series and you don't know what Tarukaja and Shibaboo mean or are aware about gear extra effects, though of course you can always play the SNES version alongside a guide listing those; and presumably fixes some glitches. But also does some changes to the game system, for instance instead of having 1 row of 6 characters you have 2 rows of 3 but admiteddly the difference for this is subtle. The big difference to me is how Extra attacks opperate, in the original if the monster has several Extra attacks you couldn't pick and it'd just use one at random, but in the PSX version you can can choose what to use and most of the times it cost nothing; and some of those attacks are particularly good.It's nothing as egrogious as the MCD version and overall it is a good version but it's worth considering you're not playing exactly the same gameI can't really claim anything about the difficulty settings in the PSX version because I'm not sure, as I said megaten wiki claims that normal is an easier difficulty and expert = SNES difficulty but as I said that doesn't seem right to me. I feel like PSX Normal is easier than SNES and Expert is harder than SNES but I'm really not sure
>>12556004Gotcha, appreciate the breakdown. If I do go PSX I'll choose extra since I'd rather it be harder than too easy. One more question though, which soundtrack do you think is better? The atmosphere is the make or break point to me. I've compared it a bit but it's hard for me to make a decision without hearing the music as I'm actually playing.
>>12556067I'd say PSX and SNES are about equal imo. I was digging the arrangements in MCD version and you know what's great in that version? It's the only version in which environments tracks don't reset after a fight, due to the fact that they use CD for the environments and chiptunes for the battles that allowed them to just pause the CD music. It only resets when you change floor.
Here are two shitty things about the MCD version:- You can't see MAG count unless you look at the protag's status- Once you bring up the mini map, you can't see the moon phase, at all and except in combat,. Like, I searched everywhere, nope, it's just gone.And here is something else I noticed, when playing the PSX version on Normal, the skill Bind Voice was especially broken, paralyzing 90% of all enemies usually long enough to kill them. Turns out this skill isn't even half as good in the SNES and MCD versions. I can't say if it's a difference on PSX or just on Normal difficulty or whatHere is a good example of how nice the extra detailing can be on MCD though, here on this pic you can see the special door for the Terminal, shop and healing place. Plus the not-so-mini map tells you as well. This really should have been in any subsequent version.
>>12553807From what I read they removed the chests containing items but kept the ones that have jewels.
So as it turns out some enemies (including bosses) are protected against Rakunda in the MCD version. What the fuck? I've never seen this happen before
>>12556462>From what I read they removed the chests containing items but kept the ones that have jewels.I read this on the wiki as well but I think they might only be talking about the Cathedral at the end game, which presumably has a completely different layout (haven't been there yet) because I've found all the chests with stat boosting items so far. Although one chest in Roppongi was placed in a different location for some reasons (yes I said I'd quit but after all I'm continuing out of morbid curiosity)Regarding chest containing Jewels, on MCD you can actually pick up the Jewels even if you already have one (or more) of that type in the inventory; so all you have to do is exit the area and re-enter and you can pile up on as many jewels as you can without using them first. I don't remember if that was also true on SNES but I doubt it since it doesn't work that way on PSX and in other games in the series.Here is something which I think is new on MCD, in Roppongi there are 2 rooms with this message; which oddly reminds me of the message you get in Kyuuyaku MT1/2 that lead to the extra dungeons in those versions. I haven't read anything about extra dungeons in this version though so I'm not sure what this is yet but I'll try to find out, maybe come back with Cerberus in the party like in KMT1. Could be nothing though.
Weird glitch regarding dark zones: the game only catches up that you're stepping into or out of a dark zone after you turn around once, so you actually get to see what it looks like before it gets dark
>>12556462Here is the proof regarding chest with stat boosting itemsNew discovery though: max inventory is 24 different items (including jewels), which is LESS than on SNES and PSX (where I'm pretty sure it's 30 like in the rest of the series, I have a save on SNES with 26 items)
>>12556548that's weird though because I actually was playing the MCD version a few weeks ago and in the first dungeon on the second floor I think? There was supposed to be a box with a stat boosting item. Lck increase incense I think? It's been a while but i was bit surprised it wasn't there.
I found yet another message identical to this one >>12556474 in rooms that are empty in other versions. I think that's 5 so far, I tried bringing Cerberus to one of these rooms but nothing happened. Next I'll have to try to keep a savefile before the flood and come back to these rooms once I beat the game. I really wonder what these things are if anything at all. I also tried entering a room during a full moon btw.Speaking of Cerberus, I had fused at the start of the game and now that I got him back at Destiny Land he's lvl 61 (!), vs the lvl 43 of the SNES/PSX versions. As if the game wasn't easy enough lolI was just checking the wiki for this and apparently there are 3 versions of Cerberus in the PCE version so that version does have gameplay changes too after allhttps://megamitensei.fandom.com/wiki/Cerberus#Shin_Megami_Tensei_2>>12557390I don't remember the first dungeon but are you sure they didn't move the chest in another location like they did in Roppongi? I'd have to check againDid you also think dmg values were more leniant towards the player in the MCD verson when you played?
Looks like I finally found a website that lists differences regarding the MCD versionhttps://w.atwiki.jp/shinmegamitensei1/pages/64.htmlI'm not sure about what I'm reading but it looks like those rooms with messages may spawn new demons but the spawn rate is low, I'll give it a tryThe different demon stats might explain why I feel like the game is easier. Sadly the only example they give is PixieAlso I didn't mention it but I too had noticed how broken the reviving spells are on MCD. Quite frankly I was NEVER able to revive anyone except through items and paying at a healing place.They also do mentionned the -nda spells being almost useless in this version like I noticed; they claim it's a low success rate, personally I feel like they just made lot's of demons (including bosses) immune to it because I have no problem using the spell again and again on some demons, but for others it will never work.
Turns out I had in my party the demons required to create Urd, one of the new demons of this version .I did it using Yurlungur + Taraka
And finally here is the proof that I suspected, guns deal more damage in the MCD versionFucking LMAO at this
