Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is basically two games in one. You get the extended cut of the 2021 Switch original as Canon of Creation, and a director’s cut campaign as Canon of Vengeance. Same engine, same maps for long stretches, two different arguments about what the story is for. The War of Attrition, Fusion meta, Press Turn, and making your companions strong during your Journey is what sells the game, along with the way it weaves a bunch of mythologies into one world. CoC (Canon of Creation) is the original structure of the game. The first half feels empty because a lot of it is setup. You meet the cast, get pieces of plot, and spend a long time traversing Da’at with your companions along the way. Thankfully, the emptiness gets smoothed out because you are battling and doing side quests to make your Demons stronger. The story ramps up when you find out [spoiler] Tokyo is disappearing so someone needs to take the throne. [/spoiler] The slow build can still play like a slog until near endgame. I do not fault the writers for this. I’d rather have a story with deliberate slow pacing than a rushed, incoherent one. CoV (Canon of Vengeance) is the updated campaign. The plot splits off thanks to the Qadištu, and a lot of the original structure gets torn up around them. People like this version more because of that deviation, the extra content, and because the map and mission flow make traversal and meta-building easier. A lot of the issues people have with CoC are handled better here, which is why this route is the favorite. CoC is appreciated for giving context to the whole plot. CoV is appreciated for being the director’s cut.

greatest modern turn based game. extremely well thought out combat system. challenge is frustrating and rewarding. really amazing game

I'm a huge persona fan. At any point in time I'm alwayss playing a Persona/an Atlus game. When I first tried SMT V I got my ass handed to me. I died most time during my first hour than my entire persona 5 Royal and Persona 4 Golden combined. I quit and thought that I'd be just one of the many people that just couldn't get into SMT. I tried again after a while and now it finally clicked and I'm totally hooked. It's so different yet so similar to Persona. Definitely one of Atlus's best titles and simply one of the best JRPGs ever.