Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

Digital Tiger's review is very helpful so I'll try to talk about other things.

First of all, if you're expecting this game to be similar to the Shin Megami Tensei games for the PS2 or like Devil Survivor, you will be disappointed since it's a completely different style (but you probably know that already).

The game comes in a nice package, in a cardboard box art which contains the soundtrack. I also like the art work for this game :P It's mysterious with the robot and all.

In any case, if Digital Tiger's review was not enough to make you decide, you should look up "Classic Game Room HD - Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey Review" on YouTube. Not only will you see some very nice gameplay footage, but you will also enjoy the awesome review :P

Cheers

GAME-PLAY:

Dungeon crawler pretty much sums it up, for 95% of the game you are exploring dungeons and fighting demons. As an elite soldier you and your fellow soldiers have entered an alternate dimension located in Antarctica called the Schwarzwelt. The atmosphere is not breathable so your character will explore and fight in a combat suit called the Demonica. The Demonica is upgradeable by finding special objects called forma. Soon after arriving a program that allows you to negotiate with demons is given to your group under mysterious means, this allows you to recruit demons to fight with you. This program also allows you to fuse demons together to create a new and more powerful demon. The combat in the game is turn based and the more you battle the more the analyze bar will fill up; this shows you the demons strengths and weakness.

GRAPHICS:

The graphics are good and looked much better on the DSI XL then the DS Lite. I didn't get nearly as much eye strain on the bigger screens.

SOUND:

The music is dark in theme and the sound effects got annoying after a while so I muted the sound and just listened to the TV. There was no voice acting at all.

VALUE:

For $40 I got 127 hours of game play, unfortunately a lot of that time is not for exploring but for level grinding. The end bosses of this game are extremely much more powerful then the demons you battle in the dungeon. This makes the victories more rewarding but all the wasted time fighting really ticked me off. Shin Megami Tensei games are known for their excessive grinding but this game was worse then others I have played. (Persona 3, 4 and Devil Survivor)

Overall:

Strange Journey is a fun and interesting game with huge depth and replay value, but it's needless grinding will turn off players that don't have the time and deep interest that some of the hardcore players have. This is a good game with only one major flaw; it needs a difficulty selection at the beginning of the game so that it doesn't turn off new and casual players.

GAME-PLAY : 8/10
GRAPHICS : 8/10
SOUND : 6/10
VALUE : 8/10

OVERALL : 7.5/10

SMT:Strange Journey is the 4th official Shin Megami Tensei game of the series.It departs from the usual urban Japan setting,and takes place in the future,in Antarctica.It is more sci-fi,with the main protagonist wearing a 'Demonica' suit,which allows for the use of apps throughout the game.You also have guns,swords,and armor that you can acquire and use throughout the game.

A lot of familiar demons return from Nocturne, as well as some new demon types.The dungeon-crawling aspect is from moving in a first-person view down many corridors into bigger sections,while engaging in endless random encounters.These are good because you definitely need to grind in order to get anywhere in this game.The combat is turn based,so you are able to take your time and think before you act.Strange Journey so far has an excellent story,and draws heavily from different religious and spiritual sources for it's plot and characters.If you've played Nocturne before and enjoyed it then you will also enjoy Strange Journey.