Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

Genre: First-Person Dungeon Crawler / Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey was first released on the Nintendo DS in 2010, taking the core franchise’s central mechanic of dealing with and summoning demons in a Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPG and combining that with the movement and progression of a First-Person Dungeon Crawler, much as the series previously did in the Japan-only Shin Megami Tensei spin-off game Soul Hackers. As luck would have it, both of these games would get enhanced ports to Nintendo 3DS, with Strange Journey Redux releasing on Nintendo 3DS in 2018 with an improved presentation and expanded story elements.

In terms of presentation, Strange Journey redux is largely faithful to the Nintendo DS game, which means simple 3D environments with 2D hand-drawn characters. It’s nothing extraordinary, and even despite the low bar this game aims for, it still has issues with pop-in as you walk through the game’s corridors.

However, while on a technical level, the presentation may be lacking, this game still does an outstanding job delivering an almost cinematic experience with its story and atmosphere, with some good writing, decent-sounding Japanese-language voice acting, wonderfully moody music, and a really compelling story premise, which has the weight of a disaster movie (I was actually reminded strongly of the Natalie Portman film Annihilation).

This game’s story takes place in a contemporary Earth where the world’s governments have discovered a strange phenomenon in Antarctica that is spreading and threatening to take over the world. This spreading area, dubbed Schwarzwelt, is mysterious in its nature and cause, and a team of four militarized research vessels have been sent in to discover exactly what the Schwarzwelt is, and stop its spread at all costs. However, after entering the area, your character’s vehicle is separated from the others and attacked by an unknown force.

Yeah, so this being a Shin Megami Tensei game, it’s no great mystery to series fans what force is at work in Schwarzwelt – once again, demons are at work behind this impending apocalypse, and once again players will be negotiating with them and recruiting them in a Monster Collecting game akin to Pokemon, with over 300 demons to collect. The game also sees the return of the usual mechanics of combining demons to make stronger ones, as well as an elemental-based combat system (here enabling automatic additional attacks when you strike a foe’s weakness).

What’s different this time around are the Dungeon-Crawling elements, which work beautifully here. Of course, this will likely be little surprise, as this game was co-developed by the creators of the Etrian Odyssey series, and you’ll find many of the elements of that franchise present here as well. Movement and exploration are similar to what you’ll find in those games, as is progression, with players gaining access to increasingly more area as they complete story missions.

My complaints regarding this game are mostly a matter of personal preference. For one thing, I’m frustrated by how limited your ability to upgrade your main character is – unlike some other Shin Megami Tensei games, you cannot decide where to put your stats, nor learn skills from your party of demons. Also, this game really stresses its story, meaning that there will be long stretches of time without significant gameplay, particularly in the beginning of the game, where you can go nearly an hour before you actually get to real gameplay.

Still, despite these issues, I thoroughly enjoyed Strange Journey Redux. This is an *outstanding pairing of the Shin Megami Tensei formula with a First-Person Dungeon Crawler that highlights some of the best elements of both. If you’re a fan of either the Shin Megami Tensei franchise or the Dungeon Crawler genre, consider this game a must-have.

tl;dr – Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux combines the Shin Megami Tensei series’ usual Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPG gameplay with First-Person Dungeon crawler mechanics, a pairing that works extremely well here, with a surprisingly cinematic story despite a presentation that’s somewhat lacking on the technical side. I had a few other minor issues, but overall this is a fantastic marriage of the two main elements, and if you’re a fan of either, you should absolutely get your hands on this game.

Grade: A-

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