‘Shin Megami Tensei IV’ makes the trip from Japan to the West in record time

By Anthony John Agnello April 2, 2013

SMT4

The more things change, the more they stay the same, especially when it comes to Japanese games getting U.S. releases. On the one hand, publisher like Atlus USA have nurtured large, devoted audiences by bringing Japanese games like Persona 4 to the West with lavish limited edition releases and spectacularly written localizations. On the other hand, the audience for these games is still relatively small, so it’s never a guarantee that a publisher will bother to bring these games across the Pacific. It’s an eminently pleasant surprise then, that Atlus USA is bringing Shin Megami Tensei IV to US Nintendo 3DS owners this summer, just months after its release in Japan.

Shin Megami Tensei is actually the core role-playing game series at the heart of Atlus’ work. The Persona series, the Nintendo DS/3DS Devil Survivor series, and many others are actually spin-offs of the Shin Megami Tensei series that began all the way back on the NES.

Shin Megami Tensei IV will be the first main line sequel to make it to the US with its original title intact, and only the second game in the series to make the jump at all. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne for PS2 came to the US in 2003 without the number in its name.

In sticking with the series motif of humans fighting against and alongside demons, the new game follows a group of samurai who must choose to side with the demons or god in an all out brawl for the fate of existence. These low stakes will be accompanied by the series’ other trademark, player choice.

What’s most remarkable about Atlus’ announcement is the speed with which the game is coming to the U.S. In the past, Atlus’ RPGs have been localized over long periods. Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey for Nintendo DS was considered a quick turnaround, taking five months between its October 2009 release in Japan and its US release the following March. While Atlus USA has only announced a release window of summer, that still means the game will arrive within three months of its May release in Japan.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Anthony John Agnello

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…

Gaming

‘Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey’ remake announced for Nintendo 3DS

shin megami tensei strange journey remake announced deepstrangejourney

A remake of Atlus' 2009 dungeon crawler Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is in the works for the Nintendo 3DS, and fans can expect to see new recruitable demons, added voice acting, and an all-new ending that promises a unique take on series events.

Shin Megami Tensei: Deep Strange Journey will launch in Japan this fall, and while a North American release has not yet been announced, Atlus will likely address the game's localization status following next month's launch of Persona 5.

Gaming

Nintendo just announced tons of new games at the latest Nintendo Direct

nintendo direct march 2016 star fox paper mario kirby screen shot 03 at 7 31 19 pm

Nintendo announced a litany of new games across the Wii U, 3DS, and New 3DS during its latest Nintendo Direct livestream on Thursday. The publisher made 25 separate announcements during the broadcast, most of which related to new and upcoming games across its current slate of platforms. We've summarized some of the biggest news here, and you can watch the entire address in the recording above.

Kirby headlined the show with Kirby: Planet Robobot, a new 3DS game where the pink puffball defends Dreamland from mechanical invaders using a set of mechanized robot armor that, like him, can change and adopt the powers of his enemies. The game will also include Team Kirby Clash, a multiplayer co-op mode with an RPG-style progression, including character levels and stats.

Gaming

The impressively named Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers gets a limited edition run

Atlus is not shy about embracing every aspect of Japanese video game publishing. It’s not enough to bring out a Nintendo 3DS remake of an obscure Sega Saturn RPG in English with full voiceovers, it’s got to go the whole boxset route with a limited edition. As with its other handheld releases like Code of Princess, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, and others, Atlus USA is giving Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers the limited edition treatment when it comes out in April.
Like those other Atlus handheld games, Soul Hackers will come with a soundtrack CD along with it. Unlike those games, though, this is an updated version of the original soundtrack (or an “arranged” soundtrack if you prefer the parlance of old Japanese role-playing games soundtracks that replaced chiptune with more traditional instrumentation). Fans of bands like the Chromatics, who featured prominently on the Drive film soundtrack, have much to look forward to as evidenced by Soul Hackers song “#X.”
Unlike most retail games marked “limited edition,” this Soul Hackers release will very likely be available in small quantities. Handheld Atlus role-playing games like Radiant Historia and others have had to be reprinted by the publisher after the boxset runs became collector’s items.