Skip to main content

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

SMT4
Image used with permission by copyright holder

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.

Recommended Videos

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.

Anthony John Agnello
Anthony John Agnello is a writer living in New York. He works as the Community Manager of Joystiq.com and his writing has…
We need to start having real conversations about AI in gaming
Copilot Quake II game.

AI has become a dirty word across almost every discipline over the past few years. As big corporations keep pushing this technology forward, a vocal resistance among creatives, critics, and passionate communities has risen up in opposition. While every creative medium is at risk of AI influence now, gamers are particularly sensitive about this technology sucking the creativity and human element from our beloved medium. Even the mere mention of AI being used in game development triggers a massive backlash, but we need to start being more nuanced in how we talk about the ways AI should and should not be used. Because, like it or not, AI is going to become more ubiquitous in gaming. We can't keep talking about AI as though it is a black-and-white thing. It is a tool, and like any tool, there are ways it can be used appropriately.

The question we need to ask ourselves now is, when is it ethical to use and what crosses the line?

Read more
Mecha Break is the closest I’ve felt to piloting a real Gundam outside Japan
Key art for Mecha Break.

In 2015, in a mostly-empty arcade in Fukuoka, I slid into the pilot seat of a Gundam.

I pulled the door down, watching as it seamlessly merged with the rest of the wall and turned into a display of my surroundings. As I pulled the earpiece down, the radio crackled to life as other pilots greeted me through comms.

Read more
Still shopping? Amazon Prime Day deals going strong into day 4
We're bringing you the best Prime Day deals throughout the sales period
Best Prime Day Gift Card Deals

It’s the fourth and final day of the longest ever Amazon Prime Day event, and if you thought the best deals were behind us, think again. Amazon’s stretching this year’s event across four full days (July 8 -11 ) which means price drops are still rolling in hot, with fresh discounts landing on everything from big-name tech to everyday essentials.

There have been stellar savings so far, with the AirPods Pro 2 heading down to $149 as the best saving we've seen.

Read more