Shin Megami Tensei 4, is a role-playing game developed and published by Atlus in 2013. Shin Megami Tensei 4 is apart of the Megami Tensei game series which features elements of mythology, demons and Angels. Shin Megami Tensei 4 unlike it's predecessors features a new and improved Demon Fusion system and some 200 new demons.

Shin Megami Tensei 4 takes place in two places, the country of the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado and in the Metropolis city of Tokyo.Throughout your play through of the game you will be traveling back and forth between the two similar yet distinct regions; you will be able to experience the best of both worlds.


~Storyline~
In Shin Megami Tensei 4, you play as the protagonist Flynn who along with his friend Issachar are casualries from the town Kiccigiorgia who are on their way to take part in the Gauntlet Rite ceremony. Unlike his friend, Flynn ends up being chosen by the gauntlet to become a samurai. The protagonist joins Walter, Jonatha and Isabeau who are also newly appointed samurai. After being given the samurai rank, it becomes readily apparent that there is more going on in the world then you would think. A mysterious character known as the Black Samurai is out in the world causing chaos by both releasing demon into the world and actually turning people themselves into demons. The new samurai along with the protagonist are ordered to investigate the places where the demons are appearing for clues about what is going on and about the mysterious black samurai character.



~Gameplay~

One thing about the Gameplay is that if you are new to the series be prepared to die, die again and die some more. Shin Megami Tensei 4 like it's predecessor Nocturne depends on real strategy and not what level your character is at. This means you can not rely on being a higher level to succeed in the game, you will need to work to beat the bosses.

In Shin Megami Tensei 4, you play as the protagonist Flynn. In the game's opening, Flynn apparently has a dream where he is being spoken to by "otherworldly beings"; they tell him "the choice you make will no longer bear only on you but will also create a world". The scenes after that are another dream where the character is introduced to two of the other main characters, Walter and Johnathan. What the beings said and the landscapes in which Walter and Johnathan appear in should always be in your mind while playing the game; the choices you make will lead you down a path which you can't return..


Shin Megami Tensei 4 has a very unique Battle system where the player's team always gets to have the first blow {except in certain boss fights}.


*Burroughs*
Burroughs is a AI implanted in the Gauntlet's system. Every Samurai has a Burroughs in their gauntlet  and she has a variety of features that assists them on their quests. Some of the cool things that Burroughs can do are scanning the world around you, changing the game difficulty, selecting optional quests & quest status, saving& loading the game and finally being able to purchase a variety of apps. Burroughs handles mostly all of the activity within the game and with her help you are able to get a lot of content that enhances both the story and how you play the game.



*Demon Fusion*
Demon Fusion is a feature of the Cathedral of Shadows where demons of two or more different races can be fused together to make an entirely new demon. A demon created through demon fusion has traits and skills from both "parents" as well as other things that are dependent on the phase of the moon as well as factors of the game. There are two specific types of demon fusion, one is simply called Fusion while the other is called Special fusion. With both of these types of fusions, in order to create a specific demon you may need to be at a certain level, have a specific demon/s in your party as well as have a specific race of demons. The main difference between the two is that regular fusion only allows you to fuse two demons, Special fusion can allow you to fuse anywhere between two to five demons depending on the demon you wish to create.

I think the really cool thing about fusing demons is finding out what you can create. There are more then 10 races of demons and 400+ demons in SMT4 which means you have the option of choosing from a huge variety.

*weapons*
In Shin Megami Tensei 4, there are about four types of weapons available to the player and they are swords, Spears, guns and Magic. All of these types of weapons has a corresponding stat/s. In the case of swords and Spears they have STR which stands for Strength and deals with physical attack damage; they also have Dexterity which is important for determining physical skill damage. Guns have Dexterity which is important for gun based attacks/skills. And Magic has Magic which determines Magic based damages.

*Customizations*
In Shin Megami Tensei 4, you have the option to customize Head gear, Sword, Upper Body, Lower Body, Accessories, and late in the game bullets and Guns. The Head, Upper and Lower Body categories are strictly for armor/ protection. Depending on the item you want and the category it belongs to it could add element resistances and weaknesses and could increase or decrease a stat.

*Alignments*

There are three types of Alignments in Shin Megami Tensei 4, they are Law, Chaos and Neutral. The element of choice is an important aspect and throughout the game the player will have to make difficult decisions that can and will influence their alignment. The good thing about the alignment system is that your alignment is not set in stone, you do have up to a certain point in the game before your alignment is finalized. An important thing to realize is that your alignment does affect the ending you will get; all of the endings are different from each other and are definitely unique. Another thing to be aware of is that the demons you encounter also have an alignment. For instance, Angels will have the Law alignment, The Brute family of demons will almost always have the chaos alignment and the Fairies always seem to have the Neutral alignment.

The Alignment system is an interesting game mechanic, just like your character your choices are always changing which can certainly lead up to some interesting gameplay. The alignment system is an ingenious way to get the player to actively interact with the game. The interaction is nicely done and  helps keep the player aware that their choices will decide the outcome of the world of the game.

*Some of the different Demon Races*

Some races you will encounter in SMT 4 are Angels, Brutes, Fairies, Beasts, Divine, Tyrant and Elementals. There is a huge variety of demons and they are unique in design, personality and abilities.


~Game Graphics~

While playing in both Tokyo and the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado {Inside the game}, note how beautiful the graphics are. The buildings in Tokyo are very beautiful to look at and are highly detailed.

With the 3D on, you can notice how both the dungeons and the world comes alive. The 3D shows off the Vibrant colors that the developers included.




Pro's:
+Combat system is intuitive and takes real strategy to get through the Boss battles.
+Alignment system, each of the alignment systems have their own ending. Also the Alignment system seems pretty fair since it depends on the choices you make throughout the game.
+Fully customizable character options
+ 400 demons and mythological entities to choose from
+Storyline is fairly decent
+Game is beginner friendly.
+Difficulty can be challenging but also very rewarding.
+Tons of content



Con's:
-Overworld map, it's really easy to get lost if you don't know/ remember where you have to go.
-Difficultly, game can be pretty hard at times and down right unforgiving at others.
- Some maps are repetitive at times
-Shallow characters
-Alignment for Non playable characters was pretty obvious from the start
-DLC's

Are you finished with this review?

Not yet, still have a bit to add.