3/5 ★ – vr_'s review of Shin Megami Tensei II.

Pretty good sequel that starts off kind of slow but builds up into a pretty wild ride. Even though I think as a whole it is a better game than SMT I, I think I still just preferred the overall atmosphere and mood of the first game. Nothing compares to the sheer craziness of finding your first terminal,meeting Steven and returning to Tokyo mid-game. SMT II has some neat moments for sure, but they don’t hit as hard as SMT I, but thats often to be expected in a sequel. I do commend this game though for having its own identity while still being a direct sequel. Rather than doing a side story around the same time of SMT I, or even having any returning characters, SMT II opts to go full-tilt sci-fi future, with the game taking place approximately ~50 years after the neutral ending of the first game. Compared to the barren and desolate Tokyo in the previous game, SMT II cranks things up to 11, not just in designs, but in plot elements. It's a little that after the city is destroyed by nuclear warheads, society somehow comes back even more advanced, but I suppose that may be due to the influence of angels. The end kind of is so ridiculous it's hard to take seriously, but it also adds to the charm. I think I just liked the vibe of the first game better. Like the first game, I don't even know if I can call SMT II "fun," yet I still felt extremely compelled to play it. Its a game that is really 50/50 on enjoyment. There are parts that are straight up extremely annoying, yet somehow playing it and slogging through is extremely satisfying. I will say though, the world layout and backtracking is quite infuriating. I really wish the transitions between majot locations werent just square mazes that took 5 minutes to walk through because you cosntantly have to check your map. A maze dungeon is alright ig you go there once, but hacing t ore-walk through thte same maze with low level enemies is just a time sink. Things this game does better than the first - Over world map is significantly less confusing (More obvious where you can and cannot go) - Nicer looking starting dungeons - Nicer looking UI that isn’t just white text on a black background - Party members aligned in a grid, rather than a list - Fewer random encounters - More coherent plot (where to go is less confusing) Things not as good as in SMT I - Less memorable soundtrack (outside of the Chaos theme) - Felt like you were visiting the same places over and over rather than traveling to new areas for most of the game - Outside of a few major ones, less memorable boss fights - Signficiantly worse Terminal telorprtation effect (very confused why they changed something so cool) I think SMT I starts off quite strong, and then the plot gets kind of convoluted, and outside of the parts with the Law and Chaos Heroes, it's easy to forget about the specific alignment based enemies you fought. In comparison, I think SMT II starts off weaker than SMT I with less memorable early and mid-game bosses, but ends way stronger with some really intense fights. I also found the main character’s backstory quite interesting, and I personally liked playing as a character with a pre-established origin. While the overarching plot isn’t anything insane by modern standards, there are some random moments of plot exposition or lore that were quite exciting to encounter. Overall pretty decent, has some QOL fixes over SMT I and definitely is less confusing, but it's still just missing something that made the original game feel so special (sort of like SMT IV and IV Apocalypse…)