


Each mainline Shin Megami Tensei game involves the main character answering questions during the story to affect their alignment. Where Strange Journey changes up the basics of the setting, the ideological core is still present. Four of the six principal characters are all soldiers and that alone creates a unique dynamic amongst the cast. These are characters with inherently deeper histories given their age, and the military premise adds another layer. They mention real adult fears, like wanting to survive their mission so they can see their daughter. Seeing the end of the world through the eyes of adults instead of teenagers paves the way for darker themes. This is easily the best "twist" on the standard formula as an older main character naturally brings an older supporting cast.Įven though the age of a cast is in no way indicative of the quality of a story, it is nonetheless nice to have a more inherently mature take on the Shin Megami Tensei narrative. To further differentiate him from the protagonists who came before, the main character is even American instead of Japanese in the localized script.
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It's arguably a key facet of the franchise's identity and one that even extends into the Persona sub-series, ( Persona 2: Eternal Punishment and Persona 3 Portable notwithstanding.) In yet another shake-up, the young male lead archetype has been replaced with a grown man, a soldier at that.
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Like with Tokyo, every single game in the main series stars a teenage boy in the lead role. It could be argued that not showing the aftermath of the collapse of society removes some of the series' darkness, but there's something all the more morbid about being caught in the midst of the apocalypse and being held directly responsible for its prevention. It should be noted that while the story does explicitly take place on Antarctica, it's more appropriately set within the Schwarzwelt: a black hole slowly engulfing the Earth.Īlthough other games in the series have shown the world before the apocalypse, most notably the original Shin Megami Tensei for the Super Famicom and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne for the PlayStation 2, Strange Journey is the first main entry to set itself firmly in the before state. It's a setting that's almost synonymous with the series, so Strange Journey's decision to abandon the city in favour of Antarctica is a bold one that adds some much needed geographical freshness to the franchise. Mainline Shin Megami Tensei titles have a habit of either starting out in Tokyo shortly before the end of the world, or having their main characters make their way to Tokyo later on.
