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Call it what you will: a revelation from god, or a curse of the demon king.
cj iwakura
The Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
The Rhythm RegentBears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
The fact remains that our world died.
A heretic called upon an unearthly light, and chaos ensued.
Demons crawled from the black depths.
Death upon death. Nothing but death in this barren land.
Who can we pray to?
There are only demons and fiends here.
A voice in the dark beguiles me,
'Truth is a mystery, unravelled by the candle's flames.'
From, the journal of a man who wandered into another world
Due to a bit of nostalgia kicked off by some philosophical discussion, and since some people here showed an interest, here's a bit of inspiration for the unfamiliar to go track down the definitive game in the Shin Megami Tensei series.
The PS2 incarnation, 'Nocturne', is the third in the 'core' series of SMT games. Each is primarily based around a single protagonist trying to survive the conflict between warring religious factions, and Nocturne is fairly similar in this regard.
After being invited to a hospital by one of his school teachers, the protagonist of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne finds himself caught in the center of the end of the world.
In the aftermath, all of humanity is wiped out: leaving only demons and the souls of the fallen in what has become a Vortex World.
The Protagonist awakens after the apocalypse to find two of the few remaining survivors waiting for him.
Shortly thereafter, he finds himself forever changed by a parasite of their making into a half-human, half-demon.
Commonly referred to as the 'Demi-Fiend'.
The Demi-Fiend is not only given the task of trying to survive, but he is also informed that he is one with the power to remake the dead world however he decides.
In addition, an old man in a wheelchair requests that the Demi-Fiend retrieve a series of artifacts known as the Candleabrum: each in the possession of powerful demons known as Fiends.
Many of these battles are optional, but to discover the truth, the path must be paved in their blood.
Whether or not the benefactors of this information can be trusted is up to the player to decide.
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is all about choice.
Bring the world back to its former state, or bring about its destruction.
However, the player can't accomplish either alone.
The Demi-Fiend must contend with the demonic forces of the Vortex World, many of whom want him dead.
While destroying them outright is always an option, Nocturne offers a more beneficial choice.
Making them fight for you.
By using conversation in battle, almost any demon in Nocturne can be called to the player's side.
Some are courteous, others not so much.
Most will likely just try to kill you, or take your attempts at bribery and run off with the cash.
With a little patience and brute force, the protagonist will eventually have a veritable army at his disposal.
But how should the world be remade? Well, there's the rub.
Several factions have their own ideas of how that should be done. Side with one, and see their fruition brought to light.
Side with none, and die a lowly demon.
The Reasons
Shijima
All is one with the world.
Shijima is the Reason of Hikawa, the man responsible for the Conception.
It is based on stillness and oneness. It is a world of perfect harmony, without self, without passion, without conflict, without destruction. Individuality is eradicated and there is simply a collective inner peace in which everyone is equal to God. This collective functions as cogs in the giant, stable machine that is the universe.
It is a nihilistic, lawful reason that is in someways related to the concept of Nirvana. Its demonic sponsor is Ahriman and is based on the Law Alignment of the previous Shin Megami Tensei games.
Yosuga
Survival of the fittest.
The tenet of this Reason is based on the belief that those who are useless and weak do not deserve to live and would be purged from society. Only those who are strong may rule, and power is acknowlegded as the only thing of worth. The weak will forever serve the strong. It is a chaotic reason that can be seen as related to the philosophy of Darwinism. Its demonic sponsor is Baal and is based on the Chaos Alignment of the previous Shin Megami Tensei games.
Its initial founder is the demon known as Gozu-Tennoh.
Musubi
I am the center of the world.
Musubi is a Reason of Isolation. It is based on solitude and isolation. The self is absolute, and every living being would live in an independent world, completely separate from all other living beings. The indivitual could use their mind to shape their world at will into their own personal paradise, without consequences or unwelcome interference of others. It is a neutral, solitary reason which resembles the philosophy of Rene Descartes. Its demonic sponsor is Noah, and is based on the Neutral Alignment of the previous Shin Megami Tensei games.
As he is part demon, the Demi-Fiend can not create his own Reason. He can only use his strength to support that of another.
In the end, the choice is yours.
Nocturne is a turn-based RPG, but there is little traditional or mainstream to be found here.
Well, unless that guy counts.
In addition to a cameo from Dante, who arrives to destroy the demons of the Vortex World, Nocturne is full of monsters and spirits from all sorts of fictional and historical culture, ranging from the angelic to the demonic, from western to eastern, from Celtic to Norse and Catholic to Buddhist mythology.
You can find info on a lot of the demons referenced in the SMT series here.
I'm leaning towards Neutral this time around.
A heretic called upon an unearthly light, and chaos ensued.
Demons crawled from the black depths.
Death upon death. Nothing but death in this barren land.
Who can we pray to?
There are only demons and fiends here.
A voice in the dark beguiles me,
'Truth is a mystery, unravelled by the candle's flames.'
From, the journal of a man who wandered into another world
Due to a bit of nostalgia kicked off by some philosophical discussion, and since some people here showed an interest, here's a bit of inspiration for the unfamiliar to go track down the definitive game in the Shin Megami Tensei series.
The PS2 incarnation, 'Nocturne', is the third in the 'core' series of SMT games. Each is primarily based around a single protagonist trying to survive the conflict between warring religious factions, and Nocturne is fairly similar in this regard.
After being invited to a hospital by one of his school teachers, the protagonist of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne finds himself caught in the center of the end of the world.
In the aftermath, all of humanity is wiped out: leaving only demons and the souls of the fallen in what has become a Vortex World.
The Protagonist awakens after the apocalypse to find two of the few remaining survivors waiting for him.
Shortly thereafter, he finds himself forever changed by a parasite of their making into a half-human, half-demon.
Commonly referred to as the 'Demi-Fiend'.
The Demi-Fiend is not only given the task of trying to survive, but he is also informed that he is one with the power to remake the dead world however he decides.
In addition, an old man in a wheelchair requests that the Demi-Fiend retrieve a series of artifacts known as the Candleabrum: each in the possession of powerful demons known as Fiends.
Many of these battles are optional, but to discover the truth, the path must be paved in their blood.
Whether or not the benefactors of this information can be trusted is up to the player to decide.
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne is all about choice.
Bring the world back to its former state, or bring about its destruction.
However, the player can't accomplish either alone.
The Demi-Fiend must contend with the demonic forces of the Vortex World, many of whom want him dead.
While destroying them outright is always an option, Nocturne offers a more beneficial choice.
Making them fight for you.
By using conversation in battle, almost any demon in Nocturne can be called to the player's side.
Some are courteous, others not so much.
Most will likely just try to kill you, or take your attempts at bribery and run off with the cash.
With a little patience and brute force, the protagonist will eventually have a veritable army at his disposal.
But how should the world be remade? Well, there's the rub.
Several factions have their own ideas of how that should be done. Side with one, and see their fruition brought to light.
Side with none, and die a lowly demon.
The Reasons
Shijima
All is one with the world.
Shijima is the Reason of Hikawa, the man responsible for the Conception.
It is based on stillness and oneness. It is a world of perfect harmony, without self, without passion, without conflict, without destruction. Individuality is eradicated and there is simply a collective inner peace in which everyone is equal to God. This collective functions as cogs in the giant, stable machine that is the universe.
It is a nihilistic, lawful reason that is in someways related to the concept of Nirvana. Its demonic sponsor is Ahriman and is based on the Law Alignment of the previous Shin Megami Tensei games.
Yosuga
Survival of the fittest.
The tenet of this Reason is based on the belief that those who are useless and weak do not deserve to live and would be purged from society. Only those who are strong may rule, and power is acknowlegded as the only thing of worth. The weak will forever serve the strong. It is a chaotic reason that can be seen as related to the philosophy of Darwinism. Its demonic sponsor is Baal and is based on the Chaos Alignment of the previous Shin Megami Tensei games.
Its initial founder is the demon known as Gozu-Tennoh.
Musubi
I am the center of the world.
Musubi is a Reason of Isolation. It is based on solitude and isolation. The self is absolute, and every living being would live in an independent world, completely separate from all other living beings. The indivitual could use their mind to shape their world at will into their own personal paradise, without consequences or unwelcome interference of others. It is a neutral, solitary reason which resembles the philosophy of Rene Descartes. Its demonic sponsor is Noah, and is based on the Neutral Alignment of the previous Shin Megami Tensei games.
As he is part demon, the Demi-Fiend can not create his own Reason. He can only use his strength to support that of another.
In the end, the choice is yours.
Nocturne is a turn-based RPG, but there is little traditional or mainstream to be found here.
Well, unless that guy counts.
In addition to a cameo from Dante, who arrives to destroy the demons of the Vortex World, Nocturne is full of monsters and spirits from all sorts of fictional and historical culture, ranging from the angelic to the demonic, from western to eastern, from Celtic to Norse and Catholic to Buddhist mythology.
You can find info on a lot of the demons referenced in the SMT series here.
I'm leaning towards Neutral this time around.
cj iwakura on
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Posts
I hear it's practically a budget title in the UK. Sadly, they gave it a cover to match.
I like the title, if nothing else.
it's usually the crazy bad guys who do this, though
this videogame is only one example, but there's still a general feeling in society that darwinism implies those that can forcefully conquer their foes are more deserving of survival when in fact this is a very misinformed view of darwinism
They published this, the Digital Devil Saga games, and then lost the rights to Koei, and then to Square Enix.
Funny that they'd want to publish RPGs which their own pale in comparison to.
I was making a Cars joke.
hey satan...: thinkgeek amazon My post |
There goes my Pixar street cred.
XBL: Torn Hoodie
@hoodiethirteen
If you play on Hard mode, you very likely will die during the tutorial.
I just did. Two hits from a Preta, and Hitoshura was dead.
I'm level 81 right now
Party: Main
Daisoujou
Dante
Black Frost
/B/lackup:
Futomimi
Shady Pisaca
Shady Mothman
Garuda
Albion
Wu Kong
Red Rider
Ganesha
And that's it, I think. About to tackle the Fifth Kalpa, or do the Yurakucho Station dungeon first. Hm.
most eastern developers are still doing shit a lot of mainstream western cats never even think to touch
it's probably for a reason though
huuurrrhhg
could you imagine Epic doing something like that?
finally found a copy of p4
no, because epic doesn't have the BALLS to have a gay character, ever. Cliffy B. is a douchebag
ugh..
fuck judaic angels
That is the best deal you will EVER get.
XENOGEARS?!
So yeah, they're hardly limited to Christian mythology. It's just a sample of the numerous cultures and religions the demons originate from.
And why stop at fighting God when
Rock Band DLC | GW:OttW - arrcd | WLD - Thortar
oh
shit
i forgot, sorry
Yeah, based on G&T's raving obsession with this series, I picked up Nocturne a while back and played. It's certainly a good game with a fun battle system and pretty tough all around, but it's really not that bad once you get into the game and get a better hang of the system.
But the story and characters...ugh, I just wanted every single main character in the game to just shut the hell up and go away and die they are so damn annoying. It's got lots of themes that seem to be important but are just...taken to the stupidest extremes imaginable.
Actually I read the SMT2 and they really just pretty much redid that for Nocturne, although obviously they switch around the specifics, but so many elements are the same, and so is the story progression, and frankly from what I saw it was better in that game than it was in Nocturne. But oh man the gameplay looked much more annoying in that one, so it's definitely for the best they changed it for Nocturne.
Anyway, I did pick up P3 Fes and P4, and I'm playing P3 next, so hopefully that's even close to the best game ever in the existence of the universe like G&T makes it out to be. Even if it has AI controlled party members which I hate and I can't believe they'd still try to put that in a turn based RPG.
weeaboo
and then i never finished them.
i think i just wanted to have them for the sake of having them since they were so hard to find
They aren't taking into the "stupidest extremes imaginable"... have you ever read a story where the characters are less characters and more symbols? That's what Nocturne is showing you. They aren't human. They are symbolic of ways to re-create the world. This is a plot style that not many games even attempt, and for that Nocturne is amazing.