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Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne And Tokyo Culture

Posted by simoniker on from the curiouser-and-curiouser dept.

Thanks to QuarterToThree for its article discussing the cultural relevance of forthcoming PS2 RPG Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, being released later this year in the States by creators Atlus. The author notes: "As some movies and novels are undoubtedly based around the various subcultures which spring up in these popular cities, MegaTen's soul is firmly based in Tokyo and some of the subcultures therein", and continues with regard to the mature plots of the series: "MegaTen games [which include U.S.-released side-story Persona 2], but more specifically the main series in Shin Megami Tensei, are concerned with weighty, thematic, thick, convoluted moral themes. It organizes modern and old religions and mythologies into areas where people insecure in their beliefs might be uncomfortable." In a related article, 1UP has an interview with MegaTen series composer Shoji Meguro, including samples of his work for Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne.

16 comments

  1. It's a shame... by ShinSugoi · · Score: 2, Informative
    ... that more Megami Tensei games haven't come out over here. We almost got Soul Hackers at one point, but of course it was canned at about 80% translated. While I've been a fan of the series for quite a few years now, most of my experiences with it have been via fan-translated ROMs of the originals.

    Perhaps MegaTen games are just a bit too gothic and niche to warrant the popularity many (including myself) feel they deserve.

    1. Re:It's a shame... by Lynxara · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The big problem is that the "classics" of MegaTen are all pretty much NES and SNES titles that would be pretty hard to sell now. There are PSX remakes of the SNES titles, but they're... weak, to say the least.

      I would rather like to see the GBA remakes of SMT I and II come over. They would be strictly niche titles, but both games deserve translation and would help give American gamers a better idea of where Nocturne is coming from.

  2. Okay... so.. by Turn-X+Alphonse · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I've been looking forward to this game since my friend (from Japan) mentioned it. It seems a good game and if theres a good culture refrence behind it all the better... but this article made me think "Come to Japan, we're freaks". It showed all the Japan steriotypes in 5 pages and mentioned the game... was good.. and had toilet enemies? O.o

    Wheres the mention of Dante from Devil may cry (A refrence everyone will get) hunting you? The countless angels from the Christian faith you can get to join you?

    Wheres the mention of fighting God himself? They skipped the game over and tried to whore Japan to hippies, freaks (no offence) and businessmen... Well done article..

    Sorry to sound negative but when I read a game article, I like it to have more then 3 words about the game.

    --
    I like muppets.
    1. Re:Okay... so.. by Lynxara · · Score: 2, Informative

      Dante is a bonus character from the "special edition" of Nocturne called Nocturne Maniacs (the version being translated). He's not particularly important to SMT3's storyline and wasn't originally in the game. Playing SMT3 to see Dante strikes me as a waste of time, as his appearance is basically an in-joke like Cloud appearing in Final Fantasy Tactics.

      You only fight God in SMT2, that I'm aware of. SMT3 is supposed to have an unrelated storyline, but what I know of it suggests the implication that it takes place after the sort of total apocalypse that formed the basis of SMT2's plot.

      As for recruiting angels, well, you can, but they're only one type of creature. I can also recruit werewolves, Jack Frost, several bodhisattvas, and Chu Chulain if I feel like it. You can also generate Angels by fusing lesser demon forms-- I recall one game where I got one by fusing a pixie and a goblin, and another where I turned an angel into a sort of flying winged magic boat called Ame-no-Torifune.

      Agreed that not enough time was spent discussing the games, though. The information about the Tokyo subcultures was interesting but it has never struck me as important to understanding SMT as having a grasp of Japanese religious thought in general. More worth reading than the Wikipedia article about SMT, though.

    2. Re:Okay... so.. by r_benchley · · Score: 1

      The Wikipedia entry is definitely a bit thin. I didn't even know that there was a Wiki entry for the MegaTen series until I saw the link posted here. I added a few more games to the listing while I was on break at work, and I plan on adding quite a bit more information later tonight.

  3. Damn... by Psx29 · · Score: 1

    I really wish I had the patience to finish this game since I've had it since it first came out but its just so...damn...time consuming!

  4. Good to see this coming over by Gorelab · · Score: 3, Informative

    It's good to see this series finally getting another chance to come over. Persona 2 was an interesting and unique game, and the main series has always been famous for giving an unprecedented amount of choice to players, it's really too bad it hasn't been released in America.

    (Although those wishing to play Shin Megami Tensei I and II with emulators can look over at agtp.romhack.net)

    My only fear for the game is that it'll be censored into oblivion for it's American release.
    I've heard some of the scenes in the game are quite bloody and gory, and well, the theme's of the series arn't something I can imagine flying well in America... I mean this is a series where you can literally kill God. If all turns out alright it should be a wonderful RPG release though.

    1. Re:Good to see this coming over by Lynxara · · Score: 1

      I haven't heard a lot about censorship of the title. If anything, I expect it to just suffer from the translation process... SMT goes on about a lot of concepts that English either doesn't have words for, or doesn't have commonly-used words for.

      (For instance, there is a term for the Buddhist death-rebirth cycle the author mentions in the article... it's "metempsychosis". However, it's very rarely used, because how often does your average American discuss cycular reincarnation?)

    2. Re:Good to see this coming over by PainKilleR-CE · · Score: 1

      (For instance, there is a term for the Buddhist death-rebirth cycle the author mentions in the article... it's "metempsychosis". However, it's very rarely used, because how often does your average American discuss cycular reincarnation?)

      I think the funny part there is that I might have implicitly glossed over use of the word metempsychosis (as I've heard it a few times through high school and college), but wasn't quite sure exactly where he was going with the description in the article (maybe I was asleep).

      --
      -PainKilleR-[CE]
    3. Re:Good to see this coming over by Lynxara · · Score: 1

      Not surprised. Trying to explain Buddhism in Christian terms usually doesn't work out very well, although I can understand why people try to pull it off. The religions are similar in some interesting ways, but really dissimilar when you get down to the basic worldview the religions imply.

    4. Re:Good to see this coming over by PainKilleR-CE · · Score: 1

      I think it was simply the use of references to religions I'm not deeply familiar with (Christianity, Hindu) in very specific ways (Jesus alongside Old Testament prophets, movement along the spiritual ranking of souls) that threw me off. It's always nice to see the inter-relations between the various religions, but in the end, it's more important to get the point across clearly.

      --
      -PainKilleR-[CE]
  5. It might actually be a good thing... by bluemeep · · Score: 2, Insightful
    ...Considering the old Nintendo's iron fist of PG ratings. Anyone remember the Hero's mother in SMT1? You can bet that scene would have been either cut or censored so hard that any impact that it had would be gone. It still creeps me out to think about it...

    Frankly, I'm much happier getting them late but with them being translated by the loving hand of Aeon Genesis.

    1. Re:It might actually be a good thing... by Lynxara · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The Hero's mother strikes me as the least of the concerns with SMT1 being censored; what happens to her is pretty much off-camera and tasteful. I think more problematical would be the rampant (if harmless) nudity, the pentagrams, the cult sacrifices, the fact the Hero gets arrested for murder, or the fact that players have the option of siding with the forces of Hell... it's just not a game the American market would've been ready for back then. I think it'd find a place on the market now, though, and while AGTP's rom-patching work is generally excellent, I still wouldn't mind having a pro translation of the GBA remakes that I could play on my SP.

    2. Re:It might actually be a good thing... by bluemeep · · Score: 1

      True, I'd love to be able to take my demon summoning on the road... The DemiKids games make an adequate stand-in, but they just don't have the 'oomph' of their darker cousins.

    3. Re:It might actually be a good thing... by Lynxara · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Devil Children may share the SMT epithet, but yeah, it's definitely no substitute for the original games. Devil Children is almost its own product line at this point, one that just happens to reinterpret a lot of classic SMT monsters in a very Shounen Jumpy style.

      I'm pretty fond of the anime that goes along with it, too, but I'd sorta hate to see that get translated... it would inevitably get targeted for broadcast, which would mean very severe censorship. It's kind of sad when you consider that Devil Children was so obviously conceived to be the less horrific, more child-friendly part of the MegaTen game family....