Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse

One of the best games on the 3DS has been bested with Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse, and the result is an exciting, smart, and amazingly complex RPG. I can't think of a game I've enjoyed this much in 2016, and I'm already looking forward to diving back into this again in the near future.

Apocalypse is what the original Shin Megami Tensei IV should've been.

This is the pinnacle of the franchise in almost every way and a worthy successor to Shin Megami Tensei with fantastic combat, exploration, and story.

We already loved the original SMT IV, and this second campaign is even more solid. The true essence of Japanese RPG beats strongly in Apocalypse: its turn-based battles are the best we've ever played, the story is mature and captivating, and the soundtrack is amazing.

This episode is one of the best RPGs of the year, a great adventure with a great story every JRPG fan should play.

Quotation forthcoming.

While Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse could easily have been a lazy reuse of content from its predecessor slapped together to make a quick buck, a different perspective on the story, a host of improvements, and the return of Shin Megami Tensei IV’s quality gameplay come together for a pseudo-sequel that’s a worthy experience.

As an RPG sequel, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is just about perfect. It lets players revisit a familiar world from a new perspective, keeps what made the original so special, and adds in several small but significant mechanical improvements that make for a smoother, better game throughout. We recommend playing through SMTIV first if possible, both to get the most out of Apocalypse and to experience one of the 3DS' finest JRPGs, but however you arrive at it, this is a game that begs to be played. It's a delightfully dark adventure that's dripping with dystopian charm, and between the personable demons, deeply satisfying combat and killer aesthetic, we couldn't get enough — the end times have never been so good.

Apocalypse is a fantastic RPG that goes above and beyond the original Shin Megami Tensei IV to become one of the shining gems of the 3DS library.

It’s an obvious second try to rectify the problems of the former game, but it is damn fine excellent one.

Apocalypse’s brand new story, engaging characters, and deep gameplay systems are more than enough to warrant a playthrough for fans both new and old. If you’re looking for a lengthy, satisfying handheld RPG to play, Apocalypse is a great candidate.

SMT: Apocalypse is an excellent game with deeper, fluid and solid system combat, great art direction. It's, also, a good sequel. One of the most solid JRPG in terms of gameplay, but misses some opportunities with the new Divine Powers faction and has some inconsistencies at the end of the game.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse offers a rich experience: a complex story, engaging characters and a deep gameplay system. It improves several things seen in Shin Megami Tensei IV while keeping the core gameplay that made its predecessor one the great RPGs for the 3DS.

For fans of the series and newcomers alike, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is a quintessential JRPG experience, and one that only has some very minor issues.

Regardless if you are a newcomer to the series or a veteran that knows SMT 4 inside and out, this alternate version of the JRPG classic will keep you busy for weeks.

Excellent sequel to one of the best Shin Megami Tensei chapters of all time. Great story and development of characters.

Apocalypse marks an improvement in every way over Shin Megami Tensei IV, that already was one of the best JPRG available on the 3DS family of consoles. The user interface, the map, the companion system, the demon alignment are all welcome changes especially because they come on top of a fascinating setting and a gritty storyline.

While Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse gave me déjà vu more than once, it has an intriguing story with plenty of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. [Issue #24 – November/December 2016, p.18M]

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is somewhere between an expansion pack and a sequel. There's a lot of familiar content bolstered by some fresh content and strong mechanical changes. It's more Shin Megami Tensei IV, so if you enjoyed the previous game, you'll find a lot to like here, even though it can sometimes feel too familiar and repetitive for its own good.

My final score would have been considerably higher had the game ended when it was first given the opportunity.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is a rich RPG experience that’s a respectable addition to the franchise, an often twisted turn-based take on things that flies in the face of more sterilized fare. Despite some minor quibbles, it stands out as one of the finest traditional JRPGs available on the 3DS, an easy choice for franchise veterans and a compelling entry point for someone looking to take a dark dip into something strange and striking.

On one hand, SMT IV is one of the best games on the 3DS and is surely worth a playthrough by every 3DS owner. Apocalypse, however, is more or less a re-skin of the 2013 title with a new story perspective. Those that are looking to dive back into an SMT title with an expanded story and don’t mind retreading familiar ground will surely find a lot of recognizable fun in Apocalypse.

Despite some feelings of deja vu while traversing this end-of-days version of Tokyo, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is an excellent game and a fantastic addition to the 3DS library. The year of the RPG is still red hot.

This would have been a cash-in almost anywhere else, but here, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse was shown the level of love and care most would give aggressively marketed new IPs. It's still no Nocturne, but it'll do.

While Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse feels a little too similar at times, it’s one of the tightest JRPGs on the 3DS.

Shin Megami Tensei is like Pokemon for a more mature audience. You’ll still be capturing monsters, breeding them and using them in fights – but characters will talk about life and death, freedom and obedience. Another important thing is that you’ll be able to draw your own conclusions and make your own choices with consequences, which are sometimes so severe that you’ll want to replay the entire chapter. [Issue#217, p.72]

Apocalypse is very much a more-of-the-same sort of sequel, but when the first instalment was already pretty solid, all you can really do is a few touch ups and a new story. Definitely check it out if you played and enjoyed Shin Megami Tensei IV- I’d have a hard time recommending it to anybody else without the context provided by the first game. Having said that, if you haven’t played the first one, go do that! It’s usually cheap on the eShop, and you already know there’s a fairly expansive universe around just the SMT IV story now.

Overall, though, Apocalypse amounts to more of the same; for the most part, that's a good thing indeed. It's a meaty, involving role-playing game, filled with MegaTen standards and adding its own refinements. While its story does lose much of its predecessor's sense of uniqueness, there's something to be said for its lean, get-to-the-point setup. I hesitate to call it as great or essential as SMT4, but it's nonetheless one of the best RPGs available for 3DS — a system with no shortage of them to begin with.

SMT IV: Apocalypse is a really smart and thoughtful game on the wrong platform entirely, for what it wants to offer. It’s easy to spot the compromises to the vision that the development team needed to make to have it all fit the platform, and while it’s still an essential title, it’s difficult to sit back and not wonder just how much more it could have been.

While I think Apocalypse is much better than its predecessor, a part of me wishes more had been done to make this game feel a bit more fresh.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is the perfect nightcap game for summer’s end. A perfect portable adventure that should satiate the appetites of fans that also serves as a solid entry point for those unfamiliar. Demons, dungeons and damnation await those who wish to take on the mantle of Godslayer. If that sounds like a sales pitch, it’s because I finally found a Shin Megami game that does not require a broken controller.

Despite an intense backtracking and a large use of old assets, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is a good game, imbued with the epic spirit of the series. Beware the cryptic story, if you have not played the previous episodes.

Quotation forthcoming.

Following the well known formula, Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is a good JRPG, stuck in the past but still very interesting to play thanks to the large scale plot.

Shin Megami Tensei 4: Apocalypse is a nice remix of its predecessor, but it is a bit shallow. However, we do love this cyberpunk adventure with its refined gameplay mechanics.

Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse offers great gameplay in a cool setting. Unfortunately these good points get outweighed by the awful graphics and other incompetencies in the game.

Apocalypse is more robust than the average remix, and in some ways it’s even better made than Shin Megami Tensei 4. It piggybacks on the game that came before it, but Apocalypse introduces just enough improvements to the original to be a meaningful improvement that’s worth experiencing — as long as you can handle a little déjà vu.

A notable improvement on the original, although most of the changes are still just doodling in the margins – as the series waits for a more substantial overhaul.

Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse is a hell of a mess. At moments, the complex and fun combat and progression systems break through the game’s ick presentation and sexist character designs, but what little fun exists gradually fades before you’re even halfway through the campaign. If you’re a fan of the series, there’s plenty to love here, but Apocalypse is unforgiving for any new players