Shin Megami Tensei IV - Samurai & Demons - Out now!

So is this design and strategy book the only guide we will see? Not that I will need a full guide but if they make some type of collectors item I might buy something.

 
Pretty good so far, played a few hours last night.  Still, it's an entirely different feel from SMT3, which I wasn't expecting.  Probably a good thing since I just couldn't get into SMT3.

 
The other person playing this game managed to beat the first boss at LV 4, though I lamely beat it at 6.  If you grind, it does get easier.

 
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I destroyed the first boss at lvl 4. He was way easy. Had a centaur, fairy and the alucard looking guy. Exposed his weakness and boom.

Although I have a problem, love the game but Steam is really calling me, lol. I guess this will be my portable game.

 
I broke down and bought it yesterday. I got it mostly for the credit. I'll start it up after Project X Zone.

I need to be careful. My goal this generation is not to have more than 1 RPG in the backlog per system.

 
if you dont care about the  LE  crap and just want the game and  pin code

Gamefly has  the shin  game for  39.99 (or 35.99) if you been a member for a year)  

temped to buy another one  just to use my  5 coupon....

35.99  -   5.00      31.99  say sell off the code for  15     could end up with another copy of the game for 16

 
I had forgotten I hadn't used my Fire Emblem code yet, so after picking up SMT IV, I plugged both codes in, got my eShop credit, and made Platinum for the Club Nintendo year ending June 2014.

I should play more SMT IV, but Animal Crossing. :3ds: :whee:

 
Still on the fence about picking this up. Anyone know how long the game is? I really only want to pick it up with FE so I can get the $30. I plan on playing it but that's the only reason to buy it right now.

 
Has anybody listened to the soundtrack? I put it in, expecting 8 short instrumental songs, but instead got three tracks (one less than a minute, the other two 16 and 17 minutes) and all three seem like a podcast made for some book club talk show with a bunch of depressed people who gained newfound hope after reading some book. Yet it still has the SMT cover art. Anybody else get this problem?
 
I went ahead and got it. The $30 credit was just too good to pass up. I needed some more 3DS games anyway. I still have a few more to get but I guess I can hold off on them for a while.

 
This game is...

so_good.gif


Gonna cry manly tears when I'm done with this.  Having the best time with a game since Xenoblade.

 
Has anybody listened to the soundtrack? I put it in, expecting 8 short instrumental songs, but instead got three tracks (one less than a minute, the other two 16 and 17 minutes) and all three seem like a podcast made for some book club talk show with a bunch of depressed people who gained newfound hope after reading some book. Yet it still has the SMT cover art. Anybody else get this problem?
HAHAHAHAHAHA

 
Anyone here playing this?  Bueller?

I'm almost to the end of the included strategy guide.  I have heard that the guide only covers 40-50% of the game... and I've already clocked 35 hours (though at least a few of those were idling)... Good god.  I am just hoping I get the neutral path, law sounds awful and neutral sounds better than chaos.  I'm currently neutral but I'm not to the point where you get the decisions that matter yet.

 
I bit, I got my credit and I'm not sure what to put it towards. The spend $100 get $10 thing is nuts, I aint doing that. Was considering Luigi's Mansion since the store demo was fun or holding on to it forever and getting Link B/t Worlds.

After that I will have enough video games for a lifetime and I'll stop reading this site.

 
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I've started to enter deeper into Hell, and man those demons just jump right out at you.  I somehow think that little girl is the titular Goddess, though I could be wrong, as in the first game it was a party member.

 
Made it to Tokyo and found the terminal in Ueno. Not sure what to do now, but I am having a blast with the game. Capturing and fusing demons is so much fun. 

 
I've started to enter deeper into Hell, and man those demons just jump right out at you. I somehow think that little girl is the titular Goddess, though I could be wrong, as in the first game it was a party member.
Hell meaning the first area or some area really late in the game (presumably on the Chaos route :lol:)?

I got locked into the neutral path! YES! Such a relief. Now the endgame awaits.

 
Naraku is a Japanese word for Hell. The other way to say it is Jigoku.
Derpa derp. I knew jigoku but not naraku. Makes sense that it would be called that. Different layer of meaning to it.

Plugging away at the endgame! Neutral's endgame is longer than chaos or law's but who the hell would want this game to end anyway. :lol: I made a save right before the split so after I'm done with neutral I'm going to go take a look at the bad ending. I don't know if I have it in me to try chaos (which would be the other route I could have chosen instead of neutral) or law (would have to be new game +) though... what I've heard of those paths is pretty brutal. If I do a new game + eventually though I'd probably have to do chaos since that path gets bosses exclusive to new game +.

 
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I've been trying to follow the guide that came with it, but I just forget about it half the time and just go on fusing demons instead of actually doing anything, haha. 

 
So i started playing the game last night. Trying to do a magic build putting stat points at 3 mag 1 agi 1 luck. Hopefully it works well. I have yet to start any fusions. Any recommendations at the beginning levels?
 
OK, I'm in need of some tips here - I've searched this thread and didn't get any hits, so hopefully this hasn't been discussed already.

First of all, the only main-series game I've played before was Nocturne, which I absolutely loved, but I don't remember having to do this in that one.  My problem is recruiting demons by talking to them.  It seems like it's pure dumb luck, unless I'm missing something.  The conversations are complete gibberish - I mean, they may as well have left what they say & your responses in Japanese for all the good it seems to do.  Pick one & pray.  What should I be doing?  If I answer wrong of course it gives the enemies a free turn, which usually means I'm reloading my last save....again....  Don't want to drop it down to easy, but it may not give me much of a choice.  Any help will be GREATLY appreciated.

 
Each demon acts a certain way and responds well/shitty to certain responses. It's mostly trial by error at the start, but it gets easier. At least for me it did. 

 
Derpa derp. I knew jigoku but not naraku. Makes sense that it would be called that. Different layer of meaning to it.

Plugging away at the endgame! Neutral's endgame is longer than chaos or law's but who the hell would want this game to end anyway. :lol: I made a save right before the split so after I'm done with neutral I'm going to go take a look at the bad ending. I don't know if I have it in me to try chaos (which would be the other route I could have chosen instead of neutral) or law (would have to be new game +) though... what I've heard of those paths is pretty brutal. If I do a new game + eventually though I'd probably have to do chaos since that path gets bosses exclusive to new game +.
That's a lot of dedication. I still haven't gotten to Tokyo yet, but that's cause I'm too busy watching tv and trying to get through Arkham Asylum.

 
So i started playing the game last night. Trying to do a magic build putting stat points at 3 mag 1 agi 1 luck. Hopefully it works well. I have yet to start any fusions. Any recommendations at the beginning levels?
Try to get a Dwarf first, which you can fuse with Napaea and Elchom to get Fortuna.

 
So i started playing the game last night. Trying to do a magic build putting stat points at 3 mag 1 agi 1 luck. Hopefully it works well. I have yet to start any fusions. Any recommendations at the beginning levels?
I have that build myself and it works great even in endgame. Flynn is a magic beast.

Fusions, the main thing is to do it often and get a variety of skills. If you're going for a magic build my recommendation is to get the 4 single-enemy elements through whisper asap as well as 1-2 healing spells (dia and media to start, then diarama and mediarama, and then I just got mediarahan because I needed room for better shit instead of 1-target healing), and then buffs/debuffs. My endgame build looks like this:

Mediarahan

Concentrate (sacrifice turn for more than 2x magic attack power next turn)

Bufudyne

Agidyne

Ziodyne

Deadly Wind (I think that's what it's called, it's one step up from Zandyne)

Debilitate (+1 to all enemy debuffs)

Luster Candy (+1 to all ally buffs)

Debilitate and Luster Candy are late-game, so before then I'd recommend a buff and debuff on your main. But this is the basic formula you'd want to follow for most of the game, obviously with less powerful versions early on. It may be tempting to do non-almighty all-enemy attack spells but don't. Oftentimes an enemy with a weakness is paired with an enemy who nulls/drains/reflects that weakness and then you're boned. Plus it costs way more MP that you can't afford to waste.

When it comes to negotiation, the enemy responses to questions are pretty random so that part sucks. But once they ask you for things, only give them shit 2-3 times and then "end talks." That seems to be the best way to get them to join though it's not foolproof.

 
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Similar to my setup but I use Spirit/Energy Drain to refill my mp early on

 
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When it comes to negotiation, the enemy responses to questions are pretty random so that part sucks. But once they ask you for things, only give them shit 2-3 times and then "end talks." That seems to be the best way to get them to join though it's not foolproof.
Huh, I always thought the "end talks" option was just a way of throwing in the towel on trying to recruit - I didn't know it had a chance of you getting them. That's good info to have, thanks. :)

I've been doing much better after stepping away from the game for a bit & going back at it fresh & ready to grind. Honestly, it's just been too long since my last real SMT game, and difficulty-wise the Persona's are pretty easy by comparison. SMT4 makes you *work* for it! But that's not a bad thing imo. :)

 
Similar to my setup but I use Spirit/Energy Drain to refill my mp early on
Yeah but later on it's kind of a waste if you have the MP walk app (and later on, you really should). Only in the rare long boss fights would you ever need to restore MP in battle.

Beat neutral today! Also used an old save to get the bad ending, and start on chaos. Law will have to wait for New Game+. GOTY so far, etc.

Edit: Some tips I would like to share:

-Get an attack-all gun and instant-kill bullets ASAP. I think you can get them for free with quests. The instant kill bullets are actually pretty good and have a decent connect rate. And if the instant death doesn't work, you'll still do some decent damage. Using it with an attack-all gun usually means that at least one enemy in a group will die right away. Sometimes it means all of them will die in a single turn. Even endgame this is very useful. It's surprising considering in most games, instant-kill weapons tend to have a shitty connect rate. Not so here.

-Apps. Your first major priority is getting more skill slots for the MC so you can make the most of whisper as early as possible. Also early on, get Demonlingual so you have a much wider variety of demons to recruit. Then you'll want to get skill slots for your demons. And finally, get the passive MP recovery apps! Expensive, but super worth it. And at anytime, if you need more demon stock, feel free to grab it as it's very cheap.

 
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Did not even see the thread! So far loving the game so far with it's sheer amount of depth.

So far about 34 hours in, and am just about to beat the chaos route (I think at least) first time through. 

How'd you guys do your builds?

I made my guy the buffer/healer and such mainly. has worked out very well.

Lvl 68 right now and my move set is

Tetrakarn (+3)

Makarakarn (+3)

Energy Drain (+3)

Mediarahan (+1)

Rakukaja (+3)

Tarukaja (+3)

Heaven's Bow (+1)

Sea of Chaos

 
Entered Tokyo last night, and wow it is quite a sh-thole. I wonder if it is the same type of world presented in Strange Journey, considering the intro of that game said stuff like this happened.

 
Yeah but later on it's kind of a waste if you have the MP walk app (and later on, you really should). Only in the rare long boss fights would you ever need to restore MP in battle.

Beat neutral today! Also used an old save to get the bad ending, and start on chaos. Law will have to wait for New Game+. GOTY so far, etc.

Edit: Some tips I would like to share:

-Get an attack-all gun and instant-kill bullets ASAP. I think you can get them for free with quests. The instant kill bullets are actually pretty good and have a decent connect rate. And if the instant death doesn't work, you'll still do some decent damage. Using it with an attack-all gun usually means that at least one enemy in a group will die right away. Sometimes it means all of them will die in a single turn. Even endgame this is very useful. It's surprising considering in most games, instant-kill weapons tend to have a shitty connect rate. Not so here.

-Apps. Your first major priority is getting more skill slots for the MC so you can make the most of whisper as early as possible. Also early on, get Demonlingual so you have a much wider variety of demons to recruit. Then you'll want to get skill slots for your demons. And finally, get the passive MP recovery apps! Expensive, but super worth it. And at anytime, if you need more demon stock, feel free to grab it as it's very cheap.
Thank you. I was curious as to which apps were worth it. The MP recovery and reduced MP seemed like good draws to me, but I wasn't sure how many skills I really needed

 
I've been playing this game heavily for a few weeks - didn't even think to check for a thread here.  But then I'm trying to play with no guide/spoilers and just finding my own way.  I'm doing decently enough considering.  I wasn't aware of the neutral/law/chaos stuff - I've just been answering things as I can.  I would like to avoid a "bad" ending though - not sure if what I've done will trigger that or not.  My only previous experience with SMT was Strange Journey which I got very far through but never finished.  At least that prepared me a bit for enemy types and fusion.

FYI - I'm up to
finding the evilness that Tayama is up to
.

I do find it somewhat difficult in this game to figure out where to go next.  The quest logs are not all that descriptive sometimes, especially after you trigger an intermediate step.  In fact, in the main quest I'm currently on I really have no idea where I'm supposed to go (after I talked to the people in the "club" - which is all it still telling me to do now).  So last night I was just messing around in Ginzu trying to get the various "cards".  I have no idea what that is all for, but I stumbled into it ;).  That's kind of why I like this game - it seems there are just random things to go do that don't necessarily have any connection to the story.

 
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