Shin Megami Tensei's Demon Fusion System

[RetreatToLove]

Atlus' Persona series and Devil Survivor are highly regarded in the game developer circle, as signified by their games always being inducted in their end-years lists.

Persona 3 as Gamasutra's 7th Game of 2007

7. Persona 3 (Atlus - PS2)

Breaking ranks with a long dynasty of traditional Japanese fantasy RPGs, Persona 3 stands out in that its largest setting -- the one wherein you build your character, strengthen your ranks and move the story along -- is nothing more supernatural than an ordinary high school.

There, with a fascinating duality between a mysterious "dark hour" and the light of day, most of the key RPG elements take place through building relationships with your schoolmates and taking care of school responsibilities.

This normalcy is tidily contrasted with the more sinister, fantastic elements of the game, and set against stylish character designs and a peppy, electronica-infused J-Pop soundtrack.

Persona 4 as Gamasutra's 6th Game of 2008

6. Persona 4 (Atlus, PS2)

Modern, hip and overtly Japanese, Persona 4 is proof positive that the Japanese RPG can evolve for a broadening audience. The game sheds dated conventions and implausible fantasies in favor of a stylish, immensely thought-provoking and surreal self-discovery story set in a rural-area Japanese high school.

Though many JRPGs hinge on the stories of teenagers, Persona 4's themes focus on the perils of self-denial and the necessity of facing one's inner self, particularly poignant and useful in the context of the characters' believably confusing life stage.

Persona 4 is a game that requires no small measure of patience. The reward, however, is character and story growth via an intriguing system of social and behavioral rewards that perfects the promising formula introduced in Persona 3.

Devil Survivor as Gamasutra's Handheld Game Of The 2009

1. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (Atlus, Nintendo DS)

This was only a Shin Megami Tensei game in the U.S., but fans flocked to it nonetheless. The game had an interesting premise – the main downtown areas of Tokyo have been sealed off, and within 7 days, everyone inside the sealed area will die. It’s up to you, and your devil-summoning pals, to survive the incident in this branching-path, non-linear storyline.

Though the art was by Atlus’ second-tier team (with less Kazuma Kaneko and more Suzuhito Yasuda), and the music was lackluster, the tactics-meets-dragonquest battle interface felt fresh (thanks to designer Shinjiro Takada), and the story kept users engaged. Like Persona 4 before it, the game set message boards ablaze with strategies, tactics/story comparisons, and general JRPG love.

Atlus has continued to prove that it’s one of the only companies trying to push the JRPG genre forward, and is doing so much to the delight and expansion of nascent Western audiences. SMT: Devil Survivor was one of the best, most complex, and most interesting core experiences on the DS, and for that it makes our number one.

Persona 3 PSP as Gamasutra's 4th Handheld Game of 2010

4. Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable (Atlus) [PSP]

Atlus likely could have appeased fans with a straight port of 2007's Persona 3, the PS2 RPG praised for its Social Links (NPC friendships that advance character stories and unlock Personas) and dark themes, but the developer packed in more than enough new content to attract both first-time and veteran players to this PSP version.

Along with its new difficulty options, battle system changes inspired by Persona 4, full party control, streamlined overworld interface, and other additions, Persona 3 Portable introduces a female protagonist that brings with her new Social Links, music, and more.

Even in its second re-release (2008's Persona 3 FES being the first), the RPG's dungeon crawling, Social Links, and coming-of-age tale are just as enthralling, and the ability to play it on the go and experience the story from a new perspective make this an essential title for any fan of offbeat RPGs.

People might be skeptical, mistaking this as some Pokemon rip-off (Shin Megami Tensei started back then in 1987), but for fans of the series, Demon Fusion is a discipline unto itself. Ascertaining your opponents, fusing the right demons, having a solid deck of demons at your disposal are crucial as well as their overly strategic battle systems.Demon Fusion is basically a planning phase, incorporating more agency, demanding more from the gamers , almost like designing your own level in LittleBigPlanet, but here, you are designing your own team.

I think at this point, it is save to say that RPGs without Demon Fusion systems is archaic, be it WRPG or JRPG.

[Lucius]

Isn't this the second topic you've made -today- on this same topic generally?

On topic:
I think there may be things that can be learned from JRPGs but I think there are better sources and influences for this game. I think if they took a good long hard look at Wasteland and try to go from there would be great. Also, after reading your post I still have no idea what demon fusion is and why it would fit into Wasteland 2.

(Is this spam?)

[RetreatToLove]

Why does the internet easily resort to 'you have no idea about [insert here]' ? it's an easy way to discredit people because they only sit behind their monitors , and remain anonymous, but it severely clouds your own judgement . It's getting tiresome ,people, and shows your pathetic education level.

[cmagruder]

(Is this spam?)

Search engine optimization, most likely.

[Drool]

It's getting tiresome ,people, and shows your pathetic education level.

So wow us with your education. Please explain what "demon fusion" is and how it would fit in a post apocalyptic setting and why including such a thing would be good. Bonus points if you can do so without quoting a game review site.

[cmagruder]

It's getting tiresome ,people, and shows your pathetic education level.

So wow us with your education. Please explain what "demon fusion" is and how it would fit in a post apocalyptic setting and why including such a thing would be good. Bonus points if you can do so without quoting a game review site.

I think this guy is SEO.

[Drool]

Probably. But it's kind of like playing with 419s.

[cmagruder]

Probably. But it's kind of like playing with 419s.

Carry on then! I think some 419s in Wasteland 2 would be hilarious.

[Irx]

RPGs without Demon Fusion systems is archaic

Your post makes no sense.
Oh, and I did play plenty of megami tensei games - the Fusion system has zero application for W2.

[ShadowScythe]

Devil Survivor is fantastic, but it hasn't really got any relevance to Wasteland 2.

For those wondering, the Fusion system simply involves fusing 2 demons you currently have into a more powerful demon.

In Devil Survivor you can't just catch new demons with a pokeball. You buy them on an auction site (it's a bit weird, but still fun) and the demons you buy on the site are you usually trashy and not particularly good. You need fusion to get a hold of the more powerful demons. Fusion allows you to add on the bonuses to stats the original demons had from levelling up as well as their spells and other skills that they had.

As you can tell from that description it really has nothing to do with Wasteland and there's no need for it in a game like that.

That said, there are other things to take from Devil Survivor. It has really good turn based combat and the way it handles choices and consequences is quite interesting and it'd be really cool if a sidequest in Wasteland 2 was handled like Devil Survivor. In DS you have a "time limit" in that you can only trigger a certain number of events per day. This involves talking to people, combat events (not random combat though) and other stuff. It has short term consequences (unlocking different storylines) and long term stuff- such as only unlocking certain endings if you had a good rep with certain characters, or not being able to save someone because you'd wasted time talking to other people and missed the trigger event instead. I remember one major branching point in the first game where you had to choose between two people to save but you could save both of them if you had reached a certain point of another character's storyline and unlocked a vital piece of information from them.

Something like that in a one off sidequest in Wasteland 2 would be pretty awesome to see how it plays out.

[BlackGauntlet]

Seriously, as much as I like the Persona series, WTF has it gotta do with WL?

Does Persona need a Kickstarter as well?

Why does this thread even exist?

Are we all living in an alternate dimension and are actually unicorns sipping from a rainbow stream?

If you wish to make some kinda legit suggestion, why not say something like:

"I'd like to have a geneticist laboratory in the Ranger Base.
We could capture mutant creatures out in the Wasteland, screw around with their DNA and even fuse them to create new creatures to serve a certain purpose or to target specific enemies.
These creatures would be implanted with a mind-control chip and could serve as a secondary team that does almost everything accept NPC interaction or perform delicate tasks that require brains, skill and finesse.
Finally, we could even have side-quests involving escaped creatures or even an uncontrollable mega-mutant borne from our experimentations."

Now, wouldn't that sound better than a 1-to-1 total rip-off from New-Goddess-Reborn series and risk multi-million dollar lawsuits?

[TΛPETRVE]

Persona =/= Shin Megami Tensei, auch wenn Atlus-Jackie drin vorkommt.

[BlackGauntlet]

Persona =/= Shin Megami Tensei, auch wenn Atlus-Jackie drin vorkommt.

Yeah, but less of a mouthful and the Tarot Cards work exactly like the Demons.

What the... why are we continuing on this tripe? Make it go away!

[TΛPETRVE]

...and why the hell did I suddenly write shit in German ?

[Mandemon]

...and why the hell did I suddenly write shit in German ?

Little green man in your computer, who shoots needles, got tired and decided to play a prank on you.

...Or at least that is what my excuse for everything

[TΛPETRVE]

Ah, the Glitch Gremlin. Yup, I know him, he's quite a cheeky little bastard.

[Vryheid]

I have to believe that this is just one big troll by the OP. Persona is literally the anti-thesis of EVERYTHING right in old school CRPGs. It is the polar opposite of what Wasteland 2 aught to be. The demon fusion system is absolutely horrible in every game it's in, most of it is just one big spirit grind that requires studying a walkthrough to get anywhere with.

[RetreatToLove]

As i already mentioned in this exposition, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is the highest bar all RPGs need to be measured, from the battle system, storyline , and interaction standpoints.

Even if you're ignorant about the franchise, surely you couldn't have missed Giantbomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run , which ran from February until September 2009, played with scrutiny by Jeff Gertsmann, the reviewer who got fired during the Kane and Lynch fiasco from GameSpot.

If a professional reviewer has wasted 7 months of his life for a single game, the game should better be exceptional.

It is. If Wasteland 2 does not take notice, it will just be another Fallout 3,which after New Vegas, Rage and other numerous post-apocalyptic open-world games became tiresome, and predictable. Persona 4's design might alleviate those.

[suz]

stuff

Paraphrased; If WL2 will not feature pokemon and other stuff from <insert some jrpg here> it's going to suck and we're all gonna die horribly!

[BlackGauntlet]

As i already mentioned in this exposition, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 is the highest bar all RPGs need to be measured, from the battle system, storyline , and interaction standpoints.

Even if you're ignorant about the franchise, surely you couldn't have missed Giantbomb's Persona 4 Endurance Run , which ran from February until September 2009, played with scrutiny by Jeff Gertsmann, the reviewer who got fired during the Kane and Lynch fiasco from GameSpot.

If a professional reviewer has wasted 7 months of his life for a single game, the game should better be exceptional.

It is. If Wasteland 2 does not take notice, it will just be another Fallout 3,which after New Vegas, Rage and other numerous post-apocalyptic open-world games became tiresome, and predictable. Persona 4's design might alleviate those.

Like I said, if you wanna make sense, make it fit.

Tell us, how the hell do you put demons in WL2 CONVINCINGLY? A nuclear strike hit the ocean and ripped R'lyeh apart, causing Cthulhu to rise or some shit like that?