Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Review – Bringing A Shine To Both New & Familiar Faces

When I first hit the “start new game” option on the title screen for Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, my expectations were pretty high. Having played many Persona games since my teenage years, I wanted this to hit the same way.

After getting started, I was launched into a world that was more gritty and edgy than I expected, a feat I didn’t think was possible. Instead of a student fighting evil by moonlight and studying for exams by daylight, I got the apocalypse.

Key Details

• Publisher/Developer: SEGA/ATLUS
• Platform: Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation, and Xbox
• Price: $59.99+
• Review Copy Provided: Yes
• Age Warning: 18+

The Plot Thickens

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is the newly polished version of the original Shin Megami Tensei V. This time there are new characters and an alternate story route. Right from the start, players are sent to a mysterious place of limbo. Here a seemingly unconscious girl floats, waiting to see if someone will take her hand. By choosing to take Yoko Hiromine’s hand, the Canon of Vengeance route begins. This is a different take on the already-told story. In this divergence, you have Yoko on your side, but with her allyship comes new foes – the Qaditsu, four powerful demons hell-bent on causing some chaos.

In the Canon of Vengeance, players will see more of the original cast, delving deeper into their stories while working through new plot points. The overarching story beats are the same as in the original route, and the war between Angels and Demons is still a major factor. If anything, the Canon of Vengeance route is an altered, more fleshed-out version.

Exploring the characters and playing through the story had me going on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Between long bouts exploring the world were cut scenes that brought a shocking twist. Throughout the story, characters question the validity of the “Angels are good and Demons are bad” mentality, pointing out that the entire system is flawed. I was emphatically nodding my head in agreement, enjoying the refreshing take of the Angels versus Demon trope.

There were times, especially at the beginning of the game when it felt like the Nahobino, the game’s main character, seemed more like a placeholder for the protagonist than an actual true protagonist. The story develops around them, the cast goes through different events while you just emotionlessly facilitate how you want things to end. While the rest of the characters were questioning morality, the Nahobino was just there trying to survive the chaos they got unceremoniously thrown into.

I did love the addition of Yoko Hiromine. She added a level of involvement for the Nahobino, like a new tentative connection between him and the others. Where the Nahobino would appear during different events after traveling alone for hours in the Netherworld, Yoko Hiromine became a more constant companion who was available as a member of your party for most of the game.

Hours To Explore & So Much To Do

The bulk of the gameplay happens during exploration of the Netherworld. The game is filled to the brim with subquests to complete, items to collect, and demons to fight. The world of Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is fleshed out and developed, with many subquests illustrating that while demons may want to eat people sometimes, they can also have normal lives. It was more shades of grey emphasizing the main story’s themes of blending right and wrong.

With the number of subquests to complete on top of the number of demons waiting for a chance to pick a fight, it never felt like I needed to spend time grinding to level up. I’ve always hated moments when it was time to mindlessly fight enemies to level up. Grinding feels like the filler episodes of a show, only this time I can’t just skip it. I never had that feeling when playing this game. It is filled with engaging content that gave me the EXP I needed to move on to the next plot point.

With all JRPGs, there is a level of challenge that requires strategizing and grinding. While players can have other characters on their team temporarily, a fun feature I took advantage of, the gameplay still emphasizes the catch-and-fuse demon system of the original game. Fuse two demons to create a more powerful demon and then collect essences of demons to customize your team with the specific abilities you desire. The system adds a level of complexity that makes the gameplay engaging.

Beautiful Graphics Elevate Gameplay on Switch

I played Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance on the Switch, and the game looked great – mostly. There were times when the frame rate lagged, especially for moving people, demons, and objects in the distance. Loading times between cut scenes and fast travel were also slow at times. However, these weren’t enough of a problem to be distracting. There were many times I was impressed with some of the graphics of nearby people and objects. The way the Nahobino’s hair moved was impressive, especially as it’s the longest hair I’ve seen on a video game main character.

The art is solid and the character designs, especially for the demons, are fantastic. There were many times when I was distracted from what was happening in the cut scene by who was in it – or more specifically, how they looked.

The edgy character designs pair well with the hard rock music. This helps set the creepy ambiance of the Netherworld. When it was time to fight, fast-paced rock got you ready to defeat any opponent thrown your way, especially the ones that snuck up behind you.

If the demons and well-placed music playing in the background weren’t scary enough, the game does not have an autosave feature, something I took for granted and then was punished for when I died and realized I hadn’t saved for a few hours. To balance this, the game lets you save almost anywhere at any given time and uses Aogami, the demon fused with the Nahobino, to warn you when you should save before a major fight. Listen to him.

Boss fights and smaller fights were challenging but not frustratingly so. The fighting system is a turn-based system that centers around hitting enemies with their weaknesses and gaining more turns to issue more attacks. There were times when I would finish a fight and the demons didn’t have a chance to attack. Then there were boss fights where I thought I had it only for the boss to wipe out the entire party in one shot. However, thanks to the strategy part of the Essence and Fusion systems, it was easier to plan for the boss fight after losing once.

The Verdict – 8/10

Overall, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance was a great game that I would recommend to both new players and those returning to the Netherworld. It’s another quality title to come out of Atlus. There are some quality issues still with the Switch version of the game but they are more minor tweaks than true setbacks.

The new additions to the story through the Cannon of Vengeance route make the game feel more like a final draft when compared to the original game, making it worth the buy.

If you love a dark JRPG with lots to do and a plot to make you question what is right and wrong, then this is one to put on your “to play” list.

If you are looking for something similar, you can check out our coverage for Metaphor: ReFantazio, including the newest live stream details.

**A Nintendo Switch review code was provided to Bonus Action for the purpose of this review.**

About the Author

Jordan Althoff

Contributor

Jordan Althoff is a contributing writer for Bonus Action and an RPG, cozy game, and Dungeons & Dragons enthusiast. If there is a story to be told, they are happily playing that game. In-between games, they do all things nerdy or cause chaos making their next cosplay.

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