Atlus is kicking it up a notch with their Shin Megami Tensei (MegaTen) franchise, bringing the brand to the MMO world. This online installment of MegaTen stays true to the traditions of the franchise, from artwork to gameplay. MegaTen fans outside Japan can now rejoice and experience MegaTen on a larger and more expansive scale.

Unlike most MMOs, MegaTen Online follows the story down to a T. The plot takes off between the events of Shin Megami Tensei I and II (for the SNES). For fans and new players, IMAGINE’s story acts independently from the SNES predecessors, so there’s no need for any background knowledge aside from the cutscenes the online game provides. You’ll find yourself in a post-apocalyptic world filled with demons and humans. Demon busters are recruited to restore order from the conflict from the remnants of the war between the two races.

The game relies heavily on the story, and character growth revolves around the story. MegaTen divides your adventure into acts and quests. Acts are the main storyline quests and divide the game like chapters to a book. These acts are divided into tasks that take players to every corner of the map and to different NPCs. The quests are more of a sidetrack for players and can be done at any time during the game. Acts and quests provide very generous rewards, even to partymates who share the effort of completing the task. Most of the sidequests are repeatable to keep players extra busy. Sadly, these quests are sparse and often take long to finish. Acts also usually have level requirements. Eventually, players will be forced to grind their way throughout the game due to such scarcity of to-do tasks.

Character growth is very open-ended. Weapon and skill selection all depend on how you allocate points you earn in battles and quests. Stat points are provided and distributed to the players’ tastes, and thus affect the characters’ prowess in battle with the use of either magic, melee and/or ranged weapons. Skill acquisition is a matter of allocating points to any skill tree you desire without any restrictions on stat or level requirement. It’s just a matter of continued usage of the skills in that tree to gain mastery over it. Players have the freedom to be a hybrid of both magic and melee build depending on how points are spent. In addition, players can also choose their alignment, whether law, neutral or chaos. This depends on the character’s actions and decisions in-game and ultimately determines your role in the story as you progress. Alignment will also force your character to shift preference over similarly-aligned demons as allies, affect your interaction and dealings with NPCs, and also gain exclusive access to areas meant for your alignment alone.

The most important feature of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise is the use of demons in battle. Players can catch, collect, and train demons to aid them in battles. Very integral to the system is demon fusion (or akuma gattai in the original series). Players can combine 2-3 different demons to form stronger and more versatile demons. Demon AI is very impressive, able to act according to the conditions of the immediate surroundings and of the character’s status. Demons can heal, defend, or attack aggressively depending on the environment, AI setting or player commands. Players can also manually control their demon whenever they please, but this leaves the main character motionless and prone to danger. Nevertheless, the demon system proves to be an integral part of your online adventure in MegaTen.

Battles in MegaTen are more strategic than the usual button-clicking MMORPG. Commands are real-time, having casting and cooldown durations. Most attacks can be blocked or evaded with the right timing of commands. Field monsters have different weaknesses and strengths, ranging from weapon edges and bullet types to elemental vulnerabilities. Usually, players will be forced to employ hit-and-run tactics to battle monsters since MegaTen’s gameplay makes it hard to handle mobs, and even harder to find them. Instead of being scattered throughout the map, field monsters have specific respawn points and often clump together in one section. This becomes very frustrating on a heavily-populated day with a shortage of quest monsters.

Aesthetically, fans and newbies alike will feel right at home in MegaTen. The game shows their trademark art style (stern eyes, glass bead iris, and darkened lower lip) and bleak post-apocalyptic atmosphere. Other locations present highly-industrialized surroundings with visual flair, typical of the MegaTen series. Maps are impressively large but not seamless. Dungeons are instanced and are not fixed to just one map. These have several different map sets that are randomly generated for each access. Music doesn’t fail the game too. The tracks fit well with the atmosphere, and also immediately changes to the proprietary battle BGM whenever combat starts.

In conclusion, Shin Megami Tensei: IMAGINE is a solid game with a potential for continued expansion. The game immerses players in a deep story by accomplishing acts and quests. The demon capture and fusion system provides players hours of game time. Battles are intuitive and strategic, however still repetitive. The ambience has that authentic look and feel of a post-apocalyptic setting. However, the heavy grind may turn-off some players looking for more than just a random monster-hunting romp. Plus, the story’s linear progression also resembles that of a console game. This game could have worked well with console gamers, but might not make the cut for some or most of the MMORPG player base. It’s worth a try, for something different. However, a long-term relationship with MegaTen is something that hangs by a thread.

The Good: Demon system, open-ended skill and stat build, heavy story orientation

The Bad: heavy grind, difficult sidequests, console game look and feel