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Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux Review

by Mike Moehnke · Published July 19, 2018 · Updated November 18, 2018

Age of Extinction

Every few years I get in the mood to tackle something else from the massive Megami Tensei line of titles, and that synced conveniently with the release of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux . The word from this game’s original edition warned that it would be a considerable timesink, and that is most definitely still the case. Strange Journey in its Redux form actually manages to be even more of a timesink due to the addition of a mammoth new dungeon to explore, but at least this is not a complete waste of the many hours required to persevere. My urge to play anything else in the series has been successfully quashed for another year or two.

A baffling phenomenon in Antarctica called the Schwarzwelt has aroused the intense interest of decision-makers around the world. This phenomenon is slowly expanding from the South Pole and placing all land inside within a black border that is impenetrable to all scanning efforts. No drones sent into the Schwarzwelt have survived to return, and the images they managed to broadcast before contact was lost only produce more questions instead of answers. Four ships crewed with the most talented people possible are about to set out into the Schwarzwelt, in order to hopefully learn what is happening. Upon entering the area matters within quickly diverge from what was planned, and an already-dangerous mission sees its odds of success decrease further. The player takes the on role of a soldier recruited in the event that combat prowess is needed inside, something that quickly proves to be a helpful skill set to aid survival once the demons inside the Schwarzwelt appear.

Strange Journey Redux has an enormously ambitious narrative that attempts to detail a series of events through which a demonic takeover of the Earth could occur, while avoiding any obvious insertions of unbelievable methods to advance the plot. It has a fairly large cast of characters with some depth to their motivations. The personalities at play are not as complex as they could be, since certain key players are locked into paths regardless of what the player might choose. Such ambition is worthy of praise even when not everything the narrative attempts is a success, and Atlus USA’s typically strong localization ensures that what transpires remains gripping. This is an involving tale that manages to keep coming up with interesting developments throughout, and avoids treating the player like a dullard when doing so. Having three potential endings in the original game along with new material including additional endings for the Redux version ensures that plenty of time can be spent with this setting if desired.

Please be more specific. Who are they? If I knew, maybe it would mean something.

Efforts to give the player input into morality are where the narrative does not come off best, primarily thanks to the limited options available. Three morality tracks provide the options for responses in numerous scenarios, but often none of the available responses convey what the player would prefer to do. These segments definitely offer more shades of gray and realistic portrayals of humanity than will be found in most RPGs, but not nearly enough to represent the gamut of possibilities found in the real world.

Armed with a specialized suit that allows him to manipulate his surroundings, the protagonist wanders the multiple dungeons of Strange Journey while encountering plentiful demons along the way. In the vein of many other titles in this series, conversation with just about all battle participants is possible and often encouraged. Demons come with a sizable variety of personality traits, from old fogeys to creatures incapable of uttering more than guttural grunts. Conversation will frequently net rewards, and many demons are perfectly willing to join the player’s stable of party members if the right incentives are submitted. The chance also exists that the player will manage to infuriate instead of ingratiate, but the plentiful options for talking things through are both interesting and worthwhile.

Many demons cannot be convinced to join the player and must be created through fusion. All defeated bosses and numerous scarce beings not regularly encountered can be created via the combination of demons extant in the current stock, which is an absorbing process that will divert a substantial amount of time. As in other games from the series, what can be created is strictly limited by the protagonist’s current level, which at least provides an excellent reason to seek out additional combat. Fused demons can also inherit certain valuable abilities from previously-acquired party members, giving more incentives to spend time with this system.

Demonee-Ho will treat you like dirt, and you will like it, soldier!

Combat itself is a relatively straightforward turn-based affair in which the player and up to three companion demons duke it out against adversaries. Due to the presence of various elemental affinities and weaknesses, there is no such thing as a character optimal for every situation. Some enemies absorb or reflect attacks of specific types, and status ailments work regularly if the recipient is not immune. An important battle component is the automatic supporting attacks unleashed when an enemy’s weakness is hit, something that is most helpful against defensively-powerful opponents. Bosses require attention to be paid, as some of their abilities can destroy an unsuspecting player on even the lowest difficulty.

Navigation of the dungeons is often no less a task than prevailing in altercations, as these are sizable places with many devious tricks to tax the player. One-way doors and poisonous floor tiles are just the beginning — soon enough other nasty elements such as holes in the ground and teleporter mazes add to the bedlam. Patience and the presence of an automap on the lower screen aid in unraveling these tricky places, which are addictive to explore even as they befuddle. Strange Journey oddly locks off certain parts of dungeons until New Game Plus mode is achieved, and it is bothersome to see such locations appear on the map without any way to explore them, especially when the game already requires around eighty hours to complete.  That time can be lowered a bit by attempting to plow through the game without stopping to look around, but a great number of optional missions that usually ask for thorough navigation of the dungeons also exist to contribute still more content.

Redux adds a number of options to the mix, starting with the ability to choose a difficulty upon beginning the game. Casual challenge is not a cakewalk but does make things more manageable. The major addition to Redux is a new character’s appearance in the second dungeon which opens the Womb of Grief, a completely new area which itself takes at least twenty hours to explore. Going through the Womb of Grief is optional but yields extremely helpful abilities that can tailor random encounter rates to the player’s liking and make dungeon navigation much easier. Among the very helpful things to be gained in the Womb of Grief is a function that shows where a teleporter will take the party, something that otherwise is dependent entirely upon memory. Unless one waits until near the end of the game, it is impossible to explore the Womb of Grief in one trek, since its lower portions can only be unlocked once various abilities to open multiple types of sealed areas in the main storyline are achieved. Each new floor represents a completely different undertaking and exploring the place is a worthwhile endeavor. Going through it also broadens the game’s conclusion options.

Want to make your life easier? Get these and turn them on.

Inventory arrangement is not one of this game’s strong suits due to the sheer amount of time it can take. Each specific item has an individual maximum amount that can be in the player’s possession, which at least eliminates the need to constantly return to home base in order to dump surplus supplies. Most new creations of the home base crew available for purchase require very distinct components that enemies and environments won’t consistently produce, and this can lead to many occasions where a tempting thing is inaccessible until the player tediously acquires its constituent ingredients. Just sifting through the huge mass of acquired materials in order to sell what is unnecessary also takes a very long time when several hundred possibilities are present. In most other ways the interface is functional, but this tediousness is difficult to overlook.

Strange Journey Redux betrays its DS origins through the visuals that mostly date from its original iteration, though the result is not so much unpleasant as unremarkable. Dungeon layouts make the various areas distinct from each other but also have these places look pretty much the same within each location. An impressive variety of demon images will be found within, but they don’t move much and numerous designs will have been seen before in other Megami Tensei titles. First-person dungeon exploration rarely attracts much attention through its astounding good looks, and Strange Journey Redux does not break this trend. There are a few cinematic sequences which look nice but take up a very small portion of the time spent playing.

Redux adds voiced dialogue to all the plot developments, something that can help give a little more character to the personalities. Its Japanese cast is workmanlike throughout but does not achieve such a stellar quality of performance as to entice all players to listen, especially when numerous demons have short vocal clips that will be heard many times during the proceedings. The music has some good compositions but really needed more variety, especially in its dungeon themes. Too many areas use male choral effects that sound similar, and later areas get reused compositions from earlier. Certain tracks are indeed very pleasant to the ear, particularly those heard when confronting bosses, but they aren’t heard often enough.

I enjoyed my time with Strange Journey Redux , and the many things its dungeons offered will stick with me. Its narrative is also interesting and should be applauded for what it attempts, even if the story’s reach is not quite what it can attain. I was also ready to be done by the time the credits rolled and uninterested in starting the whole thing again to see another ending or reach the heretofore-forbidden areas, which keeps Redux from being among the crowning achievements in my RPG experience. It was a worthwhile title to encounter though, and should at least be tried by anyone curious.

Redux content is nice

Interesting and alluring setting

Plenty of things to do

Time-consuming inventory management

Dungeon themes don't vary much

Tags: 3DS Atlus Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey Redux

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I’m not sure when I’ll be playing this, seeing as I hadn’t even gotten around to getting the other endings in the original DS release. Still, I think I will enjoy taking this strange journey again.

Thanks for this, Mike. After 150ish hours of Backtrack listened to in 2018, hear your voice reading this in my head (is that weird?). Looks like a pretty decent time sink ahead for me once I clear a few others from the backlog!

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Review: Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

Strange things are happening to me

Eight years ago, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey  was my first experience with anything SMT  related. I was hesitant at first, not being a fan of first-person dungeon crawlers at the time. I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up my copy at GameStop and booted it up on my Nintendo DSi XL. While it would be many more years before the genre would click for me, I came away from the game with a great appreciation for the world Atlus has constructed and its devil-may-care attitude about appropriating various religious deities.

It was the opposite of the happy-go-lucky games I normally play, and even today, Strange Journey  remains an oddity in my DS game collection. Strange Journey Redux  isn’t as much of an outsider on my 3DS having bought every other Shin Megami Tensei  game to hit the handheld, but it is still one deep, dark, and devilish ride.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (3DS) Developer: Atlus Publisher: Atlus Released: May 15, 2018 (North America), May 18, 2018 (Europe) MSRP: $39.99 

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux  takes me and my merry band of mercenaries to Antarctica, where a massive cornucopia of realities known as the Schwarzwelt is slowly expanding. My mission is to study the phenomenon and stop it before it spreads across the planet. Once inside, I’m quickly assimilated to new technology that will allow me to traverse the twisted paths of the sectors I’ll explore and stay alive in turn-based battles with the help of demons I meet along the way.

To the outsider, one who’s never picked up an SMT  game before, it can look like Pokémon  for adults. In reality, Strange Journey Redux  takes a more nihilistic approach to the monster-catching genre. There are 350 demons for me to confront, converse with, and eventually add to my team, but I can only carry up to 18 of them at a time. These aren’t buddies I’m supposed to grow fond of, but rather blocks to be taken apart and rebuilt as I see fit. They’re nothing more than their abilities to me, tools for my success. There’s something grim about having a demon beg to join my crew, only for me to immediately turn and fuse that new creature with another from my stock because they have Luster Candy which is a frickin’ useful skill.

The meat and potatoes of Strange Journey Redux  is the same as it was eight years ago. I still travel from sector to sector, first-person dungeon crawler style, trying to find a way out of the Schwarzwelt while the forces of heaven and hell try to corrupt me. Its hard sci-fi cum theology lesson of a story meshes well with the backdrop of the various sectors, from the demon bordello of Sector Bootes to the They Live  inspired aisles of Sector Carina. Strange Journey  doesn’t pull any punches with its story, and the Earth it presents — one corrupt with greed, pollution, and sin — is perhaps more relevant now than when it first launched. It may lack the more immersive story-telling techniques of the Triple-A games market, but Strange Journey ‘s text-heavy narrative is a gripping piece of fiction that feeds players a bitter truth of mankind’s self-destructive reality.

This enhanced 3DS port features a lot of quality-of-life improvements, such as Japanese voice acting, better visuals, three different difficulty levels, 20 save slots and the ability to save in the field. It’s still missing features like automatic scrolling text or the ability to make notes and marks on the map like I can with the Etrian Odyssey  series this game is so clearly inspired by. I can do without either of those because it will now let me pick and choose which skills my demons inherit during fusions. There’s also new music, new demons, a new animation you shouldn’t watch because it spoils the story, and new artwork courtesy of the most substantial addition to the game, the Womb of Grief.

The Womb is a seven-floor mega-dungeon I need to complete to unlock one of the three new endings to the game. Central to the dungeon are Demeter, the goddess of the Harvest who tasks me with finding six pieces of fruit, and Alex, the new mysterious character who is trying to kill me. If you think Alex and the Womb are effortlessly woven into the existing narrative, think again. The dungeon and her storyline feel very much like a gaiden to the existing adventure. Much like the additions made to the enhanced port of Radiant Historia , these new story elements do not coalesce. I can count on one hand how many times she appears in the original plotline, and her banishment to the Womb highlights some annoying game design choices.

Alex has a sparse storyline and most of my interactions with her quickly devolve into fighting. At first, she overpowers me, forcing me to flee from every fight. As I traverse the late-November-corn-maze that is the Womb of Grief, I come across her multiple times. At first, when I’m weak, she acts as an artificial barrier to keep me from advancing too far. On the third floor of the dungeon, she blocks my only two pathways. So I leave, and 10 hours later I come back with my character leveled far above where I need him to be to fight back. What I think is going to be one or two fights actually ends up being more than a dozen.

On this single floor of the Womb, I fight Alex multiple times and not once does she grant me any experience points when I defeat her. I just keep fighting her to advance and get absolutely nothing out of it. If I get hurt too much and need to heal, and I leave the dungeon, I have to repeat all of those battles. I don’t know who designed this portion of the game — something tells me the same person who thought up the bullshit that is Jack’s Bargain — but it absolutely soils a dungeon that actually isn’t all that good to begin with.

Of the seven floors of the Womb, only the final one makes good use of all the dungeon elements established in the regular campaign while adding nifty tricks of its own. The rest of the floors feature some interesting ideas that are bogged down by repetitive fights and puzzles that can be easy to mess up, leading to more arduous fights with the same several demons.

I’m not sold on this new addition for most of the game, and even when I finish the final floor of it, I’m indifferent. But a few hours after that, when I see the fruits of my labor blossom, I become greatly appreciative of all the hours I spent traversing the Womb. The original Strange Journey  had one of the best final boss battles I’ve played in a JRPG. The final boss for the new endings — of which I unlock the “new law ending” — is just as satisfying. Also hard. Very, very hard.

With the various quality of life improvements, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux  is simply a more playable version of an already great game. I really enjoyed it the first time around eight years ago, and replaying it today reminds of why it was the ideal game to introduce me to the Shin Megami Tensei  franchise. 

[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]

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Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

Important information.

A spatial distortion full of demons appeared in Antarctica, threatening to engulf the Earth in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey. The United Nations responded by tasking a team of highly advanced specialists with piercing the anomaly and figuring out how to stop it from the source. Well, get ready to don your Demonica once again in this new expanded port: Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux. Expect new story content, additional endings, a new dungeon to explore, and more in the return of this sci-fi tinged SMT adventure.

In Strange Journey Redux, you play as a brave United Nations soldier investigating a spatial anomaly called the Schwarzwelt – a dome of dark energy that threatens to consume the world. Inside, you’ll find it home to a nightmare mirror of our own Earth, populated with demons dying to meet you. The game touts brand-new illustrations by Masayuki Doi, updated visuals, UI tweaks, and more to make this journey back into the Schwarzwelt… even stranger.

You won’t be retreading the same nightmarish path as before because a brand-new character named Alex will play a major role in how the story unfolds. Much about her is a mystery, but there is one thing you know for sure: she’s got a bone to pick with you. Joining her are new demons you might recognise from other SMT entries, new endings, and a new dungeon to discover.

With its twisted demonic sci-fi story, addictive demon-collecting fun, and multiple narrative paths to explore, Strange Journey Redux is an essential ATLUS JRPG adventure that can’t be missed!

Game supports English text and Japanese voice.

This description was provided by the publisher.

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Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Review

Sci-fi trappings don't make the repetitive gameplay in this dungeon crawler feel any less dated.

By Lark Anderson on April 6, 2010 at 6:34PM PDT

Since its inception, the Megami Tensei franchise has weaved elements of science fiction with fantasy stories to craft rich worlds steeped in the occult. With the release of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, developer Atlus has taken a slightly different approach with a story that is much more focused on science fiction than previous entries. Despite this shift in direction, however, Strange Journey is still a game firmly entrenched in the past. Longtime Megami Tensei devotees may be thankful for its return to the first-person dungeon-crawling roots of the series, but those expecting this to live up to the superb Persona 4 or Devil Survivor will be disappointed with the outdated gameplay, straightforward combat, and boring exploration of Strange Journey.

At the tip of the South Pole, a mysterious black spot that consumes everything within its boundaries has appeared. This spot, dubbed the Schwarzwelt, is observed to be expanding uncontrollably; thus, a multinational team of soldiers and scientists armed with the latest weapons and technology have been sent in to find a way to stop it. After crossing through the threshold, you learn that the Schwarzwelt is actually the gateway to a world of gods and devils fed up with the human race. After an accident traps you inside with demons who endlessly expound on how mankind has squandered and abused their planet without a shred of subtlety, it's up to you and your ship's crew to save the world and escape.

As an American soldier, you spend most of your time securing the various sectors that are found within the Schwarzwelt; each of them a twisted facet of the human world. Gameplay consists primarily of first-person exploration through these mazelike areas which, over time, become increasingly complex. They are also booby-trapped with pitfalls, moving floors, damage tiles, and the like. To survive the bland, repetitive, and presumably harsh environments in the Schwarzwelt, you're equipped with a suit of demonica armor. This set of prototype combat gear automatically maps your movements, and helps you uncover hidden passages, enemies, and items through various subapplications you install. Though the demonica proves invaluable, even with all of its utility, you still often find yourself wandering around aimlessly. There are times when your map does not show you where to go next and your list of objectives doesn't clearly communicate what to do, and so you have no choice but to stumble around looking for hidden passageways or the next story event. This is particularly frustrating if you return to the game after a break and forget where you are.

One area where your demonica does excel, however, is in facilitating interactions with the resident demons of the Schwarzwelt, whether they are violent clashes or philosophical debates. Depending on your equipment, you have a variety of attacks at your disposal to dispatch your enemies, but things don't always have to go down that way--some demons are open to talk. The demon negotiation system--most recently seen in Shin Megami Tensei: Persona on the PSP--has returned once more, allowing you to bribe, wheedle, or scare adversaries into becoming allies. Though this gameplay mechanic was fresh and innovative when it was first introduced well over a decade ago, it's no longer particularly exciting to figure out which of the multiple choice responses you're given will gain a demon's support or its ire. The system hasn't significantly changed in recent years, and dealing with demons in such a passive manner is neither engaging nor intriguing.

Regardless, successfully drafting demon allies means you can summon up to three of them to fight alongside you against their hostile neighbors in the turn-based combat system. Each demon has their own strengths and weaknesses, and so it's necessary to constantly tweak your party to ensure the optimal team depending on the situation. Demons aren't only meant for fighting, though--your recruits can also be fused together to create new, more powerful allies and to pass on special skills and abilities. You can even share your creations with your friends by trading passwords.

Strange Journey features a wide variety of demons to fight, recruit, and customize through fusion, each of which has its own meticulous artwork and animations (though some are reused from previous Megami Tensei games). Likewise, dungeon tile and texture art is highly detailed, though it unfortunately loses its luster due to the repetitive nature of the dungeon-crawling action. Veteran series maestro Shoji Meguro returns to score Strange Journey, and like other aspects of the game, his compositions shift slightly away from the norm to fit the sci-fi plot and settings quite well.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey may be the latest entry in the venerable franchise, but its outdated demon negotiation system and tedious dungeon-crawling action might have you think otherwise. Longtime series fans will no doubt appreciate its return to form for the dozens of hours its appropriately dark story will occupy them, but neophytes--especially those expecting something similar to games like Persona 4--are better off staying away.

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• Lots of demon variety
• Excessively preachy story
• Dated negotiation system
• Repetitive dungeon-crawling action
• Objectives are often unclear

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Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

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An enhanced port to the Nintendo 3DS , Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux , was released on May 15, 2018. The game includes new artwork for the characters, voice acting, animation, new demons, and three new endings. 350 demons are fusable in-game.

• 2 Characters
• 3.2 Demon Analysis
• 3.3 Co-Op Attacks
• 3.4 Demon Sources
• 3.6 Password System
• 3.7 Miscellaneous
• 4 Reception
• 7 References
• 8 External links

A mysterious black hole has appeared on the region of the South Pole and is expanding day by day. Concerned about this event, the United Nations sent a collection of elites from around the world to investigate the area called Schwarzwelt (シュバルツバース, Shubarutsubāsu , Schwarz-verse ). Inside, the U.N. Schwarzwelt Investigational Team finds that the area has been infested with supernatural beings known as demons that threaten to cross into the human world. As the team delves further into the Schwarzwelt, they find strange and repulsive callbacks to human society.

The player assumes control of an unnamed soldier from America (or Japan in the Japanese version), who will be working with three other crew members assigned by the Joint Project. The crew dons Demonica suits , which enables access to special abilities as well as regulating the player to the conditions within the Schwarzwelt.

Characters [ ]

From left to right: Zelenin, the protagonist, Commander Gore, Jimenez

The major characters of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey are:

• The protagonist - A USMC officer who underwent intense combat and command training between tours of duty. He was transferred to the Schwarzwelt Investigation Team by U.N. request. As a member of the Strike Team, his duties include off-ship missions and providing security for the expedition. He is on the crew roster for ship one, the Red Sprite .
• Commander Gore - The overall commander of the Schwarzwelt Investigation Team. He was originally a military officer serving a large country; the leadership abilities he displayed during his service earned him the top position on the team that now holds the fate of mankind. He commands the Red Sprite directly in addition to overseeing operations on the other three ships.
• Jimenez - Another member of the expedition with an American military background, Jimenez began his career as an enlisted man and is now a private contractor, attracted to the expedition by the promise of a financial gain. He serves on ship two, the Blue Jet , as a member of the Strike Team.
• Zelenin - A Russian scientist recognized for her research on the Schwarzwelt. Her position as the First Lieutenant of the Monitor Team was one of the first appointments made. Her chief duty is to research the Schwarzwelt's true nature along with her crewmates on ship three, the Elve .
• Arthur - The command unit for the Red Sprite , installed with an administrative pseudopersonality. From his vantage point tied into all the ship's systems, he extrapolates and proposes missions for the team. He is named after real life writer Arthur C. Clarke, who wrote the science fiction novel 2001: A Space Odyssey .
• Bugaboo - Deep inside the Schwarzwelt, the Schwarzwelt Investigation Team finds Bugaboo, a demon that has undergone torture at the hands of other demons. Scanning Bugaboo shows that it is only 75% demon.
• Mastema - A mysterious entity that appears before the Schwarzwelt Investigation Team, resembling an angel with black wings. He is skilled in mystical arts and has the power to break the demons' barriers, but his countenance is more sinister than divine. He claims to have come to the Schwarzwelt on God 's orders. In the Japanese release, he was called Mansemat .
• Strange Girl - An enigmatic girl who speaks of demons and humans, but seems content to witness the proceedings rather than take an active hand. Her name is Louisa Ferre in the US version.
• Alex : A new character introduced in Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux . She is hunting down the protagonist for unspecified reasons.

Gameplay [ ]

Strange Journey returns to the original Shin Megami Tensei style of dungeon crawling with a first person perspective, and uses animated sprites instead of 3D models. Additionally, there is no world map; each major area is completely isolated and can only be accessed through a hub area.

The inclusion of the Demonica ( DEMO untable N ext I ntegrated C apability A rmor) allows the protagonist to upgrade his abilities through the use of "Apps". Apps include both combat and exploration abilities, such as the ability to unlock doors. The number of apps the player can have active is limited in the original Strange Journey , but not in the Redux rerelease.

Among other features, apps automate the effects of Estoma , Liftoma , and Riberama , so those skills are no longer present.

Demon Analysis [ ]

Unlike in other games, demons initially hide their appearance when first encountered, appearing as a sprite that looks like white noise, and all statistics for the demon will be displayed as "??". Attempting to negotiate with an unknown demon results in unintelligible text, and though the player can respond, the effects of the negotiation are completely random.

After defeating a demon once, the Demonica will advance its analysis level to 1, revealing the demon's name and appearance for all future encounters. Defeating demons, using them in your party, and including them in Co-Op attacks will advance their analysis level further. At level 2, the demon's elemental affinities will be revealed, and at level 3, all information about the demon will be revealed. Fusing or recruiting a demon will also immediately upgrade its analysis to level 2.

Co-Op Attacks [ ]

The Co-Op system replaces the Press Turn system from the previous game . If the protagonist or any of the player's demons hit an elemental weakness, all allies of the same alignment (Law, Chaos, or Neutral) will perform a Co-Op attack. Co-Op attacks will only ever manifest as a single hit, but they will be stronger if more allies contribute to the attack. Co-Op attacks are non-elemental and cannot be resisted or negated. Additionally, Co-Op attacks significantly increase the analyze rate of the participating demons.

Unlike the Press Turn system, this mechanic is exclusive to the player, and enemies cannot benefit from Co-Op attacks.

Demon Sources [ ]

When an allied demon's analysis level is maxed out, it will grant the player a Demon Source or D-Source, which can be added to any fusion to grant fused demons additional skills. D-Sources contain up to three fixed skills, as well as a bonus skill randomly selected from the demon's own learned skills. The player can only hold one of each D-Source at a time, and may rarely regain D-Sources from their respective demons as level-up gifts.

In addition to Macca, purchasing items now also consumes a resource known as Forma. Forma is obtained from demons (either by defeat or negotiation), with every demon having its own Forma, and from the overworld, with every Sector having its own Forma. Items are crafted through recipes requiring specific Forma.

Password System [ ]

By using an up to 32 digit code in the Demon Compendium, players can trade passwords to unlock demons from each other. Certain demons can only be obtained in this way, and Atlus revealed certain passwords to give players access. It was decided that this system was easier to use than connecting through Wi-Fi, as passwords can be posted anywhere and used at anytime.

Miscellaneous [ ]

Additional mechanics include:

• Gun attacks have returned after their absence in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne .
• Gun weapons now provide up to three skills when equipped by the protagonist. Each gun has a unique skill list. These skills often cost MP and mimic the effect of offensive spells.
• Stats use the same scale as Digital Devil Saga : Stats go up to 99 and characters gain 3 stat points on level up.
• Unlike in previous games, the player does not choose how to allocate the protagonist's stat points on level up; instead, the protagonist has one of several stat growth patterns based on the player's answer to a personality questionnaire at the start of the game.

Reception [ ]

Strange Journey was well received by critics. IGN gave it 4 stars (8.5 on a scale of 10), saying that "though the game's turn-based combat system is standard stuff, fusing demons, launching co-op attacks, and exploring the environments keeps things interesting." It received a score of 36/40 from Famitsu, which was the highest score given by the Japanese magazine to an Atlus game at the time.

Gallery [ ]

• The American release was accompanied by a soundtrack CD as well as a collectible outer box with all launch copies of the game. Music is done by long-time composer Shoji Meguro .
• A poster was available with the pre-order of the game from GameStop . It is located behind the box art.
• In 2009, a forum thread claimed that the game was developed as Shin Megami Tensei IV according to an interview with Kazuma Kaneko , but since the game's setting does not take place in Tokyo, it is apparently not named as such. [1] However, a new interview with director Eiji Ishida contradicts this. Ishida says that Strange Journey was conceived as a spinoff from the very beginning, but the promotional staff and Kazuma Kaneko thought that its quality was high enough to be called Shin Megami Tensei IV . Ishida ultimately refused to market it as such. Ishida also makes no mention of its setting not being in Tokyo becoming a factor. [2]  
• To date, Strange Journey has the fewest playable characters out of any Shin Megami Tensei game excluding fusible demons.
• The vehicles used to explore the Schwarzwelt are based on the Landmasters from a post-apocalyptic science fiction movie called Damnation Alley .

References [ ]

• ↑ Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey is technically SMT4, says producer GoNintendo. (RawmeatCowboy; September 30, 2009)
• ↑ Embarking on a Strange Journey, redux Retronauts (Parish, Jeremy; July 19, 2018)

External links [ ]

• Official Japanese Site
• Official North America Site
• (Atlus U.S.A. Forums) Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Forum
• (Atlus U.S.A. Forums) Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Demon Password Forum
• (Atlus U.S.A. Forums) PRODUCTION DIARY: "Use Your Allusion" by Lead Editor Nich Maragos
• (Atlus U.S.A. YouTube Account) English Trailer / Gameplay Trailer
• Shin Megami Tensei
• 1 Persona 5: The Phantom X
• 2 Makoto Yuki
• 3 Ren Amamiya

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux Review (3DS)

A Place Further Than the Universe

Version Reviewed: European

• review by Morgan Sleeper Tue 29th May 2018

By now, ATLUS’ long-running Shin Megami Tensei series should be a familiar name for 3DS owners; from the Sega Saturn-remake of  Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers  to  Shin Megami Tensei IV  and its direct sequel  Apocalypse , these darkly stylish, demon-collecting JRPGs have delivered some of the most engrossing experiences on the platform. It may be getting on in years, but the 3DS isn’t quite done with MegaTen yet, thanks to latest entry:  Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey Redux , a remake of a 2009 DS dungeon-crawler. While the upgrade lacks some of the bells and whistles we’ve come to expect - such as stereoscopic 3D and an English dub - this is still a top-tier, atmospheric adventure, a standout Shin Megami Tensei title, and a must-play for RPG fans.

Trading in MegaTen’s typical Tokyo trappings for something a bit more remote, Strange Journey sends players straight down to icy Antarctica. Something’s not right on the southern continent; a mysterious blight called the Schwarzwelt is slowly creeping its way up from the South Pole, threatening to envelop the entire globe in darkness and destruction. As part of a secret, international crew sent down to investigate, you’ll fill the shoes of a young cadet charged with protecting the team from any potential dangers. It doesn’t take long for things to heat up from there, starting with the revelation that the Schwarzwelt is hiding more than just darkness, instead appearing to be a multidimensional war zone for angels, demons, and the unfortunate humans caught up in the middle.

Strange Journey is aptly named, and its twisting narrative makes for an engaging, winding ride. It features the allegorical storytelling Shin Megami Tensei is famous for - with characters that represent ideological ideals like Law and Chaos as much as their individual personalities - but its unique setting also allows for a genuinely intriguing sci-fi. It deals with themes of artificial intelligence and agency, environmental disaster and religion, and it’s all backed up by excellent worldbuilding and memorable characters.

Once you settle into Antarctica, you’ll be able to head out from your ship and explore the Schwarzwelt proper, and it’s here that the main gameplay loop opens up. Strange Journey is a dungeon-crawling JRPG that plays a bit like a cross between mainline Shin Megami Tensei games and an uncharacteristically dark  Etrian Odyssey . From Shin Megami Tensei, it takes the demon-gathering team-building (think biblical Pokémon), weakness-based battles, and moral alignment system (more on all these in a bit); from Etrian Odyssey, it takes an expedition-based mission structure, discrete dungeon areas, and intricate, dynamic level design. Instead of the navigable overworld of most MegaTens, here you’ll jet off into discrete ‘sectors’ from a menu, exploring and mapping out (automatically) each area as you go, pushing your team as far as you can before heading back to retreat, refuel, and jump back out again.

It’s a satisfying cycle, and the excellent level design keeps everything feeling fresh, with traps, mazes, portals, and plenty of NPCs and on-field scenarios to keep you on your toes. More than most MegaTen games, there’s a sense that the map is as much an enemy as the demons in Strange Journey. There’s also an addicting feedback loop of rewards, as resources you’ll find in the Schwarzwelt can be used to develop new items, armour, and weapons, and to upgrade your high-tech Demonica Suit with new ‘apps’ - programs that open up new locations, new gameplay features, and tweaks to adjust everything from difficulty to drop rates.

Of course, the Schwarzwelt is more than just empty space, and along with mapping out its multidimensional mazes, you’ll spend plenty of time fighting for your life against its inhabitants: the angels, demons, and mythological creatures that make up Shin Megami Tensei’s massive menagerie of monsters. You’ll use these monsters to fight as well, putting together a team by negotiating with enemy demons to convince them to join your cause.

Demon negotiation can be a bit hit or miss in Megami Tensei games, but Strange Journey is on the more satisfying end of the spectrum. The dialogic gymnastics you’ll engage in to court your creatures range from abrasive to flirty to downright absurd, but they’re always a good time. Once you’ve gathered a few monsters, you can also ‘fuse’ them together to create more powerful creatures, passing down skills as you go. Demon fusion is oddly compelling, and it’s easy to spend hours trying to manipulate the system to put together a perfect team.

You can field a party of up to three demons at a time alongside your human avatar, and with physical attacks and guns, an elemental magic system, and an outsized focus on debuffs and status ailments, the turn-based combat in Strange Journey is a snappy, fun, and satisfyingly strategic affair. It’s also one that stands out even from other Shin Megami Tensei games, thanks to the particular importance it places on alignment. The alignment system is a key piece of Strange Journey in general; dialogue choices you make and actions you take throughout the game affect your character’s moral compass, which runs on a spectrum from Law to Neutral to Chaos. That alignment in turn affects the story progression, the endings you’ll see, and even your battle and recruitment strategies. Not only is it significantly easier to recruit demons of the same alignment, once on your team your ideological allies will also help you out with additional ‘Demon Co-Op’ attacks after you hit an enemy’s weakness.

These follow up attacks - Strange Journey’s version of SMTIV’s Press-Turn system - allow you to pile on any time you can suss out an opponent’s weak point, and learning to exploit them to their fullest is an absolutely essential part of battle. You could field an all-Neutral team and get three follow-up attacks to every critical hit, for instance; or you could spread out the damage potential by fielding a 2-2 split. It’s a wonderful little wrinkle that helps ensure you’re changing your strategies as you progress through the game; conversational choices we made had us hopping between alignments several times, so that the all-Neutral team we fielded in the early game quickly became no help at all after we made one too many Law-abiding decisions.

Between the ever-shifting alignment system, the dynamic level design, and the difficulty of the combat - it’s easy to party-wipe even from standard battles, and bosses are beautifully brutal, try-again affairs - Strange Journey nails the feeling of tension that makes the best dungeon crawlers so hard to put down. As one example of this that will tax even franchise veterans, the first time you fight a particular demon it appears only as a ghostly glitch, with no information about what monster it might be. This means you won’t be able to see a Jack Frost, instantly call on years of Shin Megami Tensei experience to know that Agi attacks will hit a weak point, and cheat out a cheeky victory; instead, you’ll have to first fight a round blind, bringing back the thrill of seeing a new foe for the very first time even if you’ve been summoning demons since the Super Famicom.

Of course, this was all true of the original DS release as well, so what’s new in this remake? Most importantly, Redux adds a significant chunk of narrative content, including a new key character and storyline, an excellent new dungeon, lots of new demons, and several new endings. It’s a sizeable addition, but even better, it’s smartly integrated into the game; rather than a tacked-on epilogue or extra episode, Redux’s new story beats are woven relatively organically into the experience. Whether that’s worth a replay in and of itself will depend on the player, of course, but for us, Strange Journey’s already-engrossing gameplay and branching paths make a return trip an appealing proposition.

Another significant upgrade is the addition of multiple difficulty levels. The ‘Normal’ default is plenty hard, so while masochists will get some mileage out of the new ‘Hard’ mode, the rest of us will appreciate being able to drop down to ‘Casual’ when needed. That welcome option is accompanied by several smaller quality-of-life tweaks; you can now save anywhere in a dungeon, for instance, and many of the new Demonica apps are geared towards lowering the challenge level. Strange Journey is never going to be an easy game, but we very much appreciate these extras making it more accessible.

Graphically, Redux isn’t a massive leap over the original release, but it is a noticeable one; crisp new character portraits add a lot of expression to dialogue scenes, the newly dynamic battle backgrounds are much more exciting, and the updated HUD makes for a gorgeously stylish interface. A few lower-res textures and blocky objects betray its DS origins, but overall, this is a very attractive game.

There is, however, one significant flaw in Redux’s presentation on the 3DS: it’s not actually presented in 3D. While this seems to be turning into something of a trend in the system’s twilight years, it’s especially disappointing here; a first-person dungeon-crawler with a slick visor-based HUD is practically crying out for stereoscopic support. We kept instinctively trying to turn the slider up when we’d come across new Schwarzwelt sectors, hoping to see them pop in 3D like Etrian Odyssey’s labyrinths; it isn’t a dealbreaker, but it is a notable disappointment.

The audio is also a bit of a mixed bag in terms of upgrades. Most significantly, Redux adds full voice acting to the story for the first time - but only in Japanese. The Japanese track is excellent, and it certainly adds to the experience, but if you’re used to playing 3DS Shin Megami Tensei games in English, the lack of a dub here feels like a missing option. The music, on the other hand, required no updating at all, and remains as hauntingly brilliant as ever. This is a special soundtrack from Shoji Meguro, with orchestral instrumentation, ghostly choirs, and occasional bursts of memorably melodic riffs. It’s appropriately unsettling, and delightfully different.

In fact, ‘delightfully different’ is a good descriptor for Strange Journey Redux in general. It’s very much Shin Megami Tensei - with demon negotiations, dungeon crawling, and weakness-based combat - but from its setting and soundtrack to its gameplay and story, it stands out in the series. That unique nature makes it a rewarding play for series veterans, but also a perfect place to start if you’ve never played a MegaTen title before; no matter where you’re coming from, you really can’t go wrong.

From its demon collecting and killer combat to its sci-fi South Pole setting, Strange Journey Redux is a fantastically engrossing adventure, and an excellent reason to get lost in your 3DS once again. As a remake of a DS classic, Redux adds in enough new content to make a replay worth your time, along with plenty of welcome accessibility tweaks to help let newcomers in on one of Shin Megami Tensei’s best kept secrets. The lack of stereoscopic 3D and English voiceover is disappointing, but these are small complaints; Strange Journey is a can’t-miss trip for JRPG fans.

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Comments 53

• Tue 29th May 2018

Certain buy for me! Now gimme some Shin Megami Tensei on the Switch!

• CanisWolfred

I didn't notice there was no stereoscopic 3D or English voiceovers when I bought it. That really is a bummer. I'll still play it and probably enjoy it, but it's gonna be weird since most of the cast are not Japanese...

• imgrowinglegs

One of my absolute favorite DS RPGs, now on 3DS. Naturally I bought this, haha. Strange Journey rules.

There is such a ridiculous amount of SMT remakes at this point, but I don’t mind. I’m glad this one isn’t going as far under the radar as Soul Hackers did a few years ago.

@MattFox Considering how much SMT the 3DS has, I have a good feeling the Switch is gonna get a lot more than just SMT V.

• Kimyonaakuma

I enjoyed it but I wish the localisation was the same high standard as the other SMT games on the 3DS.

Bring on SMT V!

I wish the Persona series eventually come to Switch, it's already have a decent fanbase on Nintendo consoles with all those SMTs, Persona Q & Tokyo Mirage Sessions, c'mon, only a little step left, Atlus.

Is everything getting a 9 nowadays?

The original was an amazing game, one of my absolute favorites on the DS. I'm sure this version is just as good.

But boy was this game rare in Europe, not a single retailer that I often use seemed to even acknowledge this game existed. I pre-ordered the PAL copy from Play-Asia and luckily got my copy sent, after that the pal version was immediatedly out of print/out of stock in that site too. Talk about a limited release, sheesh. Now waiting for my copy to arrive with baked breath.

The lack of a dub annoys me.

@oji I’ll be very pleasantly surprised if they ever announce a mainline Persona game that isn’t a PS exclusive.

I’d even be happy with remakes. Persona 1 and both Persona 2’s are kind of rough, and would benefit from an overhaul.

So which ones are TOP3 SMT

• ChromaticDracula

I so regret not buying this right at release. I seriously LOVE these games and are some of the best/top RPGs out there, as far as I'm concerned.

I'll be getting this in just a short while and hopefully it's still the "first-run" version that includes extra stuff — I have pretty much all the other Atlus games like this and my Collection OCD is creeping up so that I have all first-runs of Atlus games.

I love these games but I have such a hard time navigating dungeons in first person. Still an awesome series though

@Eagle9 I haven’t beaten most SMT games, but the most popular seem to be: SMT 3: Nocturne (PS2) SMT IV (3DS) SMT: Digital Devil Saga (1 & 2) (PS2)

I really enjoy Strange Journey, the Devil Survivor games, and Soul Hackers also.

@Alto If you’re looking for extra stuff, you’re gonna be disappointed.

The DS version had a cool slip cover and a soundtrack tucked inside. This 3DS version has nothing except a reversible cover.

I love my Switch but the sheer depth of RPG's on the 3DS means I still play it almost daily and with releases like this I can see that continuing for at least another year or two.

I can't get into the SMT games at all. The rng of it and constant reloading from saves just astounds me. SMT IV was unplayable in my opinion. Kudos to anyone with the patience for this sort of game, not my cup of tea.

@bolt05 Yeah the beginning of SMT4 is harsh but you can unlock an easy mode after dying twice. It's worth giving it another chance. It's a fantastic JRPG.

@bolt05 That's fair. SMT games are purposely hard on the player. Once you pass the first boss, the game balances out a bit. Now, getting past that boss can take a while...

How is it for a jumping on point for the series. The game looks like a lot of fun but, I don't want to get into something too confusing that would make me not want to play it.

Cool. Can't wait for it to finally jumps to the Switch

• Preposterous

Even though I already received the game a week ago, a little while ago I went back to finish SMT 4 Apocalypse and ended up playing it instead, it's just so good and a step up in every regard in comparison to regular SMT 4. The original Strange Journey was one of THE best titles on DS, though, so it seems like I won't be getting off the Shin Megami Tensei train for quite a while. Now I only need to figure out which path to chose this time around.

Skipping this one. Don't really like 1st person dungeon crawlers. I'll take SMT IV and SMT IV:A over this any day.

The lack of english voiceovers and stereoscopic 3D is actually perfect for me. Atlus games have terrible 3D implementation, so I never make use of it, and their English dubs... aren't awful, but the way they butcher Japanese names can get incredibly annoying.

With that said, this is the one SMT game where English vocals would have made a lot of sense.

@Preposterous SMT IV: Apocalypse is probably my favorite 3DS game, full stop. I wasn't not expecting it to be as fully engaging an experience as it turned out to be.

@bolt05 SMT IV's initial difficulty curve is a bit steep, but it got easier for me the more I played. The Minotaur was easily the hardest part of the game for me.

If you ever get a chance, try SMT IV: Apocalypse. The difficulty curve is much more fair, and it starts out with difficulty options. There are also numerous QOL improvements that make it less intimidating than the previous game.

Bring it out for the Switch please.

@Preposterous Gameplay-wise it's one of the best SMT until now (If only they added Attacks Combos like Digital Devil Saga 1&2, it would be perfect). Story, in the other hand... Meh. "Shoehorn neutral path which one is Persona-kawai-waifu-friendship-plot-armor". Dagda had so much potential, but in the end he's just an edgelord. //

Sector E now, the one thing that bothers me it's the alignment bs (just because I cooperate with ONE angel in sector Carina doesn't mean I'm a zealot).

@Eagle9 I've played almost every SMT game starting with SMT 1. My favorites are SMT 1, SMT IV Apocalypse and Nocturne. As far as spin offs go, Devil Survivor Overclocked is amazing as well as Digital Devil Saga and Persona 3 is pretty fun. (I also really liked Soul Hackers and Persona 1 but I don't believe that's a popular opinion.) The best place to start is with SMT IV or with a Persona game (either start with P3 and then move on to 4 or just play P5).

my only issue is the first-person view. I hate it

• big_bad_bob

Want it, but doubt I will ever have time for it. Put it on the Switch!

@Tsurii : Thanks, I'll try to pick it up sometime soon.

@Alex90 I think that was the point of Dagda's character, based on his design, personality and manner of speech (at least the English version fits that image), instead of being a true representative of neutral path - Krishna and the Divine Powers fit that role much better. The supporting cast seemed likeable to me and unlike Persona, you do get an option to betray them, which is pretty cool. Even though the gameplay is really good, I wouldn't mind SMT 5 bringing even more improvements.

@Ralizah Exactly. I would've been perfectly fine with it if it was a Persona game, since that takes place in Japan, starring Japanese High School students. Even when it's in English, you have to assume they're speaking Japanese, and the English is a convenience for the sake of the player.

In Strange Journey, however, they're an international UN task force sent to research a global threat, so it would make sense if they all spoke a common language, which you would figure would be English. Instead they're all speaking Japanese, despite there only being...I think two Japanese characters, one of whom mostly spoke through Dialogue choice selections, assuming that he hasn't gotten any new speaking roles.

So once again, we have to assume that they're all speaking a different language, presumedly English, and the Japanese is there as a convenience for the player...most of whom are probably not familiar with Japanese, so it's subtitled in English. It all comes full circle!

I have the original DS version but man it's balls hard. The 3DS remake is much more friendly and I am really enjoying it.

@Executer66 Most SMT are standalone so from a story perspective, you won't miss anything. If talking gameplay difficulty, that may be a barrier to you. The first time I played SMT Strange Journey, I somehow managed to defeat the first boss, however, something happened to my save and I had to go through it again. This time, I met the boss too early and it defeated me quite easily. It took me several tries to get passed it. Combat can be easy or very difficult depending on the demon types you place in battle.

Eh...the support for this game kinda baffles me. It's not terrible, but it's not really that good either.

@oninowon : Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.

This game is great. I've been chipping away at it little by little since I've gotten it. It doesn't seem as hard as SMT4. That Minotaur shivers

• KryptoniteKrunch

Nice, as with pretty much all SMT games, I was expecting a 9. Man, the 3DS turned out to be quite the machine for SMT fans; I've enjoyed them all and it looks like this one won't be any different.

• Wed 30th May 2018

@bitleman I didn't know there was an easier mode, so thanks for that.

I was defeated in the first fight about 6 times straight and though omg this is a bit nuts and I just don't have time to replay a battle quite that much.

• Thu 31st May 2018

@ChibiNinja 1. Story was top notch! The opening scene, alone, draws you in from the beginning. As you go through the labyrinth, some of the area's descriptions are so disturbing. 2. One of very few rated M games for the 3DS! 3. Couple of ways to capture demons. 4. The first SMT game where your character is directly involved in battles.

1. I will give you that the opening is fairly good. The rest of the story is just 'okay' - not bad, but pretty typical for the series, and unless they cleaned it up in redux the writing was a little rough at times. Again, not bad, but nothing I would consider 'top notch' personally. 2. Rating doesn't really mean anything for the quality of a game. 3. Not much to say here. Pretty typical series stuff - the game doesn't particularly mess anything up here or the like, so I don't really have any arguments. 4. Okay, I'm sorry, but this one just isn't true. The character was directly involved in battles way back in Shin Megami Tensei on the SNES. And if you mean first one that was brought to the west...I believe that's Nocturne, for the PS2.

Like I said, the game isn't terrible, but I just don't think it's all that fantastic either. I am glad the game came to the west though - too many things never make the jump and that's sad.

• Wed 6th Jun 2018

I passed on the early purchase because of the lack of stereoscopic 3d. If it drops down to 19.99 I might pick it up. I am a bit bitter about the lack of 3d in these late release titles. I love the 3d. Its why I bought the system.

• Tue 10th Jul 2018

@Windy Me too! (about being bitter about lack of stereoscopic 3D support on later 3DS games). I refused to buy the last Pokémon Sun and Moon because of it.

However, SMT Strange Journey was originally a DS game and I don't mind ports of older games not having the 3D as long it has some other enhanced features.

@ChibiNinja I only added the rating because there are so few adult rating games and it is joy for us adult gamers to see one on a Nintendo system. I've not played SMT Nocturn in a long time but I believe your character was never directly involved in battles.

• Sun 12th Aug 2018

@oninowon Ive still bought a few Late releases. I got MiiTopia which actually had the 3d and I found absolutely hilarious. I also bought Dragon quest 7 and 8. 8 had no 3d but is still gorgeous. I will pick up This version of SMT I have all of them on 3ds. That wont change. I love this system. Its been my favorite console (yeah he said console) of all time. I have put more time into gaming on 3ds than anything ive ever owned. I just wish I was better at Mario Golf! How in the world do people shoot 25 under par on an 18 hole course? Yikes. I have recently modded my Wii to play online again and im really enjoying that. Im hoping they will at least announce Dragon Quest X or XI for 3ds in North America. I know X isnt going to make it but I can dream..........

@Windy I have DQ7 and 8 on the PS2. DQ7 was my very first DQ game although I've since played DQ3-5 on my original DS system. DQ5 is still my favorite of the series. Generally, I'm not a fan of Mario sports but I did buy Mario Tennis for the GC and enjoyed it. Despite that I'm still on the fence about getting it for Nintendo Switch. Bad news for 3DS owners though. DQ11 will not be coming to Western shores for the 3DS. If you have a Switch, the game is still slated to come to the system but much later.

@oninowon oh yeah I also picked up Mario sports and was very disappointed with it. It seriously feels like 5 demos that have online play. I will probably trade that in for SMT. Thats a bummer about DQXI not coming to 3ds. I thought it would send the 3ds out with a bang. But they never really do send systems out with a bang do they?

• Wed 12th Sep 2018

@Windy This +1. I loved SMT IV and was planning to play this one close to release .. the no 3d really soured me. I will still play it as I love the series , but I have not played SMT Apocalypse yet and I will know play that first and get this later on on price drop . Hate doing that as I want to support but no 3d is less value to me in my opinion

@HolyYoshi Im the same way. Btw you should love apocalypse. Great graphics and excellent open world gameplay. I have Shin Megami IV as well Apocolypse is identical. Its my favorite series on 3ds. Shin megami IV is my favorite 3ds game just ahead of Fantasy Life. You know if you havent bought Apocalypse yet you zhould actually get Shin megami IV if you havent played it. Its pretty cheap these days 14.99 or so. I think ive seen Apocalypse down to 24.99 on Amazon. But the 2 games are Identical with Apocalypse having new quests. The 3d is beautiful on both.

• Thu 13th Sep 2018

Thanks Windy .. I actually did play SMT IV and loved it . Really wanted to play strange journey as it has more of a sci fi theme ... Change of pace . But the no 3d is a bummer as I really love it in all the games . Have heard alot of good things about Fantasy Life . I was kind of torn between that and ever Oasis. Played the demo of ever oasis and really liked it . Have you by chance played Ever Oasis ? If so let me know your thoughts !

• Wed 3rd Oct 2018

@HolyYoshi yes I have Oasis as well and it is great. If I had to choose between Fantasy Life and Oasis it would be Fantasy Life because of the online play. Whats nice about the Fantasy life Online is that its exactly the same as playing offline. The game doesnt skip a beat. They are both nice

• Tue 17th Mar 2020

Just bought it on the eShop (UK) sale last week for around a fiver!! Total bargain since I already have Shin Megami Tensei IV and still think it's one of the best 3DS games ever!! I was trying to choose between Apocalypse and SJ Redux and think I'm pleasantly happy with the choice I made😊

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Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux – Guides and FAQs

Shin megami tensei: strange journey guides, full game guides.

• Guide and Walkthrough by  Devhatesyou DS v.1.02, 930KB, 2010 *Most Recommended* *FAQ of the Month Winner: May 2010*

In-Depth Guides

• Forma/Password Guide (Incomplete) by  Roto_Arel DS v.1.0, 97KB, 2010
• Demon Alignment FAQ by  Roto_Arel DS v.1.2, 195KB, 2011
• Demon Skill List by  NARFNra HTML DS 20KB, 2014
• Demon Source Compendium by  Bitbyte DS v.1.0, 41KB, 2010
• Game Mechanics/Demon Database by  Zeruel DS v.1.83, 713KB, 2010

Maps and Charts

• Basic Fusion Chart by  Battle_Cry DS v.1.0, 2018
• Fusion Chart by  Zandio DS v.1.0, 2010
• Jack's Squad HQ Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Antlia 1F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Antlia B1F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Antlia B2F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Bootes 1F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Bootes 2F - 5F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Bootes 6F - 8F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Carina 1F - B1F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Carina 2F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Carina 3F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Carina 4F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Delphinus 1F - 2F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Delphinus 3F - 4F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Delphinus 5F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Delphinus 6F - 9F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Eridanus 1F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Eridanus 2F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Eridanus 3F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Eridanus TOP Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Fornax 1F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Fornax B1F - B2F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Fornax B3F - B5F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Fornax B6F - B7F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Grus 1F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2018
• Sector Grus 1F Phase Shift Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Grus B1F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Grus B2F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Grus B3F - B4F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Horologium 1F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Horologium B1F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Horologium B2F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Horologium B3F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Horologium B4F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Horologium B5F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010
• Sector Horologium B6F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Horologium B7F - B8F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010 *Highest Rated*
• Sector Horologium B9F Dungeon Map by  zelos71 DS 2010

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