After three years of waiting, RPG fans can now breathe easily. During the E3 2021 Nintendo Direct stream, the first gameplay trailer for Shin Megami Tensei V was finally unleashed to the public. Atlus has also confirmed that the game will be coming to the west on November 12, 2021, for Nintendo Switch. While pre-orders for physical copies will be opened next week on June 21.
In the Nintendo Direct 2021 trailer, it is revealed that our protagonist was transported into Another Tokyo, a post-apocalyptic alternate universe where angels and demons reside. But before anything terrible can happen, a mysterious figure appears and extends his hand. You and he combine into the powerful Nahobino, with the power to both fight and befriend the demons. Here’s the story summary from Nintendo.com.
The ambitions of god and human clash amidst the horror of a dying world. Neither human nor demon, the newly-forged Nahobino and his friends must decide what is worth saving… and prepare to sacrifice everything in its name. In a world without its Creator, which path will you choose?”
The series’ staple turn-based combat where you have to exploit enemy weaknesses along with recruiting demons via Negotiation options are back in Shin Megami Tensei V. Once you have recruited more than two demons, you can then fuse them into a more powerful figure. Honestly, gameplay-wise, it’s nothing that you wouldn’t expect from an SMT title. However, similar to Persona 4 and 5, this time random encounters are replaced with enemies roaming on the map. Visually, it looks quite similar to Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne where you can freely roam around in 3D environments instead of first-person dungeon crawling like in older titles.
It seems the name of our protagonist’s new form, Nahobino, might be derived from Nahobi no Kami, a group of Shinto gods that some believe to be the deities of purification and remover of calamities. They were born to counterbalance the existence of Magatsuhi no Kami, or God of Disaster. Our task here might involve removing anything that turns Another Tokyo into such a wasteland and restore balance to the new world. Let’s wait and see if it’s correct until Atlus has something more to show off of Shin Megami Tensei V.
Are you excited about the latest Shin Megami Tensei title shown off at today’s Nintendo Direct? Let us know!
