Review on 👾 Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey - DS by Matthew Owens

MegaTen games are known for being difficult, and Strange Journey definitely lives up to, uh, shame. The dungeons in this game are long, I mean long. Don't expect to fully clear most dungeons at once, as you probably won't. The floors are littered with broken tiles and trapdoors, and the constant random encounters can be overwhelming; So expect a lot of healing and grinding in the process. Beware of Macca Beam. And as usual, being a MegaTen game, don't be surprised by cheap deaths, whether it's back-attacks from strong enemies or random hits with an instant death spell. The fusion system in this game is quite limited, as your main ability choices come in the form of demon sources, which you can use during the fusion process to bestow certain abilities on a demon. Skill inheritance in this game is tricky as you can't effectively use non-source demon abilities to your liking. Some people like it as it gives the game a better balance and makes it harder to combine extremely powerful demons (although you can still abuse the password system to summon the OP's demons), but to each their own. The combat system of turn-based and follow-up/collaborative attacks is determined by how many demons in the active party are aligned (whether with you or with another demon). The music is best described objectively as different from what Meguro usually composes. Some people consider the soundtrack to be one of the best in the series, while others (myself included) find it personally annoying and prefer Meguro's work in other MegaTen games. The least I can say is that the music suits the setting well. As much as I love the soundtrack, there's something about the heavy orchestral tracks and extreme ominous vocals that seems to best suit the atmosphere of demon-infested Antarctica. Overall, Strange Journey is pretty solid for an SMT game. If you're a beginner looking to try out what MegaTen is like outside of Persona and up for a challenge, or someone familiar with the series looking to pick up a new game, I definitely recommend this game.