Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Review – Definitive and Beyond 

As a good old tradition at Atlus, the studio once again launched an enhanced re-release of its JRPG – now with Vengeance for Shin Megami Tensei V, nearly 3 years since it rocked the Nintendo Switch. Like Royal is to Persona 5, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is not some minor update with a few quality-of-life improvements, but a huge definitive enhancement – complete with a new story campaign centered around a new girl, new Nahobino form, places, demons, and so much more.

If the beautifully desolate and unorthodox world of the original was already such a wonderful experience, how would Vengeance play into it all and improve it all? – an amazingly crafted new story, of course. In Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, you can choose to either venture into the original route, which is Canon of Creation or initiate a completely new narrative in Canon of Vengeance.

The story of the Shin Megami Tensei usually revolves around the conflict between demons and angels and the impending doom of the world – which is still portrayed very strongly in this fifth entry. In Canon of Vengeance, as the name implies, revolves around the topic of “revenge” and introduces an amazing cast of new faces such as Yoko Hiromine as a new partner and the amazingly memorable antagonist group Qadištu, also known as The Goddesses of Vengeance – a group of beautiful female demons led by the seductive Lilith. 

Every new character in this canon already leaves a strong impression on me from the start, and this only further escalates as I progress the game. Not only newcomers are getting the spotlight, but even the old original characters are receiving new love – with more screen time and further strengthening their relevance in the story.

If you are a returning fan, there is obviously a bias effect since you already experienced the old story in the original. However, Atlus did give the Canon of Creation route some overhaul through access to new side quests, mechanics, quality-of-life enhancements, and more. That said, Canon of Vengeance is not limited to only telling a new story, but you also get to explore the new region of Da’at and access Nahobino’s new form of Tsukiyomi – all unavailable in Canon of Creation. From a story standpoint, Canon of Vengeance is denser and we would argue is the best playthrough to fully appreciate Shin Megami Tensei V.

A Date in Da’at 

As briefly mentioned, you get a new region to explore in Canon of Vengeance – Da’at, a netherworld parallel to Tokyo, but inhabited by demons. The scenery of Da’at may not feel like it changed drastically at a glance, but many new features made exploration so much more comfortable and convenient, such as the Magatsu rail which allows you to reach distant areas swiftly through a kind of aerial rail that also serves to open up shortcuts. Navigation also feels easier now with the sky view feature, where you can see the surrounding area from a bird’s eye view. Sure, the game already has a minimap, but the new sky view gave a clearer vision of how to navigate some of the more complicated areas.

Meanwhile, Shinjuku itself added a fairly large zone in Da’at, granting more exploration opportunities as well as challenges – especially when it comes to the demons you may encounter. For example, the Mad Gasser often ambushes you in groups, making it quite challenging unless you memorize their spawns. Mad Gasser aside, most demons in this region can be quite a challenge, but that also made them great new companions to your party.

Furthermore, there is also a new dungeon within Shinjuku called Shakan, which arguably has my favorite design and atmosphere in the game. Beyond that, it is a place where you could encounter even tougher demons and more exploration, which can be confusing to navigate at times.

Leaving aside Shinjuku, the game now adds a relaxing base of sorts with Demon Haunts – a place to casually hang out with your demons and other important characters, as well as accessing the Free Camera to use as a flexible Photo Mode. 

Busy with My Press Turns 

It’s no secret that the combat in Shin Megami Tensei is often regarded as quite brutal, and Vengeance is no exception. While this version of Shin Megami Tensei V brought in many major quality-of-life overhauls to enhance the comfort of the experience, the difficulty level is not majorly impacted directly – keeping the essence of the original. You are still required to make lots of preparation and think of strategies in combat – a single phase of gyration can be fatal if you’re unable to adapt. Scenarios where your party gets wiped out can be a common sight even on the lowest difficulty.

Even so, the combat system is still relatively the same, so those who are already familiar can get in tune with it in no time. The turn-based format is presented with your party of four, with the main character and three other members consisting of guest characters or demons that you manage to recruit. Normally, each party member is allotted one action before it’s the enemy’s turn, but with the press turn system – you can get up to 8 turns as long as you successfully attack the enemy according to their weaknesses.

Other mechanics such as status effects, resistance types, negotiations with demons, and access to Magatsuhi skills are still presented without much significant change. Instead of tinkering with the already solid combat system, Atlus enriches the options while adding incredibly helpful features. For example, over 50 different Magatsuhi skills are now added, as well as how you can engage in continuous battles that are no longer limited to just one wave of enemies while exploring the world.

New Form and Demon Friends

I’m sure many are curious about Nahobino’s new form but I would like to avoid going too in-depth as it has a huge connection to the main story of Canon of Vengeance. The point is Nahobino, the main character, will get access to the new form Tsukuyomi, which not only changes his appearance with a shinobi aesthetic but also grants access to various badass new skills. It was love at first sight at how cool the design was, and our appreciation only strengthened when I had the chance to play Nahobino after gaining these new powers. You could say that the moment where Nahobino managed to get Tsukuyomi’s form seemed to be the point where he got his real power.

The main character isn’t the only one getting the spotlight because demons are getting a lot of love as well. The presence of many new demons contributes to the new scenery of Da’at such as Dormarth, Gremlin, Halphas, Karasu Tengu, Unicorn, Tzitzimitl, Fenrir, and many more. As always, these demons will not only be your opponents but also potentially new partners that you could recruit to your party. The capabilities of each demon are also maximized through the Innate Skill, which is a kind of passive skill with a variety of different effects like buffs or bonuses depending on conditions. These Innate Skills further increase the potential that can be achieved with certain team combinations, so no matter how weak the demons in your party are, there is always some kind of potential to be maximized. 

Remarkable Improvements

Playing Vengeance, I could feel the developer’s intentions in responding to feedback to make sure the game can answer all fans’ expectations for the best version of Shin Megami Tensei V because the improvements are truly remarkable – from a more enriched upgrade system through Essence Fusion, the option to incorporate new demons through Dyad Compendium Fusion, a Virtual Trainer facility to hone skills in a variety of challenging battle scenarios, to an increase in the Level Cap to 150.

I have yet to even include the small parts such as the Tutorial Recap option, the addition of indications to facilitate subquest progress, changes to demons with the role of Quest Navigators, adjusting damage with levels, and much more.

What’s more, there is also a flexible New Game+ feature with a variety of unique options for those who want to return to the game or simply switch to the other route after finishing their game – instead of carrying over bonuses that feel relevant, the game will spread them out in multiple options to choose from with challenge levels ranging from the friendliest Newborn to the hardest Godborn.

Another praise to give is more toward the technical side of things because it may not be 100% perfect as there are still occasional frame rate drops and visual quality that showed its limitations as a game initially developed for the Nintendo Switch – being able to play the game up to 4K resolution with high FPS is certainly a comfortable and responsive experience.

Vengeance is Sweet 

Aptly titled Vengeance, this new entry of Shin Megami Tensei is like retribution for the already amazing original fifth installment, improving almost every weakness of it into a perfect JRPG experience. Almost all aspects felt greatly improved, making Vengeance the definitive version to experience Shin Megami Tensei V, especially with the Canon of Vengeance which delivered an amazing story and cast of characters, while features and improvements brought to Canon of Creation made the old route worth re-experience again.

For newcomers, this is like getting two games in one package, while for returning players – it’s like revisiting an old friend but they have a cool new toy with them and a sweet vacation to tell. It is by no means a perfect game as there are still notable performance issues and the boring segments of the old story still exist in Canon of Creation.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is now available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Publisher: Sega

Developer: Atlus

Release Date: 2024-06-14

Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S

Become a mighty demigod and battle through a decimated Tokyo in a war between angels and demons. Make new allies along your journey, engage in intense, turn-based combat, recruit hundreds of demons and forge your own path to dictate the fate of all existence.

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