Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - HD Remaster

Over the years, I’ve been trying to recollect all of the Shin Megami Tensei games I can get my hands on. My love affair with the series began with Revelations: Persona on the original PlayStation, and now I have the pleasure of adding SMT 3 Nocturne HD Remaster to my played game list. Nearly two decades since it was originally released in Japan, Atlus has given Nocturne a facelift and brand new voice overs, breathing new life into this classic.

Straight up, Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster could have used more technical improvements. The subtle mechanical changes make it a better game without fundamentally changing it — which is a great thing because Nocturne never needed to be changed. I just wish the “remaster” part had a little more oomph to sway people who might find it dated.

Shin Megami Tensei 3 Nocturne HD Remaster brings the 2003 PS2 classic back again with some sharpened graphics, re-translated script, voice acting, and some quality of life upgrades. Ironically, this game was many fans’ first experience with Shin Megami Tensei as the first title in that series to make it out of Japan, and now it’ll likely serve the same role again for Atlus fans who started with Persona 3, 4, and 5. However, as we stated in our preview, those expecting Nocturne to be a similar experience to Persona might be turned off by the differences they find here.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD draws players into an interesting world with deep combat and interesting monsters, while some aspects like late-game combat do leave a bit to be desired. Even 18 years later SMT 3 earns what praise it's been given.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is a fantastic game at its core, but does little to justify the HD Remaster part of its title. The visuals are improved greatly and being able to choose between Raidou and Dante is nice, but there are few improvements the base game desperately needed like better dungeon design.

For newcomers looking to get into the series, I must warn you that there is a pretty high barrier to entry here. Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne is still the best of the bunch, and if you're willing to put in the time to learn its various mechanics, you'll get a lot out of it. The problem is, that's a pretty big if.

SMT III Nocturne HD is almost the exact same game as the original title on the PS2. The only major QoL improvement is the ability to select a new demon's skills during the fusion process, and even this was a post-launch update. SMT III Nocturne HD would have benefitted from some optional QoL updates, like a speed-up option that isn't tied to auto-battling, the ability to check an enemy's weakness without using an ability, the ability to skip cutscenes, or a way to disable random encounters, especially as the encounter rate is high in later dungeons. People who were introduced to the Shin Megam...

Playing through Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remastered reminds me that I never did finish Devil Survivor. When will they remaster that, one wonders? In any case, the former is what we’re here for today, the demi-fiend stepping into a new world pre-apocalypse? mid-apocalypse? post-apocalypse? after 18 years with a new coat of paint.

Known probably most famously as the first RPG to feature Dante from the Devil May Cry series, Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne heralded in not only a new apocalypse but a new generation of Japanese RPG's. In many ways, Nocturne was an important piece of gaming history for Atlus and the genre as a whole moving forward. Now on the heels of the PS2 title's tenth anniversary, a new Remaster is available that brings new life to the storied JRPG. Does this new release offer more Hee's than you can shake a Ho at, or Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster doomed at Conception?

The PS2 dungeon-crawling JRPG classic Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne has finally been remastered and it's now available for modern consoles so grab your favourite magatama and let's do some demon hunting.

18 years removed from its original release on PlayStation 2, Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne still has a lot to offer hardcore RPG fans. In fact, its heavy focus on dungeon crawling and monster management is perhaps even more unique today than it was almost two decades ago, especially when it's placed side-by-side with modern Atlus games like Persona 5 Royal.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster is mostly for the diehard Atlus and JRPG fans.