Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne - HD Remaster Reviews

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne: HD Remaster is an oddly self-aware remaster that does its best to make itself approachable for everyone by remedying most of its flaws. The new difficulty, new skill inheritance options and fully voiced dialogue all help to make the game feel modern and approachable for new audiences. It’s just a shame that, for a HD remaster, it’s not as visually impressive as it could be.

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.

Shin Megami Tensei lives! For years ,Shin Megami Tensei V has seemed nonexistent, with the sublime Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE having to carry the torch all on its own. Now no longer. Before Shin Megami Tensei V’s long awaited release later in 2021, Atlus deigned to give us a remaster first. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne has long been celebrated as one of the best titles in the entire MegaTen franchise. And now this classic JRPG masterpiece is available for modern audiences. Shin Megami Te...

The music of Nocturne HD is great and suits the game’s chaotic nature; the problem with it is that some of it is horribly compressed. Battle themes and the level-up theme all sound like they were recorded off of a mid-2000’s cell phone. It’s noticeable in the worst way, and I really wish they used higher quality recordings. It’s already been modded-in by fans on PC, so it’s a shame that Atlus didn’t feel the need to update the low-quality recordings. The voice acting is quite impressive, as each character sounds the way you would expect them to from their designs. Isamu is perfectly smarmy, while Hijiri is suspiciously laid-back. There were no real bad performances in English, and I was quite pleased with the passionate delivery of most of the cast.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster may still have some rough edges for a remaster but a number of improvements as well as combat and recruitment systems that hold up strong help this classic JRPG remain just as worthwhile today as it was in 2004.

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.

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?

SMT3 Nocturne HD Remaster realises that the less time we can spend with the cobwebs of the past by opting into the new Merciful difficulty, the more time we can enjoy this world and its story anew.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is a classic turn-based JRPG that came out 18 years ago in 2003. It paved the way for other games in the genre and, until now, was released only on PS2 and PS3. This classic has now been remastered, available on PS4 and for the first time on PC and Switch, along with a fresh set of English voiceovers.

SMT III remains a great game, but an inflated price tag combined with some dated mechanics might make it a harder sell for some.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 Megami Tensei series through Persona 5 or the 3DS era Shin Megami Tensei games will find Nocturne HD a bit more frustrating than the games they're used to.

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.

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.