Shin Megami Tensei V summons PLAY’s RPG Special issue
May. 28, 2024Plus: Visions Of Mana’s long-awaited return, how to design an FF14 job class, reporting from EVO Japan, and more!
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Gaming has come a long way since Pac-Man [gunshots heard]. For many of us, the first gaming worlds we could truly get lost in were in RPGs – world exploration mixing with constant combat and character progression to give the impression of scale like little else.
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Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance - the series that created Persona returns to PlayStation
Hell is empty… because the devils are here! We go hands-on with Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, and talk to the devs about this huge revamp, their favourite demons, and how they set the series apart from Persona (which spun-off from SMT in the 90s).
Wait… what was that about Persona? Yes, the hugely popular series has its roots in Shin Megami Tensei. Just as Persona 5 was, in some ways, an evolution of SMT just as much as simply Persona 4; Shin Megami Tensei V takes lessons from recent Persona games just as much as SMT IV.
To help put things in perspective we open the doors to the Cathedral Of Shadows (where demons gather) wide, to talk through the series’ long history, its many spin-offs and subseries, how it all fits together, and just why it’s so special.
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
SMT isn’t the only saga that’s sprouting anew: the Mana tree is blooming once again in Visions Of Mana. It’s been 18 years since the last mainline game was released, so we talk to Series producer Masaru Oyamada about nurturing the long-lived RPG series to sprout anew with Visions Of Mana.
Ever wondered what goes into making a new job class for an MMORPG? Final Fantasy XIV producer and director Naoki Yoshida is on hand to talk us through the process, from when to overhaul a system to the challenges of adding new systems to a 10-years-strong epic adventure.
Japan isn’t just a source of top-notch RPGs, but the birthplace of fighting games as we know it. We shuttled off to Evo Japan’s latest tournament to soak in new announcements, go hands-on with the latest games, and cheer on the champions.
We also investigate whether Shadows Of Doubt might be PlayStation’s ultimate sleuther, jam out to The Last Of Us 2 and Baldur’s Gate 3 at The Game Music Festival, and more!
We’ve (ahem) arranged a great set of previews for this issue as well – beginning with Arranger, of course, a head-scratching tile-pushing RPG like little else we’ve played. We also befriend monsties in Monster Hunter Stories 2, take on a new quest in Baladins, and prepare to get spooked with Still Wakes The Deep.
Our reviews this month are a tantalising mix, including the long-anticipated Stellar Blade which, while something of a grab bag itself, is a cyborg smasher that’s hard to put down.
Likewise, Dave The Diver makes it hard to say no to one more delve into the depths to nab fresh fish for sushi, and Animal Well might be the best metroidvania we’ve played in years thanks to a unique blend of action and truly puzzling headscratchers.
Plus: Umurangi Generation VR, Grounded, FF16: The Rising Tide, and loads more!
Sleeping Dogs is the game that always drags us back in for one more go around Hong Kong, making it a great retrospective to take on this month. Plus: we take the stand to defend Shadow The Hedgehog from his haters, get gunky as we reminiscence all things Prototype, and share our favourite (and maybe only) moment in Silent Hill: Downpour.
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Games Editor Oscar Taylor-Kent brings his Official PlayStation Magazine and PLAY knowledge to continue to revel in all things capital ‘G’ games. A noted PS Vita apologist, he’s always got his fingers on many buttons, having also written for Edge, PC Gamer, SFX, Official Xbox Magazine, Kotaku, Waypoint, GamesMaster, PCGamesN, and Xbox, to name a few.
When not knee deep in character action games, he loves to get lost in an epic story across RPGs and visual novels. Recent favourites? Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree, 1000xResist, and Metaphor: ReFantazio! Rarely focused entirely on the new, the call to return to retro is constant, whether that’s a quick evening speed through Sonic 3 & Knuckles or yet another Jakathon through Naughty Dog’s PS2 masterpieces.
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