Atlus, developer of renowned RPGs in the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona franchises, seems to love re-releasing its games. While it may look like double-dipping, these definitive editions have often resulted in fully realized versions of their originals and not just ports or tacked-on extra content, evident in the likes of Persona 5 Royal and Persona 3 Reload. Now, 2021’s Shin Megami Tensei V is getting the same treatment with the re-release subtitled Vengeance.
Ahead of its launch on June 14, I spoke with key developers on the project: producer Shinjiro Takata who’s been with Atlus since its inception, director Shiego Komori who worked on SMT: Nocturne, and composer Ryota Kozuka who became main composer on SMT IV. With any definitive version, the main question is about how it warrants a whole new purchase. So we dug into the ways in which Vengeance makes its case, and judging from what I’ve seen thus far, it might be the biggest deviation from an original version that Atlus has done thus far.
SMT V was a Nintendo Switch exclusive, and that came with some limitations–with the new definitive edition releasing on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC, the experience has been improved with features like higher visual fidelity and 60 fps, but those things are just the cherry on top. Takata said, “This time, we went in with the goal of taking a new direction for Vengeance, compared to just making a high spec version of previous titles.”
About Author
