Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

 3DS
  • Publisher: Atlus
  • Release Date: May 15, 2018
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 32 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 32
  3. Negative: 0 out of 32
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  1. Meristation
    Jun 1, 2018
    73
    Indeed, this is a strange journey for Nintendo 3DS players, full of the turn-based combats, dungeon exploration and demon negotiations fans know and love... That's why it's a pity that it ends up being held back by its outdated interface, exhausting first person exploration and slow pace.
  2. RPGamer
    Jul 20, 2018
    70
    I enjoyed my time with Strange Journey Redux, and the many things its dungeons offered will stick with me. Its narrative is also interesting and should be applauded for what it attempts, even if the story’s reach is not quite what it can attain. I was also ready to be done by the time the credits rolled and uninterested in starting the whole thing again to see another ending or reach the heretofore-forbidden areas, which keeps Redux from being among the crowning achievements in my RPG experience. It was a worthwhile title to encounter though, and should at least be tried by anyone curious.
  3. DarkStation
    Jun 4, 2018
    70
    Overall, if you like difficult dungeon crawlers with a sharp challenge, there's an amazing amount of content packed in Strange Journey Redux. Personally, I found it a bit too difficult and tedious to appreciate the gameplay, but I thought the story was amazing and surprisingly deep. Overall, my feelings of the game are very mixed. I can appreciate how well constructed it is and how deep its many layers go, but personally I didn't find it very fun to play.
  5. ZTGD
    May 29, 2018
    70
    Since 2009, Atlus has released many games and made strides in both storytelling as well as gameplay, and despite its many improvements, Strange Journey falls short of lofty standards Atlus has set for its modern games. Despite it certainly being the definitive version of the game to play, it leaves much to be desired under the shining banner of Shin Megami Tensei.
  6. Eurogamer Italy
    May 22, 2018
    70
    Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux is a good port for the Nintendo 3DS of Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, a role-playing video game developed by Atlus. The game includes new artwork for the characters, voice acting, animation, new demons, new route and a new character named Alex.
  7. GamingTrend
    May 15, 2018
    65
    Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux is as long and as the title, and can be challenging to get into, due to dated UI and lots and lots of text to read. The story is interesting, if not slow, offers multiple endings, and more than 300 demons for you to collect, fuse, and fight alongside. A solid, if not slightly clunky title built for the retrogamer crowd.

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best 3DS Game of 2018
4
#4 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2018
6
#6 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
5.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 293 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 141 out of 293
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 293
  3. Negative: 145 out of 293
  1. option1live
    Jul 7, 2018
    0
    I want to give "Redux" at least a one but I can't bring myself to do it. Instead, Redux is a complete roadmap on how to take one of the mostI want to give "Redux" at least a one but I can't bring myself to do it. Instead, Redux is a complete roadmap on how to take one of the most brilliant, underrated, and overachieving games in all of JRPG history and turn it into an ugly, broken, bland, just shy of unplayable slog of mediocrity.

    Every single thing that made the original ORIGINAL has been twisted and warped into a mess that parodies the exact message the original writers tried to instill. I would like to have a complete discourse on why this game sucks a fat one but I can break it down in easy to swallow bullet points:

    - This game is ugly: textures are flat and boring, demon designs look rough as heck, demon animations look jarring and gangly, NPCs look like something out of a dating simulator, the main characters look super generic and downright weird at times, the awful swirling 'smoke' effect brought in from SMT IV battles looks nauseating, (as does the 'shifted' camera position when attacking), backgrounds (and background objects) don't mesh well with objects in the foreground, and somehow the entire game looks blurry... as if they intended to add 3D but cancelled at the last moment. The original game looked vibrant and beautiful on the DS; what the heck happened?

    - Battles move painfully slow. And all the SMT IV attack animations look crappy. Even holding down on the A button to 'fast forward' attacks, it still moves about a third as fast as the original game's auto battle. In a game that needs you to do some grinding, this is important.

    - The game itself is slow AF. Walking from dungeon tile to dungeon tile is painfully slow. Checking forma is slow. Starting a battle is super slow. They added a dash function and it's STILL too slow. How do you take a game that averages 80 hrs out of a player at full speed and make it slower?

    - The UI is so freaking ugly it makes me hate the game. The original had small, scrunched damage numbers and small, still shots of demons in your party. That was it. They somehow made it vastly worse.

    - The game has been completely unbalanced for absolutely no reason. Overall the game is waaaaay easier. If you're new to the series, seeing enemy health bars might be nice, but actually messing with the very format of battles, items, weapons, subapps, has created a game that feels unfinished. Magic and status effects are borderline useless and physical attacks are so stupid strong (but still seem to miss about 25% of the time) that about 60% of all the demons, items, armors, apps, and weapons can be completely ignored.

    - Clear, one sided balancing issues in regards to microtransactions. It's SUPER obvious they made things cost too much and give less rewards in the hopes you'll pay real money for shortcuts.

    - The added character/storyline is jarring and doesn't fit in the game naturally whatsoever. Also, wtf is with the new dungeon and why? Feels like an overpriced DLC map (convoluted, time wasting, and with virtually no payout).

    - Story elements have been censored. If I recall, at no point do they call sector Boots a 'red light district'. Now it's called a 'business district'... Okay, so it's wall street lawyers and brokers in meetings behind the curtains in Mithra's castle? That's just one example and I've found several in the 20 or so hours I've been playing.

    - The only single thing I enjoy over the original is the Japanese voice work... but when it's playing over the most generic anime-tropish and downright cringy looking NPCs, it not only takes the seriousness out of the situation, it makes you feel like you're watching filler episodes of your favorite anime- you want to watch because you know the story is good, but it ultimately leaves you bored and ready to go back to episodes with real consequences and character development.

    - Demon conversation are WAY the heck easier, which kind of takes A LOT of the nuance out of the game. There were so many different personality types and deep responses from demons- admittedly hard as it was- it makes the game feel gimped to recruit demons now.

    - They took out the in game achievements. Why in the heck would they do that? Those were part of the charm of the original and in no way affected or detracted from the core gameplay loop.

    Not only did they do virtually nothing when it comes to 'remaking' the game, they took almost everything that made it great and threw it in the trash. Yes, the original was hard; I can admit it took me at least three tries and quite a few hours before I saw it to the finish but that's what the game was. And it was a brilliant game. This is everything Strange Journey was not.    … Full Review »
  2. pythonmamba
    May 17, 2018
    3
    The biggest fans of the SMT series are surely to still like this game, but it doesn't justify being played by anyone else nor is it reallyThe biggest fans of the SMT series are surely to still like this game, but it doesn't justify being played by anyone else nor is it really worthy for everyone else, as what changes are mostly tweaks that many won't even notice, give preference to the original game first if you wanna know the series, it also looks better.… Full Review »
  3. SunnyMoose104
    May 16, 2018
    10
    SMT: Strange Journey was a fantastic game when it released stateside 8 years ago, but as the series is known for, it did not reach mass marketSMT: Strange Journey was a fantastic game when it released stateside 8 years ago, but as the series is known for, it did not reach mass market appeal.
    The original game featured a steep difficulty curve, complex dungeon-crawling obstacles in its second half, and many of its plot elements remained unclear by the time of its conclusion.
    Now Atlus seeks to update and improve various aspects of the game for a modern audience.
    While it features a new and controversial art-style, SMT: Strange Journey Redux is still the great game fans remember.
    Atlus has gone out of their way to introduce new ways to keep track of your dungeon-crawling exploits without diminishing the complex and thoughtful dungeon design that the game is known for, allowing for more casual players to keep in step with the more hardcore elements of the game.
    As one of the few SMT games that does not have RNG-based demon recruiting, Strange Journey has fantastic dialogue with logical answers to the various demons' riddles, and the new Demons added to the game only add to the charm.
    The addition of the new dungeon added to the game allows for players to get the extra push they might need to overcome the otherwise incredibly difficult bosses in the second half of the game, allowing for a more natural difficulty curve.
    Alongside the fantastic faux-orchestral soundtrack and lavishly detailed 3D dungeons (the brothel and grocery store being personal favorites), the added voice-acting and animated cutscenes lend to a grander presentation which elevates the already fascinating story being told.
    All in all this is a first-class remake, and with the tolerance for a newer more simplistic art style, this is a game you can't miss as a dungeon-crawling fan.    … Full Review »
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