Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux

 3DS
  • Publisher: Atlus
  • Release Date: May 15, 2018
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
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  1. BasilZero
    May 24, 2022
    9
    Game: Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey Redux
    Genre: RPG
    Developer: Atlus Publisher: Atlus System: Nintendo 3DS (3DS) Year of Release: 2017 Length of Playthrough: 96 Hours Total Score: 91/100 Value Score: 9.1/10 • Story: 10/10 • Characters: 10/10 • GamePlay: 7/10 • Graphics: 8/10 • Sound: 10/10 • Music: 9/10 • Length: 10/10 • Replay Value: 10/10 • Player Value: 7/10    Game: Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey Redux
    Genre: RPG
    Developer: Atlus
    Publisher: Atlus
    System: Nintendo 3DS (3DS)
    Year of Release: 2017
    Length of Playthrough: 96 Hours

    Total Score: 91/100
    Value Score: 9.1/10

    • Story: 10/10
    • Characters: 10/10
    • GamePlay: 7/10
    • Graphics: 8/10
    • Sound: 10/10
    • Music: 9/10
    • Length: 10/10
    • Replay Value: 10/10
    • Player Value: 7/10

    Pros
    +High replay value such as New Game Plus and multiple Endings
    +Great story, cast of characters and gameplay
    +Great OST and voice acting
    +Choice of multiple difficulty modes

    Cons
    -Map areas can be confusing at times
    -Animated cutscenes are stills most of the time
    -Visuals look outdated compared to other games from the same universe (due to the system it was released on)
    -The puzzles/traps in the dungeons can be really annoying and time consuming
    -A lot of walking back and forth
    -Boring dungeon designs/plain in design

    ----

    Shin Megami Tensei IV (3DS): 95
    Shin Megami Tensei IV Apocalypse (3DS): 93
    Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers (3DS): 83
    Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey Redux (3DS): 91
    Shin Megami Tensei Persona 1 Portable (PSP): 88
    Shin Megami Tensei Persona 2 Innocent Sin [PSP]: 85
    Shin Megami Tensei Persona 3 Portable (PSP): 95
    Shin Megami Tensei Persona 4 (PS2): 97    … Expand
  2. Ghost7100
    Nov 18, 2021
    9
    The original is my favorite DS game, this remake is alright I guess, wish they didn't need to change the original art & some of the QOL stuff can make the game too easy tbh.
  3. D13
    Feb 22, 2020
    10
    What can I say, I loved this game! The original Strange Journey never came out it in europe, so I was, and am still, very thrilled to play this game on an actual console now! The new endings were an interesting, less cynical take on the Law-Neutral-Chaos dynamic and i also really liked them, even if some people don't.
  4. INU4SH4
    Jun 23, 2020
    8
    Strange Journey promises a strange journey and it does deliver.

    Firstly I want to say that this game is pretty hardcore and has some very confusing and punishing dungeons so it's not for everyone. There are games in the series way more accessible and recommended for newcomers. Play this only if you have some experience with the series. The story is actually very dialog-heavy and moves    Strange Journey promises a strange journey and it does deliver.

    Firstly I want to say that this game is pretty hardcore and has some very confusing and punishing dungeons so it's not for everyone. There are games in the series way more accessible and recommended for newcomers. Play this only if you have some experience with the series. The story is actually very dialog-heavy and moves slowly so it might not be your thing. This game also limits the player a lot by forcing the MC to have a very restrictive arsenal at his disposal and a punishing demon-fusing system.

    This game's story gave me some Nocturne vibes. From the start, everything is ruined and you look like a pretty worthless character but in time you'll find out that your choices can reshape the human world. The bosses and their respective battles were excellent but there were many staged battles and dialog, so that might be a deal-breaker for some, but I endured. The characters weren't the most interesting in the series but both neutral, good, and evil routes offered interesting options.

    My main issue with this game is indeed the various staged battles that can subtract a little enjoyment from future replays and some dungeons being extremely punishing and confusing. Still a great game and must-play for SMT veterans.    … Expand
  5. Leliel66
    Jun 22, 2020
    10
    Just amazing, don't look at the users score, just a bunch of kids angry 'cause Joker in smash.
  6. Scwuffy
    Jun 26, 2020
    10
    Really great. I enjoyed the combat system quite a bit since it was unique. Music was fantastic too.
  7. SOLID_SNAKE_kw
    Dec 15, 2020
    10
    One of The best mainline smt games
    Great story and deep characters with awesome ost with the return smt Orginal gameplay .
  8. Giodi
    Jun 13, 2020
    10
    Great gameplay, awesome soundtrack and solid story with interesting characters
  9. Daoxin
    Jun 28, 2020
    9
    This remake does great at adding new stuff but not really worth getting if you played the original on the DS. The new character is alright. It lost that charm by dropping the original artwork for everyone and made them a bit too anime and kind of bad looking, but you get used to it.

    The game has improved on other factors and you can save where ever you want to save but kind of loses the    This remake does great at adding new stuff but not really worth getting if you played the original on the DS. The new character is alright. It lost that charm by dropping the original artwork for everyone and made them a bit too anime and kind of bad looking, but you get used to it.

    The game has improved on other factors and you can save where ever you want to save but kind of loses the difficulty of the game but if you have not played the original, go play this one as it is more enjoyable coming in as an open mind and experience it in a different light. It is a fun and thought provoking first person dungeon crawling JRPG. Worth playing.    … Expand
  10. Hobobob59
    Jul 22, 2020
    10
    Awesome game, I'll be blatant, trying to counterbalance the review bombers. As for the game though, it actually is a really good entry in the series! It adds a new dungeon and endings to the original package from the DS. Definitely worth checking out!
  11. Avgvsto
    Nov 22, 2021
    10
    It was my first SMT and i got amazed by such original story and addictive combat
  12. emilyratesgames
    Mar 29, 2021
    7
    Score: 7
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  13. junyan_replica
    Apr 15, 2021
    8
    I've never played the original DS version. Play this 3DS version in 2021. I should mention I already finish this game with two paths (Chaos and Neutral) with more than 100+ hours on Normal difficulty. I would call this game 'a JRPG version of Dark Soul'.

    Some very nice things: 1. Boss fight: you need SERIOUS strategies for boss fights: most rpg games nowadays are designed simple: By    I've never played the original DS version. Play this 3DS version in 2021. I should mention I already finish this game with two paths (Chaos and Neutral) with more than 100+ hours on Normal difficulty. I would call this game 'a JRPG version of Dark Soul'.

    Some very nice things:
    1. Boss fight: you need SERIOUS strategies for boss fights: most rpg games nowadays are designed simple: By exploiting each boss's weakness + buff & debuffs, you could easily pass them. However, this game's bosses are more than caring about weakness, you need fully understand each of their spells before you could beat them. E.g, in one boss fight, you could at most debuff 3 levels, if you try to debuff one more level, it will trigger this boss's powerful skill.

    2. Story: this is one of the best stories that Atlus has. The story itself is a perfect balance between religion (god & devil) and sci-fi (Artificial Intelligence, time travel, nuclear bombs etc.). e.g., SMT 3 seems to be TOO much religion. If SMT 3 is about 'how to solve a religion war using a religion way', then this game is 'how to solve a religion war using a sci-fi way'.

    3. Delicate designed puzzles. E.g., in one later dungeon, you need to travel between 3 alternate worlds for multiple times to reach the end. Another e.g., the save point locations and shortcuts are well designed too. It gives me the same feeling when I play 'Dark Soul' series: 'Ohh! This shortcut I just opened leads back to here!'

    The reason I deduct 2 points is due to :
    1. The huge difficulty rise before the last two boss fights. You could pass all previous bosses without much grinding along the way. But when you meet the final boss Mem Aleph (and the new final boss after her). Boom! She could kill your team with two spells. All of a sudden the game becomes sooo hard that it's impossible to finish the last two bosses without grinding a little bit. I assume many ppl will give up before these two bosses especially when choosing the Neutral path. If this game will be remade some time in future, Atlus could hopefully nerf the damage of these two final bosses (or equivalently, make the user level up a little faster in later games)

    2. The skills that inherit to new demons during fusion are very limited, which sharply increases the time to fusion a demon with all the skills you want. (luckily this game gives you a password system, though I didn't use it much). I do wish the system could let you pick freely what skills to inherit, just like the Persona games.    … Expand
  14. IReviewGames101
    Aug 30, 2019
    10
    This is honestly one of the best remakes ever. I really don’t get why people hate this (judging by the score it has from users) I would recommend this. Worth it.
  15. manhack
    Jun 29, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Я думаю такая оценка не заслужена, порт просто шикарен, если думать о том что сделал порт, то можно смело ставить 10ку… Expand
  16. lokirafael
    May 18, 2018
    9
    An amazing rework of a classic. The game is long and rich in history. There's plenty of demons to collect and the new endings are a very welcomed thing for veterans.

    SMT: Strange Journey Redux is easily not only a best SMT than IV, it's also a better entry for new people that got interested in SMT because of the Persona series. It don't reach god-tier of SMT: Nocturne, but if you    An amazing rework of a classic. The game is long and rich in history. There's plenty of demons to collect and the new endings are a very welcomed thing for veterans.

    SMT: Strange Journey Redux is easily not only a best SMT than IV, it's also a better entry for new people that got interested in SMT because of the Persona series.

    It don't reach god-tier of SMT: Nocturne, but if you like:
    Dungeon crawler
    Multiple endings with morality
    Rich Story
    Collect demons (wat?)
    ... or just SMT series.

    That game is a must buy.    … Expand
  17. 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 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    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 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.    … Expand
  18. Geoshell
    Jun 29, 2018
    9
    It is a pretty good game. It's my first shin megami tensei game and I haven't finished it quite yet but so far I love it
  19. mrfroglegs
    Mar 7, 2019
    9
    A brutal, hard as all hell march into hell. Fantastic. I would recommend this game for anyone who loves a good rpg.
  20. RepentantSky
    May 17, 2018
    10
    Atlus has always been incredible at making games that far better than their sales would have you believe, and this remake, despite not being their first of the year, is a clear and concise example of why that is. Having never played the original, but rather watching it be played online, I could instantly see where the improvements were, which is the best indication that Atlus really putAtlus has always been incredible at making games that far better than their sales would have you believe, and this remake, despite not being their first of the year, is a clear and concise example of why that is. Having never played the original, but rather watching it be played online, I could instantly see where the improvements were, which is the best indication that Atlus really put their all into making this game work, and work better than ever.
    The high quality music helps set the atmosphere, the fantastic voice work makes it feel as real as it can, and the setting that the Shin Megami Tensei games are known for is at work here almost better than ever. There's something special about SMT that makes it so unique that no one can quite imitate. I love every second of this game.
    If you've ever enjoyed a good dungeon crawler, not playing this game is a huge missed opportunity. It's simply fantastic in a way that only Shin Megami Tensei can be, and easily earns a perfect score.    … Expand
  21. 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 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    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 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.    … Expand
  22. midipon
    May 24, 2018
    2
    A first question one must ask when buying this game: is it more or less expensive than the DS version? The original is perfect as is, making this games was an absolute waste of resources on Atlus's part, though I'm sure it was developed by a B-team to keep the cost as low as possible and rake in as much money as possible from sales.
  23. 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 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.
  24. Trey82
    Jan 31, 2020
    2
    OH MY GAWT WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!
    So alright, I read the reviews.
    I played the original and adored it. Frustratingly adored it. I have this idea of perfection that no games can get close to, but they have snippets of brilliance that would work AMAZINGLY well in the right circumstances. Etrian Odyssey was great. Until it wasnt. And then it was. And then SMT took the engine and turned it    OH MY GAWT WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!
    So alright, I read the reviews.
    I played the original and adored it. Frustratingly adored it.
    I have this idea of perfection that no games can get close to, but they have snippets of brilliance that would work AMAZINGLY well in the right circumstances.

    Etrian Odyssey was great. Until it wasnt. And then it was. And then SMT took the engine and turned it into the opposite ~ non map based, with an emphasis on story over gameplay.
    Which would be horrible, except that the Persona gameplay is jarringly good... it flawed.
    Years of playtesting via all those other games, and a testing ground of people who have played pokemon... make this game PERFECTLY balanced. (Not this 3ds garbage, the older DS version)

    perfectly balanced in that it strikes the JRPG chord of grinding, the paper rock scissors variations of weaknesses and strengths, fusions and guided evolution, and knowing that, unlike etrian odyssey, with just 15 more minutes of grinding your characters, and 2 hours of fuse/evolve magic... you could breeze through the next 3 floors on autopilot/autofight.

    This game, though.. has none of that.
    Which isnt to say that a newcomer would see that, necessarily.. because for every UI improvement, higher definition video or monster avatar.. there is something far more broken.
    I would like to call Al Pacino from devil's advocate, except I'm going to edit it for this game. Excuse my version of it, but I believe.. like John Cusack from High Fidelity said, you are using someone else's poetry to express how you feel. It is a subtle art.
    Ahem, anyway:
    "Atlus likes to watch.
    He's a prankster.
    Think about it.
    He gives PC/player's character... instincts.
    He gives you this extraordinary gift,
    and then what does He do?
    I swear, for his own amusement...
    ...his own private, cosmic...gag reel...
    ...He sets the rules in opposition.
    It's the goof of all time.

    Make it easier to visualize the story with actual NPC models, but edit the dialogue and their location badly. (This encounter used to be OVER THERE... in that room. That ROOM now has no purpose. What did you save me, 15 seconds of exploration?! Were people getting lost?)

    Talk to those characters or those demons, but now the conversations arent unique or endearing.

    Improve the UI to get to the Dia healing faster, but now you'll have to heal every 2 battles because the combat isnt as previously balanced!

    Condense the information on the bottom screen so you can get to it with the press of a button. But now it isnt as intuitive as scrolling with L + R.
    Go through the game expecting demon placement to make sense, as it used to? HAH NO! The rare encounters are now common! The next evolution of THOSE demons are now uncommon encounters! You are fighting the basic 2 demons WHILE their fusion isnt even necessary, because the next version ... YOU WILL BE FIGHTING AFTER A FEW BATTLES! I mean, why should I pick up basic demon A and basic demon B, when I can just hire their output?!
    You changed the voices to match their modern versions. Okay, not bad. Not good, either. But for a 'redux', that is to be expected.
    Music and SFX.. ehhh, nothing special. Feels more or less forgettable. Going back to my DS version .. or rather, playing etrian odyssey 5 ~ which has the modern or FM music option, I'm actually partial to the unique sounds of the older versions. (Hey, warcraft 3 reforged is getting the same flak right now, too! :)

    Items of a consumable nature are dropped more frequently, and forma seem to be dropped in a less compelling way. Farming mats is always a chore, but the remix they did and the emphasis on UI improvements or hunting mats is.. well, if you've played other Atlus games, you'll know. Its just that feeling you get when you play certain manufacturer's games... and in the specific time period.. like you know how rare a potion drop is in old squaresoft games, or how often you'll be overloaded with healing herbs in modern Atlus (COOKIE CUTTER RPG) games..
    They all feel the same, and yet not. Stella Glow, Radiant Historia perfect chronology and Rune Factory 4 all generally hand out their items in a certain fashion. Modern atlus feels like modern atlus.

    Anyway, older DS atlus games were tougher but consistent. This one loses the consistency for no reason.
    And that reason becomes highly apparent if you install the DLC.
    Or to explain it to anyone who will never buy/install the DLC... it feels like those smartphone freemium games where you are artificially.. ARBITRARILY... forced to grind for hours upon hours for no reason.

    But yeah, the game is rebalanced around those experience and macca drop DLC items.
    Even after installing and playing with those, the new balance is way off. More mis
    The game is now unbalanced.

    And while you're jumping from one demon
    to the next, what is Atlus doing?
    He's laughing his ass off.    … Expand
  25. Ctarblu
    Nov 3, 2019
    7
    Up to sector E the game was almost perfect. Good characters (design is kinda meh but I'm ok with that), good setting, good bosses, good plot etc. Then SJ started getting worse. Some game design decisions are just bad and you can't really argue that. And I personally didn't like the story towards the ending. SJ(R) is good but not for everyone
  26. vodkaffee
    Jan 20, 2020
    7
    great story. the battle system is uninteresting comparing it to the turn pass system buuuuut is playable. the level design is very nice for a dungeon crawler. tha talk system sometimes seems a bit too easy but u can switch off the mods for talking whenever u want.

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

Critic Reviews

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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
  1. RPG Fan
    Feb 7, 2019
    95
    Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux's challenging gameplay might not be for everyone, but those it does appeal to will find a well-crafted dungeon-crawling experience with a thought-provoking narrative.
    Read full review
  2. GameCritics
    Jul 23, 2018
    75
    Strange Journey was an enjoyable ride. Seeing the different dungeons of the Schwarzwelt and how the motivations of the demons (and how they felt about humans) blended well with each area.That said, those already familiar with the Shin Megami games will likely enjoy this reissue more than series newcomers thanks to its general difficulty and the inconsistency of the negotiation mechanics — it can be a bit polarizing for those who aren’t accustomed to the mechanics.
    Read full review
  3. 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.
    Read full review
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