Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster

In terms of storytelling still interesting, but mechanically this remake of the apocalyptic occult rpg feels outdated.

It’s almost refreshing to revisit a nononsense PS2 JRPG, and its cynical edge feels fresh. Persona diehards will find this an interesting artefact. [Issue#2, p.72]

Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne HD Remaster is still a great old-school JRPG today, despite feeling the weight of its years. This new edition manages to remove some dust and offers the chance, for younger players, to recover an iconic title from the past, but it is undeniable that the remastering work could have been done in a much better way.

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.

Considering how much ground the Shin Megami Tensei franchise has gained in its efforts to court fans in North America since Nocturne first released, the game, in retrospect, feels like a harbinger of things to come that went unheeded. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster pushes the game to new levels in terms of quality and accessibility, allowing fans the chance to fully appreciate its heady, post-apocalyptic, coming-of-age story on their terms. That's an opportunity they should not miss.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is a unique game with some truly marvelous qualities to it. Visually, it's beyond compare thanks to its unusual art style and the surreal, unnerving way it brings everything together. Sadly, SMT3 will probably be appreciated a lot more by fans of the original because of its obvious age, but I'd encourage any JRPG fan to give it a try.

I came away from Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster with mostly positive feelings. There’s a great game here filled with exciting battles, head pumping music, and interesting themes. However, I really wish that there were simply just even more quality of life changes and modern conveniences implemented in the game. It’s fantastic that a new generation of players has better access to this title now. But in many ways, it still feels like it’s stuck in the past.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster offers something a bit different here in 2021. By today's standards it's a very hardcore, old school RPG; an adventure that's both unwelcoming and uniquely intriguing — even engrossing once you're invested. But it's also a cult classic that deserves more than this barebones remaster, which does very little to enhance the overall experience — especially for its price tag at release.

Ultimately Shin Megami Tensei 3 HD Remaster is a perfectly acceptable port of a cult classic PS2 RPG. Playing this at the same time as Mass Effect Legendary Edition has definitely coloured my perception of what we should expect from a remaster, but despite the fact it doesn’t have AI upscaled textures and 4K60fps presentation, it’s still a masterful example of how to build atmosphere in a game while still keeping players engaged, instead of bored. It also features Dante from the Devil May Cry series, which always helps.