Megaten Marathon - A Shin Megami Tensei and Persona Podcast

Alex, Allisa, and Paul venture into hell in our first episode about the equally infamous and beloved Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. In this ep, we focus on the fascinating backstory behind its development, and the game mechanics it introduced that soon became Shin Megami Tensei (and Persona) staples.  Show Notes 1up.com: In Character: The Art of Kazuma Kaneko 1up.com: Interview with Kazuma Kaneko and Kazuyuki Yamai Black Girl Gamers Combo Chain Please support us on Patreon!

It's been a very long year, so in the spirit of the holidays, let's close it out with a visit to our old friends the Phantom Thieves. In this bonus episode, Allisa and Paul look at this year's reimagining of Persona 5—what's new, what's improved, and what the base game's merits and flaws look like with a few years' perspective.  Thanks for listening and supporting the show, see y'all in January with our first episode on Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne! Support us on Patreon to get access to our new monthly backer-exclusive podcast that launches in January! The Anime Based on the Game will recap, review, and likely dunk on films, anime, and other media based on JRPGs. Show Notes Allisa's review of Persona 5 Royal for Dualshockers Combo Chain - A JRPG Games Club Podcast Black Girl Gamers

Would you trust a shady government organization, a cult, the cops, a bereaved dad, or a gigolo with the power to summon demons at will? We ask these questions ourselves as we conclude our coverage of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, a game for quarantine times if there ever was one. Help support our pledge drive! We're having a pledge drive to help cover the costs of the production software and hosting we use for Combo Chain and Megaten Marathon. Please consider helping out if you can. Plus if you donate, you get cool very-early access episodes! https://tinyurl.com/megatenchain Show Notes Interview with the Devil Survivor localization team Wikipedia: Bel mythology Surviving a lockdown with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Black Girl Gamers Allisa's writing on DualShockers Combo Chain - A JRPG Games Club Podcast

A quarantine, lockdown, and an untrustworthy government...but at least we don't have demons to worry about (yet). Allisa, Paul, and special guest Ethan try our best to ignore our own death countdown clocks as we cover Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. It's a tactical RPG-meets-visual novel where the pervading sense of doom feels very appropriate for the time.  Help support our pledge drive! We're having a pledge drive to help cover the costs of the production software and hosting we use for Combo Chain and Megaten Marathon. Please consider helping out if you can. Plus if you donate, you get cool very-early access episodes! https://tinyurl.com/megatenchain Show Notes Surviving a lockdown with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Combo Chain - A JRPG Games Club Podcast PAX Online: What We Want To See From Persona 6 -Dualshockers @Vernatio on Twitter  

It's the end of the world as we know it...no, we're not talking about real life, we're talking about the final third of Persona 3. Our heroes take on a death cult, a death god, while wrestling with existential crises, Junpei's love life, and a seriously dodgy new student. Support Megaten Marathon on Patreon! Show notes Thoth Tarot Deck Nyx Persona 3 FES The Answer Cutscenes Persona 3 SEES World Wide Persona 3 wallpapers Please rate and review us on Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify and wherever else we show up!

We take a deep dive into the middle months of Persona 3, in which the life and death stakes increase, we get some backstory on Mitsuru's troubled past, and most importantly, get the ultimate god boy Koromaru to join our team. Please help support Megaten Marathon on Pateron! ----more---- Show Notes Hachikō, the Best Boy ever Allisa on the Shin Megami Tensei Network podcast Persona 5 Royal Review — This Palace’s Treasure Gleams Even Brighter Persona 5 Royal Review Discussion — Here Are Our Thoughts Allisa talks about Persona 5 Royal on Combo Chain Alex on Twitter Please rate and review us on Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify and wherever else we show up! Please help support Megaten Marathon on Pateron!  

When we decided six months ago to do a series of eps about a game about death, we didn't really expect it'd be released in the midst of a pandemic. That caveat aside, Persona 3 is a phenomenal game, the one that solidified the Persona formula as we know it all, while having an incredibly rich story and some of the most engaging characters the series has ever known. Few games succeed as well as this one at presenting an utterly compelling world while being so damn mechanically solid. Join us at the beginning of this three-part series about the value of life, the inevitability of death, and some truly surreal setpieces. Also, we hope you and yours are healthy, happy, and managing social isolation! Show Notes Please consider helping Paul get his power and cell phone switched back on, and providing him with a bit more stability: GoFundMe campaign 2012 IGN Review GameFaqs Persona 3 FES Review Version differences between the different releases Please rate and review us on Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify and wherever else we show up¡

Allisa, Alex, and Paul enter a post-dystopian world that has been separated into tribes, which can only subsist on demon (and human) meat. Enjoy as we get sidetracked into how many video games feature cannibalism while we delve into one of the oddest Shin Megami Tensei's entries yet.  ----more---- Did you know you can support Megaten Marathon's hosting and recording fees by joining our Patreon? Please consider donating–even a dollar a month helps! Show notes:  Digital Devil Saga for Beginners Wikipedia - Hinduism Combo Chain

As we close out our coverage of Shin Megami Tensei 2, we journey further into the dystopian Tokyo Millennium, take on the Messians, discover that Lucifer is an alright guy, and of course go to war with YHWH. Stephen Hawking and Aleister Crowley make surprise appearances, as does a well-placed Dril quote. Help support us on Patreon! Show Notes: Hellscaper Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army Jack Parsons, Aleister Crowley and L. Ron Hubbard Aleister Crowley and Lam Dril on Twitter

Ready for a break from the Tokyo Mirage Sessions and Persona spinoff episodes? Paul, Allisa and Fletch delve into the hellscape that is Shin Megami Tensei 2. In year 20XX, religious zealots have taken control of society, creating a utopia of bloodsports, brutal class divisions, and of course, demons. Join us as we explore a SNES game whose themes are far ahead of their time. Show notes: Shin Megami Tensei 1 Allisa's writing on DualShockers Black Girl Gamers Paul's new JRPG podcast, Combo Chain Paul on Twitter Rate and review us on iTunes. Google Play and Spotify Megaten Marathon on Facebook and Twitter

On the occasion of Joker joining the Super Smash Brothers Ultimate roster. Allisa and Paul take a deep dive into Persona-related fighting games. Is Joker the best fighter to join the Smash roster? Can we officially ship Joker and Bayonetta now? What is Blazblue and why do its characters want mysterious shards from our favorite P4 protagonists? What does Fletch have to say about ARC System Works? And why oh why does Persona 4 Arena need to be canon? Allisa and Paul ponder these questions while going on any number of tangents in this pretty loose and freewheeling ep. Action items: Allisa's writing on DualShockers Black Girl Gamers Paul on Twitter Rate and review us on iTunes. Google Play and Spotify Megaten Marathon on Facebook and Twitter

We spend the second half of Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE on the hunt for a mysterious antagonist (who probably won't be too much of a mystery to anyone who's played a Fire Emblem game before). Along the way, we become P.A.'s to demons while on a TV shoot, in a shockingly accurate portrayal of the experience of an actual P.A.'s duties, and discover Barry's secret heavy metal shredding side. There are monitor puzzles, stepping puzzles, and again a legendary hero and antagonist whose identities are more shocking than a Twilight Zone twist. ----more---- Action items! Rate and review us on iTunes and Google Play Megaten Marathon on Facebook and Twitter opendork (Robert) on Twitter Allisa on Twitter Paul on Twitter 

Once upon a time, Nintendo and Atlus announced a crossover between Shin Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem. What we got was an ersatz pop idol-themed Persona with some Fire Emblem characters playing the role of personas. Still, there's a lot that's interesting about Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE: its creative puzzle dungeons, unique battle system, use of the Wii U gamepad, and role as sort of a dry run for Persona 5. Alex, Allisa, Paul and special guest Robert take a deep dive into a game that doesn't get much love among SMT or Fire Emblem fans, but is worth some attention on its own. Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem announcement trailer Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE story trailer

Allisa and special guest Fletcher go deep into Strange Journey Redux, the remixed and remastered version of the original DS game. Once again, the hellish dimensional pit known as the Schwarzwelt has consumed Antarctica, but much has changed. Who is the strange woman in the dark suit with a flowing red coat, and why does she want to kill you? What is the Womb of Grief? And is this a remake, a sequel, or does it take place in an alternate timeline? Show Notes Our episodes about the original Strange Journey Boku No Stop! Lightning Strikes Thrice Hellscaper

As we wrap up our journey through the world of Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army, we learn what it takes to defeat a soulless god (destroying a satellite powered by perpetual motion, obviously,) discover a shocking detail about our old frenemy Rasputin, and enter a time void to prepare for our final battle with a sentient battleship. And that's not even close to describing all the crazy stuff that happens in this game's finale!  But in the end, we learn that what truly matters is what we've learned from random NPC's along the way. Please review and rate us on iTunes and Google Play! Megaten Marathon on iTunes Megaten Marathon on Google Play

Allisa and Paul delve into the first original SMT mobile game, Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2, and find out that...it's good? We chat about the mechanics, design principles, the general story, and the fact that while this is a gacha game, anyone with a limited knowledge of SMT games can break the game wide open and never need to pay a dime. Note: There are plot spoilers from the beginning of the game, through to Chapter 2-4, so if you haven't made it to that point in the story, beware! Show notes: Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 on iOS Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 on Google Play Fandom Wiki Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2 Guide - Tips, Cheats and Strategy Also, please review and rate us on iTunes and Google Play! Megaten Marathon on iTunes Megaten Marathon on Google Play

What does a general want with an army of undead soldiers? And how does an ancient tree monster play into his plans? We discuss these questions and other imponderables on our latest episode about the first Raidou game. Along the way, we discuss the General's further plans, which include a HAARP-style conspiracy theory and using a perpetual motion machine to create a satellite to resurrect a soulless god. (Note: Because of technical issues, we lost the second half of Allisa's audio track, so unfortunately she only appears in the first half of the episode.) Image by alegria via Zerochan. Extracurricular activities: e.e. phone poem Black Girl Gamers on Twitter Black Girl Gamers on Facebook  

As we journey through a demon-haunted Taishō era Japan, we have an enigmatic encounter with the very-still alive Rasputin, do battle with the Marquis of Hell, and are forced to turn down an offer to let a corpse army kill the rich. Meanwhile, we learn more about the enigmatic red caped figure and learn more about the curse befalling Kaya Daidōji.

We jump back to the early 20th Century to join the adventures of apprentice detective Raidou Kuzunoha and his trusty talking cat. When a client in distress requests that Raidou and his boss kill her, they're ambushed by mysterious men wearing red capes who kidnap the client. Raidou is then thrust into a dimension-spanning investigation to get to the bottom of the case, but the apprentice detective has one advantage against the forces that stand in his way: the ability to summon demons.

We conclude our coverage of Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers, which poses the question: can demons truly conquer a digital world? Or maybe they already have? Along the way, we get to the bottom of the Algon Soft mystery, wonder whether a planned city ever works out, and face off with one of the forgotten old gods, who may represent little more than nothingness. Apologies for the delay releasing this late: due to some life issues, and some audio problems that were difficult to work around, the editing process took much longer than expected. The audio on this isn't as polished as we'd like, and we're working to fix the issues before our next recording. Show Notes: e.e. phone poem Black Girl Gamers on Twitter Black Girl Gamers on Facebook