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Shin Megami Tensei IV dev team talks difficulty, multiple endings, DLC and offers tips
The following comes from a Dengeki interview with director Kazuyuki Yamai, character designer Masayuki Doi, and sound composer Ryouta Kozuka.
- features Novice and “Cadet” difficulty settings
- Cadet mode is much easier
- this mode appears after you let Charon resurrect you twice
- no demerits for changing the difficulty
- many on the development team felt that the Novice mode was still a little too toug
- Yamai believes RPGs should have a good level of difficulty
“The game actually has multiple endings, and I ended up getting the Chaos Route on my first try, without changing the difficulty. There is some content which can only be seen in specific routes, so it’d make me happy to see players who’ve already beaten the game try out and enjoy all the other routes.” - Ryouta Kozuka
"I also didn’t change the difficulty, and the playthrough was pretty tough. By the way, I got the Neutral Route on my first try. This route doesn’t give as many indications on where to go next, so I struggled.” - Kazuyuki Yamai
“In regards to the Neutral Route, there were parts that were made to be extra difficult. In this reality, I think the hardest part was to put things into moderation. There are even times when everyone is your enemy, so we had to keep things balanced at all costs. We wanted to make a route that lets you feel the difficulty of being in such situations. However, it doesn’t mean ‘Neutral Route = true ending’ or anything of the sort. There are no rights or wrongs for the choices the players make, so we wouldn’t want any of you to have that misunderstanding. The goal was to have something different for each route upon completion.” - Masayuki Doi
- many mysteries for players who clear just one route
- some characters only appear in certain routes
- some mysteries won’t go solved unless you talk to certain NPCs
“I believe that a lot of games as of late don’t actually require you to speak to NPCs. In addition, most routes you take (for those games) have the same content, so there isn’t a lack of games where you can see the whole picture after beating it once. This may be a trend in today’s busy age, but it’s something we never want to do for Shin Megami Tensei.” - Yamai
- team thinks it may have been a bit early to dish out DLC
“To an extent, there will be some downloadable content that is connected to the main story, but we made it to where everything essential is concluded with the main story alone. There aren’t any direct answers to some mysteries, but for example, there will be hints that will get you thinking about information A and B, which will conclude with information C when you put the two together. Furthermore, I believe that using downloadable content to complete a story for a game that the players paid for, is quite rude, and something we wish to never do.
As for strategic tips, take advantage of the Demon Fusing feature. It might be hard to fuse a demon you’ve grown attached to, but find a way to overcome that and please continue making plenty of new demons. It’s been designed so you can win properly, as long as you put consideration into your demon’s level and affinity against a boss. Also, I believe that there are some people who forget that they’re Samurai from the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado during their playthrough. (laughs) I hope that some of you guys will occasionally return to your hometown.” - Yamai
Link
- features Novice and “Cadet” difficulty settings
- Cadet mode is much easier
- this mode appears after you let Charon resurrect you twice
- no demerits for changing the difficulty
- many on the development team felt that the Novice mode was still a little too toug
- Yamai believes RPGs should have a good level of difficulty
“The game actually has multiple endings, and I ended up getting the Chaos Route on my first try, without changing the difficulty. There is some content which can only be seen in specific routes, so it’d make me happy to see players who’ve already beaten the game try out and enjoy all the other routes.” - Ryouta Kozuka
"I also didn’t change the difficulty, and the playthrough was pretty tough. By the way, I got the Neutral Route on my first try. This route doesn’t give as many indications on where to go next, so I struggled.” - Kazuyuki Yamai
“In regards to the Neutral Route, there were parts that were made to be extra difficult. In this reality, I think the hardest part was to put things into moderation. There are even times when everyone is your enemy, so we had to keep things balanced at all costs. We wanted to make a route that lets you feel the difficulty of being in such situations. However, it doesn’t mean ‘Neutral Route = true ending’ or anything of the sort. There are no rights or wrongs for the choices the players make, so we wouldn’t want any of you to have that misunderstanding. The goal was to have something different for each route upon completion.” - Masayuki Doi
- many mysteries for players who clear just one route
- some characters only appear in certain routes
- some mysteries won’t go solved unless you talk to certain NPCs
“I believe that a lot of games as of late don’t actually require you to speak to NPCs. In addition, most routes you take (for those games) have the same content, so there isn’t a lack of games where you can see the whole picture after beating it once. This may be a trend in today’s busy age, but it’s something we never want to do for Shin Megami Tensei.” - Yamai
- team thinks it may have been a bit early to dish out DLC
“To an extent, there will be some downloadable content that is connected to the main story, but we made it to where everything essential is concluded with the main story alone. There aren’t any direct answers to some mysteries, but for example, there will be hints that will get you thinking about information A and B, which will conclude with information C when you put the two together. Furthermore, I believe that using downloadable content to complete a story for a game that the players paid for, is quite rude, and something we wish to never do.
As for strategic tips, take advantage of the Demon Fusing feature. It might be hard to fuse a demon you’ve grown attached to, but find a way to overcome that and please continue making plenty of new demons. It’s been designed so you can win properly, as long as you put consideration into your demon’s level and affinity against a boss. Also, I believe that there are some people who forget that they’re Samurai from the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado during their playthrough. (laughs) I hope that some of you guys will occasionally return to your hometown.” - Yamai
Link