Atlus has released multiple acclaimed JRPGs in 2024 so far, but surprisingly, one of the highest-rated games it released this year,Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, technically isn’t even a new game.Instead, it’s an expanded edition of an RPG that originally came out in 2021. This game, simply titledShin Megami Tensei V, was released exclusively on the Nintendo Switch and garnered mostly positive reception, though it was regarded as a disappointment by some. ItsVengeancere-release, however, brings a wealth of new additions to the base game, including a second campaign. These changes are so significant that it feels likeShin Megami Tensei V: Vengeanceoffers an entirely new experience compared to its predecessor.
Currently,SMT V: Vengeanceis available not only on Nintendo Switch, but on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PC, as well. This isn’t the first game from Atlus’s back catalog, expanded or otherwise, that’s received a fully multiplatform release. Some ofthe Japanese developer’s classic RPGs, likePersona 3 PortableandPersona 4 Golden, were brought to all current-gen systems in 2023. While it’s nice that these legacy titles are now available on various platforms, Atlus should repeat what it did withShin Megami Tensei V: Vengeanceand bring some of its modern games to more devices.
Atlus Should Bring Some of Its Modern Games to More Platforms Like It Did With SMT V: Vengeance
Catherine: Full Body is Trapped on PS4 and Switch
Atlus has embraced a multiplatform strategy as of late, but there are still a handful of recent games from the firm that aren’t available on all systems. 2019’sCatherine: Full Body, for instance, is not playable on Xbox or PC, as it’s sadly trapped on PS4 and Nintendo Switch. There is a complication here, though. This title is anSMT V: Vengeance-style re-release of a 2011 puzzle game calledCatherine. While the original iteration of the game, retroactively namedCatherine Classic, is available on modern Xbox consoles and Windows PCs, its enhancedFull Bodyedition is not.Catherine: Full Bodycontains a lot of new contentthat isn’t in the base game, so it’s unfortunate that it’s not accessible on more devices.
13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is Not Available on Xbox or PC
The same can be said for13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. LikeCatherine: Full Body, this Atlus-published RTS game came out in 2019 and is currently only available on PS4 and Switch. The studio that made13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, an independent company called Vanillaware, has historically been very selective with the systems it releases its games on, often opting for PlayStation exclusivity instead of day-and-date multiplatform launches. That being said, its most recent game,2024’sUnicorn Overlord, debuted simultaneously on PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch, a first for the company. Taking that into account, it’s possible that Atlus may port13 Sentinelsto other devices (at least Xbox) someday as well.
Persona 5 Strikers, SMT 3, and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax Aren’t on Modern Xbox Consoles
The 2021 hack-and-slashPersona 5 Strikers, the 2020Shin Megami Tensei 3HD Remaster, and the 2013 fighting gamePersona 4 Arena Ultimax- which received a re-release in 2022- are three Atlus titles that are also in need of Xbox ports. When it comes to modern platforms, these games are only available on PlayStation, Switch, and PC. The lack of an Xbox One or Xbox Series X/S version ofPersona 4 Arena Ultimaxis especially disappointing, given that the game was originally released on Xbox 360 back in the day and its predecessor,Persona 4 Arena, is backward compatible on modern Xbox devices.
Soul Hackers 2 isn’t on Switch, While Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection Isn’t on PS5 or Xbox
While Atlus has mostly neglected Xbox and PC with some of its modern releases, they’ve also skipped PlayStation and Nintendo.Soul Hackers 2, for instance, launched on everything except the Switch in 2022, despite the fact that it didn’t seem too graphically intensive for Nintendo’s hybrid system. Thenthere’sEtrian Odyssey Origins Collection, which came out exclusively on Nintendo Switch and Windows in June 2023. It’s the only Atlus game in the last two years that hasn’t been released on all current-gen consoles, so it’d be great to see the compilation on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S someday.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
WHERE TO PLAY
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance consists of two complete story paths: experience a brand-new route, the “Canon of Vengeance” – a dramatic tale of revenge by the fallen, centered around new characters and an enigmatic cohort of demons, the Qadištu, who plot their own dark designs apart from the war of those who fight to maintain order and those who seek to defy it. Or explore the original story told in Shin Megami Tensei V, the “Canon of Creation” – an eternal conflict between angels and demons, in which the protagonist fights for the world’s fate.When a grisly murder scene in modern-day Tokyo blocks our protagonist’s walk home, an unplanned detour leaves him buried and unconscious. He awakens in a new Tokyo, a wasteland ravaged by apocalypse now called Da’at… but before bloodthirsty demons can claim his life, a savior emerges, and the two of them unite to become a mighty being, neither human nor demon: a Nahobino.With newfound power, the protagonist ventures through Da’at, an enigmatic realm filled with mythical deities and demonic tyrants in constant conflict for survival. Searching for answers, the protagonist must forge his own path in a battle between angels and demons to dictate the fate of the world.
