Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster Reviews
For obvious reasons, the original game was released a while back, so most of the classic gameplay remains intact while it’s still quite enjoyable for those who enjoy turn based RPGs. Although during the remaster process, the devs considered some modern optimizations which might make more sense to the more recent generation of players. The gameplay and the story was praised as a root of many sequels and is still a great recommendation for the fans of this genre.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Shin Megami Tensei 3 remaster might show its age in some places, but its narrative excellence remains unaltered.
You'll definitely have fun with Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster if you're a fan of JRPGs and don't mind dark subject matter. The dungeon-crawling and battle system provide a solid level of challenge and the gameplay stays interesting throughout. However, the lack of visual detail and poor music quality will constantly remind you that you're merely playing a remaster of a PS2 game.
An RPG classic makes its way back to the front lines. Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD Remaster has all the bells and whistles that came with the original fan favorite title. The minimal additions that come with this remaster do little to help or hurt the formula. Merciless difficulty drops the challenge too much to capture the game's magic, visuals only offer slight clean-up, and audio is still the same PS2 audio. While the game deserves better enhancements, getting Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne in a more contemporary accessible form is still worth the price of admission.
Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is quite a difficult game to rate. It’s incredibly frustrating in many ways. As the other side to that, the deep combat systems encourage experimentation and discovery. The lore is very interesting, but the story starts in a very slow manner. It’s not really impressive as a remaster graphically, but the additional voice acting is brilliant. If nothing else, I suggest you don’t purely go off the rating here and read carefully through the review. This won’t be for everyone. Things that I felt were good, I could easily see being hated by some. Fans of Persona should keep in mind that many of the systems are similar, but it is still a very different game.
Almost 20 years after it was first released, Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is still a fun and wholesome JRPG experience with some crazy and thought provoking story beats that stick with you for some time after finishing the it and entice you to try again and do things differently.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster is the definitive way to experience this PS2 classic. The updated visuals, voice acting, and quality-of-life changes make it a must-play for fans both new and returning. There are some heavy and impactful moments of storytelling telling here that have aged incredibly well, with the only downside being not having enough money to fuse demons for a Yaksini or Loki.
Straight up, Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster could have used more technical improvements. The subtle mechanical changes make it a better game without fundamentally changing it - which is a great thing because Nocturne never needed to be changed. I just wish the "remaster" part had a little more oomph to sway people who might find it dated.
Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is an apocalyptic blast from the past that goes beyond what we could have hoped for in celebration of the cult classic.
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster is an average port of an exceptional title. Despite being almost 20 years old, it's still one of the best JRPGs ever made, and it still stands up favorably to the games that came after it. It's still a PS2 game at heart, but it's a rare one that has aged quite well, so it's still worth playing for the first time even without the comforting glow of nostalgia. Unfortunately, the actual HD upgrade is perfunctory and bare-bones, so what you see is largely what you get. It's basically a way to play Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne on modern systems, and it's good for that. It just could have been more.
Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD draws players into an interesting world with deep combat and interesting monsters, while some aspects like late-game combat do leave a bit to be desired. Even 18 years later SMT 3 earns what praise it's been given.
Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is the return of a top-class game for new generations and old-timers who want to reawaken their inner demons on newer platforms with some quality-of-life enhancements.
SMT 3 Nocturne HD Remaster is a trip down nostalgia lane, one new and returning players will sink hours into for the full experience. Whether you stick to the main story or chase down every side quest in pursuit of power, you won't be disappointed.
Between the steep difficulty curve and unconventional story, Shin Megami Tensei III won't appeal to everyone - but those who can stomach strategizing through even random battles while reading between the script's lines will be rewarded with an outstanding RPG. Tokyo's warped state post-Conception leads to a hostile atmosphere that's carried all the way to the credits, and dungeons are elaborately designed and make use of consistently fresh gimmicks. Multiple endings keep the story replayable, with Hard Mode offering series veterans even more challenge. There's nuance to every aspect of gameplay, from the Press Turn battle system to Demon fusion and recruitment. As true in 2021 as it was in 2003, Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is nothing short of a must-play RPG.
Shin Megami Tensei III HD Remaster is indisputably the best way to play this RPG classic, but it's also rather clear that this nearly two-decade-old game is showing its age. An interesting story, enjoyable combat system, and engaging demon recruitment and fusion mechanics make Shin Megami Tensei III well worth your time, but the dated visuals, poor quality music, and occasionally unforgiving mechanics are hold it back from being excellent. We'd give this a recommendation to both longtime fans and newcomers, but with the caveat that you might want to wait for a sale before snapping this up.
Shin Megami Tensei 3 Nocturne remains a solid JRPG even today, but the remaster could have gone a bit further at this price point
Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is a fantastic game at its core, but does little to justify the HD Remaster part of its title. The visuals are improved greatly and being able to choose between Raidou and Dante is nice, but there are few improvements the base game desperately needed like better dungeon design.
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.
The wildly popular Persona franchise likely wouldn't be what it is today without Nocturne's influence, and as a fan of both series I'm incredibly excited to see this classic title be rediscovered by a new generation. I can't help but feel let down by the poor audio compression for the soundtrack, but ultimately that was just as much of a problem in 2003 as it is now. This is the best way to play Nocturne, and I think any fan of classic JRPGs owes it to themself to do exactly that.
For the core Shin Megami Tensei games, Nocturne is still the finest the series has to offer.