Opinionation: Playing Catch Up
It all started with my Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor tryst last year. After being let down by some other games, I was looking for a "different" kind of RPG. Something that wasn't your standard run of the mill "amnesiac twink must go on a quest to defeat David Bowie" journey, but also something that showed a little more restraint than the simultaneously intriguing and off-putting (to me at least) The World Ends With You. So after reading a short description about Devil Survivor, I picked the game up and was almost immediately hooked. I had some previous experience with the Persona series before, so the combat system felt familiar and the focus on Strategic RPG fundamentals helped keep things fresh. But even after I was done with the title, I still wanted more...
This begun my sad addiction to picking up all things Shin Megami Tensei related. This includes the Persona remake for PSP, those nice reprints of the Digital Devil Saga games Amazon has, and even the awesome version of Devil Summoner 2 that comes with the Raiho plushie. I've been tearing through them almost as quickly as I've been finding deals on them. Playing these titles back to back has helped me get into the intricate details that change from one title to another and some of their stories lead from one game directly into a sequel (although I'm still missing the first Devil Summoner, so picking up at the sequel was a little odd).
This got me thinking about picking up and playing through a series of games some time after their initial release and how this isn't the first time I've done something like this. Shortly after Devil May Cry 2 came out, I finally got around to playing the first title and followed it up with its disappointing sequel. While I had some previous experience with the Resident Evil series, the fourth title inspired me to run through the entire series for the first time. This particular series run through was especially fun because each title really added some unique narrative to over arching series and still managed to surprise me here and there. How about you, dear reader? Have you ever picked up a new series of games and sprinted through them all? Where you so enchanted by Squall's intense emo-osticity that you just had to see what the other Final Fantasy titles were like? Maybe you never tried out God of War before Sony's rather nifty PS3 compilation collection? Did Old Snake's buns of steel make you want to check out what else was back there? Whatever it was, share your thoughts with the rest of the class in the comments.
Game-Boy
Posted to Miscellany, Video Games on 22 February 2010
· Comments (2)
Other stuff like this: devil may cry, final fantasy, god of war, metal gear, opinionation, persona, resident evil, shin megami tensei
I have a habit of starting right in the middle of series that are so much more rich if played in context.
Shadow hearts: I started with 2 and had to go back and play 1 and Kodelka.
Suikoden: Started with 3
Mother: Started with 2 but who didn't?
Tales of: Started with Symphonia
Resident Evil: Had played the 1 remake but didn't really get into the series until 4 then started hunting them down.
When Persona 3 came out I started noticing the pattern so I bought 1, 2 and 3 all at the same time and played them in order. (And still missed one... Damn you innocent sin.)
I'm with you on the Shin Megami Tensei games. After playing Persona 3 and, more recently, the nearly flawless Persona 4 I have great interest in going back to play earlier Persona games, as well as other entries in the SMT series.
I cut my role-playing teeth on FF7 and since then have slowly gone back to play the classic Final Fantasy games.
More recently I've acquired the first 3 Metal Gear Solid titles and hope to play and complete them by this year's end.