Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance Review – A Divine Package (2024)

In the many years that ATLUS has been releasing definitive versions for their titles, it feels like it’s never landed on a concrete formula for what these newer versions of its titles entail and how it’s all presented. Persona 5 Royal is unmistakably the best version of one of 2017’s greatest games, but asks the player to get through the base game’s content again to reach a good chunk of the new (and fantastic) content. It’s a tall ask for a near-100 hour experience and makes it difficult to recommend Royal to those who’ve already played through the original.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance feels like a direct response to that. Redefining how ATLUS approaches re-releasing its biggest, most beloved games by fundamentally altering the game’s approach to narrative. Despite being unable to remedy some faults of the original, Vengeance is the de-facto way to experience Shin Megami Tensei V for newcomers. What’s more notable, though, is that Vengeance is worth a double-dip for those who enjoyed the original, offering a familiar yet fresh JRPG that improves on the original in almost every aspect.

Vengeance is split into two Canons, which are effectively two different narrative routes. One is the Canon of Creation, which is the same story as the original game, where the Canon of Vengeance tells an alternate tale with new characters, areas, boss fights, and much more. While it’s nice to have the original story there for posterity’s sake, the Canon of Vengeance route is far superior. It’s clear that ATLUS recognised the original’s narrative shortcomings were too far rooted in its premise and the way it handles its characters, likely prompting the inclusion of this alternate experience.

The Canon of Vengeance starts almost identically to Canon of Creation. Strange happenings are occurring throughout Tokyo. Rumours of demons and supernatural beings are spreading like wildfire. It’s amidst this climate that our protagonist is pulled into Da’at, a hellish landscape in place of Tokyo. Shortly after arriving, you’ll make contact with a Proto-Fiend named Aogami, fusing together to become a divine being known as a Nahobino. It’s still a brilliant introduction that lures you in with mystery and oppressive atmosphere.

It’s only once you venture deeper into Da’at that things start changing. You’ll encounter Yoko Hiromine, a demon exorcist from Saint Marina’s Academy. Much of the focus in the Canon of Vengeance route is focused on Yoko, whose outlook and perspectives on life often clash with that of the original cast. She sheds new light and moral intricacies onto plot elements returning from the original, and brand new ones brought in with Vengeance.

The other key piece of the puzzle in Canon of Vengeance are the Qadištu. You’ll gradually encounter the members of the Qadištu as you explore Da’at, each one alluding to grander plans for our cast of characters and Tokyo at large. The Qadištu are a much more fascinating force to contend with in comparison to the antagonists of the Canon of Creation. Like Yoko, they provide alternate perspectives on the world of Gods and demons and deeply tie into Vengeance’s broader themes of revenge and rebirth.

While the shift in focus to Yoko and the Qadištu are more than welcome, some of the underwhelming plot elements from the original game are still here. The issue of rapid character development feels exacerbated here in the attempt to share the spotlight between all the moving parts that the Canon of Vengeance brings. Even though I saw these things coming, it still feels like they happen too fast, and are based around events you don’t get to see on-screen.

It ends up making for a narrative where the new stuff is great, but some returning elements retain their flaws. The only area I feel this isn’t the case is in Vengeance’s exploration of morality and the law/chaos/neutral alignments that the series is known for. Shin Megami Tensei V is infamous for its handlings of this idea, boiling down certain alignments to good and evil in underwhelming fashion. This is remedied through Yoko and the Qadištu, who are firmly planted in the moral greys between the agents of heaven and hell. It’s a refreshing change, and one seen frequently given Yoko’s prominence in the Canon of Vengeance route.

While narrative has been substantially reworked in Vengeance as a whole, gameplay is relatively untouched, opting for small iterative changes that build on the strengths of what’s already there. This is a good call for the most part, as Shin Megami Tensei V already has some best-in-class combat and a novel approach to open-world design that keep things engaging. There are a few pain points that haven’t been addressed, though, which stand out a bit more now given other improvements.

Combat is still deliciously challenging on higher difficulties, forcing you to make use of every tool in your arsenal to exploit demon weaknesses to net extra turns in battle. The inclusion of new demons and skills in Vengeance means there are even more ways to build out your Nahobino and team composition. Additionally, characters that accompany you in the story can also be used as party members, which is a fantastic change that gives them more life and a deeper sense of place in the world.

The combat system shines even more inside of the Canon of Vengeance’s new bosses. They are wildly varied in visual and gameplay design, often forcing you to make ample use of items and skills in tandem to come out on top. There’s a few real highlights in the back half of the game that I won’t spoil here, but the way they test your management of different targets and juggling multiple affinities is thrilling and rewarding.

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The Magatsuhi system also makes a return here. For the unfamiliar, Magatsuhi is charged through combat and by collecting Magatsuhi in the open-world. Once full, you can unleash a powerful Magatsuhi ability that can change the tide of battle very quickly. There are also a bunch of new Magatsuhi abilities exclusive to specific demon or alignment combinations, imploring you further to think deeply about the demons you bring with you into battle.

The only real problem with this system, is that the starting Magatsuhi ability you get is far and away the best one. This was an issue in the original game that rears its head in Vengeance. There is often very little reason to use any other skill, because guaranteed critical hits are so valuable within Shin Megami Tensei’s combat system. If you’re also trying to bring certain demons to gain access to certain Magatsuhi Skills, you often struggle to create a suitable team composition for certain encounters. It’s a shame because some of the new skills are fun, but it’s hard not to feel like you’re hamstringing yourself by using them.

One of the biggest departures that Shin Megami Tensei V made from previous games was pivoting to explorable open-worlds instead of having an overworld map. It’s a change that’s still appreciated in Vengeance thanks to immensely rewarding exploration and fantastic level design made even better through the addition of Magatsuhi Rails that connect parts of levels together for seamless traversal.

Much like the original game, Vengeance is split up into four regions, each pertaining to a different part of Tokyo. A key difference in the Canon of Vengeance, though, is that the Chiyoda region is swapped out for an all new Shinjuku region. Because Shinjuku is part of the angels’ dominion, it’s vastly different from any other area in the game. A pale purple sand covers the ground and abstract structures are dotted throughout, culminating in an entirely new dungeon in place of The Demon King’s Castle from the canon of creation.

The rest of the regions are largely unchanged, but how you approach objectives and the way they’re structured is different. There’s also a load of new sidequests to engage with throughout, most of which are markedly better than what’s present in the base game, providing more nuanced objectives as opposed to simple fetch or kill quests. It feels like no matter how you spend your time in these regions, it always feels like you’re progressing in some fashion.

One simple yet effective addition are Demon Haunts. These small areas accessible from Leyline Founts are areas where you can converse with your demons and accompanying characters to gauge how they feel about current events. They can also gain stats, level up, and give you gifts to use in your journeys. The Nahobino can also converse with Aogami at certain times to gain three skill points as well as his opinions on recent happenings. Its a small inclusion but one that gives more character to demons and your party in general.

All of these things in combination, and you can probably tell that Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is one hell of a package. You have two story routes, a truck-load of sidequests, a bunch of areas to explore, many demons to recruit, and more. There is so much content jammed in here that it automatically becomes an easy recommend for any JRPG fans – especially if you haven’t played it before.

One aspect Vengeance undeniably nails, is its presentation. When it originally launched on the Switch, Shin Megami Tensei V was dripping with aesthetic and striking visual design that was held back by aging hardware. Playing it now on the PS5 is something like a fever dream. A buttery smooth 60 frames-per-second all the time, in combination with a much bolstered pixel count and overall visual fidelity leaves Shin Megami Tensei V feeling and looking as it always should have.

The final thing I’ll shoutout, which should be to no one’s surprise, is the absolutely phenomenal soundtrack. ATLUS never misses when it comes to music, but so many of Vengeance’s new and reprised tracks are certified bangers in a genre full of musical competition. It’s remarkable that Ryota Kozuka was able to push Shin Megami Tensei V’s musical identity even further with such high quality.

When all is said and done, it’s inarguable that Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is the definitive version of Shin Megami Tensei V. Even if you dislike the narrative changes and additions in the Canon of Vengeance, the original story is still there for you to play. Some returning flaws aside, Vengeance still offers the same compelling gameplay loop, an intriguing world, and utterly fantastic presentation that heightens so much of the experience.