"Because no Atlus enhanced re-release is complete without a new waifu." *Shows Dante* Yes

Working with you was immensely fun man, and Im super satisfied with how it all turned out Crazy how we met 7-8 years ago and now we have both collaborated in our own channels. Thanks for all man, would love to do it again someday

Lucky Ted trips his way through the SMT world.

When i first bought it, i thought it was gonna be “watered down” compared to nocturne. A lot of jrpgs on NDS felt that way with the exception of games like dragon quest, pokemon, and etc. But what we actually got is a really polished game and a full on SMT experience. I actually like the alignment reps in this game more than the reasons rep in nocturne. SJ is a very good continuation in the series after nocturne. In my eyes, it’s a masterpiece

While I've seen some people show dislike to SJR. The one thing that I really like about SJR is that it does what not many SMT games do: It shows you the consequences of the choices you made in the ending. A lot of the time, you're just left with some vague idea of a possible problem that could happen. SJR actually straight out tells you what happened, and I think that in itself is worth giving some recognition. Heck, you could say that the game is in a sequeal actually in a way.

Truth is that most of the heavy criticism towards SJR is way too subjective (art, difficulty, options), since its a very loyal remake of the game itself. Also, I loved Zelenin- to me she was super well written and very well rounded, and her descent into order was very 'real.' Then again, that's just my opinion XD

I never knew Strange Journey Redux had an art style change until people on the Internet wouldn't stop crying about it. I see the comparisons and can barely tell the difference. I get the feeling that newer people coming into Redux won't notice or care about the art style at all. I find that fans of the original romanticize that older look way too much.

Strange Journey is easily one of the best and purest SMT experiences. Always pleased to enjoy it

Strange journey has the most interesting concepts, music, and art designs in the entire franchise

I feel, in a way, that the fact that none of the characters are particularly complex and multidimensional adds to the ever present feeling of the insignificance of the humans when compared the the actual best "character" in the game, the Schwartzvelt itself. We are all insignificant humans and the game doesn't try to make any one human seem more fleshed out or complex or important than any other. It brings the main cast and supporting cast more naturally on the same level. The only thing that makes anyone matter in the Schwartzvelt is accepting some kind of power from it. Zelenin is transformed into an Angel within the depths of it by Mastema, an angel YHWH assumingly sent there for a specific reason. Jimenez when acquiring demonic powers as well as a true companion and a cemented belief that the demons are not only no different than humanity, but in many ways superior and destined to survive due to humanity being at fault for the appearance of the Schwartzvelt. Gore is revived as the Ubergestalt, wandering and wondering why the Schwartzvelt would revive him so quietly and callously, just to leave him wandering. And Space Marine who, regardless of route or alignment, accepts the powers of demons without hesitation and due to it becomes a force within the Schwartzvelt through its many residents, while the other crew members would have never had a chance on their own, just as the humans they are. I 1000% agree that the main cast needed more development and time to grow, but them not being incredibly complex or deep characters themselves I feel lets the Schwartzvelt shine through as the centerpiece of everything, almost like the Spiral in Uzumaki in a way. An unknown, immutable force twisting the world around it and a group of people who can do nothing but follow its lead. Great video as always! (haven't played through Redux so don't know how the Alex stuff alters that reading of the game, did all three routes on original between launch and a few months ago. I do ultimately prefer the original but the biggest factor was that I still have my original DS copy, but traded in Redux not long after buying it when it never really clicked with me the same way.)

I will forever die on the hill saying that Strange Journey is the best mainline SMT game.

One of the best SMT games in my opinion, it’s up there with devil survival

You guys really dug into the artstyle change; as an artist myself, this contention from fans is so overblown. I didn't know people got this angry over eyelashes being removed. Sure, Airbrushed Jimenez is a bit sad to see; but the rest of the cast looks fine. If such miniscule changes are that distracting I don't know what to tell you. (Also, wow, this vid was uploaded on my birthday. Crazy good coincidence)

I still think redux wasn't that bad aside from the art change.

21:18 "Sector Eridanus isn't that bad, the teleporter maze isn't that bad. There's way more annoying sections in the game." Me: THANK YOU, MACCA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The soundtrack in this game hits harder than mem aleph

I've beaten Strange Journey twice in the past year and my appreciation for it has only grown since then. Great video guys.

Most slept on ds game 😎🔥 Great vid as always

Funny how a barely unknown soldier ends up being one of the most powerful protagonist in the whole megaten series

I recently started playing SJR and to be honest the transition from Soul Hackers is smooth. There is a lot of differences that I miss or loved but enjoying none the less. Also I had a hard time naming my character and I ended up naming him "Ross Fletcher". Only to realize this sounds like a 90s Japanese developer attempt with a Western name.

Nocturne, Strange Journey, and Digital Devil Saga are my Holy Trinity of SMT games. The Raidou games, SMT 4, and of course Persona, are all great as well. SMT is just such a great series in general, really.

This was a great video, you guys! Awesome job!! Also 31:06 this is a glorious picture.

Nice you've tackled one my all time favorite SMT, Strange Journey. I wonder when will Devil Survivor 1 and 2 be next because those two (yes, I grouped them but the first is still better than the second only a bit higher though) are my second favorite out of all the series.

Great vid! Sad that I'm gonna have to wait for another vid. But happy cus that time means the next vid will be quality.

Strange Journey is so much fun. I definitely recommend it to whoever is interesting in a great RPG dungeon crawler.

You've mentioned Etrian Odyssey and showed me that Strange Journey has strong similarities with its dungeon mapping. I am now sold. Time to get it before the eShop closes

About the art , I like both of them , yes Kaneko is "the Artist" on this series, like Yoshitaka amano was for Final Fantasy , but the new art style it is pretty good , I like his work in SMT IV too.

Love the quality on these videos! Strange Journey is one of my more valued Megatens

I marathoned Redux when it came out over the course of a week and wrote a mission log on the MegaTen amino and it's still one of my favorite smt experiences of all time

Thank you Macca for reminding me of the Zaibatsu shaped hole in my heart.

Thank you for videos as always!

the atmosphere itself sold me on this game. Like damn, group of soldiers trapped in the middle of nowhere with almost everything and everyone is a threat, unsure if they still even has the chance to live in the next hour, an environment so toxic it's basically a dead end if your suit malfunctions, badass shit where they fight with only science, guns and swords against malicious beings equal of that of the god. You can legit create a thriller action horror film based on this settings Edit: regarding character developments, I think the best way for this series is by having a spin-off novel or manga which shows the thoughts for each characters since you can actually see 'something happened' to them off-screen, but because it was off-screen, we don't know much about it, making it feel so sudden.

Ah Strange Journey, the DS version was my first non Persona SMT game I ever got and finished. Once I played Nocturne on the PS2 Classics one PS3 I never looked back. Then I got Stranger Journey Redux and fell in love all over again. Alex really caught me off guard when I first ran into her, and you will too if you played the DS original. The quality of life updates and Womb of Grief may have made things a bit too easy thanks to the extra grinding that making though that place entails but the challenge of the new final boss was totally worth it. Though if you are planing on getting all 6 endings on your save file here's a tip, get the original Chaos ending first and ignore the Womb of Grief, then Law and still ignore the Womb and then for the Neutral, complete the Womb and then keep on the original path. This is necessary to unlock those route specific demons. Then go nuts with the three new Endings, enjoy!

Yooooo! Marsh vid, and it's on the first Megaten game I finished! This is gonna be great!

I love how the music theme of the fight tells you that if your fight lasts longer than 45 seconds, you have a problem.

Shortly after playing SMT IV last year as my first ever Megaten game, I tried playing this one (the Redux version) because I love dark and very harsh stories, but I dropped it around the 10 hour mark because it was too difficult for me to get into it, probably because it was my second SMT game. I haven't played any game of the series since then, but now I plan on playing Persona 2: Innocent Sin and SMT V soon, and maybe I will come back to this one afterwards. Great video!

My favorite SMT waifu, Dante from the Devil May Cry series.

Jimenez

What do you mean "selling me on" SMT Strange Journey? It's the best SMT game!! Anyone who says otherwise is lying or never played it.

love the dark souls sbfp reference lmao, Justa Guy stumbles his way thru the schwarzwelt

Nice Two Best Friends reference with Lucky Ted

That bosswiping out your team before you get a chance to act reminds me of this random enemy in 4. I think its on the first or second floor of the first dungeon which also did that for hours!

I already am sold on vanilla Strange Journey alone. Hell, it is my first proper SMT game after all

I still haven’t got my hands on Strange Journey, but I’m excited to eventually play it.

SJ is so good that NO one bashes on it. I really love it

I've waiting for this)

Strange journey is a masterpiece.

I LOVE Strange Journey, probably one of my favorite SMT's

I think the characters in Strange Journey more so express ideas, as Zelenin for example has researched the Schwarzwelt for quite a while and comes to understand that the cycle will repeat, Jimenez I think has less obvious reasons, but his history with war and being a mercenary might give some credence to that. I think it's a better way of expressing overall ideals and so on through characters better than SMT 1 or 2 did somewhat, and I think it's an unique way of storytelling compared to alot of 'traditional characters' or being expected to have something like Persona social links.

Babe wake up, Macca uploaded a video.

Wow, you're right, Alex resembles Yukiko a lot 😹❤ my mind was blown up 🤯

Forma from TMS being an artist’s motivation etc makes this explanation of forma so funny

I’ve played and beaten, but yea you sold me. I’ll start another play thru now

You don't gotta sell me on Strange Journey but I watched this anyway. More people really should play it but version not on a 3DS/DS will lose a lot trying to make the map as always accessible but not in the way as on those systems. It's a little bit of a shame since Nocturne and SMT V are/will be on Switch and potentially will expand the fan base. I will also totally agree that the last boss is a helluva thing. Felt great to eventually take it down after, like, 45 minutes. I even actually used a huge chunk of the "I'll save these in case I ever need them but never end up using them" items.

Lmao I never noticed the Atlus USAWest guy on the first video

The other SMT games fill up the last bit of space on my SD card. Guess I better start saving up for the physical cart😏

Lucky Ted's a 2 best friends reference ain't it, I remember them naming their characters from Nier and Darksouls 3 that.

the lucky ted reference is not lost on us. RIP SBF

Lucky Ted is that like a Two best friends reference

This is the only SMT that i like to beat without using demons

You can’t sneak a song like 3 minutes clapping in the background and expect me not to notice. The world ends with you remains supreme.

I was not mentally prepared to hear 3 minutes clapping pop up in this video. Always nice to hear TWEWY love.

Such a great game and in redux if you think the game is too easy with all the new sub apps you can manually disable them or just not research them and save the forma for weapons and armors

My fav SMT (main line) game! (Not the Redux, the original)

Now if only I could remember where I last put my 3DS...

If this is the 4th game in the series, then that means that SMT IV and V would actually be SMT V and VI. That or this game is SMT 3.5.

The only reason I haven't bought the 3DS version yet (Cause it *does* interest me, especially with my newfound interest in Etrian Odyssey) is cause the difficulty I hear about the game is a bit intimidating and the full $40 eShop price tag is too (Plus I just bought a crap-ton of 3DS games and don't wanna spend much more money). I suppose I could always emulate the DS version, tho idk how ideal that would be. :P

2:31 God I fucking love this series. Still waiting on EO for the switch.

Twewy ost nice!

The original was my first smt. And my favorite game, period

As a first timer to SJ through Redux, I get the complaints from fans of the original, but I love the hell out of this thing. Every time I step into a new area, I'm scared as shit as I start exploring and as I complete my map of the first floor, I grow more and more confident as I kick ass. I love that feeling. Also the designs aren't that terrible, I guess. Meh.

Now it’s time…. For a little game on the 3ds….

Eridanus made me quit the game for half a year, until I forgot why did I stop. Picked it up again. Entered my first tp of the day. Memories flooded back. Cried a little and finished it in the following week.

I coulda done both!!!!

“A small black boy reaching infinitely into the sky appeared”? That must’ve been in the original and cut out for Redux.

Lucky Ted OH BOY!

ah yes shin megami tensei strange journey~ the game that showed me how useful it is to have a doppelgänger in your party

Shin Megoomy

“I see your Schwarzwelt is as BIG as mine..”

The Etrian Odyssey team should remake Persona 1 and Phantasy Star 1.

The biggest issue with Strange Journey is that Etrian Odyssey brutally mogs it as a dungeon crawler lol

SMT Strange Journey Redux does something amazing narratively, because it is actually a sequel to the OG Strange Journey. In the OG SJ's neutral ending you and your team kill Milf Aleph (who makes a guest appearance in the background of SMT IV) and the Schwarzwelt gets closed. And the story ends there right? Wrong. Humanity's desire for greed and self destruction caused the Schwarzwelt to come back and this time no one stops it. So in a last ditch effort to save the world Alex gets sent back in time to kill the Schwarzwelt. And her going back creates a new timeline. The Redux timeline. The reason why she kills you is because she is angry at your failure to stop the Schwarzwelt from reappearing. But your death causes Demeter to heal you and take you to her realm, the Womb of Grief. If you get all of the seeds by going deeper and deeper into the Womb of Grief you will find the True boss of SMT Strange Journey Redux. Shekinah is the embodiment of the Three Wise Men combined. She is also a female incarnation of YHVH. Like Louisa Ferre is Lucifer she is a female incarnation of him. In order to get the True Neutral ending of SMT Strange Journey Redux you must in addition to beating the base game you must at the same time beat the Womb of Grief, follow the teachings of the Honorable Commander Gore, and you must also convince Alex that the Schwarzwelt's reemergence wasn't your fault then she becomes your ally. Once you do all of that you realize what you must do you get all of the Seeds in the Womb of Grief but Demeter betrays you delivering all of them to the Three Wise Men who become Shekinah. After killing Shekinah you obtain the Cosmic Egg giving you infinite power akin to the Doom Slayer. Knowing that humanity is self destructive you essentially become God and lose your humanity to save humanity. You live on the Moon with Arthur watching over the Earth like a protector deity and you keep bailing out the Earth as humanity continues to self destruct. It is a painful truth about us. It is pessimistic but we have a safety net who will continue to save us until we learn to change our wicked ways. Also the International Savior Schwarzwelt Squad aka your team and the Anarcho Capitalist Squad in black that you find halfway through the game weren't the first people to go into the Schwarzwelt. The save stations and the heal stations were there from the civilization that preceded humanity. They failed. That is just another layer of subtle environmental storytelling the game has to offer. So in conclusion I haven't yet played the OG SJ. SMT SJ Redux was my first game in the series and I beat the game on hard somehow. The game beat the hell outta me. I think it is a fantastic yet frustrating game on hard and you really have to know what you are doing. But I enjoyed the games' philosophical concepts, characters, locations, music, and the feeling of satisfaction when I got through the gauntlet. SMT Strange Journey Redux is a masterpiece and a must play for SMT fans and a good trial by fire game for those who wanna be a hardcore RPG player. So take care and let's all do our part to stop the Schwarzwelt aka Climate Change. Peace.

i have been trapped in eridanus for 3 years now

Lucky Ted, oh man. I miss the Zaibatsu being a thing.

Was there a difficulty setting in the original nds version of Strange Journey?

Hey macca do you think you could do a selling you on on devil survivor overclocked or devil survivor 2 record breaker

Getting a DS for the Megaten sale

The final boss of certain routes in smt sj(ds version) are one of my greatest archievement in life!

Ah yes my second favorite SMT

Antarctica in real life is a unanimously agreed demilitarized zone by all countries and no country technically has claim to Antarctica. You cannot even use something like a large drone that could handle the Antarctic winds as it is classified as a military vehicle/device, even when explicitly not itself. There a no human settlements in Antarctica, only indefinitely set up camps. In addition, the window for arriving and leaving Antarctica is tight and strict due to weather during most of the year being hazardous for both planes and ships. Lastly, some geology trivia. Antarctica, the continent, used to be located in a much warmer location on Earth and large amount of its landmass is hidden underneath ice now. However, it is unable to move away much from Earth's south pole due to being locked in place by the tectonic plates surrounding the continent.

My favorite one of the franchise, i love soo much, redux too.

6:08 I agree. Dante is 100% an SS+ tier waifu

If lucky ted was a super best freinds reference your cool

@0:56 I can't stop laughing at that part!

"Oh boy"

HAL9000 was also 100% on humanity’s side btw. Conflicts in programming caused by flawed humans doesn’t mean evil or deliberate antagonism on HAL’s side.

I'll be honest, I genuinely prefer the new art style in Redux. I do wish it had a toggle for the old art, though. I just was never a fan of Kaneko's human designs. His demons are great, but the humans after his early SNES era always looked really... Bland and same facey to me. The tone of SJ felt still really strong if not stronger with the new art for me in Redux, if mostly because of the expressiveness of characters.

Actually I think altus already explained why they designed demeter to look like that. Basically it's supposed to make players wonder if this should trust her or not, because its unknown if she has good or evil intentions so they gave her a innocent look.

Lucky Ted, heyyy I get that reference

I killed aleph crossing my fingers and spamming megidola stones.