Majin Tensei (1994)

Beat. I started off trying to play it like a proper strategy and Megami Tensei game; that being having a mix of demon types (tanks, healers, nukers and flyers) and regularly fusing better demons. I avoided using the level 27 demon you start off with, only bringing it out a few times for tougher fights. I had the hero be a tank by focusing on strength, defense and vitality while the heroine was a battle mage with magic and strength. She proved to be the better character with her healing and status curing magic keeping her alive. The first several levels were fairly engaging, up until the 2nd or 3rd boss. Then the heroes were so powerful that I did not need to summon demons at all. The mid and late game was one of the most boring and tedious games I have ever played, if not the most. Set up the 2 humans in a good location; usually a healing fountain or sometimes in a corner or against a wall so fewer enemies could attack. The enemy turns took so long. I turned off the sound and played on turbo mode to speed it up as much as possible. Despite that I had plenty of time between turns to write, read, chat and even play Deus Ex Go on my phone. A few levels stood out. One with infinite spawns of weak enemies that required blocking the spawners to win. I let that level go for a few hours and the humans gained a huge number of level ups. A later level had a large number of level 50 leviathans repeatedly spawn. It was a tough fight with no fountain but I killed them without using any demons. The fight against Lucifer was like that too with a ridiculous number of spawning hydra. I almost thought they were infinite but they eventually stopped. By the time I reached the final boss the hero was level 91 and the heroine level 89. They had every stat maxed except luck and the best gear I could find. But since gear only boosts stats, I found them to be incredibly lackluster. I even got excalibur but no one used it because it only raised strength and their base strength was too high to need that much boost. I had 5 level 70 goddesses, like 10 level 76 Tiamats, another 10 or so level 69 Orochis, a couple level 55 Phoenix and a few more lower level goddesses. I occasionally used a goddess to heal to conserve the heroine's mana and other demons to surround those damn fallen healers that took forever to kill. The heroine had a powerful area nuke (rimodola or some nonsense) that cost a lot of mana but was the only way to kill those fallen without the extremely tedious process of waiting for them to run out of mana so they could not heal any more. I broke out 2 goddesses and most of the Tiamats to wreck the final battle. A few other demons came in handy. Fairies, angels and lower goddesses were somewhat useful for healing earlier in the game. When the heroine was lost I went the wrong way and got her back later than I was supposed to, so I had to use healers and Cerebus to help fight.

This game is not a proper strategy rpg or even a proper Megami Tensei game. It really feels like an amateur attempt and there is no redeeming charm like in Shin Megami Tensei 1. It is missing multiple basic features and really needed better design, balance and optimization across the board.

5.5/10