this month's game was such a ripper, i had the best time. kyuuyaku megami tensei is a remake of the "original" digital devil story: megami tensei from 1987 for the famicom. i say "original" because 1) megami tensei started life as a pulp horror novel by Aya Nishitani and 2) a company called telenet actually adapted the novel into a video game before atlus. their version, also released in 1987, was a top-down shooter for msx pc's, later ported to the pc88 platform. nonetheless when you hear "megaten" you're almost definitely thinking of the game series by atlus and this particular version is a total gem.
"kyuuyaku" is japanese for "old testament" and in 1995 this was a reference to the growth of the game series, atlus had expanded beyond the novel adaptation with a sequel (also included and remade for the super famicom as part of kyuuyaku megami tensei) and a new series of 3 games at that point; "shin megami tensei". in japanese the term "shin" is often prepended to the title of things to signify a relaunch or refresh of a series, like "shin godzilla" or "shin ultraman". when they do they use the 新 kanji to write "shin", but altus' new series used 真 for "shin", which means "true". shin megami tensei translates to "true reincarnation of the goddess" which is a badass title, and kyuuyaku megami tensei follows form, implying that the famicom titles are from an older, more primordial canon. enough about the name, but even the name is good.
the first thing you need to know about kyuuyaku megami tensei is that it is brutally difficult, especially in the early parts of the game. you can expect to die countless times. this is not final fantasy, don't expect to see high damage numbers, don't expect a power fantasy. this is kind of a power fantasy but power comes at a cost, always. second thing you need to know is that yes, the entire game is first person dungeon crawling in tight corridors. you will never "get outside". you are just slogging it through labrynthine hallways the whole time, no respite, battles are basically constant, and the name of the game is "resource management", which is not quite as sexy as "old testament reincarnation of the goddess". third thing is that it's critical to explore every area of every map. don't skip anything, because something crucial can be found in the most non-descript areas of the game, whether that's an npc with handy information or the fabled blade, kagutsuchi's flame.
the game is balanced to encourage this meticulous kind of completionism, which is definitely not my style in other rpg's. i like to head straight as the crow flies towards my goal, sidequests be damned i'm propelled by the urgency of the story. but such an approach here is folly, you're just asking for an unfortunate and unfair death. but death is not the end, especially in this version where series staple charon is included, who accepts bribes to reverse your death. you can be warped back to the last save-point with all progress in tact for the low price of "half of all your money". decent deal, they say you can't take your wealth to the other side anyway.
and here's where we should talk about affordances because kyuuyaku makes a few quality-of-life changes to the original game that for me are essential, i don't think i could enjoy the original without them, or at least i couldn't enjoy the original without having played this version first. charon is a big one, he's not in the og. an in-game map is another affordance that makes a huge difference. megaten games like to play nasty tricks, like having tiles that spin you around, or teleport you, or drop you to the floor below. with an in-game map these tiles are just impish tricks, but without a map? sadism, pure and simple. another affordance is "saving the game", the famicom version used passwords, which was a common way to save progress at the time, but boy having an actual save slot is deluxe. thanks atlus!
this is a megami tensei game and of course the music fucking slaps. Tsukasa Masuko composed the music, as is true for all of the famicom and super famicom mainline megatens, as well as majin tensei and the first two devil summoner games for the sega saturn. this is crucial, because the whole game is alternating between the area theme and the battle theme, and being a game from the 90's the music doesn't pick up where it left off after a battle, we take it from the top every time. good thing every single song is a certified banger.
i found myself starting this playthrough in a very bad place mentally, having just had repeated meltdowns in front of my then-girlfriend and ruining our weekend plans to go snorkelling i decided to work out my feelings by dissociating into my steam deck and giving this classic game a try. i tell you what, this slow cycle of death and rebirth, all the while gradually accreting demons and money and spiritual power, it hit the spot. and i could relate to the game's shitty protagonist, akemi nakajima, a kid who has definitely gotten carried away by his feelings and done things he really really shouldn't have. at least i didn't get anyone killed or cause a nuclear apocalypse or anything. none of this detail is in the game however, and this is another tip i've got going into this: read the first two light novels and watch the OVA. knowing nakajima's deal and how he's a pathetic incel and what his actual relationship to yumiko is makes a huge difference here. role playing games require imagination, at least good ones do, and having the context behind the story really enhanced my ability to get into this game.
i wouldn't recommend this as your first megami tensei, i'd say start with nocturne honestly, and if the first-person thing is too suffocating for you then maybe beat one of the other super famicom games before trying this. but this is a must-play game. the mood, the atmosphere, the updated Kazuma Kaneko demon designs, the smooth as hell menus and pretty interface, everything. it's phenomenal. looking forward to playing some more games directed by Kouji Okada, but first i've gotta finish the other half of this game: kyuuyaku megami tensei ii.