Shin Megami Tensei

With Demon's Souls nearing release, it's all things Atlus! We welcome Atlus USA's Manager of PR Aram Jabbari to the show. Localization strategies, digital distribution, aggregate sites, and much more are covered, and we take our best shot at getting you some Persona scoop! The back half of the show brings some of the most in-depth Demon's Souls discussion around. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim "Tim Spaeth" Spaeth.

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Topic and Game References:

• Atlus
• Shin Megami Tensei series
• Trauma Center series
• King's Field series
• Cubivore
• Demon's Souls Review

Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.

Bring your demons to Show-and-Tell

HIGH The new updates (both in terms of gameplay and aesthetics) are amazing.

LOW The difficulty level can be brutal.

WTF Japanese teenagers are surprisingly nonchalant about interacting with the supernatural.

With the September release date inching ever closer, Atlus is starting to really dole out the goodies when it comes to their PlayStation Portable re-imagining of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona. Earlier in the week we saw website updates (with more promised) and now we've got a lengthy video highlighting how the game has been upgraded, what's been added, and how the experience has been streamlined from the original PlayStation version from the '90s.

Some of the best gaming news I've heard this year revolved around the fact that Atlus is bringing the original Persona game to the PlayStation Portable. One of the earliest RPGs on the original PlayStation console (and the game that basically introduced most western audiences to the Shin Megami Tensei universe) is getting a port to Sony's handheld—along with a much needed facelift (we'll all finally be able to play the Snow Queen chapter).

If you swing by the game's official site (found here) you'll not only get a look at the game's packaging, but various other updates. Among these new additions to the site are: three new character profiles, two clips in the story section, clips of the Speedy Battles system, clips from the Snow Queen chapter, and two sample tracks from the game's soundtrack CD (a 2-disc add-in that will be available with every copy of the game).

If that (and the fact that this is a modern day occult RPG where you recruit demons to fight alongside you) doesn't get you off the fence on this game, then I don't know what to tell you. Atlus promises even more goodies for next week, though—so maybe something there will convince you that you need to play this game.

Persona hits the PSP in September of 2009.

How'd they get it to fit?

HIGH A very faithful Shin Megami Tensei experience in a teeny package.

LOW Lacking the typically-excellent and usually-plentiful Atlus voice work.

WTF The AI gets another turn... why, again?

More than a mouthful

HIGH Retains all the classic SMT elements dripping with style and polish.

LOW No voice acting for the dialogue.

WTF Why is the encounter rate set so high?