Retro Replay Review

Gameplay

Shin Megami Tensei Nine overhauls the series’ traditional turn-based battles into a fully real-time system where both parties strike simultaneously. This demands precise timing and spatial awareness, as positioning your characters and timing your demon’s special attacks can turn the tide of a fight. Encountering demons in the virtual Tokyo feels more immediate—there’s no waiting for initiative rolls or turn orders, only the pulse-pounding rhythm of real-time clashes.

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The core of progression lies in demon summoning and fusion. You recruit demons by negotiating with them in the field, then slot them into one of your eight-member parties. Instead of earning levels through battles, experience points come from equipping items—a twist that encourages experimentation with gear and demon setups. Fuse lower-rank demons into more powerful allies or mix different alignments to unlock rare, unpredictable forms.

Interlaced with dungeon crawls are virtual hacker showdowns that play like a strategy board game. Here, your party moves across grids, capturing nodes and outmaneuvering opponent programs. These segments break up the action and reward tactical thinking, offering a change of pace from pure action combat while reinforcing the theme of a world run by code.

The nine-alignment system—Law, Chaos, Light, Dark, Neutral, and their variants—shapes both combat and story. Your demon roster leans you toward certain pathways, and the choices you make in battle can subtly shift your moral compass. This interconnected framework invites multiple playthroughs, as new alignments unlock unique fusion options and narrative branches.

Graphics

Nine presents a stylized, neon-lit vision of a digitized Tokyo ’90s. The reconstructed cityscapes shimmer with holographic billboards and grid-like streets, capturing the tension of a world suspended between reality and simulation. Environmental details—like virtual cherry blossom trees and distorted buildings—underscore the game’s cyber-punk leanings.

Demon models exhibit the series’ trademark creativity, combining mythological motifs with futuristic elements. Animations during fusion sequences and skill unleashes are rendered with dynamic camera angles, adding spectacle to every summoning. While textures can appear flat by modern standards, the overall design remains striking and memorable.

Performance-wise, Shin Megami Tensei Nine runs smoothly for its era but occasionally shows its age in pop-in and low-resolution backgrounds. Zoom out to explore sprawling virtual plazas, and you may notice simplified geometry; zoom in for close-ups, however, and you’ll appreciate the attention given to character expressions and demon intricacies.

The user interface complements the aesthetic, featuring translucent menus, grid-style maps, and alignment meters that glow subtly in the corner of the screen. Navigation feels intuitive once you’re familiar with the layout, and the UI’s consistent look helps maintain immersion in the high-tech setting.

Story

The premise hinges on a catastrophic event that annihilated Tokyo in the early 21st century. Years later, a digital recreation of 1990s Tokyo rises from the ashes—a virtual utopia governed by omnipresent computer programs. Your protagonist, Kei, emerges as a recruit of a special agency tasked with policing this artificial metropolis when glitches start spawning true demonic horrors.

At a sold-out pop concert, a night of celebration turns to nightmare as a supernatural vision hijacks the event. This inciting incident thrusts Kei into a web of conspiracies: malfunctioning programs, rogue hackers, and demons bleeding into the virtual world. The narrative hinges on discovering who—or what—is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Kei’s gender is your choice, and while story beats remain largely the same, small character interactions shift tone based on that decision. Allies and antagonists alike reveal different facets of themselves, creating personal stakes and emotional ties—especially when you negotiate with demons that challenge your worldview.

Alignment choices extend beyond combat effects to reshape narrative outcomes. Whether you pursue a Lawful, Chaotic, or Neutral path, each branch offers unique missions, dialogue, and endings. This moral triage not only underlines the series’ philosophical underpinnings but also amplifies replay value for those eager to explore every narrative twist.

Overall Experience

Shin Megami Tensei Nine is a bold experiment, blending real-time action with turn-based negotiation and strategy board segments. Its learning curve can be steep—veterans of classic SMT titles may need time to adjust to the item-based XP system and simultaneous battle flow. However, once you find your rhythm, the game rewards strategic planning and creative demon lineups.

New players may be daunted by extensive menus and the depth of the fusion system, but the payoff is significant. Crafting a bespoke demon squad and mastering the balance of alignments gives a profound sense of ownership over your party. The hacker battles add variety and break up dungeon crawling, though some may feel they interrupt pacing.

Thematically, Nine offers a compelling commentary on virtual reality and control. Its portrayal of a digital world gone awry—populated by both benevolent and malevolent programs—resonates in an age increasingly defined by online experiences. Dialogues with demons often probe existential questions, elevating the story beyond a standard good-versus-evil trope.

Ultimately, Shin Megami Tensei Nine stands out as a unique entry in the franchise. Its combination of real-time combat, strategic board play, and deep fusion mechanics will appeal to series fans and hardcore RPG enthusiasts looking for something off the beaten path. Those seeking a more conventional JRPG experience, however, might find its systems and pacing unconventional. For adventurous players, though, Nine offers a rich, multi-layered journey through a beautifully flawed virtual world.

Retro Replay Score

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