New screenshots for Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster
Atlus has released new screenshots and character artwork for Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster. While the screenshots are sadly lower than 720p resolution, it's still nice to get a glimpse of how the remaster is taking the original visuals and tweaking them for a new release, especially considering widescreen aspect ratios.
In the press release, Atlus reintroduces the various characters and systems found in Nocturne. This includes demon fusion and the 'press turn' battle system, whose variants have been seen in several SMT and Persona games where hitting elemental weaknesses can give your unit additional turns. You can actually still read brief bios of the main character cast on an archived version of the original English website, and well as a story synopsis on Atlus's current website.
The remaster looks to be mostly a faithful re-release of the original game, with no new significant added features. However, there will be a new Merciful difficulty mode offered as free DLC, which will allow players an easier difficulty as the original game is often considered to be challenging on its Normal mode. Additionally, the remaster will be based on the 2008 Maniax Chronicle version of Nocturne, where Dante's infamous cameo appearance is replaced by Raidou Kuzunoha - the main character from the Devil Summoner games on PlayStation 2.
One particularly unique element to Nocturne is that of Magatama. There are 24 Magatama to be found in the game (plus one special Magatama), and by equipping certain ones, the elemental resistances & weaknesses for the Demifiend main character will alter. Additionally, leveling up with certain Magatama attached will allow Demifiend to learn a variety of abilities.
It's worth noting, that while the Japanese press release mentions that skills can be transferred to new demons after fusion, it does not specify precisely *how* this is done. This is a bit of a point of contention, as the original versions of Nocturne did not allow players to choose which skills were transferred to fused demons, and it was instead picked randomly. More recent SMT and Persona games do allow players to specifically choose which skills are transferred. It remains to be fully confirmed if Atlus will remain purist and keep Nocturne's mechanic how it was, or if they'll add an option to choose skill inheritance.
Check out the new screenshots in the gallery below, Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is set to release for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch in Japan on October 29, 2020, with a western release to follow in Spring 2021. In case you missed it, you can check out the announcement information from July's Nintendo Direct Mini.
