Interview: Why SMT 5: Vengeance Devs Decided to Revisit the RPG and Bring It to PS5, PS4 Players

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is out next week on PS5 and PS4, and is set to introduce the demon-collecting RPG to a fresh audience. The original SMTV was a Nintendo Switch exclusive, but this re-release includes loads of additions and enhancements.

To learn more about Vengeance (the game, not the act), its new stuff, and why Atlus decided to return to this title in the first place, we fired some questions at producer Shinjiro Takata and director Shigeo Komori.

Push Square: To start with, what's your overall goal with Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance? Why did you decide to revisit this game?

Shinjiro Takata, Producer: Our goal for Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is to expand the SMT IP.

SMTV was received favorably by players and sold well on the Switch alone, so we started to consider reaching an even wider audience by moving SMTV to all platforms. But instead of just porting the Switch version, we decided we wanted to make the best SMTV experience that we can possibly make. We focused on adding new content, as well as taking in player feedback to make system adjustments and other improvements, and that is what has led to Vengeance in its current form.

Can you give us an overview of Vengeance? What are the biggest additions in this expanded release?

Shigeo Komori, Director: Vengeance is a dramatic tale of revenge against the world. As the battle between those who maintain order and those who commit crimes against it progresses, players will explore new areas, while following the story of new characters and a group of mysterious new demons, the Qadištu, who are plotting their own plans. In your exploration, you can also influence the fate of people and experience encounters with new demons.

For those who haven't played the original SMTV, can you explain where the new storyline begins? How does it feed into the base game?

Komori: The Canon of Vengeance starts similarly to the original path, with a grisly mysterious scene in modern-day Tokyo that blocks the protagonist’s walk home and an unplanned detour leaving him buried and unconscious.

He awakens in a new Tokyo, a wasteland ravaged by apocalypse now called Da’at... but before bloodthirsty demons can claim his life, a saviour emerges, and the two of them unite to become a mighty being, neither human nor demon: a Nahobino.

However, the journey changes drastically when a new character, Yoko Hiromine, is introduced. Yoko gradually influences the events of the story and by the midpoint of the game, there will be some significant differences, so please look forward to that.

We've heard that Vengeance makes smaller gameplay adjustments based on player feedback. Can you tell us more about them?

Komori: It would be difficult to list everything, but I would say the most noteworthy changes are: The addition of a movement mechanic called Magatsu Rails, improvements to the map, adjustment to the range that relics get picked up, new additions and improvements for demon navigators, the addition of the overhead sky view camera mode, transparency of obstacles in the field for camera visibility, adjustments to the way flying demons attack the player in the field, and several more finer improvements based on feedback from the original game.

SMT has a reputation as a more hardcore RPG series. We're just wondering, have you done anything to make SMTV — and Vengeance in particular — more approachable to new players?

Komori: Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is the perfect time for new players to get into the series. Whilst fans have always loved the challenge of SMT, we have made lots of adjustments to make Vengeance accessible to a wider audience including adding extra difficulty levels, making tutorials accommodating
for newcomers and giving players the chance to save the game at any point.

We have to ask, do you have any favourite SMT demons? Is there a demon that always makes it into your party?

Takata: Amabie (a new demon in Vengeance) is my favorite. It looks so weird and endearing, and I can’t wait for everyone to meet it. You’ll need to do a little something to recruit it though...

And finally, do you have anything you'd like to say to our readers, and those who might be playing SMTV for the first time?

Takata: Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance includes both the original story from SMTV, the “Canon of Creation,” as well as this new story, the “Canon of Vengeance.” Including all of the improvements that have been made for this iteration, this is biggest entry to the SMT series.

For players with no experience in the series, this is the perfect game to learn what SMT is all about. At the same time, those who played the original SMTV will be able to enjoy the added storyline and new additions such as the demon haunts, so you won’t want to miss this.

Huge thanks to Takata-san and Komori-san for taking the time to answer our questions. Special thanks to Samantha Montague and the teams at SEGA and Atlus for making this interview possible.

Are you looking forward to the release of Vengeance on the 14th June? Collect some demons of your own in the comments section below.