The Megami Tensei Games Tier List

After three long years I finally made an updated version of my Megami Tensei games tier list, where I rank every MegaTen game I've played in a tiermaker tier list, now updated with games I had not previously played like Shin Megami Tensei V, Soul Hackers 2, and Persona Q2.

#persona #smt #megaten

[oscarzxn]

"I thought owning Catherine made me hardcore" - Nyarly, 2022

[tempheror]

I still find it hilarious that so many people have agreed that Catherine is a smt game purely because it has a law/chaos system.

[sevrenbird]

I’ll stan Digital Devil Saga till my dying breath

[FinalDragoon]

Your complaints about Persona Q are exactly why people love the Etrian Odyssey series. Punishing difficulty, drawing out the map like you're using graphing paper, and varied ways to build your party to explore said dungeons.

[modesto]

I gave Strange Journey a shot in a cold winter day and ended up play for 8 hours straight, surely one of my favorite gaming experiences. Loved it.

[alcoop]

i played persona 4 golden for the first time on pc last year, and without a nostalgia bias i can safely say its not only my favourite megaten game, but my favourite game of all time as of now

[Spiritxiii]

Back in 2006, I around 9-10 years old, playing a little game called Snowboard Kids on the DS. I loved it because me and my siblings used to rent Snowboard Kids for N64 from our local game-rental store, so having a new version on the go was great for long plane trips. In SKDS, a cute little snowman named Jack Frost and his evil counterpart Black Frost were secret unlockable racers, and they where really fun to play as. I still have the cast shouting ATLUS every time you boot up the game burned into my memory. By 2009 I was turning 13 and had saved enough money for a new DS game. Given that me & my family lived in Alaska, importing games via Amazon was our real only option besides the local Radio Shack for new games. What do I see browsing but that familiar ATLUS logo, on a little DS game called Devil Survivor. Being the edge lord fresh teenager, I bought it on the spot, waited nearly a month, and was surprised to find that lovable snowman again; needless to say I've been a life-long ATLUS fan ever since. I also distinctly remember later that year in James Rolfe's AVGN review of Virtual Boy titles my utter shock of seeing Jack Frost again, alongside the Jack Brothers, but in a game from 1995 - before I was even born!

Shortly thereafter my family moved from Alaska to the mainland, and on our road trip I had gotten Persona 3 Portable. I bought it because of the cool looking skeleton on the cover, alongside myself bearing a strong resemblance to the protagonist. The beginning of the story resonated all too well for me: moving from a familiar town to the middle of nowhere, entering into high school. I feel like my perception of ATLUS titles going forward was spoiled by the incredible quality of these two titles alone, but I love the majority of titles regardless of public opinion. In high school I borrowed my best friend's brother's copy of Persona 4, by 2017 in college I bought the special edition of Persona 5, and again in 2020 as a graduation gift with Persona 5 Royal, which really helped me get through the initial quarantine. ATLUS titles have held a special place in my life, from philosophy & existentialism, to the unrivaled soundtracks and beloved casts.

And all because of a little snowman going Hee-Ho~

[ardenn]

Love to see a new tier list from Nyarly.... I normally hate YT trends but I actually find tier lists to be very fun... especially lists about certain topics like Megaten games which are already heavily divisive and contain a vast array of opinions

While I'd def have some differing opinions.... I respect the hell out of anyone who puts Persona 1 in A tier

[icedcapplord]

Persona 3 may have had a more profound impact on me as a kid because it was one of my earliest experiences with story-driven games or games with deep narratives, but Persona 2 for me takes the cake as one of if not my absolute favorite MegaTens. The gameplay is easy for me to adjust to and Eternal Punishment's gameplay is superb in particular, but it's really the quality of the story especially by PS1 JRPG standards as to why I've held it in such high regard. Tatsuya's one of my favorite JRPG protagonists and Innocent Sin's story especially just balances levity so well by respecting its audience enough to process how complex its themes and character exploration is

[freakyzed]

Gotta be Nocturne. Bought it when it first game out, based purely on the box blurb on the back of the case. Turning it on that first time, realizing it's something completely new and different from all the other jrpgs I had played before. Never forget your first time.

[bigdrudogg]

Agree with almost everything, I’d just Bump up a SMT IV to SS.. that to me has easily the best soundtrack of all SMT titles

[ComeInToMadness]

I literally played Persona 4 last year and can say it's definitely my favorite out of the persona games. No Nostalgia here

[luccabritto]

I'm actually completely mindblown that someone said SMTIV's story was weak and the alignment system also was

[alexdombrowski]

Devil survivor overclocked was my first ever SMT game and I will agree with you on that placement, it is still one of my favorite games to date and I hope it gets a switch port

[KingSpectre]

I was unaware until today that the Persona 2 Eternal Punishment PSP Fan Translation was finished. Thanks for the heads up!!

[-jy]

SMT 5 "The story is a little bit lacking" What story?

[electronicmusicofjapan-emj]

You’re a brave man putting smt 5 in S, I loved it too despite the less than gripping story and characters. I enjoyed the battle royal of gods and slaying them all.

I still think smt 4 and SJ are the best because of their top tier characters and world building. They have the best atmosphere and music for me.

On the other hand I though Catherine was kinda trash. The characters were good but the gameplay got boring and the story spiralled into stupidity imo. Lost interest the further in I got.

[Zergito]

What blows my mind is that you actually have the time to play all these games. I’ve only went thru SMT 3 Nocturne HD Remaster and Strange Journey Redux so far. Currently playing Persona 5 Royal and I’m in love with it!

[myokui]

Persona 1 is my favorite megaten game of all time. No other game in the series can match the atmosphere that it presents. The soundtrack (PS1 version obv) is a masterpiece and it perfectly captures the dark and dreamlike mood that the game’s narrative was going for. The game is definitely lacking in some areas (namely the gameplay and story) but it more than makes up for it by providing an experience that other megaten games just can’t replicate. It is a one of a kind game, for better or worse.

[dustinmorse]

the problem with older smt games is the "i would have loved this if i played it when it came out" i wish they would remake most of the old ones :(