Summary
Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeanceadds a number of new features to enhance the original’s gameplay and plot, with its virtual training being especially noteworthy. Situated in Da’at’s Minato ward, the virtual training options become available in Tokyo’s Diet Building, where Bethel’s researchers convene to gather data and offer the Nahobino certain quests. While backtracking to Minato can become an afterthought for players progressing throughVengeance’s new plot, experiencing all that the virtual training has to offer can provide both challenge and accessibility, becoming an especially useful tool for the endgame grind.
Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance’s virtual training acts as one might expect, allowing the Nahobino to test his strength against previous boss incarnations. These battles can be chosen in “Original” or “Challenge” modes, with the former keeping its enemies at the levels from which they were first introduced, while the latter sets them to level 100. Challenge mode doesn’t stop there, however, as victory can result in the player raising the enemies' levels by increments of one-hundred, all the way up to a cap of 999. Beyond these modes are the options for “Normal” or “Consecutive” battles, letting the player engage in fun boss rushes that correspond with Da’at’s regions and rivals.
Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance’s Virtual Training Offers Both Challenge and Reward
Virtual Training Battles Can Be a Great Way to Earn Macca and EXP
Vengeance’s virtual training optionscan be quite valuable to complete, offering both Macca and experience that are helpful towards tackling the endgame’s superbosses. This is enhanced through its consecutive battles, as boss rushes give the Nahobino access to a full inventory separate from their own, allowing for use of valuables like Somas and Chakra Pots without having to worry about consuming through the player’s own stock. Endgame boss rushes like the Empyrean battles can net the player 63,000 Macca upon completion, making them an accessible way to gather money for expensive compendium summons/demon fusions.
Because healing atVengeance’s leyline founts can cost quite a bit of money depending on how much health and SP needs to be recovered, engaging in the virtual training’s consecutive battles simply to use up Somas and other items can also be a way to circumvent the additional cost. With that said, there is a caveat to tackling the virtual training bosses, as defeat will result in a game over. There are plenty of battles to try out that are each worthy of the player’s time, including a great nod to some boss fights from the original story that aren’t present inthe Canon of Vengeance storyline.
Bringing Back Iconic Boss Fights From the Original SMT5 Storyline
AsVengeance’s plot substitutes the original’s Chiyoda ward with the new location of Shinjuku, there are a few boss battles that don’t make the transition. The Army of Chaos virtual training battles, however, allow the player to revisit these fights, giving iconic demons like Ishtar another chance to shine. Beyond Macca and experience points, completing the virtual training’s boss rushes for the first time will net the player some Balms used to increasethe Nahobino’s stats, as well as some unique dialogue with Tsukuyomi that gives greater context to his feelings during the latter half of the game, making the Tiamat boss fight hit even harder.
Interacting With Other Bethel Researchers
Besides the virtual training options, the requests from Bethel’s other researchers shouldn’t be missed, as they are key in gathering the original’s DLC demons, now available inVengeance’s base game. Artemis, Cleopatra, and Mephisto all make for great allies both inDa’at’s overworldand the virtual training battles, as do some of the essences gathered from completing the researchers' requests. Tsukuyomi’s essences, enabling the Nahobino to use unique moves like the multi-hit spell Paraselene Blur, can be accessed through this dialogue, so players shouldn’t miss out on returning to the Tokyo Diet Building during the later stages of the game.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance
WHERE TO PLAY
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance consists of two complete story paths: experience a brand-new route, the “Canon of Vengeance” – a dramatic tale of revenge by the fallen, centered around new characters and an enigmatic cohort of demons, the Qadištu, who plot their own dark designs apart from the war of those who fight to maintain order and those who seek to defy it. Or explore the original story told in Shin Megami Tensei V, the “Canon of Creation” – an eternal conflict between angels and demons, in which the protagonist fights for the world’s fate.When a grisly murder scene in modern-day Tokyo blocks our protagonist’s walk home, an unplanned detour leaves 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 savior emerges, and the two of them unite to become a mighty being, neither human nor demon: a Nahobino.With newfound power, the protagonist ventures through Da’at, an enigmatic realm filled with mythical deities and demonic tyrants in constant conflict for survival. Searching for answers, the protagonist must forge his own path in a battle between angels and demons to dictate the fate of the world.
