Thirding that you probably don’t want to do Nocturne Hard your first time. Normal is a well above average challenge in its type. Hard makes the tougher parts crueler.
Well you’re already in there…
Yeah earlier SMT is a lot of first person corridor/dungeon crawling, this was a partial progression from that. You can enter first person mode as a bonus in NG+.
IT’S TOO LATE I’M A REAL GAMER NOW
MOUNTAIN DEW FLOWS THROUGH MY VEINS
the most annoying thing hard mode does really is just make it so running from combat doesn’t work
like, at all
REAL GAMERS DON’T RUN FROM A FIGHT
i’m just gonna pump vitality until i have some sense of how practical the other stats are and what role the MC’s actually supposed to be fulfilling in the party
strength and magic seem questionable
i love how ridiculously dramatic the Analyze move is
also anime is real and Pixie is my best friend
Since its game ovah once Demi-fiend drops, all that VIT helps. But won’t protect you from some vulnerability towards instant death spells (glorious hama/spooky mudo).
STR is great because as the constant demon master he shows 'em how its done. Them punches get very effective.
AGI or whatever its called is worthwhile because evading shit and also making the enemy lose press turns.
Luck affects crits and possibly demon negotiation, maybe running away, I don’t remember. Not a place I point up. MAG has more MP and I think magic defense, also generally not as beneficial as the STR/VIT/AGI.
fun fact if you squint hard enough you can pretend you’re playing a girl! #lifehacks
this is a good game to play high it turns out
oh nice, my party got wiped in one turn from full health
pretty good
edit: after that mess forneus was kind of a pushover lol
edit 2: got to world map and another party wipe from full from a back attack 
Nocturne on hard the first time?
Good luck
If you’re like me you won’t even care about dying all the time because you get to see the gameover screen
IIRC enemies do more damage, you get less money, you can’t run away unless enemies are statused out, ambush rate is higher.
It’s worth boosting vit /agi a lot and being careful about which megatama you equip in which dungeon to avoid getting ambush-murdered all the time
Here are some tips from least likely to spoil your experience to most likely, check them out if you want
If your megatama is glowing, it means it’s going to teach you a new skill next level
Do you like block puzzles? The minigame grants you a megatama that teaches a multitarget healing spell.
Skills that lower/raise stats are worth checking out, and the easiest way to beat difficult bosses like Matador without grinding on hard mode.
I always keep Fog Breath on the main character
If you’re a true doom murderhead you’re going to do the amala network, and that means you donnt have to worry about which ending to get (if that’s the kind of thing you might worry about)
been exploring the (first?) mall
my main party is now a pixie, lilim and hua po because theming is very important you guys
they’ve got an elec, ice and fire spell respectively for the sake of versatility
the lilim is the only one who isn’t lagging behind (because she’s the result of a fuckton of fusions) but you know whatever
this game does show its age in some ways and lord is the writing for the actual characters, uh, something, but i am having a good time still
i really like the writing in this game
i tried hardmode once and it was fine up until i had to buy magatama and realized everything costs an extra 3-4k macca 
it wasn’t otherwise much harder as far as I could tell.
STR+LUK is the best build imo. VIT and AGI don’t hurt but you can make up the difference with smart (de)buffs. Also your stats seem to “scale” with your level so not increasing one will in time become less of a big deal. Basically have fun/don’t sweat it.
Be more careful with your skills though. Demi-fiend can only learn any skill once, if you overwrite it it’s gone for good.
just made it to ginza
my pixie’s come a long way and, uh, i’m never going to fuse her again if i can help it???
fuck
enemies also deal double damage apparently
you can fuse the pixie to get the bonus, just don’t sacrifice or part with it
for what it’s worth i wouldn’t stress too much about this, the super pixie isn’t great with no resistances, if you use it in a sacrifice fusion you can make anything level 99 so that’s kinda nice i guess
oh i know, that angel was originally my pixie
i’m keeping her this way because seriously, i made a bdsm angel with Seduce and Dark Pledge and 108 HP at time of fusion, i’m basically perfect
i think you will be very pleased at the large range of badass lady demons you can get on your team in this game. i certainly am.
ginza underpass is such a ridiculous difficulty spike jesus
edit: no joke i literally can’t even grind anywhere outside ginza proper because one back attack encounter or enough wilder zhens showing up at once pretty much always wipes my party no matter how clever i try to be
Have fun with Matador
