Shin Megami Tensei

Shin Megami Tensei (真・女神転生, literally "True Goddess Reincarnation") is a post-apocalyptic role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus. Originally released for the Super Famicom in 1992 in Japan, it has been ported to multiple systems and eventually released in the West for iOS in 2014. It is the third game in the Megami Tensei series and the first in the central Shin Megami Tensei series. The gameplay uses first-person navigation of dungeons and turn-based battles against demons. The player can recruit demons as allies by talking to them rather than fighting them, and two to three demons can be fused to create new demons.

The story follows a nameless protagonist who lives in near-future Tokyo. When a portal to the realm of demons is opened, United States officials order a nuclear attack on Tokyo. Transported with two other supporting characters thirty years into the future, the protagonist finds the Earth ruined by a demon invasion, which is now the stage for an escalating conflict between the Order of Messiah and the Ring of Gaea, conflicting cults who wish to bring about kingdoms for their respective patron deities (YHVH and Lucifer). The story is influenced by moral decisions the protagonist makes, aligning him either with the Order, the Ring of Gaea, or setting him up as an independent agent.

Megami Tensei

Megami Tensei (Japanese: 女神転生, often translated as "Rebirth of the Goddess"), commonly abbreviated as MegaTen (メガテン) and marketed overseas as Shin Megami Tensei (originally Revelations), is a Japanese media franchise created by Kouji Okada (credited as Cozy Odaka in English), Ginichiro Suzuki, and Kazunari Suzuki. It is primarily developed by Atlus and currently owned by Sega. The first entry in the series, Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei, was released in 1987 and its success spawned one sequel, and later multiple subseries that form part of the Megami Tensei franchise. Aside from role-playing games, the series includes examples of multiple genres such as tactical role-playing, action role-playing, and massively multiplayer online role-playing. The first two titles in the series were published by Bandai Namco (then Namco), but have been almost always published by Atlus in Japan and North America since the release of Shin Megami Tensei. For Europe, Atlus publishes the games through third-party companies.

Star Ocean

Star Ocean (スターオーシャン, Sutā Ōshan) is a franchise of action role-playing video games developed by the Japanese company tri-Ace and published and owned by Square Enix (originally Enix).

Creation and influence

As fans of science fiction and space travel, the developers at tri-Ace created the Star Ocean series with a sci-fi setting in mind and have cited Star Trek as one of their main influences for the visuals of the games as well as being an underlying, but noticeable, influence to the series as a whole. While the first Star Ocean game included more fantasy elements to appeal to a broad audience, subsequent installments naturally moved towards a more sci-fi oriented feel, with Star Ocean: Till the End of Time described by its producer Yoshinori Yamagishi as tri-Ace's "ultimate vision" of the "whole Star Ocean world". The large gap of time between Star Ocean: The Second Story and Till the End of Time, in terms of in-universe chronology, can be explained by the series' choice to emphasize the setting of its fictional world rather than focus on its characters.

The 3Ds

The 3Ds were an alternative pop/rock band based from Dunedin, New Zealand, together from 1988 to 1997. They recorded three albums and several EPs, the best known of which is The Venus Trail (1993). Have achieved success worldwide commercial and critical in the period 1992-95.

History

The band was formed in May 1988 by Dominic Stones, Denise Roughan and David Saunders. The band's name referred to the members names all starting with "D". In 1989 they were joined by David Mitchell who introduced the twin-guitar attack which became the defining feature of the group. In addition he also made some of the cover of the albums. Among their inspirations, in addition to the Pixies, consider Black Sabbath and Fairport Convention. Their first recordings were a bunch of demos, one of which, Meluzina Man became their first release on the 1990 compilation Xpressway Pileup. The band made its debut for the label Flying Nun with the EP Fish Tales at the beginning of 1990, beginning a long collaboration with the label of Dunedin. Their second EP, Swarthy Songs for Swabs, and the debut album, Hellzapoppin', followed over the next two years.

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey

Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey (Japanese: 真・女神転生 STRANGE JOURNEY (ストレンジ・ジャーニー), Hepburn: Shin Megami Tensei Sutorenji Jānī) is a role-playing video game developed by Atlus and Lancarse for the Nintendo DS. It was published by Atlus in 2009 in Japan, and in 2010 in North America. It is the fourth entry in the Shin Megami Tensei series, which forms the core of the Megami Tensei franchise. The story follows a special task force sent by the United Nations to investigate the Schwarzwelt, a spatial distortion that appears in Antarctica and threatens to engulf the world. Players take control of an unnamed protagonist, navigating the environments of the Schwarzwelt in first-person. Combat involves the player and recruited demons fighting against various enemies, with the protagonist having the option of talking with and recruiting enemies.

The game originated from the team's wish to develop a large-scale role-playing game for the DS. Many of the main staff had worked on previous Megami Tensei titles in some capacity, including producer and designer Kazuma Kaneko, director Eiji Ishida, writer Shogo Isogai, and composer Shoji Meguro. The setting in Antarctica was chosen to appeal to an overseas audience. Alongside the new setting, the game featured multiple science fiction elements new to the series, taking inspiration from films such as Damnation Alley and The Thing. For the music, Meguro used grander musical styles than his previous works, incorporating choir music using a special synthesizer. Reception of the game has been generally positive for its story and gameplay, but many disliked its first-person navigation.