Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeanceis just around the corner, set to launch June 14. This is an enhanced version ofShin Megami Tensei 5, which was released back in 2021. This continues the longstanding tradition of Atlus re-releasing its games once they’ve had a few years to breathe. However,Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeancestands apart in one critical way, and it’s a major cause for concern.
Atlus recently announced that it would bedelistingShin Megami Tensei 5and all its DLCupon the release ofVengeance. This is concerning for a number of reasons, and it’s a decision that absolutely cannot continue in future games. After all, if this becomes a pattern, it will put both the past and future of series likeSMTandPersonain serious jeopardy.
What Shin Megami Tensei 5’s Delisting Means for Other Atlus Franchises
Video Game Preservation is in Danger
Video game preservationhas become a growing issue in the last few years. Access to physical media is increasingly limited, and some games are being removed from digital services only a short time after release. This has led to many games losing accessibility among general audiences. Other games may die on the vine completely, with no copies allowed to be sold, and no more copies remaining in circulation.
This is, thankfully, not entirely the case forShin Megami Tensei 5due to the game receiving a physical release. However, the slippery slope of preservation is one that is nearly impossible to climb back up from. If a game gets lost forever, it means a whole world of art and experiences gets permanently erased.
The Rocky Future of Shin Megami Tensei and Persona
Thereveal ofSMT5:Vengeancewas not a surprising or unwelcome one. After all, upgraded re-releases both improve the experience of returning players, and bring in a whole new host of players who weren’t attracted to the original. However, sacrificing the original for the sake of these re-releases would be a huge danger to Atlus' lengthy history of quality games.
Persona 5was a milestone of successwhen it came to Atlus bringing its franchises to a more mainstream audience. The enhanced re-release,Persona 5 Royal, kept the ball rolling with a wider release, improving its accessibility. However, whileRoyalimproved upon its predecessor in many other ways, it would’ve been unthinkable to erasePersona 5in its wake. Unfortunately, that is exactly what Atlus is doing now withShin Megami Tensei 5andVengeance.
This decision is particularly strange given the recent release ofPersona 3 Reload.Reloaddid not lead to Atlus erasing previous versions of the game. Instead, Atluslaunched multiplePersonaremastersto generate excitement beforeReloadwas even revealed, and has continued to promote them afterReload’s release. This was a great strategy for the preservation ofPersonagames, and a much preferable alternative to what is now going on withShin Megami Tensei.
Atlus Could Wind Up Erasing its Own History
Whileupdated re-releases likeSMT5: Vengeanceare welcome additions to Atlus' library of games, the originalShin Megami Tensei 5is a game worth preserving in its own right. The decision to delist it is as confusing as it is potentially dangerous.
This is even more concerning for the sake of future games within Atlus' catalog.Persona 6is in the works,and when it releases, it will likely get an enhanced re-release a few years later. If that re-release means erasing the original game, it would be an irreparable blow to video game preservation as a whole.
The ultimate hope is that this move withShin Megami Tensei 5is simply a fluke and not Atlus testing the waters. The future of Atlus' games is heavily dependent on its past. Many fans of series likeShin Megami TenseiandPersonagot into them by playing older entries after a gateway likeRoyalorVengeance. This is a vital door for the future of video games that, hopefully, won’t be closed byVengeance.
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.
