Disclaimer: I'm gonna be talking about some elements that aren't in the demo (Twitter posts and the extended gameplay).
Starting with the visuals, I REALLY liked some small details on the enemies, like Yuki adjusting her hat, Parsee's eyes, Utsuho's sunlight and even simpler things like Kedama's waving. I don't know how many of them will have this in the final game, but aside from the poses, this gives each one even more uniqueness. I think it can be interesting to be able to turn these animations on and off with a button in the status/fusion menu (or whatever they appear), although this sounds more fitting to a gallery menu. I dunno, no big deal.
Some enemies having different spawning animations are really also a really nice touch.
Not much to say about the dungeons. Hell and caves are... well, hell and caves, Satori's palace is cute, and the outside world areas feel pretty comfortable. I mean, they have a lot of things, are colorful and vivid. I want to go to those places IRL (lol).
The title screen is also pretty cool! Sometimes I didn't press any buttons just to stay looking at the animation and listening to the music. OH, the music.
Mile once again doing a GREAT job (you two really work well together huh?). Aside from the title screen, the sleeper/fusion theme really fits that ominous menu that has a fucking "SACRIFICE" option. It really sounds like you're doing some dark, shady stuff. I also loved the pre-battle music, it's really vibing, it's like you and the enemy are planning your first move, looking at each other intimidatingly.
The boss theme is fire as fuck, but it would be cool if the secret boss (and some others from the Twitter videos) had their own theme too (like Udongein X had). Of course, I know that the game isn't done yet and this could change in the future.
Interesting how the dungeon music didn't just reset after the battle in non-demo videos, a nice thing to have in a turn-based RPG.
I didn't pay much attention to the sound effects (sorry), although the sleeper erasing one is cool.
Idk if it is too much to ask a hitbox in the hijack sections or if this ruins the aesthetic or something, or at least show it before the highjacking starts. But in the end, to be honest, this wasn't a problem at all. I don't remember getting frustrated by not having a hitbox.
Also, if you aren't aware yet, it is possible to make a lot of money selling Burner Phones from itemizing Satori, cuz her danmaku is easy. Not gonna lie, I liked this, it gave me more opportunities to use the compendium.
No big deal, but I don't see how more button customization can be a bad idea, like separate buttons to confirm/shoot and cancel/run buttons. And with this, you be able to use the same button in different contexts (e.g., the same button to run in dungeons and to turn auto battle).
Also, dumb complaint: if a gun does pierce DMG, why is Sumi's default phys attack called "sword"? I mean, it is a way simpler than changing "sword" to the equipped weapon's name, but I find it a little strange.
Other little things that I know that some NPCs are gonna explain at some point in the full game, but I just want to be sure:
- What each one of the character status means.*
- How much a Buff/Debuff can stack.
- What each affinity resistance icon is (I think that this one is too important to just be in an NPC dialogue).
- If overall HP or LV raises your life while highjacking.
*I know that this one is on the extended gameplay, but I felt that it was missing on the demo, knowing this REALLY helped me to test some builds.
And about builds, replaying the demo, I tested a brute-force one and a magic attack one. Both are fun. I just didnt have many chances to use some affinities in the because of bad luck (not getting encounters with certain sleepers or ended up killing them). In any case, I destroyed the bosses with debuffs (I've heard people talking about buffs/debuffs being important in SMT, now i know why).
Random thoughts:
- The custom background color is cool.
- I love Sumireko.
- Would be cool if Yorihime had a tetrakarn/makarakarn. You know why.
- I really liked that we can use guns and I'm eager to equip my Japanese high school glasses girl with an AK-47.
- That Meiling legs.
Post-ADiA personal off-topic experience: Playing through ADiA got me a little more interested in SMT in general. Aside from the newer Persona games, I tried Nocturne, but didn't get much further (I'm gonna try it again someday). Even so, I had a lot of fun searching through MT and old SMT content (MarshSMT videos primarily). But even before this, when I was playing ADiA, there were a lot of things that I looked at and said: "this really looks like SMT". From the first-person perspective, to the enemies and NPCs appearances.
And of course, I had a great time and A LOT of fun with ADiA. I'm really excited to play the full game!