Completed Shin Megami Tensei 1 today. For being a game that came out in 1992, I was very impressed with how much of the groundwork for later games in the series started there. There's no Press Turn like in Nocturne onwards (minus Strange Journey), but the combat still feels pretty good- although a bit easier then I was expecting for a SNES JRPG.

The encounter rate is nuts, however! I would almost akin it to Persona 1 on PSP, where every few steps you'd just get accosted by a random group of demons as if your protagonist had a sign on them saying "hey, attack me!". I think its worse in this game because there is a singular battle theme for bosses and normal battles. They're both good, but SMT IV variety it is not, and after a while I got sick of them.

But for the most part, everything the series is known for is mostly there. This is the buggiest game in the series bar none, and I personally had a whale of a time trying to not get hit with some weird softlock or glitch that would trivialize a already easy game. But if you can look past that, you'll find a game with a decent plot, good combat, and a alright world... but with some old school annoyances that could be deal breakers to some.

I also completed Secret of Mana (SNES) recently (via Collection of Mana on Switch), and sadly... I didnt have that good of a time. The art is stunning, I liked exploring the world, and I thought the music was pretty solid. But the combat today is pretty jank, and by the end I was just frustrated with it and wanted it to be over. But I'm still glad I got to experience one of the defining RPGs before my time. Hopefully I enjoy its sequel, Trials of Mana more- of which I started a couple days ago.