Shin Megami Tensei II...in Japan, on the SNES system, it was considered one of the few really good RPGs of its time.
The game features many unique elements, one is that you are able to "Capture" monsters and use them in battle. Another is that dungeons are seen though a first person perspective, giving the player a unique feel when traveling the various dungeons of the world.
It all started on the NES system (Famicom to be exact) with Megami Tensei, based on a set of novels that tends to blur the line between sci-fi and horror to a point.
The hero creates a program that allows him to summon demons from the world of Makai. Doi so, he unleashes some of the most powerful demons from that world. Along with his girlfriend, he enters a grand tower to defeat the demons and save the world.
There was, of course, a sequel. Megami Tensei II did not really follow the orignal novels but set the game in a post apocalyptic world where demons run rampant. A group of kids are recruited by the Demon of Winds to save the world from an even worse fate. Themes like this would continue on for the remainder of he series.
Shin Megami Tensei, released for SNES (Super Famicom to be exact) is a landmark of the series.
It is the first to have the story change dependant on the actions of the player, with three unique outcomes in the end. The story starts with bound genius who creates a machine that eables teleportation to other machines, but the machine somehow taps into the world of Makai and demons are summoned en-masse. The player takes control of a boy who is given the COMP, a personal computer that enables him to contact demons and recruit them to his side. He later meets two people who wish the world would change under he ideology of Law or Chaos, along with a girl who will help the hero at times of need. Eventually it leads to the End of the World, and beyond to save the world.
This game, takes place many years after the events of Shin Megami Tensei. You take control of a man named Hawk, a gladiator who wishes to enter the upper city. The hero eventualy realizes who he truely is, and is accepted as a hero. Being the hero on the other hand, makes one thing that none's alright with te way the city acts. From there, the hero will have to make a desition, to stay with the city, or rebel against it.
For major old time RPG players, THIS is a game for you!
