Megaten Marathon - A Shin Megami Tensei and Persona Podcast

Alex, Allisa, and Paul venture into hell in our first episode about the equally infamous and beloved Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. In this ep, we focus on the fascinating backstory behind its development, and the game mechanics it introduced that soon became Shin Megami Tensei (and Persona) staples. 

• 1up.com: In Character: The Art of Kazuma Kaneko

It's been a very long year, so in the spirit of the holidays, let's close it out with a visit to our old friends the Phantom Thieves. In this bonus episode, Allisa and Paul look at this year's reimagining of Persona 5—what's new, what's improved, and what the base game's merits and flaws look like with a few years' perspective. 

Thanks for listening and supporting the show, see y'all in January with our first episode on Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne!

Support us on Patreon to get access to our new monthly backer-exclusive podcast that launches in January! The Anime Based on the Game will recap, review, and likely dunk on films, anime, and other media based on JRPGs.

• Allisa's review of Persona 5 Royal for Dualshockers

Would you trust a shady government organization, a cult, the cops, a bereaved dad, or a gigolo with the power to summon demons at will? We ask these questions ourselves as we conclude our coverage of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, a game for quarantine times if there ever was one.

Help support our pledge drive!

We're having a pledge drive to help cover the costs of the production software and hosting we use for Combo Chain and Megaten Marathon. Please consider helping out if you can. Plus if you donate, you get cool very-early access episodes! https://tinyurl.com/megatenchain

Show Notes

• Interview with the Devil Survivor localization team

A quarantine, lockdown, and an untrustworthy government...but at least we don't have demons to worry about (yet). Allisa, Paul, and special guest Ethan try our best to ignore our own death countdown clocks as we cover Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. It's a tactical RPG-meets-visual novel where the pervading sense of doom feels very appropriate for the time. 

Help support our pledge drive!

We're having a pledge drive to help cover the costs of the production software and hosting we use for Combo Chain and Megaten Marathon. Please consider helping out if you can. Plus if you donate, you get cool very-early access episodes! https://tinyurl.com/megatenchain

Show Notes

• Surviving a lockdown with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

It's the end of the world as we know it...no, we're not talking about real life, we're talking about the final third of Persona 3. Our heroes take on a death cult, a death god, while wrestling with existential crises, Junpei's love life, and a seriously dodgy new student.

Support Megaten Marathon on Patreon!

Show notes

• Thoth Tarot Deck

Please rate and review us on Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify and wherever else we show up!

We take a deep dive into the middle months of Persona 3, in which the life and death stakes increase, we get some backstory on Mitsuru's troubled past, and most importantly, get the ultimate god boy Koromaru to join our team.

Please help support Megaten Marathon on Pateron!

----more----

Show Notes

• Hachikō, the Best Boy ever

Please rate and review us on Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify and wherever else we show up!

Please help support Megaten Marathon on Pateron!

When we decided six months ago to do a series of eps about a game about death, we didn't really expect it'd be released in the midst of a pandemic. That caveat aside, Persona 3 is a phenomenal game, the one that solidified the Persona formula as we know it all, while having an incredibly rich story and some of the most engaging characters the series has ever known.

Few games succeed as well as this one at presenting an utterly compelling world while being so damn mechanically solid. Join us at the beginning of this three-part series about the value of life, the inevitability of death, and some truly surreal setpieces.

Also, we hope you and yours are healthy, happy, and managing social isolation!

Show Notes

Please consider helping Paul get his power and cell phone switched back on, and providing him with a bit more stability: GoFundMe campaign

• 2012 IGN Review

Please rate and review us on Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify and wherever else we show up¡

Allisa, Alex, and Paul enter a post-dystopian world that has been separated into tribes, which can only subsist on demon (and human) meat. Enjoy as we get sidetracked into how many video games feature cannibalism while we delve into one of the oddest Shin Megami Tensei's entries yet. 

----more----

Did you know you can support Megaten Marathon's hosting and recording fees by joining our Patreon? Please consider donating–even a dollar a month helps!

Show notes: 

Digital Devil Saga for Beginners

Wikipedia - Hinduism

Combo Chain