Monark video game6/18/2023 ![]() They’re mostly interesting but lack the richness of Atlus’ cherished games.īut like Rise, there’s vulnerability communicated by the game’s cast. Nearly fifteen years later, I’m tempted every time I pass by a figurine of Chie Satonaka or Rise Kujikawa, and it seems doubtful I’ll feel the same about Monark’s characters. But at the end of Monark’s forty or so hour trek and after one of it’s four endings, the cast just isn’t as memorable as Persona. Sure, you have the archetypal “little sister” to draw out feelings of protectives and exhibit jealous toward other girls as well as the lazy, thirty-old doctor who reluctantly becomes a surrogate father figure. The issue isn’t that they are rooted in trope. Sadly, I suspect Monark’s cast will be measured against the rosters of the Persona entries and will fall a bit short. Plus, it’s refreshing to think of character attributes outside of the typical statistical measures of strength, intelligence, constitution, etc. Although the latter doesn’t happen with the frequency I would have liked, there are a few salient moments where you’ll actively wonder if the game is messing with you. And that’s one of the best things about Monark it had me thinking if moments were mere storytelling or whether they were intended to provoke some kind of emotional response. When the Shin Mikado Academy Dean stated that I was driven by vanity, I was taken back and goaded into learning more about this discomfiting finding. Qualities like sloth, wrath, or envy are either a repercussion or a cause of these deficiencies, Monark claims. Inferiority and inadequacy often drive our actions, Adler argued. ![]() The game’s opening moments present players with a fifteen-question personality assessment, plotting your disposition as degrees of the seven deadly sins. But whereas the Atlus’ property was built around Carl Jung’s concept of metaphorical masks, which people don to both make an impression and conceal their identify, Monark takes inspiration from Adlerian Psychology.Īlfred Adler believed that humans are more likely to fulfill their potential when they experience acceptance, respect, and the feeling that are significant. ![]() ![]() The game’s journey revolves around joining a new student council determined to defeat the seven Pactbearers and their daemon associates, thereby exorcising evil from the academy.Īs such, Monark will inevitably be compared with the Persona games. When he awakens, he’s stricken with amnesia, learning that the mist is caused when a human becomes a Pactbearer, forming a bond with daemons known as a Monark. Expectedly, contamination and confinement are taking a toll on those trapped inside, with reports of killings and otherworldly phenomena inside the hermetically-sealed walls.Īfter becoming exposed to the mysterious miasma, Monark’s protagonist loses consciousness and is rescued by several of his classmates. Monark takes place at the Shin Mikado Academy, where a madness-inducing mist has filled the school’s hallways and a persistent barrier prevents anyone from escaping or an attempt at rescue from the outside world. The game’s creativity spawned not just a prolific franchise, but also the Persona spin-off series, where players plumbed the psyche of its characters, providing some of the most intimate perspectives in contemporary gaming.įor better or worse, Lancarse’s experienced squad doesn’t deviate too far from the modern but morose settings of Persona. Instead, it was one of the first RPGs to explore the intermingling of region, philosophy, and morality, envisioning a post-apocalyptic world filled with humans, demons, and mythical creatures from several cultures. While some elements of the first SMT entry might seem a bit archaic these days, the 1992 game demonstrated that role-playing games don’t have to be rooted in vaguely medieval, fantasy-themed contexts. Additionally, Ryutaro Ito and Kazunari Suzuki, who penned the storyline for the inaugural Shin Megami Tensei title, contributed their own talents to the game. There’s Aya Nishitani, the author of the Digital Devil Story novels which inspired the Megami Tensei series. Price: $59.99 Standard Edition, $64.99 Deluxe EditionĪvailability: Nintendo eShop and other digital marketplacesįor Monark, Shinjuku-based developer Lancarse gathered a team of veteran writers.
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