Prerelease:Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne/Vortex Prototype
This is a sub-page of Prerelease:Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne.
After the developers had made the tech demo, they set onto working on the main game.
The old subtitle for Shin Megami Tensei III was Vortex instead of Nocturne.
Contents
General Differences
- Just from this image alone, you can point out that the shadow is very different. There is a black circle around the protagonist's feet and there is a shadow of the protagonist just over them.
- The ghosts look very different and actually have a figure instead of just being blue effects that turn into figures when talked to.
- Obvious UI changes.
Concept Art
There are a few concept arts shown in the documentary.
Bandou Shrine
| Concept Art | Prototype |
|---|---|
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| Concept Art | Prototype |
|---|---|
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Originally, Bandou Shrine was anticipated to have floating cubes instead of pillars. The setting was still the same, but a lot was changed from the original concept art to the final version. The second comparison shows the room that where the protagonist was supposed to meet Masakados. Well, at least in the final game, assuming that this was the same sidequest.
Shinjuku
| Concept Art | Game Version |
|---|---|
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Shinjuku was a very central area in the prototype. This is where the Lilith Monad sidequest takes place, the location where Hikawa was supposed to summon Ahriman and also the location where one of the Incubus and Kurama cutscenes take place. In a way, you could compare it to all the Ikebukuro revisits in the final game.
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Battle Gameplay
For the actual prototype game, they decided to incorporate the press turn system into the game. There is a very clear difference here between the final game and the prototype. First of all, you can't scroll left or right to use items, summon demons or escape like in the final game. Instead of there being press turn icons, there was originally the press turn gauge where the gauge go towards the enemy's turn depending on how many turns you had used. Same concept, but different design.
This image uses battle mockup images to show off how the system would work. These mockup images are still leftover in the final game. Instead of the background being blue, it is red. It's assumed that this would change depending on which location you were in.
This image shows a Jack o' Lantern talking to a Jack Frost. For the prototype, they decided to cut out the negotiation system and instead incorporate different negotiation text. The text can be read here.
UI
The UI is mostly the same as the tech demo, but this is because they simply carried over all of the assets from the core game and just stuck with it through the prototype. Later UI changes were made way later.
Battle UI has a press turn gauge, a very simple battle menu with limited options.
The world map UI still has the world location thing that showed you where you were in the vortex world at the bottom in the final game.
Areas
Bandou Shrine
Bandou Shrine originally looked very different. Floating cubes were used instead of pillars supporting the room in the top. The entrance to the Masakados room was different too, but the environment is mostly the same.
Shinjuku
Shinjuku was a central area in the prototype, but it was cut from the final game. It bears a lot of resemblance to Ikebukuro with it's general map design.
The third image shows off a warehouse thing in Shinjuku. It bears a lot of resemblance to the one in Ikebukuro. More proof that Shinjuku could've been recycled for Ikebukuro.
Various Areas
There are a few other areas shown in the Making of video without a name. They're worth showing off here because they're not used in the final game. The first area shows off some classic puzzle exploration gameplay which is very reminiscent of the map design of Svadhistana in Digital Devil Saga. The third image shows off a test area with some test graphics. It isn't in the final game.
Puzzle Boy
This puzzle boy minigame used to look a lot different. First of all, it uses an old background which is still leftover in the game files.
And second, it uses the protagonist as a model instead of Pyro Jack. Third, it uses different textures for the blocks. And there is a ton of debug information in the corners.
Cutscenes
| Transcription | Translation |
|---|---|
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真3では、エフェクトが3Dになったときに、どういう印象になるかってことを検証するために、まずゲームに似せてムービーを作って考えました。 |
For SMT3, first I decided to make some movies that looked like a game in order to get a feel of what the game would look like in 3D. The Snowman demon could use Agi, and even short and tall demons could use the same magic. It was difficult to make the whole system look satisfactory. |
In the making of, a few prototype 3D effect cutscenes are shown off. The contents is the protagonist fighting a group of demons. The prototype battle model with the old battle animations is present here.
There are also a few instances where some prototype cutscenes are shown off in the making of. The first image shows off the first Incubus and Kurama cutscene. The second and third image shows off instances from the prototype Hikawa cutscenes in Shinjuku. What's going on is that he is summoning Ahriman, although the model is Forneus used as a placeholder for Ahriman.
Audio
In the making of, you can hear some of the sounds and music from the prototype.
Sound Effects
This sound was the one you would hear everytime you would talk to a demon or a ghost outside of battle.
Sound for pressing dialogue further.
Whenever you click yes/no, this sound would play.
Prototype stepping sound.
Music
This played in the Shinjuku warehouse part. I included the confirmation sound because it plays a bit before it fades out.
Prototype normal battle, has quite a few differences to the final version in terms of instruments and it has a shorter beginning.
This is an unused prototype song that isn't used anywhere in the final game, but it was played in the making of movie, so it's worth noting here.
