Dispatching our ninja squad to your location as soon as we find it via hacking and post analysis.

Shin Megami Tensei games look like those bad fake games that TV characters play when the script has them playing "a generic video game"

This is because people who write TV shows know a good game when they see one and assume all of their characters would have equivalently high taste.

Because the battle system is good

SMT3 has such uniquely dogshit vibes, I love it so much

I like the demon collecting aspect. Instead of evolving a charizard I combine a Loa with Baphomet to get a Kali with an inherited moveset.

SMT’s combat is extremely intricate. I remain steadfast in my belief that Press-Turn Battle is the most fun and most strategically-engaging system of turn-based combat outside of deliberate subversions on the formula such as Undertale turning the enemy’s turn into timed danmaku.

Unironically could not disagree more with the idea that it’s generic as it’s one of the most consistently batshit series I have encountered, writ-large. It’s batshit to the point of being barely penetrable.

(spoilers) For example, SMT3 Nocturne

is about Tokyo being turned into an inverted sphere in which you punch demons shirtless because a child dropped a scorpion in you and eventually possibly beat up the moon (God, kind of, also not metaphorically the moon it is a fucking sphere) by allying with a wheelchair-bound Lucifer (old man, balding, also the child). You light a menorah by killing a bunch of skull guys (literally btw). You befriend Dante from the Devil May Cry series.

they're legitimately incredible games that have some of the best atmosphere, series lore, music, and combat of any series I've played. yes, it's turn based combat but atlus knows how to do it right

They have a pretty fun gameplay loop that goes a bit beyond the grindy JRPG stereotype. They also have "dethrone and kill god" narratives that appeal to edgy teenagers.

SMT has perfected the turn based system. It does not have shiny innovative mechanics that might catch your eye, but the core gameplay loop is classic turn based combat at its best.

Also it has fucking great animations and character models, which add a ton of value imo.

edit: btw SMT5 final release is coming soon, give it a try so you can see for yourself. spoiler: yoshitsune is always OP

I mean... I guess in the sense that said "generic video game" would have clashing character designs that don't fit together. As SMT includes demon designs from a wide array of mythologies and religions drawn by different artists over the past three or so decades.

Aside from that, I'm really having a hard time picturing SMT as "generic" of all things

My understanding is that they are games about dating your high school teacher and curing gayness or something

did you miss the part where you can throw a pokeball at Thor, Zeus, Satan, Vishnu and use them to fight the actual demiurge