Shin Megami Tensei IV - Battle B2 - (Boss Battle Theme) | Reacting To Video Game Music!

[@killerking2346]

Can't help but smirk whenever I listen to this one.

[@LarryButz]

*Smirk, you say?*

[@vaxellimus]

That word gives me PTSD.

[@jorgeelias385]

I literally have the smirk sound effect as phone message notification LOL

[@gogoboba7037]

I'll end it thus

[@romacalor]

I'll end it thus!

[@TurnArklight]

Ryota Kozuka's work on Shin Megami Tensei 4 and 5 is some of the grungiest, grimiest, crunchiest (Grunchiest) stuff in JRPGs. It rules so much.

[@nachot6592]

Yeah, specially in SMT5. I LOVE that soundtrack.

[@hollyfindlay4051]

He does a really good job.

[@hendix2200]

I thought it was "too much" in V to be honest, alongside the compositions themself's not being that interesting, the only song from that game i can say i love is Tokyo Daybreak by Toshiki Konishi, very Silent Hill like which i dig.

[@Athai_]

I'm currently around lv 90 in the last location in SMT5 and as much as I loved the game to bits, I still find Nocturne and 4 way more atmospherically amazing and meaningful and I'll probably remember every Nocturne music for the rest of my fucking life but I can't say the same for 5

[@Athai_]

@@hendix2200 And yeah I agree Tokyo Daybreak is an amazing song and probably my favorite from 5 together with Shinagawa's theme

[@AvrynTV]

NOW COME, SAMURAI! PUT ON A GOOD SHOW!

[@mistertaz94]

Walter: I'll end it thus! Every Player: Nonononono!

[@firepuppies4086]

@@mistertaz94 the man skull in the front of the face: *Smirk*

[@somerandomguy7154]

​@@firepuppies4086"So anyways, that's how I ended up here again" -Flynn, talking to Charon for the 47th time

[@demon-co-op]

*minotaur use labyrinth cut* > critical > MINOTAUR SMIK

[@hondshoven8477]

Smt has indeed a lot of religious undertone, you're fighting demons and gods from different mythology. Smt 4 has a system called "Smirk" that means a boss can crush you in a single turn, if you're unlucky and that song reflects that perfectly. You're just a normal dude fighting in post-apocalyptic Tokyo and this song is there to make sure you feel the sheer danger of the situation.

[@alejandrotti10]

Fun fact: The smirk is also a system you can use. In other words, you have the same bs as the boss itself. Dumb AI included if you count Walter's shenanigans.

[@FrozenSolid90]

A lot of boss fights in SMT tends to have the chance that one bad turn can wipe you.

[@StarfieldDisarray]

I feel like bells are not an instrument you'd ever expect to be used like this and it just works so well.

[@tristankadow3756]

They have no right to go that hard

[@Moony_7860]

Hells bells!

[@HamazuraGOD]

This is actually the normal boss theme, so not end of the game. But to answer your question, Persona is a spinoff of Shin Megami Tensei! In fact, all the games until 5 were called "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona". Where most non-Persona SMT games deal with Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic events, Persona is more personal in its threats. Apathy, corruption, the negativity of humanity, etc.

[@orangejuice3235]

The “Shin Megami Tensei: Persona” misnomer actually went away with persona 4 golden and not persona 5

[@HamazuraGOD]

@@orangejuice3235 Ahhh my bad, thanks for the correction 👍

[@staticshock4239]

Persona 2 Eternal Punishment didn't have "Shin Megami Tensei" in the title.

[@daikaiser9394]

@@staticshock4239 Neither did Persona 1, until the PSP remake.

[@nickwatic]

they actually only added the SMT part in the PS2/PSP era of P3/P1 remake to get more eyes on the SMT series in the west

[@pikespeakaudio8898]

Shin Megami Tensei, i.e. "you might get bodied multiple times by this boss, but your corpse will still be boppin' to the beat."

[@althalosthedancemachine7764]

“Shin Megami Tensei” means “True Reincarnation of the Goddess”. Persona started as a spin off of SMT before separating into its own unique thing. SMT has heavy themes of morality and philosophy with various takes on theology and humanity as the canvas the game paints its narrative on.

[@Rageouz]

I wouldn't say it separated from SMT it's still apart of it. they dropped the SMT title in Persona cause originally they included SMT in it so that people recognized it was a SMT game so I'd sell, it it was no longer needed once Persona grew more popular than SMT, that and Persona is still apart of the MegaTen multiverse

[@ostail]

It keeps using the demons from smt which is what all smt spin offs share, so I wouldn't say it's its own unique thing

[@stereoslime]

"Crash Bandicoot from hell" sounds pretty accurate lol

[@Golemie]

Ah yes, the track where the audio lead did, indeed, decide to provide more cowbell. Also, hype. I know SMT has been a mixed bag of reactions on this channel, but I am always thrilled for anything related to the series. Hope to see more in the future...maybe Digital Devil Saga one day?

[@carlosscreamer5028]

I really hope to see Battle for Survival, Divine Identity or Hari Hara one of these days.

[@ukaszzurawski4136]

Yeah... Hunting(Betrayal) FTW

[@luccabritto2566]

@@carlosscreamer5028 fucking hell yeah hari-hara

[@J2ojuiced95]

Looking forward to more SMT on the channel. The mainline series often gets overlooked because of Persona’s massive popularity, but they’re full of so much great music. SMT IV and V have some of my favourite Megaten battle themes.

[@SaviorGabriel]

"Uncomfortable and helpless" perfectly sums up SMT boss fights.

[@JessesAuditorium]

Song mentioned in this video; The Misfits - Helena kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWPUdJeOepdkpck

[@crimsonbok]

My favorite way to describe the difference between Persona and SMT In Persona, you save the world with your friends. In SMT, you personally kill your friends

[@del4028]

And the world is already fucked or about to

[@tabkg5802]

Persona - maybe the real ** were friends we made along the way SMT - maybe the real enemies were friends we made along the way

[@edwinpritom6336]

@@tabkg5802 The truest of words.

[@trickmaster5632]

This entire soundtrack kicks ass, the music in this game just knows what to go for in the feels department. This theme especially plays in some really hard boss fights.

[@digitaldevilarts2589]

Idk if you will have a chance to read this, but btw I've been loving watching ur channel these past couple months, it's been a blast! Some context on what the Megami Tensei franchise is, Megami Tensei refers to the franchise as a whole, SHIN Megami Tensei is their mainline series, and then there's a bunch of sub series that loosely take place in the same universe, like Persona, Devil Summoner, and many more. Shoji Meguro who you're familiar with has worked on the majority of the title's music in the PS2 era, but Ryota Kozuka took on mainline SMT with the recent games, whereas Meguro is now more specifically focused on Persona. If you ever have a chance, I would absolutely LOVE for you to hear the normal battle theme from Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha 1

[@digitaldevilarts2589]

I suppose you could say the difference between Persona and SMT is that, basically there was an original timeline where a disaster occurs in SMT 1, and then it had sequels like SMT2 and SMT NINE which were set in this ruined post apocalyptic world, but then they made "SMT if..." which was a game where the disaster of SMT 1 was avoided. So in this new timeline, games could take place in a very normal modern day japan, and this is where Persona and Devil Summoner take place.

[@nemesiswontdie]

Oh shit. Been watching your videos for months. Thanks for stopping by the channel and checking out the most popular track on the SMTIV OST! The whole game, from OST, gameplay, characters, and story is absolutely amazing. DEFINITELY worth playing if you ever get a chance to! The OST has practically everything you could want to hear in a soundtrack.

[@nemesiswontdie]

5:49 - I have a physical copy of the 4 Disc OST and I ripped and uploaded in WAV to try and provide the best quality I could. So what ya hear is what ya get!

[@kl0764]

@@nemesiswontdie I think it sounds like that in game too, definitely has the intended grungy sound he is talking about as an intentional choice from Kozuka

[@tommaspolsinelli2360]

SMT IV was my first mainline Megami Tensei game, and it left one hell of an impression. This track and when it first plays was the moment I became I massive fan of this series. this plays for the first time early in the game, where you are fighting for your life. the first quarter of SMT IV is probably the most difficult time I’ve had progressing in any video game. The first dungeon is a spiral going underground, and it gets more difficult as you progress (almost as if you are walking towards hell). Once you reach the bottom of the dungeon you fight the first major boss of the game, Minotaur. And it’s substantially MORE difficult than anything you’ve had to fight previously. You hear this music for the first time. Accompanied with the well written pre fight dialogue and oppressive atmosphere of the dungeon I just completed, I just stared at my 3DS screen. I needed a few minutes just to take it all in.

[@Slagomancer]

Emerging from the Tower and that whole reveal with the overworld music is a top game memory for me. Same experience as well, first time playing a game in this series was 4 and what a delight.

[@HaxeRain]

i also love that, if its your first SMT; the game does you a fake out with the music, because you have the mid boss theme, and if you know nothing of SMT, you'd believe those are actual bosses, but then you get to minotaur and see "so THIS is a real boss" and he matches the strenght for it, making you play around him and giving you the theme of SMT bossfights, you dont play in your terms and steamroll, you play in the boss rules and gotta go around it

[@louiscyphre5210]

One of the most atmospheric OSTs in the entire franchise is Garuda by Takami Asano from Devil Survivor. There is a very small amount of OSTs that can instill such dread in you, while also being majestic and unholy at the same time. In my opinion absolutely genius composition.

[@mistertaz94]

I'LL END IT THUS! Me: WALTER NO! YOU CAN'T USE AGI ON THE MINOTAUR!

[@Etherwinter]

"Megami Tensei" started in the late 80s. Then came "Shin Megami Tensei" the first of which released in 1992, after that it started spawning spinoffs. Persona, Digital Devil Saga, Soul Hackers, Devil Survivor, Devil Summoner, etc, all spinoffs of Shin Megami Tensei. It's much less popular than Persona and focuses more on being a "hardcore" turn-based JRPG. Plot and character development are generally minimal but you get enough to make your decisions on what you wanna do with the fate of the world. Generally Shin Megami Tensei takes place in a world that's either about to be destroyed, already destroyed or the world is in some sort of limbo between destruction and recreation. While most of the spinoffs deal with demons and stuff like that interfering with the real world, Persona deals with aspects of humanity.

[@Jay-ch5xu]

If I could put it...Persona is self-actualization in a modern world. Changing and growing in a meaningful way, usually positive. SMT is post-apocalyptic horror. Growth and change is not always positive and more often results in conflict when two+ ideologies clash. It's seeing the world go to shit and you making the best choice you can, even if it ends badly for others or if the solution itself is just temporary.

[@enbydeadly]

The way i always like seeing it is that there is no objectively good ending in SMT games, just different levels of bad depending on what you personally believe and what you think you're willing to sacrifice. even neutral endings i don't usually find to be "objectively good" per se, especially with the SMT V neutral route.

[@HaxeRain]

@@enbydeadly heck, neutral route in STM4A are as brutal as other endings, like, Neutral siding with dagda, you basically enslave everyone, or even if you free from YHVH in the neutral good, shit goes down, SMT has that grim atmosphere that i really enjoy, you can be a douche, a nice dude, or whatever in your choices, which is reflected in your ending and all is equally valid in such a world

[@HowIin]

It's not horror

[@HaxeRain]

@@HowIin Strange journey tho, its the one closest to it with lovecraftian approach and the oppresive feeling of the schwarvelts being so hostile to a horrifying degree

[@PhoenixDecim]

"I really truly feel like I live under a gigantic boulder.." *smirking intensifies*

[@nekrovx]

*Labrys Strike* Me : Welp time to listen to the theme again.......

[@realkingofantarctica]

I was literally just coming to your channel to recommend you this track and a couple of Pokemon ones, lo and behold you've done just that.

[@soytuynoyo]

Yes! Shin Megami Tensei! Now we digging deeper into the Megami Tensei series. He needs to hear every single normal and boss battle theme. They are all soo good. Maybe start with SMT V since it's the newest one. Strange Journey would blow his mind.

[@spiderdude2099]

1:28 CDs NUTS!

[@supervegeta881]

Yes finally! Prepare yourself for an absolute banger! I'll never forget the first time I heard this and now I kinda get to experience it for the first time again through you! That's why I love this channel!

[@chroipahtz]

(Shin) Megami Tensei is the original series, Persona is a spinoff series (that ended up getting more popular). The first few Persona games were actually called "Shin Megami Tensei: Persona". Shoji Meguro (Persona composer) did a lot of music for the earlier SMT games, but the last few have mainly been Ryota Kozuka. Both series center around mythology, demons, angels, etc. SMT is much darker and tends to deal with the apocalypse and society/philosophy as a whole, while Persona is more about the darkness inside individual people, and human relationships.

[@digitaldevilarts2589]

persona has never been called smt, its a western marketting thing for players to know persona is related to SMT after nocturne released on ps2, so P3, P4, DDS, and a couple others had the SMT name slapped on. So a lot of ppl see the smt dropped for P5 and think omg persona is not smt anymore, when it has always been the sister series to devil summoner, and children to smt

[@CGBartz]

SMT is a spin off of Megami Tensei so Persona is a spin off of a spin off haha

[@digitaldevilarts2589]

@@CGBartz it would be more accurate to say that SMT is a reboot, annexing the original digital devil story franchise away so atlus can do something no longer affiliated with aya nishitani and start fresh. that said a lot of the lore nishitani established is still applicable and present for SMT onwards

[@CGBartz]

@@digitaldevilarts2589 Look at this chad, wouldn’t have explained it better. I would of worded it completely off but you hit the nail, glad SMT universe as a whole is being recognized and hopefully we get global releases for SMT 1/2 and games brought back to new gen. My psp can handle so much now a days haha

[@CamelotGaming]

Dunno if you'll see this but Persona is a spin-off of the SMT series. It's an interconnected multiverse.

[@Sekainoowaride]

The first 20 Seconds of this song live Rent free in my head

[@monadoheir870]

Yessssass, I've been waiting for this one

[@13KuroNekoXIII]

Yesss I’ve been waiting for the SMT IV OST!

[@Fighter600]

Minotour Smirks. Hilarity Ensues.

[@nodot17]

"HOI" Walter used agi

[@IKimdraculaI]

@@nodot17 *Minotaur Smirks *Me: Oh God, no please

[@jacksonbyrne64]

B2 has one of the best guitar riffs in an ost that I've ever heard. The way it amps up into a explosive shred is so sick

[@critical_6164]

B2 is actually what inspired me to play SMT:IV, had to emulate it as soon as i heard the riff.

[@fanter0x]

Honestly, this game has one of the most consistent and absolutely amazing soundtracks in any game imo

[@del4028]

Opinion? I'm pretty sure that's a fact 😌

[@Jay-ch5xu]

Lucifer and Merkabah's themes are bopping! They evoke chaos and law while still being terrifying. Masakado's too.

[@psycho_ocelot]

I like your reaction, dude. I'm gonna subscribe.

[@penny.dreadful666]

Best song on the whole soundtrack, in my opinion.

[@del4028]

Maybe best song for battles. There I can agree. But it's too difficult to choose few best tracks from this masterpiece of OST. I think I like a lot other battle themes in the game like A2, A3, Lucifer II... As much as I like this one. But I understand very well why it's so popular.

[@melsotelo5109]

This was an OST on a 3ds game it's crazy how good it is

[@Slagomancer]

The Challenge Boss theme from this game is still one of my favorite tracks in anything. This was my first Shin Megami or Spin Off game I played the music alone was worth picking up SMT 4 on 3DS.

[@c9bepis939]

holy shit this is my favorite song from any game. SMT4 will never be matched for me.

[@spiderdude2099]

Definitely a classic jam. Love the beat of this theme

[@hollamonm]

I know this is 4 months later, but, SMT is the Parent series of Persona. Persona is a spin-off lighter-hearted series.... which is sad because Persona has featured 3 straight-up murders in a single game and a few more induced suicides over two games. That's just 4 and 5. Shin Megami Tensei is bleaker as you, as the player, decide what happens with the world and it always devolve into pure Order (God's side) vs pure Chaos (Lucifer's side) and the human role in all if it as well, or the Neutral path, often treading the path between Chaos and Order. In 3 there are 6 endings, 4 has 3, 4 Apocalypse has 4, primarily focused on Neutral, but two different kinds of Neutrsl too. I don't recall how many endings SMT5 has. But yeah, series is quite a bit darker than Persona and more gameplay loop than characters.

[@AklyonX]

Always nice to see more SMT music!

[@blank-be9dt]

If you search up aggressive xylophone this song is one of the top results

[@mapmakerlich]

Yet this song has no xylophone) It has tubular bells.

[@Boyzby]

This is second-hand and from a guy, me, who has a terrible memory, so I probably won't be 100% correct. I believe Persona is a spin-off from SMT If..., which also has a school setting, from an ending that doesn't cause the apocalypse. Apocalypses seem to be a thing in the 3 main games I've seen, because they've never released 1&2 here as far as I know-outside of an iOS version you can't get anymore.

[@JamesBCrazy]

Agidyne

[@hadriennogueira3726]

Smirks

[@RoyalCrustle]

Crash Bandicoot music from Hell is a great way to describe it lol

[@limelios]

One of my favourite soundtracks ever!

[@nathanperquin9910]

persona is a spinoff franchise based on the Shin megami tensei franchise. Persona is more pop culturey though so it ended up being more mainstream

[@smileytlj23]

Walter: "I'lL eNd It ThUs" *cast agi* Minotaur: "............" *smirk*

[@Foas]

Megami Tensei (literally means Goddess Reincarnation) is the wider franchise that SMT, as well as Persona, Soul Hackers, Digital Devil Saga, etc is part of. It features many of the same demons and creatures and stuff, and shares a lot of core themes and lore, but are generally distinct enough to be their own experience.

[@critical_6164]

1:53 the riff is just too good, absolute shredddddd.

[@hidefreek6905]

Shin Megami Tensei is the original series of all Atlas Shin Megami sub-game. (Included Persona) The games have a higher depth of story than the high schooler simulator that the westerner knew. (and many of these hated Shin Megami Tense because Atlas doesn't release Persona series but released something they don't know) ***Also religious issues that the game is little known to the west.

[@SR3fanatix]

SMT IV’s soundtrack is one of my favorites. So many tracks that I have to jam out to. Plus the album art is sick.

[@raulrojas9253]

And this was on a 3ds HOT DAMN!!!

[@Nyarlathotep727]

1:15 Yup! I had the same reaction.

[@StunEdgeD]

You knew shit was about to go down when this song played.

[@Vohaul86]

This on was great, but my fav is still SMT3's default boss fight theme. First time hearing it I misheard the starting lyrics as "This is the boss you shall not pass" and playing that game on Hard, that was meta as F. (And that was during PS2 era when being meta wasn't a thing.)

[@purplebeast8353]

Persona is actually a spin off of smt The persona games actually used to be called shin megami tensai persona

[@isaiahhellems7901]

It's funny when people find out Persona and SMT are the same. It was originally called Shin Megami Tensei Persona but they started emphasizing the Persona subtitle once they went more anime style and started veering from Kazama Kaneko:s awesome art style.

[@nickwatic]

The best boss fight music ever

[@alexandregiaccheri]

"...it sounds like a Crash Bandicoot song... from hell" Instant liked video lol p.s. tubular bells

[@FrozenSolid90]

If you want other SMT music recommendations, from SMT 5 I would nominate it's version of the "Fiend Battle" and "Battle Theme 7", they're not very inventive with naming songs. Additionally for a non-battle one, "Tokyo (Daybreak)" from 5 as well.

[@greasychickenugget4410]

Persona is connected to smt because it is one of the many spinoffs of smt. Honestly most smt games have great music, but I feel like most of it is better when you are playing or have played the game at least once. Personally my favorite music from spinoffs are Strange Journey (which is a but different being orchestral), Devil Survivor, and Digital Devil Saga. Also yea, these games are all about religion and different philosophies and ideologies.

[@apexzora4423]

Here comes the bop

[@Firestar0513]

I really hope you have more songs from this game coming up that have ben recommended. While not every song is the same style of music as this song(a lot of them are though), every song has a very similar vibe to it. Uncomfortable and helpless, as you said. I especially hope you end up reacting to the "Tokyo" or "Ikkebukuro Underground District". They sound completely different to this song, but they are both amazing. Shoji Meguro(Persona series composer, as well as the composer for a significant number of games in the Megami Tensei series) didn't work on the music from this game, but he has actually said that "Tokyo" is his favorite song in the entire series.

[@Aldo_R]

If you liked this, probably SMTIV: Apocalypse is for you. Suggestions: Normal Battle Theme, Divine Powers Theme and Battle B8 - Lucifer II. I'm sure you won't dissapoint in this amazing franchise.

[@mrsearaphim4077]

Religion is indeed a major thing in Shin Megami Tensei. All SMT games share demons/angels picked directly from the gnostic interpretations of Christianity as well

[@williambradley5415]

And Hinduism, and Shintoism , and Norse religion, and anything else they could find a place for.

[@Sekainoowaride]

Another one of my fav songs EVER!

[@xmeria_]

If you want to listen to more SMT IV songs I recommend battle a2 and c3

[@CGBartz]

Okay so Shin Megami Tensei is a spin off of Megami Tensei. Persona is a spin off of Shin Megami Tensei, so it’s a spin off of a spin off. They don’t all connect but share the similar themes. You’ve reacted to SMT V music but boy, hopefully I can sub to your patreon this pay day and give in my suggestions.

[@FrozenSolid90]

Persona is a spin-off series of the Shin Megami Tensei series.

[@luccabritto2566]

HELL YEAH react to battle B1 next

[@plaidpunk]

FINALLY!!! YESSS!!!!!!!!

[@suicunesolsan]

Shin Megami Tensei and Persona are two different series with some shared mythos and character designs. Persona is more of a "funky highschool fantasy drama". While Shin Megami Tensei is a "post-apocalyptic epic metal opera" Atmosphere-wise, they're very different, despite falling from the same tree.

[@felipebisi4145]

Small things this is a basic boss battle theme personally my favorite of IV OST is C3 Yes the naming of the song is this lazy as they are more made for the moment on IV as random fights are name A(X) with X being a number Quality i like IVA, Nocturne and Devil Survivor 2 OST more in quantity i like IV OST more as i think i like half of the whole OST

[@del4028]

Finally you returned to the underrated series that matters. I love this track to the bones. Jk Persona fans. I love both series. Both excellent in terms of gameplay, symbolism, and music. Challenge and setting in SMT. Characters depth in Persona. Both series equally necessary.

[@trickmaster5632]

persona is a spin off of the SMT series just kinda became it's own thing

[@charlestrudel8308]

From hell you say, oh yeah... its Tokyo overwhelm with demons and all kinds of myths... and the best game about the dillemma between order and chaos.

[@twelve4878]

I love the SMT IV OST!

[@kontchou5221]

2:48: ??? ... How? 2:51: Ah. Yeah true

[@CenturyXII]

Giga Epic.

[@SkyflyNB]

So many good tracks in smt4

[@nickjonas4317]

This is my fav battle theme of all of smt

[@SkulloMad]

"It's called Boss B2 so it's near the end of the game" Lmao, if only you knew

[@Dap625]

am i hearing emotionless passion in the background?

[@BenRiley83]

SMT IV has banger music!

[@bossofthisgym6842]

The bells are tubular bells

[@DerekExMachina]

Persona is a spin-off of SMT. The main series of SMT is focused on post-apocalyptic science fiction, whereas Persona games have a more contemporary setting. Gameplay-wise, they're very similar to each other.

[@c-rose666]

damn this song goes

[@fireheart4560]

"Chaos ensues" Lmao

[@Zarathustra_infinite]

Let's goo

[@FerGz-]

Persona is the spin-off to smt or shin megami tensei which is more darker than persona a lot of smt games revolve around the world being destroyed if I’m not wrong I’m a but new to both so I’m might be wrong

[@Zarathustra_infinite]

Persona is a spin off of smt

[@skalliedA]

persona is a spin-off of SMT, fyi

[@konokolokopokonodokobokogo6669]

This is from the beginning of the game lmao

[@lgpaulett5775]

He need see the live concert

[@justjack4968]

Bro please please please do shin megami tensei domain boss theme