22 - Digital Devil SagaPS2 - Atlus - 2005
Atlus returns, already. Technically, this is not a Shin Megami Tensei game. In Japan, it was released as Digital Devil Saga - Avatar Tuner, and here as Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga. That said, I consider this a Shin Megami Tensei game. The spells have the same names, the monsters are the same, the music is by Shoji Meguro, and we see the Press Turn system again. So yeah, this is an SMT game. The only difference is that instead of summoning demons, this time, YOU ARE THE DEMONS! Ancient meme use? Yes. But it is true, you really are the demons. Or people who turn into demons.
To be clear, this time I'm talking about both DDS and DDS2, but before you cry foul, rather than two games it's really more like one game on two discs that weren't released at the same time. The second game picks up right where the first left off, and the only major differences in the system are the addition of an extra type of equipment, and a mostly superficial change to the levelling system.
In true SMT form, we have really great music here. Really, really great. Dat bassline in The Hunted, dat riff in Comrades, dat Harihara, dem reprises and remixes in the second game. Also in SMT form, we have ridiculously brutal secret bosses. The hardest of these in the first game is the Demi-Fiend, otherwise known as the protagonist of the previously discussed Nocturne. This boss is really cool, because his battle theme is the random battle theme from his game...which is sort of an insult, if you think about it. What, I don't register as a boss to this guy? And then he takes a turn.
And no, you do not register as a fucking boss to this guy. Not even a late game random encounter. You're like when he is doing some side quest clean up and compendium finishing before the final boss, and he gets a random encounter in the first dungeon. My characters are all max level, with specially built skill sets, and painstakingly maxed-out stats. This guy can still wipe the floor with me in a single turn. I've never beaten him. He is a challenge fit for only the most insanely dedicated and meticulous of gamers, and although you need to be pretty goddamn dedicated and meticulous to even unlock this boss, he's a whole order of magnitude nastier. I've unlocked most of the secret bosses in the second game, but I'm nowhere close to ready for them.
If I have to choose one of these games or the other as the best, I would say the first game.
21 - Saya no UtaPC - Nitroplus - 2003
So here we have another Visual Novel, and this one is an Eroge. As I mentioned before, I love this game in spite of the pornographic content, not because of it.
However, unlike many Eroge I don't think you could take the erotic scenes out of this game and have it remain as effective as it is. Mostly this is because this is actually a horror game, and these scenes add to the horror and disgust element after certain revelations.
All that being said, this game is a work of art. It's only about eight hours long, and only features two choices. Despite this it is one of the most romantic, disgusting, beautiful, horrifying, hopeful, and depressing stories ever written. Saya no Uta, which translates as Song of Saya (or Saya's Song), tells the story of a young man who is left with an altered perception of reality after a car accident. Basically, everything becomes disgusting to him. Everything he smells, smells like rotten meat. Everything he tastes makes him gag. People look like hideous monsters, awful Lovecraftian horrors, writhing tentacles with too many eyes and mouths, and their voices sound like awful screeching. All people, except for one girl: the titular Saya.
I can't explain much more than that without spoiling, but the best thing I can say about the story is that it's written by Urobuchi Gen. Some people may recognize this name as being the guy who wrote the extraordinary anime Puella Magi Madoka Magicka, the light novels Fate/Zero, adapated into an equally extraordinary anime of the same name, as well as a bunch of other great anime. If you're familiar with any of his work, you know how effectively he can rip out your heart and make you watch him eat it. He's an evil genius, and in my opinion this game is his best work.
Also there is a really crappy American comic book adaptation, don't even touch it.
20 - Tales of the AbyssPS2/3DS - Namco Bandai - 2006/2012
The Tales of... series is immense, but Tales of the Abyss is definitely the best in the series. While later games have improved upon the battle system, this game is still notable for two primary reasons (these will come up a lot in my list): Story and music.
For one, Tales of the Abyss has a dark story. Not as a dark as anything in the Shin Megami Tensei series, but one of the darkest games in the Tales series (I think Vesperia might take the title of darkest, considering the main character straight up murders a bunch of people in cold blood), and pretty dark for JRPGs in general. It deals with some interesting themes, and I think is a lot more focussed thematically than many games in the genre. One of the most brilliant parts of the plot is a spoiler, but I will discuss it in smalltext for those who don't care:
The villain is trying to avert a prophecy that fortells the end of the world. His plan is to make an exact copy of the world, but this process will destroy the original world. The part I really like is that it's made clear near the end of the game that the villain realizes that he's actually fulfilling the prophecy, but has resolved to see it through, partly because of a 'well I've come this far' attitude, and also because he's kind of crazy. I can tell I haven't conveyed this very well because it sort of comes across as stupid the way I explained it...but in context of everything it works great, trust me.As mentioned before, the music in this game is awesome. The boss theme, "The Fang that Wants Blood", the theme for recurring fights against the for-lack-of-a-better-term evil party, "Awkward Justice", as well as the whole sequence of final boss themes are just amazing.
If you've never played a Tales games before, this is a great one to try out. If you have a 3DS, that version should be pretty easy to find.