While some were ultimately disappointed by it, yesterday's Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase was a huge moment for fans of Atlus's iconic Shin Megami Tensei franchise. Not only was the long-fabled Shin Megami Tensei 5 finally given a solid release window, but a brand new HD remaster was announced for arguably one of the best games in the entire 30-year long series, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. While both titles won't see Western releases until 2021, with Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne HD Remaster coming to Japan this October, many were surprised to see that there has been no mention of "Dante from the Devil May Cry series" in Nocturne's remaster.
When Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne launched in Japan in February 2003, it was an instant success. This later convinced the team to return to the game just a year later for Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax, a director's cut of the original PlayStation 2 title released only 11 months later. One of the standout features of this re-release was the fact that it included Dante from the beloved hack-n'-slash series Devil May Cry.
The reason Dante was featured in SMT:Â Nocturne was because some of the staff at Atlus were big fans of the Devil May Cry franchise while it had launched during the development of Nocturne and thought that Dante, as a fellow demon hunter, would be a perfect fit for the world of Nocturne. In the game, the player could not only fight the Devil May Cry protagonist but they could also recruit him as a party member.
When SMT: Nocturne was localized in October 2004, as Nocturne Maniax was the most recent and polished version of the game, the Atlus U.S.A. team decided to bring it overseas instead of the original version, which included the infamous "featuring Dante from the Devil May Cry series" sticker on the front of the box.
It seems, however, that Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne HD Remaster will not be featuring the action game icon, as this version is apparently based on another version of the game. Released as part of the Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon limited edition, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne Maniax Chronicle Edition is a re-release of the Maniax edition of the game with one major feature, Devil May Cry's Dante is replaced with Atlus's very own Raidou Kuzunoha, the protagonist of the Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner series. Everything else in the version appears as it did in the 2004 Maniax release, except for the inclusion of Dante.
Watching the trailer for the Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne HD Remaster from yesterday's Nintendo Direct Mini, Raidou can be seen at the 1:06 mark. While it is exciting that this version of the game will finally see an English release, it is also understandable that Atlus may have preferred to use one of its own characters instead of licensing Dante from Capcom again.
Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne HD Remaster releases for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in spring 2021.