
Episodes

Wednesday Feb 10, 2021
Ep 47: Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (Pt. 1)
Wednesday Feb 10, 2021
Wednesday Feb 10, 2021
Alex, Allisa, and Paul venture into hell in our first episode about the equally infamous and beloved Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne. In this ep, we focus on the fascinating backstory behind its development, and the game mechanics it introduced that soon became Shin Megami Tensei (and Persona) staples.
Show Notes
- 1up.com: In Character: The Art of Kazuma Kaneko
- 1up.com: Interview with Kazuma Kaneko and Kazuyuki Yamai
- Black Girl Gamers
- Combo Chain
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Monday Dec 21, 2020
Ep 46: Persona 5 Royal
Monday Dec 21, 2020
Monday Dec 21, 2020
It's been a very long year, so in the spirit of the holidays, let's close it out with a visit to our old friends the Phantom Thieves. In this bonus episode, Allisa and Paul look at this year's reimagining of Persona 5—what's new, what's improved, and what the base game's merits and flaws look like with a few years' perspective.
Thanks for listening and supporting the show, see y'all in January with our first episode on Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne!
Support us on Patreon to get access to our new monthly backer-exclusive podcast that launches in January! The Anime Based on the Game will recap, review, and likely dunk on films, anime, and other media based on JRPGs.
Show Notes

Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
Ep 45: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (Part 2)
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
Tuesday Dec 08, 2020
Would you trust a shady government organization, a cult, the cops, a bereaved dad, or a gigolo with the power to summon demons at will? We ask these questions ourselves as we conclude our coverage of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, a game for quarantine times if there ever was one.
Help support our pledge drive!
We're having a pledge drive to help cover the costs of the production software and hosting we use for Combo Chain and Megaten Marathon. Please consider helping out if you can. Plus if you donate, you get cool very-early access episodes! https://tinyurl.com/megatenchain
Show Notes

Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
Ep 44: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (Part 1)
Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
Wednesday Sep 23, 2020
A quarantine, lockdown, and an untrustworthy government...but at least we don't have demons to worry about (yet). Allisa, Paul, and special guest Ethan try our best to ignore our own death countdown clocks as we cover Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor. It's a tactical RPG-meets-visual novel where the pervading sense of doom feels very appropriate for the time.
Help support our pledge drive!
We're having a pledge drive to help cover the costs of the production software and hosting we use for Combo Chain and Megaten Marathon. Please consider helping out if you can. Plus if you donate, you get cool very-early access episodes! https://tinyurl.com/megatenchain
Show Notes
- Surviving a lockdown with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor
- Combo Chain - A JRPG Games Club Podcast
- PAX Online: What We Want To See From Persona 6 -Dualshockers
- @Vernatio on Twitter

Friday Jun 19, 2020
Ep 43: Persona 3 (Part 3)
Friday Jun 19, 2020
Friday Jun 19, 2020
It's the end of the world as we know it...no, we're not talking about real life, we're talking about the final third of Persona 3. Our heroes take on a death cult, a death god, while wrestling with existential crises, Junpei's love life, and a seriously dodgy new student.
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Show notes
- Thoth Tarot Deck
- Nyx
- Persona 3 FES The Answer Cutscenes
- Persona 3 SEES World Wide
- Persona 3 wallpapers
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Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
Ep 42: Persona 3 (Part 2)
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
Wednesday Apr 22, 2020
We take a deep dive into the middle months of Persona 3, in which the life and death stakes increase, we get some backstory on Mitsuru's troubled past, and most importantly, get the ultimate god boy Koromaru to join our team.
Please help support Megaten Marathon on Pateron!
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Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
Ep 41: Persona 3 (Pt.1) - FIX
Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
Tuesday Mar 24, 2020
When we decided six months ago to do a series of eps about a game about death, we didn't really expect it'd be released in the midst of a pandemic. That caveat aside, Persona 3 is a phenomenal game, the one that solidified the Persona formula as we know it all, while having an incredibly rich story and some of the most engaging characters the series has ever known.
Few games succeed as well as this one at presenting an utterly compelling world while being so damn mechanically solid. Join us at the beginning of this three-part series about the value of life, the inevitability of death, and some truly surreal setpieces.
Also, we hope you and yours are healthy, happy, and managing social isolation!
Please consider helping Paul get his power and cell phone switched back on, and providing him with a bit more stability: GoFundMe campaign
Please rate and review us on Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify and wherever else we show up¡

Wednesday Oct 02, 2019
Ep 40: Digital Devil Saga (Pt. 1)
Wednesday Oct 02, 2019
Wednesday Oct 02, 2019
Allisa, Alex, and Paul enter a post-dystopian world that has been separated into tribes, which can only subsist on demon (and human) meat. Enjoy as we get sidetracked into how many video games feature cannibalism while we delve into one of the oddest Shin Megami Tensei's entries yet.
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Monday Aug 12, 2019
Ep 39: Shin Megami Tensei 2 (Pt. 2)
Monday Aug 12, 2019
Monday Aug 12, 2019
As we close out our coverage of Shin Megami Tensei 2, we journey further into the dystopian Tokyo Millennium, take on the Messians, discover that Lucifer is an alright guy, and of course go to war with YHWH. Stephen Hawking and Aleister Crowley make surprise appearances, as does a well-placed Dril quote.
Show Notes:
Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army

Tuesday May 14, 2019
Ep 38: Shin Megami Tensei 2 (Pt.1)
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Ready for a break from the Tokyo Mirage Sessions and Persona spinoff episodes? Paul, Allisa and Fletch delve into the hellscape that is Shin Megami Tensei 2. In year 20XX, religious zealots have taken control of society, creating a utopia of bloodsports, brutal class divisions, and of course, demons. Join us as we explore a SNES game whose themes are far ahead of their time.
Show notes:
Allisa's writing on DualShockers
Paul's new JRPG podcast, Combo Chain
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