10 Video Game Franchises With The BEST Spin-Offs
5. Shin Megami Tensei
Shin Megami Tensei is very much the session musician of the JRPG genre, as while it lacks the mainstream appeal of its contemporaries those in the know are hugely appreciative of what it brings to the table. To wit: brutal strategic combat, excellent soundtracks and - most pertinently - an array of fantastic spin-offs.
SMT's spin-offs can be split into three major series: Devil Survivor, Devil Summoner and Digital Devil Saga (you may notice a theme). The series span a gamut of genres, with Devil Survivor providing excellent SRPG battling, Digital Devil Saga offering two of the PS2's finest JRPGs (no easy feat for a system overflowing with them), and Devil Summoner offering everything from cyberpunk JRPGs to a pair of hack-and-slash games set in 1920s Japan.
By far the weirdest spin-off, however, is the fantastically-named Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE. This walking mad-lib (An SMT game, crossed with Fire Emblem, set in Japan's Idol industry) replaces the gothic heavy metal atmosphere of mainline Tensei games for a pop-fuelled adventure filled with bright colours, cheerful teenagers and genuinely catchy pop songs. Sure it only sold three copies, but by God those three people were left with beaming smiles on their faces by the time the credits rolled!
Having said all that, it's a fair bet some readers are currently suppressing the urge to yell "What about Persona?!" at their screens. Rest assured, SMT's most famous spin-off will be showing up right... around...