Shin Megami Tensei V: How Not To Do An Alignment System
While I mostly enjoy Shin Megami Tensei V from a gameplay perspective, its alignment system needs work. To begin with, let's use the Jade Empire series as an example, with its Open Palm and Closed Fist ideologies that the player character, the last Spirit Monk, can follow. Early on, you're shown that your choices have consequences, and when you make a decision that affects your alignment, the game will tell you when you have gained points. It also isn't long before your alignment choices have consequences. In Tien's Landing, one quest requires you to progress far enough toward one alignment, at which point one of two NPCs will teach you a technique depending on your alignment, while another quest is only open to Closed Fist Spirit Monks. Certain gems- equippable items that can boost your stats- are only usable by Spirit Monks of the Open Palm or Closed Fist alignment. The system doesn't realize its full potential , and the ending is solely determined by a decision m