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When Censored Gaming says that a SMT or a Persona game is uncensored, what exactly is
this referring to?
You see, for those unfamiliar with the series, to just say that a game is being released
in its original form sometimes doesn't do it justice.
And so, it can be helpful to take a closer look at what's actually contained in the games
that could potentially cause issues.
Whilst there are many elements of both SMT and Persona that could be seen as potentially
troublesome, Censored Gaming would like to focus just on one of these today and this
being Mara - the SMT's series famous green demon.
Mara actually made its debut in the very first title on the Super Famicom back in 1992.
However, it's interesting to note how in this depiction of Mara, it isn't shown on the back
of its golden chariot.
The chariot would in fact make its first appearance in the sequel in 1994.
Here you can fight it in a boss fight, as well as recruit it to join your side.
Prior to the battle beginning, unless your alignment is Chaos, Mara will attempt to trick
you via various means such as giving you large sums of money.
If you choose to accept any of its offers, you will then fall under a spell and must
fight the boss battle with a handicap.
Following the second game, there were a number of other Japanese-only titles containing Mara
and it actually wouldn't be until Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne in 2004 where Mara would
make its first Western appearance.
However, this version of Mara was extremely different to all versions seen so far and
paying attention to the scene in question and you'll understand why.
You see, Baphomet warns everyone that summoning Mara at the wrong time may lead to something
bad happening, but the others insist regardless.
Thus, when Mara gets summoned, this is what they look like...
This is followed by a boss fight with Mara's slime-like form, although, despite being rather
small in size, it can be seen that they can still stretch out rather long during attacks.
One of the next titles, Persona 3, didn't feature Mara at all originally, but then when
it came time for the updated FES release in 2007, Mara was added to the roster of demons
that you could fuse.
By this point, Mara had undoubtedly become one of the franchises' biggest mascots and
it has appeared in many of the later games.
Mara was also included in Persona 4 as, again, one of the demons you could create via the
fusion mechanic, and it was also contained in Persona 3: Portable, Persona 4: Golden,
as well as Persona Q. Mara has also appeared in the Devil Summoner
series, in both the action RPG Devil Summoner 2 shown here, as well as Devil Summoner: Soul
Hackers.
The DS's Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey also features Mara, where you fight it in
battle and then, depending on whether you choose the game's Chaos or Law route, have
it join your side.
It was even included in the now terminated MMO Shin Megami Tensei: IMAGINE.
In typical MMO fashion, players were able to team up to defeat Mara in large scale battles.
However, unfortunately for fans of the title, the game's service was shut down in February
2014 for North America and May 2016 in Japan, after more than 9 years of being in operation.
That's far from the last of Mara though.
It has been included in both Shin Megami Tensei IV and Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse - these
being the latest entries in the main SMT series.
The latter title also included Mara with lots of fully voiced dialogue...
Mara's very latest appearance though, has been in Persona 5 in September 2016.
Here Mara can be seen in its most graphically advanced form so far and, as per usual, it
is shown riding on the back of its golden chariot
Not only can you fight the main version of Mara but in the game first dungeon you are
faced with taking down a mini boss that bears a striking resemblance to the slime version
of Mara seen earlier in Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne.
Additionally, as is normally the case with the Shin Megami Tensei titles, you can also
gain Mara to fight by your side in battle, as shown here.
To finish though, let's scroll to Mara's Persona 5 description and learn a little more about
them.
The game says: "Mara: A Buddhist demon that represents the
fear of death.
Also known as "The Evil One," he sent his daughters to tempt Buddha during his meditations".
Until next time, thank you for watching.