I've definitely unlocked easy mode already lol though I'm not going to lower the difficulty. It feels fair enough so far, though I haven't gone against any of the enemies you mentioned yet. I've just saved Navarre, so I'm a bit early off. I actually haven't died since I unlocked that mode, so at least I'm learning!

I'll be reading these tips as well, because I too am new at the series and have only barely begun the beginning of the game.

In the case of SMT IV, it's not so much repetitive fighting to level up as much as it's taking the time to figure out the best approach to a challenge...

What demons to recruit...

What fusions would work...

These things may take time...

But traditional grinding to level up won't get you very far...

I don't really have anything to add that Noname didn't already say, but I will comment on the comparison to Pokemon, since I've heard people use it before.

Based on the three SMT games I've played (IV, Persona 4, and Devil Survivor), the demon recruitment aspect feels a lot different than catching and training Pokemon. Pokemon generally seems to reward keeping one team with you, and your party will stay viable the entire game. In SMT, your demons will keep leveling up, but the moves they learn are pretty limited, so eventually you'll have to either scrap them or fuse them together into something new in order to stay competitive within the game. I think there is a way you can evolve your demons, but I don't recall getting very much use out of it, you'll defintely find yourself fusing demons much more than evolving them.

Personally I enjoy both, but there's seperate draws to each, so just keep that in mind if the demon recruitment was one of the things that drew you in.

Don't be afraid to fuse demons. Beginners usually get intimidated of fusing demons because they're unsure if the new demon will be worth it, and the fact that you lose two demons to gain one. Though save before you fuse demons because you can get screwed (rarely happens though). Also, learn your enemies' weakness; you'll easily breeze through battles once you know them. Lastly, save often. This is a series where you can die from a random battle.

Nocturne was my first SMT experience, and I loved it. The difficulty kept me on the edge of my seat because I was scared getting sunk into a random battle. It was tense but rewarding.

It's great that you are enjoying it so far! This series is a lot of fun. My first mainline SMT was Strange Journey. My first SMT was the first Persona, though. Since then I've played every main series game, and a lot of the side-games. It is a very fun series. I'd recommend Strange Journey, once you finish this game. Devil Survivor would be a good recommendation too, but you've mentioned you don't like SRPG's too much and its tone is somewhere between mainline SMT and Persona.

Don't give up and buffing is your friend.

Well if I beat this and like it, I'll probably attempt to play FE:A at some point down the line, as the biggest reason I was even interested was because of the cross over. Who knows, maybe that game can warm me up to the genre.

But yeah, I'm definitely liking it so far. I guess my biggest complaint is that a lot of the dialog is expository, which can get really boring, especially when it's coming from random NPC's and therefor not being voice acted.

My tips:

Patience
Fuse a lot
Go with normal difficulty at first.
Save a lot.
Enjoy the story.

After you beat this game go to SMT strange journey or soul hackers!

My only nervousness comes with fusing. I haven't been paying much attention to what I fuse, and I'm afraid that I'll end up with bad demon fusion due to this. Exactly how much attention should I really be putting into fusions. I've been particular about what attacks I pass on, but that pretty much it, since I'm unfamiliar with literally every demon.