I have never touched anything from Shin Megami Tensei series. When GameCrazy was still around, I came close to buying Digital Devil Saga, Nocturne , and the one with Raidou several times, but never took the bite. I'm going to change that today.

Overclocked is 9.99

SMTIV is 14.99

Both prices are fine but obviously I'm leaning toward the cheaper one, but the other is mainline and more representative of the series correct? Which is the better start? What is the difference while were at it?

Also what is the tone of the series?

XenoGears (      1    2   3   4  5  0   -1   -2 -3 -4  -5  Tales series ( becuase anime)

It doesn't really matter. If you like tactic fighting (like Fire Emblem) mixed with turn based (SMT IV, Bravely Default or traditional Final Fantasy), I highly suggest Overclocked. I put roughly 50 hours into that game. It gets really frustrating near the end though. In my opinion, Record Breaker is better than Overclocked BY FAR.


As for SMT IV, I feel like you should play that one first as SMT IV Final is releasing next year. (assuming it will be in the west by 2016).
It's also the mainline series and I feel like you should go through that before spinoffs.

SMT IV is what got me hooked into the SMT franchise and it's a fantastic game. I enjoyed it a lot more than Overclocked. Keep in mind though, SMT IV is very slow for the first few hours and has a deep learning curve. After that though the game gets very very addicting IMO.

I hope you enjoy the SMT series as much as I love and enjoy it. :D

edit: And by tone, assuming you mean anime like, definitely Overclocked is closer to anime. It's packed with a lot of anime like dialogue. Moreso than SMT IV.

I would go for SMT IV personally. Great game though it can be a bit difficult at times (so some grinding might be in order). The story isn't too bad and the game gives you a good amount of stuff to do.

Overclocked is more for you if you favor SRPGs like Fire Emblem and the like.

The tone of both games is pretty dark just like many Atlus games. But I prefer the dialog in SMT IV moreso.
The tone of SMT IV is also pretty far from your standard "anime" fare as well. Sure the characters might say some cliché things from time to time but which game doesn't?

You 2 guys may have already made the choice. I didnt know overclocked was was a strategy rpg. I just finished playing 2 of those nearly back to back and I dont think I want a 3rd order...

Im no SMT expert by any means, the two games your considering are the only two I've played myself but I enjoyed SMT IV much more. To be honest i spent about 40 hours on SMT IV compared to only 6-7 with overclocked, it just didn't get me hooked but I know it's a long game with lots of content.
The tone of each game is somewhat different, overclocked story, characters and dialog feel more anime like (not tales series though) while SMT IV is a little darker and more serious. Both deal with demons and death though so don't expect anything happy.
The main difference is gameplay, overclocked is a grid based strategy and SMT IV is like a dungeon crawler. Each one has basically the same battle system, its all about having a diverse roster of demons with different strengths and weaknesses.

Buy both of them, then. Play Overclocked after IV, it's a nice palate cleanser. You may want to turn the volume down, however.

Overclocked has a better story and set of characters than IV, but IV has a superior battle system and mechanics, graphics and music - though Overclocked comes close.

Both of them are fairly dark, however, and are probably passing the trough of their game prices...

 Grinding is absolutely not necessary in IV. I beat the whole game without grinding once, and I'm pretty sure beat the game while significantly under leveled.  Grinding isn't even useful in that game because of the way demon fusion works, and how every demon only learns like two attacks within like the first five or so levels of obtaining them before they effectively become useless and need to be fused away. SMT IV is literally an anti-grind game. 

I agree with this. Get Overclocked after IV. It's what I did. :D

Overclocked does have a better story somewhat, but I feel like IV had so much more potential story and it could have been stunning if they just did more developing with the characters. 

Agreed about OST, Battle System, Mechanics and Graphics.

Also, pretty much all SMT music, spinoff or not, is pretty amazing.

I actually found it harder to stop playing Overclocked than IV, which is why I said it was a great palate cleanser, especially considering the way the plot progresses - it's a much, much better approach than what SMT IV ended up taking. It's also a really good way of making newer playthroughs still feel fresh.

That said, I really recommend he buys both now. Overclocked is starting to rise in price again, and IV isn't really going to drop further from its current price. Plus, a full retail release for $10 is always a great deal - especially considering how much content there is in Overclocked.

I also recommend he gets both. Cause Overclocked really does have a shit ton of content. I mean if you were to replay the game to get each story, there is potentially over 300 hours.