History YMMV / ShinMegamiTenseiIV

* {{Padding}}:
** The Neutral path requires you to complete 19 sidequests in Tokyo, including several ''unmarked'' sidequests that require you to have a camera that requires a previous sidequest being beaten. This continues for ''at least'' a few hours if you've been diligent in sidequesting.
** Fiends for anyone going for 100% completion, due to their 1/256 chance of appearing every time you load an area. Especially if their encounter location requires you pass by a demon, as odds are you'll get hit at least a few times even if you use Estoma Sword.

* {{Narm}}:
** [[spoiler: Lucifer's]] appearance after [[spoiler: fusing with Walter]]. It doesn't really say [[spoiler: "greatest enemy of god"]] so much as FashionVictimVillain.
** The voice acting in the game's beginning: "Wwwwwwwwwooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaa! Who are you...? State your name!"
** The fact that you can bribe Charon with Play Coins, and that he refers them as such.
** The Angels in [[spoiler:Purgatorium]] spam the word "filth" so much that it quickly becomes ridiculous. Expect to hear these words '''a lot''' on your way there, and even those who don't still can't stop ranting about filth.
---> '''Angel:''' We speak unto the Filth. We will not let you step a foot into the Eastern Kingdom of Mikado. We will obliterate you Filth, just as the Lord has commanded.

* AccidentalInnuendo: If you walk into one of the weapons shops during a sale, the dealer says this:
--> "You had to ''come'' now, didn't you?"

* CompleteMonster:
** [[TheDon Mr. Tayama]] began as a small-time {{Yakuza}} leader in Tokyo, but in the power vacuum following an apocalyptic war he seized control of the city via commandeering the [[MagicalParticleAccelerator Yamato Perpetual Reactor]], Tokyo's main source of power. He thus established himself as the unquestioned leader of the city. While Tayama [[VillainWithGoodPublicity protects the citizens from the hordes of demons ravaging the city]], he does so mainly for the sense of power it gives him; anyone who questions his rule is killed or worse. Tayama invented a FantasticDrug, Red Pills, that can be used to pacify demons, but unknown to the people of Tokyo, the drug is made from human brains extracted from innocent people his Ashura-kai periodically kidnap and raise in a "human farm" until they die. Tayama is also breeding child slaves for this purpose. Though Tayama claims this is for the benefit of the greater population, he has also hypocritically cornered the market on smartphones, through which demons can also be tamed without causing harm to either them or humans, even demolishing an entire neighborhood to maintain his monopoly.
** ''[[YMMV/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse Apocalypse]]'' has Tamagami. See that page for details.

* MoralTranscendenceHorizon: Flynn and Isabeau evacuate thousands of Mikado civilians down to Tokyo in order to prepare for the destruction of the Firmament in the [[GoldenEnding Neutral Route.]]

* DifficultySpike: Arguably ''inverted'' during the climax of the game. By this point of the game, it's very easy to build a team that is resistant to near everything your opponents can throw, and aside from some gimmicks or accidentally hitting your opponents resistance, it's really easy to not lose Press Turns. Some [[BonusBoss Bonus Bosses]] notwithstanding. [[note]]Most Bonus Bosses have ArtificialBrilliance set so should you have a demon who can waste their turns in any form, they will get mad and start spamming Antichthon or other similar Almighty attacks to level the whole party.[[/note]]

* AmericansHateTingle: Due to ''VideoGame/Persona3'' and ''[[VideoGame/Persona4 4]]'' being far more popular than every other ''Megami Tensei'' sub-series combined in Western territories, coupled with non-''Persona'' ''Megami Tensei'' being either obscure or [[NoExportForYou not available]], ''IV'' tends to catch a lot of flak there for, well, not being ''Persona''--the EarlyGameHell and the lack of character development sideplots a la ''Persona'' Social Links have made this game somewhat of a turnoff to Westerners, who generally are not as familiar with mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei'' as Japanese players tend to be. Fortunately, the game still sold well enough for Atlus USA to bring over ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse''.

* ContestedSequel: Many feel that the game is a steep drop in quality [[ToughActToFollow compared to the gold standard that is]] ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne'', due to comparatively weaker 3D visuals, the revision of some battle mechanics (especially the removal of defense stats), and the game lacking challenge in comparison. Others however, praise the game for being much more beginner-friendly than ''Nocturne'' and especially ''I'' and ''II''.

** "SUCH IS A SAMURAI'S SKILL!" *[[ArtificialStupidity misses]]*[[labelnote:Explanation]] Jonathan's skills when he becomes your partner in battle are...questionable, to put it lightly.[[/labelnote]]
*** "My demons are a bit different!"[[labelnote:Explanation]] Another thing Jonathan will say if he's your partner.[[/labelnote]]
*** "I'LL END IT THUS" [[labelnote:Explanation]]Walter isn't much better than Jonathan as a battle partner, if anything he's even ''worse'' because of his penchant for Agi. Getting him as a partner on the [[ThatOneBoss Minotaur]] boss fight, who blocks fire, is essentially being sent to the gallows.[[/labelnote]]

** The final upgrade of the MP Recovery App allows you to apply its effect to the entire party. While it takes 150 App Points in total (MP Recovery 1, 2, and Party Recovery), having this App trivializes practically everything related to MP, including healing magic, which can be freely used in the field. By just running around in circles after every battle, you'll fully restore your HP before the next one.

** The final upgrade of the MP Recovery App allows you to apply its effect to the entire party. While it takes 150 App Points in total (MP Recovery 1, 2, and Party Recovery), having this App trivializes practically everything related to MP, including healing magic, which can be freely used in the field.

** Seeing [[BigBadWannabe Tayama's]] VillainousBreakdown when you you activate the Yamato Reactor with Walter is absolutely '''''beautiful'''''.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Some reactions to [[VideoGame/TraumaCenter Masayuki Doi]] and several notable ''Franchise/KamenRider'' artists as character designers instead of series regular Kazuma Kaneko.

* UnderusedGameMechanic: Some of the more interesting demon conversation skills, most notably Chitchat (cause the enemy to waste one Press Turn) and Negotiate (bribe the enemy until they let you leave, guaranteed escape if you use it while the target's asleep), do not reappear for ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse''. Then again, ''Apocalypse'' does introduce the Imposing Stance skill that removes one Press Turn from the enemy party's next round, and no boss in ''Apocalypse'' gets more than three turns (not even the {{Bonus Boss}}es), so having Chitchat (particularly Chitchat+, which takes away 2 turns) and Imposing Stance in the same game (thus allowing the player to make bosses lose all three turns at once) would've made for a GameBreaker strategy.

* UnnecessaryMakeover: See BrokenBase, this trope was the opinion of quite a few people on the redesigns of several of the demons.
* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotPolitical: Some fans feel the Ikebukuro arc has nationalistic themes to it, as in real life, Ikebukuro is the district of Tokyo with the most immigrants, and in the game it's by far the bleakest area of Tokyo and is overrun with cannibalistic "foreign demons" led by Xi Wangmu, one of the chief gods of Japan's traditional enemy, China. Others think people are seeing things that aren't there.

** Despite that, you may feel pity for him because, [[spoiler:just like the other National Defense Divinities]], he doesn't like the boss he works under, or what the person in question is making him do, a fact which he manages to make clear to you only through the game's description of his facial expressions if you fight him.
** [[spoiler: Merkabah's first form, the second one is more straight up BodyHorror.]]
** [[spoiler: Lucifer's]] forms as well. The first while having silly looking clothing, is still disturbing due to the alien-looking eyes. The second form is worse, with completely lacking eyes and having a fetus-like growth on the left arm, [[spoiler: which is implied to be Walter after fusing with Lucifer]].

* ThatOneLevel: Surprisingly, the dungeons are by far the most straightforward and simplest in the mainline ''Shin Megami Tensei'' games--series-traditional exploration hazards such as poison floors and one-way doors are few and far in between, difficult mazes are rare outside of demon Domains (and even those aren't quite brutal to navigate; just follow the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maze_solving_algorithm#Wall_follower wall follower rule]]) and the traditional final-dungeon invisible wall room does not exist. That said, a few areas stand out:
** Pluto Castle, if only because it's one of the longest dungeons in the game not counting the final dungeons. Expect to rely on LevelUpFillUp if you haven't been able to stock up on Chakra items and don't have Party MP Recovery.

** [[spoiler:Kenji]], even if you reflect his attacks. He has Fire, Physical, Darkness and almighty skills. While the first three can easily be turned on the boss with Tetrakarn/Makarakarn, Megido bypasses Makarakarn. Worse yet, the boss is fond of using the latter multiple times a turn. He is also fond of casting Ancient Curse, which inflicts your entire party with all five major status effects, two of which prevent you from moving at all until they both wear off. And if that is not enough, towards the end of the battle, [[spoiler:he will attempt to play dead and trick you into grabbing the [[PlotDevice remote]] that you are after; taking the bait will deal you massive damage, and the only real warning you get about this trap is that the battle interface and music are still up, and that he has not yet done the "burst into red cracks and then explode" animation that all previous bosses have done upon defeat]]. [[spoiler: It's also the last boss before the player's alignment is set, so if you don't violate common sense by refusing to press the button so you can have an opportunity to save and mess up the choices that happen afterward, you'll have to beat him again.]]

* {{Padding}}: The Neutral path requires you to complete 19 sidequests in Tokyo, including several ''unmarked'' sidequests that require you to have a camera that requires a previous sidequest being beaten. This continues for ''at least'' a few hours if you've been diligent in sidequesting.

* PanderingToTheBase: Twofold:
** In an attempt to bring more people in to the franchise, famous guest artists from the ''Franchise/KamenRider'' series where brought in to provide new designs for some of the demons. However, as other tropes on this page might have hinted at, this was less than well-received.
** The game also tries to pander to the older SMT fans by including numerous callbacks and some returning characters from past games. How well this was actually executed [[BrokenBase is a matter of discussion]] among the fans however.
* ParanoiaFuel: Several of Burroughs's {{Boss Warning Siren}}s can come off as this.

** Finally, depending on if you're actively seeking out the fiends: "I detect a very dangerous demon nearby. You should consider getting out of here." She's not kidding about the "very dangerous" part.

* TheScrappy:
** Hugo is widely despised by everyone both in and out of universe, regardless of alignment.
** The most likable thing about Navarre is [[Creator/LiamOBrien his voice actor]]; everyone hates his character, even in-universe. [[spoiler: Alraune even calls him out for begging the heroes to save him from her despite trying to get them killed.]]
** The Hunters that ask you to pay them Macca to cross rivers, all while chuckling smugly.

** A lack of an actual stat for defense means buffs and resistances are more important, but also means you can get nearly wiped from one unlucky ambush. And considering that a lot of bosses and unique horde encounters will be doing that quite often, well...
** To some the smirk mechanic is greatly disliked due to some feeling it requires a bit to much luck as well as the status itself being considered extremely overpowered.
** The fact that you have to carefully juggle your KarmaMeter if you want the Neutral ending has gained some dislike, due to how easy it is to accidentally make yourself Lawful/Chaotic, as well as how, from a story standpoint, juggling your choices to stay Neutral makes no sense. [[spoiler: Without knowing it, you can find yourself [[PlayerPunch fighting Isabeau.]]]] You can't {{save scum|ming}} easily, as you only have two save slots, and on top of that, the only way to determine your current alignment is through the "Cynical Man" present at Hunter's Association facilities throughout Tokyo, and he is not available for a significant chunk of the game that takes place right before alignment lock.
** The overworld map. Unlike other ''SMT'' maps of Tokyo, which were relatively easy to maneuver around, the map in this game seems to place aesthetics over functionality and readability. For the most part, it's very dark - so dark, in fact, that it can be nigh-impossible to tell if any given path leads anywhere or if it ends arbitrarily. When compounded by a wonky camera which makes many locations ''look'' traversable when they aren't, navigation becomes a chore at best and a tiring slog at worst. Out of the [[BrokenBase many criticisms leveled at the game]], this is one thing that everyone agrees is horribly implemented.
** On top of that, many of the districts are only accessible by boats or subway. The former is guarded by an annoying Hunter who charges you 500 Macca to go across, while the latter is usually guarded by a thug who will only leave one you clear certain missions. Moreover, the game never clearly differentiates between cities, subways, etc. on the map, making it very easy to forget where something is.
** Even worse is that players can't even look at the world map all at once, or see locations on it. The player can only see their immediate surroundings on their map screen, so if they have to get to a certain area and can't remember the direction it's in, their only option is looking up a map online.
** The red mist that [[LuckBasedMission randomly]] begins snaring you in place starting around Shinjuku. Not only does it render you unable to land a first strike, it often causes the enemy to get it. Compounded with the issue with the nonexistent defense stat explained above, you may be jumped on and possibly wiped through no fault of your own.
** The encounter rate of the Fiends; not only do they appear in very specific spots, but they only have a 1/256 chance of even spawning. If they do not appear, you have to exit the area and come back and try and see if they appear. Needless to say, it can take some players days or even weeks to get even one Fiend to spawn. Fiends are extremely hard bosses, much harder than the FinalBoss, and if you get beaten to a bloody pulp, you have to get them to reappear ''again'' which can take hundreds more attempts...unless you actually pay Charon, as you respawn with the Fiend stays if Charon respawns you. From here, you can save and reload for infinite attempts, but if you leave the area, the Fiend leaves, too.

** In-universe at least, but Isabeau feels this way with the revelation [[spoiler: that the Red pills are made from [[HumanResources human brains]]]].

* NeverLiveItDown: One of the biggest criticisms this game gets is the hiring of guest artists to design some of the demons over franchise mainstay Kazuma Kaneko. For reference, out of around 440 Demons, 31 of them are Guest Artist Designs, and 21 of them were returning demons with new designs [[labelnote:Including...]]Minotaur, Asterius, Medusa, Asmodeus, Aeshma, Centaur, Dullahan, Astaroth, Yaso Magatsuhi, Omoikane, Pluto, Yamato-Takeru, [[spoiler:Lilith, Gabriel, Michael, Raphael, Uriel, Lucifer, Merkabah, Masakado]], and technically Plasma as it already appeared in ''Giten Megami Tensei: Tokyo Mokushiroku'' as "Plasma Ball".[[/labelnote]]. Everybody else keeps the same designs by Kaneko that they've always had. With how much flak the guest artist designs got and still get to this day, however, you'd think the guest artists upended the entire franchises compendium. A lot of this can probably be chalked up to the fact that most of the new designs are displayed front and center throughout the game as mayor story bosses and characters.

** "Congratulations on completing the quest." [[labelnote:Explanation]]Borroughs cheerful congratulations come whenever you complete a quest, even if it involved death or something extremely unsettling.[[/labelnote]]
** [[ArtificialStupidity "Such is a samurai's skill!" [Reflect] "The foe smirks..."]]
*** "I'll end it thus!" [Null] "The Minotaur smirks..."[[labelnote:Explanation]]Although all your battle companions are bound to fall into ArtificialStupidity, Walter casting Agi on the fire-immune Minotaur is the most prominent example, as it causes the [[ThatOneBoss already difficult fight]] to go downhill even faster -- a smirking Minotaur can easily cause a TotalPartyKill.[[/labelnote]]

** "Oh...a hunter."[[labelnote:Explanation]]Spoken in a very condescending tone by the black market dealers in Tokyo.[[/labelnote]]

* HilariousInHindsight: [[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne The SMT game before this]] was infamous for having a skeleton matador as a brutal WakeUpCallBoss. Who serves the same role here? A guy with a bull head whose nose and mouth look like a human skull.