Building comparison
head to head
Fallout 2vsShin Megami Tensei IV
Neither is meaningfully harder - they pose close to the same test. The widest gap is execution, and it is a single point.
Fallout 2
Optimization · Pure Optimization
A post-nuclear RPG expanded in scope where tagged builds and Gifted-trait optimization dominate.
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Optimization · Pure Optimization
Handheld SMT where smirk RNG stings but fusion planning and weakness knowledge carry you.
Fallout 2 leans Optimization (Pure Optimization); Shin Megami Tensei IV leans Optimization (Pure Optimization).
Fallout 2Shin Megami Tensei IV
Axis by axis
Execution2 vs 1
Fallout 2 leans a little harder on execution, though the gap is small.
Fallout 2
Turn-based AP system makes twitch entirely irrelevant
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Menu combat with no execution ceiling.
Reads1 vs 0
Fallout 2 leans a little harder on reads, though the gap is small.
Fallout 2
All tribal and Enclave enemies run fixed scripted combat routines
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Demon negotiation is random personality scripts.
Variance5 vs 5
Same score on variance - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fallout 2
Hidden special encounters and timed events create significant unknown-information space
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Smirk procs and negotiation RNG swing fights hard.
Optimization9 vs 9
Same score on optimization - which means the number cannot separate them. The difference is in what each one asks of you.
Fallout 2
SPECIAL and skill tagging with Gifted trait produce well-known dominant build strategies
Shin Megami Tensei IV
Fusion apps, weakness charts, and builds solve the game.
A matching score does not mean a matching test. Two games can both sit at 10 on execution and demand completely different things of you - which is why the reasoning above matters more than the number beside it.