Press Turn Battle System Guide

This is a guide to the Press Turn Battle System of Shin Megami Tensei III HD Remaster (SMT Nocturne) for the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Steam. To learn all about the Press Turn Battle System and how it works, read on.

Press Turn Battle System Overview

Press Turns

Player Press Turn	Enemy Press Turn

When combat starts, players are given Press Turns. Each player character or demon active on the field gets 1 Press Turn. The more demons you have (max. 4), the more Press Turns you start with.

Enemies obey the same rule. The more enemies there are, the more Press Turns they get. Caution: Unlike the Demi-Fiend, enemies can have more than 4 demons on the field.

Boss Press Turns

Not all enemies will have only 1 Press Turn. Bosses, despite being only 1 demon, can sometimes have 2 or more Press Turns when they begin combat.

One example is the Specter demon in the Amala Network. It will have 2 Press Turns despite being only 1 demon.

SMT 3 Boss Guides

Press Turns in Battle

How to count the number of turns

Press Turns can be counted by looking at the top-right corner of the game-screen. How the icon looks determines the count of each Press Turn.

Icon State	Turn Count
	1 Turn
	1/2 Turn

Press Turn Action Cost

Any action a player or enemy does will always cost Press Turns. The type of action and whether it hits/misses determines the number of Press Turns consumed.

1/2 Press Turn Mechanic

Actions that cost 1/2 Press Turns does not mean that players can only use the remaining half for actions that also cost 1/2 Press Turns!

The remaining 1/2 Press Turn is always treated as if it were 1 Whole Turn.

Press Turn Battle Strategies

Weakness and Critical Hits

Weakness and Critical hits consume only 1/2 Press Turns. This gives players an extra action to perform for exploiting a weakness or landing a critical hit.

Use this tactic against enemies who have more numbers than your party. Use Weakness exploits especially, as a lot of non-boss demons will have weaknesses.

Analyze Enemies

It is important to know the stats of your enemies. Nullified, Absorbed, or Drained attacks will consume more than 1 Press Turns. This can turn battles against players if they are not careful. Alternatively, you can also check our demon pages to avoid wasting turns during crucial fights!

List of Demons

Skip Turns

Status ailments can affect how your allied demons perform in battle. Sometimes, it is better to skip their turn since they usually waste it when they have negative status effects like Confuse.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Related Guides

Tips and Tricks

All Tips and Tricks