Considering a playthrough of SMT Nocturne/Lucifer's Call

So I finally got done watching the Persona 4 Endurance Run and it got me in the mood to try my hand at some ShinTen. The only Shin Megami Tensei game I own is Lucifer's Call, a game I picked up in the PS2 heyday when I loved me some JRPGs. Obviously there are some marked differences between Persona 4 and SMT3. However, I remember being really interested in this game in the lead-up to its release (in spite of no prior experience with the series) thanks to its really interesting art direction, strong reviews and word-of-mouth. I was really excited when I managed to pick up one of the very few locally available copies around release.

However, when I played it at the time I wasn't really feeling it. I don't remember particularly enjoying the dungeons or finding much interest in the story and I don't remember getting much of a grasp for the combat system and recruiting/fusing monsters. Then I ran into The Matador. I was completely demolished. What an arsehole. At that point I put the game back on the shelf. It was an experience that was far from encouraging. In spite of all that, I did feel there was something there, and I regretted the fact I found parts of it disinteresting and too difficult.

So now, here I am. The game has finally been pulled back off the shelf and I'm very close to sliding it into my PS3 (and hoping it's backwards compatible - I still have my PS2, though, so failing that I'll still be able to give it another try). It's a tad daunting, to be honest, I'm somewhat expecting that I just won't like it. The thought hit me, however, why not turn to my fellow Giant Bomb members for some advice?

So...any advice for someone who is essentially a Shin Megami Tensei newbie?

Failing that, I'm strongly considering buying Digital Devil Saga 1 & 2 (and likely will regadless of how this SMT3 experiment turns out). Speaking to a friend who adores Shin Megami Tensei, he says they're easier games than Nocturne/Lucifer's Call and have a story that is more strongly presented.