Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

This game is good fun- its an intriguing world & rather good looking even though the story is a little predictable & the battle system can get a bit tedious- but THIS GAME IS NOT WORTH $100 in fact i would not be willing 2 spend more than $30ish on it THESE PRICES ARE OUT OF CONTROL

POSSIBLE SMALL SPOILERS AHEAD

MUST READ SPOILERS ARE IN CAPITAL LETTERS

I GAVE A LOT OF CASH THINKING THIS IS TRUE CULT GAME. I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND SPITTING OUT 100 or 150 DOLLARS FOR UNOPENED GAME, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT IS NOT as GOOD AS NOCTURNE 3. OR MAYBE I LIKE NOCTURNE BECAUSE IT IS LIKE PERSONA. :)


FIRST GAME ADVICE: GET MUTUAL KARMA FOR EVERYONE AS SOON AS YOU CAN, GRIND IT OUT FEW DAYS. THIS IS ONLY THING YOU NEED TO DO EARLY IN THE GAME. WHAT DOES IT MEAN? EQUIP IT TO CHARS WHO ARE NOT FIGHTING SO THEY WILL GET EXPERIENCE AS IF THEY DID FIGHT ALONGSIDE FIRST THREE.

------------impressions after six hours----------------------


This is a game that has 60 percent of enemies copy pasted from SMT Nocturne, or is it reverse? It also has concept of demon infested world with very few humans left.

Story puts you in control of Serph , one of six tribes leader. Tribes are at war, just like in some parts of world, & what is bad turns 2 worse when people become some hybrid creatures that have special skills, something like Yuri in Shadow Hearts. Characters who shot each other are now using both magic & bullets & have almost uncontrolable hunger, that is basically seen in Final Fantasy IX character who gets enemy's magic by using cook spell.

Development of character is like in SMT Nocturne, but good thing is, you don't have 2 discard skills. GET HEAL SKILLS EARLY FOR ARGILLA, Media is really important! To get new magic skills, you have 2 use devour skill 2 fill progress bar 4 selected mantra.

Bosses are intelligent & sometimes you have 2 experiment A LOT 2 get 2 know how 2 beat them. This game has bosses that are as good as Xenogears.

***good:
Fights & mazes. Can't help it, I am old school 'Eye of Beholder' & Interplay fan. Not too much graphic violence compared 2 what they could have done.

***bad:
Same enemies like in SMT 3 & Persona 3. Not all, but too often.
Atmosphere is SOOO melancholic, just like story, which is morbid & melancholic. Sometimes I feel like I am playing solitaire just 2 kill time...

-----------impressions after 12 hours & beating Mick----------

Well it seems that after I stopped sulking about grayish colours & lot of enemies copy pasted from Nocturne, I started 2 enjoy game a little & then a lot. After typical levels, you get 2 solve 3D puzzles, yeah, just like in Nocturne but I am Lara Croft/Beyond Good & Evil fan. Bosses are still great, non-boss battles too. First you out-strategy oponent & then you win, muscling around doesn't work all the time. Characters DO develop, although story is simple so far.

I WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY THIS GAME!!! It is much better later than in the beginning, unlike most of RPGs & generaly games, which are designed 2 get your attention & then they just become boring after 10 hours.

---impressions after 17 hrs & beating boat boss & after that lupa----
Although you have BIG array of skills 2 choose from, after half of the game or so you need 2 read FAQ or 2 go by yourself, see boss & then add mantras. YOU HAVE TO HAVE TERA SPELL OR TERAZI BETTER BEFORE BOSS IN SHIP IN THE DESERT. YOU HAVE TO DEVELOP SERPH TO GET MEDIA SPELL. YOU HAVE TO HAVE FORCE ABSORB OR VOID FORCE.

After ship, there is large dungeon/sewers. BEFORE BOSS HERE, HAVE ARGILLA HAVE MEDIA SPELL, HAVE ABOUT 10 CHAKRA DROPS, HAVE SERPH HAVE BUFUDYNE SPELL AND HEAT FIRE ABSORB SKILL.

***spoilers about Lupa:

get cerberus' head on right head of screen first, the one that heals. Central head is mean if it is last one alive so do fire absorb & bufudyne & at the end, be careful of left head's physical attack.


----impressions after 22 hrs & beating VARIN OMEGA------------

YOU REALLY NEED DYNE SPELLS FOR ALLL MEMBERS, RECARM AND MEDIARAMA ON ARGILLA, ICE DRAIN ON SERPH, AGYDINE ON HEAT AND SO ON. PRACTICE NEAR LARGE TERMINAL IN SEWERS WHERE YOU BEAT LUPA. This level is short but it gives you shocking revelations in form of FMVs & you need lotsa luck. Let me just beat Karma Temple level & I'll be back 2 you with complete impressions of first half of two sequel (two DVDs as two sequels) Saga.

----IMPRESSIONS AFTER REACHING MAIN BOSS----------------

Although KT is interesting maze, you will either read FAQ & beat opponents or get beaten & set up characters after you load game.

STOCK BEFORE COMING TO KT, NO SHOPS HERE..

--------------------AFTER BEATING HARI HARA GIANT------------------

**********HOW TO DO IT (skip this if you don't wanna spoiler):
Logic 2 win against giant Hari Hara is not so obvious & yet it is. I had Serph at level 67 & Cielo at 62 & Heat at 62 or was it 63? All of them had Mediarama & stuff against blood curse: null nerve, null panic, null mute & whatever. Null poison is almost unneeded. Cielo needs Elec Amp & Elec Boost.
Serph does Magic Repell (yes, expensive 2 get), Cielo bangs at Gold core (must be able 2 take it with just one zyodine) & Heat comes in: Gold core doesn't exist so nothing can reflect physical attack & two headed pacman pounds everything in sight with revelation physical magic. If you get critical hit use the extra move 2 heal. With time, Heat will, with help of Cielo, take out lotsa cores (Zyodine works against water, fire & anything not electric) & if you have enough soma & chakra drops & pots, you can take out this boss. I used about 10 somas which recover party's MP & HP & about 10 revival gems....


--------------------- FINAL IMPRESSIONS----------------
Somehow, game just gives you hints about what's really happening, & that is unfair. You can also take out all bosses easily , if you don't run away too much & explore by yourself. Except last boss, that is. Mazes are great.

The game near the end makes you level up & you really need hours & hours. I spent 50 hours before going 2 tackle main guy. My Serph had magic parameter about 71 & vitality around 60. Final boss seems impossible but, thanks 2 friend's idea you can get strategy in this review, in previous text.

I complained a lot about leveling up, but lot of games that are RPG are time consuming thanks 2 difficult bosses that you can't beat if you don't level up enough. Even Nocturne had lot of leveling up if I remember correctly.

If I put DDS 2 (Sequel or disc 2) in my PS2, it will be my own fault!!! :)

I know it's somewhat blasphemous 2 say anything negative about this game amongst hardcore JRPG fans but I honestly did not enjoy it that much. The story is very very interesting but the repeated deaths on first turns in random battles that can sometimes occur 1 2 2 seconds apart just made this game not worth the frustration of trying 2 advance the plot line in these oversized dungeons in which you will be forced 2 back track pretty frequently! Oh goodie!

The character/bad guy designs are quite boring if not outright stupid at times, also I hope you enjoy your environments completely dreary & in shades of brown & grey.

Obviously this game is some peoples cup of tea but unfortunately it wasn't mine & I only ask you take my words into consideration if you are planning on purchasing this & have only read the reviews from people who found this game 2 be fantastic, especially with the price this game is now selling at.

I'm going 2 try & aim this review at both people who have & haven't played this games predecessor, Lucifer's Call. (OK, sorry but I live in the UK, so please bear with me when I refer 2 it under this name rather than the US title of "Nocturne..!). If you have played that game you are pretty much completely clued up in regards 2 what 2 expect...I'll get on 2 the differences later. If you haven't played Lucifer's Call...my advice is 2 play that first. Although the stories aren't connected in any way, I simply think LC is the better of the two. And it will get you used 2 all the customs & mythology that the Shin Megami Tensei series seems 2 be built around.

In Digital Devil Saga you are Serph, leader of a small band of rogues who live in a post-apocalyptic world of constantly warring "tribes" who exist & fight according 2 strict codes & rules of allegiance. As is customary in RPGs, a world-changing event is about 2 happen that throws all the tribes into turnoil, & in this game it is the sudden appearance of a black haired girl called Sera (which causes a sensation because nobody in the world has ever had black hair before), who every tribe suddenly wants 2 kidnap after hearing that, 4 some mysterious reason, she alone can unlock a forbidden (or formerly unreachable) place known only as Nirvana.

Anyway, enough of the plot. It becomes clear early on that the player is in 4 traditional turn based battles, & I'm glad 2 say the superior "press turns" system from Lucifers Call (in which you gain extra battle turns by knowing which attacks best exploit your enemies weaknesses - & likewise, the enemies also do the same with your weaknesses) is still in effect. What's different from most RPGs is that everybody in this world has a demon "alter ego" & 4 every battle, you will see your characters with a completely different physical appearance, usually with lots of teeth, spikes & claws. This kind of de-personalised the battles 4 me as it was visually just a load of monsters against monsters, but story-wise it does have some importance. Apart from that, you'll find yourself in pretty linear territory & with little room 4 deviation with regard 2 where you go after finishing each dungeon, & what you do next. What struck me most on playing was the surprisingly small scale of the game as a whole. There are only five tribes in this world, so I expected lots of twists in the story, but once the enemy tribe leaders are all thwarted in their efforts 2 seize Sera from you, the game is all but over, & you only have one other thing left 2 do, which is 2 take her with you & see what this so-called Nirvana is really about. Now there's a very obvious reason 4 this brevitiy, but it's not a very encouraging one - the game is designed very specifically 2 be Part One of a two game series. So if you choose 2 buy it, be prepared 4 much of the plot 2 be unresolved at the end, & 2 have 2 go & get Part Two 2 finish the story. Knowing this, I kind of expected a mammoth storyline that simply went on & on, but in reality, I think DDS1 only has about half the gameplay time of some other one disc games out there anyway, so the need 2 sell it in two parts seemed a bit greedy 2 me. It was definitely over sooner than I expected.

Now onto the next drawbacks, but these ones will only really hit gamers who played & enjoyed Lucifers Call (that's me, then). The demon recruitment system, which let you add any monster you met in battle 2 your own team of playable characters, is gone, which means no more fantastic variety of team members 2 play with. The monsters you fight agaisnt are all familiar faces from that game though, so expect 2 encounter those pesky physical-immune elephants (Girimehkala), & the death spell-happy goat demons (Baphomet), as well as several new faces. But on your side of things, Digital Devil Saga has a mere five members, which is low among RPGs anyway, & compared 2 Lucifer's Call, it seems very tame.

All the battle skills & spells still exist, along with the same unidentifiable names (Tenterafoo? Pulpina? Me Patra?), but 2 obtain the really good ones is much, MUCH harder work now, simply because they have 2 be paid 4 with money, & the top of the range spells like Debilitate, Dekunda, Megidolaon etc, cost massive amounts of cash, & you still have 2 buy & work through all the spells on the pathway 2 the top end (the skills are only 4 sale in a pre-set order, the weakest must be learned first before each next level becomes available).
Now I know in most RPGs this is the norm, & I don't mind some serious levelling up 2 unlock the best skills. But here, every single top skill comes at the very end of all the other skill sets, & you will most likely reach the end of the game with several pathways nowhere near finished - unless you do nothing but grind away so that all the required experience & cash gets earned. Of course, the idea is 2 extend replay value...I realised this as soon as I read on the web that the "clear game" mode starts you off on a replay with all mastered skill still saved, so after two or maybe even three playthroughs, you might just have learned all the really good skills that there are...phew! Sorry but that's not 4 me. And not even after seeing that many of my favourite basic safety support abilities like Null Death & Null Expel come way up at the top of the list. Actually, that in itself makes the game much harder that Lucifer's Call, as you have 2 do a lot of battling against enemies who cast all those mean spells like Hama & Mudo before you'll ever reach the abilities that protect you from them. Ok, you do get spells that cast shields against these attacks, but I wanted the permanent immunities!

This leads me 2 my other gripe - this being that with all 5 characters, the shopping list of skills is the same 4 everybody. One giant grid (a lot like the sphere grid in Final Fantasy X) shows you which paths lead 2 which skills. So individual character has little 2 do with how you deploy the skills of your team, you can make anyone into anything. Although the five characters do come pre-loaded with a definite slant (Argilla will always be the best magic caster & Heat the strongest physical attacker, etc), it's nothing like the array of abilities that the "cast of thousands" in Lucifer's Call had, giving you there the huge scope 4 a custom team with some real personality in it. I was very proud of my final, boss-beating line up in Lucifer's Call, but in this game everyone's going 2 be exactly the same at the end of the story as they were at the beginning, just with more HP & improved spells. OK, I know thats the case in most RPGs...it just goes 2 show how memorable Lucifer's Call really was. I'll tell you one major improvement though: you no longer have 2 permanently delete skills 2 learn new ones - hooray!

The look of the game, however is wonderful. A step up from Lucifer's Call, but still with the same anime style, except that now the graphics are even better. Thankfully they have improved on the drab locations that seemd 2 be repeated 2 infinity in that game, & some of the dungeons are now quite stunning - although they still repeat interiors over & over again 4 all the rooms & chambers in each dungeon! And now the characters finally have spoken dialogue. This is great, & it makes them all seem really alive, despite a very dodgy "Jamaican" accent given 2 one of them.

So in summary, a shorter game & with sadly less innovations than Lucifer's Call. But it looks better & it's definitely still in that league. And it actually has a better story - all the stuff about The Conception & choosing a Reason kind of went over my head last time, I'm sorry 2 say! So is that enough? I'd say buy Lucifer's Call first & then get this one if you want more. Although you have 2 buy Part Two as well afterwards...

Digital Devil Saga is another entry into the MegaTen franchise which has been going strong 4 over 20 years. Amazingly it is only the fourth or so game 2 be released in America (being beaten out by the Persona games & Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne). This is a member of one of the top franchises in video game history & you can finally see what it's all about.

The game revolves around the land of the Junkyard. A mysterious world where it always rains, & everyone has been rendered virtually emotionless (kinda like Equilibrium 4 anyone familiar with that movie). All the worlds inhabitants have been divided into six tribes that are waging war 2 becoming the controllers of the Junkyard, thus earning the right 2 ascend 2 Nirvana. During a battle between the Embryon (your tribe) & a rival tribe, a mysterious object appears in the center of the warzone. When it opens, flashes of light fly around piercing the hearts of every person in the Junkyard, turning them into demons. Inside the object is a girl named Sera who has the ability 2 control the transformation into demons & the hunger that coincides with it. Shortly thereafter a new order is given 2 the tribes from the high council in charge of the Junkyard, instead of beating the enemy tribes you must now devour your enemy & satisfy the hunger growing within.

The game plays like a top notch RPG, however it takes a bit more strategy as those used 2 just mashing on the attack button will be overwhelmed & find the game amazingly difficult. This is because the battle system rewards attacking an enemies weakness & condemns playing 2 their strengths. Meaning you must keep a well balanced party that has skills in virtually every area. In battle, if you hit an enemies weakness, you gain extra attacks. Hit an immunity or fail 2 connect, you lose turns. Sounds great, until you realise the enemy can exploit this tactic as well. Because of this even a group of lower level enemies can get a sneak attack in & wipe you out if you aren't careful.

To gain the spells & abilities neccesary 2 survive, one must master Mantras. To do this you just equip them & then accumulate AP in battle. The trick is, the fastest way 2 gain AP is 2 devour your enemy. Careful though, eat 2 fast & you get a stomach ache, eliminating any AP that you would have gained. All in all, it is a system that allows 4 deep customization of characters since any character can gain any spell & while it may seem daunting at first is actually quite simple.

The game however is quite difficult until you learn how 2 manipulate enemy weaknesses & nearly every boss will take a bit of trial & error 2 find their weaknesses, so expect 2 reload a few times. The amazing story though will drive you through these points & give you the drive 2 finish the game (and ultimately play the sequel). It is one of the greatest examples of storytelling I have seen in recent games & stands as one of my favorites.

The graphics in the game are top notch. Now don't get too attached 2 the idea that when I say top notch I mean Final Fantasy CG quality. In fact, they are cel-shaded. Many people are opposed 2 cel-shading, but this game shows that when it is done right it is something 2 behold. The Junkyard is beautiful (in a dreary sort of way) & the character & monster designs are great. If you have doubts about cel-shading just search 4 the trailer on a gaming site & see 4 yourself, it is gorgeous.

The music is also very good. I actually found myself going 2 the same location before saving & quiting (as long as I wasn't in a dungeon) just 2 hear the music. My only complaint is that the sound track didn't include the intro song "Danger" by Etro Anime.

All in all, this is one of the most overlooked RPG's from last year & in my opinion was one of the top 3 2 be released. The final composition of every element coming together provides a very satisfying & rewarding gaming experience & I recommend this game above pretty much every other major RPG I own (including Final Fantasy's 7 & up). Get this game, you won't be disappointed.

Junkyard, a town of endless rain... With his four companions, Serf, the main character & a member of a tribe called Embryon, sets out 4 Nirvana, a land that can only be reached by the champions of Junkyard. They devote themselves 2 fighting against thenever-ending resistance mustered by other tribes. In the midst of chaos, a mysterious object, the Pod, suddenly appears. Countless spheres of light are emitted by the Pod & infect Serf & his comrades, awakening their demonic power