Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

This opening also introduces you to a style that just won't quit. Eerie landscapes and one of the, if not THE best example of Cell shaded Graphics seen thus far.

Things pick up right away when a mysterious structure explodes amidst this skirmish, and everyone starts having violent spasms and begin turning into monsters. You know this takes a more supernatual seat as Your main character, Serphs Monoscope begins reading the words "EAT THEM ALL" All across the screen.

The Battle system is Turn based, with an emphasis on exploiting the weakness of your enemies. This can grant your team extra actions during its turn, but you'd best be wary. The same applies for the enemy. This adds a level of depth to combat that can make or break a good team. You won't get away with simply button mashing here.
The Bosses are also some of the harder ones seen in a Role playing game. Things can heat up quickly, so you always need to watch out for potential weakness while covering your own.

The Music is very fitting for the Indian influenced theme, but some of the of the tracks are rather short. Still, with the boxed set you manage you'll get the OST, so the tunes will quickly grow on you.

The plot remains fairly simple for the first half of the game, so the buildup doesn't start until the latter half, which leads to a bit of anitclimax while it pauses, waiting for the second installment coming out this August.

In closing, this is an excellent start to what promises to be a satisfying end.


Great SMT spin-off   August 10, 2005
Stephen J. White (Richmond, Virginia United States)
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

Digital Devil Saga takes the gamer through a story that ends on a very open, but extremely promising note. On the way to the end though, the gamer will encounter a plethoria of all the right things to make one become immersed in an inovative yet slightly old fashioned experience.

Borrowing a lot from it's "father" game Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, the game utilizes a similar combat engine, variety of monsters, and graphics engine. The similarities do not stop there though, and one can imeediatily realize how unmistakable this is as a SMT spin-off. In fact, the game even includes some utilities that can be drawn to other RPG series such as Final Fantasy (the mantra system that the game employes to help the characters learn new skills has a slight similarity to FF6's esper system). Taking these already used mechanics, Atlus has intertwined them togother in such a fashion (and mixed in a puzzling but very good storyline)that makes the gamer wanting even more as the credits come to a close. And that is just where it begins, because this game also takes an interesting step by having a direct follow up sequil!

Digital Devil Saga's storyline kicks off in the middle of a war that is taking place in a strange post apopcalyptic version of earth called "The Junkyard". Tribes duke it out in order for one to conquor all the other ones to appease the ruling "Karma Temple", which promises to deliver the victorious tribe to a place called Nirvana. Things take a turn for the weirder though, and questions begin to arise all over the place when two tribes (one of which is the tribe lead by the character you will be playing as) discover a bizzare object that sets off an explosion, releasing a virus that causes everyone in the Junkyard to have the ability to transform into a demon... as well as have an insatiable hunger that must be kept in check.
Yes, the game employes canibalism as a pivitol mechanism, you could say, but it does it in such a fashion that you won't even think twice when it's time to devour a helpless enemy who you've slaved away at.

The music of SMT:DDS is really good. Just as it's "father game" SMT: N, DDS merges forms of fast paced hard rock with techno, creating a wonderful gaming soundtrack. And it is not limited to only that, as there are also well composed soft pieces for the dramatic moments, and a couple vocal tracks to seal the deal. The sound effects are also very well managed, as they all capture the feel of battle, and help with the addictive manner of slicing an enemy in half and reaping the exp/ap awards. And let's not forget about the voice acting, which is a triumph for SMT here, as it helps add much depth to the game.

Another great feature that DDS has is the plethoria of optional bosses you have to conquor, adding more hours to your gameplay. True, these optional bosses probably will not boost it by much (supposidly the average time for covering the whole game is only about 40-50 hours), but it will leave the gamer satisfied much more, especaly after they duke it out with the ultra difficult boss that they can only encounter on their second play through!

In the end, DDS has it all, despite being a little short on game length. It does have enough loose ends though and potential though that allows the gamer to look immensly towards it's sequil, which is shaping up rather well as of this writing (8/9/05).


Finally, this franchise is making it to America!   September 4, 2006
David Roth
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Digital Devil Saga is another entry into the MegaTen franchise which has been going strong for over 20 years. Amazingly it is only the fourth or so game to be released in America (being beaten out by the Persona games and Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne). This is a member of one of the top franchises in video game history and 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, and everyone has been rendered virtually emotionless (kinda like Equilibrium for anyone familiar with that movie). All the worlds inhabitants have been divided into six tribes that are waging war to becoming the controllers of the Junkyard, thus earning the right to ascend to Nirvana. During a battle between the Embryon (your tribe) and 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 to control the transformation into demons and the hunger that coincides with it. Shortly thereafter a new order is given to the tribes from the high council in charge of the Junkyard, instead of beating the enemy tribes you must now devour your enemy and satisfy the hunger growing within.

The game plays like a top notch RPG, however it takes a bit more strategy as those used to just mashing on the attack button will be overwhelmed and find the game amazingly difficult. This is because the battle system rewards attacking an enemies weakness and condemns playing to 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 to 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 and wipe you out if you aren't careful.

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

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

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

The music is also very good. I actually found myself going to the same location before saving and quiting (as long as I wasn't in a dungeon) just to 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 and in my opinion was one of the top 3 to be released. The final composition of every element coming together provides a very satisfying and rewarding gaming experience and I recommend this game above pretty much every other major RPG I own (including Final Fantasy's 7 and up). Get this game, you won't be disappointed.