Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga
Score: 95% ESRB: Teen Publisher: Atlus Developer: Atlus Media: DVD/1 Players: 1 Genre: RPG
Graphics & Sound: Releasing an RPG that doesn’t contain the words “Final” or “Fantasy” is a tricky sale these days. In a market that is wholly driven by consumers with a “TV told me to buy it” mentality, it’s hard for more niche games to really sell well regardless of how good they are. Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga is a game that hasn’t really gotten the mainstream consumer attention it deserves, but turns out to be better than a majority of the more well-known RPGs on the market. Visually, Digital Devil Saga is a true work of art. The art style is very reminiscent of MTV’s CGI “Spider-Man” series, only a little lighter and not as vibrant. The color pallet features mostly muted grays and other light colors, which really help to give the game its unique feel. More emphasis is put on the artistic look rather than matching realism, resulting in less detailed environments. Still, they get the game’s mood across, and there’s very little to complain about unless you’re someone who can’t deal with less-than-realistic visuals. Unlike the last Shin Megami Tensei game released in the states, Nocturne, which had a rough go in the audio department, Digital Devil Saga sports both voice and a good soundtrack. Not only are there voices, but the voice work is really good to boot. The soundtrack, which has a sort of ethereal rock vibe running thought it, really fits with the game’s overall style and is something that I personally wouldn’t mind adding to my collection of game soundtracks.
Gameplay: Like Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga presents a story that isn’t your typical RPG fare. The initial premise concerns warring tribes who are at a stalemate. During one such battle between your tribe, the Embryons, and the Vanguards, a strange meteorite strikes the world. Upon impact, the meteor unleashes a strange magic which transforms the tribe members into demons. You soon learn that all of the tribes have been cursed with this power and that it plays into a much larger plot set forth by Angel, a god who has initiated what amounts to something of a holy war between the tribes. The ultimate prize is entrance into Nirvana. The key to entry involves devouring the rival tribes and finding a mysterious black-haired girl named Sera who showed up shortly after the meteor crash. From the story perspective, DDS is stellar and engaging enough on its own that you’ll want to keep playing even when the action becomes a little routine. The core of the story revolves around the black-haired girl, Sera, and her role in the “curse” that has inflicted the tribes. The characters also have to come to terms with their own transformations and what it causes them to become. Some enjoy the power and embrace it without hesitation, while others reject it at every turn. From a gameplay standpoint, DDS is more of an old-school entry than recent games that try to add more of a real-time or action-based twist. Locations are broken up into smaller areas, all placed on the map. Traveling between the locations is as easy as choosing it from a menu list, removing the tedious travel time between areas found in other RPGs. As the story progresses, you unlock new areas to explore or have the chance to return to previously visited areas. While in each area, you stumble across some triggered story sequences and random encounters – things that should be very familiar ground by now. The normal story quest is complemented by Field-Hunt mini-games. These are areas that open on the world map and, upon entry, allow you to chase down three entities that appear. After capturing all three, you can then fight a special boss who, upon defeat, awards you with a nice reward of Atama Points (A.P.) that goes towards the purchase of skills. The catch to field hunts is that the bosses are all keyed to certain elements and are weak to only one attack. Also, field hunt difficulty is geared towards your current level, so the higher your level, the more the difficulty.
Difficulty: How well you fare in Digital Devil Saga revolves around understanding the game’s twists on already established mechanics. Planning out which Mantras your party members obtain is the first big obstacle since it can really determine how well you fare in combat. Then there’s actual combat, which requires you to stay alert as to what is going on not only one turn ago, but what is likely to happen during the next turn. As far as the actual game mechanics go, the game features a smooth learning curve that gradually gets more difficult as you progress. The game also shows a nice amount of restraint and patience in slowly getting you comfortable with the game systems.
Game Mechanics: Digital Devil Saga uses many of the familiar systems found in other RPGs, as well as some variations on those from other Shin Megami Tensei games. Characters level in two ways: experience gains and devouring enemies. Normal experience games level your character’s physical form, granting them more hit points and other stat upgrades. You’re given very little choice in how your party member’s physical forms develop, but you are allowed to assign points to your own character’s stats, adding a slight bit of customization to the mix. Devouring your enemies grants you experience via Atama Points that go towards improving your abilities, which are called Mantras. As you accumulate A.P., you can spend them on abilities for your party. Here you’re given the chance to grow your party how you see fit rather than following preordained methods. This system also requires a bit of planning since the changes are permanent. It’s usually best to plan which roles your party members will take since it will save you numerous headaches down the road, not to mention it will save you from wasting A.P. The system should be familiar to anyone who played Nocturne since it uses the same general concepts as Magatama ingestion, only with a few modifications. The most welcome of these changes is that you are allowed to keep all of your abilities this time instead of having to drop one to make room for another. Combat plays out in a familiar turn-based fashion, but with a slight twist. Dubbed the Press System, each side takes turns in combat, unleashing various attacks and spells until one side emerges victorious. Where the system differs is that if you attack your opponent with something it is strong against or miss completely, you end up losing an attack. If you’re able to score a critical attack, however, you gain an extra attack. This opens up the possibility of attack combos and even killing an enemy before it can strike back. The system forces you to pay attention to what is going on during battles and use strategy. An enemy might be weak against fire, but if they cast a fire protection spell the previous turn and you tear in with fire spells, you’ve just lost a turn. Another part of the Press System involves devouring your opponents. After scoring a few critical hits on opponents, they may run away. In this event, you have access to a set of Hunt skills to eat your opponent, which ends up giving you more A.P, allowing you to learn more skills quickly. Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga is a game that is sure to please any RPG fan. The game is familiar enough that you can jump right in and play, while still offering enough of a change that you won’t get that déjà vu feeling. Toss in a phenomenal, engaging story, and you’ve got one of the year’s best RPGs.
-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker
MLB Baseball 2006 MVP Baseball 2005