Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

THE GOOD:

Keeps you wondering what's happening from the very start

Very customizable characters

Plenty of side quests to do

Sets up very well for the sequel

Quite challenging

THE BAD:

Could have used more characterization and cut scenes

SUMMARY:
I really wasn't expecting much when I started playing the game but it turned out to be one of the best RPGs I've played for a while, and I instantly felt the need to play the sequel.

Plot:
The Junkyard; Picture a dark world void of vegetation and sunlight, with six tribes with demonic powers forced to battle to the death and consume the dead in order to escape the hell that they live in. Throw a mysterious girl falling from the sky, who holds all the answers, and you have Digital Devil Saga. The story follows the journey of the Embyon tribe, and its leader Serph, as they try to unravel the mystery surrounding...

The Shin Megami Tensei series isn't all that well known to the mainstream gamers of the United States or any other country outside of Japan. In fact, if you were to ask anyone to name one RPG franchise, the most likely response you would get would be "Final Fantasy". While no one can deny that the Final Fantasy series is one of the most popular RPG franchises, if not the most popular, the Shin Megami Tensei can hold its own in a conversation with Final Fantasy in it. To be honest, I had never even heard of the Shin Megami Tensei series myself until Digital Devil Saga was pointed out to me. True that it may be a spinoff to the series, I was quite pleased with Digital Devil Saga and what it brought.

Digital Devil Saga follows the story and soap opera of a world called the Junkyard. There are six different tribes: Maribel, Solids, Vanguards, Brutes, Wolves, and the Embryon. Each of these tribes are fighting each other, a war if you will, in order to leave the hellish...

THE GOOD:
Turn based RPG
Enemies are HARD
Lots of skills,magic and mantras
OMG you're in Hell...

THE BAD:
Has that same battle turns gameplay as nocturne
Characters leaving and entering the party

SUMMARY:
Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga is the first part of the Digital Devil...saga... Anyway like all games made by Atlus, that too is a little... let's say too open about stuff... It involves demons, Hell, Satan and other stuff some people wouldn't like too see or play a game with.

Story:
You are in Hell (a great start, don't you think?), in there a war is always going on
between tribes and supposedly, the one who kills all other tribes, goes to "Nirvana"
(Buddhist term for "complete happiness") when, in a battle with the Vanguards (there are no forests so where *in* the *Hell* did they get this name from?) something of unknown origin is found and you get orders to remove it from...

Following in the footsteps of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, the first in the series to make it out of Japan, spin-off Digital Devil Saga is characterized by the same gritty, sinister style and marked departures from the usual RPG faire. The game's overall feel is embodied by its graphical style: While not particularly detailed or realistic, the Junkyard's gloomy grayscale color palette and primitive lines draws the player into a stark yet breathtaking environment, inhabited by highly stylized character models and demons ripped from the pages of global mythology (although the Demonic Compendium is gone, so most will never notice that nice touch of religious iconography). The surroundings are nicely complimented by an atypical rock and blues-inspired soundtrack, included free with purchase. The popular title track, 'Danger' by Etro Anime, is the only disruptive element, with the rest blending together in a wonderful sense of cohesion without becoming repetitive.

The overall...