no entiendo por qué Digital Devil Saga tiene una calificación tan alta en esta página... digo, no es una basura, pero tampoco es como que destaque en algo...

su historia no es nada del otro mundo y llega un punto donde deja de tener sentido y se siente como si le faltaran partes a la historia en medio, es sumamente corto, la dificultad es un chiste (cuando el rng no hace que el enemigo tenga 8 turnos seguidos o te oneshote apenas empieza el combate), no hay un sistema de fusiones lo cual no es malo per se, pero hace que la experiencia sea más lineal aunque tengas un árbol de habilidades ya que igual es demasiado lineal, no hay ningún tema de su ost que destaque, sus personajes son interesantes pero tienen casi nulo desarrollo real, etc...

aun con todo eso, es un juego que recomendaría jugar para todos esos que solo han tocado Persona 4, 5 o Reload y que quieren jugar un SMT debido a siento que se sentirán cómodos empezando por este juego a comparación de otros como Nocturne los cuales puede que les resulte estresante y frustrante por el tema de la dificultad.

por cierto, tiene un parche undub, háganse un favor y úsenlo porque la versión occidental solo tiene el asqueroso doblaje en inglés.

Y'know - whenever Atlus do anything SMT, god quite literally flips a coin. It can be modern classics like P3FES/P5R, and legitimately underrated titles like Soul Hackers 2 and SMTIVa... or it can be pig slop like SMTV and Persona 4.

But even with that said, after around 50 hours here... I don't know how you make a game as bad as this. I really don't.

I don't generally write reviews for this site (hell, if I wasn't short on time today, this would be a Substack article on one specific aspect like SMTV's (as I called it) 'dyslexic' alignment system). But hey, I feel like a change.

Gameplay:
WOULD be standard SMT fare (sans the whole transforming into a customisable demon thing) if the in-game mantra economy wasn't completely bollocked (good shit like Elemental resists will set you back around 700k in in-game money, and while you do get sellable cores, it's not something you often come across). Other characters are stuck grinding out weaker mantras just to kill time.

As for the dungeon design... oh Christ all-bloody-MIGHTY, the dungeon design. Too many gimmicks, and the backtracking makes me want to get caught in a NATO-Russia nuke strike on a count of an encounter rate that will not leave you alone. Say what you will about Xenogears and Saga 1 having similar(ish) issues, at least their combat systems allowed you to get in and get out quickly (especially Deathblows). Oh, and the difficulty curve is either Mudo spammers going 'better pick the right side of this weighted coin, ya' brummy pillock!' or a complete steamroll on your end - it's whatever the game feels like, and there's no consistency. Sure, you have options, but that's in the same way that Multi-billionaires have money, you're either on autopilot (not auto-battle, although the game occasionally has that problem too), or you're getting Stoned (looking at you, Jatayu!).

Story:
Any AoT fans familiar with Squad Levi? Well this is a Squad L, let me explain... if I could because NOTHING HAPPENS.

Long and short of it is 'there's an egg that gives your tribes demon powers, you get fucked around by them for a bit, and then some Woman in a white robe claiming to be your restraint check's mum shows up out of basically nowhere'. There's scarcely what I'd call any worldbuilding (on a count of precious little dialogue), Heat and Argilla are the worst on a count of going into the personal Agency and Accountability test wanting to flunk it (no, cautionary tales don't count here) and everyone else is just kinda... there (except Cielo, he's kinda cool ig).

EDIT: I should add that Lupa is a microcosm of the 'Squad Levi' comparison. He seemed fine for a while, but then Cerberus goes out with naria wimper. To paraphrase a quote from Blizzic 'It's not the death of someone you care about, it's the death of the potential to care about them'.

OST:
I heard DDS2's OST is kinda cool! But that doesn't count for DDS1... tonally inappropriate at worst, and repetitive and rather droning even at it's most benign. Not much to say here.

Graphics:
The 'point' of the Junkyard aside, it looks like benefits street in Bolton, and that is NOT a complement. Constant clipping, janky animations, low-health animations for enemies just aren't there for some reason (?)... oh, and this is the first time a PS2 game has ever crashed on me running off FreeMCBoot and a respective Hard Drive, so... take that for what you will. Shame, the game runs OK otherwise.

But... Oh, look at the time, got places to be. Hoping DDS2 is better than this, but I'm tampering my expectations.

This was truly a unique experience, I've never played anything like it. From the very start hearing this almost light breakcore beat with entrancing vocals while scenes are carnage, birth, and longing are shown immediately brought me in. I love games that start immediately in the action and start your journey from there giving you the opportunity to fill in the blanks yourself. One thing this game does exceptionally well is the tasteful lack of explanation for the world. You simply exist in it and follow it's rules, you have no reason to ask why. You aren't told the backstories and motivations for each character because that's something you need to gather yourself by watching them throughout the story, the game doesn't treat you like you're stupid. Of course this is all for narrative reasons but still it's nice. The story itself is very interesting and quite metaphorical as is expected with SMT or SMT adjacent games. The whole atmosphere is great, the visuals are expertly stylized with Kaneko's art and the environments are desolate when desired and intricate when needed. The music as well, my god. I heard that this was the first game where they told Shoji Meguro that he could compose whatever he'd like and honestly I believe it because the music is so raw and ethereal and driven it really feels like it came from the soul. The characters were great, I especially liked Argilla and her Atma Avatar is very interesting. Another thing that really amplifies the atmosphere and the identity of this is the significant and deep Hindu influences, there's so much to learn and explore if you dive into the religion and mythology and connect it with the game. I did find a few scenes to fall a little flat with some wonky character writing and voice acting but that doesn't detract much from the overall experience and how I viewed the characters. That ending was certainly unexpected but welcome because I can't wait to play the sequel.

When I first heard about it, I thought it was gonna be a good game that wouldn't leave that much of an impact, something really good maybe, but not that impactful.
I was far more excited to play Nocturne and the Raidou games.
I played it first because Nocturne didn't click much and seemed people prefered this over Raidou.
By the time I was done with this game, I didn't know what to say or even think, even being the first part of a story, this game left such an impact on what was building, and what it achieved at that point, between its combat, dungeon exploration, customization, characters, story, atmosphere, looks, OST, everything just came in to make what is the first half of my favorite game of all time, and a work of art that helped me so much at one of the worst points of my life.
Serph, Argilla, Heat, Gale, Cielo and Sera are all an incredible cast with so much development and amazing dynamics, even with the low amount of time they have for cutscenes, they make the most out of it, and flesh them out so well.
The antagonists all do their job so well, be it characters like Harley who just serve to introduce the conflict, Bat, Mik and Varin who are very antagonistic, and Jinana & Lupa who are tragic in contrast, every character is treated so well and do their job superbly, even with not that much screentime.
The set up of the mysteries of this game are superb, a lot of stuff sticks, and I love how its only on the halfway point here where it starts to really set in just how much is off on it, and the hooks for DDS2 show (specially with Angel).
This is a PS2 game, and it has aged incredibly well.
Out of all the PS2 atlus games, this one is the best looking one, and its not even close, SPECIALLY on the animation and direction of the cutscenes, they nailed it so well with the motion and direction, its absolutely insane.
Shoji Meguro brought his SSS game for the composition of this game, seriously, alongside DDS 2, this is my favorite OST for any game ever.
The dungeon design is masterful, so many great gimmicks and no dungeon is annoying or frustrating, every single one has memorable moments and compelling puzzles when they do.
And omg the combat.
3 party members that have the abilities of the protag AND ALL NEED TO DIE FOR A GAME OVER is SO good I love it.
It adds tension while also feeling fair, and imo reduces chances of bullshit killing you.
The mantra system allows for so much customization as long as you have money.
Literally slap any skill on any character however you want, its top tier.
And the difficulty is just right, its not too hard, but you gotta think to get through it.
This is pure gushing cause this game means so much to me.
It is a complete masterpiece and nothing has impacted me so much like this and its sequel.
Absolutely masterful experience, and deserves to be experienced at least once.
Trust me, this game goes a lot of places, and does so many incredible things.
Its a must play.

REND
SLAUGHTER
DEVOUR YOUR ENEMIES
THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO ESCAPE YOUR HUNGER WARRIORS OF PURGATORY



Ain't got much to say other than this is still my 2nd favorite megaten game an im glad i finally got my self a physical copy an did this replay
Edit: K maybe i do have a bit to say at least in terms of how well dds 1 does it's sorta melancholy atmosphere using the really a muted color palette compared to most of the ps2 megaten games it's music also amplifies (i think this the right word to use) it's atmosphere with the constant guitar twang i guess would be the right way in describing it making it almost seem like the guitar is crying (tho granted a lot of shoji meguros ps2 megaten tracks that use a guitar sound like that) that's all i got to say really play the game if you haven't is a damn good one

A pretty fun time... interesting and freaky environments, brilliant motifs... but it's bogged down by a quite frankly outrageous random encounter rate, and a tedious skill tree that requires way too much grinding for enjoyment. I also don't like that you can't preview all of the skills in the tree.

Aside from that, the press turn system rules as always, and despite the grindy aspect of the Mantra system, this game's skill customization system is probably my favorite out of all the Megaten games I've played. There's no limit to the skills you can learn, and you can mess around with the set-ups to your heart's content.

I'm definitely looking forward to playing the sequel, whenever I get around to getting it.

Digital Devil Saga doesn't reach the mechanical or narrative heights of other Shin Megami Tensei games, but it's a super consistently enjoyable game. I adore the game's early 2000s techno aesthetic, which is bolstered by the game's excellent soundtrack which is some of Shoji Meguro's best work.

I'm not sure what it is, though, but I'm not really sold on playing a second game's worth of Digital Devil Saga. I feel like I've already gotten what I want out of the duology despite only playing the first entry. I liked the narrative and characters well enough, but they didn't really capture my interest beyond a simple "oh, this is cool". I'll get around to playing it one day, though.

Also, the English opening is dope as fuck.

Mantra grinding keeps this game from being something truly special, but damn if it still isn't a great game. While the tone felt decidedly SMT, especially having just come from Nocturne, the themes and symbolism in this game felt different enough to give it a "fresh" feeling when compared to other SMT games. The aesthetics and presentation were great (Kaneko designs are incredible), and while the gameplay felt a little simplified without demon fusions it was still interesting enough to play and would make for a great entry point into the series. Some optional boss slog really exposed the weakness of grinding in the aforementioned mantra system, but I still ended up having a good time with this one and would recommend giving it a try.

Among all the different approaches Atlus has had to Megami Tensei since 1987, Digital Devil Saga has to be the most interesting one, it already differentiates itself from the mainline games heavily and builds its own identity by focusing the teological themes and references on Hinduism, everything from the architecture, names to even in-game systems draw heavy inspirations from those beliefs, and the more well-versed you are on that, the more meaning Digital Devil Saga will have, the game makes really intelligent parallels and references to Hindu religions.

But a game can't live on just symbolism, and it's in the gameplay part that Digital Devil Saga starts to show its flaws, they tried a different take on levelling and demon summoning, here, you no longer fuse and summon different demons, but instead, each party member has a set entity they can transform into, which in and off itself is a interesting idea, but the effect it had on levelling up is massively negative, because you no longer change demons (or magatamas) they had to implement a new system for skill learning, or the game would become very staple and with little variety if you could only learn pre-set skills to those entities, and this system comes in the form of Mantras, which is kinda like the magatama system from Nocturne, as in both revolve around different "equipment" that you can equip on the human characters and each one will have a type of skills for the player to learn while they level up, the problem is: in DDS, it becomes very grindy, especially if you want to defeat the optional bosses, in Nocturne, you still needed to grind if you wanted a specific skill, but as long as you had a general idea of how you wanted to build the Demi-Fiend you could just equip Magatamas that teach the types of skills you needed and have almost no need to grind, but in this game, if you want to make every party member you use somewhat decently strong, you must grind different mantras for each skill you want, and it quickly becomes tiresome.

The other major gameplay factor in Megami Tensei games are the dungeons, and i like the ones present here, they aren't as complex as the ones in Strange Journey or as trap-filled as the ones in Nocturne, instead, they have a more puzzley approach, and are pretty well thought out, i understand the criticisms some have towards them, but i personally like it.

It's hard to write about only DDS1's story without taking the second game into consideration, since everything seen here is just build up and character development for the REAL events that take place in the sequel, but for what it does, the world building is quite interesting, you get to see a bit of each faction of the Junkyard and how they operate, and the characters, both main and side, are very good and don't take long to capture your interest, it's a good story as it is, but i don't like the idea of making a whole game just to build up the sequel.

The soundtrack here (as usual in Atlus games) is amazing, super atmosferic and distinct, i think this duology's OST might be my favorite works from Shoji Meguro, and that's saying a lot, considering i really like most of his music, the visuals are also very good for the PS2 and the art direction is one of the best in gaming.

Overall, Digital Devil Saga is a solid game and a respectable attempt at a new take on Megami Tensei, even if it has major flaws, it's still an experience i enjoyed a lot, my rating is a 4/5 for the reasons i mentioned above, but i can easily see it being a 4.5 or even a 5.