Shaping up to be one of my favorite SMT story of all time, the idea to have you and your party turn into demons is refreshing and has huge plot significance which scores extra points with me.
mfw dormina to calm death combo
i was lit ablaze by the prospect of charting my very own strange journey through smt’s vast library following iv — i came in very hungry. and i left very drained. smt really knows how to drag on and on and on and on and generally ruin a good time
This game fucks. Genuinely one of the best I’ve ever played. It only gets more interesting as the story progresses, I like the gameplay, and I look forward to playing the second game! You can tell the devs really cared down to small details. Aside from being pathetically easy to please when it comes to Serph, as all my friends know, Gale has become one of my favorites!
My first play through was casual but the second was much more in depth, i fought almost every optional boss in the game minus Huang-Long. This and the second game are probably the peak of megaten on the PS2. Even though nocturne and DDS1 were only a year or two apart, nocturne feels 15 years older in comparison. It's a really interesting creative work that doesn't get the attention it deserves for some reason when I would say that it's more palatable for modern RPG or JRPG players these days than nocturne, which got a "full" HD remaster not so long ago. You can absolutely power though every dungeon in this game and solve every puzzle yourself without a guide, when in noctutne it just confuses me how anybody was supposed to figure half of them out in the first place. This game is probably tied with the second one for my favourite game of all time and I'd love to be able to play it in actual HD some day.
SMT 3 Nocturne, but good!
They have hella grind in this game and one of the most mind-numbing final dungeons I've ever seen. The battles are really fun, but I feel like each dungeon goes on like 30-45 minutes too long from the encounters/grinding you'll probably have to do if you want a certain skill/spell. I wasn't really into a lot of the music, but I do think it's objectively good and fits the tone and atmosphere of the world. I think the world and atmosphere are the real reason you'd want to play DDS. From the start, I wanted to figure out what was happening in the world and ended up being captivated by the cast. There's going to be at least 1 character in the party you'll love by the end of the game (PROBABLY GALE BUT HEAT IS BETTER).
I'm torn between a 6 or 7 out of 10 so we'll call this one a 7. I'm not sure if I want to play the sequel, but I had a good time with this one. Joke about comprehending goes here #HEATSWEEP
I'm torn between a 6 or 7 out of 10 so we'll call this one a 7. I'm not sure if I want to play the sequel, but I had a good time with this one. Joke about comprehending goes here #HEATSWEEP
This review contains spoilers
An awesome fucking game. Really dope atmosphere with a really creative concept. The game features a cast of characters you grow pretty attached to as they slowly gain their emotions and learn to be human. My personal favorite is Gale who starts off as the human equivalent of binary code to becoming a pseudo-leader in the sequel. The press turn system is always a welcome addition and I really loved how the mantra system worked. Reminds me a bit of FFX's sphere grids. I love when games give you on the fly customization. I also had a blast with the postgame content. Bringing Demi-Fiend down was a special type of euphoria.
solia ser mi juego de la franquicia favorito, ya no lo es pero pelea el segundo mejor
the karma temple is the biggest piece of dogshit
i think this game has some of the most annoying dungeon and boss designs, but i have no stance to judge it because i love classic smt dungeon crawlers that are arguably worse. also serph sucks and is boring. but aside from the bonus content it's also a pretty damn easy game so again im not complaining
what i will say is this is some of the coolest storytelling ever, it has some crazy emotional moments. this buddhist matrix shit is serious, im invested.
what i will say is this is some of the coolest storytelling ever, it has some crazy emotional moments. this buddhist matrix shit is serious, im invested.
I think this game is kinda overrated, dont get me wrong it's decent but it's such a slog
let's get serphy
Even tho this game just establishes the questions for the sequel to answer, I’ve enjoyed it VERY much.
The Press and Turn combat system is one of my favs of all time and the hunting is fun.
I’ve only wished for Serph to be a bit more talkative, as the rest are so charismatic, but is a trope in this kind of game, so its not a big deal.
Cant wait to see what DDS2 has in store for me!
The Press and Turn combat system is one of my favs of all time and the hunting is fun.
I’ve only wished for Serph to be a bit more talkative, as the rest are so charismatic, but is a trope in this kind of game, so its not a big deal.
Cant wait to see what DDS2 has in store for me!
fun game with cool characters
This review contains spoilers
SMT: DDS threw some light upon some existential thoughts I have had all my life.
Played this one after it's sequel.
For me this showed how a good JRPG can be. Excelent combat mechanics. E.g. exploiting enemy weakness doesn't give excessive advantage. It cost MP with cost gold to restore. And gold is also used to buy skills that you have to train before being able to use.
Bosses are challenging.
The story is :cheff_kiss:.
And the soundtrack fits really well with the mood of the game.
Spoilers:
Gale's awakening is one of my most precious gaming moments.
Played this one after it's sequel.
For me this showed how a good JRPG can be. Excelent combat mechanics. E.g. exploiting enemy weakness doesn't give excessive advantage. It cost MP with cost gold to restore. And gold is also used to buy skills that you have to train before being able to use.
Bosses are challenging.
The story is :cheff_kiss:.
And the soundtrack fits really well with the mood of the game.
Spoilers:
Gale's awakening is one of my most precious gaming moments.
I don't think I've ever seen a game TRY to make you hate it. Its full of BS, Psycho Rage, Panic, Stone, Random Elemental Skills no one has heard of, Invisible Bosses, Calm Sleep, bosses spamming Mudo skill 6 times in a row, etc. there are so many mechanics that are near impossible to maneuver and avoid it can make the game extremely frustrating in its difficulty. But behind that makes it a fun game both in difficulty sense and other aspects. While it can be frustrating, finding different strategies and changing movesets on the fly was something that I appreciated and something new to me (I think unless im forgetting another game I've played does that) and added a new degree to it. The story set up pretty nicely, would've liked a little more interaction between the group of 5/6 main cast but what was there was fine and sequel seems it could be something more. Serph was an alright silent protagonist, I think there's a lot more that could've been done with him cuz he does feel a bit bland or underwhelming
Replayed this game awhile back and it still is one of my fav SMT titles ever. I always come back for the embryon and their character arcs. Also best SMT soundtrack imo especially because I loved Danger by Etro Anime so much.
The theme of wild instinct taking over human morals is so cool to me. I really appreciate that with the introduction of their demonic abilities their emotions also brings an instability within the characters. Seeing a world where 'culture' doesn't exist and watching the characters experience all of these emotions was really intriguing.
Something I've always enjoyed about SMT is that it's the first game franchise I've seen that's handled morality choices in a way that isn't corny or overplayed. Your first party members being Heat and Argilla serve as the duality of differing morals within the game; Heat believing in adaptability in order of survival whereas Argilla believes in the chance to regain humanity without sacrificing their morals and comrades. It would be easy for them to be oversimplified as good vs. evil but you can see their actual intentions with dignity.
Gameplay wise, I really enjoyed having your party BE the demons and utilize their abilities to kill off your enemies. I especially loved the meta of the hunger mechanic in battles and how your party goes into a berserk status making it easier to mow down your enemies and the chance to instantly 'devour' demons if they have the 'fear' status.
I also thought DDS had the coolest visual design and background setting ever from SMT, just because I really enjoyed the crossover of futuristic cyber elements and traditional buddhist imagery and architecture. I think kaneko has always been successful in using unconventional inspirations to create original 'cyber' designs.
The theme of wild instinct taking over human morals is so cool to me. I really appreciate that with the introduction of their demonic abilities their emotions also brings an instability within the characters. Seeing a world where 'culture' doesn't exist and watching the characters experience all of these emotions was really intriguing.
Something I've always enjoyed about SMT is that it's the first game franchise I've seen that's handled morality choices in a way that isn't corny or overplayed. Your first party members being Heat and Argilla serve as the duality of differing morals within the game; Heat believing in adaptability in order of survival whereas Argilla believes in the chance to regain humanity without sacrificing their morals and comrades. It would be easy for them to be oversimplified as good vs. evil but you can see their actual intentions with dignity.
Gameplay wise, I really enjoyed having your party BE the demons and utilize their abilities to kill off your enemies. I especially loved the meta of the hunger mechanic in battles and how your party goes into a berserk status making it easier to mow down your enemies and the chance to instantly 'devour' demons if they have the 'fear' status.
I also thought DDS had the coolest visual design and background setting ever from SMT, just because I really enjoyed the crossover of futuristic cyber elements and traditional buddhist imagery and architecture. I think kaneko has always been successful in using unconventional inspirations to create original 'cyber' designs.
Good first part. Still holds up well thanks to its art style and quick pace. Gameplay in dungeons is more about picking the right battles and conserving resources than bruteforcing your way through and bosses are a bit gimmicky but at least make you think and strategize.
Character progression is not the most fun though. The mantra system is more an illusion of freedom and only being able to decide attributes for your main character is a weird choice as well.
Onward to part II.
Character progression is not the most fun though. The mantra system is more an illusion of freedom and only being able to decide attributes for your main character is a weird choice as well.
Onward to part II.
This review contains spoilers
Digital Devil Saga 1 is the first of the Digital Devil Saga duology. Released after SMT: Nocturne, DDS 1 has a heavier emphasis on story and you do not use demons like you do in Nocturne. Since I beaten SMT: Nocturne before joining Backloggd, I will give quick thoughts on that game: That game is hard as fuck, but good. I love the Press Turn system, music, and gameplay. The story is just there. DDS 1 shares many of those things I mentioned for Nocturne, but there is a heavier emphasis on the story.
DDS 1’s story is straightforward and I thought it was fine. Nothing spectacular, but I do like the character’s personalities and how they are in the story. The delivery from the characters in the English dub is hit-or-miss. There are familiar names in the English cast if you have watched English dubs of anime, but something was off about their deliveries here.
The game uses the Press Turn system from Nocturne, except there is no need to negotiate with demons or fuse in this game. You actually turn into a demon. To get new skills, you need to buy mantras and level them up with Atma Points. Once you max out that mantra, you get the skills. The cool thing about DDS is that every character can learn the same mantra and there are a ton of them. Fire, earth, wind, lightning, ice, healing, support, there are tons of mantras you can equip to your characters, adding replay value. My final party consisted of Gael for wind magic, buffs, and debuffs; Serph having fire, lighting, and ice coverage; and Argilla having earth, sometimes lighting and ice magic, but mainly a healer for the team.
However, you need to do a ton of grinding to get to higher levels and the best mantra and that is one criticism I have with DDS 1. Beginning and late game are nightmarish for leveling up your characters and their mantras. For the love of god, make sure you have good hunting skills equipped and have the Iron Stomach on when grinding for Atmas Points. A way to gain more Atma Points is to use hunting skills when your enemy is in low health or frightened. You know when an enemy is low on health when the damage number they take is red. The problem is they must be the final blow when devouring. If you devour them and they do not die, you DO NOT get the additional Atma Points. There is also a chance where you can get a stomach ache if you devour too much and when that happens, you do not get any Atma Points. Please, have the Iron Stomach ability equipped. Also, make sure to have Atma Bonus and AP Divide equipped on your characters, so the grind would not be as tedious.
The dungeons you travel in the game are decent. Some puzzles might need more thinking to do and there is nothing wrong with looking up what to do. Trust me, I got stuck in the final dungeon for longer than I needed to be. The encounter rate can be a problem and there were numerous times where I took like 2 steps and got ambushed.
Oh, did I mention that your human forms suck? There are times where you will be in your human forms instead of your demon forms and it is miserable. Your attacks are weak. If that happens, do not bother transforming because it wastes a turn. Run away from battle.
The game still holds up well graphically and the music is good. I love the opening song.
Digital Devil Saga 1 is a good first part of the DDS duology. However, it can be hard to recommend because of the grinding. I get RPGs tend to be grindy. The RPG genre is one of my favorite game genres, but even I can get annoyed at how tedious it can get. Some games I do not mind the occasional grind. For DDS 1, you pretty need to grind especially late game if you want to survive. If you can tolerate that, you got yourself another good Atlus game. I thought the game was good and I wonder how much DDS 2 will improve when I get to it.
DDS 1’s story is straightforward and I thought it was fine. Nothing spectacular, but I do like the character’s personalities and how they are in the story. The delivery from the characters in the English dub is hit-or-miss. There are familiar names in the English cast if you have watched English dubs of anime, but something was off about their deliveries here.
The game uses the Press Turn system from Nocturne, except there is no need to negotiate with demons or fuse in this game. You actually turn into a demon. To get new skills, you need to buy mantras and level them up with Atma Points. Once you max out that mantra, you get the skills. The cool thing about DDS is that every character can learn the same mantra and there are a ton of them. Fire, earth, wind, lightning, ice, healing, support, there are tons of mantras you can equip to your characters, adding replay value. My final party consisted of Gael for wind magic, buffs, and debuffs; Serph having fire, lighting, and ice coverage; and Argilla having earth, sometimes lighting and ice magic, but mainly a healer for the team.
However, you need to do a ton of grinding to get to higher levels and the best mantra and that is one criticism I have with DDS 1. Beginning and late game are nightmarish for leveling up your characters and their mantras. For the love of god, make sure you have good hunting skills equipped and have the Iron Stomach on when grinding for Atmas Points. A way to gain more Atma Points is to use hunting skills when your enemy is in low health or frightened. You know when an enemy is low on health when the damage number they take is red. The problem is they must be the final blow when devouring. If you devour them and they do not die, you DO NOT get the additional Atma Points. There is also a chance where you can get a stomach ache if you devour too much and when that happens, you do not get any Atma Points. Please, have the Iron Stomach ability equipped. Also, make sure to have Atma Bonus and AP Divide equipped on your characters, so the grind would not be as tedious.
The dungeons you travel in the game are decent. Some puzzles might need more thinking to do and there is nothing wrong with looking up what to do. Trust me, I got stuck in the final dungeon for longer than I needed to be. The encounter rate can be a problem and there were numerous times where I took like 2 steps and got ambushed.
Oh, did I mention that your human forms suck? There are times where you will be in your human forms instead of your demon forms and it is miserable. Your attacks are weak. If that happens, do not bother transforming because it wastes a turn. Run away from battle.
The game still holds up well graphically and the music is good. I love the opening song.
Digital Devil Saga 1 is a good first part of the DDS duology. However, it can be hard to recommend because of the grinding. I get RPGs tend to be grindy. The RPG genre is one of my favorite game genres, but even I can get annoyed at how tedious it can get. Some games I do not mind the occasional grind. For DDS 1, you pretty need to grind especially late game if you want to survive. If you can tolerate that, you got yourself another good Atlus game. I thought the game was good and I wonder how much DDS 2 will improve when I get to it.
too short but otherwise mwah
This review contains spoilers
It's hard to review Digital Devil Saga as a standalone because even if the gameplay is a refined mix of persona's static party along with the customization of the standalone games. Most of it's content is in essence a opening for it's sequel. The story revolves around a battle royale between squads for leadership, and a chance to get to nirvana. However. the game leads you to believe everything they do is pointless, and it's unclear whether the relationships are important either. Does this game make me want to play the sequel? Absolutely, but unless you're told or know already. This could definitely feel like an incomplete game. The game has a great soundtrack, even if it's not as innovative as Shoji Meguro's later pieces, and the gameplay is solid. The only issue with the gameplay is with the Karma system feeling unforgiving at times. I originally played this game in the 2000's and have attempted to play through it a couple of times, only to be blockade in particular by two later bosses, and finding trouble moving to a suitable setup due to not only the high grind for later mantra's but even costs of the mantras. Overall, I still recommend the game, but I feel like I would have already finished this game and it's sequel years ago, if I just had a karma guide to stop me from being stupid and trying to use every character or always attempting to push forward in my mantra choices without knowledge of upcoming bosses.
não, só não.
IT'S PEAK
My one big gripe about this game is that it's possible to make a silent protagonist charming, but they made Serph have like zero personality...
ANYWAYS... #HEATSWEEP
ANYWAYS... #HEATSWEEP
O mundo ambíguo e suprimido de respostas de Digital Devil Saga intriga, e todo o simbolismo hinduísta e budista presente na história e lugares do jogo complementam esse processo (sendo importante ter um conhecimento sobre eles pra uma compreensão melhor do enredo, inclusive). Obviamente é cedo demais pra analisar os personagens por inteiro só com este jogo, porém gosto de como pouco a pouco eles vão mostrando suas falhas e se questionando sobre seus propósitos.
Um ponto importante que é bom ter conhecimento prévio é que este jogo é só a metade de uma história, além de ser curto (cerca de 30 horas) e, francamente, que bom que ele é assim. DDS 1 foi mecanicamente muito mais simples do que eu esperava, o que não é um problema já que é um jogo sólido, compacto ao seu tamanho, se isso aqui tivesse mais horas facilmente ficaria tedioso. E ainda tem um side content decente pra se fazer, em questão de gameplay isso definitivamente serve como um jogo solo.
Kaneko já tinha pensado anteriormente em uma mecânica de devorar adversários pra SMT 1 e resolveram encaixar isso aqui, é simples, mas estimula o jogador a ficar constantemente caçando encontros. Conseguir devorar uma grande quantidade de inimigos e ver aquela barra de Mantra subindo até o além gera doses de dopamina satisfatórias. Falando nos Mantras, eles cumprem bem seu papel, te dão a liberdade necessária pra sentir uma experiência próxima a um SMT convencional, monte a party com as skills que quiser e com as combinações que quiser, você só não terá controle dos stats (tirando o Serph). O grande problema deste sistema é o alto grind e preço dos Mantras high-level.
Field Hunts são criativos e uma boa forma de variar o gameplay, mas a execução deles é bizonha, mal são presentes durante a playthrough e ficam em áreas totalmente random. Torná-los mais presentes e acessíveis seria melhor do que serem meros spots de grindind que ficam isolados nos cantos do mapa e que eu só vou realmente usar pra grindar Mantras pros side-bosses. Algo engraçado é que o cooldown de 5 ciclo solares é meio grande então quando eu cheguei no 2° Field Hunt da última dungeon ele ainda não tava funcionando.
e receba fi o boss mais pau no cu de todos os tempos, aka demi-fiend.
Um ponto importante que é bom ter conhecimento prévio é que este jogo é só a metade de uma história, além de ser curto (cerca de 30 horas) e, francamente, que bom que ele é assim. DDS 1 foi mecanicamente muito mais simples do que eu esperava, o que não é um problema já que é um jogo sólido, compacto ao seu tamanho, se isso aqui tivesse mais horas facilmente ficaria tedioso. E ainda tem um side content decente pra se fazer, em questão de gameplay isso definitivamente serve como um jogo solo.
Kaneko já tinha pensado anteriormente em uma mecânica de devorar adversários pra SMT 1 e resolveram encaixar isso aqui, é simples, mas estimula o jogador a ficar constantemente caçando encontros. Conseguir devorar uma grande quantidade de inimigos e ver aquela barra de Mantra subindo até o além gera doses de dopamina satisfatórias. Falando nos Mantras, eles cumprem bem seu papel, te dão a liberdade necessária pra sentir uma experiência próxima a um SMT convencional, monte a party com as skills que quiser e com as combinações que quiser, você só não terá controle dos stats (tirando o Serph). O grande problema deste sistema é o alto grind e preço dos Mantras high-level.
Field Hunts são criativos e uma boa forma de variar o gameplay, mas a execução deles é bizonha, mal são presentes durante a playthrough e ficam em áreas totalmente random. Torná-los mais presentes e acessíveis seria melhor do que serem meros spots de grindind que ficam isolados nos cantos do mapa e que eu só vou realmente usar pra grindar Mantras pros side-bosses. Algo engraçado é que o cooldown de 5 ciclo solares é meio grande então quando eu cheguei no 2° Field Hunt da última dungeon ele ainda não tava funcionando.
e receba fi o boss mais pau no cu de todos os tempos, aka demi-fiend.
I've played DDS1 but not DDS2, I think the skill tree was a bit refreshing for SMT standards, it significantly relieves RNG unlike SMT: Nocturne which required you to go back in forth in the fusion menu to see what skills were being transferred post fusion.
It's hard to even call this mediocre it's just really fucking below average and just bad outside of my SMT rating system.
It's hard to even call this mediocre it's just really fucking below average and just bad outside of my SMT rating system.
forgot to log these games. i loved this more than i remembered. i actually beat a bunch of the secret bosses too because why not. i love demon fusion but i really wish more games in this series, or in general used this stat system. most fun and balanced rpg gameplay ever??
This review contains spoilers
Peak SMT. The best entry in the SMT PS2 era. Everything from the characters, gameplay, story, etc are all so good. Oh, and this is Shoji Meguro’s best work on an SMT OST other than Persona 4. It uses the incredible press turn system, and adds combo attacks to test out skills you’ll learn later on and adds exclusive skills. There is pretty good customization where you can choose the exact skills and build you want from the Mantra tree.
My main gripes with this game are the repetitiveness of some of the dungeons, the pacing, and the cliffhanger ending, which makes all of the buildup require you to play the 2nd game to reach the conclusion. This game is mainly spent developing characters and the plot to make way for DDS2.
My main gripes with this game are the repetitiveness of some of the dungeons, the pacing, and the cliffhanger ending, which makes all of the buildup require you to play the 2nd game to reach the conclusion. This game is mainly spent developing characters and the plot to make way for DDS2.
Serph is fucking badass