this game is sort of a mixed bag. don't get me wrong, it's a great game as shown by my rating, but it's overall design feels old. gameplay is just nocturne all over again, it doesn't feel much different aside from the mantra system. this can either be great or a dealbreaker, depending on how much you liked smt nocturne. i myself, i really like nocturne, but press turn is starting to get old by this point. like, compare this game to others rpgs of the era, like ffx-2, which completely changed and experimented with the ffx formula, incluiding a new battle system which slaps. dds on the other hand is just nocturne, i think that the reason this game wasn't a massive hit was that it's too similar to smt3 gameplay wise.

on all other fronts this is a masterpiece: meguro is once again top notch (imo some of his best work is in this game, all the battle themes are amazing, even if normal battle/hunting gets pretty annoying), kaneko is on top of his game by this point (this game looks amazing and pretty unique, even compared with new rpgs), and the script and storyline is pretty good, even if it really feels like the first one of a "saga".

what i mean is, not much happens in this game, and it's over all pretty short. what does happen feels like buildup for the second game, which does kinda make sense but it means this game wont really subvert your expectations story wise.

what more can i say, atlus obviously had some of their best output in the ps2 era, and this game really does deserve the place it has. if you can look past the similarities with nocturne and some questionable game design, this game is for you.

After having played Nocturne and absolutely enjoying the 108 hour ride, I figured it was about time I jumped into DDS. Unlike Persona 5 or Nocturne, I had no idea what I would be getting myself into when playing DDS. I know it still follows the same press turn mechanics that Nocturne created, but that was about it. I really felt like I was jumping into unknown territory which was exciting.

From the get-go I'm already seeing elaborate cutscenes, voice acting, very muted colors, a very chill rock OST, and depressing and cold looking architecture. I'm already digging the overall production of this game. The mood alone from this game resonates a lot of comfort. I don't know what's going on at the moment, but I enjoy just being able to explore my base, talk with my fellow squad, and do some light exploration.

After some events happen, the game immediately starts to kick off and as well as my disposition for the game. It had a very promising beginning but everything leading up to the end felt very dull. Not like Persona 3 dull where I found myself absolutely dreading every moment of the game, but more like I wanted to continue on and see how the story progresses but the combat and dungeon exploration felt very mild and uninteresting. The dungeons are probably the most problematic aspect of the game. While they are definitely well crafted from an artistic standpoint and are VERY memorable, the overall crawling aspect with random encounters just felt like a chore.

The gameplay is a unique take that I've seen from a JRPG. You are essentially not a demon summoner, but your own demon. However, its not guaranteed you'll spawn as a demon in battle automatically as you will be caught off guard from random encounters here and there, but there really isn't any sense of urgency to change as your human forms are pretty resilient for the most part. Its more of a nuisance having to spend a turn changing into a demon just to inflict some damage as shooting with your guns, no matter how strong the bullet is, does not do any significant damage. I actually like this concept and hope Atlus can return to it someday as there's much more potential to be made from this for sure. Also, you have the mantra grid which is how you acquire abilities. Whilst the design is not inherently bad or faulty, it is a slog to get through especially when you farm for atma points that are in itself hard to get as well. Really try to focus on unlocking an entire section for your respective party member's mantra grid as it will DEFINITELY make end game battles and bosses more doable as the endgame boss is admittedly one of the most infuriating bosses I've encountered. They're not hard, but they sure have a ridiculous mechanic that rely on elemental attacks that unless you have almighty attacks for all party members will make the battle a lot more annoying than it needs to be.

The music for this game is absolutely one of Shoji Meguro's finest works. I could see why the DDS games were his favorite to work on. A lot of my favorite MegaTen OSTs so far come from the DDS series. This game's OST alone is filled with a pleasant variety of rock music ranging from a '60s/'70s inspired rock/jazz variety to a more '90s grunge vibe. Funnily enough you also hear some of his Nocturne and Persona licks in the game if you closely pay attention. They don't mean anything but they are nice little Easter eggs to catch. Although since the game is heavily inspired by South East Asian religion and folklore, I feel like there was a missed opportunity of some fusion of SWANA (South West Asian North African)/SEA (South East Asian) music with rock. Check out Tigran Hamasyan by the way if you wanna know what SWANA rock/jazz music sounds like. It's absolutely ass kicking.

Speaking of referencing SEA religions and folklore, this game does an incredible job at incorporating its philosophy, literature, and art style. I'm not too familiar with hinduism nor Buddhism, but I know enough to catch some references here and there and the rest I had to look up and its just such a cool approach for a video game to do, especially when it involves technology, it has a unique approach to SEA religion and folklore that rivals The Matrix (which funnily enough this game feels like if The Matrix were made into a JRPG by Atlus)

The story for this game is a slow grind, but its not a bad slow grind. Its important to look at this game as a set up for future events that take place in its sequel DDS2 rather than just a game that has its own story. I will confess however that the story for DDS1 felt underwhelming, but in the grand scheme of things it definitely adds to the payoff in DDS2.

Overall, I'd say this game is not bad, but not Atlus' best. Everything about the game is acceptable and tolerable at worst and fun and engaging at best. I think it's a game worth beating, or at least giving it a shot.

I'd recommend this to the following:
-An avid JRPG enjoyer
-Are new to JRPGs and want an easy going experience
-Enjoy seeing Buddhist/Hindi concepts in video games
-An avid cannibalism enthusiast /j

P.S. Do yourself a favor and select the first dialogue option for each game. Even if it conflicts with what you want to say. You'll thank yourself when you move onto DDS2 with your DDS1 save file. Also, wouldn't hurt to fight some optional side bosses as they will give you nice loot in DDS2 with your DDS1 save file. They are helpful in the beginning when confronted with elemental weaknesses, and also some of the optional side bosses are genuinely fun to fight... except for the NG+ boss... if you love yourself PLEASE for the love of god do not do it. Also, be sure to have at LEAST 1,000,000 Macca saved before you finish DDS1. You'll start DDS2 with a nice pocketful of Macca that while isn't necessary will make getting healing and support items much more easier for those tricky dungeons/boss battles.

Overall the game is fantastic, but it suffers in a few areas. This game is a duology, and this game suffers from a lack of a strong story, because it is setting everything up for the sequel. The story with both of them in mind is great, but it is boring as a single game. Also, if you want to do the extra end game content such as the super bosses, not even including demi-fiend, still takes hours to grind. I think I spent more time at the end game grinding for all of the skills and bosses, than I did playing the rest of the game.

If you enjoyed Persona and are looking for a way to get deeper into MegaTen, I can't recommend DDS1 enough.

It's got a pretty strong atmosphere, perhaps not quite as much as Nocturne, but makes up for it with vastly stronger character writing. I haven't been so interested to hear what minor NPCs have to say in a JRPG since I first played Chrono Trigger, and the main cast has a definite chemistry.

In terms of gameplay, it runs on the same excellent Press Turn system used in Nocturne, which is hard to explain but so intuitive that I'm sad that the simplified One More system originally necessitated by Persona 3's AI-controlled party members continued to be used into Persona 5 instead of it.
But I digress, the primary difference is with your party composition. Not only are you reduced down to 3 party members, but you are also not recruiting demons anymore. Instead, you buy Mantra that, when maxed out, grant you new Skills. This means that you can build every party member's moves to your preference. This tips the balance considerably into the player's favour, which may upset more experienced MegaTen fans, but allows a newer player the agency to get to grips with combat better, which is good, because the game expects you to make good use of your tools to survive.
In the same way, the lack of demon negotiations arguably removes a layer of depth to combat encounters, but it, along with a general streamlining of its story, also contributes to the game being far better paced than the vast majority of JRPGs. The high encounter rate, especially in a few areas later in the game, can serve to slow this down, and the frequent 'ambush' encounters where you'll quickly find the least tedious option is to simply flee the battle can get grating. However, by granting the player more freedom in modifying your teams, these become problems that you have the agency to solve, which is the empowering feeling that I think separates MegaTen from most other JRPG franchises in terms of appeal.

There are some notable problems with this system, however. For example, I can appreciate that allowing the player to save and easily swap between pre-prepared Skill builds could serve to make the gameplay less interesting by incentivising the player to instead attempt to cover all of their bases in a single build. However, the result on my first playthrough as I got later into the game was spending far too much time tediously swapping between builds that allowed for buffing and builds that allowed for coverage every time I suspected a boss was coming near. This was annoying, but the alternative was making every random encounter substantially more tedious by reducing my coverage, or risking going into a boss fight only to find out that without buffing and debuffing I had no chance of winning.
In the same way there's also just a lot of little annoyances, like having to reassemble your party in the menu every time a status effect made one of them flee the battle. The fact that so much late-game content looks identical is a bit disappointing, even if the atmosphere provided by those areas is arguably the best in the game.

However, I kept on playing, because when I got down to it, the combat was snappy, delighful and empowering, and the themes were genuinely meaningful and thought-provoking. Not to mention that the music is Shoji Meguro in his prime. I still get a kick out of the opening beats of the standard battle theme, even after 30+ hours of play. The vast majority of its flaws are just the inevitable limitations of its game design pushed to their most logical conclusions, and that's something very few games can say about themselves. I thoroughly enjoyed my time playing this, and I think just about anyone with a passing interest in JRPGs will too.

This is a review about DDS, but I will do a lot of comparison between DDS and Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne because I see DDS as a natural evolution (and experimentation). The first "lure" that grabbed my attention was the mysterious story represented by a gray and violent world although paradoxically calm whose atmosphere is intensified by another masterpiece of soundtrack composed by Shoji Meguro, after that you start your journey through the plot and dungeons of the game that although they are visually more complex and "stuffed" are undoubtedly simpler and less punishing than those of Nocturne.

As for the combat and character evolution mechanics, they are different enough to justify the fact that DDS is considered a spin-off (just like Persona) and are great, although I believe they will make the game too easy for those thirsty for difficulty from other games in the franchise because in DDS you can adapt any character to any situation. However, there is one detail...the optional content of this game is perhaps the most difficult you will find so far and this is really exciting and stimulating for the realization of an NG+ or New Cycle, whatever you want to call it.

In short, DDS is an artistically fabulous and mechanically incredible game for any turn-based game enthusiast that will surprise you with its storyline full of implicit content that uses at its core various elements from Asian religions, especially Hinduism, and Cyberpunk productions like Neuromancer and Matrix, providing a fun, beautiful, immersive and touching experience.

My previous Megami Tensei and Persona experience has been somewhat limited to finishing Persona 3 and 4 Golden (I will get to 5 eventually) and sampling Nocturne on PS2 and SMT IV on 3DS. I had some idea of what this game is like, but I was shocked to find that this is possibly the easiest MegaTen game to get into. Obviously, this isn't an easy game for everyone, but the near-limitless customization options regarding the Mantra system are really fun, if a bit overpowering. If your character has a weakness to say ice, there is nothing stopping the player from getting the ice mantras on the character so they can get void ice and repel ice spells. Certain enemies will have this kind of setup for resistance as well, so I feel it is perfectly fine to do so. The only major limiter of the Mantra is the cost of getting them, but grind for money is easy. The story in this game does not feel it goes anywhere until the final third of the game, and it ends on an obvious cliff-hanger to set up the sequel. I am excited to get to the sequel soon, but for now DDS1 is still quite fun to play. There also some neat secret bosses to fight against.