Customer Reviews

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The Shin Megami Tensei series has grown on me the past couple years, mainly thanks to the great past few releases on the PS2. Now Atlus' long running RPG series makes its debut on the DS with Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor, and the results are just as spectacular. The game's storyline finds life in Tokyo going to Hell, pretty literally. With the ability to summon your own demons to take down the rampant baddies running around the city wreacking havoc, and time always working against you, Devil Survivor pits you in some interestingly designed battles that mix traditional turn-based attacks with a hearty amount of strategic input as well. There is a ton of character customization to behold as well, as well as the promise of multiple endings thanks to some many plot branches, which means that Devil Survivor is a game you will keep coming back to again and again. The game looks good and features plenty of atmosphere and nicely designed settings and character models, and having some addictive gameplay doesn't hurt matters either. If there's any drawbacks to the game, it's that there are a good amount of moments where you just seem to plod along, but these moments are few and far between. All in all, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is another fantastic RPG on the DS, and if you're an RPG loving DS owner, you need to pick this game up, even if you're unfamiliar with the Shin Megami Tensei franchise.

This game is about kids fighting with demons and going to hell. Sounds like right up my ally. I am a huge SMT fan (I own literally every game on the PS2 with the name......at least the ones released in the U.S.) I was kind of disappointed that there was not bonuses things included in the release (the art books in both persona games were awesome). I just started the game up about 5 hours into it and I am not much of a grid RPG fan but so far it has been a blast playing. Im just finding it hard not to kill everyone.

There is a learning curve in my opinion for those people who have not played a SMT game. You really have to learn the lingo of attacks (bufu, garu, hama, mudo) they really arn't as strait forward. But when you get the attacks down and your own personal strategy going your not going to want to put down this game.

Who should buy this game:
-Teens looking for a good challenge and who like RPG games
-ANY SMT fan
-Anyone looking for something other than a kids game on their new DSi

Who should not buy this game:
-Kids (trust me its not for them they will not understand the story line)
-People who are sensitive to demonic literature (this game is full of demons and references to hell Lucifer ect.)

Over all very fun and unique twist to an already great series of games.

I bought this game along with "The World Ends with You." TWEWY is a fine game, but I really didn't like the touch interface terribly much. Since the game relies exlusively on how you touch the screen, enemy battles can be drawn out since the DS cannot differ between similar strokes on the screen. Since "Devil Survivor" doesn't use the touch interface, all commands are entered through the buttons. This naturally enables the player to not make any mistakes with what type of command you want to execute, unlike TWEWY.

I played that game for a while, then set it aside. Next, I fired up "Devil Survivor,' and I haven't put the game down since! This game is great because it has an incredibly refined, and dynamic, battle system. While you are battling enemy demons, the key to victory is exploiting their elemental weaknesses. Whenever you exploit the weakness of your enemy, you will get an extra turn to deal out more damage. Watch out, though, because the enemy will do the same to your demons. Another fun aspect about this game is the "monster breeder" aspects to demon fusion. You acquire demons by the in-game online auction. Once you have enough demons in your arsenal, you can combine them for more powerful demons. In fact, this is the way that some of the most powerful demons can be accessed in this game. So "mixing and matching" can yield some unexpected, and exciting, results. I somehow created King Frost, a unique demon with advanced stats, and I don't even know how! Sometimes, though, you just need to grind away to level-up. You earn experience points in battles, but the great thing is you can leave optional battles if you realize you don't have the right equipped demons.

Of course, no game is without any annoyances. Sometimes the battles can swing heavily in the enemy's favor even before you have the chance to issue a command to your party. My biggest complaint against this game is that the female lead, Yuzu, is typically girly. She really doesn't like computer technology because "it is above her understanding." She is also whines excessively about the situation at hand. Yuzu doesn't exactly represent teen-aged girls very well.

Other than that, this game is a real gem. I highly recommend it. 4.5/5 stars

~Galaxy

Not prone to review games on Amazon, I felt I just had to give a hearty thumbs-up to this very solid and highly-addictive strategy RPG by Atlus. Having played a number of strategy RPGs in the past (including Fire Emblem, Disgaea, and Final Fantasy Tactics) I was expecting more of the same. Instead, I encounted an innovative game that perfectly blends an Atlus Shin Megami Tensei RPG (characterized by dark, occult-based story-lines and customizable demon sidekicks, ala pokemon) with a grid-based strategy game.

Although this might sound like an odd combination at first, once you delve into the game proper this odd formula becomes highly addictive and extremely rewarding. Yes, some of the battles are challenging, especially for someone who has limited experience with Shin Megami Tensei games and strategy RPGs. However, even the more challenging battles are quite winnable with a good bit of foresight and a well-equipped party.

For this reason, I'm giving the game a perfect 5 out of 5, as Atlus accomplished exactly what they set out to do: which is to create a genuine Shin Megami Tensei-style adventure that fits perfectly on the DS handheld. Buy it, play it, love it.... you won't be disappointed. :)

I have been a long time SMT Fan, SMT stands for Shin Megami Tensei if your not familiar with the series. SMT series usually deals with post apocalyptic worlds, Demons, heaven and hell and the eternal struggle between God and Lucifer. However it is not a "religious" game. There is no pandering to any sort of demographic and takes all of the religious icons and use them in intelligent and rather incredible ways. SMT games usually ask you the difficult questions, make you question your ideals and beliefs. SMT usually asks you to decide what to do with the world, and is usually giving you multiple "Just" paths. The Chaos hero, Neutral hero, and Law hero are common characters in the SMT world.
Its rather hard to explain this in a review so I encourage you to look it up on your own if you want more details.

Here's what you should know, in SMT Devil Survivor, you and a few friends are wound up trapped in Tokyo and cut off from the rest of the world. Demons start to invade and you find yourself thrown into an ordeal between Angels and Demons. You and your friends get "COMPS" which allow you to summon your own demons, and battle the forces of [good?] and [evil?] as you slowly find the truth behind the lockdown. Oh and you only have 7 days before everyone dies.

With multiple endings, a really powerful secret boss, and tons of dialogue and moral choices in the game, it is so worth the price. It is a work of genius and in my opinion, one of the strongest DS releases in the last few years. This is a Strategy RPG.
The demons are designed by the fantastic artist Kazuma Kaneko, who has done most of the artwork for the entire SMT franchise and its spinoffs (Like Persona~) However, the artwork for the characters are done by some 'popular' mangaka who does Shoujo manga or something...and i detest their style...with the main character and Yuzu (his female friend who so obviously has a crush on you) look like ripoffs of the persona 3 characters, MC (the main character never has a name...or Shujinko which means, main character) and Yukari Takeba. And the odd, inconsistencies in the character design looked cheap...like Yuzu's ever altering boobage which is either huge, or Ginormous. or the hands that mysteriously shrink and melt into her boobs... I don't know, the portrait art was not up to par. Not sure why they didn't let Kaneko design them like he always does.

Anyway, enough dogging the art, The battle system is turn based and goes back to the old first person view of old SMT games, some people are probably disappointed that the sprites had no real animation except walking, so its a bit different than most SRPG games. Every character had a team of them self, and 2 demons. and you can only ever have 4 leaders on the field, so its a pretty small playing field. But they add extra objectives like protect civilians etc to add to the strategy part of this srpg.

I highly recommend this game for anyone looking for a good story, thrilling gameplay, and a lot of replayability.

There's a lot to like about this game. I especially like the well thought out interface. There is lots of info that has to communicated in the game about your team and their abilities. The interface works nicely to convey that info.

This is a turn-based JPRG and in some respects it is like every other "Megami" game. But they did a great job porting the gameplay to the DS. They didnt bother with a 3D world to run around in (which I find boring in a portable game anyway) and every location is simply available off of a 2D menu. Combat occurs on an isometric 2D plane just as one would expect. I wouldnt call it the prettiest game ever but the 2D drawings more than get the job done.

The story? Well, it like all of the other Devil Summoner games. but I appreciate the darker-themed storyline.

Its not an easy game and that's part of the fun I think. There are a few things that make it easier than a typical Megami game: you can suspend at any time during a battle and if you die you can go right back to time you suspended over and over again. You do have a nice amount of choice about how to build your "demons" and what abilities they will have. Combat is all about hitting your enemies with their weaknesses. If you can do that, you get a free turn to take another swipe at your enemy. Its a solid turn-based battle system even if it is not something new. Over all, this is one of the best jrpg's I've played on the DS.

I'm shocked how much I enjoy this game. Even though I usually only use my DS for traveling, I've now been playing at home. Normally I avoid strategy/tactic games, but this one had me hooked from the moment I started. So even if you're like me (and couldn't get into FF Tactics or Eternal Poison), give this game a chance!

The main character is custom-made; you decide everything from his personality to his stats and skills. The other team members are more preset, but earning (cracking) and assigning their skills is entirely up to you. As for demons, those who have played other Shin Megami Tensei games will be familiar with the fusing system. The process of building a successful party is complex, but enjoyable and not hard to pick up on.

As far as difficulty, I'd say this game is easier than Nocturne or DDS, but more challenging than the Persona games. If you like those games, you'll enjoy this one. If you don't like them, what is wrong with you? If you haven't tried them yet, get on with it!

I actually picked up this title when it was first released last summer. I played for about 2 hours and then put it down and didn't pick it up again. That's the thing with these Shin Megami games -- you really need to play until you get to the Demon Fusion part before making a decision. SMT is very text heavy (I've played three games only and one was Persona which was not my favorite) and you really have to like the story to be able to play this. You see it referenced in other reviews as well -- but it bears repeating -- the story is a huge part of the game. I happen to be pretty easy to please with stories and I like this one just fine. Even though I am a middle aged mom I have a teenager so everytime Yuzu gets all whiny I can relate!

Things I like:
* Music (interesting!)
* Central Menu and controls (excellent!)
* Characters are a bit flat but they do grow on you
* Battles -- best of Tactical and turn based RPG and, for me, they never get boring!
* Demon fusing - oh yeah baby this is FUN with a Capital F!
* Simplistic -- you aren't dealing with having to equip items or buy items (other than demons)

Things I can deal with but don't particularly like:
* Limited battles that can be used for leveling up - would have liked more options
* Items are not available to buy -- bit different than the normal RPG where you buy equiptment and items. You are (at least as far as I am which is about 15 hours into the game) limited to the skills you/your demons have

A word: Difficulty. Why yes...yes it is difficult IF you aren't using strength/weakness to your advantage and if you aren't fusing demons well and choosing good skills to pass on to the next demon. None of the SMT or Persona games I've played are easy. Frankly I find this a bit refreshing as many of the RPG's for the DS lately have lacked in challenge (REAL challenge -- not the fake random battle every step challenge...as so many have pointed out wash-rinse-repeat). I died once early on due to MY lack of skill in the fusing area. I remedied that and now I'm good. There are battles I come out of with 1 main character left with like 45 HP and that is just about as satisfying as any other life accomplishment LOL.

If you like Tactical games or turn based RPG's I would encourage you to pick BOTH Shin Megami Tensei games for the DS up. The other one, Srange Journey, is every bit as good and rewarding (though not really similar to this one other than the demon fusing thing) although more difficult. In terms of value for your dollar these rate exceptionally high!

I haven't owned many NDS games. This one is one of the best kinda strategy games ever played on NDS. It takes time leveling but the battle is fun. The diverse story line is interesting. I'm not the gamer who love to fight over and over again but if you like it, it's a perfect game for you.

I can't say I'm surprised that Atlus has put out yet another great game. In many ways, Devil Survivor follows the same formula as other Shin Megami Tensei games. Fortunately, it's a formula that works, and still goes strong on its first venture onto the DS.

SMT:DS puts you in the shoes of a silent protagonist whose personality is decided by your actions and dialogue responses throughout the game. Over the seven-day period that the story is told, you and your friends gain the use of various demons that assist you in battle. There are also several other characters in the game that may join you depending on your interactions with them. The battle system is an interesting mix of turn-based combat and grid-style strategy RPG mechanics. You gain new battle abilities by stealing them from defeated enemies. All acquired skills are added to a pool from which each main character can use. Each skill can only be equipped to one character at a time, but these skills can be freely traded among your characters as desired. Things can be difficult early on since your skill pool is so limited. As such, it's up to your demons to fill in the gaps that your characters can't deal with. The battle mechanics follow the usual expanded rock-paper-scissors elemental styles seen in other SMT games. Players new to the franchise may be confused by the different names for elements like fire, ice, lightning (agi, bufu, zio) etc., but they'll quickly get used to it.

The story features several different endings depending on your actions. As such, there is a great deal of replay value, plus many bonus features that become available to you once you finish the game. Even though the game follows a seven-day period, you are by no means constrained by time. If you ever feel unprepared for your next big fight, you can grind some levels out of free battles that take up no in-game time. Given that the game is very story-heavy, it's also very dialogue-heavy. Some cutscenes can get kind of long, but the story is extremely engaging.

Overall, I would say that SMT:DS is a great buy and you will not be disappointed. Fans of the SMT series should already know that Atlus knows how to make a great game and should already get out there and buy this game if they haven't already. For gamers who are tired of the Final Fantasy scene and want something a little more mature and challenging, give SMT:DS (and SMT games at large) a try.