As anyone could tell from my article about a month
ago, “What is “Shin Megami Tensei”, and Why Should You Be
Playing It!”, I am a huge fan of the series as a
whole. I also mentioned at the end of
the article that SMT’s new baby was releasing soon. Well, it released (February 2012), and I have
basked in another great creation by publisher, Atlus. I have to say that the first Devil Survivor
is definitely my favorite title in the SMT series thus far. It had some of my favorite characters in
almost any video game series, all of whom are slightly damaged, but still
manage to overcome their problems to save the world. It also had a story with multiple endings
(which can be a chore sometimes if the game is tedious or boring), and each
play through revealed something new about what was going on in the world the
characters were trapped in. I felt that
with each play through I discovered another layer to the story that I missed or
hadn’t been revealed before. Needless to
say, Devil Survivor 2 had some HUGE shoes to fill. Honestly, I don’t feel that DS2 had the depth
that its predecessor had, but sometimes it’s all about the ride, and this was
defiantly a fun and satisfying ride.
The story opens on the unnamed protagonist (from
here on out I will refer to him as “Hero”), and his friend Daichi finishing
their mock exams for college entrance (think PSATs). Daichi introduces Hero to a website on their
cell phones called “Nicea”. The boys
refer to the website as “The death site” since rumor has it that the site is
supposed to send emails about your friends dying. It all seems like a joke and they decide to
head out shopping, and then home. On
their way home they run into Io, a girl they both know from their school. On their way to the subway they receive their
first email from Nicea. The video they
receive shows the three of them being crushed by the subway train being
derailed by an earthquake. As they
arrive at the train station, sure enough an earthquake erupts and derails the
train – however three demons appear and save the kids from being crushed. The demons insist on fighting the kids, but
are quickly beaten and are forced to form contracts stating that they will aid
the kids in their endeavors. Upon
beating the demons the kids realize that a new app has been added to their
phone, the “Demon Summoning App”. From
here the trio faces off against feuding hoards of survivors using the “Demon
Summoning App” for personal gain, a secret government organization that knows
more than they are letting on, and a diverse cast of characters who join them
in their quest of seven days to save each other and Japan from something far
more powerful than a few demons being summoned by some thugs or a government
organization.
Devil Survivor 2 is primarily a Strategy RPG. The story progresses through a lot of
dialogue between the characters that eats up time. Each event that you encounter takes 30
minutes of time from each of the seven 16 hour days. These encounters consist of talking with
other characters in an attempt to get Hero to know them better, investigating
options for how to overcome problems, and event battles that are designed to
move the story along. This component of
the game imposes a sense of urgency that each decision may be the last one for
you or one of your many comrades. Should
you receive a Nicea death video for one for your friends you need to be aware
of how long it takes you to activate the key event that would save their
life. Should you be even one event too
late, say goodbye to that comrade forever. It’s not just saving your buddies that's important, you also need to
spend time with everyone. As you get to
know each character and choose responses to their situations you will level up
your “Fate Meter” with them. For every
level you increase with each character’s “Fate” you unlock something that can
make them or you stronger. This system
is very similar to the Social Link system that Persona 3 and 4 feature. Unfortunately it is very likely that you
won’t max out the Fate Meter for everyone and may end up having some of the
characters defect as the story moves on. Your responses also effect what happens to the characters. For example I was particularly mean to one
character (oh lord he was annoying!), and he was killed shortly after, but on
my second play through I was kind to him and he became my strongest ally. I love this kind of choice system, even
though it is overly simple compared to other games out there. The
difficulty of juggling the fates of the thirteen playable characters and saving
those that need to be saved can be a daunting task, but it is definitely worth
investing in the characters you have in your party a lot, especially later in
the game when you start to see how each character’s stats are progressing.
The action in the game is where the “strategy” comes
into play. Each battle is fought on a
large grid in different locales. Sometimes you take on demons, other times you face off against fellow
demon tamers who are either losing their minds from the chaos or simply trying
to survive. You have four teams
consisting of one leader (the demon tamer) and two demons that you have either
purchased from the demon auction, or fused from other demons. When you start, the only form of offense you
have as a tamer is “Attack”, but you can “skill crack” physical moves, stat
boosts, and magic spells from other tamers and demons you defeat. You can fully customize each team leader with
a set of 3 offensive skills, 3 stat related skills, and 1 special skill. There is a huge array of skills to crack, and
depending on the stats of each character, not everyone will be able to equip
every skill. You have to be aware of
each character’s strength and weakness (for example, don’t give a magic based
character with low strength a physical skill). You are also forced to be aware of which demons you add to your
teams. Several times I found myself with
a leader and demons who all had “fire” based magic, but the creature I was
fighting either drained or reflected the magic back at me. The battles alone are worth playing the games
several times. On my second play through
I was able to keep a few of my overpowered demons and watch as a level 99 Satan
mowed down a level 2 Pixie…kind of masochistic I know, but it’s fun!
Even though this game had some very likeable
characters, I have to say that I feel this is the weakest cast SMT has put
together. In the first Devil Survivor
each character had problems and deficiencies that made them relatable and real
despite their anime design. In DS2 the
cast as a whole is very sugar coated. A
lot of the angst and drama from the first game was replaced by bits of inner
turmoil offset by humor that in some cases seemed out of place. As you advance the “Fate Meter” you see that
there is more to each of the characters than originally thought, but there are
no real revelations with the exception of one that you don’t really get until
the very end of the game. I felt that
the characters were a letdown. In all
fairness, the deep dark characters from the first game spoiled me and I was
expecting more of the same. I definitely
can’t say that I disliked any of the characters, but the multi layered
developments of the characters from the first game are gone, replaced by a
bunch of teens and twenty-somethings that seem way too well adjusted to the end
of the world. There are moments in the
story, however, where I really related to what the characters were
experiencing, especially when one witnesses the death of their mother.
Despite the downfall of the character development,
the story as a whole saved this game for me. Again, I was spoiled by the dark, at times downright evil, story that
the first Devil Survivor offered up. DS2
is much more light hearted. Essentially
the question in DS2 is, “Did humanity chose the right path?” The obvious answer is “no”, but you as the
hero are forced to examine each of the characters views on what path humanity
should take and make your own decisions. There are some great revelations about the origin of the human race, as
well as the origins of the demons. I
found myself rooting for nearly all sides of the conflict that arises when the
final question of what direction humanity should take is posed. You are forced to make your choice and fight
for it regardless of which path your friends choose, making some of the decisions
very difficult to make. The questions
that were asked of humanity in these choices were deep enough to make me
consider where I would really align myself should this kind of apocalypse
really occur. If I could alter reality
into anything, which path would I set humanity on? Eventually I chose all of the paths to
achieve all endings, but I have my personal favorite.
As much as I loved the first Devil Survivor, I think
had I not played it first (especially since 1 and 2 are not connected at all in
story) I probably would have loved DS2. Unfortunately I was extremely spoiled by the original Devil Survivor,
and although DS2 is a very loyal sequel, it wasn’t my favorite. That being said, it is still an excellent
game! As games go, this one is defiantly
above average in style, sound, presentation and story. This game is definitely the last great game
on the Nintendo DS before the 3DS takes over the market completely. Even though I had my own personal gripes
about story and character, I still loved fighting through the apocalypse to
save humanity from a power greater than the strongest demons. Where Devil Survivor had revelations and
characters that made it more of an experience than a game, DS2 was a situation
driven apocalyptic story that was simply fun to play. It is a great addition to my SMT collection,
and I really enjoyed it as a whole. The
success of this game has spawned a Manga adaptation in Japan
8/10
By Justin Hopper
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