In a nutshell, Devil Survivor 2 is to Devil Survivor 1 as Persona 4 is to Persona 3. That is to say, as a sequel, it makes a number of smaller changes?refining the formula?without radically altering the core gameplay set up by its predecessor. This is great news if you?re a fan of Shin Megami?Tensei: Devil Survivor, as the sequel is mostly just more of the same. However, if you?re not a fan, you?re not going to find anything the second time around to change your mind. For those of you in the former camp, and to newcomers to the series, keep reading, as Devil Summoner 2 is a brilliant tactical role-playing game with a lot to offer.
You take on the role of a Japanese high school student in Tokyo who finds himself caught in the middle of a disastrous earthquake. You and your friends survive, but emerge to find Japan infested with mythical creatures, which you then ward off by summoning creatures of your own with a Demon Summoning cell phone app. Throughout the game you will work with various? factions, while fighting against human and demon alike in a struggle to attain power in the new world. If this sounds a little like Devil Survivor 1, it?s because the two games follow very similar story beats.
Of course, there are minor differences between the two titles: notifications of a character?s impending death are sent from a website called Nicaea, as opposed to the Laplace Mail system; demons are summoned by using cell-phones as opposed to COMPs (devices that, hilariously, were identical to Nintendo DSes); the death clock is gone, but a FATE system, similar to Persona?s Social Links, has been added; a Demonic Compendium (noticeably absent from the first game) has been included, making demon summoning and fusion far more enjoyable; and the first game was limited Tokyo, while the second has players trekking to Osaka and Nagoya as well.
Furthermore, both titles ultimately excel in particular areas. For one, DS1 still does a better job of portraying the apocalypse; though cities lay in ruin, DS2 never captures that same sense of urgency and bleakness that the first game had. In fact, just as Persona 4 was more light-hearted than Persona 3, Devil Survivor 2 is a rather cheerful sequel, despite occasionally portraying extremely heavy content. However, while it doesn?t handle the tone as well, DS2?does a much better job with demons and combat. This is largely in part to the presence of the previously mentioned Demonic Compendium, but also because you can target multiple Skill Cracks in combat (learning new abilities from defeated enemies), and earn Add Ons that employ boosted stats and skills in demon fusions. There are also far fewer escort and protection missions, meaning you?ll spend less time screaming at your Nintendo DS. The few that remain are fixed by either doing away with suicidal NPCs or at least making them powerful enough to survive insane rushes ? for anyone familiar with this problem in the first game, this should come as a huge relief.
Thankfully, these differences don?t do anything to subtract from the core gameplay experience, meaning it?s just as satisfying as its predecessor. The trademark Shin Megami?Tensei?difficulty remains as well, so expect to be demolished by your opponents as you adapt to the difficulty curve. Compared to other TRPGs, it?s somewhat short, but it includes multiple paths to play through and endings to experience, as well as a New Game+ with a wealth of extra features.
That all said, there are a few unfortunate issues that drag this game down. To start, most of the demons and some of the battlefields are recycled. The former isn?t really a complaint about the repeated use of certain deities and monsters (that?s like complaining about seeing Pikachu in a Pokemon game), but more that most of the sprites have been reused; it would have been nice to see some new artistic renditions of these characters. The latter complaint is more disappointing, as it?s a bummer to go from DS1 to DS2 only to see that you?re fighting in the exact same locales. Thankfully, this issue largely goes away once you get outside of Tokyo. Another minor complaint is that the demon sprites are static. I know that the first title had static sprites, but it really would have been nice if this game could have had animated ones. Shin Megami?Tensei: Strange Journey, released only a year after the first Devil Survivor, had animated sprites, why couldn?t Devil Survivor 2 have them as well?
The standard SMT sound design is employed here, which is comforting; all the familiar sound effects associated with specific spells and attacks reappear. The bigger problem is the soundtrack, which, while really good, is wholly unremarkable. It employs the same mix of pop and rock that the first Devil Survivor had. The problem with is that going from one game to the next, it becomes difficult to tell the two soundtracks apart; they?re so similar. It would have been nice if DS2?s music had a stronger personality of its own.
Finally, the character designs leave a lot to be desired.?Suzuhito?Yasuda, who designed the characters for the first game, returns to do the designs for this one. I understand that he?s a fairly well-known and regarded manga artist, but if his artwork in the Devil Surivor?series is any indication of the rest of his body of work, then I can honestly say that I am not a fan. The first problem is that not only does everyone look alike?except for their clothing, but they also look like copies of characters from the first game: the main characters look alike, Io looks like Yuzu, Daichi?looks like Atsuro, Yamato looks like Naoya, Hinako?looks like Midori, etc., etc.; they all look bland and uninteresting. The second problem, which was also true in the first game, remains true here: the female characters look awful. Most of them look as though they?re stuffing their shirts with balloons, and they arch their backs in ways that would make contortionists uncomfortable. Hinako, the bubbly dancer, is essentially walking around topless, as she wears an opened vest that covers her only by virtue of the character images being static portraits. Frankly, it makes it embarrassing to be seen playing this game in public.
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Thankfully, the sum total of the game is greater than these obvious flaws (though Atlus, if you?re listening, please hire a new character designer, or at least get?Kazuma?Kaneko?to do them). It?s fun, engaging, challenging, and has a lot of replayability. Devil Survivor 2?remains an amazing tactical role-playing game worthy of the attention of any fan of the genre, or of JRPGs in general.
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Source: http://trendygamers.com/2012/03/06/shin-megami-tensei-devil-survivor-2-review/
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