Shorter and less challenging than the Dark version, but nevertheless an amazing game.
This game lacks the prologue that made the story easier to understand in the Dark version, so it's better to play both versions to understand the story. Instead, the story in Light version takes off directly with Jin, an energetic young boy, er... skipping school to play arcade games. But once he goes to school to meet up with his friends, they find a book containing a spell to summon demons and discovers that he and his friend Akira have the ability to control demons. Time rifts appear at various places in the school, and unless they are removed there will be no tomorrow. Jin, Akira and their friends travel to another world, Valhalla, to find out how to get rid of the time rifts. This 'little kid hero' plot is endearing and while it starts out with a few bumps, later the story becomes great. The ' fate of the world depends on us' kind of story is what makes the plot in every decent RPG worth following.
There are many items hidden in the school which make the game easier to play later, so for the first part exploring the whole school is fun on its own. After travelling to Valhalla, the player moves between two types of areas: normal areas where the player may encounter other characters and there are shops to buy and sell items and goods, and dangerous areas where the player encounters demons and has to fight them. The areas are well done too.
Combat comprises a first-person view of the enemies. The player can use two (later expanded to three) demons in battle. The player ca choose between Attack, Magic, Recruit, Run, Item and Combo (this option is locked until later). If the player chooses Attack or Magic, they can fight enemies with Normal Attacks and Skills in Attack mode, or different spells while using Magic. Some spells deal damage to enemies while others can be used for healing. The damage dealt by attacks depends on the nature of the enemies. Skills, in exchange for draining some of the player's demons' HP, deal severe damage to enemies. If the player chooses to Run, they may either flee or stumble, in which case their turn gets wasted and they are attacked.
Recruit mode is one of the most unique and useful features of the game. Simply put, it lets the player convince enemies to join their party. If the enemy agrees, they come to the player's side. If they refuse, the player's turn gets wasted and they are attacked. Otherwise they may ask for money or items in exchange for joining the player's party, or ask a question or riddle which, if answered correctly, convinces them to join the player's party.
The player has two useful items: The Demonary, which is the DemiKids version of a Pokedex, and the Demiloc. The Demonary stores information on demons. If a certain amount of demons are collected, travellers may reward the player. They may also take a quiz and reward the player with items if they answer all the questions correctly. Some items can be used to raise the player's demons' stats. Others can be used in battle. The Demiloc is used for summoning demons. Three demons can be summoned from the Demiloc at a time.
If the player's party falls, they are revived at a clinic. The clinic also sells recovery items and heals injured demons. Shops in normal areas also sell items and maps. Some characters give advice on battling demons or check the Demonary to see how many demons are collected and give rewards if a certain number is achieved. There are a total of 389 demons to collect in the game. The player's main demon, Rand, also evolves as the story progresses.
The music and graphics are also well done for a GBA game, and the menus are simple and easy to go through. Overall, with likeable characters, lots of demons to collect, plenty of replay value, great gameplay and presentation, DemiKids: Light Version is worth a try by any RPG gamer. I would have given it 9.7 or 9.8, but since the review system allows scores only by increments of 0.5 this game gets a 10.