The good and the bad of the game and then some.
User Rating: 8.5 | Megami Ibunroku: Devil Survivor DS
The Shin Megami Tensei series has little to blemish Atlus's reputation, but each new game provides a challenge in upholding the Megaten record. I'm pleased to say that Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor easily surpasses the early assumptions of how well SMT would fair on the compact DS system. Devil Survivor gives the people who don't own a Sony system a chance to enjoy Megaten at its best. The story draws you in quickly, leaving the player with more questions than answers during the lockdown inside the Yamanote line (for those not aware of the Tokyo area, the Yamanote line is a train line that forms a virtual circle around part of the massive city, and it also serves for the point between quarantine and freedom in SMT: Devil Survivor). The combat is simple, automatically giving players an edge over the enemy as the top screen displays information like the opposing demons' strengths and weaknesses, while the bottom shows the demons and is where you'll be selecting what spells and attacks your team will perform. The system runs smooth enough, but the lack of stylus control makes scrolling down needlessly longer than it should be. The sheer amount of demons in the game is enough to get any SMT fan squirming in their seat, but the limited choices during the first several chapters of the game leave a little to be desired. The characters and story, however, make up for almost all negative aspects of the game and give new players a reason to become hooked on the SMT series.
Story: 8
Plot has never been a problem for Atlus before, and it shows clearly here as well.
Graphic: 7
Although the demon and character art looks cool, the in game sprites are plain.
Sound: 7.75
The game's grunge rock music is excellent, fitting the mood well, but you better like the 5 tracks on there, because you'll here them throughout the game. The World Ends With You this is not.
Control: 8.25
Everything works as it should, and the battles are fun, but seriously, you put the stuff on the TOUCH screen. Is a little TOUCH control too much to ask?!
Gameplay: 6.75
There are two problems I have with the gameplay. 1) Most of the game is not set fighting the demons, but walking around talking to people. While these conversations are interesting, some more action would be appreciated. 2) The battles, unless your a good 15 levels higher than the demons at that time, hang on a limb. It always depends on one thing. Example: 2nd Day: You walk into a battle involving two other characters (5 total; You, your 2 friends, Keisuke, and Midori). You can only win if about three or four characters know good healing spells, because Keisuke gets hit a lot, and if either he or Midori dies, it's game over, and depending on how you lay out your characters. You pick the right person, but put them in the wrong spot, the chance that you'll lose will skyrocket.
Conclusion: It's not perfect, but it's well worth playing till the end.
