Digital Devil Saga 2 is an outstanding RPG that is a must play for hardcore fans of the genre who can handle difficulty.
That said, the flaws in Digital Devil Saga 1 are more than made up for in DDS2. A refined mantra system, easier to comprehend gameplay mechanics, and an overall better story all make Digital Devil Saga 2 a must have for fans of the genre.
Gameplay: Digital Devil Saga 2 follows a lot of RPG conventions, but it manages to twist just about all of these to make them seem unique and fresh.
The battle system is turn based, and you are given 3 turns every round, but these turns can be extended if you manage to hit enemy weaknesses (giving you up to 6 turns). However, if you mess up, your turns will be reduced so sometimes you may only have one turn a round, while the enemy can sometimes pull off far more. Some enemies I've had pull off 8-10 turns in a row as my characters struggled to survive the onslaught. You can use void skills (which block damage of a certain type), reflect (bounces damage back at enemy), and even absorb (absorbs the damage) to defeat your enemies and reduce their turns. You can even devour the enemies to gain extra skill points once you have reduced their health enough (if you learned the skill already).
SMT: DDS2 is not a forgiving game in difficulty. It is imperative that you, as the player, learn the weaknesses and strengths of the enemy types in each area and set your skills (or learn new ones) as needed to counter these enemies.
This leads us into the amazingly good mantra grid set up. Far from being the rather bland chart given to us in the original game, the mantra grid has turned into something almost FFXesque in its set up. You start off with a few default skills, and from there branch out in this hex based grid, unlocking new skills almost every time you learn new ones, and sometimes even unlocking a new outer ring for the grid, opening far stronger skills. The skill system is a truly fun system, and will have you playing for hours just trying to learn that next skill that sounds like it will really give you the strength you need to defeat the enemy.
DDS2 also employs a wise way to allow your characters to stay on the same page while levelling up. Once you learn a certain skill (mutual karma), the characters you are not using can earn the same amount of experience as the ones in your party. This makes it highly convenient when you suddenly realize that a character you havent really been working on would be very useful in whatever challenges you are facing.
The story for DDS2 is far better than the previous game's as well. Character interaction seems much more natural and far less forced than it seemed in DDS1. The story has some extremely shocking twists that will have you sitting for a few minutes working them through in your head. It is the kind of storyline that many RPGs try to pull off, but very few are able to accomplish to any satisfactory levels. Note that the story is very dark and very violent, so do not pursue this game if you are faint of heart (it is rated Mature for a reason, younger gamers should NOT be playing this).
The only real flaw in the gameplay is the fact that it basically forces you to level up for a few hours. While the bosses in the earlier parts of the game can be easily blown through if you did your research and learned the right skills, the bosses at the end of the game will massacre you if you did not spend at least some time getting your character's stats up.
Graphics: The graphics in DDS2 seem to have improved over DDS1 marginally as well. They seem less bland and far more clear. The blurry effect that I kept noticing in DDS1 is entirely gone here, and instead replaced by crisp, clean graphics with very few jags. The only complaint I have is the minimalistic design of many areas, which is more a design choice than a graphical flaw.
I really love the lighting effects used as well.
Sound: The soundtrack for DDS2 is one of the better ones I have heard for a while. The diversity in the music makes it fairly difficult to get bored of any one song. The music is also very suitable for the environments and events going on.
The voice acting is nothing short of fantastic. Every single character seems to have been voiced perfectly. They all speak just as I would imagine them sounding like, and most are even better than one could hope for. Atlus did a truly superb job localizing this game.
Value: The game can be completed in about 30 hours, it would be fairly difficult to defeat any of the latter bosses if you do not spend at least a few hours leveling up. The reason the game takes a slight hit in the value department is again because it cannot really stand on its own. In order to fully enjoy it you will have had to play through DDS1 entirely.
Tilt: DDS2 is the kind of RPG that many RPGs have tried to be. It manages to bring incredibly dark aspects into a game while still seeming to be a story able to happen. It also manages to pull of a highly unique skill system as well as featuring one of the most strategic battle systems to be featured in an RPG in recent years. Atlus has created a true masterpiece here, and it is one that should be experienced by fans of the genre.