My issue with the "review" is that there is basically no substance to it. All I got from it was that he didn't like it because it wasn't like Persona 4 and Devil Survivor.

If he doesn't like dungeon crawlers, and has no familiarity with them, why is he reviewing one?

There are lots of people that still appreciate this style of game. It's very unprofessional to have some dude hack out what amounts to "nah, no social links, f*** this game".

The opening statement from the Destructiod review:

"I really dug Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, but I want to be clear on what type of gamer I think will also enjoy Atlus' latest DS title and Shin Megami Tensei game.

If you are a gamer that has roots in the earliest Shin Megami Tensei series games, I'm sure you've already pre-ordered this, knowing exactly what to expect. Likewise, the savvy gamer that jokingly calls this game SMT: Etrian Odyssey surely knows what they're buying. This is a big, console-sized dungeon crawler in a little tiny package, and it gets back to the series' roots. If you're looking for that, this is your game.

On the other hand, if you came into Atlus games later, and find that most of your enjoyment of the Persona series was the social links and the cute girls, and you found yourself running through dungeons to get to the next story bit, you might want to try Strange Journey before you buy. Or read our review."

The closing statement from the same review:

"As far as Nintendo DS role-playing games go, this is my new favorite, hands down. But then again, I'm a huge fan of both dungeon crawling and Atlus' Shin Megami Tensei series games. For me, Strange Journey was a match made in heaven, with its unique blend of science fiction and demonic themes. Even beyond that, it's the "more" I've been craving since Nocturne, and despite being on a portable, feels like a huge console game. But, as I said before, this is not a light-hearted romp that has you dating high-school girls and working part-time jobs. You've got to know what you're getting into. If you do, Strange Journey is highly recommended."

Notice the difference? He's a fan of the series, obviously, but he is going to inform you in the review if you don't know what to expect.He gives it a 9.

Closing from RPGamer review:

"For those who know only of Nocturne, Strange Journey will be a bit of a surprise due to how it returns to the series' roots. It's a solid game all-around that takes a good-not-great traditional JRPG and replaces the standard third-person dungeons with good-not-great first-person, tile-based ones, binding everything together with a strong apocalyptic story. I'm all for RPGs that ramp up the difficulty over the course of a playthrough, and Strange Journey gives you the tools to make a party capable of annihilating the latest threat, but when a game with brilliant storytelling pulls you in and makes you care about the dire situation, then breaks that in order to fill a requisite quota for frustrating, huge endgame dungeons, it is hard not to feel wronged when the setting and story are weakened. Many gamers will love the beginning, but take out the cartridge forever when the gameplay stalls in a convoluted hedge maze. And that is a shame, because the final stretch concludes one of the best stories on the DS, complete with multiple paths that shake the foundation of the game world, and Atlus USA wrote some powerful prose to give the game jaw-dropping emotional and philosophical moments. Unfortunately, those who stop playing at the first warp-filled labyrinth will never experience it all."

gave it a 7.0, feels the end-game dungeons detract from the overall experience. The first few sentences tell us that he doesn't have a large enough frame of reference, but I feel the actual critique is focused enough to overcome that.

http://www.gamespot.com/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey/reviews/shin-megami-tensei-strange-journey-review-6256971/

Seriously....

If you're going to have someone critique a legacy game like Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, they should have some experience with the series. They should have some knowledge of the experience the game should be offering the player.

In the instance where the 'core audience' might not have played any previous games in the franchise, you have an opportunity to educate.

In the instance where the reviewer does not particularlily like the core style of game, have someone else review it.

In the instance where you can't get someone that has experience, and likes this particular type of game, the reviewer should be mature enough to give a subjective and informative review.

Lark obviously was not interested in playing the game. Lark wanted to play Persona 4, or Devil Survivor again.

"Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey may be the latest entry in the venerable franchise, but its outdated demon negotiation system and tedious dungeon-crawling action might have you think otherwise."

This really doesn't make any sense. What is he saying? That the game isn't new because it's similar to the rest of the games in the series?

I think I get how this works:

Super Mario World may be the latest entry in the venerable franchise, but it's outdated platforming, and tedious side-scrolling action might have you think otherwise.

Did I do it right?

Longtime series fans will no doubt appreciate its return to form for the dozens of hours its appropriately dark story will occupy them, but neophytes--especially those expecting something similar to games like Persona 4--are better off staying away."

???

/facepalm??

SO longtime fans of this series will LIKE the game, but people that expect a DIFFERENT GAME EXPERIENCE should stay away?

You guys really need to take a closer look at the content you publish.

You could buy a game, install it, then play it?

...Just calling bullsh!t on Blizzard for making me log in when I don't even plan to play online.  Pretty dumb.

So get going!

I have the digital version.

I keep a back up of all my digital psp games on my PS3.

We will see how they handle digital versions with the psp2. I doubt they'd make the massive mistake of including a UMD drive if they make a psp2. I think it's much more likely that if they make the thing backwards compatable, the digital copies will be the only versions that work.

Knowing Sony, they will probably try to run the psp along side a psp2, and not make the thing backwards compatable, ala the PS3. This will of course cripple sales of the new unit, and piss off more customers, finally sealing the fate of Sony's push into the handheld market. I really do think they have no idea what they're doing at this point.

I actually hated P3 on the PS2. All the goodness was buried in crap combat, and the dragged out tediousness of navigation during the day. P3P is far more streamlined, the combat is vastly superior, and navigating is 100 times faster. I`s say this was the definative version of the game it they hadn`t hacked out all the cut-scenes. That`s the only thing that really bothers me. Aside from that, I`m really enjoying it.

You can play online with similarly minded people in alot of adhoc games using that program on the PS3 (can't remember the name).

The PSP actually does have alot of games, we just don't get the alot of them from Japan. If Sony wanted to drum up more interest, they'd start incenting publishers to bring some of of these titles over. No-brainers like Suikoden 1+2.... Those 2 games have a frigging cult following, yet we don't see this port in NA. That would have put the system into alot of fanatic fans hands right there.

The lack of a second analog stick is really what cripples the device. The UMD would be the big number 2 against the PSP. The lack of games could be forgiven if the device could provide a proper console experience on the go. Minus the second analog nub you end up controling the camera with face buttons in MGS, having to swap between movement and camera controls in Monster Hunter, and it's crippled a slew of fps games that have to rely on arbitrary forms of auto-lock to make up for the lack of proper camera control.

I'll probably unload mine once the 4000 comes.

Until then, at least the screen is good!