Lovable characters, demons and...cannibilism. What isn't there to like?
Story: The game is set in a world called The Junkyard, where six tribes battle against each other for the right to ascend the Karma Temple in the centre of their world and reach a place called Nirvana. You control the leader of the Embryon tribe, called Serph, and his companions Heat, Argilla, Gale and Cielo. During a conflict with the Vanguard tribe an unknown object explodes and a light enters everyone in the world, giving them the power of Asuras (demons) and inside the object is a mysterious girl with no memory or identification. This is where the game starts.
Graphics: The character and demon designs are really stunning and also unique to most other JRPGs. There are some weird and wonderful creatures that you will have to face: anything from floating cows to giant centipedes. Jack Frost also makes an appearance an enemy in the game. This really makes the characters stand out against the backgrounds, which can be rather dull and repetitive (however, this fits the feel of the game).
Sound: Firstly, the game has been very well dubbed so that the common urge to read the subtitles instead of watching them speak is pretty much non existent. The voice actors have really excelled in making the characters seem more realistic and lovable (or dislikeable, it depends). The soundtrack is also rather unique, opting for a more rock/metal/electric style than the more traditional classical style.
Gameplay: It's a good job that the battles are interesting and challenging because the encounter rate in the game can be very, very high. At the start of each battle you have three turn icons, one for each character. However, if you exploit the enemy's weakness you only use up half of that turn so if you continue to do so then you could have a maximum of six turns. This also works the other way as each of your characters has a weakness too e.g. Serph's demon is weak against fire, so you have to stay on your toes.
DDS also has a great character customisation system called a mantra grid, which is really simple to use. Once the skill you want is selected that character will gain atma points after every battle until maxed out and they learn the skill. In order to make them learn these faster you can devour your enemies (you heard right), which isn't nearly as gruesome as it sounds.
Extras: Other than a few optional super tough bosses and all the 'walls' to find there is only one real mini game: field hunting. In this you play as Varna (Serph's demon), and you have to eat all of the weak demons in the given time limit. If you succeed, you enter a battle with creatures called Mitamas and if you manage to devour them you are rewarded with a lot of atma points.
Overall, Digital Devil Saga is a great start to the story but has a few minor problems that make it fall short of perfect. The story and characters will have you hanging on until the very end, and then make you buy the sequel.