A entertaining SRPG with unique graphics plus a good storyline and strategic combat system to go along with it.
Viser leaves willingly saying that this will open up more possibilities with his alchemy. Before they leave Echidna one of the generals overpowers you and steals your father's sword. In hopes to help Viser you sign up with the imperial legion and are assigned to hunting spirits for energy for Viser's alchemy. After meeting a shaman and being forced into battle with a crazed general from the legion you are left confused and alone. Is working for the evil legion killing spirits for Viser the right things to do or should you believe the shaman that killing spirits just spreads the miasma faster?
This is where Spero's adventure to stop the miasma and save the world begins. I expect a good game whenever I play an Atlus game and Stella Deus passed with no exceptions. Although not the most impressive plot it is very entertaining and has good character development. With this title being a SRPG a good strategic combat base is a must. It is fairly simple strategic combat besides support skills which dependent on your characters effect different radiuses. They can do many things from healing allies, hurting foes, causing status effects, raising your statistics, or even making you resistant to certain forms of attack.
With this good strategic core the combat is a lot of fun and not only do you get a lot of story characters you also get generic characters. Throughout the game you have a large catacombs you can go through to gain levels and money as well as doing missions to earn special items, skills, characters, and information. Along with all of this there is also a very in-depth alchemy fusion system where you can create a massive selection of items, weapons, and new skills from combining others.
One thing I enjoyed a lot about Stella Deus is the artistic style that it has. Many games have very generic graphics and are afraid to go outside of the box of normalcy. With this creative art style, nice graphics, and cool team attacks and animations the game is very impressive on the graphical side. A decent sound track and nice voice acting supports the game and its cast of characters as well.
Stella Deus is a good SRPG that is based within a dying world that is filled with alchemy and magic. With its good storyline, artistic graphics, and strategic gameplay the game provides a very fun and entertaining time. I would rate Stella Deus a 8.9 out of 10 and it adds yet another great game to Atlus's legacy of SRPGs. Any fans of strategy games of RPGs would enjoy this action packed game to save the world.
This review will show up as a 9.0 due to Gamespot unfortunately not allowing a 8.9 to be selected.