It's Jack Frost, Ho!
It seems to me that Atlus owes Giantbomb.com a great big "thank you." Ever since Jeff and Vinny began the Persona 4 Endurance Run, I've found myself entranced by their virtual exploits. I know of several people who have gone out and purchased Atlas products solely because of the ER, and I am happy to say that I now rank among them. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor would have totally flown under my radar if not for my newly developed obsession with all things SMT, and that would have been quite a shame. This under-exposed gem instantly won me over with its sleek presentation and tight strategic gameplay, and any fan of the ER or strategy games in general would do well to check it out.
Unlike the SMT games on PS2, Devil Survivor quickly throws players into the story. After a quick name entry screen (note: although the game asks for a first and last name as well as a nickname, most characters refer to you by your nickname) it is established that Tokyo is under attack my demons. In typical JRPG fashion, the teenage protagonist, his best friend, and his rediculously attractive potential love interest are Tokyo's best hope. From here, the plot takes a number of interesting turns that keep the game moving forward at a fast pace. Like in many SMT games, the characters play an even bigger role in the story than the overarching plot line. Although Devil Survivor doesn't feature a dedicated "social linking" system like Persona 4, the core gameplay behind talking it up with your allies is almost identical. The story lasts for seven game days, and each day only has so much time. Important events, such as battles or conversations with allies, take up a half hour each. In this way, the game limits who you can talk to each day. If you choose to converse with one character, you might lose the oppurtunity to speak with others. Once you actually talk to the characters, there are often multiple dialouge options that elict different reactions from the NPCs. These little decisions are made all the more interesting by the fact that the ending of the game changes depending on which conversations you have and haven't taken part in. Again like Persona 4, it is simply impossible to see all that this game has to offer on one, or even two playthroughs.
While much of the game is spent conversing with friends, the core of Devil Survivor is the tactical battle system. In order to differentiate SMTDS from other high profile SRPGs on the DS, Atlus has smartly merged the strategy gameplay with Persona-esque turn based battles. A typical turn in battle will consist of moving a character next to an enemy, activating a few buffs/debuffs before the battle begins, and attacking. When you select "attack," the game zooms in to a typical turn based battle in which you can attack, cast spells, or defend with each of your characters. When each of the characters has had his/her turn, the game zooms back out to the tactical view. While it may sound simple at first, battle quickly develops a startling amount of depth. This is thanks largely in part to the demon fusing system. Each main character commands a party of two demons, each of whom has their own skill set. There are dozens, if not hundreds of demons in the game, each with their own strenghts and weaknesses, and it is possible to fuse them together to make stronger demons. If you think that fusing looks like a pain in the ER, fear not. Devil Survivor's fusion system is thankfully streamlined to make the process much easier. Instead of randomly assigning skills to the fused demon like in Persona 4, Devil Survivor allows you to select the skills that you would like to be passed on to the fused demon. This greatly speeds up the process and makes it more fun to boot. Demons level up seperately from their owners, and slower, too, so the fusion process becomes necessary to progress. Although human characters don't discover new moves as they level up, they can copy skills from defeated enemies. This allows players to develop their characters however they wish. While they may seem a bit daunting on paper, the many facets of battle are explained at a nice pace throughout the game, which keeps things fresh and interesting. All told, battles are tight, tactical affairs. They always remain fun, though, which makes the necessary level grinding acceptable.
Graphically, Devil Survivor reminds me a bit of The World Ends With You. Character portraits sport a sleek, colorful look that is extremely pleasing to the eyes and the environments look nice, too. During battle, however, this looks like your typical strategy game on the DS. The sprites and attack animations are nothing special, but they get the job done. The music is pretty catchy and fits the modern themes of the plot well, but there are only a few songs, and they repeat a lot.
Devil Survivor represents everything that is great about Atlus' SMT franchise, only condensed to fit on the DS. The story is compelling, as are the characters, and the multiple choice conversation options add depth to character development. Devil Survivor quickly establishes its superiority on the battlefield with gameplay that will make you think a few moves ahead, and while level grinding is necessary, it is never too overbearing. This game has quickly shot to the top ranks of my favorite DS games, and I think many strategy fans will feel the same.
