Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2

THE GOOD:

All the characters from the first are back

Matra grid has been improved

THE BAD:

Lifeless areas

Lots of leveling needed at times

Needs more cutscenes

SUMMARY:
Digital Devil Saga 2 [DDS2] is a direct sequel to the first. Fortunately, it answers a lot of questions that were left open at the conclusion of the original. That's not to say that playing the first is a requirement. DDS2 can easily be picked up as a standalone title, however I do believe that playing DDS1 first will enhance the story by quite a lot, as I find that drawing links to other related games is always big plus in RPGs.

I won't explain the story in much detail because most of the plot points will give away the original, so I'll keep it brief. The story picks up where the original left off. Just when your party of demon-like warriors, the Embryon, enter a new world in hope of some sort of peace, they find themselves...

THE GOOD:
pass-turn system forces strategy, story and characters will grip even the most jaded or indifferent, bold deviations from genre standards, Mantra system much improved

THE BAD:
techno-heavy musical score grows old fast, Karma Ring system is largely useless, uneven pacing hampers the weight of events, majority of environments are stale and lifeless

SUMMARY:
The recent Shin Megami Tensei releases are rewriting the book on the role-playing genre, offering unexpectedly fast-paced and challenging combat driven by unusual casts and mature stories. Digital Devil Saga 2 is the latest entry in the series to make it to the Western World, and as such, is a must for both fans of the genre and those who have scorned it in the past for its lagging length, sentimental stories, and lack of difficulty.

You needn't have played any prior SMT games to grasp the fundamentals of gameplay or the events unfolding in DDS2, but it blends perfectly...

The updated and good things about Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 as follows...

1. New hexagonal Mantra flow system (MFS). A lot of new skills added for the playable characters. Very flexible to grow your desired skills for each characters, no more follow the Mantra Tree Grid to learn more advance skills. There is a lot of hidden mantra skills too! My advise is to focus on critical skills and plan ahead.

2. In my opinion, half demon transformation form during battle is cool. You will always hit enemies with critical hit and have the opportunity to use some of the demon skills in this form, e.g. devour! However, this transformation is random during battle, only limited demon skills are available, no usage of linkage/ combo skills, and lower accuracy hitting rate! The only good thing I can see which is good about this form is you are stronger than human form.

3. A lot of more useful and new combo/ linkage skills! Some of this very powerful linkage skills...