Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

So you're trapped in a city without any lights or electricity - a total blackout. Blockades surrounding the city prevent people from leaving or entering. Food and water are scarce, and demons begin to spawn at their whim. At this point, you're thinking you'll die; there is absolutely no chance of survival.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor (hereafter named SMT: DS) is a turn-based strategy RPG published by Atlus. It is also the first game of the Shin Megami Tensei series to hit the DS. I bet you're wondering if Atlus was intending to have the last two words abbreviated to DS, right? RIGHT!

Console: Nintendo DS
Release Date: 6/23/09 (NA), 1/15/09 (JP)
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Atlus
Players: Single Player
ESRB Rating: Teen

Introduction:
At first glance, I thought this game was weak. Too much dialogue, hardly any action, blah blah blah. It honestly made me think twice about the Shin Megami Tensei series and its success for Atlus. However, after a few hours of playing, I found it more interesting with all the features that I've unlocked. The main plot became more clear as I progressed, and battling itself got more entertaining with the skills that I've obtained. I can blather more about my experience with the game, but I think that will bore you. So why don't I cut to the chase?

Storyline:
Tokyo is in a blackout with demons and monsters appearing randomly. Hospitals, malls, schools and houses are all out of electricity and are now in use for shelters. Provisions are scarce throughout the city as well. The story begins with 3 average (not really)-looking Japanese teens who each hold a peculiar-looking device. This device, known as a "COMP", grants them access to a library amount of information that is vital for their survival, including the ability to summon their own demons. This device also receives news reports for disasters that will occur at a certain time and place within that day. Knowing that information, the three teens try to escape these threats and survive. Unfortunately enough they'll soon find out that some of these threats are inescapable and inevitable.

"And you see class, this is how you add demons onto your party."

Graphics:
The setting is set in a wide open area with buildings, objects, people, etc. scattered around to give the terrain more life, though most/all of them are in still images. Visually, most of these features in the city along with the character anime artwork were well drawn. Fans of the the Shin Megami Tensei series will be disappointed, however, to find out that this game wasn't made into a full 3D RPG like its recent successors. Nonetheless, the scenery for this game was well done despite the lack of interactions you have outside of battle. In-game wise the graphics are pretty standard for an SRPG. It's pretty much comparable to those of Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions.


Gameplay:
Combine both Final Fantasy Tactics' grid-based movement with Dragon Quest/Warrior's first-person turn-based battles to make this lovely work of art. Though most of the game involves dialogue, it doesn't mean the battles/battle-related features are lackluster. The team units are interactive and customizable. Team units are also allowed to carry two demons with them and the max amount of team units that can be deployed are 4. It should be noted that this game does not have armor or weapons. The player's stats themselves define their performance in battle. Stat points are acquired from leveling up and can be placed in any stat category you choose.

^The face of death.

As mentioned before, this game uses the "first-person" RPG style like that of Dragon Quest and Earthbound. The team unit or the team unit's demons are not viewable. Only your enemy. Skills are your only way of attacking and are inherited by either Skill Cracking, a feature that lets the player seal an enemy's attack and acquire it when defeated with the selected team unit you set the skill crack with, or leveling up. The best parts of the game, however, are the Demon Fusion and Auction. Players can fuse and make different types of demons by sacrificing two. Different formulas mean there are different possibilities. The Demon Auction is much like eBay, except it lasts for 5 seconds once bidding has started. You can bid for a selected demon against random AI players (that you will never know) or "Buy Now" if you feel that you'll get outbid within the limited time.


Longevity:
Demon fusion, auctioning, leveling. Yeah. You'll find yourself playing for a very long time. It's that addicting. Beware of killing about 50+ hours of your time trying to perfect this game. At tops though, it would take about 10 hours to beat the main story (that is if you play non-stop). On the downside, the lack of wireless communication really saps the longevity of the game. Even without those two features, SMT: DS still gives people reason to continue on playing.

NOOO! ATTACK AGGRESSIVELY!

Sound:
The tunes are alright. Not too sweet or bitter. There aren't many songs that you can listen to, though its main theme is pretty catchy if I say so myself. This is one category this game lacks in. Boo, hoo.

Overall:
First of its kind on the DS. Atlus surely hit the ground running on this one. Fusing monsters, bidding on a pseudo-active auction, leveling up your team units, catchy tune(s), first-person RPG perspective, it all comes together to make a nice, juicy sammich that will have you craving for more after each bite. Whether you're new to the series or a hardcore SMT fan, this should definitely be in your library of DS games.