Post by Bytor on Jun 24, 2009 13:00:20 GMT -5
-Visuals- 8/10
Nothing too fancy here, the demons are rendered nicely for PS2, the way the game is set up backgrounds are to a certain extent not important so little attention is paid to that aspect, overall not bad and as a matter of fact considering the design of the story and game play visuals aren't too important.
-Sound- 8/10
Basically the fighting sounds do the purpose but the soundtrack is excellent, the only thing making the score as low as it is is the fact there is no vocalization, but that is not in and of itself a bad thing in this game. The lack of vocals in no way takes away from the game.
-Gameplay- 8.5/10
If you like turn based RPG's then this is certainly not going to hold any surprises...except for the ability to constantly upgrade and modify your "allies". There are about 180 different demons counting classes which can utilized and each has their own weaknesses and strengths (fusing demons is half the fun here, lol). This aspect of the game is it's strongest point. It forces you to think about your moves, you can't simply bully your way through the big battles, you will have to have a solid strategy or you will spend an awful lot of time practicing being dead.
-Story- 9/10
The storyline takes a bit to get used to. In a nutshell the world is being taken over by NOT GONNA SPOIL, this is called the Conception and it begins with Tokyo being transported/taken over by the demon world. You are also quickly transformed from a high school student into the Demi-fiend, who gains powers through the ingestion of Magatama which give you various different powers, another strategic aspect is you may only hold 8 skills at once, and once gone, they are gone. This is where choosing your demonic allies comes into play, you want to make sure you have good balance in skills. There are seven different areas of the city you can explore and each has it's particular demons and battles you will face and while not a totally free game in the aspect of where you travel there is a lot of leeway allowed, and of course certain things can not be finished until certain other conditions are met.
-Overall- 9.5/10
This is a classic case of the sum being equal to much more than the parts, while the game has no single thing which makes it great when you combine everything it becomes a great game. It will keep you occupied for countless hours, I logged almost 100 hours (although some was spent trying to get every demon). There are six different endings depending upon choices you made through out the game and several hidden dungeons and optional characters. For any fan of RPG's I cannot recommend this game enough. Shin Megami Tensei games are typically cult classics and this one gets it right in almost every aspect, an absolutely great release from Atlus!