Post by Bytor on Jan 25, 2012 16:35:53 GMT -5
-Visuals- 9.0/10
The visuals are , for the most part, relatively simply rendered. Having said that the images are clean and crisp. The various demons are easily recognizable to any SMT fans and they are represented nicely here on the DS. The main and supporting characters are also done nicely and rendered well. They all look good representing the typical SMT style very well. The strongest aspect of the graphics may be the various backgrounds and regions of Tokyo. The attention to detail and representation of the locales is done ever so nicely showcasing both the games artwork style as well as balancing the line between anime and realism wonderfully.
-Sound- 8.8/10
This game absolutely rocks. The music is stirring and powerful providing a mood and feel wonderfully. The game is set in modern times and the soundtrack reflects that which is a certain change from traditional JRPG's, or even RPG's in general for that matter. Unfortunately by Day 2 I was a tad tired of the repetitiousness of the music. It would have been much better if there was more variety, let me rephrase, more songs. The style and substance there is fine indeed, there's just not enough of it.
-Gameplay- 8.5/10
The game is almost a hybrid of a SRPG and traditional turn based RPG. It certainlyis a SRPG but I believe the emphasis is more on the turn based system as to be honest there is little of the traditional SRPG decision making and planning skills involved instead it is much more of "pre-battle" type SRPG. Terrain and placement are much less important and the make-up and abilities of you and your demon allies are much, much more important. Actually so important that if you have your team set up disadvantageously you will die, quickly and horribly while doing little to no damage to the enemies. I loved the typical SMT demon fusion system, although they threw a wrinkle in here, you don't recruit or win demons in battle, instead you win them (easily I must say) in auctions. I also loved the skill crack option which rewarded you (or your demons) with new skills if you (or they) defeated a specific demon. I also, also loved the traditional SMT mythology and powers and the collecting and utilization of the various demons. And now the love fest ends. This game is no freaking joke! It is certainly one of, if not the, hardest games I have ever played in terms of battle difficulty. The enemies will very, very often go first, they will heal constantly, they will do much more damage to you than you will to them and they typically move and range farther than you are able to. Regular battles can be a pain, although you should win most of them, although the guide, protect battles are a pain (NPC AI is pretty good to be honest, but the situations can still make the battles a serious hassle. The boss battles are where things get (often) silly. The game most certainly skewers things against you. Expect the boss to have every advantage and regardless of your level expect the battle to range anywhere from very hard to simply ridiculous hard, winnable yes, but wow (Beldr battle took me @7 tries to finally win). Demon selection and capabilities are the criteria which must be recognized and developed. Simply put, no matter what level you and yours are at if you don't have the appropriate powers you will lose, end of story. Having said all of that I still enjoyed the game. It's challenging, at times borderline ridiculous but NOT impossible, just be ready to die...and die a lot.
-Story- 9.4/10
The story is intense to say the least! You and your friends have been trapped in an area of Tokyo and cannot escape as it seems the area has been surrounded and cordoned off by a special forces branch of the military and to make matters even more fun the area is suddenly over run by demons, "demon tamers", corrupt thugs and of course helpless civilians. Your job is to A: survive and B: attempt to figure out exactly what is going on. The story and characters are engaging and the various choices you make as well as the conversations (and things are timed to a degree, so you actually have to decide whom to talk to and what areas to go to next) you have will influence the story and the gameplay. This makes for an extremely interesting story and one that will certainly engage you for quite a few hours. The only issue with this system is you can only have one save file and there are six main endings, so...to get them all be prepared to play the game over and over again.
-Overall- 8.8/10
This game is a marathon, and I actually mean that in a bad way. While I really enjoyed the game I simply didn't love it. I want to play a game that is challenging and fun but at the same time not a game that is all about simply surviving. Obviously the developers felt this was the direction they wanted to go as the title is most certainly apt, It is all about survival. Unfortunately this, in my opinion takes a bit away from the game, I simply spent way too much time trying to survive and not enough enjoying the game and enjoying the battles, story and gameplay. Now, don't get me wrong, this is a great DS game, but I simply do not feel it's for the "masses", and no offense intended, but it is designed for a diehard hardcore RPG player who doesn't mind some unreal battles. Otherwise even the average RPG'er may the find the battles to be simply overwhelming.