Post by Bytor on Nov 1, 2012 12:51:46 GMT -5
-Visuals- 8.5/10
OK, if you go into this expecting next gen graphics stop reading this, turn off the DS, pull out the game card and forget about it. A: this is SMT, they don't really care too much about making things look 100% realistic and B: this is SMT, why the heck would you expect next gen graphics! So, now that we have ascertained what you will not see, what exactly will you see. Well, to be honest a bit of a mixed bag. Journeying through the various levels will take you on a nondescript trip to say the least. The various characters and presentations in your home base (ship) will probably also underwhelm. What might possibly get the juices flowing however is the various (and by various I mean @324 different) demons. They are represented, in typical SMT fashion wonderfully. Each looks great and the descriptions and small animations are truly very nice additions to what otherwise is a somewhat sterile looking game, although thus admitted the color palettes on the various environments is utilized rather well. So, in a nutshell, you like the look and feel of other (read older, newer Persona games looks a bit better) SMT games then you will feel right at home here.
-Sound- 8.5/10
This is going to be somewhat brief. Basically the music is what it is, it fits the mood and feel of the game wonderfully and is varied enough in the scenes to certainly differentiate tension levels, but in another sense it's somewhat unobtrusive to the point that I seldom even noticed it.
-Gameplay- 9.9/10
Here is where the game, in my opinion absolutely shines out. It incorporates many factors from other SMT games such as talking to demons in Persona, dungeon exploration in Nocturne, and demon fusion which is pretty much in all of the SMT games. What it does so well in this fusion is that the simple issues with some of the other games are fixed. Talking to the demons actually makes sense, based on your alignments in part but often simply in how you respond to their questions. You can, and will know ahead of time what powers your fused demon will receive, and you can even influence that by adding a previously acquired demons source (their list of powers) to the fusion thus adding even more powers to the fused demon. And you control your allies attack, so no stupid AI moves like in some of the earlier SMT games.The compendium is back and as fun as ever to fill and you can upgrade your weapons by acquiring items in battle as well as through exploration. And boy, be ready to explore, as that certainly takes up the vast majority of the game. And thus admitted, if getting lost in a n area for an hour or so is not your cup of tea you may say this game is too hard, but honestly while I did get frustrated in a couple of areas it to me has the almost perfect fit of frustration, challenge, and elation to make it all worth while, plus, who knows what type of demon you may run into while exploring (not to mention the countless side missions which you will run across throughout the various areas. This game simply gets it all right. Period.
-Story- 9.4/10
A giant hole as appeared over the South Pole, and to make matters even more fun it appears to be growing, pretty much consuming everything in it's path and is pretty much impervious to exploration. A special team is developed and along with the latest in scientific equipment sent into the hole to explore and discover what it is and what is causing it. Honestly the story seems to somewhat take a back seat until about half way through the game. It is at this point that you start to discover what the disturbance is, why there are demons everyone attempting to kill you (as well as ones who "befriend" you) and begin to question exactly what is moral and what is immoral. The story actually surprised me in it's depth, not sure why it did, SMT games love to make you think, and my only wish is that the story had actually been fleshed out a bit more and taken an even further dip into what makes mankind human.
-Overall- 9.5/10
This is simply put one of the best games available on the DS. Having said that I realize SMT aren't exactly everyone's cup of tea, and this one is no exception, but I would recommend this game to pretty much anyone as a shining example of not only a great SMT but a great game period. One slight word of caution though, this game is not for the impatient, you will spend a minimum of @55 hours and actually closer to 130 to finish it all, but WOW, what a great way to spend time.
