Devil Survivor 2 Box Cover. Our main characters: Io, Hero, Daisuke. Image from GameFAQs
I love the Shin Megami Tensei series, and Atlus in general. There was a brief time in my life where every single game I purchased was an Atlus produced game in one way or another. Atlus games scratch a very special itch that very few games do, and they are genuinely challenging in ways that are fun, albeit frustrating at times.
SMT: Devil Survivor 2 is a game I'm not entirely sure why I stopped playing. It seems to have everything that I desire in a handheld turn based strategy game based on the Shin Megami Tensei series; characters that are likable, unique gameplay, a story that isn't completely ridiculous , with tons of demon fusion. I think part of the problem stems from the first Devil Survivor, a game I played and replayed a great number of times. Towards the end of my third run, I had demons so powerful that I didn't need to think about any strategy, and could steamroll the opposition. Starting what is essential the same game with a few new twists is somewhat frustrating, and I wish Devil Survivor 2 had done more to differentiate itself from DS1.
That said, the demon fusion mechanic is among my favorites here as opposed to every other Shin Megami game, based solely on the fact that I don't need three GameFAQs guides open to chain fuse my monsters. For instance, if I want to create the demon King Frost, the game will tell me how to fuse him - what monsters I need, what level I need to be, and what the result will be. Then I realize that King Frost has a weakness to fire attacks, so I want to try to create a monster to fuse into King Frost that has a skill to negate fire. With that in mind, I can search through what monsters could possibly create that end result and chain fuse my way up to King Frost. It's a complicated system, but one that I find to be very useful and easy to spend hours upon hours creating the perfect demons.
So many skills, variables, and abilities to keep track of! Awesome. I am nowhere near creating Susano-o.
The story is a bit of a mixed bag to me and I haven't explored the full scope of it just yet. The entire story takes place over eight days, with a new demon threatening Japan each day. There are various factions all vying for power and hoping to use the player characters for their own goals. Additionally, the main characters can see the fates of their friends through a mysterious phone application that shows them gruesome videos of their untimely demise and it's up to the main characters to try and fight fate. I find the gimmick interesting, but I swear some of the characters have a death wish and are actively trying to get themselves killed.
One thing I find done very well are the optional conversations that the player can have with their friends. These talky bits, as I tend to call them in any game, really help flesh out the characters. I've learned about Io's family and Joe's girlfriend who happens to be in the hospital. The dialogue is fast and reasonably witty, and the fact that the main character speaks often is great, though nearly all of his dialogue is selected by the player with two alternate choices (usually between helpful "let's do it" and "sarcastic jerk").
Aforementioned talky bit between the Hero and Io.
The most important question however, is why did I stop playing Devil Survivor 2? It seems to have everything that I could want in a game, but I feel like the game is hurt by feeling too similar to its predecessor. Devil Survivor 1 was an incredible game that was different from many games on the market, butDS2 is hampered by the simple fact that it has to follow an incredibly good game. I'm looking forward to playing through and finishing a few routes, hopefully after I wrap up a few other games.
Also, there's apparently an anime based on the game? Hm.
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