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Introduction
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor is a tactical JRPG developed by ATLUS for the Nintendo DS. Like other SMT games, you assume the role of a silent protagonist tasked with resolving a disaster caused by demons (more on that in the story section). There is also an extended version of the game, titled Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked for the 3DS, which features voice acting and additional story content. Unlike Persona and the mainline SMT games, I believe this title didn’t receive the attention it deserves, despite being arguably one of the best in the franchise.Story
The game is set in modern-day Tokyo, where you play as a high school student planning to hang out with friends. One of your friends, Atsuro, obtains COMPs from your cousin. Which is a device that, surprise surprise, summons demons. Shortly after, Tokyo goes into lockdown by government order due to a demon infestation, leaving you and your friends to survive amidst the chaos. Utilizing your COMPs, you must navigate this disaster. The game features multiple endings, each offering a unique "solution" to the demon invasion. The game gives you every possible solution you can think of in that situtaion; unlike the forced Chaos or Law endings in other SMT games, the routes relate to the characters, meaning you must maintain good relationships with certain characters to unlock specific endings. The story unfolds over seven days(With the Overclocked version adding a day to some endings), during which you encounter various characters whose fates hinge on your decisions.Meaning that Characters can die in this game, so you have to be careful.What i like about the story is how it captures the human nature during disasters and how different profiles react to certain conditions. Different characters have different goals and priorities. Some simple and personal ,some looking at the big picture and so on. This makes your 7 days journey a very interesting one, and you're bound to connect to some charactersBTW Atsuro is The Best Bro in the entirety of SMT universe
Gameplay
The gameplay of Devil Survivor is divided into two parts: story progression and battles.Story Progression
In the story progression segment, you have the entire day to spend as you wish, aside from main story points. Throughout the day, you can allocate 30 minutes to talk to specific characters, witness events, or engage in event-related battles (there are also free battles that don’t consume time). The way you manage your time can unlock or lock certain routes, so it's essential to assist characters whose values align with yours.
Battles
The battle system is the highlight of the game—it's intuitive, engaging, and divided into two phases. Each character can lead a party of up to two demons, resulting in a formation of Demon – Character – Demon
with a maximum of four parties on the field. Demons can be obtained through auctions where you bid against other players or bots (if you're offline). They become available in the auction after defeating them in battle or progressing in the story. You can also fuse demons, which depends on the protagonist's level.
You can select which to demon to bid on from the auction, the starts represent how good the demon is (basically how many skills he is already learned)
Each demon possesses three active skills (basic attacks like fire spells, physical attacks, buffs, debuffs, healing, etc.), three passive skills (which change stats like increasing attack or defense), and one race skill (exclusive to that demon race). The human characters have Auto Skills that activate automatically, such as auto-heal or auto-defense boosts. Each character and demon has affinities to various attributes: weak (takes more damage), resist (takes less damage), null (negates damage), repel (reflects damage), and drain (heals instead of taking damage).
Like other tactical RPGs, battles occur in a top-down grid-based battlefield. Before battles begin, you can select which parties to deploy and their positions on the field. You can also assess enemy positions and affinities, helping you strategize accordingly.
A feature called Skill Crack allows humans to obtain new skills. This involves "stealing" skills from enemy demons. To use Skill Crack, you must select a party and target an enemy, and only the chosen party can steal that skill. Once obtained, the skill can be used by any character from a skill catalog, but only the character that cracked the skill can access it immediately during the fight. Using a skill requires meeting specific stat thresholds.
Here every one aims for Holy Strike, but you can choose different targets
After preparing and selecting your skills, you enter battle, where you take turns moving characters on the grid to initiate attacks against enemies. The turn order depends on the agility of your party and previous actions taken. During this phase, characters can summon demons, use healing and resurrection skills (which consume MP), and utilize race skills to enhance movement and attack capabilities. Race skills can significantly alter the outcome of battles, so leveraging them strategically is crucial.
The Top bar represents the turn order and here macabre race skills allows him to stop enemy's movement
The second phase involves turn-based combat, where attacks initiate battles between selected parties. Each member of both parties typically gets one turn to act, but can gain additional turns by exploiting enemy weaknesses or landing critical hits. Since a single turn can change the tide of battle, you must be cautious to avoid exposing your party's weaknesses. If the leader of A party dies the entire party loses(Your demons don't die and that doesn't apply on the enemy). But beating the leader first doesn't give you as much EXP as the beating every party member individually before the leader, so be wary of that (that doesn't concern the enemy, so be careful).
You can customize your human characters’ attacks and passives before battles, allowing for strategic planning against enemy types.
Battles in Devil Survivor are both punishing and rewarding. With the right build, you can defeat a boss in two turns, while going into battle unprepared can lead to a swift defeat. The flexibility in battle mechanics keeps players engaged and mentally stimulated. I personally enjoy the character designs, though some might disagree.
Presentation
The graphics in Devil Survivor align with what you would expect from a DS game—pixelated sprites with limited animations. While improvements could be made, especially in the turn-based sections, they still convey the story effectively through typical visual novel elements and top-down battle graphics. Overall, it meets the expectations for a DS RPG.Conclusion
Devil Survivor is an excellent game with a compelling and intuitive gameplay experience, which is why I’ve elaborated on it at length. I aimed to keep this review concise while highlighting the crucial aspects of the game. I refrained from delving deeply into the story to avoid spoilers; it's best experienced firsthand. The only notable downside is the bare-bones graphics, which is why I hope for a remaster or remake in the future. Nevertheless, it remains a highly enjoyable game. I would love to discuss the story further, but I want to avoid spoiling anything for potential players.
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