Shin Megami Tensai: Digital Devil Saga 2
Platform: PlayStation 2
Publisher: Atlus
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Review Code
It's impossible to look at a game like Shin Megami Tensai: Digital Devil Saga 2 without bringing bringing up Final Fantasy VII. The role-playing game from Japanese developer Square looms over its genre like a super-deformed, materia-enhanced end boss. And not because the game was innovative or even all that good. Final Fantasy VII had the good fortune of coming out at the launch of the original PlayStation and becoming by default the "first RPG" of a generation of gamers.
Shin Megami Tensai: Digital Devil Saga 2 cribs almost all of its moves directly from the Final Fantasy VII playbook. Turn-based battle? Check. Magically infused future world? Check. Randomly encountered battles? Check again. The similarities are too numerous to count. Surely, many are now genre staples, but considering the amount of time that's passed since Final Fantasy VII bowed I'd prefer more evolution, besides stylish graphics (which SMT:DD2 has in spades) and a deep character customization system.
And yet, while slogging through encounter after encounter, slowly strengthening my party of freedom-fighting VR demons, I couldn't help but get swept up by the rhythm of the battles. There's a reason why dozens upon dozens of RPGs have adhered to Final Fantasy VII's riffs. Because they work.
But I've been down this heroes path before and my gut tells me that its going the same way it always has. I'll meet my foe at some kind of high-security weapon facility, I'll battle them in mutated form and perhaps lose a party member or two along the way. A fine ending for a epic quest. I'm just not sure I have the heart (or 20 hours) to see it through.
Publisher: Atlus
Review Type: Touchy
Version: Review Code
It's impossible to look at a game like Shin Megami Tensai: Digital Devil Saga 2 without bringing bringing up Final Fantasy VII. The role-playing game from Japanese developer Square looms over its genre like a super-deformed, materia-enhanced end boss. And not because the game was innovative or even all that good. Final Fantasy VII had the good fortune of coming out at the launch of the original PlayStation and becoming by default the "first RPG" of a generation of gamers. Shin Megami Tensai: Digital Devil Saga 2 cribs almost all of its moves directly from the Final Fantasy VII playbook. Turn-based battle? Check. Magically infused future world? Check. Randomly encountered battles? Check again. The similarities are too numerous to count. Surely, many are now genre staples, but considering the amount of time that's passed since Final Fantasy VII bowed I'd prefer more evolution, besides stylish graphics (which SMT:DD2 has in spades) and a deep character customization system.
And yet, while slogging through encounter after encounter, slowly strengthening my party of freedom-fighting VR demons, I couldn't help but get swept up by the rhythm of the battles. There's a reason why dozens upon dozens of RPGs have adhered to Final Fantasy VII's riffs. Because they work.
But I've been down this heroes path before and my gut tells me that its going the same way it always has. I'll meet my foe at some kind of high-security weapon facility, I'll battle them in mutated form and perhaps lose a party member or two along the way. A fine ending for a epic quest. I'm just not sure I have the heart (or 20 hours) to see it through.
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