Title: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2
Company: Atlus
System: DS
Cost: $29
Yeah… High School Sucks
You know why I liked Nocturne? Because it didn’t make me cringe. It’s certainly a flawed game (the possibility of getting killed in a random preemptive enemy attack after 30 minutes of progress coming to mind). But the darkness of the game felt very real. The true demon ending being the darkest surprise I’ve ever had in a video game. Persona 4 on the other hand, had me groaning all over the place. But despite being embarrassing, Persona 4 is still a good game.
Devil Summoner 2 feels infinetely more like Persona 4 than Nocturne. It stars a group of (mostly) Japanese high school students in a demon infested Japan. You need to make “social links” with your friends to improve battle effectiveness. The only real difference is that Survivor 2, well isn’t that interesting. As a strategy game it’s weak, and the few strong ideas (demon auctions, designating learnable techniques at the beginning of battle) are overshadowed. It’s another grind, just this time with a weak story and transparent characters. It still has the benefits of the Shin Megami universe though, and the adult (or perhaps teen is more appropriate) pokemon characteristics can entertain for awhile.
Review: 2 Stars
Memory: Creepster scene where the high-school girls compare breast sizes (in text). This is the kind of shit that can be cut from a US release.