Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga

Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga (known as Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner in Japan) is a 2005 RPG developed by Atlus for the PlayStation 2.

It has a direct sequel called Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2 released two years later for the PlayStation 2 that received the same amount of critical praise. It would later spawn a Japan only mobile game called Digital Devil Saga: Avatar Tuner A's Test Server. It was made available on the PSN on 2014 and has spawned numerous light novels.

Plot
The first Digital Devil Saga takes place in the Junkyard, a combat simulator program divided between six tribes where it always rains: the Embryon, Vanguards, Solids, Maribel, Brutes and Wolves. Each tribe holds a particular territory, and initially are devoid of emotions: the only common ground is a great tower at the Junkyard's center called the Karma Temple, which acts as a meeting place for all the tribe leaders. The following game is set on Earth, which has been devastated by a phenomenon known as the "Black Sun", a manifestation of God's anger. The survivors of humanity are ruled by the Karma Society.

The main protagonists of the Digital Devil Saga duology are silent protagonist Serph (サーフ Sa-fu) , leader of the Embryon; and Sera (セラ), a woman who can commune with God. The other Embryon are the kind Argilla (アルジラ Arujira), the hot-tempered Heat (ヒート Hito), the light-hearted Cielo (シエロ Shiero) and the highly logical Gale (ゲイルGeiru) . The main antagonist is Angel (エンジェル), who is Sera's intersexual biological parent.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Amazing music; it has rock and grunge tunes with amazing vocals.
 * 2) The visuals are amazing for its time.
 * 3) The story is intriguing and compelling; it touches dark and crude themes in a not so conventional way; it explores depression, cannibalism and more.
 * 4) The setting is amazing; it's a world where rain never stops and tribes fight themselves to please God and enter the Nirvana.
 * 5) It has a nice amount of comedy without overshadowing the dark tone.
 * 6) There are several plot- twists throughout the whole game.
 * 7) The dungeon designs are complex and creative.
 * 8) The battle system is unique and fair. Cannibalism is required to power up your characters, as eating the corpses of defeated human enemies will power up the stats of a character, as well as granting some bonuses in demon form.
 * 9) Well written characters that are very distinct from each other, creating a plethora of different points of views and ideals.
 * 10) The way it explores the concept of the human mind is phenomenal; creating metaphors and linking it to the human mind makes the player think about the distinct quantity of possibilities surrounding the truth of the mind's nature.
 * 11) The Cel-Shaded style combined with light shadows and dark colors give this game a distinct touch from others.
 * 12) It pushes the Nocturne Engine to its best.
 * 13) Amazing voice talents and performances for every character in the game.
 * 14) Intelligent design for bosses and enemies, giving each of them a different setting or characteristics; creating an exhilarating sensation whenever you fight them.
 * 15) It has some horror themes scattered across the whole game.
 * 16) The Demi-Fiend, the protagonist of the previous game makes an appearance in this game as a bonus boss.
 * 17) While the characters are humans, they gain the ability to transform into demons early on in the first game, allowing them to turn into demons at the start of battle and revert to their human form if they so desire. While humans can't cast spells, they can use Guns (which some demons are weak against) and are immune to the Expel element, which can make a difference early on, since the game doesn't have the Null affinity. If the correct characters are in the party and some of them are in demon form with the others in human form, they can launch a combined attack that deals high damage.
 * 18) *Digital Devil Saga 2 also adds in the 'berserk form', in which a character can enter a half-demonic state, transforming only a part of their body (typically their arm). They have more powerful abilities, but suffer from weakened defenses.
 * 19) **This game also introduced the Fusion Spell system to the franchise: some characters can tag team the enemies if one of them is in human form and the other is in demon form. Fusion Spells have a higher MP cost than normal spells, but deal much more damage.
 * 20) In addition to an improved mantra grid, the game adds a "Karma Ring" system, allowing the player to increase character stats. By equipping these rings with gem stones found in the game the player can further increase a character's stats.
 * 21) The Press Turn system returns from Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The Demi-Fiend bonus boss battle was regarded as extremely challenging, even for standards of the series, due to several cheap tactics like him healing to full health after a certain point and being immune to every element except Earth (as it wasn't present in his own game) and Almighty, the inability to use any element-resisting Mantras, and the fact that after some time, his demons kill themselves with Recarmdra, healing him and triggering his strongest skill, Gaea Rage, which deals thousands of damage, instantly killing the party without using skills that null instant kills. Some people have even gone as far as to deem it the hardest JRPG boss ever created.
 * 2) You can't fully play the second game without playing the first game in terms of story. Some content in the 2nd game is also unavailable without doing specific tasks in the 1st game (i.e.: the Amala Ring can be obtained only after defeating the Demi-Fiend in the 1st game)
 * 3) Inconsistent pacing in the first game.
 * 4) It can get really repetitive at times in terms of objectives.
 * 5) Unlike previous games in the franchise, the game lacks the Null element affinity, replaced by the Void status: when a character casts specific spells, they make the whole party immune to one element for a turn, allowing them to obtain extra Press Turns if they are hit with the element they resist.

Reception
It's commonly referred as one of the best RPG for the PS2, as well as one the best of the decade. Video Game reviewer ProJared ranked it number 7 in his "Top Ten JRPGs (NOT From Square Enix)" list.

Videos
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