Support NeoGAF

[Brandon F]

If you had to choose one, this or Nocturne?

Both are fantastic. DDS is closer to Final Fantasy in terms of structure with the progression, exploration, and larger emphasis on plot and characterization. It's probably the most accessible SMT game for a new player to cut their teeth with, and the closest the series has probably come to a typical jRPG in execution.

Nocturne is fantastic, but emphasizes dungeon crawling a bit more than the plot and narrative. Heavy focus on party construction through demon fusion, recruiting, and customization. It's one large(mostly linear) continuous dungeon essentially, creating the illusion of exploring a world with key story elements slowly unraveling with player choice to dictate the ending.

Can't go wrong with either, but DDS will help get newcomers more accustomed to the SMT components that translate to most all of its games more smoothly than diving directly into Nocturne will. (Though really Nocturne is hardly that overwhelming either).

Any fan of RPG's should really play both DDS1/2 and Nocturne at some point.

 

[Lunar15]

It's like they literally waited for me to just buy hard copies of all the PS2 SMT titles first. I seriously bought Nocturne and both DDS in January.

OH WELL. At least I have them, and they weren't terrible expensive.

 

[Yaponchik]

King.com won't be happy about this.

 

[.la1n]

Atlus just keeps delivering the goods, might as well since nobody else seems interested in releasing their PS2 catalogs. Look forward to seeing DDS 2 next week

 

[Voror]

Yum. I hope I can play this on my vita though probably not, right? And that bonus boss...

 

[Jinko]

It's like they literally waited for me to just buy hard copies of all the PS2 SMT titles first. I seriously bought Nocturne and both DDS in January.

OH WELL. At least I have them, and they weren't terrible expensive.

This is the best way, these games looks quite nice emulated on PC.

 

[Lumpy Onion]

This is really cool that they are doing this. Since I don't want to lug out my PS2 (looks like ass on my TV now anyways) and bother tracking down the game this makes things much easier. Doubt I will ever put my PS3 away at this rate.

 

[Logash]

I bought Nocturne and will be buying still. I really hope that Sony makes it so I can play my PS2 titles on my PS4 though cause I hate turning on my PS3 at this point. Only game I want to turn my PS3 on for is Persona 5.

 

[Stuart444]

Only good thing to come out of this is us EU people might actually get it based on this:

http://blog.ghostlight.uk.com/

Moving on to SMT: Digital Devil Saga I and II for PSN – if you remember last week I mentioned we were looking into these titles again following the recent release of SMT: Nocturne on the North American PSN Store. Well, earlier today I learned that following some discussions with Sony, they are investigating whether the two Digital Devil Saga titles will work with the latest version of the PS2 emulator. This process is likely to take a few weeks but we’re keeping our fingers crossed in the hope that all goes well. Whatever happens, I’ll be sure to let you all know as soon as I hear anything.

 

[Frost_Ace]

Nice, hope new players will like it.

 

[Aru]

Nice. Always wanted to play that game.
I had next to nothing to play on PS3, so this is welcomed.

 

[Ourobolus]

Wow. On a roll here. PS3+Vita is now the best SMT/spinoff combo out there.

Spoiler

Minus SMT1, 2, and 4...

 

[Taruranto]

Should I play this or Nocturne first?

They are both pretty excellent pick Nocturne if you want a looong game with less story and more focus on gameplay, DDS is more a balanced experience, also kinda more forgiving.

 

[matmanx1]

Nocturne is classic SMT -- near generic protagonist, hardcore dungeon crawling, monster negotiation and fusing making up your party, morality choices, the whole nine yards.

Digital Devil Saga is "what if that team made a version of Final Fantasy X?". It has a party of heroes that you switch in and out, with their own abilities and move sets. It has a take on the sphere grid to level up your guys. It has a more cinematic story and a more detailed and expansive plot. Still has all the great massive dungeons, enemy grinding, and push system combat the series is known for however.

DDS1 does end in a massive cliff hanger (that basically changes the way the story is viewed), but each of the two games is as long as a typical RPG of that time period. They are both massive games. You can buy and play DDS1 now and Grace would have plenty of time to get DDS2 up on PSN by the time you were done, even on her time schedule.

Nocturne is a great, classic game, but I feel like DDS was the best RPGs released that generation. Takes all the parts I loved about Nocturne and brought it into a presentation and story that I preferred more (a Final Fantasy style). Tremendous story too, even if it does drive straight into crazy-town towards the very end of the second game.

Listen to this guy, he knows of what he speaks. DDS works for me because of the stronger emphasis on story and characters over Nocturne. I adored DDS back in the day.

 

[Brazil]

I love how the boxart in the OP is the European one.

 

[GuitarAtomik]

Man I wish PS2 classics worked on Vita.

 

[RPG]

Digital Devil Saga is "what if that team made a version of Final Fantasy X?".

Probably the best description for DDS.

Super excited that this is releasing. I'm assuming DDS2 will be out shortly as well?

 

[Phantasmal Repose]

God dammit. I just started my playthrough of SMT4. Atlus please. You're killing me.

 

[Meier]

This is a fantastic game.

 

[randomkid]

Honestly, when it comes to PS2 classics I don't understand why Europeans even bother with non-US accounts. It's not even like the Vita where it's a hassle to switch, and your exchange rate is better than ours so you're not overpaying. Why even worry about when the game comes over officially unless you want to demonstrate support or something?

I would save the anger for all the other legitimate bullshit you guys have to constantly deal with, at least there's a painless workaround in this particular case.

In any case, very exciting that Atlus has decided it's worth getting their entire murderer's row of PS2 games up at great prices for all, too much good stuff.

 

[shuraiya]

Should I play this or Nocturne first?

Definitely Nocturne; especially if you decide to tackle the optional stuff in both games.

 

[Recall]

Ghostlight said it wasn't possible.

 

[ghostlight_ross]

Ghostlight said it wasn't possible.

We're working on it with Sony. I can't promise anything until Sony have finished looking into it but fingers crossed.

 

[Pierre Levegh]

Any news on when part 2 will be released?

 

[MagnetoWned]

Right now on my SMT/Persona Backlog:
-Devil Summoner 1 [Only played like...30 minutes of it]
-Persona 4 [Played about an hour of it]
-Nocturne [5 hours in, at Ginza right now]
-Devil Survivor: Overclocked [Never even started]

and tomorrow I'll be getting DDS

ATLUSSSSSSSS

 

[wastedyears]

If you had to choose one, this or Nocturne?

Both. Or better yet,all three, assuming that DDS2 is coming next. All three are excellent games.

 

[daveo42]

Atlus be praised! Glad this is coming to PSN as I completely missed out on this and DDS2 back in the day.

 

[Hibiki Kurosawa]

Shit! Yes! Atlus is killing us all with their powers of money and time sucking!

 

[BinaryPork2737]

DDS's opening is so good.

 

[Ourobolus]

DDS's opening is so good.

DDS2's is even better!

 

[MagnetoWned]

The game is now on PSN!