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[Ultratech]

Made it a bit further into Day 3. Progress kinda got hampered since I haven't had a ton of time to play this week. Also a bit in thought on what I want to fuse and everything.

Really hate how expensive summoning from the Compendum is.

Also, the

Spoiler

Saki fight with Botis

was interesting. Here I was thinking I had a chance to get some uber skills...only to

Spoiler

get my shit rocked by Ziodyne

.
Still won the fight though. Always annoying when you think you've killed everything and more demons pop out of nowhere.

 

[duckroll]

I'm being kinda put off by this fight on Day 7

Spoiler

against Io and Daichi. The enemies all have like 2-3 turns before my MC, because of my stupid demon pairing, and I somehow got him surrounded in a corner.

Meh. Might need to restart from a save instead of the suspend. :/

 

[CornBurrito]

Hmm... I still don't like the idea of a physical based MC. I realize it is incredibly viable, but I like my MC being the Holy Nuke.

 

[PK Gaming]

Hmm... I still don't like the idea of a physical based MC. I realize it is incredibly viable, but I like my MC being the Holy Nuke.

Yeah... my problem with a physical MC stems from the fact that you end up screwing over other physical attackers since there aren't many physical skills to go around VS the myriad of spell skills that exist out there.

 

[Deified Data]

Yeah... my problem with a physical MC stems from the fact that you end up screwing over other physical attackers since there aren't many physical skills to go around VS the myriad of spell skills that exist out there.

...unlike magic, however, all you really need is one good one. I get where you're coming from, though. My MC will probably end up being my only physical attacker for that purpose.

 

[PK Gaming]

Make sure your AG stat is high in order to abuse the hell out of MultiStrike! Extremely important since Multistrike + Pierce and a high AG stat will end most enemies. Conversely, no physical attackers other than yourself means you can more magic attackers on your side which is pretty cool I guess.

 

[Koroviev]

Made it a bit further into Day 3. Progress kinda got hampered since I haven't had a ton of time to play this week. Also a bit in thought on what I want to fuse and everything.

Really hate how expensive summoning from the Compendum is.

Also, the

Spoiler

Saki fight with Botis

was interesting. Here I was thinking I had a chance to get some uber skills...only to

Spoiler

get my shit rocked by Ziodyne

.
Still won the fight though. Always annoying when you think you've killed everything and more demons pop out of nowhere.

You mean every major battle? lol

 

[Mitama]

Yeah... my problem with a physical MC stems from the fact that you end up screwing over other physical attackers since there aren't many physical skills to go around VS the myriad of spell skills that exist out there.

Thing is, you only really need 1 physical based team since they'll be able to take out any other team (except for Phys Repel demons). This way you can have, for example, Holy Dance, Drain and Mediarahan on Fumi, Megidolaon and 2 dances on Otome and Prayer/Samarecarm + another dance on Io.

 

[CornBurrito]

Thing is, you only really need 1 physical based team since they'll be able to take out any other team (except for Phys Repel demons). This way you can have, for example, Holy Dance, Drain and Mediarahan on Fumi, Megidolaon and 2 dances on Otome and Prayer/Samarecarm + another dance on Io.

But why use a physical MC instead of going with a magic MC and having Keita be your physical user? Unideal stat growth?

 

[duckroll]

OH MY GOD. I won the fight with some mid-battle re-planning and some SDTP. OMG. OMG. The feeling when I totally DESTROY the battle and the plan that I had in my head worked out the way I intended. OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. This is like DEMON CHESS.

 

[7Th]

I'm being kinda put off by this fight on Day 7

Spoiler

against Io and Daichi. The enemies all have like 2-3 turns before my MC, because of my stupid demon pairing, and I somehow got him surrounded in a corner.

Meh. Might need to restart from a save instead of the suspend. :/

I think I got lucky in that fight.

Spoiler

Daichi attacked my Assassination tank all by himself and I easily got rid of him before having to worry about super Io.

Also:

Spoiler

Anguished One > Daichi >>>>>>>>>>>>> ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ > Ronaldo > Yamato

 

[duckroll]

I think I got lucky in that fight.

Spoiler

Daichi attacked my Assassination tank all by himself and I easily got rid of him before having to worry about super Io.

Spoiler

My problem was actually dealing with the dude who had Megido, Evil Wave, and Double Up. It was a really deadly combo combined with their faster turn orders. What I did in the end was I sent one of Otome's demons to the MC, and then summoned a backup demon with Evil Wave instead, so while two enemies were tanking the MC and blocking that guy, Otome moved up and engaged him with Evil Wave, wiping the two demons which were giving him Evil Wave + Double Up to begin with.

That also Cracked Megido, which Otome then equipped, and she would later use in the fight to wipe Super Io's demons entirely. LOL! SWEET REVENGE!

I fucking LOVE this series.

 

[Mitama]

But why use a physical MC instead of going with a magic MC and having Keita be your physical user? Unideal stat growth?

"So, my recommended setup is 1 physical based and 2 magic based teams. A MC with a magic based team can also be the leader of 1 of those magic based teams and you can use Keita/Jungo/Hinako as the physical based team, so in the end it's all equal you may think. So why exactly do I recommend a physical build for the MC? Because the MC is with you the entire game, does not have trouble with any enemy team or boss until late, late game and wreaks havoc until you reach one of those teams (and even then, there's the 2 magic based teams to take care of those). If you were to make a magic based MC, you would always need at least one other magic based team to take care of the elemental weaknesses you don't cover."

 

[duckroll]

But why use a physical MC instead of going with a magic MC and having Keita be your physical user? Unideal stat growth?

Because I wanna be surrounded by Magic Babes. Is that a good enough answer?

 

[CornBurrito]

Because I wanna be surrounded by Magic Babes. Is that a good enough answer?

Whatever floats your boat.

@ Mitama: I see. Though that seems to only really matter for the first playthrough. NG+ mode lets you carry over some of your top tier demons, which alone can (probably) defeat every enemy until around late midgame.

 

[Mitama]

Spoiler

My problem was actually dealing with the dude who had Megido, Evil Wave, and Double Up. It was a really deadly combo combined with their faster turn orders. What I did in the end was I sent one of Otome's demons to the MC, and then summoned a backup demon with Evil Wave instead, so while two enemies were tanking the MC and blocking that guy, Otome moved up and engaged him with Evil Wave, wiping the two demons which were giving him Evil Wave + Double Up to begin with.

That also Cracked Megido, which Otome then equipped, and she would later use in the fight to wipe Super Io's demons entirely. LOL! SWEET REVENGE!

I fucking LOVE this series.

Same here, I just love how strategy prevails over brute force. If you can't win a battle, you just need to rethink your strategy and you'll eventually get there. I also love seeing the SMT series getting better, more refined with each installment. They took away some of the most tedious things from previous entries; Nocturne for example, you needed to grind to unlock skills on your demons, here you can just grab them from an auction without the need to level. However much I love rerolling, trying your luck at Nocturne fusions for over an hour did get tedious at times. Just being able to select the skills you want to transfer is so much more fun and you still get to reroll for stats! Two huge improvements in my opinion.

I think it's funny how the best SMT games (in my opinion) are all on the Nintendo DS. If the 3DS gets a non-Persona SMT, I'm gonna be all over it.

I also love having a full roster of magic babes haha. Otome, Fumi and Io are my dream team.

Obsessed: yup, absolutely. Even until the final boss fight actually. Avian Da Peng with Multi-Strike, Drain Hit, Phys Amp and a team leader with Pierce+ can OHKO anything.

 

[Golbez]

I've been using Makoto for my lone physical fighter, but if agility is really that important, I think I'll switch to Hinako. I just got her to rank four at the start of day six.

 

[aliencowz7]

Even though i buy way more srpgs then i should, I can never really get into them enough to progress beyond the first couple of missions / levels but for some reason this series just grabs my attention and holds on. I can't even really put my finger on what it is about it that's different from other strategy based rpgs but needless to say i am enjoying this game far more then i anticipated.

 

[Golbez]

Do you enjoy lots of planning to figure out how to make a demon specifically to replace another demon? Like this:

To make Fallen Bifrons at level 45, anti-elec:

Make Balor with Pazuzu (holy dance) and low-level dragon
Make Chernobog with Fallen Barbatos (anti-elec) and Tyrant Balor
Combine Mothman and Omega Chernobog

All to turn my Barbatos into a Bifrons while making sure he doesn't have any weaknesses. Holy Dance is just a plus. Buying back Pazuzu for 16K hurts a bit though.

 

[aliencowz7]

I think that's a big part of what i enjoy, i am big on numbers and maximizing stats and stuff and i think demon creation brings alot of that out in a interesting package

 

[Koroviev]

Same here, I just love how strategy prevails over brute force. If you can't win a battle, you just need to rethink your strategy and you'll eventually get there. I also love seeing the SMT series getting better, more refined with each installment. They took away some of the most tedious things from previous entries; Nocturne for example, you needed to grind to unlock skills on your demons, here you can just grab them from an auction without the need to level. However much I love rerolling, trying your luck at Nocturne fusions for over an hour did get tedious at times. Just being able to select the skills you want to transfer is so much more fun and you still get to reroll for stats! Tuwo huge improvements in my opinion.

I think it's funny how the best SMT games (in my opinion) are all on the Nintendo DS. If the 3DS gets a non-Persona SMT, I'm gonna be all over it.

I also love having a full roster of magic babes haha. Otome, Fumi and Io are my dream team.

Obsessed: yup, absolutely. Even until the final boss fight actually. Avian Da Peng with Multi-Strike, Drain Hit, Phys Amp and a team leader with Pierce+ can OHKO anything.

The DS has been a magnificent JRPG machine period. Despite having a decent PC and a PS3, I still prefer the handhelds this gen. Better library and also much easier to pick up and keep playing on and off throughout a busy day, where game time would otherwise be non-existent.

 

[Majukun]

anyone knows under what condition the game gives you add-on after a battle?
i really need a specific add-on for a fusion,so i wondered if it is possible to "farm" them

 

[PK Gaming]

OH MY GOD. I won the fight with some mid-battle re-planning and some SDTP. OMG. OMG. The feeling when I totally DESTROY the battle and the plan that I had in my head worked out the way I intended. OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG. This is like DEMON CHESS.

I KNOW RIGHT?!? Devil Survivors is such an awesome series, its criminally underrated and I wish it was more mainstrema. I mean god damn, beating a tough boss is the best feeling in the world.

Tico: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[Deified Data]

Make sure your AG stat is high in order to abuse the hell out of MultiStrike! Extremely important since Multistrike + Pierce and a high AG stat will end most enemies. Conversely, no physical attackers other than yourself means you can more magic attackers on your side which is pretty cool I guess.

Agreed. I look forward to dominating with the higher-level physical skills.

...

This particular feature isn't any different from the first DS, but I feel it's worthy of mention because I'm still super grateful it exists. Namely, the fact that you can choose the skills that a fused demon inherits instead of hoping against hope that it gets the right ones. I hope the Survivor series serves as model for the future of SMT. Please, Atlus! Let us choose our inherited skills in the next Persona/SMT game!

 

[CornBurrito]

The DS has been a magnificent JRPG machine period. Despite having a decent PC and a PS3, I still prefer the handhelds this gen. Better library and also much easier to pick up and keep playing on and off throughout a busy day, where game time would otherwise be non-existent.

Yeah, the DS was basically the system to own for excellent JRPGs.

A shame no game like Radiant Historia/SMT is on Steam.

 

[vall03]

I KNOW RIGHT?!? Devil Survivors is such an awesome series, its criminally underrated and I wish it was more mainstrema. I mean god damn, beating a tough boss is the best feeling in the world.

Tico: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

man, I remember when DS1 was just announced, a lot of people thought it would suck.

 

[CornBurrito]

man, I remember when DS1 was just announced, a lot of people thought it would suck.

I heard they toned down how much a dick the diety was for the Western audience.

 

[Mitama]

man, I remember when DS1 was just announced, a lot of people thought it would suck.

And to think that the Devil Survivor series is just a spin-off.. It's amazing really, other game spin-offs can only dream of being this good.

 

[Mitama]

The DS has been a magnificent JRPG machine period. Despite having a decent PC and a PS3, I still prefer the handhelds this gen. Better library and also much easier to pick up and keep playing on and off throughout a busy day, where game time would otherwise be non-existent.

Yup indeed! The 3DS most certainly has a lot to live up to. I really missed quality JRPGs on consoles but the NDS more than made up for it. Funny also how the Wii was the console to get this gen's finest JRPG.

 

[PK Gaming]

I've been using Makoto for my lone physical fighter, but if agility is really that important, I think I'll switch to Hinako. I just got her to rank four at the start of day six.

Well, in this game its definitely possible to succeed with who you like over who's "good." If you like Makoto, then I say you should go for her. Her stats are a bit unfortunate, and her low AG means she'll miss out on some good spells, but on the other hand she knows how to throw a punch, is proefficient with magic and has insane HP stat growths.

Anyway I started my NG+ playthrough and i'm going for

Spoiler

Daichi's super route

. I'm going to be so pissed if I miss it, since i'm playing without a guide but I think I can pull it off. Teams are probably going to be:

MC (mixed fighter)
Makoto
Fumi
Jungo

This time around

 

[CornBurrito]

And to think that the Devil Survivor series is just a spin-off.. It's amazing really, other game spin-offs can only dream of being this good.

I never knew this.

Though is it really a spinoff? I mean as far as I know there hasn't been a SMT/Persona game on a modern console.

 

[Sadist]

Woop, Videogameplus shipped my copy! Next week will be awesome.

 

[Deified Data]

I never knew this.

Though is it really a spinoff? I mean as far as I know there hasn't been a SMT/Persona game on a modern console.

Strange Journey was the last mainline entry. Everything outside the mainline SMT franchise is technically a spin-off, including Persona.

 

[scy]

Well, in this game its definitely possible to succeed with who you like over who's "good." If you like Makoto, then I say you should go for her. Her stats are a bit unfortunate, and her low AG means she'll miss out on some good spells, but on the other hand she knows how to throw a punch, is proefficient with magic and has insane HP stat growths.

It's unfortunate that she doesn't have the AGI to be a great Physical attacker and her hybrid stats sacrificed MAG for VIT/AGI over the other hybrid characters (40/36/22/17).

I still <3 her though and she gets a slot in my final group anyway.

 

[CornBurrito]

Strange Journey was the last mainline entry. Everything outside the mainline SMT franchise is technically a spin-off, including Persona.

Oh SJ was on the DS. Never bothered playing it. How does it compare (in terms of gameplay) the Devil Survivor?

 

[cj_iwakura]

Oh SJ was on the DS. Never bothered playing it. How does it compare (in terms of gameplay) the Devil Survivor?

The core combat is basically the same, but there's no SRPG combat. It's entirely turn based, with massive dungeons.

Much better artwork, though not as much of it. Good story, but very minimalist, like most core SMT games.

 

[Mitama]

Well, in this game its definitely possible to succeed with who you like over who's "good." If you like Makoto, then I say you should go for her. Her stats are a bit unfortunate, and her low AG means she'll miss out on some good spells, but on the other hand she knows how to throw a punch, is proefficient with magic and has insane HP stat growths.

Anyway I started my NG+ playthrough and i'm going for

Spoiler

Daichi's super route

. I'm going to be so pissed if I miss it, since i'm playing without a guide but I think I can pull it off. Teams are probably going to be:

MC (mixed fighter)
Makoto
Fumi
Jungo

This time around

Good luck dude, not that easy to get without a guide!

I never knew this.

Though is it really a spinoff? I mean as far as I know there hasn't been a SMT/Persona game on a modern console.

Yup, what Deified Data said. The main Megami Tensei series is a dungeon crawler.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Oh SJ was on the DS. Never bothered playing it. How does it compare (in terms of gameplay) the Devil Survivor?

Mostly an oldschool turn based RPG that wants to be like the old SMT games, it's a dungeon crawler like Etrain Odyssey(I think it uses the same engine).

I enjoyed it a lot but it's really different to Persona/DS so be careful and check out some trailers and info before getting it.

 

[CornBurrito]

By a dungeon crawler do you mean like Pokemon?

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

By a dungeon crawler do you mean like Pokemon?

if you mean like the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games, then yes.

 

[Mitama]

Oh SJ was on the DS. Never bothered playing it. How does it compare (in terms of gameplay) the Devil Survivor?

Strange Journey is my favourite SMT game. The gameplay is very different from Devil Survivor and can indeed be compared to Etrian Odyssey. I never cared much for Etrian Odyssey though, just not my thing. Strange Journey's story is amazing in my opinion. The music is great as well and probably my favourite in the series; it really adds to the creepy atmosphere of the areas you explore.

The gameplay is very addicting and actually has quite a lot in common with Devil Survivor. You still command a party (only it's just 1 party this time), exploit enemy weaknesses and fuse demons. What I love about Strange Journey is that once a demon has gained enough levels, it will give you its source (which contains certain skills) that you can then use in a fusion to pass on those skills.

Strange Journey has a password system that allows you to pick a demon and then generate a password for it, so that you can use that password to summon it (as long as you have the Macca for it). It's lots of fun to abuse this system: you can use a great demon source in a fusion, then generate the password for the created demon, write it down, soft-reset and then just summon it with the password. Macca is pretty damn easy to come by in this game, so you never really need to grind to do this.

 

[CornBurrito]

Strange Journey is my favourite SMT game. The gameplay is very different from Devil Survivor and can indeed be compared to Etrian Odyssey. I never cared much for Etrian Odyssey though, just not my thing. Strange Journey's story is amazing in my opinion. The music is great as well and probably my favourite in the series; it really adds to the creepy atmosphere of the areas you explore.

The gameplay is very addicting and actually has quite a lot in common with Devil Survivor. You still command a party (only it's just 1 party this time), exploit enemy weaknesses and fuse demons. What I love about Strange Journey is that once a demon has gained enough levels, it will give you its source (which contains certain skills) that you can then use in a fusion to pass on those skills.

Strange Journey has a password system that allows you to pick a demon and then generate a password for it, so that you can use that password to summon it (as long as you have the Macca for it). It's lots of fun to abuse this system: you can use a great demon source in a fusion, then generate the password for the created demon, write it down, soft-reset and then just summon it with the password. Macca is pretty damn easy to come by in this game, so you never really need to grind to do this.

I'll look into it. Though with so many good 3DS games on the horizon I might conserve my money.

 

[Deified Data]

Oh SJ was on the DS. Never bothered playing it. How does it compare (in terms of gameplay) the Devil Survivor?

Core combat remains the same. You fight demons in teams of 3 or less. Your team consists of your MC, who's stats grow to your choosing, and two demons. Your character's choice of alignment makes a huge difference in the demons you use (chaos/neutral/law) - you get bonuses for using demons that align with your character's worldview.

Simply replace the means of entering combat from a strategic grid to random encounters in labyrinthian dungeons. A very fun game, though the dungeons occasionally frustrate.

 

[Koroviev]

Yeah, the DS was basically the system to own for excellent JRPGs.

A shame no game like Radiant Historia/SMT is on Steam.

I have the reprint of Radiant Historia preordered through Amazon, but do you know if GameStop is going to have it? Don't have Prime anymore, so I actually have to pay money for decent shipping =_=

 

[Pureauthor]

I heard they toned down how much a dick the diety was for the Western audience.

Actually giving some compelling reasons that each faction could wave in your face to win your support was one of Devil Survivor 1's bigger triumphs.

Except Chaos. Chaos had pretty shit representation in that game.

So far neither Yamato nor Ronaldo appear to be giving me much reasons to trust them.

 

[Koroviev]

Actually giving some compelling reasons that each faction could wave in your face to win your support was one of Devil Survivor 1's bigger triumphs.

Except Chaos. Chaos had pretty shit representation in that game.

So far neither Yamato nor Ronaldo appear to be giving me much reasons to trust them.

I'm partial to Yamato simply because the civilians that Ronaldo represents all look like stupid thugs. Seriously, it's like the game wants me to hate them /:

 

[PK Gaming]

Spoiler

Most of the paths in this game were though provoking and awesome, but a few things in 2 paths annoyed me for the most part. Yamato was crazy; there's such a thing as a meritocracy and then there's... that. Jesus rebuilding the world so that those who work hard are rewarded and those that don't are left behind? Yamato seems to be confusing "helping with hard working individuals" with "helping the privilege" and is clearly insane which is exactly why I told him to fuck off. His supporters annoyed me too until I converted them Jesus-style . Makoto I know your Jp's dog, and Fumi I know you give like 0 fucks about anyone but a select few people but... blergh.

Ronaldo on the other had a decent goal (egalitarian) with its own pros and cons, but was basically a glorified thug. The bastard tried to kill Makoto (WHICH WAS NOT COOL) and then say equivalent of "no hard feelings breh." I really liked his supporters though; Joe raises a fucking good point. An egalitarian community helps EVERYONE in need, specifically those who are unfortunate / unlucky enough to really have a presence in the current situation. Otome & Airi were had good reasons, but Airi went crazy Yandere on us (ambushes aren't cool...) good thing you can convert all of them too.

Daichi's path was pretty fucking awesome. He basically says FUCK Yamato's bullshit (and crazy) meritocracy, and FUCK to the thug that is Ronaldo. There IS another way, lets work on doing that. He actually has 3 endings if you consider it, and you can recruit every single character in the game (minus the anguished one).
Ending A - Ask Polaris to reset the world
Ending B - Kill Polaris
Ending C - Save all 12 characters and reset the world

I know a few of us have some misgivings about the reset ending, but its strongly implied that its a good ending since the Septentrione that caused the world shattering earthquake doesn't show up. In fact, i've heard ending C is REALLY good so thats what i'm striving for.

Haven't done / spoiled myself to AO's route yet.

 

[mjemirzian]

My review of SMT: Devil Survivor 2 is up on extremegamer.ca. Take a look. I gave it an 8/10, and I think it's a solid and fun tactics game, if a bit too easy to break with a magic heavy main character. I completed the game with no free battles and no save/load spam, but not with no leader deaths.

 

[PK Gaming]

Fair review.

The plot is similar to Devil Survivor, with the same 7 day time limit set in a post-apocalypse Japan. Add demon summoning, a device that predicts your companions' demise, strange object-shaped foes, and a shadowy organization trying to "protect" Japan. As apocalyptic as the plot is, it's lighter and more fanservice oriented this time around, with more jokes, more campy humour, and a stereotypical anime cast. I felt the plot was rather poor, leaning heavily on grade school philosophy with little sense of danger or conflicting powers that permeated the original. It just doesn't have much "mojo" going for it. Luckily, the gameplay fares better.

Just so you know, the game has 8 days, not 7. Can't say I agree with your opinion with the games plot; its a lot darker and more depressing this time around since the majority of the cast CAN die and 3/5 of the endings are neutral / chaos ish at best. Though I DO agree with the emphasis on humor and the substantial amount of fanserve. I can't say I agree with your cons either (lack of easy mode, poor UI and slow combat animation; I don't think these are legitimate complaints. Still, it was a good review with a decent amount of thought put into it.

 

[scy]

Lack of hard mode is a better con, amirite?!

Seriously though, I don't remember Devil Survivor having any darker of a plot nor a less "anime-inspired" cast. Then again, a good chunk of the cast were not usable until the routes so I probably just forgot.

DS2 does have more humor in it ("AWWWWWW YEAAAAAAH"), but I'm not sure I'd really say it's a negative. That said, I'm only on Day 4 due to limited free time (/ why must I perfectly fuse everything?!) so maybe it starts to get in the way later.