VGRC

There is no other way to survive, Warriors of Purgatory...

Welcome to the Junkyard, the setting of Digital Devil Saga. It plays home to six tribes, of whom are at war with one another. After the arrival of a strange object, everyone gets strange marks on their skin and turns into hungry demons, and everybody soon learns that the only way to sate their hungers is to devour their enemies. The Karma Temple, governing body of the Junkyard, puts out a message that things have not changed: The tribes must still fight each other until only one remains; The tribe that emerges victorious gets to ascend to Nirvana. The only catch it that now, a mysterious girl named Sera has been thrown into the mix, whom the victorious tribe must bring with them to Nirvana. However, her mysterious singing powers can also temporarily relieve people of the hungers of their inner-demons. You are Serph, leader of the Embryon tribe. You are to lead your tribe to victory and ascend to Nirvana. But even with the help of your loyal followers, and the help of Sera, you've got a long way to go.

There is also one final catch: the members of each tribe, now afflicted with these dangerous new powers, are beginning to feel something else they've never experienced: emotion.

Digital Devil Saga is, simply put, one of the best RPGs I've played to date. The story itself is something that most US RPG gamers aren't exactly used to: This isn't your classic cliche-riddled "save the world" plotline set in some magical land, but an extremely dark tale about 6 soldiers fighting their way through legions of demons to try and reach the promised land, with their newfound "emotions" and thoughts revealing that there is something terribly wrong with their world. The characters themselves are extremely interesting, and their personalities develop more and more throughout the game. Serph may be your stereotypical "silent protagonist," with his only input in the script being the occasional decision you have him make, but serves the role as a calm leader well. All of the other characters meld and fit right into the story; nothing feels out of place at all.

And as good as the story is, the main star here is the combat system. It's based off a 3-person party system, with 5 characters to swap in and out of it. The turn-based system (called the Press Turn battle system) is designed to reward smart battle tactics. Your party has a set amount of turn icons, which represent how many actions you can perform, and can be expanded or shortened based on your actions. For example, if you hit an enemy weak spot (such as attacking a fire-based demon with an ice attack) you only use up half a turn icon. However, if an enemy can absorb or dodge one of your attacks, then you waste two turn icons. If you decide to pass so a more capable party member can attack, then only a half a turn icon is used, adding valuable time for a better battle plan. To emerge victorious, you must master this system.

You are also presented with a mantra system, which offers some deep character customization. (and from what I'm told, resembles Final Fantasy X's sphere-grid system, though I've never played FFX myself so I can't really say) Mantras are basically skill sets that you equip to your characters. In each battle, you earn Atma Points (AP) which build up the mantra equipped to your character. When a mantra gets enough AP, it is "mastered," and your character learns the skills contained in the mantra. Then you can buy a new mantra and repeat the process. The only thing that really limits you here is your characters weaknesses and resistances that everyone has. For example: Serph, who transforms into an ice demon, is naturally weak against fire-based attacks. Money can limit you as well, seeing as how mantras cost money, with them getting exponentially more expensive as you move onto higher-level mantras. Beginning mantras can be mastered quite easily, but once you get further into the game, you'll come across mantras with higher difficulty levels. (Translation: they require substantially more AP to be mastered) The end result, however, is extremely rewarding, as there is a HUGE range of skills to be learned. Elemental-based magic attacks, elemental voids, (shields that protect the party against certain spells) strong physical attacks, boosters, (strengthen various elemental attacks, HP, etc.) and even hunt attacks, which let you devour your enemies during combat and earn a hell of a lot more AP than you would by defeating them. Confusing you yet? Well, don't worry, as it is easy to pick up. The best part is, with the HUGE variety of mantras to be found, the limitations of funds and the natural resistances and weaknesses each character has, all works together to counter the 'everything for everybody!'-factor that killed games like Final Fantasy VII.

However, as addicting as the combat may be, it can grow a tad tedious at times. The game starts off insanely easy, in order to ease people into the game. However, once you begin to get into it, the difficulty ramps up and the enemy AI really begins to show it's stuff. Couple that with a really high encounter rate (random battles pop up VERY frequently) and insane bosses, and your fun frolic through the post-apocalyptic wasteland that is the Junkyard becomes a deadly journey and battle to wits end. You can spend hours going through dungeons just to advance the story. Dungeons filled with lots of traps and puzzles that can send you right back to the start. All with that high encounter rate. Needless to say, if you lack patience, Digital Devil Saga may not be the RPG for you. But if you've got it, then the combat and mantra systems will keep you around for a long time.

The world of DDS is beautiful, though. Really. This is coming from a man who was never a big fan of cel-shading, and the characters certainly have that cel-shaded look to them, though, minus the dark black outlines and choppy models (Dragon Ball Z: Budokai) or an overly-cartoonish look. (Zelda: Wind Waker) It's a satisfying blend of greys and near-bland coloring, thrown into a beautiful, yet dark and gloomish world. My only complaint here is that when moving, Serph will many times look like he just slides across the floor, rather than walk on it. Still, it's a really minor complaint, as everything else looks rather great.

The sound is equally sweet. The majority of the game's soundtrack is composed of light guitar work, and comes out really nice in the end. Unlike the horrid Breaking Benjamin piece in Halo 2, the music in DDS suits the mood really well. Especially in battles. Depending what you're fighting (standard enemy, boss, or a freaky squid thing) the tempo and feel of the music fits in perfectly. Same deal with the worlds. Or anywhere else for that matter. The soundtrack disc is worth owning, and lucky you, it comes with the box set of the game! Voice acting is also done exceptionally well. It really ties everything together, which is hard to say for most RPGs, or any game for that matter.

Despite how the game sort of cuts off (this is a part 1 of 2 game) it is still a must have for any PS2 owner or RPG fan. Put down that Final Fantasy, and take on the more mature styled Digital Devil Saga. I can assure you, you won't regret it.