Atlus' popular Shin Megami Tensei franchise has spawned plenty of solid entries, and the PlayStation 2 exclusive Digital Devil Saga continues the series' reliable trend of accessible turn-based combat and layered characterisation all wrapped up tightly in an eerie narrative - albeit rather reliant on Final Fantasy's established mechanics - but, given the genre's already crowded nature, and the many series editions already attributed to Shin Megami Tensei, how well does Digital Devil Saga perform as a free-standing videogame experience?

To the uninitiated, Digital Devil Saga feels instantly familiar due to its aesthetic, roaming scope, and character/fight controls; whereas series fans will slide effortlessly back into a fantastical portrait of creepy and demonic happenings in a world endlessly prone to the influence of the occult.

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The game is based in The Junkyard, a world that consists of conflicting urban settlements scattered around a giant central point of neutrality known only as the Karma Temple. Each of the Junkyard's settlements is populated by a specific warring tribe, and collectively these tribes are intent on destroying one another in a bid for complete territorial rule and the right to scale the towering Karma Temple to reach a mythical Nirvana.

During one such battle for territorial superiority, The Embryons, led by the calm and measured Serph (the player's character), find themselves embroiled in a vicious gun battle in the vicinity of a strange artefact shaped like a closed flower. Both of the opposing factions believe the artefact to be some unknown weapon brought into play by the other side, and both are suitably shocked when the otherworldly artefact abruptly ruptures and sends ethereal beams of light shooting through every man and woman on the battlefield - and across The Junkyard. In the aftermath of the battle, the artefact is gone, and all that remains is a young girl, Sera, who's attached to no particular tribe. Serph and his troops subsequently take Sera with them back to their settlement.

Individually scarred with strange and unique markings (Atma), it quickly becomes clear that this strange light has bestowed, or rather cursed, all it has touched with the ability to transform into powerful demonic apparitions. However, though now immensely powerful, the demon-imbued factions also possess an insatiable appetite to literally consume their foes orally. To make matters worse, the leaders of all the remaining tribes are soon summoned by the Karma Temple, where they are instructed to use their new demonic cravings to consume, consume, consume until only one tribe remains - at which point the victors should scale the Karma Temple, armed with the strange young girl, and reach for Nirvana.

Beneath the game's undeniably compelling storyline as factions fight for survival - and Sera - Digital Devil Saga is (still just) an exploratory RPG where evolving party members encounter random turn-based battles while pushing ever onward with mission after mission. Those gamers not keen on constantly getting into frenetic fights with (often repetitious) creatures and beasties may not be overly enamoured with Digital Devil Saga's repeating structure of segue story titbits and action-packed missions; yet, despite the rather shallow nature of the gameplay, the character evolutions, story explanations, and boss battles are all thoroughly involving and certainly transcend any creeping sense of boredom. This is reinforced by the fact that battle encounters can be freely switched between manual and automatic - which proves invaluable when facing familiar enemies that offer no undue physical surprises or special powers.

The progressive evolution of Serph and his Embryon party members unfolds in a similar way to most RPGs, and the player is able to mould their abilities and attributes freely. Each party character can learn new physical attacks and magic, as well as specialise in 'Mantra', which is demonic power that leads to the gathering of specific elemental spell casts. Mantra can be purchased throughout the game world and related spells can be openly learned once preceding spell levels have been mastered, which, of course, comes directly from investing more and more Mantra. However, to fix spells to a character, the player must use 'Atma', which are points garnered after battle encounters - in much the same way as experience points are harvested in most RPGs. When fighting in their demonic forms, battling characters also have the ability to instantly devour enemies (they can fight in either form - though demonic is generally preferable), and this means a huge boost to the battle's resulting Atma. Moreover, it quickly becomes apparent that though fights are (occasionally mind-numbingly dull and) repetitive, the gathering of Atma is essential if characters are to be well balanced and equipped to counter the A.I.'s intelligent use of enemy skills and spells.

Digital Devil Saga certainly looks as good as it plays, and its sprawling environments are varied and appealing, providing perfect internal and external platforms for the anime-styled cell-shaded characters and their bizarrely constructed demon counterparts. It should be noted at this point that the demon designs are truly unconventional; for example, when Embryon's female master sniper Argilla changes form, she suddenly gnashing demon jaws where her human breasts should be. Odd, yet also refreshingly brave in terms of creativity. Battle animations switch from expansive camera views to close-up environment details - ala Final Fantasy - and enemies are often as pleasing on the eye as the central characters; they also offer up an impressive selection of individual spells and powers which can leave unprepared players somewhat outgunned - even at an early stage in the game.

Game sound is a mixed bag of musical styles, ranging from hectic guitar riffs during battles through to moody and atmospheric pieces that accompany open and eerie environments. The sound contrast really should be an aural detraction, but the stark difference actually helps jolt the player between the game's sporadic pace changes. Sadly, the character voiceovers are not nearly as welcoming to the ear, with most performances arriving as flat and emotionless (Serph) or hammy and melodramatic (Heat). Thankfully, the storyline itself grants the voice work a worthy reprieve, and ignoring the rather disappointing vocals isn't overly taxing.

Ultimately, Digital Devil Saga's absorbing content, which offers around 40+ hours of game time, ends with an abrupt open-ended question mark rather than a fulfilling resolution; this is due to the game being one half of a complete adventure - is to release the next instalment later this year. Gamers interested in taking the Digital Devil Saga trip should therefore be prepared for very little in the way of absolute conclusion. That's not to say that the game isn't worth the effort required to see Serph and company through to its finale - it most certainly is - but those looking for a self-contained experience will need to exercise a degree of 'to be continued' patience that perhaps the game as a whole doesn't really merit. Why not simply release the two halves as one and provide an in-depth 80+ hours instead of a protracted 40? Profits perhaps? The threat of repetition winning the war over storyline across 80 hours? Who knows? Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga is a solid addition to the series, and provides plenty of action, interaction, evolution, and entertainment. Game splitting annoyances apart, it's an impressive journey from its start (almost) to its finish.

79%

By Stevie Smith

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