Topic: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Impressions

I recently bought this Atlus JRPG because it was cheaper than Nights in the Nightmare. I can tell you right now it is great game. The presentation during battles is a bit stale, yet not enough. It makes you use your head more than a lot of strategy games, and makes you literaly fight the odds. Due to the theme of the game (survival) there is no items. Your party composed of smaller parties each move as one on the grid. Now the unique part of this game is that attacking leads to a short RPG battle similar to Dragon Quest. Story sequences are fantastic. I do warn you, the story contains many religious references, so if you are easily offended by use of religion in fantasy, (DaVinci Code) do not pick this up. Navigation works in a way where you chose a location, and you chose the action you would like to make there. There will be objectives in some places at different times which the game will mark for you.The main enemy in this game are the demons. Which are essentially monsters. At the beginning of the game, each of you're three players gets one demon which they can train and use in their mini party for battle. I will post more detailed impressions and answer questions momentarily.

The battle system up to now, is growing and getting more complex. Its great. You buy demons with currency given to you according how well you fight, or you can auction for them. To teach your human characters moves, you choose one of the enemy's moves, and have to defeat that monster with the person you chose it with specifically. This adds to another level of strategy, making you use the free battles to grind and get new attacks. Attacks each have different types, and each demon has its weaknesses and strengths. So this essentially is similar to the pokemon concept and works really well. Every time you attack, a first person RPG battle starts. Each character gets 1 turn, but you can recieve a free turn by exploiting the enemy's weaknesses and making critical hits. You can also steal your enemy's free turns. There are three types of attacks: ones you use in battle, ones you use on the grid, and ones activated automaticly. All of these attributes mixed with others make battles rely on tons of strategy. You do get MP, but beware, The MP you get at the beginning of the battle will not be recharged by items, since they do not appear in the game. So even more strategy is used to manage your MP. Overall the battles are terrific and combine console RPGs wit SRPGs. Till now I would give it a 9/10. If you dont mind the stale graphics and battle presentation, you can surely find amazing gameplay hidden inside.

I just bought this the other day and I haven't yet had a chance to play it. Sounds great though.

@Corbie: It is a great game! I'm really enjoying it! I hope there will be a review for it here on Nintendo Life! hint, hint

Sounds devilish.

the battle system takes some getting used to, but once you've got it down it's not bad. i like that you can switch out demons in battle, too, instead of having a character stuck alone if their demon(s) get knocked off. i also like that it's set in modern-day Tokyo. :3