The Shin Megami series has been popular in Japan for years and with the success of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne released last year, North America is getting the chance to experience this phenomenon. Phenomenon would be a pretty good word to describe the 'Shin Megami' series (as it's usually known) for it largely deals with things like demons and possessions, which is somewhat taboo in the US Market which explains why it's taken so long to make it here. Another trademark of the game is that it often requires the player to make moral decisions which affect the outcome of the game.

Digital Devil Saga is the story of Seraph, leader of a gang vying for supremacy in the Junkyard, a world governed by five major gangs. The rule of the land is that whichever gang can conquer all of the other gangs will be allowed to enter "Nirvana" where all of one's dreams and desires come true. This is definitely the weakest part of the game- the story is fairly unoriginal and the theme has been played out before in other mediums (Highlander the movie jumps to mind). The story begins with Seraph and members of his gang coming across a mysterious force which imbues them with the ability to transform into demons with powerful abilities- one of the downsides of this is that they are now cursed with the hunger to devour their enemies. Thus begins the quest to defeat all your enemies, and get stronger and stronger with every enemy devoured. The story develops slowly and wears a little thin as the game progresses. However, this is a RPG so you're in for the long ride so the story may pick up and get more interesting for some players, but the story isn't what makes the game.

The game play- this is the meat and potatoes of the game and this is where the game truly comes alive. First off, you have the option of fighting as a demon or as a human in the battles. You start off with 3 characters in your party, including yourself and each character has the option of being a human or a demon in the battle- the action of changing from one form to the other takes up your turn so foresight needs to exercised. Each form has different abilities and different combinations of human forms and demon forms on the battlefield allows for combination attacks between your characters. Your demon form has access to the magic skills while your human form only has access to a gun type of weather (which can be upgraded to have various effects), both forms can use items at will. Access to magic and abilities are governed by a skills grid of sorts, reminiscent of Final Fantasy X's sphere grid. This means you start out with a certain number of basic skills your character can master but once those are mastered; the basic skills branch off into more powerful version of those basic skills. This means it's very easy to customize your character and the method for acquiring points that allow you to master skills is also very deep. The game rewards you for exploiting an enemy's weakness and punishes you somewhat mercilessly for making mistakes. For example, attack and enemy that's weak to fire and you cause additional damage and gain additional experience points and have additional chances to act; missing an attack or using the wrong attack on an enemy can cause your entire party to lose its turn. The encounter rate is fairly high so this is definitely a game for those who like combat and gaining levels but the battles are also fun and fast paced.

The game visuals are done nicely- nothing too dramatic but there is definitely a style that is unique to the Shin Megami series. I like to think of it as Anime meets comic books style. Battle animations lack any real dramatic effects, even after being upgraded by a few levels. The environment backdrops are beautiful but not overly detailed but adds a certain element of angst to the game- being that the world you're living in is called the "Junkyard", the style is appropriate dark and grey. The game plays out in a behind the player view and you have the ability to rotate the camera left or right, depending on where your character is on the screen. This can be annoying though as all the camera work while in exploring the game world is manual so you have to change the camera when your character turns around the corner. In enemy areas when you encounter an enemy, the screen breaks away in little octagonal panels to reveal the combat view where the camera automatically shifts to give the player the best view of the battle action.

There are some puzzle elements in the game, such as pressing this switch to open a door in another area type of thing but nothing too heavy. The game has a small in-game map and a larger overall map of the area available so it's easy to navigate through. Stairs and ladders, exits, locked rooms, stores and save points are all clearly defined on the map which automatically garners kudos from my perspective. You do get attacked in the game a fair amount so getting lost and having a map reduces the frustration of wandering around lost while looking for an exit. Save points and stores to buy items are strategically placed through-out the game. There's also an option at save points to warp out of an area back to the beginning of the area if the action gets too heavy.

The music is subtle pleasant but not outstanding. It mostly a mix of guitars and electric instruments- nothing to write home about but serves the purpose. One annoying thing that the footsteps of your character are a too loud and can get grating over time. It would have been nice if there was an option in the game settings to adjust the ambient music and the game sound effects.   Sound effects during fights is forgettable and don't pack much punch.

Overall, Digital Devil Saga is a very solid RPG with a few small quirks getting in the way. It's still a reason for RPG fans to rejoice as we have a winner on our hands that will be sure to keep us occupied for a while.

- Richard Brautigan, SwankWorld Media