Picture yourself in a crowd near a station, where everyone’s panicked because there’s
been a blackout and they can’t get home because the army’s blocked off the train
lines and oh yeah THERE’S DEMONS EVERYWHERE. Chances are, you just pictured Shin Megami
Tensei: Devil Survivor, 2009’s tactical RPG sensation where a bunch of precocious
kids harness supernatural powers and save inner-city Tokyo, which I’m to understand
is pretty much a weekly occurrence over there. Well, now we’re going to install a couple
hacks, water-cool these... 3DS looking things... and overclock them. Which means upgrading
the graphics, extending the plot a bit, jamming more demons into it, and giving the voice
actors more money.
For those of you who haven’t played the original... well, this is a remake, so it
contains the original in its entirety! Atsuro, Yuzu, and the protagonist-what-you-named-yourself
tramp around throughout the heart of Tokyo, though Akihabara, Shibuya, and other neighborhoods
you always hear otaku yammering on about. They’ve each received a COMP, that 3DS looking
thing, with some distinctly non-mainstream software. Specifically, the ability to summon,
fuse, and even purchase demons, all run through various programs provided by protagonist-face’s
enigmatic cousin. That, in and of itself, is weird enough, but it’s nothing compared
to their daily news email... which predicts the day’s events, rather than reporting
on yesterday. Remember that old show Early Edition? Kinda like that. Did I mention that
you can see a timer over everyone’s head that indicates when they’re going to die?
Just a little bit morbid, but useful for figuring out how to save the world. Or Tokyo. Or just
the important bits inside the Yamanote Line.
Oh, yeah, gameplay. Each of your up to four party members can be flanked by up to two
demons, and when they get into a scrum in the tactical-grid-based map, it breaks off
into a more conventional line-’em-up skirmish, with you and your demons taking swings at
them and their demons, and possibly getting a bonus turn of beatdown if you land a critical
hit or exploit a weakness. Not nearly as abusable as the Persona series’ One More system,
but still an excellent reason to diversify. That said, the constant dropping into and
out of instanced battles really breaks up the pacing, making each conflict feel a whole
lot longer than it actually is. Of course, just to survive through these battles, you’re
probably going to have to grind your face off, as the plot-centric fights increase in
difficulty at an alarming rate, especially in the early game while you’re still trying
to figure out what the heck Magnetite is and what Skill Cracks are for. No one said overclocking
was going to be easy. Just don’t melt a hole through your palms.
