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[Toadthemushroom]

Started this at the tail-end last week after, er, getting stuck on day 7 of Devil Survivor: Overclocked. And so far I'm really enjoying it, even if it doesn't do some things as well as Devil Survivor did.

The combat is a refinement of what made the first Devil Survivor great - I love the way each skirmish on the map transitions into an SMT-battle, I love the new, epic boss battles against the septentriones and the amazing music. It feels like a more well-rounded SRPG than Devil Survivor 1 in variety and polish.

What has disappointed me is the setting. You'd think a grand disaster and threat would make for a great survival plot, but the stakes only really feel high when fighting the Septentriones. I'm currently at the end of the fifth day, and the level of tension and mystery is nowhere near as high as it was compared with Devil Survivor 1's Tokyo lockdown.

It also feels a less personal as a result. In dialogue, DeSu 2 has a tendency to focus on character tropes whereas DeSu 1 looked at how characters reacted to changing circumstances and the surrounding turmoil.

The way each day ends in game highlights this. DeSu 1 sees you and your party chat to each other about the general situation and each other whereas in DeSu 2 you rest in the comfort of the JP's building without any meaningful conversation at all. So far there's been nothing approaching

Spoiler

Keisuke's breakdown

. While I'm sure DeSu 2 has the usual philosophical choices and routes from MegaTen, I do miss the personal touch that DeSu 1 had.

So two different games, two different tones. Which did most people prefer overall? While I prefer the overall atmosphere and premise to DeSu 1, I can't say I'm not enjoying DeSu 2. It's a shame the ex-Career Soft team hasn't made another SRPG for Atlus since - are they working on the 3DS version of Radiant Historia?

LTTP for Devil Survivor Overclocked

 

[Zareka]

Both games are fantastic imo. I do prefer the tone and setting of DeSuO but DeSu2 isn't bad by any means, just very different. You're right though, the stakes aren't as high and that's probably due to JP's. Knowing you have the backing of a powerful organisation who knows their stuff kinda sucks the tension out of the whole "Survivor" aspect. On the flip side, it's a nice change of pace and stops it from feeling too similar to DeSuO.

The gameplay is a nice step up though I'm worried that'll make going back to finish more routes in DeSuO less enjoyable. 2 feels slightly easier, too. Not horribly so but still easier.

What I wouldn't do for a DeSu3 with more gameplay refinements + a story and characters more in line with Overclocked on the Switch. I really love these games.

 

[Grim Patron]

2 > 1 for me.

 

[EVA UNIT 01]

Bought this day 1 and still havnt opened it.
Backlog man.
I'll get to it someday

 

[Toadthemushroom]

Both games are fantastic imo. I do prefer the tone and setting of DeSuO but DeSu2 isn't bad by any means, just very different. You're right though, the stakes aren't as high and that's probably due to JP's. Knowing you have the backing of a powerful organisation who knows their stuff kinda sucks the tension out of the whole "Survivor" aspect. On the flip side, it's a nice change of pace and stops it from feeling too similar to DeSuO.

The gameplay is a nice step up though I'm worried that'll make going back to finish more routes in DeSuO less enjoyable. 2 feels slightly easier, too. Not horribly so but still easier.

What I wouldn't do for a DeSu3 with more gameplay refinements + a story and characters more in line with Overclocked on the Switch. I really love these games.

Yeah, I'm really enjoying 2, and it's more interesting to have two games that are quite different from each other tonally than having 2 try and be like the first and not meet expectations.

I'd love another SRPG from the team. I honestly thought Tokyo Mirage Sessions was a waste for them - I didn't like how it was basically Persona-lite with an annoying weapon crafting system (to encourage dull grinding) and repetitious dungeon design. The team's heart was in the right place and they evidently put a lot of effort into the project, but it's almost ironic how Devil Survivor is more of a SMT x FE game than sharpFE was.

Radiant Historia was a bold new direction for the team, whereas TMS felt unambitious. I'm excited for what they do next, anyhow!

 

[Zareka]

Yeah, I'm really enjoying 2, and it's more interesting to have two games that are quite different from each other tonally than having 2 try and be like the first and not meet expectations.

I'd love another SRPG from the team. I honestly thought Tokyo Mirage Sessions was a waste for them - I didn't like how it was basically Persona-lite with an annoying weapon crafting system (to encourage dull grinding) and repetitious dungeon design. The team's heart was in the right place and they evidently put a lot of effort into the project, but it's almost ironic how Devil Survivor is more of a SMT x FE game than sharpFE was.

Radiant Historia was a bold new direction for the team, whereas TMS felt unambitious. I'm excited for what they do next, anyhow!

Oh man I have no idea how I didn't notice DeSu was actually SMT x FE all along. The more I think about it the more perfectly it crosses elements of the series over. Damn.

I had no idea Radiant Historia was by the same team either. Now I really hope we get the 3DS port over at some point.

 

[SephLuis]

I'd love another SRPG from the team. I honestly thought Tokyo Mirage Sessions was a waste for them - I didn't like how it was basically Persona-lite with an annoying weapon crafting system (to encourage dull grinding) and repetitious dungeon design. The team's heart was in the right place and they evidently put a lot of effort into the project, but it's almost ironic how Devil Survivor is more of a SMT x FE game than sharpFE was.

Radiant Historia was a bold new direction for the team, whereas TMS felt unambitious. I'm excited for what they do next, anyhow!

I think the very existence of DeSu didn't allow the team to do the same for SMT x FE.
They could have used FE characters instead of the ones in DeSu games, but it would be arguable that the game is a reskin of another product.

#FE, for all the good and bad, was bold to try something completely unexpected with both series. I would love to see a new one that fixes the original issues and has a bigger budget for some of it's game systems.

Regarding the thread, I prefer DeSuO over DeSu2:RB. I'm very lucky in the sense that I only played the definitive versions and each epilogue helped a lot with the main scenario of each game. I certainly will never forget the epilogue of DeSuO which almost made me throw the 3DS against a wall.

 

[Graciaus]

1 is the better game but I enjoy 2 more. I replayed it several times and really liked the artwork for the cast.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

Got to the sixth day today. I'm getting more engrossed with this the further I play it, while the story is certainly more convoluted and told in a less gripping way, I'm liking how the key choices are shaping up to be.

I think the very existence of DeSu didn't allow the team to do the same for SMT x FE.
They could have used FE characters instead of the ones in DeSu games, but it would be arguable that the game is a reskin of another product.

#FE, for all the good and bad, was bold to try something completely unexpected with both series. I would love to see a new one that fixes the original issues and has a bigger budget for some of it's game systems.

Regarding the thread, I prefer DeSuO over DeSu2:RB. I'm very lucky in the sense that I only played the definitive versions and each epilogue helped a lot with the main scenario of each game. I certainly will never forget the epilogue of DeSuO which almost made me throw the 3DS against a wall.

sharpFE never really felt bold and unexpected to me, it always just felt like Persona lite. That's probably a little unfair given how Persona itself inherits so many intricacies of design from other MegaTen games to the point where it'd be hard not to draw comparisons between a third person MegaTen and itself, but it just didn't have the same unique sense of identity in both premise and gameplay that the DeSu games did, and while it's not a bad game it certainly felt rather unambitious coming from Radiant Historia.

 

[chrominance]

Played Devil Survivor 2 on DS, since that was the only option available upon release, and it felt like the story and characters had taken a hit (though it was still very good and the gameplay addicting). I agree that having the backing of JP's really takes away the sense of precariousness from the scenario, but also I thought the choices you had to make to get to an ending were way more interesting in DSO than DS2. Your options in DS2 all felt like slight variations of two plans, whereas DSO's options seemed a lot more varied and compelling.

Record Breaker, on the other hand, helped a lot to rehabilitate DS2 for me. That second scenario turns the original story on its head, making both sides richer for it. And it turns out I like the characters better when they're voiced, even though they're still more cliched than the original. I now think of Devil Survivor 2 as equal to the first game, and maybe even better in some ways. I really hope that team gets a chance to make a third game, but I'll follow them wherever they go (I enjoyed #FE quite a bit as well).

 

[Toadthemushroom]

I'm now on day 6 and I'm getting indecisive about what to do, feels like I don't have much time left (it's 10am in game) and I'll probably have to make a path choice later on. I don't think I'll go with either Ronaldo or Yamato, what's my best bet?

Record Breaker, on the other hand, helped a lot to rehabilitate DS2 for me. That second scenario turns the original story on its head, making both sides richer for it. And it turns out I like the characters better when they're voiced, even though they're still more cliched than the original. I now think of Devil Survivor 2 as equal to the first game, and maybe even better in some ways. I really hope that team gets a chance to make a third game, but I'll follow them wherever they go (I enjoyed #FE quite a bit as well).

Well then. Wasn't excited about the second story but I am now.

 

[SoulUnison]

I ended up giving up the game because the female character designs are insultingly bad and pandering.

I don't understand how this character designer/artist keeps getting work. He's awful.
Why is every girl in the world, regardless of age, apparently, smuggling cantaloupes or Madonna's cone bra?

 

[Toadthemushroom]

I'm nearing the end of day 6, and I'll probably avoid Ronaldo and Yamato's routes, which "neutral" path should I go for? Which has the most satisfying or true ending? Or should I just go with my gut feeling?