5/5 ★ – VongolaBox's review of Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga.

Rend... Slaughter... Devour your enemies!!! Holy smokes. Every time I watch the opening for this game, and I'm listening to Danger by Etro Anime, I just ascend. This game grabs you right away, the mysterious characters and vaguely explained plot at first drives a sense of interest. Once you realize what's going on, even an inkling, your brain short circuits and you question everything about this world. The music, graphics, art direction, all lends itself to the washed out, rain soaked landscape the game takes place in. Every combat encounter is undeniably tense. The press-turn system from SMT Nocturne is lifted directly into this game, much like many SMT titles that would come after. This system of exploiting an enemy's weak point for an extra turn can also work in the opposite direction; foes may catch the party unaware and untransformed. Armed with pistols, rifles, shotguns and even crossbows, the party isn't completely helpless, but their demon forms prove far more formidable in battle. That is until the second title. That being said, the thing that sets the first game just slightly ahead of the sequel is, in my opinion, the story and atmosphere. Instantly the hook of the game is presented, instantly the world is established, instantly you are given control of Serph and his Embryon soldiers to launch an attack. The first cutscene depicting a skirmish that leads into a massacre sets you right into what this place is; a dark and violent hellscape dotted with scenery that almost resembles a memory.