Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2

 DS
  • Publisher: Atlus
  • Release Date: Feb 28, 2012
User Score
4.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 229 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 94 out of 229
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 229
  3. Negative: 127 out of 229
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  1. DarkRecon
    May 23, 2012
    8
    The changes Devil Survivor 2 had brought are pleasant, but some of these changes feel as if the hinder the game more so than help it. The story, music, and environment changes is all good, the gameplay changes however might not be as great. The vitality stat now affects both magic and physical defense, rather than only affecting physical, which isn't a bad change. However, the MagetiteThe changes Devil Survivor 2 had brought are pleasant, but some of these changes feel as if the hinder the game more so than help it. The story, music, and environment changes is all good, the gameplay changes however might not be as great. The vitality stat now affects both magic and physical defense, rather than only affecting physical, which isn't a bad change. However, the Magetite system used in the last game has been replaced by the Add-on function. These add-ons are only applicable during demon fusion and only one add-on is allowed per demon and you can only have 6 add-ons at once. While these add-ons do give your demons helpful boosts, I feel that the Magetite system is superior as it allows you to change the command skills for demons in your party, thus, allowing you to customize the demons' skills based on their strengths and you are now stuck with your demon's default command skill set plus one or two more they get through fusion. Granted, one could use their Demon compendium to chain fuse skills into a certain demon but they are still stuck with the default skill set that they can never hope to change. Plus, summoning demons require Macca, the currency in the game, which brings me to my next point, free battles.

    In it's predecessor, Free battles came in two different forms, normal free battle, and hard versions with stronger monsters. This allowed you to grind your characters' and demons levels to a suitable amount which you could take on the boss with some, but not a lot of difficulty. The demons in the free battle also got stronger as the game progressed, making it worthwhile to go back and fight said demons. However, free battles in this game only come in one difficulty, and it is barely enough to prepare you for the day's upcoming boss battle, unless you constantly grind for a couple hours straight. Another thing is that the monster you fight in the free battles stay relatively the same until you move into the next day, and only some of them are replaced with slightly stronger monsters. Since many are less likely to do free battles as a result, it makes farming Macca harder and one has to result to story-based battles in order to get the money as well as more exp.

    Some of the gameplay changes, however aren't all bad. The new fate system allows for joint skill cracking which allows characters with a certain level fate or higher to not only crack their skill, but yours as well, thus allowing more than one skill to be cracked after defeating a demon. In order to raise the fate level of a character, the player has to interact with the character during the free time, which provides for some fun dialogue and quirky moments.

    Overall, I think that Devil Survivor 2 is a good game. However, some of the gameplay changes aren't all that welcoming. If Atlus decides to create a third entry in the series, I hope that they remove the Add-on system and go back to the Magetite system and allow the option to have harder free-battles.    … Expand
  2. knicks0320
    Oct 4, 2012
    10
    This and the original are by far my favorite RPG's on the Nintendo DS. The stories and character struggles, along with their growth and failures, truly make these games stand out. You begin to feel the panic that the characters feel as time is running out, knowing that there world will likely never be the same. The turn based strategy battle system is top notch making use of extra turnsThis and the original are by far my favorite RPG's on the Nintendo DS. The stories and character struggles, along with their growth and failures, truly make these games stand out. You begin to feel the panic that the characters feel as time is running out, knowing that there world will likely never be the same. The turn based strategy battle system is top notch making use of extra turns that make big differences in battle. The demon fusion system is a great way to create stronger demons to fight for you, adding depth by using an inheritance system for carrying over different moves.… Expand
  3. Mogipoki
    Apr 20, 2017
    4
    After finishing the anime, and enjoying it I thought I'd give the game a try. Having played Shin Megami Tensei games a few times in the past, I was skeptical about the gameplay. The battle system fails to impress me, and by far it is quite irritating to handle after playing for 3 hours now. Everything else about the game I enjoy, but if you're looking for an interesting tactical battleAfter finishing the anime, and enjoying it I thought I'd give the game a try. Having played Shin Megami Tensei games a few times in the past, I was skeptical about the gameplay. The battle system fails to impress me, and by far it is quite irritating to handle after playing for 3 hours now. Everything else about the game I enjoy, but if you're looking for an interesting tactical battle system than this game will bring much joy to you. Sadly the gameplay turned me away from this title.… Expand
  4. 77kbk77
    Feb 19, 2014
    7
    Devil Survivor 2 continues the tradition of Shin Megami Tensei by having an average story and cast, a plot revolving around demons and the end of the world, and a combat system that punishes those without at least a little veterancy with its combat style.

    Fans of tactical RPGs will feel at home here, with a challenging combat system that revolves around fusing current demons to stay up    Devil Survivor 2 continues the tradition of Shin Megami Tensei by having an average story and cast, a plot revolving around demons and the end of the world, and a combat system that punishes those without at least a little veterancy with its combat style.

    Fans of tactical RPGs will feel at home here, with a challenging combat system that revolves around fusing current demons to stay up to par with the enemy, learning new skills by defeating said enemies, and playing tactically to beat an almost always larger force. There's not much to complain about here except for the occasional spike in difficulty which can lead to hours of grinding due to the need for new demons.

    Story wise is where the game falls short, and it falls short very fast. The characters are all very hit-or-miss, and the "Fate" system doesn't do a very good job of fleshing them out, despite that being the sole reason it's in the game. The plot is centered around your group of ragtag civilians having a week to solve the demon problem that threatens Japan, and the problem is only exacerbated due to the usual SMT Law or Chaos decisions that come into play late in the game, fracturing the party if you haven't followed a specific guide to ensure everyone's Fate level is nearly maxed. Overall, the story is forgettable, even though at the time I was slightly intrigued by it.

    In the end, Devil Survivor 2 straddles the fence between "average" and "great". The unforgiving and tactical combat help to push it over to the "great" side, while the god awful 80% of the cast and story keep the game locked in place. Perhaps when the remake comes out it'll finally complete the transition, but for now the game will have to be content with a fence up its bum.    … Expand
  5. 6xdandangp
    Feb 1, 2013
    10
    Fantastic story, excellent gameplay, this is definitely a JRPG worth getting if you appreciate a good experience on the DS. By far one of the more enjoyable portable games out there.
  6. seieko_pherdo
    Mar 30, 2012
    7
    Once again Devil Survivor is an odd one. The mechanics have been vastly improved since game one. The fate system works well and is a nice extra incentive to speaking with them. Yet despite that story feels less intense despite the whole world being in danger as apposed to just one city. And like last time this game is irritatingly grind-tastic making the first play through somewhat of aOnce again Devil Survivor is an odd one. The mechanics have been vastly improved since game one. The fate system works well and is a nice extra incentive to speaking with them. Yet despite that story feels less intense despite the whole world being in danger as apposed to just one city. And like last time this game is irritatingly grind-tastic making the first play through somewhat of a slow choir because every boss demon/monster has the convenient ability to blast your ass to space from thousands miles away while the only thing you can do in defense is start cursing and resign yourself to hours of level grinding. New game plus is much smoother as there is no need to level grind and extra boss while as unfair as the main bosses are excitingly hard without the need to spend half the day level grinding. But in short the game is better while the story is a little less exciting which could be because it's on the DS instead of the Playsation 2. So if your fan give the game a run and you too can start wishing it was on a home console instead.… Expand
  7. Kanazawa
    Dec 18, 2012
    8
    Although not nearly as good as its predecessor, Devil Survivor 2 was still an entertaining game. The music was better as well as the joint skill crack function. Unfortunately these may be the only good changes. The story was mediocre compared to the previous, had less endings, but was still entertaining at times. For one, this game was far more difficult than the previous. This wouldn'tAlthough not nearly as good as its predecessor, Devil Survivor 2 was still an entertaining game. The music was better as well as the joint skill crack function. Unfortunately these may be the only good changes. The story was mediocre compared to the previous, had less endings, but was still entertaining at times. For one, this game was far more difficult than the previous. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but it leads to very annoying boss battles. Grinding is nearly impossible unless you are willing to kill multiple hours to gain one or two levels. Monsters in free battles tend to be on average 10 levels under your party. This gives a false illusion that you are prepared for the next battle, only to find out you get one hit k.o.ed by the boss. I feel purpose of any major boss battle in this game to go into a battle, die, figure out a strategy, and challenge it again. Then you realize the boss requires something like drain phys or null force to win. Even with those you will barely make it through if you're lucky. I don't mind needing to use strategies like that, but it's impossible to have everyone have a null or drain of some element every battle. The characters aren't very like-able, and the designs are pretty atrocious. It took me until the 7th day to like some of the characters and 8th to sort of like the others. I do love the ability to prevent a death though, and it is quite depressing if you fail to do so. Some characters I knew I was going to like ended up dying the moment I met them due to my own mistakes. The Demons were great. I loved the addition of other religions, mythologies, and war heroes into the compendium. Don't get me started with grinding for Macca. That is one of the more infuriating parts of the game, making fusing more difficult and time consuming. Nevertheless this ended up being a good game when it used the elements of the previous game that made it so good. Music 8/10, Gameplay 7/10, Graphics 8/10, Characters 4/10, Demons 10/10.… Expand
  8. CosmicThree
    Jun 23, 2012
    5
    It wasn't my FAVORITE game, but if you like this kind of thing, it could be fun. I personally thought the dialogue to fight to dialogue to fight sequence didn't really shake things up, but if you have an appreciation for a good story then this is a game not to be missed.
  9. Peragulator
    Mar 16, 2012
    10
    The story is good, auctions for demons is interesting and the combat and strategy are facinating. With any game like this you must grind and that isn't a problem because you normally see different enemies and explore new locations. You'll come up on a creature that's level 25 while you're at 15. Not a big deal just grind and level up to that guy at some point. This game? After 9 hours I'veThe story is good, auctions for demons is interesting and the combat and strategy are facinating. With any game like this you must grind and that isn't a problem because you normally see different enemies and explore new locations. You'll come up on a creature that's level 25 while you're at 15. Not a big deal just grind and level up to that guy at some point. This game? After 9 hours I've been grinding the same train station map which I can tell you will not be fun at 20 hours. Yes I have a number of my characters @18, but MERAK is at 22 the missiles you try to stop are a headache and the other 3 demons that appear make it difficult to defeat this stage. Guess I'll have to grind the train station map for another 4 hours. Not happening. Be prepared.… Expand
  10. Metakev
    May 18, 2012
    9
    The great story added with a new fate system and some little tweaks to the already excellent gameplay sell this game alone. I only wish the game was a little less punishing.
  11. eefeef
    Aug 31, 2023
    8
    The game is worth playing for the combat system and the training system alone.

Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Best DS Game of 2012
4
#4 Most Discussed DS Game of 2012
4
#4 Most Shared DS Game of 2012

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Official Nintendo Magazine UK
    Mar 24, 2013
    71
    Everything is thrown at you, ramping up the already shocking difficulty level. [Apr 2013, p.90]
  2. Hyper Magazine
    May 14, 2012
    80
    An excellent game, identical to the original in many respects, but bigger and more engrossing. [June 2012, p.75]
  3. Nintendo Gamer
    May 8, 2012
    68
    Treads on its predecessor's toes too many times to impress in its wake. [May 2012, p.93]
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