MegaTen: Digital Devil Saga

[Hero]

Okay, so by pure luck, I found a copy of DDS Volume 1 at a Gamerush and have been playing it for the last week or so.

And I think I like it, but there are just as many flaws as there are strengths. Well, sort of. There's one gigantic flaw, dungeon design, that pretty much dwarfs everything else.

And I really want to like this game. It's got a neat story, great artstyle, fun battle system, and this alternate what-if-buddhism-were-evil atmosphere I like. But the dungeons are pretty much some of the worst I've ever seen.

From what I've been told, I'm nearing the end of Volume 1 right now and thought about picking up Volume 2, but I hear the dungeon design is even worse. Is it worth it just to own both? Or does DDS2 do something incredible to make up for the dungeons?

[Natsu]

Where's Link at.. I think he praises this game like crazy? he could help.

[J-Stop]

Or does DDS2 do something incredible to make up for the dungeons?

The plot. DDS1 only leaves you with questions, DDS2 answers them.

Usually all MegaTen games have horribly designed dungeons.

[Lanz]

The plot. DDS1 only leaves you with questions, DDS2 answers them.

Usually all MegaTen games have horribly designed dungeons.

Persona 2: Innocent Sin had good dungeons so far.

[J-Stop]

Persona 2: Innocent Sin had good dungeons so far.

Which must mean you're not even at the half way point in the game.

[Akito]

The dungeon designs in DDS didn't bother me. They were simplistic and easy to navigate. Because of the auto-map feature, I looked at it as a sort of completionist challenge; instead of trying to simply get through each dungeon, I always made sure that I mapped everything out. That approach makes dungeon crawling a lot less tedious.

The real highlight of the game is the battle system. There is a lot more strategy involved in it than in most RPGs. As a result, even random encounters can be fun and engaging, whereas in most RPGs, they're just a speed bump to keep you from getting through the dungeon too quickly.

BTW, I never thought the dungeon designs in DDS2 were worse. They were pretty much the same. Maybe even slightly better.

[Scarface]

Who cares about how pretty or generic the dungeons looked...the game rocks ass.