I could take this space to explain exactly how this picture and title were conceived for this episode. I could also explain why this post is out two days after the podcast was release and why no one posted that a new episode was released.

I could do that… but I won’t.

Also, Nick joined us again as a guest. You remember Nick. His name starts with an N and ends with “ick”.

0:00:00 Introduction
In which I take the time to make fun of Sam and his living in Georgia-ness.
I also remind Sam of the reason why he wasn’t there last time, because he apparently forgot.
I’m pretty sure Garrett was drinking during the cast, but I’m honestly not sure.

0:06:14 Viewer Questions
Truthfully, we did not do these last week because we are all lazy. Please don’t tell Sam that.

“Are you guys fans of the old school space sim games?”
Honestly, unless Star Fox counts, the answer is no. At least for me.
We take a brief detour to discuss Star Citizen again, for reasons.

“Have you guys ever played a game you found so complicated that you gave up?”
I’m sure fighting game players are displeased with my answer, but it’s true for me. I’m fine at a couple of fighters like Soul Calibur, Injustice: Gods Among Us, or Persona 4 Arena, but most of them just take too much time in order for me to really get good at them. Street Fighter, Tekken, and others of their ilk escape me. I get the theory behind them, but I just cannot execute when push comes to shove. We didn’t mention Tekken here, but it applies all the same to me.

My answer side-tracks the discussion and heavily derails it.

0:34:20 Nick has been playing Super Smash Bros. 3DS
Though I’ve never owned a Nintendo home console, I have to admit that I’ve always had an interest in Smash Bros. The mechanics are very solid, and it’s perfect for large groups. At some point, I’m going to have to get it.

0:39:05 Nick has been playing Brave Frontier
F2P leaves a bit bad taste in my month after Marvel Puzzle Quest. It’s unfair, but it’s true.
We use this time, however, to discuss Bendgate. By the end, we completely forgot the original topic.

0:44:50 TITLE DROP!

0:45:30 Nick watched Dracula: Untold
Which leads to pun times, movie talk, and making theaters laugh.
Talking about bad movies gets us to start talking about The Room, and unintentionally funny movies.

0:55:56 Garrett released a review for Destiny.
And it’s right here.
We continue to be the best Destiny podcast on the internet.

0:57:00 Garrett’s Two Cents editorial are going to be a monthly feature.
His description is pretty comprehensive.

1:01:50 Garrett plays Game Dev Tycoon.
I wish actual game development was this easy. The game is a nice little excursion, but it’s incredibly easy make tons of money in-game.

1:04:20 Garrett talks real life.

1:05:00 Comic talk with Garrett and Chris.
And we discuss how Status Quo is God and nobody ever stays dead, unless they get cancelled.

1:11:03 We briefly disconnect while Garrett was talking
Because Sam’s setup makes no sense.
His motherboard is probably cursed.

1:12:41 Garrett talks about his developer class.
And his partner sounds like a moron.

1:16:55 Garrett talks League of Legends.
You know how it is.

1:17:30 I played Persona 4 Ultimax.
You can hear more about my thoughts on the game here. Part 2 should be out in a few days.

1:21:30 I watched a Heavy Rain LP.
This LP, to be precise.

I remember liking Heavy Rain at one point, but honestly the game is really bad. I’m legitimately surprised at how much badness was crammed into a single game. The voice acting is awful, the story is terrible, and the choices are meaningless.
And David Cage somehow got worse in Beyond: Two Souls.

1:26:14 I watched Two Best Friends play The Walking Dead: Season 1.
You probably don’t need a link, but it’s here just in case.
It’s actually pretty amazing at how easy it is to dislike most of the cast. The entire weight of the plot seems to come from the relationship between Lee and Clementine. The rest of the cast is either take it or leave it, but without those two characters, very few of the rest of the people who join the group serve to just cause problems.
As for Kenny, fuck that guy.

1:31:15 Nick talks about The Walking Dead: The TV Series.
The TV show and the comics are interesting in how quickly they make you hate the characters. I have never read the comics, but I watched one episode of the TV show and decided that if the next episode was “Rocks Fall, Everyone Dies”, that would be better than anything else.
Hearing Chris talk about how Meryl and Darryl (I couldn’t care any less if spelled their names wrong) were added in to make the cast more relatable is infinitely fascinating. We then discuss other comic to movie adaptation.

And I talk more about the game after that during this discussion.

1:37:50 I yell at Sam for his hosting abilities.

1:38:41 I mention that Naruto is coming to an end.
BELIEVE IT!
We then talk about manga franchises that have lasted entirely too long, of which there are many. Bleach is mentioned. Though we never bring it up, I feel that One Piece belongs on this list.

And Chris talks about why he quit Spawn on a related note, following up with more comic talk. Bottom line, comics are bullshit.

1:51:50 Chris has played Mario Kart.
And I have nothing to add to this conversation.

1:59:25 Sam is reading a love series which I didn’t get the name of.
It’s anime/manga.

2:02:45 Sam bought some movies while out on holiday.

2:03:05 Sam saw Austin City Limits in Texas.
YEE HAW!
And we discuss musical politics. Like musical chairs, but much less fun.

2:08:20 Sam bought a loud keyboard.
A Razer BLACKWIDOW to be precise. I love Corporate Cool names.

2:11:50 Sam played Shadows of Mordor.
And I’m super jealous because I really, really want to play it. I don’t care about Lord of the Rings, but the game just looks awesome.
We then briefly discuss other Lord of the Rings games.

2:20:20 Sam beat all the Dead Rising 3 DLC
And doesn’t care about it.

2:21:10 Sam beat Neverending Nightmare
And Garrett wants it to be good, and I’m tired.
It still sounds pretty gruesome, even when it’s trying to be a game.
I assume that without spoilers, this is a hard game to talk about.

2:25:20 Sam bought Assassin’s Creed: Liberation and Freedom Cry
And he finds their portrayal of slavery weird.

2:26:30 Sam bought Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition on the PC.
Not much to say, aside from what was said during the cast.

2:27:55 Sam watches anime with one of my friends.
It’s Japan, and therefore weird.

2:29:50 We start to wrap things up.
None of us can apparently not play games during a podcast.
I’m so, so sorry for this cast.

At the same time, we randomly give our one fan a happy day.

It is a strange coincidence that Persona 4 Ultimax would be released during my so-called “Season of ATLUS.” Considering that I just finished Digital Devil Saga 2 the day before it came out, the timing could not be any better. As a massive fan of the Persona franchise, I would be lying if I said I was not predisposed to liking a new entry, even if its not a game in the main series. That was no less true when the original Persona 4 Arena was released. Even still, I am willing to stand firmly behind it even without the brand name appeal. There is quite a lot here, and much is done to appeal to every possible member of the target audience.
Fans of Persona 3 and/or 4 will be happy to note the inclusion of a story mode. Taking place after the first Persona 4 Arena, Ultimax details how the casts of Persona 3 and Persona 4 come together to uncover the truth regarding what happened. As both groups begin to start their investigations, a mysterious blood red fog covers Inaba. Both crews are thrown headlong into a new “P-1 Climax” battle tournament shortly afterward, and their captors state that the world will end if they do not succeed in winning the tournament in one hour. From there, the story goes in some pretty interesting, and surprising, directions at times. Being a canonical story in the Persona universe, it is almost required for fans to go through it at least once.
The tale is divided into episodes. First up is Episode P4, which tells the story from the perspective of the Investigation Team from Persona 4. After that is completed, Episode P3 becomes available, which retells the story from the point-of-view of the former SEES operatives from Persona 3. While the overarching story remains the same for both stories, there are significant differences between them. At the same time, there are plot elements that are only hinted at in one episode, that are explained in greater detail in the other, and vice-versa. Ultimately, the True Ending, which is unlocked by completing both episodes, makes it very clear that the P4 side to the tale is canonical, while Episode P3 serves as more of a “What If?” scenario.
Though the story itself is very well written, and an incredible job of bringing all of these characters together in a believable way, its presentation leaves much to be desired. Fans of the original Persona 4 Arena probably will not be terribly surprised to hear that, as Ultimax has the exact same style its predecessor had. The story is told in a manner similar to visual novels, where characters are represented by static 2D-artwork on top of a background image representing the area they are in. When this does not suffice to explain the action in the scene, a text description of the action is displayed on top of these elements. On occasion, these scenes are broken up by a battle, as dictated by the story. Even among fighting games, this is not a terribly unique style of storytelling.
The problem with this style, which feels even more pronounced here than it did in the first Persona 4 Arena, is that these scenes take a long, long time. It is not uncommon to spend an hour or more just watching characters talk to each other before ever participating in a battle. Because of the game’s (admittedly handy) auto-advance mode for dialogue, this almost literally means that players will not be pressing any buttons at all for very prolonged periods of time. Even when fights break out, the AI for the story mode opponents is extremely stupid, so it takes almost no effort to trounce them with little more than a few combos and throws. Should even that be too much effort, the game even offers an “Auto Mode” which will make the AI fight for the player. Yes, this would literally mean that the player is watching the game play itself on the scant few moments that the story gives them a moment to interact with it.
And that transitions nicely into another thing I noticed when playing Ultimax. While Persona 4 and Persona 4 Arena both had very long cutscenes (even Persona 4 is infamous for having three hours worth of scenes before players ever got to fight a monster), they had an interesting way of keeping players engaged through that process. Persona 4 offered dialogue choices throughout all of these scenes. While those choices rarely, if ever, had any significant meaning, they kept the player’s attention by giving them a chance to both think about what transpired in the game, and express their views on it, even if those views mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. Persona 4 Arena also offered choice in terms of which character they used as a viewpoint character and in what order they were played in.
In either case, these kind of “meaningless choices” would serve to greatly improve the end user-experience for Ultimax. It almost seems like the writers forgot that they were making the script for a video game. Usually, the only choice players have is in which character in their current group gets to fight the upcoming battle. Aside from that, the only dialogue choice made is right before the final boss, and is one of the most obvious choices I have ever seen in a Persona game. The game’s presentation would have benefited from some interactivity in order to keep players more engaged during the story section. Some people are going to hate it, others will tolerate it in the name of a good Persona story, but I hesitate to say that anyone is going to “like” the presentation.

Unfortunately, I appear to be a little too long in the tooth for this article. As I was writing it, I realized that I was quickly approaching 2000 words. I sincerely doubt many of you out there would be comfortable reading all of this in one sitting. As a result, I decided to break this up into two parts. We will leave off here, since I have finished discussing story and presentation. Next week, I will discuss mechanics, characters, and new additions to the game.

So, Sam could not join us this week because he was away visiting relatives in the foreign country known as Texas. To fill in the vacant slot, I brought a friend of mine Ryu… Ian, to the cast this week.

Also, the image and title for this week were both my idea, so you can go ahead and blame…. thank me for that.

0:00:00 Introductions
To understand the context behind this initial conversation, Ian uses a very crappy headset that only works when a game is playing on his console. You’d have to ask him more about it, because I would never purchase a headset like that.

0:05:10 Chris, Ian, and I all bought Persona 4 Arena Ultimax
WE ARE TSUNDEREADY!?
We actually cut our session of Persona 4 Ultimax short to record the podcast. Truthfully, that’s probably a large part of why Ryu… Ian joined us for the podcast.

The day this podcast went up, the price for Marie and Adachi went from free to $5. Anyone who hasn’t gotten them yet is SOL unfortunately.

I will talk about the story and mechanics more in my upcoming Impressions piece, so you can look forward to that. Although, I will admit that this discussion heavily informed some of my thoughts on the game.

When Chris talked about “It would be worse, they could say ‘A battle was fought'”, it reminded me of the cutscenes from Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days that were included in Kingdom Hearts 1.5 ReMIX. That’s exactly what they did, but I think it’s more acceptable because of the presentation of those scenes.

In terms of fighting games, this is a great purchase because they added so much to the game. The discussion is so through that I think it stands on its own very well.

Also, the fact that the original P4 Arena Story is DLC reminds me of how the story of the Dissidia: Final Fantasy was included in Dissidia 012: Duodecim when that game was released.

This discussion did give Garrett ample time to come into the chat, luckily enough.

0:41:35 I finished Digital Devil Saga 2 (finally)
I will say, explaining this story to someone else is really silly unless you were actually following it from the very beginning. I really can’t listen to my own explanation without laughing.

It’s the weirdest use of Buddhism I’ve ever played. And you can

*SPOILERS* Also, I constantly mistakenly refer to Seraph as “he.” Canonically, since they are fusion of a guy and a girl, they are technically hermaphroditic.

You can also see my impressions piece on that game here.

0:52:30 I was accepted? into a beta for Dragonball: Xenoverse.
And I have literally nothing to say about it.

0:53:30 I Kickstarted One Night Ultimate Werewolf: Daybreak.
And we talk about pricing and stuff. The Kickstarter is here if you are curious.

0:55:00 Ian reformatted his HDD.
And he talk about the games he played since he lost the save data for them, like The Last of Us, Suda 51 games like Shadows of the Damned, and Platinum Game’s games like Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

We then detour to discuss Avatar: The Legend of Korra and binge watching as a concept.

Ian probably would have talked more if we didn’t spend all our time playing Persona 4 Ultimax.

1:05:00 Garrett plays League of Legends
And we talk a bit about F2P games and other things.

1:09:30 Garrett plays The 3rd Birthday and The Yawg.
I unfortunately cannot comment too much on these games, because I’ve never played.

1:10:15 Garrett saw Box Trolls?
I don’t know if I got that title right.
We also take a brief detour to discuss movies.

1:11:55 Garrett goes back to The Yawg to discuss it some more.
And some of the things in the game sounds pretty gruesome from what he was talking about.

1:17:25 Garrett talks comics!

1:18:10 Chris goads Garrett into talking about Destiny.
And we’re still the #1 Destiny podcast on the internet.

Since Ryu… Ian is here, I get to take this time to tell him off for convincing me to play the beta because it’s “teh best thing evarrrrrrrrrr!”

I would really like to see a “developer tell-all” about Destiny. I think it would be truly fascinating. There has to be a story behind what we got as the final product.

This conversation is probably nothing you haven’t seen before on the internet in some capacity. It’s a fine game, but it’s not the ultimate god-slaying game of awesome that people thought it would be.

1:29:15 Chris recently obtained a Wii U.
Specifically, the Mario Kart bundle.
He also seems to really enjoy all of the features of the Wii U.

I actually did not know that the Wii U GamePad could be used as a semi-universal remote the way Chris describes.

It seems like installation was pretty easy for him too.

We also talk briefly about services like Netflix and YouTube and how they compare on different consoles.

1:36:55 Chris talks about the games he bought for the Wii U.
It’s Mario Kart. Do you really need me to talk about it? Everyone knows how good Mario Kart games are.

He also got Wonderful 101 and Hyrule Warriors. I don’t have much to say about Wonderful 101, but Hyrule Warriors looks amazing. I have been watching footage of that game, and even as someone with no interest in Zelda or Wii U, that game looks HYPE!

1:40:10 We discuss Wii U hardware again.
Being able to use the GamePad in so many ways makes it an interesting, and very useful multi-purpose tool. I was actually surprised at this, because I honestly didn’t know that the GamePad had so many features.

1:50:07 Ending
Turns out we actually did release the cast on time… but I was just dragging my feet too much.

So, this episode is really, really late. There are a couple of reasons for that. First off, we did record something two weeks ago. However, Sam had to reformat his hard drive due to various things (you know how it is with various things). Because he forgot to back anything up, he lost everything not saved in the Steam cloud, including the recording and his Dark Souls 2 save.

As for this recording… well, that should be pretty self-evident from the contents of the podcast.

The MP3 version of the podcast can be found here: (eventually)

0:00:00 Introductions
Yeah, Chris was really sick while recording this podcast. This has been a really bad past few weeks for recording the podcast. Again, various reasons.
Also, Sam’s work kept him later than usual, and Garrett was busy too.

We actually lied, viewer questions did happen, but not easily. You’ll see later on.

0:03:53 Microsoft bought Minecraft for $2 billion
And honestly, even though I’ve never been huge into Minecraft, I can totally respect Notch’s decision to bail out. He’s done a lot of work that he never really signed up for, and just wants to make games like he used to.

0:08:40 I played Digital Devil Saga 2.
Since I’ve actually finished the game in the time since the recording, I’ve written an impressions piece on the game, detailing my thoughts on it. Aside from that, the conversation here was fairly in-depth, so I have not much more to have.

Having said that, we also take the time to briefly discuss religion in RPGs. Interestingly enough, I also wrote a piece sometime ago on this very subject.

Also, I did not realize how badly the connection was affecting the recording. We’ll keep this in mind for the future.

0:20:32 I played Only If
And you shouldn’t, because its bad.

It’s a mediocre puzzler, with a bad antagonist, terrible voice actor, and a vapid story.
Luckily, since it’s Free-To-Play, I lost nothing from it.

And at the time of this podcast, Sam sent us the log-in info of the podcast e-mail (work his phone, while at work) and I tried to get the log-in set up. Keep this in mind for later.

0:25:05 Chris played Fist of the North Star: Ken’s… huh?
And as he started talking about it, I got the e-mail working. Unfortunately, I needed to get Sam to send me the verification code.

0:27:30 (Impromptu) Viewer Questions
“Have any of you had a chance to play Wasteland 2 yet?”
Though I really want to, I’m going to wait for a sale.

And then he got sidetracked by talking about the new Steam front page. I explained it in the cast, so there’s no need to reiterate it here. Overall, I really like the changes because it gives me an incentive to actually use Steam to browse for games the way I used to, before Early Access and Greenlight.

“What do you think of Star Citizen so far?”
Chris sums it up better than I could, honestly. I’ve not really been following it, but at the same time I don’t think it could possibly live up to all of its promise.

0:38:00 Chris played Fist of the North Star: Ken’s Rage

It’s Mad Maxx meets Japan meets Dynesty Warriors. There’s not much more that one can say about it… except that the boss fights apparently suck.
Sounds like the rest of the game is fun, so at least there’s that.

On the subject of voice acting, I recall an old anime called Duel Masters. In that show, when one character challenged another to a card game, they would use the Japanese phrases for “I challenge you” and “I accept”. When asked, the people in charge of the dubbed said the reason was that it both sounded cooler and made portions of lip-syncing easier. I strongly suspect that this would be part of the reason why some phrases in this game were left in Japanese, even for the English dub.

0:51:25 Sam gets home and joins us.
And while he sets up, Chris and I stall for time. We stall HARD for time.

0:52:50 Sam gets his mic set up.
And we talk a bit about work and stuff.

For the record, at the time of this cast, I was grinding in Digital Devil Saga 2 in order to get strong enough to take on the final bosses. When I said “You bitch”, I was angry because one of my character’s was confused, which made them throw $100000 onto the ground. Had to reset the game to save my money.

And rather than get on subject, we keep going to other topics that were not what Sam is playing this week.

0:57:15 Sam beat Dead Rising 3.
And instead we talk anime zombies. “It’s really bad, I should get a copy of it.”

It’s a Dead Rising game, not much more needs to be said.

1:01:31 Sam bought Neverending Nightmares
And I’ve seen it a bit since Sam talked about it here. It is REALLY fucked up.

1:09:20 Sam had a birthday
And now he is of legal drinking age, like the rest of us.

1:11:00 Sam bought at iPhone5S
And we take the time to shit on the flimsiness of the iPhone6. It’s really amusing, to be honest.
At the same time, we praise Samsung for making good products.

1:16:00 Garrett joins the show, completing the ensemble.

1:18:30 Garrett regales us with tales of his League adventures.
Again, I’d talk more about this if I knew more about League of Legends. Until then, I’m content to just listen to these stories.

1:22:40 Garrett rented Destiny
So we can talk about it next week.

1:26:10 Garrett talks about his college classes.
And again, I can’t help but be reminded of my old college classes from Freshman/Sophomore year.

1:30:40 We talk about Blizzard’s cancelled Project Titan
Which is interesting because it leads into an interesting discussion on the MMO genre as a whole, and Blizzard’s part in making it the way it is today.
It’s actually amazing how well Blizzard does by developing only a few games, using an extremely limited number of IPs.

This leads into a conversation as to exactly why old Blizzard games (and other companies) do not post those old games on their own stores.

1:41:30 We talk about the new Gauntlet.
It felt really weird me to be the only one who knows about an old game. Usually, I’m completely in the dark with these segments. In this case, I’m the expert, which is really cool. I remember playing both Gauntlet: Legends on the PS1 and Gauntlet: Dark Legacy for the PS2. Really good games.

And Sam did actually buy us all copies of Gauntlet.

1:47:45 We wrap up the cast.
See ya next time!

Life has been pretty busy. Balancing school, work, and personal responsibilities/hobbies can get quite tiring at times. This is why I have been so slow in staying up-to-date lately, straying slightly from the 1 article per-week goal I set for myself. Having said that, I did manage to set aside the almost 40 hours necessary to complete Digital Devil Saga 2. Thus, my season of ATLUS continues relatively unhindered given the circumstances. Released in the second half of the same year as the first game, Digital Devil Saga 2 is a direct continuation. For the purpose of this article, I am going to assume that you have either already read my impressionsof the first game or played it yourself.
As the word “Saga” might imply in the titles, both games are made to strongly compliment each other, best enjoyed in order. One of the things that I noticed when starting Digital Devil Saga 2 is that writers assume that the player beat the first game when they wrote the script for the sequel. Should that not be the case, the game will mostly just assume that the player will gleam most of that information from character interactions. Though not many things happened in the first Digital Devil Saga, it was an important piece of the puzzle because it helped to established the main cast of characters and the major plot points which would be capitalized on and explained in the sequel. Without that knowledge, players might still be able to follow the basic plot, but they will miss much of the subtext and background behind interactions between characters. Even at the start of the game, the story does not stop to establish the characters in the player party, their powers, and why they act the way they do. It is assumed that the player already knows this because of their time with the first game, and thus no further explanation is required.
Many of the mysteries established in the first game, such as Sera’s mysterious origins and powers, why the Embryon and other characters from the Junkyard seem to remember pasts which they could not possibly have experienced, and what the Junkyard and Nirvana truly are get explained and expanded on. Again, though this information can be followed by someone who does not have experience with the first Digital Devil Saga, not having this pretense severely reduces the impact these reveals have. Eventually, everything is explained and the whole story comes together very nicely, with most loose ends tied together in a surprising denouement.
As far as the combat goes, the general gist of it is the same as it was in the first game, which I talked about in my last article. Having said that, I want to expound upon something I discussed in previously. In the Digital Devil Saga impressions piece, I mentioned that the game has an interesting difficulty curve where the beginning is very difficult because of your lack of skills, something which I have since taken to calling “Yukiko’s Syndrome” after the legendarily difficult first boss fight of Persona 4. Without a variety of skills, it becomes difficult to exploit weakness and gain the extra turns needed to turn the tides in the player’s favor. In fact, sometimes the lack of early-game abilities can mean that the player will be blocked and lose turns as a result. For this reason, some players might find it difficult to really dig into DDS and similar games. However, if they stick with it, they can often find that the game gets a lot easier, since they unlock more abilities. Ultimately, the ability selection unlocked will often be the primary factor determining player success, even moreso than character level. It is a interesting dynamic that is often present in Shin Megami Tensei games.
Aside from how combat previously went down, the game presents some new refinements to the mechanics. One of the biggest additions is Berserk Mode. In the original DDS, there was a Solar Noise meter that acted like the phases of the moon of a tradition SMT game, changing from 0 (MIN) to 8 (MAX) and back as players advanced in the dungeon. This meter represents the amount of solar data flowing out from the sun at a given point in time. In the original game, this had no real effect on anything besides the prices for vendor trash and very specific skills, so I did not comment on it. In this game, a new mechanic relies on Solar Noise. Should the player run into a random encounter during the state of MAX Solar Noise, there is a chance they will enter battle in a berserk state.
In these special battles, the party will be in unable to control their demon powers, entering a half-human, half-demon state. This state greatly enhances critical hit rate and allows all physical attacks to ignore resistances from enemies who can absorb/repel them. However, the accuracy of the party will greatly decrease and they can only use physical attacks, hunt attacks, and items. Further, defense is greatly reduced and no magic can be used in a berserk state. Should the party win a battle in Berserk Mode, the experience gained will be double the normal experience. Alternatively, if the player feels like they cannot win a fight, the rate of success for escaping battle rises to 100%. It is an interesting risk vs reward mechanic that can be both a blessing and a curse to the player.
One more thing that differentiates combat in DDS 2 from DDS 1 is party configurations. In the previous game, players could often get away with only having 3 characters that were their main fighters, leaving the rest to just faff about on the sidelines. Since party members would rarely ever leave the group for long periods of time, players could generally keep the same three party members for the whole game and experience no downsides. In Digital Devil Saga 2, this is much less safe, especially towards the end of the game. Towards the end, the game is much more willing to play around with party formations, and members will often leave for long stretches of time or force themselves onto the front-lines for a single boss battle, like the infamous Kimahri-only boss fight in Final Fantasy X. As a result, it is much more necessary to keep every character developing their skills at a steady rate. This can be difficult since reserve members do not gain experience (called Karma in-game) during a fight. However, there is a skill which can allow them to do so, which can help combat this problem. Since it is a fairly inexpensive skill that can be purchased early on in the game, most players will not feel the pinch. Still, that is a equipped skill slot going to waste to fix a problem that really should not be a problem in the first place.
In terms of character development, the Mantra system from DDS 1 returns, but with a twist. Previously, the mantra system resembled more of a chart, like the perk system in Skyrim. To unlock a given Mantra, it was mandatory to master all of the Mantra below it on the chart, getting all of those skills beforehand. Now, the Mantra system is much more of a grid, along the lines of the License Board system in Final Fantasy XII (although DDS 2 came first). When a given Mantra is mastered, every Mantra around it on the grid is unlocked for the character to purchase. There are even special Sealed Mantra on the grid that can only be unlocked when every Mantra around them is mastered by at least one member of the current party. All characters start somewhere close to the center, and have the ability to branch out from there in whatever way they choose. This results in much less restrictive system. Rather than having to expressly master every Earth-element spell to get to the more powerful ones, players can just find a path to a high-level Mantra around it, and master that one instead. This gives an incredible freedom when choosing how characters develop that is rarely seen in JRPGs.
And that freedom is required, because boss battles are even tougher this time around. In the first game, even if the player did not know what a (mini-)boss could do, they still might fare a decent chance against them with a generalized build designed to take down random encounters. While this is still true about half of the time in DDS 2, there are also many boss fights where it is necessary to either look them up in a walkthrough, or lose against them multiple times in order to figure out exactly how to handle them. Without the right ability setups, many boss fights can be said to be nearly impossible, particularly towards the end. The game trusts that by that point, the player has strongly diversified their skillset and has the tools to counter whatever comes their way. As a result, it has no qualms about throwing monsters with very specific weaknesses and attacks at the player. Every skill can be important at some point in the game, and keeping this in mind will make a huge difference in the long run.

At the end of the day, Digital Devil Saga 2 is a good game in its own right, but heavily relies on the previous entry in order to truly get the most out of it. It just barely has enough exposition to explain its story on its own, assisted in part with flashbacks to cutscenes from DDS 1. Having said that, the game plays well, and challenge remains constant, because a single battle can prove lethal to the unprepared. Fans of the Shin Megami Tensei games, or of difficult RPGs will find themselves welcome to the party. Others might struggle to enjoy it to the same degree.

My ATLUS binge has been progressing about as well as I expected. Since the games on my list are JRPGs, and I am now balancing a work and school schedule, I knew that playing through any one game would take some time. To not suspect that to be the case would be folly. Still, though it may have taken some doing, I have finally completed Digital Devil Saga. Released in 2005 for the PS2 in North America, Digital Devil Saga is much more of a traditional Shin Megami Tensei game than its Devil Summoner cousins. At the same time, it also sets itself apart in its own way.
One of the most unique aspects of the game is its story. Digital Devil Saga takes place in a post-apocalyptic hellscape known as The Junkyard. The player is handed the role of Serph, leader of the Embryon tribe, one of 6 large warring tribes in the junkyard. Devoid of emotions, the tribes fight one another in an attempt to kill the leaders of the other tribes. The last remaining tribe earns the right to ascend to the paradise of Nirvana. However, on one day, a bright light hits the bodies of every person in The Junkyard, branding them with special symbols. These symbols give the people human emotions and the ability to transform into demonic Atma Avatars, representing their inner selves. In exchange, they are given a compulsion to devour the flesh of other demons in order to strengthen their karma and gain additional powers. A mysterious girl appears at the same time, with the ability to suppress this innate hunger with her singing. With their world changed, Serph has to lead his tribe and attempt to reach Nirvana.
The setup is an incredibly intriguing one. The fact that the world is so incredibly different from our own, or any of the standard lists of typical RPG settings, can be off-putting at first. However, persistence through the game is rewarded with a very interesting character exploration. Since the characters are only just now starting to feel emotions, the player gets to see them grow and learn how and why they respond to certain stimuli. It is not something that many writers would dare to try, and fewer of which would get right. However, ATLUS does this job incredibly well.
Furthermore, there is an element of mystery to the story. Nobody knows who unleashed the light and why. The origins of the girl who can suppress the hunger are also unknown to the party. It is hinted that there are answers to these question, but the game does not outright state those answers. Presumably, this is because those answers will be made clear in Digital Devil Saga 2, the direct continuation of the story. Yes, the game is essentially a two-parter. As the first half of a two-part plot, the game does well enough to both be satisfying on its own and leave its sequel enough room to wrap up all of the loose ends. Although, I get the feeling that if I was not already aware that there was a direct sequel, I might be pretty peeved at the lack of a true denouement
Now, as far as combat goes, this game borrows a lot from other Shin Megami Tensei games, specifically Nocturne. Digital Devil Saga has adapted the Press Turn System from that game for its own use. Battles occur alternating between player and enemy turns. On the player’s turn, they get one action for each ally character. Each character acts in a sequence determined by the player prior to the fight. In most circumstances, an action will consume an entire turn. However, if an attack manages to exploit an enemy weakness (or if a physical attacks becomes a critical hit), then only half of a turn will be expended. Should other half-turns be in play, then the half-turn will be taken from a full-turn instead. Alternatively, should an attack miss or get nullified by the foe’s innate resistances, then the attack will expend two turns. A repelled or absorbed attacked will end the round entirely, as will running out of turns. A player can also strategically make the decision to pass the character’s turn, only expending a half-turn, to give other teammates the chance to attack weaknesses. Enemies are just as beholden to these rules as players are during their phase, though they cannot pass turns.
This system is ultimately the crux of why the game can be either one of hardest or one of the easiest games out there. With the right skill-sets, parties can absolutely crush the opposition by mercilessly going after vulnerabilities and gaining many extra turns. However, an incorrect setup can quickly leave the party overwhelmed by wasted turns, leaving enemies the chance to capitalize on their misfortune. It is up to the player to make sure that they remain fully aware of the elemental properties of their enemies and adjust their setup accordingly, else they will not succeed. Particularly on bosses, it was not atypical for me to spend my first attempt just trying to figure out what attacks will/won’t work on an enemy in order to adjust my build for the second attempt. Ultimately, this means that the early game can be brutal, simply due to a lack of skills. At the same time, the end game can be shockingly easy if the player has spent their time diversifying their party’s abilities, given them a wide variety to select from.
Speaking of which, skill and character development is handled differently in Digital Devil Saga than they are in most Shin Megami Tensei games. In most SMT games, the player character must capture demons to add to their party. Those demons come with skills, strengths, and weaknesses, forming the basis of their setups. Though fusion, players have another way to customize their demons and further refine their party build.
This is not the case in Digital Devil Saga. Each character only has a single demon form, which will not change at all for the duration of the game. Unless the party is ambushed, they will transform into demons at the start of the fight and begin battle. Since no extra demons are obtained, skills are acquired in a different way. Instead, the players spend money (called “Macca”) in order to purchase Mantra at Karma Terminals (aka Save Points). With an unmastered Mantra, a party member will gain Atma Points towards the mastery of it. When enough Atma is acquired, the Mantra is mastered, new Mantra that required it as a pre-requisite are unlocked, and the skills the are governed by that Mantra are taught to the player character. All characters have access to the same mantra list, regardless of the statistical or elemental affinities. Therefore, each character can learn every skill in the game, given enough time and investment.
But gaining Atma just by fighting battles is a slow process, even with certain skills speeding it up. Having said that, there is a way to make it quicker. Certain skills, referred to as “Hunt” skills, exist in the game. If an enemy is defeated by a “Hunt” skill, then the character who delivered the attack will devour them, gaining much more Atma than they normally would. However, there is always a chance that the party member will suffer a stomachache, preventing them from gaining any Atma and giving them a chance to pass a turn. These “Hunt” skills are normally very impotent on their own. However, if any enemy has their weakness exploited, there is a chance that they will become “frightened”, which triples the damage of a Hunt attack. Should the attack also have an instant death chance, that chance rises to 100% on a frightened foe.
In order to stay ahead of enemies, it is important to constantly devour as many foes as possible in the game. The mechanics of these actions reinforce the characters constant need to eat in order to satiate their hunger, without burdening the player with any needless status ailments. Further, it fits right into the combat system by given the player additional reasons to play well and exploit weaknesses. It can even result in interesting scenarios where the player needs to choose between ending a battle swiftly or deliberately prolonging it in order to get a shot at a successful hunt. The chance to successfully hunt an enemy can even make some players look forward to the next battle, despite the needlessly high encounter rate. Overall, the hunting mechanic feeds well into the rest of the game.

Digital Devil Saga did a great job of reiterating on the core themes and mechanics of Shin Megami Tensei in what was, at the time, a new and interesting way. For this reason, it still holds up well at the time of writing, 9 years later. Though I did not attempt it in my playthrough, I should also make mention of the fact that this game is infamous for having one of the most difficult optional boss fights in the history of JRPGs. It exists for players who, unlike me, exist solely to keep challenging themselves with more and more brutal obstacles. For this reason, I can recommend the game to any JRPG fan. Those who like it easy will just need to be aware of a need to grind (though I finished the main story in only 35 hours), but players looking for a challenge will be well served by the optional content scattered throughout the game.

I don’t know exactly how it happened… but it happened. We brought up Destiny as a one-off joke in the intro, and we somehow spent almost a significant chunk of the podcast talking about it. The best part is that none of us own the game, so we have no reason to really give out our opinion on it. Garrett and I played the beta, but that’s it (though I hear not much has changed between then and the main release).

And that really hampered the rest of the cast, because it left us much less time to really talk about what we wanted to talk about. Although we continuous fail to do so, we really are trying to shorten up these podcasts. It’s just that one conversation leads to another, which leads to another. By the time we realize it, we’ve spent 20 minutes discussing cupcakes and no one has any idea why that is.
It’s both the shows greatest strength and weakness.

Having said that, here’s the show.

The MP3 of this episode can be found here.

0:00:00 Introduction
Sam, I just want you to know that THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!

0:03:34 Viewer Question
“Have you guys ever played the original Unreal or Unreal 2? If so, what did you think of them?”
My youth betrays me when these types of questions come up. Not only are these games before my time more often than not, but even if they were from my time, I haven’t been using my PC for gaming for very long. I’ve only had a computer capable of playing smaller games fairly well for a few years now, so I missed out/am missing out on many good PC games. In many ways, I’m still playing catch-up. Part of me hopes that when I graduate college, I’ll be able to upgrade to a really good gaming PC and get much deeper into it. Until then, I have other things I need to use my money for.

0:08:50 Chris has a question about manga.
While I myself don’t read a lot of manga, I have many friends who do. Sam is very right, MangaFox is the place to go for manga. Though I am less familiar with it, Sam also recommended All Mangas Reader to check out.
As a child, I used to read many of the popular Shonen Jump manga, but not many of the less known ones. Growing up, money became more tight, and when it came time to start cancelling subscriptions, Shonen Jump was one of the first to go. When my friends introduced me to MangaFox much later, I was already too far behind and didn’t want to spend all that time playing catch up.
I only really gave up on manga because I used to be really into Naruto, but a particular moment in the series pretty much destroyed any interest I had in it. After Pain killed so many characters, and then almost immediately brought them back to life, I stopped caring. It showed me that death is completely meaningless. Once that happens, it becomes much harder to invest yourself in the events that go on, since you know they is a good chance they will be made meaningless.
Is it unfair to judge all mange/anime because on one? Yes. Will that stop me from doing precisely that? No.
Having said that, that isn’t just a problem you see in manga/anime. ANY series that goes on for too long with suffer from that. That’s probably why my favorite animes (Code Geass and Death Note, for the record) only had two seasons and ended before they had a chance to turn into crap. Sam has recommended a lot of anime to me, and I probably should watch a few of them sometime.

0:21:26 I joke about Destiny… and come to regret it.
I’m sorry listeners. I truly am.
I still can’t fathom why they wouldn’t put the database containing all the game’s story in the actual game, even as just a text file. It boggles the mind. The database exists in RPGs for precisely that reason. Some people don’t care about story, but the ones that do can look up any extra details they might be curious about.
This game was clearly over-hyped, even worse than Watch_Dogs was. It’s not what I would call a bad game, but it is totally outclassed by many of its contemporaries. Honestly, if Destiny interests you, you are simply better off playing Borderlands 2.
In the premier episode of this podcast, I made a joke that Destiny was about “fighting the darkness with my keyblade,” but it is worse than that. Shit all you want about Kingdom Hearts, but it has characters than make an impact, with their own personalities and motivations. Furthermore, light and darkness are very strongly defined concepts. Destiny lacks both of these.
I just cannot see the appeal of it. It doesn’t even seem all that ambitious to me. In fact, the game looks very safe.

0:41:05 Chris talks a bit more about Serious Sam (and we stop talking about Destiny)
Hearing Chris talk about Serious Sam 3 on the 360 really, really sucks. That should NEVER happen on a console. There really isn’t an excuse for that. If the devs didn’t have time to port it to the console properly, they shouldn’t release it on that console.
Even on the PC, some of the things Chris is talking about are simply inexcusable. I get the distinct impression that the developers were probably pressed in terms of either time or money, possibly both. Most developers don’t release games in a state like that unless they have to, because they take pride in their work. What a shame.

0:48:45 Chris talks about Fist of the North Star and Dynesty Warriors-esque games.
Not much for me too add here, unfortunately. It’s Dynesty Warriors, you either know about it or you don’t.

0:51:30 The conversation transitions into Gundam, then Zoids.
It has been so long since I watched the Gundam anime that most of the finer details elude me. All I remember is some anime dude putting on a rubber suit, stepping into a cockpit, and then air boxing the shit out of other robots.
For some reason, I have significantly stronger memories of Zoids. Though many names elude me, the characters, faces, and overall storylines are still in my mind. This is probably because I kept up with the series with greater frequency as a child.

I should apologize for my belligerence during this segment. There were two main reasons for that. One of them is something you might have noticed from the recording. I was sick, and my voiced might have given that away.
The other reason is that I has to be up super early for work, so I didn’t want the recording to go on for too long.

1:00:55 I am getting sick of Project X Zone.
It was a very interesting game at first. However, the game doesn’t really add a lot in terms of variety as it goes on.
Oh sure, the initial objective might vary from mission to mission. However, once that is complete, the game will ALWAYS make you kill everything afterward. At the start, the game is content with making you simply kill a boss to end a mission. However, that stops really early on.
As a result, one single chapter (in other words, one battle) can take over an hour to win, sometimes more than 2 hours. And the game has 48 chapters. The game does have a quicksave, but since I only play for 20 minutes at a time (the length of my commute to either work or school), I don’t feel like I’m making progress.
It’s boring, it’s slow, and it’s annoying.

1:05:33 I play more Digital Devil Saga
On the other hand, this game has been getting more and more interesting as I play. It’s like most SMT games in that it is much more important to get the right skills than to level up. With the right setup, a low level party can easily topple a high level boss by striking weaknesses to get extra turns and using their own skills to absorb enemy attacks.
As for the story, it’s good, but even in this space here, I would not be able to explain it. I know it’s weird to ask you to trust me on that, but I’m asking you to trust me on that.

1:12:05 I tell the cast that I’ve been sick.
Y’know. I just assumed everyone used Petroleum Jelly to heal dry skin on their nose when they got sick. I was surprised that Sam was surprised.
Tissues, Petroleum Jelly, and Cold Medicine… I try to make sure I have all three readily available when I am sick.

1:18:35 Garrett played Half-Life 2 and League of Legends: Ascension .
I wish I knew a bit more about League, because I’m always at a loss with regards to what to put down here whenever Garrett talks about that game. I’m not a huge MOBA guy, so I don’t get into them. I’m the kind of gamer who needs a sense that I advancing towards some goal, typically the advancement of a story, in order to keep playing. In multiplayer games, I don’t typically get that, so I don’t play them too often except to hang out with friends.

1:28:18 Garrett purchased FaceRig and Among the Sleep.
FaceRig is technically more of a software than a game, but it still sounds really cool. Basically, it’s a program that maps your facial movements onto a 3D character, though a low-res webcam. It’s still in testing, but the developers are apparently comfortable enough to put it out to the general public.
This brings us to the general topic of Steam Early Access. Like Greenlight before it, Early Access has a lot of problems associated with it. I still don’t know if I support or renounce the concept, as there are very strong cases for its inclusion and its removal from Steam.

1:31:55 I ask the cast if they prefer the close-garden or open approach to Steam.
I ask this mostly out of curiosity. Again, I haven’t fully formed my opinion on the matter. I think there is some nuance to the issue.
In either case, some quality-control should be taking place. I think that much is clear.

1:37:40 Garrett talks about his Game Design class.
It is interesting how many parallels there are between the classes Garrett goes through and what I go through. I am going for a general Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science, with a concentration in Game Design. Garrett is going through a specialized Game Design class.
In terms of programming, you can teach a lot by just asking students to program video games. All sorts of skills are necessary for even the simplest games. As you advance to higher level courses, this becomes less true, but it is still interesting to take note of.
Having said that, the pitches Garrett talks about from his class all seem really bad, just on a fundamental level.

1:47:20 Sam has been playing Diablo 3.
And he is super-bored by it. Then again, his character sounds super OP. Not much more to say about it.

1:53:00 Sam finished the new Strider game.
Not much to say about that.

1:55:45 Sam got to play the Dark Souls 2 DLC
And it’s somehow difficult even by Dark Souls standards, which I thought was impossible.

1:58:50 Sam watches non-David Cage movies.
And they sound interesting enough for me to want to check out at some point.
Though at this point, I actually had to drop out of the podcast because I really needed to wake up early the next day.

2:12:25 Sam finished Muramasa: Rebirth.
And I am a bit sad I missed out on that. I mean, it would be me gushing about the game, but I would have loved to talk about it.

2:13:30 The guys wrap up the cast without me.
At least the guys are aware of how ungodly long this particular session seemed to run too. I wonder how much more bearable it would have been if I wasn’t literally sick and tired. They aren’t wrong about us being able to talk forever. These types of discussions, even outside the cast, are fairly normal for us. That’s just how we roll, I suppose.
As for shout-outs, I wrote an article on RPG Combat I forgot that I wanted to talk about during the cast. I’ll make sure to bring it up next week.

As I said in last week’s post, my free time has been spent playing old PlayStation 2 ATLUS RPGs. Having beaten Devil Summoner, I have been making progress through Digital Devil Saga. However, this is not an Impressions piece on that game as it will take some time to finish, now that college classes are taking up my time again. Worry not, my friends, because playing through this game has given me an interesting idea for a subject of an article. One idea has been clawing at the back of my mind for some time now. This idea is as follows: “Are RPGs even allowed to have ‘good’ combat?”
This might at first seem like a weird question, but hear me out. Though this is not always the case, most gamers, on some level, associate RPGs with longer playtimes than would typically expected of other games. These lengths usually exceed 30 hours, and it is not uncommon for them to go up to 50 hours or greater. In order to facilitate player engagement for the entire length of one of these games, combat has to fill a very particular niche. Should the fighting be too busy, then players will become fatigued from having to repeatedly consume mental stamina to stay on top. This will result in them either taking long breaks between sessions, or being incapable of playing for more than an hour or so at a time before they need to call it quits.
Kingdoms of Amalur served as a decent example of that. At a minimum, a typical playthrough will take about 50 hours to clear. In order to keep the player’s attention throughout this length, the development team went out of their way to try to make the best combat they could. In order to have good fighting in the game, they made players have to watch all of their enemies in order to know when to dodge attacks and counter with their own. It requires observation of the enemy, their patterns, and the properties of their attacks. Further, a sense of timing and, to a lesser extent, rhythm is needed to capitalize on openings and avoid making them yourself. There is quite a lot going on, even in beginning fights. While the game does have a leveling mechanic, so fighting against enemies of lower/higher level will make it easier/harder, the game does a fairly good job of keeping the player at just the right level to get a decent challenge going throughout the experience.
Unfortunately, this style of combat has drawbacks that can only be seen when placed in an RPG and extended for long lengths of time. First, the player’s attack properties are always in flux. Different weapon types possess different attack animations, so equipping a new weapon can completely throw off the sense of timing and result in unnecessary grief in a fight. Even when the same type of weapon is equipped, each one has their own properties. This results in dealing different damage and having different ranges. It might not sound like much, but that can have a dramatic impact on overall strategy. While some of this is necessary in order to keep scenarios new and interesting, the nature of the game makes this so regular that players rarely have time to get used to old tactics before new ones are needed. Other issues crop up as well. For example, the mental strain required to keep all of these factors in mind is draining. It results in a feeling of general exhaustion when playing the game. Such feeling are exacerbated when the typical RPG trappings of inventory management and character development are included. The constant need to fiddle with equipment and build setups, while partaking in very active engagements, can reduce even the strongest willpower to nothing.
On the other hand, RPGs cannot make the combat too boring. This opposite problem is what many people who shy away from RPGs typically associate with them. If the game does not make its combat engaging enough, players will still not play it for very long, for surprisingly similar reasons. A boring, monotonous slog can often be exactly as draining as overengagement. As a result, a game that does not bring a proper level of engagement to the forefront will tire out users and get them to stop playing.
Final Fantasy XII had this problem in spades. The combat system, seemingly inspired by MMOs, took place in real-time, with attacks taking a period of time to perform depending on the user’s speed stat. The game also had a system called Gambits. Basically, the game allowed players to control the player AI’s algorithm, as determined by a series of if-then statements. As a result of this system, most of the game was automated. Tasks like healing, buffing/debuffing, and exploiting enemy weaknesses could simply by handed off to the AI. Theoretically, this could be free the player up to focus more on task at hand, dealing with fighting on the macro level as opposed to the micro level. In execution, most fights could be completed without a single input of the part of the player. All the player really had to do was make sure the party was moving throughout the dungeon, completing the puzzles and getting to the next cutscene. As a result, it gets boring quickly, and finishing the game can be considered a bit of a chore.
In order to keep players interested throughout the length of the game, the combat needs to be just challenging enough so that it draws and holds the player’s attention without taxing them too heavily. Heading too far in either direction will just tire the player out, either through exhaustion or boredom. While the player needs to be “going through the motions” to a degree, some variety must come from somewhere in order to keep interest, while still maintaining a structure to the combat. This is ultimately where the crux of my argument comes from. Can this balance really be seen as “good” combat? Is it “fun” in the traditional sense? Or is it merely good enough to hold a typical player’s attention throughout the course of the game, without honestly being that entertaining in its own right?

I do not honestly have that answer. As much as I mulled over this point and even after playing countless games in the genre, I cannot reach a satisfactory conclusion. Thus, I would like to hear your input on the matter. Should any of you have an opinion on this subject that you wish to share, please feel free to contact me, either in the comments below or on social media. I look forward to hearing from all of you.

The Texture Pop returns for another week of craziness. Everyone showed up for the recording session, so the cast was back to its usual shenanigans, albeit a more muted variety of it.

You see, most of us were completely exhausted when we started recording, and that only got worse as the show went on. Sam was getting a lot of hours at work, Garrett had some issues he was dealing with, and I was doing off-site training for work (at a location an hour away from my house) and had only just gotten home a few hours prior to recording.
And Chris, Chris can stuff it with his energy.

The MP3 version of this podcast can be found here:
0:00:00 Introduction
Just an FYI, I get weird when I’m tired, which can explain some of the behavior at the start of the cast.

0:02:20 Viewer Questions
“Do you guys have any favorite gaming-related media?”

I mention the Mass Effect novels in this segment. Though I stand behind the first three novel, I reject any notion that final novel is good.
The document referring to all the plot holes in it is here. (It’s only 16 pages.)
And here’s a link to (screw) Kai Leng: Cereal Killer.

Garrett reminds me of .hack, which makes me bring up just how much I love .hack. Through the games are fairly mediocre, the lore and story is fantastic. Its premise is fairly unique among video game plots, and it had a very distinct feel to it. I could’ve sworn that he brought up the subject, but listening to this recording makes it clear than I did.

“Do you guys have any franchises that you would like to be turned into a game, and what would you want that game to be like?”
All the properties that I really love have one of three problems associated with them, in regards to this question.

  • The franchise started as a game, or already has games for it.
  • The franchise does not feel like it would work as a game, in an interactive space.
  • I would never trust a developer to accurately capture the spirit of the franchise in a video game for.
It’s an interesting thought question though, and I’d be interested in any responses from you guys to this question.
0:36:25 Sam bought Grid: Auto Sport
Because Dirt 3 uses Games For Windows Live.
…No one likes GWFL. At least that service is on the way out.

And we talk about that and other racing games, so I start to clock out. I distinctly recall it being really difficult to keep my eyes open during this segment. (I was really tired.)

0:41:25 Sam picked up the new Strider game.
I don’t have much of a frame of reference for the Strider franchise, so I honestly cannot elaborate much upon what Sam and Chris were talking about.
What they do start talking about, that might be of interest, is the necessity to upgrade PC hardware to keep up with current games. This is honestly probably one of the biggest reasons I stick to consoles. My funds, especially as a college student, are extremely limited, so I try to spend them wisely.

0:47:11 Sam is still not playing the Dark Souls DLC and touched Murdered: Soul Suspect
I think the behavior Sam exhibits while trying to get to the DLC is completely understandable. I remember, after about the 30-35 hour mark in Dragon Age: Origins, where I was just getting so sick of the game and just wanted to be done with it and move on to something else. It’s not the exact same, but it’s comparable.
As for Murdered: Soul Suspect, I have an impressions piece on it if you are interested.
We also briefly discuss Early Access in this segment.

0:53:30 Garrett played a bit of Watch_Dogs
I do find it really interesting that myself, Chris “Campster” Franklin of Errant Signal, and Patrick Klepek of Giant Bomb all found Aiden Pearce to be irredeemable. None of us had any knowledge of the other’s thoughts, but we all agree.
Aside from that, Watch_Dogs is okay, but super overhyped. It’s not honestly fairly bad overall, though it has some qualities which can be refined into a truly great game.

0:59:45 Garrett got free movies from his library.
Include Citizen Kane, which is the Citizen Kane of movies.

1:01:05 Garrett played Borderlands 2 and League of Legends
I don’t like Borderlands 2 much because it’s one of those games where you need other people to have a good time. Playing by yourself is just incredibly boring.
As for League of Legends, those MOBA communities sound really, really shitty. It’s really sad to see. People take their entertainment WAY too seriously.

We do get into a conversation regarding LoL’s story. While I don’t know anything about it, what I’ve heard makes it sound really bad.

1:15:35 I finish Devil Summoner 2.
And I wrote an impressions piece on it.
I really do not understand why designers make dungeons and levels as long as they do. I cannot stand long dungeon crawls. TEN HOURS for one dungeon is OVERKILL. I get angry after an hour.
Aside from that though, the game is a very good Shin Megami Tensei game. I’d easily recommend it to anyone who likes JRPGs and is interested in getting into SMT.

1:21:25 I am playing Digital Devil Saga.
Even among SMT games, this game is incredibly unique, mostly because you never gain any new demons. Instead, you develop your character’s demonic powers as they progress through the game.
It’s a very bizarre game, and I look forward to finishing it.

As for silent protagonists, I tend to like them in games. They serve a very important role, especially in SMT games, because they typically serve as player-avatars more than characters in their own right. Of course, ultimately it depends on the game for if its a good idea.

1:28:30 Chris bought the Serious Sam Collection
Serious Sam is a franchise I really need to take the time to playthough at some point. Everything I hear about it indicates that it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, it’s another one of those franchises that I don’t know enough about it to make any additional commentaries.
I was also completely unaware that Serious Sam had an RPG. Calling in “The Random Encounter” is quite clever, so props to the developers for that.

1:43:30 Chris talks about Mortal Kombat X and DLC
And yet another series I don’t know much about. This has been a fairly light annotations because I don’t know a lot about many of these topics.
However, I do love how Chris remarks about how game developers have trained us to just wait until all the DLC is out, and then get it in a single go with the “Ultimate Edition”. I sometimes wonder how that behavior affects the sales of games with DLC.

1:48:30 Chris and Sam talk about DOA5 and Virtua Fighter
And I was honestly beginning to fall asleep during the recording. Took all of my willpower to stay awake.

1:55:00 We start talking movies until the end of the episode.
And Micheal Bay is still bad.

2:02:20 Conclusion
I was so tired that I FORCED this to end.

As many of the people who know me are aware, I am what one might consider to be an “ATLUS-faithful”. ATLUS is one of my favorite developers because of how they shamelessly stick to the things that make old-school JRPGs charming, while reinventing the other aspects as they see fit. I make no secret of the fact that Persona 4 is in close competition as one of my all-time favorite games (following behind Dark Cloud 2 and Wild Arms 3). Having said that, there are still many Shin Megami Tensei games that I have never played before. As a result, I have been trying to “catch up” on the games that I missed. This process is started by the game I will be talking about in this post: Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. King Abaddon (RK2). This is the direct sequel to Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. The Soulless Army, a game I played a long time ago, back when it was released on the PS2. The game, and its predecessor, are unique for not only how they continue on the traditions of the SMT franchise, but also in how they defy other such traditions.
One of the biggest differences between RK2 and other SMT games is the difference in the overall tone. Shin Megami Tensei games tend to have very dark outlooks of the world and the themes they use. Devil Summoner is different in this regard. Instead of conforming to the bleakness of the franchise, the overall tone falls more into the realm of camp. It feels more at home being compared to an anime from the 70s than it does an SMT story. The premise of the game alone, being that a shadowy group of hillbilly ninjas is threatening the Capital of Japan by using specialized insects to steal people’s luck and the player acts as a demon summoner/detective who is on the case, is a prime example of this. The game is fully aware of how absurd it is, and reveals in that absurdity.
The setting bolsters this uniqueness, taking place in 1930s-Japan. Very few games actually use this era in Japanese history as their backdrop, which makes Devil Summoner 2 even more interesting. Most SMT games take place in either the modern world or in a post-apocalyptic near-future, and most JRPGs take place in a classic fantasy. With this period, RK2 provides an interesting glimpse into Japanese history, when looking at how people interact with each other and the world around them. Not to say that it is completely historically accurate, as I sincerely doubt 1930s-Japan was plagued by demons and evil insects that steal luck. However, the fact that it takes advantage of an underused setting gives the Raidou Kuzunoha sub-franchise a look and feel all its own.
Another difference between RK2 and most other SMT games is the combat. Where most Shin Megami Tensei games are turn-based in their combat, Devil Summoner 2, like its predecessor, takes place in real time. Bringing two demons in battle, the protagonist comes equipped with a sword and gun. He can command his demons to use their skills, which consume his magical energies. If their attacks exploit a weakness, the enemy will be stunned. Further attacks on a foe in a stunned state will result in them releasing magical energy. In other words, if the player keeps exploiting weaknesses, they can use skills almost infinitely. The player can also guard attacks to reduce damage and hide demons from attacks to keep them alive. It is fairly intuitive system that never gets particularly difficult. As a consequence, there is no challenge to it. Once the player is aware of a enemies weakness, it is simply a matter of using the correct moves and then mashing the attack button. While it works, it is only interesting enough to keep players progressing through the story, which is the clear highlight.
Having said all of that, the game is still a Shin Megami Tensei game at its core. As is typical of games bearing that distinction, enlisting and summon mythical creatures from various religions and mythologies (SMT throws them all under the blanket term “demons”) to aid the protagonist. During a random encounter, players can choose to halt the battle in order to talk to the demons that they are fighting against. If the conversation goes well, they can begin negotiations with their enemy. When the player acquiesces to the demands set forth by the other party, they will join up with the protagonist and become part of the player party. New demons can also be acquired by fusing other demons in their employ. Should they register their creatures before they either fuse or dismiss them from service, then they can even pay to have them added back into the roster, with the stats they possessed at the time of registration.
These demons also serve as they way players progress through the game. Of course, their primary purpose is to help form the player’s fighting party. Every demon has their own strengths and weaknesses. It is up to the player to switch in/out the ones which are best suited to the current situation. For example, a demon who excels at fire magic will generally be strong against demons with wings, but not against those with ice magic. However, this is not their only purpose mid-battle. Should the player choose to begin conversation and negotiation, their demons can help assist in the conversation. Each one has their own conversational skill, and those skills have different effects on different demons. Lastly, they are also used during exploration, as their abilities can either destroy certain obstacles in the field or get to locations the protagonist is unable to go to themselves. When playing the game, the player needs to consider all three avenues of usefulness when constructing their party. In some cases, it might be a good idea to keep a very low-level demon because they possess abilities, either in negotiations or in the field, which make them useful. The system is very interesting and requires a lot of thought from the player.
Although the monsters are clearly the star of the show most of the time, the protagonist is no less important. In classic SMT fashion, the player character is a bit of a blank slate, with a set backstory to help facilitate immersion in the story. The character in question is a high school student (although that fact rarely ever comes up) who has been training his whole life to live as a Devil Summoner. Though the player gives him a true name, he has attained the rank and title of Great Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha the XIVth, tasked with protecting the Capital from demonic and supernatural threats. As a cover, he works part-time at a detective agency, to give him a plausible reason to conduct his investigations into these threats.
What makes him a particularly intriging protagonist, and fairly in line with what players expect from a Shin Megami Tensei game, is that while his actions in the game plot do not change, the player is ultimately who decides what his motivations are. Throughout the game, players make dialog choices for the lead character. As these decisions are made, the game adjusts the protagonists alignment on a scale of Law and Chaos. No matter what, he is a good person trying to help the people. The real choice is between why he does it. Does he do what he does simply because he has accepted the responsibility of being Raidou Kuzunoha and all that title entails? Or is he simply using the mantel as a means to protect the people because that is what his true desire are, ready to abandon the role if it no longer suited that purpose? Or does the answer lie somewhere in the middle? The game does not judge either side of Law or Chaos particularly harshly, and shows the positives and negatives of both types of virtuousness. The characters who represent Law and Chaos in the narrative are readily aware of the advantages of the other side and the flaws they possess. It never feels heavy handed and is actually quite maturely handled.

Overall, while Devil Summoner 2 has flaws, it is a unique and interesting enough game that it feels like a breath of fresh air. I enjoyed it for most of my playthrough, only getting annoyed at the length of the final dungeon. For the price you get it on the PlayStation Network now, I would say it is easily worth the investment. Though it is different from standard SMT games in many ways, it used the more familiar elements to make franchise fans feel just as at home as they would be in other games. Newcomers to the franchise are best served by playing either this, its predecessor, or Persona 3/4 because they are by far more friendly to new players than other games in the franchise are. After that, they might want to consider jumping off into the more difficult ATLUS games.
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