Shin Megami Tensei - Devil Survivor

Shin Megami Tensei Devil Survivor is a Tactical Role-Playing Game for the Nintendo DS released just recently (The English version, June 23, 2009).

Story:

Tokyo has been sealed by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force due to a demon outbreak, and it will be seven days before the whole capital is wiped out. The protagonist, a 17 year-old high school student (which the player decides the name), is trapped with his two friends Atsuro Kihara and Yuzu Tanikawa within the city, and is forced to make contracts with demons by utilizing a peculiar device called COMP to survive.

My Views:

First, getting on the concept of the COMPs, it actually looked like a Nintendo DS Unit, except that it is hacked with the "Devil Summoning Program" which is used in fighting demons. Another cool thing about the game is the references to Japanese Pop Culture (Characters like hackers, cosplayers, otakus, high school delinquents and Japanese rockstars are present in the game), The location is in Tokyo and you'll get to go around districts like Akihabara, Shibuya, Shinjuku etc.

Gameplay-wise, It's fun because it is somewhat a visual novel with a mix of tactical and turn based battles. The Cathedral of Shadows function where you fuse demons is a bit of a pain and you'll probably replay the game 3 to 5 times for the alternate endings and the stronger demons.

On the visuals and audio, it's well done, You won't get bored seeing the locations and the character designs and the soundtrack wasn't bad either.

The way I see it, the game is almost similar to Square-Enix's The World Ends With You. It's almost perfect for a modern RPG. So for Nintendo DS owners who love Asian-style RPG's don't miss this, Shin Megami Tensei DS, would be great for you.