After Devil Survivor 1 turned out to be a surprise hit for Atlus R&D1 with its combination of the Growlanser team's experienced SRPG gameplay mixed with traditional megaten lore, it's no surprise that the team immediately moved onto Devil Survivor 2.
Compared to Devil Survivor,
Devil Survivor 2 is a lot more of things: More content, more characters, game clock, 3 save slots
Devil Survivor 2 is a lot of same things: Battle system (srpg w/rpg battles, skillcracks), Gameplay structure (watch events, play battles, demon auctions)
Devil Survivor 2 is a lot of dissimilar things: Story, characters
Story
Not wanting to make the same game twice, the staff obviously felt the best way of differentiating a game that would mostly play the exact same, use the exact same spells, and feature many of the exact same demons, was to take the story in an entirely different direction and that they did.
The plot in DS2 basically has nothing to do with megaten, sorta like Persona. While DS1 was SWAMPED in megaten lore with the story being about DEMONS and hell and heaven. DS2 is about...mysterious aliens attacking the earth. Outside a few little bits, demons have almost nothing to do with any plot related thing and rather they are just sort of there as weapons to attack and defend things. The plot is feels more like an anime; a really really dark anime full of death and well, f-ed up stuff. For the alien creatures the developers got Mohiro Kitoh to design them. Kitoh is a manga writer/artist who has done family friendly works such as Narutaru and Bokurano. Note that was sarcasm. Kitoh's manga are known for being f-ed up x-rated stories where the main draw (since the stories are kind of lol) is that horrible violence happens out of nowhere and makes you sick to your stomach. The developers seem to have taken not only Kitoh's artistic designs to heart, but his storytelling (though DS2 is nowhere near as messed up as either of Kitoh's manga). People die A LOT and the game is about the end of the world in a very depressing manor.
As for the quality of the story it tells...well, it's ok. It's very engaging and high pressure, yet at the same time it's built in a fairly episodic structure that makes it feel like nothing much is going to happen during the middle of the game. The plot twists are pretty good, and even if it's not a GREAT megaten tale like the first Devil Survivor was, compared to storytelling in most games, it's definitely a few notches above.
Characters
The characters though are a bit tricky. Devil Survivor 2 wanted to scream MORE MORE MORE and so it has a lot of playable characters. This is also because many are optional. The problem with it is that by making most of them optional it feels like they didn't want to put a ton of effort into developing them (and possibly couldn't because maybe you'd have different characters in your party at x point). Devil Survivor 2 takes the idea of picking which "scenes" you want to see, making you choose between characters to follow, and gives it a persona 3/4 social link touch where by seeing more scenes with a character you level up your friendship level (which was basically in the first game but hidden and now it's visible) and every level you get a reward like a new demon is able to be made, or that character's stats are improved.
The cast is likeable and quirky, but everyone's story that you see from doing their events is incredibly shallow by SMT-ish writing standards (sort of like Strange Journey). It's all very one note, for example one girl's whole story is that she is a DANCER and likes to DANCE but doesn't know if DANCING matters and you say "yes, Dancing is good" and she says thanks and you're at max level by that point. That's literally the entire depth of her character. Compared to the characters in Devil Survivor 1 who had a lot going on in their lives and how the power of demon summoning throws a wrench and changes them...yeah, DS2 is kind of lol. I can't think of anyone with an actual deep sidestory. It's not to say I disliked the characters, they were fun and I had my favorites, but out of the entire cast there was only 1 really interesting character the entire game imo. That character sort of makes up for a lot though
Gameplay
Did you play Devil Survivor 1? If so, just imagine that and you've played Devil Survivor 2. They literally added nothing to the game. It's still an srpg map with rpg battles when you attack or are attacked. But hey, don't fix what's not broke? I mean I really really liked the battle system and gameplay systems in DS1, so I don't mind too much that the maps are the same, the map skills tend to be the same (+7 move still rules), the skill cracks are the same (with one improvement, if you level a character relationship you share skillcracks so if either person kills that enemy you get it, making it slightly less of a hassle than DS1), the demon auction is the same, the fusion is the same (though now with an ADD-ON ability to add spells/stats sort of like the seeds from strange journey, but not really useful in this one).
If you haven't played DS1 just read a review of that and it'll apply to DS2.
The main difference (besides a few more spells, skills, loads more demons [with the same spells/skills]) is the difficulty balance. In Devil Survivor 1 the game was tough for the first day or so until you got the hang and beat Wendigo and stuff. Then it was fairly average/easy difficulty until the final day of boss rushing where some of the paths were totally brutal. In Devil Survivor 2 it's the opposite. The first few days are average/easy difficulty and then around halfway the game gets BRUTALLY MEAN and every single boss fight from that point on is all odds stacked against you, life or death. By the last few days even the normal enemies can be annoying with all their reflects and megidos. It's all doable and if you make the right team and play smart you'll win. But the game poses a challenge beyond anything megaten since Nocturne IMO in the 2nd half. It's really freaking hard and mean and it will be painful to play. Surprisingly though the final day boss rush is much easier than DS1 and the final boss is weird for a megaten game. It's technically the easiest final boss I've ever seen in megaten, but the map itself is incredibly endurance and you can find yourself screwed 40 mins into the map. I got lucky and beat it on my first try with one of those "everyone dead, 1 hit away from game over and redoing 45 mins, but then I get that final hit in and the ending starts". If I hadn't I would've been kind of pissed I think
I prefer hard as nails boss that are short life/death with many retries vs. endurance fights where you have to redo a lot of time if you die, but I'm digressing. The challenge in DS2 is about 2x as hard as DS1, but the final boss rush is much easier.
Also I kind of wanted to mention how the concept of having a ton of playable characters makes them all kind of the same in gameplay. Since there's several physical fighters, several mages, who you use in battle general just comes down to "I'll go with the one with 3 points higher magic stat". Since no one actually has unique skills thanks to the skill share system from the first game, there's no need to use anyone and everyone just feels kind of generic gameplay. I would've liked to see things that made characters more distinct so you'd actually want to switch them around depending on the map and not just pick the 3 with the highest stats and use that team for everything.
Graphics
They are good. Like Devil Survivor 1 but with slightly more map sprites. Not much else to say here. Still no animated battle sprites. Demon art is still ripped from other games. But it all looks good. Interface looks very persona-ish as the game is for sure trying to be more like persona with the extra style, the psuedo social links, the large amount of characters, the distancing itself from demon-based storytelling.
Music
Music is interesting. It's by Kenji Ito who did a lot of the Romancing Saga and Mana soundtracks. He definitely brings a different flavor to the game that's not quite the usual megaten piano & buttrock. Which is a shame because I love piano and buttrock, but considering the tracks are good here I won't complain. There are a few standouts, and nothing is really bad. The tracklist is VERY VERY small like the first Devil Survivor and Strange Journey (DS megaten games get no soundtrack love). Maybe 15 songs? While I prefer DS1's music because of the buttrock (especially the kickass final stage/boss themes; DS2's final boss music is completely unmemorable), DS2's music is good.
Replay
The game has lots of branching thanks to a large set of playable characters and so many characters that it's impossible to see all their stories in one run (like P3/P4 social links). It also has a new game+ with a Tales of style grade shop where you can buy new game+ items for the achievement points you get from doing things in your run (I don't remember if the first DS had this). There's also hidden bosses on new game+ and you're not even going to see the last 20% of the demons in the first run since you finish the game around lvl.60-70. So if you want, there's good incentives to replay the game. One run through takes about 25 hours gametime, but with deaths it's probably more like 30 hours.
Overall
Not compared to Devil Survivor 1? Standing on its own as an srpg/rpg? Devil Survivor 2 is a great game. It's got a great battle system that combines SRPG and RPG gameplay, the story is engaging, and there's a large cast and quirky, though shallow, story characters to interact with and learn their tales.
Compared to Devil Survivor 1? It's still a good game. Just more of the same game you've already played but a greater challenge, with an interesting but not as good or megaten-ish story, and the characters suck compared to DS1's top-notch cast.
After DS1 I couldn't wait for a sequel since DS1 was so good and DS2 could take it even further. After DS2 I can't say I'm super excited about a DS3 unless they change up the gameplay. I'd still play a more-of-the-same DS3 and enjoy it, but wouldn't get too excited about it.
Finally there's lots of hilarious dialogue choices that don't have any impact, but they're just fun to say
One day I'd like to see Atlus go a few steps further and make them have real impact and change the story depending on them. DS2 is still more about just "watching the right scenes" and less about what you actually say in them.
B+
Compared to Devil Survivor,
Devil Survivor 2 is a lot more of things: More content, more characters, game clock, 3 save slots
Devil Survivor 2 is a lot of same things: Battle system (srpg w/rpg battles, skillcracks), Gameplay structure (watch events, play battles, demon auctions)
Devil Survivor 2 is a lot of dissimilar things: Story, characters
Story
Not wanting to make the same game twice, the staff obviously felt the best way of differentiating a game that would mostly play the exact same, use the exact same spells, and feature many of the exact same demons, was to take the story in an entirely different direction and that they did.
The plot in DS2 basically has nothing to do with megaten, sorta like Persona. While DS1 was SWAMPED in megaten lore with the story being about DEMONS and hell and heaven. DS2 is about...mysterious aliens attacking the earth. Outside a few little bits, demons have almost nothing to do with any plot related thing and rather they are just sort of there as weapons to attack and defend things. The plot is feels more like an anime; a really really dark anime full of death and well, f-ed up stuff. For the alien creatures the developers got Mohiro Kitoh to design them. Kitoh is a manga writer/artist who has done family friendly works such as Narutaru and Bokurano. Note that was sarcasm. Kitoh's manga are known for being f-ed up x-rated stories where the main draw (since the stories are kind of lol) is that horrible violence happens out of nowhere and makes you sick to your stomach. The developers seem to have taken not only Kitoh's artistic designs to heart, but his storytelling (though DS2 is nowhere near as messed up as either of Kitoh's manga). People die A LOT and the game is about the end of the world in a very depressing manor.
As for the quality of the story it tells...well, it's ok. It's very engaging and high pressure, yet at the same time it's built in a fairly episodic structure that makes it feel like nothing much is going to happen during the middle of the game. The plot twists are pretty good, and even if it's not a GREAT megaten tale like the first Devil Survivor was, compared to storytelling in most games, it's definitely a few notches above.
Characters
The characters though are a bit tricky. Devil Survivor 2 wanted to scream MORE MORE MORE and so it has a lot of playable characters. This is also because many are optional. The problem with it is that by making most of them optional it feels like they didn't want to put a ton of effort into developing them (and possibly couldn't because maybe you'd have different characters in your party at x point). Devil Survivor 2 takes the idea of picking which "scenes" you want to see, making you choose between characters to follow, and gives it a persona 3/4 social link touch where by seeing more scenes with a character you level up your friendship level (which was basically in the first game but hidden and now it's visible) and every level you get a reward like a new demon is able to be made, or that character's stats are improved.
The cast is likeable and quirky, but everyone's story that you see from doing their events is incredibly shallow by SMT-ish writing standards (sort of like Strange Journey). It's all very one note, for example one girl's whole story is that she is a DANCER and likes to DANCE but doesn't know if DANCING matters and you say "yes, Dancing is good" and she says thanks and you're at max level by that point. That's literally the entire depth of her character. Compared to the characters in Devil Survivor 1 who had a lot going on in their lives and how the power of demon summoning throws a wrench and changes them...yeah, DS2 is kind of lol. I can't think of anyone with an actual deep sidestory. It's not to say I disliked the characters, they were fun and I had my favorites, but out of the entire cast there was only 1 really interesting character the entire game imo. That character sort of makes up for a lot though
Gameplay
Did you play Devil Survivor 1? If so, just imagine that and you've played Devil Survivor 2. They literally added nothing to the game. It's still an srpg map with rpg battles when you attack or are attacked. But hey, don't fix what's not broke? I mean I really really liked the battle system and gameplay systems in DS1, so I don't mind too much that the maps are the same, the map skills tend to be the same (+7 move still rules), the skill cracks are the same (with one improvement, if you level a character relationship you share skillcracks so if either person kills that enemy you get it, making it slightly less of a hassle than DS1), the demon auction is the same, the fusion is the same (though now with an ADD-ON ability to add spells/stats sort of like the seeds from strange journey, but not really useful in this one).
If you haven't played DS1 just read a review of that and it'll apply to DS2.
The main difference (besides a few more spells, skills, loads more demons [with the same spells/skills]) is the difficulty balance. In Devil Survivor 1 the game was tough for the first day or so until you got the hang and beat Wendigo and stuff. Then it was fairly average/easy difficulty until the final day of boss rushing where some of the paths were totally brutal. In Devil Survivor 2 it's the opposite. The first few days are average/easy difficulty and then around halfway the game gets BRUTALLY MEAN and every single boss fight from that point on is all odds stacked against you, life or death. By the last few days even the normal enemies can be annoying with all their reflects and megidos. It's all doable and if you make the right team and play smart you'll win. But the game poses a challenge beyond anything megaten since Nocturne IMO in the 2nd half. It's really freaking hard and mean and it will be painful to play. Surprisingly though the final day boss rush is much easier than DS1 and the final boss is weird for a megaten game. It's technically the easiest final boss I've ever seen in megaten, but the map itself is incredibly endurance and you can find yourself screwed 40 mins into the map. I got lucky and beat it on my first try with one of those "everyone dead, 1 hit away from game over and redoing 45 mins, but then I get that final hit in and the ending starts". If I hadn't I would've been kind of pissed I think
I prefer hard as nails boss that are short life/death with many retries vs. endurance fights where you have to redo a lot of time if you die, but I'm digressing. The challenge in DS2 is about 2x as hard as DS1, but the final boss rush is much easier.Also I kind of wanted to mention how the concept of having a ton of playable characters makes them all kind of the same in gameplay. Since there's several physical fighters, several mages, who you use in battle general just comes down to "I'll go with the one with 3 points higher magic stat". Since no one actually has unique skills thanks to the skill share system from the first game, there's no need to use anyone and everyone just feels kind of generic gameplay. I would've liked to see things that made characters more distinct so you'd actually want to switch them around depending on the map and not just pick the 3 with the highest stats and use that team for everything.
Graphics
They are good. Like Devil Survivor 1 but with slightly more map sprites. Not much else to say here. Still no animated battle sprites. Demon art is still ripped from other games. But it all looks good. Interface looks very persona-ish as the game is for sure trying to be more like persona with the extra style, the psuedo social links, the large amount of characters, the distancing itself from demon-based storytelling.
Music
Music is interesting. It's by Kenji Ito who did a lot of the Romancing Saga and Mana soundtracks. He definitely brings a different flavor to the game that's not quite the usual megaten piano & buttrock. Which is a shame because I love piano and buttrock, but considering the tracks are good here I won't complain. There are a few standouts, and nothing is really bad. The tracklist is VERY VERY small like the first Devil Survivor and Strange Journey (DS megaten games get no soundtrack love). Maybe 15 songs? While I prefer DS1's music because of the buttrock (especially the kickass final stage/boss themes; DS2's final boss music is completely unmemorable), DS2's music is good.
Replay
The game has lots of branching thanks to a large set of playable characters and so many characters that it's impossible to see all their stories in one run (like P3/P4 social links). It also has a new game+ with a Tales of style grade shop where you can buy new game+ items for the achievement points you get from doing things in your run (I don't remember if the first DS had this). There's also hidden bosses on new game+ and you're not even going to see the last 20% of the demons in the first run since you finish the game around lvl.60-70. So if you want, there's good incentives to replay the game. One run through takes about 25 hours gametime, but with deaths it's probably more like 30 hours.
Overall
Not compared to Devil Survivor 1? Standing on its own as an srpg/rpg? Devil Survivor 2 is a great game. It's got a great battle system that combines SRPG and RPG gameplay, the story is engaging, and there's a large cast and quirky, though shallow, story characters to interact with and learn their tales.
Compared to Devil Survivor 1? It's still a good game. Just more of the same game you've already played but a greater challenge, with an interesting but not as good or megaten-ish story, and the characters suck compared to DS1's top-notch cast.
After DS1 I couldn't wait for a sequel since DS1 was so good and DS2 could take it even further. After DS2 I can't say I'm super excited about a DS3 unless they change up the gameplay. I'd still play a more-of-the-same DS3 and enjoy it, but wouldn't get too excited about it.
Finally there's lots of hilarious dialogue choices that don't have any impact, but they're just fun to say
One day I'd like to see Atlus go a few steps further and make them have real impact and change the story depending on them. DS2 is still more about just "watching the right scenes" and less about what you actually say in them.B+
