So no one here ever played DDS?

[Ghurdrich]

Seen my roommate beat both games, so I haven't played them yet. After I beat Devil Summoner 2, Nocturne's up next, then Shin Megami Tensei 1 and 2, so.... it may have to wait a while :3

[Satsujinki]

@Kairos that's good to hear =D Yeah, DDS does have an engaging story, doesn't it?

@Monomark Hahaha, I know how that feels XD Welll it happens from time to time

@Chrono lol, to each his own = ) I can't really compare Nocturne and DDS, they're both great games

[KP-X]

I'm a big fan of DDS. Currently it's tied with Nocturne as to my favorite game in the SMT-universe.

[Ryu]

To my surprise, I actually have both games lying around, but I've never actually played them - it certainly doesn't help that my backlog is way too big so I don't really want to start with them anytime soon...

[Nicalrant]

Ah, Summer of my Junior year. That was all DDS. Also, for those who havent played it, and want to. EU has them coming for thier PSN store. So hopefully that'll follow for us yanks.

[Genow]

I think they're on the list of my favorite RPGs ever. The mantra system was just...addicting

[Kurakresh]

I love this mini-series to death - to the point where I advocate playing it over other titles (save for Nocturne) to those who are new to SMT. DDS1 is just one of my favourite games to date, given its overall execution and aesthetics.

A good example of a design I really appreciated was the Waterways! While I usually hate sewer levels, I really did enjoy the Samsara Tunnels that led to Ajna. The tall ceilings and music were just so appealing to me. Titania farming was something I didn't care much for, so my experience wasn't soured.

As for parties, I ran Serph/Gale/Argilla in an attempt to milk as many Half-Turns out of the enemy as possible by exploiting Weaknesses. I typically prioritized Magic then Vitality, as far as stats go, as I was never really a fan of Strength in those games. Probably had to do with the lack of Freikugel and Pierce (not actually sure about the latter).

What're some areas that everyone liked - be it story-relevance or just design?

[Neurotic]

I started playing it a while back and got to the dungeon which is like an adventure park (Sera just got kidnapped by the Solids). I don't like puzzle dungeons though and after the Solid's base I need a break. I do love it though, the setting has really grown on me and the Mantra system is calling out for me to grind like a madman and make all my characters gods. I always liked the Press Turn system too, kinda wish they'd implement it in the Persona games.

[Chrono Reyer]

I am playing it off and on with DQ8, and its still very enjoyable to me. With my strength 99 and luck 60 serph, I made Beelzebub look like a little girl.(A small thing to be considered in a game with the press turn system is that physical is the damage that can crit. Magic cannot. The stuff that really matters won't have a weakness either, so crits are more reliable. Ironically.)

But now that I've beaten him, I think I'm gonna fight his fly form in the sewers before I finish what is presumably the last area in the game.

[Kurakresh]

A small thing to be considered in a game with the press turn system is that physical is the damage that can crit. Magic cannot. The stuff that really matters won't have a weakness either, so crits are more reliable. Ironically.)

That's true that physical attacks can crit, and it's pretty handy versus certain bosses. Strength is also a really good route to conserve on Macca and MP, as far as I understand.

Perhaps I just overestimated the number of bosses who had a resistance or immunity to physical attacks in the later half of the games.