Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation DX2 Review: A Blast

“Shin Megami Tensei” has had plenty of mobile games, but none were available outside of Japan until now. “Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation DX2” is the newest and the first US-released mobile game and it’s a blast to play.

You are a Devil Downloader (a person who summons demons to fight using an app on your cell phone,) shortened to DX2, who has joined a group called “The Liberators” who fight against a rival DX2 group called The Acolytes who want to take over Japan.

The story is not only basic, but it’s also pure garbage. The events that happen in each chapter aren’t interesting at all, not even in the final chapter’s climax. The characters normally are a saving grace, but here they are clichés that stay that way with almost no development. There are extra story missions for each character that allows them to level past level 30, but even these chapters aren’t interesting. The absolute worst character is Shiori. She’s this idol who acts like she’s this absolutely perfect DX2 and that everyone should idolize her and the other characters DO! She will get under your skin to the point where you want to see her die. “Shin Megami Tensei” is a series full of great, memorable characters and this is nothing short of an insult to this series.

The gameplay is the best thing about this game. The core gameplay is the traditional turn-based RPG with the “Press Turn System” that “Shin Megami Tensei” has used since “Nocturne.” For those unfamiliar with the system, basically, you and your enemies get a number of attacks equal to the number of your party members (four members=four attacks.) If you land a critical hit or hit an enemy’s weakness you gain another attack. If you miss or hit an enemy with an attack they’re immune to, you lose two press turns. Combine the fact that you can use one of your friend’s demons and you can have ten press turns. If you use the right strategy and put the speed on high, this battle system is loads of fun and never gets old.

As for the demons, they range from one star to five stars. This denotes what their maximum level, but you can evolve them from one to two and so on. You can also transfer and strengthen skills and equip your demons with armor called “Brands of Sin” which you can obtain from doing “Brands of Sin” quests. Of course, you can also fuse demons like in other “SMT” games and use certain items to summon demons.

Speaking of quests, there’s a ton to do. As with “Brands of Sin, there’s “Strange Signal” which allows you to obtain Aether which is used to “Awaken” a demon (basically, they gain an extra skill.) There’s also “Wanted” which lets you fight a large number of a certain demon to gain fragments (used to summon special demons,) “Eclipse” which is battles using a certain type of demon, “Hell’s Park” where Jack Frost creates fights where the enemy has some crazy advantage, but the rewards are amazing and “Aura Gate,” a multi-level first-person dungeon that “SMT” fans will be familiar with.

Of course, there are microtransactions, but in reality, they’re not needed unless you really want the best stuff right this very minute.

Of course, there’s the typical PVP which is OK, but you will see people who have the best demons first. What can be said, it’s PVP, choose your demons, fight against other players, choose a defending party and hope you make it to the top ten.

Graphically, the game looks like your typical anime mobile game with a basic map layout of the world. It is easy to navigate with everything clearly labeled and easy to get to quickly. The music is forgettable, which is a shame since “SMT” has traditionally had memorable music. The voice acting is all in Japanese (obviously, cheaper to not dub the game) with the only downside being hearing the same dialogue every time you go to the hideout. Also, there are a lot of typos in the story dialogue, but this is a free to play mobile game so it’s expected.

“Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation DX2” may have a garbage story and mediocre visuals, but it more than makes up for it in gameplay and gameplay options. This is highly recommended even for non-SMT fans if you can forgive the story.