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Devil Survivor 2 continues the tradition of Shin Megami Tensei by having an average story and cast, a plot revolving around demons and the end of the world, and a combat system that punishes those without at least a little veterancy with its combat style. Fans of tactical RPGs will feel at home here, with a challenging combat system that revolves around fusing current demons to stay up to par with the enemy, learning new skills by defeating said enemies, and playing tactically to beat an almost always larger force. There's not much to complain about here except for the occasional spike in difficulty which can lead to hours of grinding due to the need for new demons. Story wise is where the game falls short, and it falls short very fast. The characters are all very hit-or-miss, and the "Fate" system doesn't do a very good job of fleshing them out, despite that being the sole reason it's in the game. The plot is centered around your group of ragtag civilians having a week to solve the demon problem that threatens Japan, and the problem is only exacerbated due to the usual SMT Law or Chaos decisions that come into play late in the game, fracturing the party if you haven't followed a specific guide to ensure everyone's Fate level is nearly maxed. Overall, the story is forgettable, even though at the time I was slightly intrigued by it. In the end, Devil Survivor 2 straddles the fence between "average" and "great". The unforgiving and tactical combat help to push it over to the "great" side, while the god awful 80% of the cast and story keep the game locked in place. Perhaps when the remake comes out it'll finally complete the transition, but for now the game will have to be content with a fence up its bum.

While the dungeon crawling and social sim combination may not be for everyone, any person who calls themselves an RPG fan would be doing themselves a disservice by not at least trying this title. P3FES builds upon the original P3, fixing many of the gripes people had with original while adding a new social link, multiple mechanics regarding combat and stat building, and an all new epilogue which explains the closing hours. With a large cast of likeable characters, a solid (albeit at times annoying) combat system reminiscent of Pokemon, and intriguing story and supporting elements, P3FES has all the great makings of a perfect RPG, but falls just short of the mark due to a few complaints. Combat can be a drag as the amount of control you have over your teammates is very small, Tartarus is the only dungeon in the game and it's literally the same floor repeated over and over again, the inventory system is clunky and confusing at most times, the art style and music is an "either you love it or you hate it" deal, the story slows down considerably near the end, and at times the game feels more like a social/waifu simulator with the rare dungeon dive. The Persona series gets a lot of scrutiny due to the lack of depth outside of the Social Links , but this much is certain: P3 FES is a greatly improved version of the original, and definitely warrants a try.