Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga review

Of course, quick changes of tactics will work wonders for your side as well. Not only will it cause great damage, but using said smart tactics will earn you extra goes in the turn-based battles. This system was used to great effect in Lucifer's Call and is no less useful here. In fact if you don't think through your moves properly, you'll find yourself in real trouble.

However, the battling is mercifully easier than in Lucifer's Call and recruiting and building a team enemy demons for your own side, a long held MegaTen concept, is now completely missing.It's been replaced with a Final Fantasy X grid sphere-type character building system which is simple to use, but unbelievably customisable.

Above: This is the transformation from human to demon. It's very impressive

You'd think the loss of the demon recruitment would let down the game, but in fact it always seemed a bit unfair the way MegaTen games tended to drop you in it and leave you with infinite options but no guidelines whatsoever.

It may work well in Japan, but in Europe a more structured battling and character system tends to curry rather more favour. Digital Devil Saga does a good job of bridging the gap between Japan's more intense RPGs and the more mainstream games that have gone down well in Europe.