History VideoGame / DigitalDevilSaga

--> '''Cielo''': What happened to "I do not comprehend?" [Gale's Spock catchphrase]
--> '''Gale''': Some things cannot be comprehended, only felt.

A {{Spinoff}} of the ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei'' JRPG series for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2, [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo divided into two parts]]. Developed by Creator/{{Atlus}}, the first game was released in Japan in 2004 with the second following in 2005.

The duology was first announced to be released on the UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork in 2012 for Europe, but complications with emulating the games properly led the project to being delayed. On May 20, 2014, the first game was released on the [=PlayStation=] Network as a [=PS2=] Classic in North America, with the European version finally being released on June 4, 2014. The second game was released on June 10, 2014 in North America and on June 11 in Europe.

* EleventhHourSuperpower: [[spoiler: In the sequel, Serph and Sera merge on their journey to the Sun, becoming the androgynous being Seraph. Keeping with Hindu overtones, Seraph's demon form is Ardhanarishvara, or Ardha for short. Gale and Argilla also gain additional abilities if certain conditions are met.]]

** Dialogue suggests that those who changed early (like the core members of the Embryon) got stronger forms than those who were infected late, and those who were [[AuthorityEqualsAsskicking already tribe leaders and in positions of power in their tribe were more likely to get a powerful form]]. The Embryon being relatively democratic at its upper echelons and present at the virus's release into the Junkyard contributed to the tribe securing five Asuras instead of one or two. [[spoiler:It may also have something to do with more of the real people's data being used in constructing their Junkyard counterparts, so tribe leaders and their seconds got purer strains of demon data.]]

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: A ''slight'' one for the BonusBoss of ''[=DDS=] 2'': If you come in with elemental immunities, instead of just nuking your party dead at the start of battle like ''[=DDS=] 1''[='=]s Bonus Boss, he'll just remove your immunities. He'll still go ballistic with a TotalPartyKill if you cast anything that can repel attacks in mid-battle.

** Several dungeons can also be revisited as they include many a BonusBoss.

** BonusBoss Huang Long in the first game. One of his barriers actually makes him immune to ''everything'', including Almighty.

* BeginWithAFinisher: If you enter battle with the Part 1 BonusBoss [[SchmuckBait breaking one of his rules]], you won't even get to see your battle menu open because he'll immediately cast [[spoiler:Gaea Rage]] as soon as everyone finishes spawning, dealing [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill several times the HP cap]] in damage to the entire party.

* BonusBoss: Several. Killing the ones in the first game ([[spoiler:King Frost, Beelzebub, Orochi, the Four Guardian Beasts, Huang Long, Metatron, and the Demi-fiend]]) nets you a bonus in the sequel. The first game's strongest enemy, [[spoiler: the Demi-fiend (from ''[[VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIIINocturne Nocturne]]'')]], is probably the hardest BonusBoss ever to appear in an RPG, although a Website/GameFAQs poster called Red Star found [[ArtificialStupidity a weakness]] that makes the fight easier. "Easier", in this case, means that after you've managed to do enough LevelGrinding and farming of [[RandomlyDrops randomly dropped]] stat boosting items to hit the statistic {{cap}}s (though hitting the max luck stat actually makes the battle HARDER), you might actually be able to win the fight on your third try instead of your thirtieth (with each try lasting more than 1 hour). Satan, in the second game, manages to be almost as difficult, not least because he only appears in Hard Mode. The second game's other Bonus Bosses, who can be fought on either difficulty, are the Four Archangels, Jack Frost, Shiva, Vishnu, and Seth.

* BossBonanza: The final dungeons of both games had five to ten bosses and/or sub-bosses within them. the second game is an interesting case of this trope overlapping with BossRush - excluding the Bonus Bosses, every boss but the last two are from the first game. If you only played the second, these are all new bosses, but if you played the first, they're familiar.

* ButForMeItWasTuesday: The BonusBoss fight against [[spoiler:the Demi-fiend]], for you, is probably the most difficult fight in any RPG ever. For him? [[spoiler:It's just another RandomEncounter - the fight music is that for random encounters from ''Nocturne'', and he only uses skills that were at best mid-tier in his home game. [[PuzzleBoss Part of the trick to defeating him]] is intentionally invoking this, as well: if you do anything that makes you look like a real threat that he needs to take more seriously, like having elemental immunities, he'll drop [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill a one-shot-kill nuke spell]].]]

* DarkReprise: The music when fighting [[spoiler:Heat's One Winged Angel form]] and some other bosses in ''Digital Devil Saga 2'' (including all but one of the Bonus Bosses) is called Hunting: Betrayal, which is a reprise of the regular battle theme from the first game.

* DefeatEqualsExplosion: The major bosses of the first game and most required bosses in the second all have pretty detailed death animations, contrasting ''Nocturne'' which only had them for the first boss, two Bonus Bosses, and the Reason bosses. The grandest and most true to the trope, however, would have to be [[spoiler:Satan, the only optional boss in the second game with a unique death animation, who collapses, leaks solar data out of his head, and finally explodes into more solar data]].

** Some of the {{Bonus Boss}}es in the first game are pretty well hidden. However, the king of them all is [[spoiler:the Demi-fiend, who can only be fought by backtracking to one of the early game dungeons and entering a random, non-descript room after getting to the point right before the final boss on a New Game+]].

* LostInTranslation: The BonusBoss allows Null Crit and Null Sleep, unlike other similar skills. This is because the names are a mistranslation, and a more accurate translation would be something Crit Cancel and Dodge Sleep.

* LuckBasedMission: Beating each game's ultimate BonusBoss takes a good deal of luck, even at [[{{Cap}} level 99 and maxed stats]]. Ironically, the BonusBoss in the first game is easier if you have a low Luck stat in one character (Cielo).

** In the first game, the ultimate BonusBoss [[spoiler:has the same resistances that would be given by the Masakados Magatama, meaning he can only be damaged with Earth, Gun, and Almighty. He also has one more Press Turn than he has demons, showing that he did the Amala Grave Run]].
** In the second game, the four angel {{bonus boss}}es talk about building a thousand year kingdom, and think that ''their God'' was the one who turned humans into stone statues: just like in ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiII''. In the final dungeon, one can also fight Seth and Satan, the former of which mentions "one who is to judge", referring to [[spoiler:his other half Zayin]] while the latter mentions that [[spoiler:Seraph]] "has chosen to retaliate, like that man did", which refers to Aleph. Taken to an extreme with Satan's last words, which are exactly the same as his last words in ''II'' on the Neutral and Chaos routes.

* NintendoHard: Although the games are relatively easy compared to many other ''[=MegaTen=]'' games, they're still harder than most [=JRPGs=]. (On the other hand, the two {{Bonus Boss}}es noted above are insane even by ''[=MegaTen=]'' standards.)
* NonIndicativeName: Null Sleep doesn't actually negate Sleep status, despite all of the other "Null ''x''" skills doing [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Exactly What They Say on the Tin]]. Instead, it causes all attacks that target the user to miss if the user is asleep. [[spoiler:As such, it's the only "Null" skill in the game that won't make the [[BonusBoss Demi-Fiend]] instant-wipe your party.]] The Japanese name was "Avoid Sleeper", which makes much more sense.

* PopQuiz: Hosted by Jack Frost in ''Digital Devil Saga 2''; there's a BraggingRightsReward in it for you if you answer all one hundred questions correctly and beat a BonusBoss.

* PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo: The strongest BonusBoss in the first game is [[spoiler: the Demi-fiend from ''Nocturne'']].

* SidequestSidestory: Most {{Bonus Boss}}es have one such story following them.

** The whole story with Anahata's sewers: a former Solids member informs you that all their scouts in there died. You find the BonusBoss who killed them, but it says that one person managed to escape. Right after the fight, you find the girl already dead and take her ring. This leads to the Boss Fight against Metatron, as the guy in question in that girl's boyfriend and he thinks you killed her because you have her ring.
** The battles against the Four Beasts and their leader were caused by a deliberate attack on the tribe's mooks in an attempt to draw out Serph and kill him.

* DwindlingParty:[[spoiler: During the second half of ''2'']].

* BloodierAndGorier: Possibly the bloodiest EasternRPG s ever made and certainly the bloodiest of the ''SMT'' games. The first cutscene of the first game shows a man being sliced in half and eaten on-screen. The many, many, character deaths can get quite nasty as well. [[spoiler: Especially Roland's.]] It should be noted that the gameplay is still entirely bloodless, though.

* CrapsackWorld: Per ''[=MegaTen=]'' standards. The Junkyard is referred to as a "Purgatory". The tribes are locked in a HopelessWar and even death is not an escape as the dead soldiers merely reincarnate. It gets worse when everyone is infected with Atma and they turn inti cannibalistic monsters.

* DeathWorld: "[[spoiler:Nirvana]]" in the second game. Anyone who tries to walk under the sun us turned into stone, all the plants have withered, water and oxygen are disappearing and many of the few surviving humans are being hunted down for food.

* DrillSergeantNasty: In the first game, If you grind in the Brutes' base after killing its leader there's an optional encounter that can happen. Fight a Girimehkahla without killing it for a few turns and it'll be replaced with a large level 70 Girimehkahla who berates you like a drill sergeant. If you are underleveled though he will leave and tell you to train up.

* FashionableAsymmetry: The Maribel Tribe have this going on. Most noticeable with their leader and her Atma Avatar, while others either have paint on one side of their face or missing sleeves or part of their pants on one side. Many Solids also wear full armor that misses a sleeve or something.

* ForDoomTheBellTolls: [[spoiler: Though not church bells, in ''Digital Devil Saga 2'', at the climax of the game, each of the members of the Embryon start to die one by one. This is hammered in when upon their death, the distinct ringing of Schrodinger's bells is heard.]]

** A bit more minor but [[spoiler:a skill you can obtain in the first game is named "Black Sun", hinting of the situation in the second game.]]
*** The first game's game over screen features [[spoiler: a sun turning black.]]
** Talking to a lot of characters through the game give hints that there's something up with the Junkyard, from people talking about Government, schools, music, etc. All of which are things not found in the Junkyard.

** A (not save point) terminal at the depths of the first game's TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon makes mention of [[spoiler:Asura Project Stage 1]]. The full details are given in the second game.

* GameplayGuidedAmnesia: Serph has a slight amnesia in the beginning of the first game after gaining his Atma. Mostly serves to just allow others to remind him of how things work in the junkyard.

* LevelGrinding: Levels don't really mean much unless you go for [[spoiler:the Demi-fiend and/or Satan]], but you will most likely end up grinding atma for better skills at some point.

** Drain skills when compared to ''Nocturne'', especially those that drain MP. In ''Nocturne'' they where classified as Almighty meaning they always work, but here the MP-draining skills are classified as Mute meaning that if an opponent is immune to status ailments it won't work.
** On one hand, Random Target spells have a much lower chance of hitting a same target multiple times when compared to Nocturne, and are overall weaker. Easily seen with Fire of Sinai, which was one of the most powerful spells in Nocturne, but here it deals pitiful damage when compared to other high level spells, such as Death Flies and Celestial Ray. On the other hand, pair a random target spell with Mind Charge and you'll deal a ton of damage if you can hit the same target multiple times. Metatron can do this in the first game to inflict a TotalPartyKill if he gets lucky and you don't have Close Call equipped since to compensate for being weaker, Fire of Sinai ''can hit three times instead of two.''

** Dark Might and Bright Might no longer guarantee critical hits under their respective Solar Noise phase, instead just slightly increasing the rate in which they happen.

* NonIndicativeName: Null Sleep doesn't actually negate Sleep status, despite all of the other "Null ''x''" skills doing ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. Instead, it causes all attacks that target the user to miss if the user is asleep. [[spoiler:As such, it's the only "Null" skill in the game that won't make the [[BonusBoss Demi-Fiend]] instant-wipe your party.]] The Japanese name was "Avoid Sleeper", which makes much more sense.
* NonStandardSkillLearning: If you answer certain dialogue choices throughout [[OneGameForThePriceOfTwo the two games]], [[TheHeart Argilla]], [[TheSmartGuy Gale]] and [[EleventhHourRanger Seraph]] will automatically obtain the skills Seraph Lore (Powerful LightEmUp with 100% accuracy), Pyriphlegethon (Multi-target PlayingWithFire), and Reincarnate (Almighty group-damaging skill) respectively when you reach the final dungeon. Even if you answer the dialogue choices incorrectly, Gale is guaranteed to learn Pyriphlegethon if you import a DDS 1 save into DDS 2. These skills are used by [[spoiler:Jinana, Lupa, and Angel]] respectively in their boss fights in the first game.

* OrderVersusChaos: Margot Cuvier versus Jenna Angel, respectively. Even the colors of uniforms of their soldiers are blue and red - the classic Shin Megami Tensei colors for Order and Chaos.
* {{Orochi}}: Appears as a optional boss in the Samsara Tunnels, deciding to make the Embyron his next meal since the other one got away. [[spoiler: Unfortunately the beautiful woman who escaped died after inside of the Brutes Base.]]

* PaperThinDisguise: When Argilla disguises as Sera [[spoiler:to lure Bat and the Brutes to the Deserted Ship,]] [[LampshadeHanging Cielo promptly complains that the disguise would be this, listing off many ways he could tell between the disguise and the real deal]]. Gale reassures them that the disguise would work at long distances; all that is necessary for the plan to work.

* PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo: The strongest BonusBoss in the first game is [[spoiler: the Demi-fiend from Nocturne]].

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Invoked with the Tribhvana, who you fight a couple of times in [=DDS2=]. They appear threatening at first, but after you beat them the first time the scene turns comical with Cielo hanging a few lampshades on this trope.

** [[spoiler: The Junkyard also has its own system like this. Whoever dies and remains of them is eventually broken down and becomes the clouds, which then becomes rain and leads to the creation of rookies.]]

* SidequestSidestory: Most {{Bonus Boss }}es have one such story following them.

* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: [[spoiler:The Junkyard ends in the first one, and they end up in the half-dead real world and have to save it once Sera accidentally convinces God to end that too]]

** Gameplay-wise for most of the time you need to have three living members of Embryon in party to get more Press Turn icons. Useful combo attacks are present too, like unlike in the Persona series, which puts heavy emphasis on bonds of friendship.