Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2

Devil Survivor 2 builds on the foundations of the first game and pushes the story of a besieged Tokyo toward an even bigger catastrophe: cities across Japan come under threat from giant beings called Septentriones, capable of erasing entire regions from the map within seconds. The player again gets a phone with the COMP program predicting death, but this time must coordinate a larger cast of characters scattered across the country and face decisions that change not just the ending, but also which of their friends live to see the credits. A bus journey across a devastated Japan links the individual chapters and gives the player a sense that the catastrophe extends beyond one city and concerns the fate of the whole country, not just a handful of survivors from Tokyo.

The battle system remains true to turn-based grid strategy combined with fast squad battles between demons, but adds new characters, abilities, and a deeper fusion system that lets you create stronger beings earlier than in the first game. The narrative is darker, places greater emphasis on moral dilemmas, and offers branching storylines depending on which faction the player joins, whether a military organization, a group of rebels, or a mysterious cult worshipping the Septentriones themselves. The visual novel again interweaves battles with dialogue, making the game feel more like an interactive series than a classic JRPG, and decisions from earlier chapters come back in the form of unexpected alliances and betrayals, so it pays for players to follow the relationships between characters just as closely as the battles themselves and the tactical placement of units on the map.

Why play it: Devil Survivor 2 is for players who finished the first game and want more refined tactics, more characters to command, and a darker, morally more complicated story about the end of the world. It also works as a standalone title without knowledge of the first game and ranks among the best the series offered on the Nintendo DS, before the tactical branch of Shin Megami Tensei moved permanently to other consoles and handhelds.