Cast is pretty weak as I wasn’t compelled to really care for them and the story is alright with the standard SMT-series themes, but the gameplay was really addicting once you get the hang of it. It is very magic-focused though and I didn’t feel you could get as creative with your party as other SMT games, especially towards the endgame where you kinda just need to spam almighty since bosses resist everything (I beat the final bosses with literally the same demon x6 in my party which had almighty attacks)

Devil Survivor Overclocked is a fantastic game. It has a great narrative with realistic and very human characters to go along with a highly philosophical plot that stays engaging the whole way through. It also boasts superb pixel art and a phenomenal soundtrack. My only gripe is the gameplay. I have never been a fan of grid-based strategy games. While the switch to turn-based combat is very unique and helps boost my experience, it still wasn't enough for me to call my own gameplay experience enjoyable. The gameplay is really the only thing that's keeping me from giving Devil Survivor a 5-star rating. I loved the approach to routes in this game, being that they tie into a certain character's philosophy and feelings towards the antagonistic situation. There's a lot of replay value, which is great as I intend on replaying in hopes of a better experience with the gameplay. I hold this game as one of, if not the best, RPG experiences, with its only downfalls being subjective to me.

Easily one of the most underrated JRPGs in terms of gameplay and writing. It’s a shame that it’s mostly only known amongst Megami Tensei fans because it truly deserves to be regarded amongst games like FFVII and Chrono Trigger as a must play for JRPG fans. This game has IMO the most realistically portrayed characters and most nuanced and engaging branching story paths in the MegaTen franchise. I would go as far as to call it one of the best JRPGs of all time in this regard. This is one of the only JRPGs to make me actively agonize over the choices I was making and really contemplate their effects on a personal level. This complexity and realism of character choice is something JRPGs don’t often attempt or execute well. Devil Survivor pulls it off almost perfectly.

The gameplay isn’t quite as strong as the writing but is still fantastic. It’s challenging, complex, and very fun to master.

As an aside, I understand the art style turning people off and making them think it's going to be some vapid anime harem game, but it’s truly not. Everyone who likes JRPGs should give this game a try. Its absolutely fantastic.

N.B. - Overclocked, due to it being a 3DS game is unfortunately not nearly as accessible as vanilla Devil Survivor. While overclocked stands as the definitive version of the game, imo, by adding content that enhances the game, the vanilla version is still fantastic and worthy of being played if you can’t get your hands on overclocked. Everything good about overclocked still applies there.