Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga - Gameplay

Gameplay

Digital Devil Saga's characters, rather than summoning demons to fight for them, are able to transform into a single demon representative of their "Atma". While the protagonist can assign stat points at will, the other main characters each have certain specializations. Each player can learn skills from one of four categories: Physical, Magic, Shield and Auto. These skills are gained by first buying "Mantras" using Macca currency, then mastering them by gaining "AP" (Atma Points) from defeated enemies. The maximum number of skills that can be equipped are 8. If two or more players equip a certain skill, they can perform a combo - a stronger version of the skill. While battle is focused around strengthening characters' demon forms, they can also fight in their human forms using conventional weapons, and can equip ammunition. A human character can perform a combo with one in demon form.

The "press turn" battle system gives each character a symbol to represent a turn. The character can forfeit a turn to allow the next character an action; turns cannot be passed more than once. If an enemy's weakness is exploited, an extra turn is gained up to three times; if an enemy resists an attack, a turn is lost.

Digital Devil Saga mostly follows the magic system used in previous Megami Tensei games. Nine magic attributes are present in the game. Ice and Lightning magic have a chance of causing the "freeze" and "stun" status, while Expel magic reduces an enemy's hit points by a certain percentage, and Death magic causes an instant kill. Status magic can inflict status effects on enemies. Other attributes present in the game are physical and "Devour" attacks, which are not classified under magic. If an enemy is killed by a Devour skill, the character gains a far greater amount of AP; overeating causes a status ailment that can only be prevented using a certain skill.

"Small Karma Terminals" scattered throughout the world allow the player to save their game, while "Life Terminals" restore the player's health and magic points for Macca. The player can teleport to "Large Karma Terminals", which also function as Life Terminals, but cannot teleport back to their smaller counterparts. "Vendors" allow the player to purchase and sell goods, including valuable "Cells", for Macca.

"Solar Noise", displayed in the upper-left of the screen, affects the price of Cells and other variables in battle.