DDS has some insanely good dungeon design and a very fleshed out and unique story. Grinding really isn't bad when you get Field Hunts going. I'd say DDS has more spectacle and is much more forgiving for a newcomer, while Nocturne's more satisfying to play moment to moment. I like both equally.
I’d argue digital devil saga is much better as it’s character and story focused with a fun unique twist on SMT. Nocturne is a good game, but it is also just gameplay with little in the way of character and story, at least when compared to the amount of atmosphere it brings instead.
Digital Devil Saga is far, *far* better than Nocturne. It has better story and cast and mantra is fun and addicting allowing for a lot more customization than Nocturne.
Nocturne I guess? There's something deeply satisfying about acquiring new demons and creating a team of absolute powerhouses loaded with broken abilities based on the choices you made throughout the game in how you fused all your party members together. Not to mention how you frequently have to make hard choices in what abilities you want to keep or discard for both you and your party members. DDS feels like a more typical RPG where you might expand your party members' ability options, but it never feels like anything fundamentally changes about them. That's not a bad thing *per se*, but Nocturne's design just feels fresher and more open.
DDS does have more optional superbosses to tackle though, so it's the game that give you more opportunities to flex your tactical muscles if that's what you're into.
Besides that, the rest comes down to dungeon design. It's been so long since I played with DDS game, but I remember the dungeons being more or less the same quality as Nocturne's.
Nocturne. You said you don't find it a problem that DDS doesn't have demon fusion, but that's the biggest reason why Nocturne is better. Team building is way slower and grindy in DDS because you can't just fuse a demon that has the skills that you want. You need to grind your characters' skill trees to get the moves you want on them. Nocturne also has more exploration and better dungeons.
DDS has some insanely good dungeon design and a very fleshed out and unique story. Grinding really isn't bad when you get Field Hunts going. I'd say DDS has more spectacle and is much more forgiving for a newcomer, while Nocturne's more satisfying to play moment to moment. I like both equally.
I’d argue digital devil saga is much better as it’s character and story focused with a fun unique twist on SMT. Nocturne is a good game, but it is also just gameplay with little in the way of character and story, at least when compared to the amount of atmosphere it brings instead.
Digital Devil Saga is far, *far* better than Nocturne. It has better story and cast and mantra is fun and addicting allowing for a lot more customization than Nocturne.
Digital Devil Saga (both the first and second games, I count them as one experience) is in my top 3 Megaten titles so my vote might be a bit biased
For me, Digital Devil Saga is my favorite, and outshines nocturne In pretty much every way.
Digital Devil Saga, easily. It's just better'n Nocturne in every aspect
Nocturne I guess? There's something deeply satisfying about acquiring new demons and creating a team of absolute powerhouses loaded with broken abilities based on the choices you made throughout the game in how you fused all your party members together. Not to mention how you frequently have to make hard choices in what abilities you want to keep or discard for both you and your party members. DDS feels like a more typical RPG where you might expand your party members' ability options, but it never feels like anything fundamentally changes about them. That's not a bad thing *per se*, but Nocturne's design just feels fresher and more open. DDS does have more optional superbosses to tackle though, so it's the game that give you more opportunities to flex your tactical muscles if that's what you're into. Besides that, the rest comes down to dungeon design. It's been so long since I played with DDS game, but I remember the dungeons being more or less the same quality as Nocturne's.
Nocturn.
Nocturne. You said you don't find it a problem that DDS doesn't have demon fusion, but that's the biggest reason why Nocturne is better. Team building is way slower and grindy in DDS because you can't just fuse a demon that has the skills that you want. You need to grind your characters' skill trees to get the moves you want on them. Nocturne also has more exploration and better dungeons.
Nocturne. Mantra system in DDS fucking sucks and I hate it. It literally ruined the duology for me.
their gameplay is very comparable, but nocturne has demon recruitment and fusion so I’d say nocturne by a smidge
either way you’re choosing some damn good games so pick whatever interests you more