As a casual enjoyer of games in the Personaseries, the announcement of a tactical-RPG that had elements inspired by that and the Shin Megami Tensei series immediately got my attention. Ysbryd Games has a history of publishing visually distinct games with fascinating stories and backgrounds, so I had a feeling I was in good hands with this one. Needless to say, playing Demonschool was an absolute treat.
In Demonschool you play as Faye, a college student studying abroad on a mysterious island. Unbeknownst to her and her classmates, the island is overrun with demons and the apocalypse that Faye was raised to believe was going to happen is just a matter of weeks away! The SMT similarities are so on the nose, and I love it!
Shortly after getting the gist of the story, I was drawn into the visual style of Demonschool. The art in this game is absolutely fantastic, from the character portraits to the detailed pixel art of the world. The animations are also fluid both with player movements in combat and with running around the island. This is especially apparent when the world transforms into the battlefield when initiating combat, as the animations show the world falling apart around you and warping into a demon-infested battle zone.
The combat in Demonschool is simple to learn, with room for advanced strategy via abilities and special moves. Unlike most tactical-RPG’s, moves are made with a limited amount of AP, so moves must be made with that in mind. Different characters require different AP amounts depending on if you’re using an ability or attacking.
Combat takes place in two phases: Planning and Attack. In the Planning phase, this is where you position your party members and coordinate attacks on enemies. Each party member has a distinct play style that can be powerful when combined with other party members’ abilities. For example, Namako can pass through enemies to stun them and lower their defense; you can then have Faye use their special move where killing enemies allows them to move again at no AP cost.
The combat is super fun, and I’ve enjoyed trying to string together my party members’ abilities to eviscerate every demon in the way. That said, unlike most tactical RPG’s, Demonschool doesn’t really have any stats for characters. Most RPG’s have you change equipment or weapons to increase different stats, allowing for your party to specialize in tanking damage or outputting healing more efficiently. While there are a variety of skills you can learn and equip to party members, it feels very surface-level compared to other tactics games.
The SMT and Persona similarities don’t stop at just the environment. When you’re not cutting down waves of demons, you’re still a student trying to maintain a social life while on the island. During the day, you can find yourself doing a variety of activities with your party members, including karaoke and catching demon fish. Doing these activities increases your connection with party members, and eventually gives you benefits for battle, so it’s in your best interest to scream into the mic at karaoke with Namako from time to time.
I’ll admit, I found myself sinking at least one or two solid hours into just fishing, because fishing minigames are the best part of any game.
Outside of party member interactions, you’ll also come across sidequests from residents of the island. Often times, these turn into having to fight some demons to help people, but can also lead to some funny dialogue. The dialogue from all the NPCs in Demonschool has been a highlight in my playthrough. There were several times where I found myself taking screenshots of dialogue boxes because it was so funny.
Demonschool is a great strategy-RPG that clearly takes a lot of notes from its influences such as the Devil Summoner series, though admittedly it lacks a bit of the gameplay depth that those games have with regards to character stats. However, what Demonschool lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in its visual style, entertaining dialogue, and satisfying combat. Fellow demon hunters can expect to sink around 15-20 hours into this adventure, or even a bit longer if you also want to collect every fish in the fishing minigame.
Demonschool is a great strategy-RPG that clearly takes a lot of notes from its influences such as the Devil Summoner series, though admittedly it lacks a bit of the gameplay depth that those games have with regards to character stats. However, what Demonschool lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in its visual style, entertaining dialogue, and satisfying combat.
As a casual enjoyer of games in the Personaseries, the announcement of a tactical-RPG that had elements inspired by that and the Shin Megami Tensei series immediately got my attention. Ysbryd Games has a history of publishing visually distinct games with fascinating stories and backgrounds, so I had a feeling I was in good hands with this one. Needless to say, playing Demonschool was an absolute treat.
In Demonschool you play as Faye, a college student studying abroad on a mysterious island. Unbeknownst to her and her classmates, the island is overrun with demons and the apocalypse that Faye was raised to believe was going to happen is just a matter of weeks away! The SMT similarities are so on the nose, and I love it!
Shortly after getting the gist of the story, I was drawn into the visual style of Demonschool. The art in this game is absolutely fantastic, from the character portraits to the detailed pixel art of the world. The animations are also fluid both with player movements in combat and with running around the island. This is especially apparent when the world transforms into the battlefield when initiating combat, as the animations show the world falling apart around you and warping into a demon-infested battle zone.
The combat in Demonschool is simple to learn, with room for advanced strategy via abilities and special moves. Unlike most tactical-RPG’s, moves are made with a limited amount of AP, so moves must be made with that in mind. Different characters require different AP amounts depending on if you’re using an ability or attacking.
Combat takes place in two phases: Planning and Attack. In the Planning phase, this is where you position your party members and coordinate attacks on enemies. Each party member has a distinct play style that can be powerful when combined with other party members’ abilities. For example, Namako can pass through enemies to stun them and lower their defense; you can then have Faye use their special move where killing enemies allows them to move again at no AP cost.
The combat is super fun, and I’ve enjoyed trying to string together my party members’ abilities to eviscerate every demon in the way. That said, unlike most tactical RPG’s, Demonschool doesn’t really have any stats for characters. Most RPG’s have you change equipment or weapons to increase different stats, allowing for your party to specialize in tanking damage or outputting healing more efficiently. While there are a variety of skills you can learn and equip to party members, it feels very surface-level compared to other tactics games.
The SMT and Persona similarities don’t stop at just the environment. When you’re not cutting down waves of demons, you’re still a student trying to maintain a social life while on the island. During the day, you can find yourself doing a variety of activities with your party members, including karaoke and catching demon fish. Doing these activities increases your connection with party members, and eventually gives you benefits for battle, so it’s in your best interest to scream into the mic at karaoke with Namako from time to time.
I’ll admit, I found myself sinking at least one or two solid hours into just fishing, because fishing minigames are the best part of any game.
Outside of party member interactions, you’ll also come across sidequests from residents of the island. Often times, these turn into having to fight some demons to help people, but can also lead to some funny dialogue. The dialogue from all the NPCs in Demonschool has been a highlight in my playthrough. There were several times where I found myself taking screenshots of dialogue boxes because it was so funny.
Demonschool is a great strategy-RPG that clearly takes a lot of notes from its influences such as the Devil Summoner series, though admittedly it lacks a bit of the gameplay depth that those games have with regards to character stats. However, what Demonschool lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in its visual style, entertaining dialogue, and satisfying combat. Fellow demon hunters can expect to sink around 15-20 hours into this adventure, or even a bit longer if you also want to collect every fish in the fishing minigame.
by Michael Fertitta
