Not only does this mean that the dungeons provide far more frequent rewards in terms of story advancement, it also means that when you do emerge, the exposition sections are altogether more brief and well-paced than in the first game. Overall, the game clocks in at around the same length as the original DDS ranging anywhere up to the odd hour mark if you do a fair bit of optional content, but undoubtedly much shorter if you just rip through the central storyline but it feels like a far richer experience due to the more consistent use of narrative.
The pacing of the game isn't the only lesson which DDS2 has learned from the original game - it has also dropped the encounter rate, so battles are somewhat less common, albeit still a more frequent sight than in rather a lot of other, more forgiving JRPGs.
However, quick loading times for the battle system make this more forgiveable than previously - and as in the original DDS, the battle system itself is intriguing, challenging, and quite a lot of fun. Little has changed in the battle system itself although the levelling and ability system has been altered significantly, moving away from the Sphere Grid layout of DDS and into a much more configurable grid system not entirely unlike FFXII's License Board , and attacking and defending using the appropriate elements remains key to your success in the game - with failure to defend appropriately often costing you dearly, as you lose the initative in battle, while attacking in the most effective way can see you finishing even difficult battles without a scratch.
A few new twists do keep things interesting. For a start, there's a randomly triggered Berserk mode, in which your characters start the battle in half-demon form, which requires a major change in tactics; there's also a whole new layer of complexities using ring-like accessories, into which various gems you find around the world can be fitted to trigger various boosts or effects.
The aforementioned license board style layout for the ability system also changes your approach to the game, since it means that characters no longer progress through learning the abilities in a pre-defined, linear manner - instead you can largely choose to build your characters as you please, specialising them in a variety of key areas and customising them to your own battle style.
The dungeon layouts, too, are a bit more user-friendly - many save points allow you to teleport around, which saves a lot of unnessecary tedium, while along with the lower encounter rate, there are also shops located in quite a few dungeons.
All in all, it makes for a game which is a genuinely excellent evolution of its predecessor - while DDS was a great game in its own right, the sequel effectively smooths over the rough surfaces and knocks off the sharp edges, making for an experience which is genuinely a pleasure to play for veterans of the first title.
Those who didn't play the original DDS are, of course, recommended to start off there - but if you do want to start into DDS2 without playing the original, while there's quite a bit of narrative catching up to do, the game experience is certainly excellent and does a fine job of introducing new players to the battle system without patronising or boring the existing audience.
In terms of presentation, Atlus have done the excellent job you'd expect on the strength of the recent Shin Megami Tensei output SMT being the overall franchise of which the Digital Devil Saga games are a part - although the links between them are thematic more than anything else, so there's no direct storyline correlation between this game and other Shin Megami Tensei titles such as Lucifer's Call.
The music, meanwhile, is downright excellent - a compelling and often surprising mish-mash of styles ranging from rock and choral chants to pop tracks, linked by several common themes which resonate throughout the entire soundtrack. It's definitely a step up from the soundtrack to the first Digital Devil Saga, and better even than the superb audio which accompanied Lucifer's Call. Also worthy of note is the voice acting; perhaps it's that the actors are more settled with their roles in this second outing, but almost every line in the game was perfectly decent, which is rare praise for an overdubbed title.
Digital Devil Saga 2 is everything that an excellent sequel should be. It takes on board criticisms levelled at the former game and addresses them all in a way which should delight any fan of the series; not only that, it picks up the story and characters of the original title and develops them in such a fascinating way that it actually throws fresh light on the original, which now seems like a much better piece of storytelling in the context of its part in the series as a whole.
We've seen plenty of sequels which mar the memory of the original game, but one which actually makes the original game seem even better? That's a rare beast indeed. There may be plenty more fish in the sea, but when I said "I love you", I meant it. The joy of videogames, of course, is that I'm more than happy for everyone else to love the DDS series too - and I promise not to wave a pint glass in a threatening manner and inquire as to whether you're eyeing up my game.
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Slightly longer, in my experience: it took me about 30 hours to finish DDS1, in the upper 30's of hours to finish DDS2 though a good third of that time was spent in the final dungeon, not kidding.
The storyline moves at a MUCH faster rate. As I'm sure you noticed, cutscenes were fairly sparse in DDS1. In DDS2, there are more cutscenes, and the narrative unfolds at a much faster rate. Taking a break is up to you; it shouldn't matter a whole lot, really.
I'd personally just go for it now if I were you, for the sake of maintaining that energy you have from DDS1 unless you're completely bored of the story at this point, in which the opposite would hold true. There's not a whole lot of story that you need to have fresh in your mind from DDS1, except perhaps Lupa's death scene.
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