>...and I still fucking hate that you get a game over if the
>main character dies. Getting wiped by Mudo or an unexpected
>counterattack — fuck that. I think that's probably why I
>preferred Digital Devil Saga over the other games in the
>series.

it's not ideal but i think it's a fair trade since the protagonist is so strong due to being able to use any persona at any given point. it just means you have to be aware of insta-death situations and funnel most of your yen into getting the best protective gear for him. i imagine that once you get an anti-hama/mudo piece of gear or persona you're mostly set. plus the game is so generous with save points and restarts on boss and mid-boss fights that you're rarely losing significant progress if it happens. it's still frustrating though

>And I'm still not feeling how restricted this early game is,
>with the cat arbitrarily deciding that you can't do nighttime
>activities.

even after completing the first dungeon morgana still dictates your schedule occasionally but it's only in service of advancing the story. 90% of the time you can do what you want

>I gotta work on my Guts, yo!

that's the first attribute i leveled. i'm just trying to spend more time with hot punk shady doctor so i can get some sp regen items. "dauntless" guts (idk which level that is) is teased as unlocking a special weapon early on so i'm shooting for that as well