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Skill learning is a fairly simple affair. At any save point, you can pay money to download "Mantras", which are skill sets of varying elements and effects placed on a grid somewhat like that of FFX's spheres. When you defeat and/or eat enemies, you gain points towards completing a mantra and learning all the skills it contains. As you learn different mantras of a certain pattern, such as Fire or healing skills, higher-level mantras in the same line open up. There's no restrictions on the mantras characters can use, so anyone can learn certain skills if they just work hard enough at it. Despite everyone's ability to learn any skill they please, however, all the different party members still have very different stat patterns, strengths, and weaknesses. You'll find that some skills complement certain characters better than others.
The battles are a variation on the traditional turn-based formula. They use the same Press Turn Icon system as Shin Megami Tensei 3. This system works to reward you by granting extra turns for critical hits and exploiting enemy weaknesses. However, hitting enemies with attacks they are strong against will cause you to lose turns. The same works for enemies as well - if they manage to hit your weak points, you could be in for a world of hurt. You can also frighten an enemy and make them vulnerable to powerful hunting attacks, with which you can devour them and gain lots of extra post-battle spoils.
Be warned, however, that this game is no cakewalk (like certain other recent RPGs that shall remain nameless). It's not on the challenge level of Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, but it's certainly challenging at several points. The dungeons are long mazes with traps, puzzles, and dead-ends (though thankfully there's an automap) and the enemy encounter rate is fairly frequent. Enemies are often evenly matched with your party in strength levels, and you can find yourself taking a severe beating from even regular encounters - to say nothing of some of the bosses. Players short on the sort of patience needed to handle huge labyrinths and lengthy battles will often find themselves irritated. However, if you're like me and find more recent RPGs to be overly easy, Digital Devil Saga might be just what you're looking for.
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