When Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army hit the PS2 library, I was twelve years old and staunchly in the “Nintendo rules, the rest drools,” camp. By the time I grew out of this attitude, it had cost me the experience of dozens of RPGs just like the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series, most of which were locked onto consoles I had never thought I’d want to buy. This is why I am so appreciative that ATLUS gave me the opportunity to get and hands-on look at the first two chapters of the upcoming RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army, so that I can catch up on just one of the amazing games I missed.
Raidou is one of the many spinoffs of the Shin Megami Tensei series, and I’m not surprised I’ve never heard of it before. Up until now, it’s been trapped on the PS2, never having the benefit of a port, remake, or remaster. The protagonist Raidou is a new recruit to the hidden organisation Yatagarasu, which protects the world from demons and otherworldly threats. Working at a detective agency in the historical setting of 1930s Japan, he is thrown into his first mystery when a girl asks him to kill her before getting kidnapped by some mysterious demons in uniform.
It may be historical, but it’s still urban, so it’s a very familiar feeling to wander the city streets of Japan, even if the buildings and outfits look a little retro. Comparing what I saw in the demo to footage from the original, it’s easy to see how much better the textures look, especially for the character models and illustrations of the main characters and demons. Now freed from low-resolution hell, its distinctive art style can really shine. Those thick eyelashes are really iconic and give the experience a look that sets it out even from other SMT games. The full voice acting also does a lot to bring it into the modern decade, too. NPCs on the city streets aren’t touched up as much and reveal its original PS2 graphics a little more, but since it’s not supposed to be a full remake, it’s understandable.
All the hallmarks of classic SMT are still here: running around an urban map, talking to characters, finding items, fighting demons, and being taken along for a great (so far) ride. In a way, it feels pretty indistinguishable from modern ATLUS games, which is a testament to what a good formula the series has going for it! Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?
Beyond the obvious graphical improvement, some quality-of-life improvements smooth things over for returning players. Quicksaving proved useful to me very quickly, as the game offers a decent difficulty right off the bat. An option to decrease the difficulty after losing enough times in a fight wouldn’t have gone amiss, but if you quicksave often enough, fellow “not that great at action game” players like me probably won’t have an issue. Also new is Raidou’s ability to jump and use aerial combos, which a lot of excited YouTube comments tell me is a welcome addition. It certainly feels natural to have the option to jump, but from what I experienced in the demo, it’s not clear that it’s meaningfully different from attacking on the ground. There have been a whole bunch of combat overhauls, and as a Raidou newbie, I probably haven’t noticed them all, so all I can say is that it feels really good to play.
Instead of a party of fellow humans, Raidou can summon demons to his side in battle and swap them out when needed. These demons assist Raidou in battle using their magic, and it’s down to you to figure out which demon’s elemental affinities will smash your foes the best. I’ve played the more recent Persona games, so I’m very familiar with this type of strategy, but it’s my first time using them in a non-turn-based context. I gotta say, I’m hooked! Despite not having played the original Demon Summoner Raidou, the combat feels really nostalgic to me. And I don’t mean that it feels dated; I mean it takes me back to a simpler time. Action adventure games such as these still exist in modern games, but there’s something about these arena battles that is so comfortingly mid-2000s.
I’m reminded of the Tales Series’ arena battles, which feature similar hack-and-slash action with physical attacks that replenish your ability to use magic. It’s all about managing both physical and magic attacks to make sure you don’t run out of magic or health. It’s not hard to get your head around, and when you get a good combo going, it feels really great. I’m not quite convinced by the way Raidou’s gun forces perspective change to first-person, which results in some awkwardness, but I’m not discounting it just yet.
Now that RAIDOU is fully voiced, the battles are full of the chatter of your demons — all the voice actors are clearly having the time of their lives hamming it up as these quirky little guys. It remains to be seen if all the chatter will get more annoying than charming. (For my money, I reckon I’ll be laughing at them for the whole game.)
When we get our hands on the full game, we’ll see how these new changes settle into a full experience. As it is, it’s a strong first impression.
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is launching on June 19 for Switch, Switch 2, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
About the Author
Edie W-K
she/her
If it isn't video games, Edie doesn't care about it. She's been playing games since the N64 era, and only spent enough time away from her 3DS to earn a Bachelor in Games Design from RMIT.
