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cj_iwakura · Dec 31, 2015

Pretty easily overlooked since this is the least popular of the multi-game titles in the SMT umbrella.

Not on my watch!

The original Devil Summoner was released on December 25, 1995 for Saturn, and the PSP version was released ten years later, on December 20, 2005.

Devil Summoner is kind of like the core series. A sole devil summoner along with his army of demons take on evil summoners to save the day.

The only real difference is that Devil Summoner stories tend to be more intimate. The entire world is seldom at stake(or destroyed), but the protagonist's livelihood, friends, and city often are.

In Devil Summoner 1, Kyouji Kuzunoha must stop the insane bible-wielding priest Sid Davis from resurrecting a Japanese goddess, and maybe recover his stolen life in the process.

In Soul Hackers, the Spookies have to stop the Phantom Society and their puppet corporation, Algon Software, from conquering Japan and harvesting souls for their crazed purposes.

Then last and definitely not least, Raidou Kuzunoha has to save the Taisho 20 era of Japan from crazy robots, an undead Russian summoner, and Lucifer himself.

Which is your favorite devil summoner title and why? Go fire up your COMP and beat up some dark summoners.

Comrade.

BennyBlanco · Dec 31, 2015

Only game under this umbrella i've played is Soul Hackers and it was really fucking good.

I need to check out more of these.

Sorcerer Supreme · Dec 31, 2015

I love Raidou so much. Great games that deserve a vita/HD port.

Hylian7 · Dec 31, 2015

They're never going to release the original Devil Summoner in English in any fashion, are they? I know there was a PSP remake for it that only came out in Japan, but I would like to see them maybe do a Soul Hackers style port of it.

Did that translation project for Devil Summoner ever come to fruition?

Other than that, the only one I have played in the Devil Summoner series is Soul Hackers, which I really enjoyed. I'm not so sure I would like the Raidou games with the realtime battle system, and the setting just doesn't seem as interesting to me as the modern settings of other SMT games, or the futuristic setting of Soul Hackers.

Worthintendo · Dec 31, 2015

I've only played the SMT games on the 3DS (barring Devil Survivor 2 and I guess Persona Q) but Soul Hackers is the one that sticks with me the most. I just loved the Cyber Punk setting and the music. Really fun game and (out of the 3 I've played) my fav SMT game.

cj_iwakura · Dec 31, 2015

Hylian7 said:
They're never going to release the original Devil Summoner in English in any fashion, are they? I know there was a PSP remake for it that only came out in Japan, but I would like to see them maybe do a Soul Hackers style port of it.

Did that translation project for Devil Summoner ever come to fruition?

EsperKnight and an anon who goes by Debisa are working on it. So yes, it will. One day.

I'll be blunt: it's very dated. The game is not very fun to play at all. But the story is great.

E_Darkness · Dec 31, 2015

Neat little series. I'm hoping I'll be able to play Devil Summoner once that fan translation comes out.

Soul Hackers is easily my favourite. It's setting is just 90s sci-fi cyberpunk. The game is fun, probably has some of my favourite demon conversations in the series. Nemissa is a great companion. The game is around 20-30 hours long so it doesn't overstay its welcome. If you have a 3DS you should really pick it up. Plus SH has the best COMP, the GUMP.

Vs Soulless Army is average at best. But I love it just for the feel of it. The music is nice and Raidou is an interesting protagonist. The final boss (in concept) and its music made up for the slog for me. But still a very 6/10 game.

Vs King Abaddon is great. Wish Atlus would try their hand at another ARPG/Raidou game. Never quite got around to finishing it. From what I've played of it, it seems interesting. This one never came out in Europe so I've been playing the NA PSN version. Though all I really want is goofy detective adventure game with Raidou and his demons.

The Cartographer · Dec 31, 2015

Raidou Kuzunoha 2 PAL port when?

Gaffi · Dec 31, 2015

Still need to dig into Soul Hackers but Raidou was a great series. I'd take a sequel or a spin off starring Naoto anyday.

BlackJace · Dec 31, 2015

Soul Hackers never forget.

Cool, albeit dated game with a unique setting.

Trojita · Dec 31, 2015

I'm guessing this is going to be a minority opinion, but Soul Hackers to me was very underwhelming when I finally got to play it on the 3DS. I'm not sure if part of its allure and mystique was because of it being a Japanese only game for so long. I liked the beginning part with the VR stuff, but it didn't seem to use that setting to its fullest, at least in my opinion.

cj_iwakura · Dec 31, 2015

Trojita said:
I'm guessing this is going to be a minority opinion, but Soul Hackers to me was very underwhelming when I finally got to play it on the 3DS. I'm not sure if part of its allure and mystique was because of it being a Japanese only game for so long. I liked the beginning part with the VR stuff, but it didn't seem to use that setting to its fullest, at least in my opinion.

It's actually not, most people seemed to feel that way, sadly. It's very much a product of its time, but I love that about it.

Just hearing the world map music makes me feel nostalgic.

I feel like if we had gotten it in the 90s when we should have, it would be considered a classic today.

I couldn't be happier that Atlus USA brought it to us, because they could have easily overlooked it. And they did a stellar job, all things considered.
Could have done without Liam O'Brian as Spooky, because he sounds identical to Akihiko, but it's a minor nitpick when everyone else has a stellar voice, down to the most minor NPC.

CertifiedFP · Dec 31, 2015

So, is Soul Hackers worthwhile for me if the only mainline SMT I've played is SMT4, and otherwise just played the Persona games? Think I might pick it up while it's on sale still.

cj_iwakura · Dec 31, 2015

CertifiedFP said:
So, is Soul Hackers worthwhile for me if the only mainline SMT I've played is SMT4, and otherwise just played the Persona games? Think I might pick it up while it's on sale still.

As long as you aren't turned off by massive first person dungeons and insta-death if the protagonist dies, totally. The story holds up very well, as does the music.

It's a fair bit harder than SMTIV, though, IMO. Not as easy to break. It can be broken, but you have to work for it.

Hylian7 · Dec 31, 2015

cj_iwakura said:
EsperKnight and an anon who goes by Debisa are working on it. So yes, it will. One day.

I'll be blunt: it's very dated. The game is not very fun to play at all. But the story is great.

I mean, wasn't Soul Hackers pretty much just as dated? Watching gameplay of the Saturn version of Soul Hackers, the battle animations look painfully slow, and I could see that causing a big issue. Having a 3DS port of Devil Summoner like that would have been great.

cj_iwakura · Dec 31, 2015

Hylian7 said:
I mean, wasn't Soul Hackers pretty much just as dated? Watching gameplay of the Saturn version of Soul Hackers, the battle animations look painfully slow, and I could see that causing a big issue. Having a 3DS port of Devil Summoner like that would have been great.

Heh, Debisa 1 is worse. You don't get half of the details that SH gives you. I've played about a quarter of the import and I have no idea if a demon joined me until I check my party. The dungeons are also even more vicious, and have almost no save points(though I think the PSP version fixed this).

It does have great atmosphere though, and it was done by Kaz and Okada in their creative prime.

Jotamide · Dec 31, 2015

BennyBlanco said:
Only game under this umbrella i've played is Soul Hackers and it was really fucking good.

I need to check out more of these.

Ditto. I recently rebought Soul Hackers and will play the extra content from the 3DS version. Will wait to play Raidou Kuzunoha when it hits the PS4.

ShadowSwordmaster · Dec 31, 2015

I need to check some of these out.

Hylian7 · Dec 31, 2015

CertifiedFP said:
So, is Soul Hackers worthwhile for me if the only mainline SMT I've played is SMT4, and otherwise just played the Persona games? Think I might pick it up while it's on sale still.

Just make sure you have a lot of patience for mechanics from older games in the series. Soul Hackers has two currencies (Magnetite and Yen), there's stuff like demon personalities to deal with, and can result in them straight up leaving you, and a bunch of other mechanics that aren't immediately apparent.

cj_iwakura · Dec 31, 2015

Added more images.

Jotamide said:
Ditto. I recently rebought Soul Hackers and will play the extra content from the 3DS version. Will wait to play Raidou Kuzunoha when it hits the PS4.

I've killed Elizabeth and the Demi-Fiend and the 3DS optional bosses had me running for the hills. Got up to the Kuzunohas and got buried.

Pro from Dover · Dec 31, 2015

Happy Birthsday, Devil Summoner!

You always struck my chord stronger than the other SMT's.

Barrylocke · Dec 31, 2015

Soul Hackers was so fun. It's a shame that it never came out in the West when it was new, because I think it would have been well received then (unless people couldn't get over the first person nature of it). Instead it was introduced on the 3DS and people saw it as dated, which is understandable since it was originally a Saturn/PSX game.

Nemissa is by far my favorite SMT companion, she really stole the show. And the game had a really cool atmosphere to it.

Soulless Army also excelled in atmosphere. Raidou is by far my favorite SMT protagonist, and I really enjoyed the jazzy feel of "the Capital".

The last minute SMT1 and 2 references were a big surprise as well.

Too bad the combat in Soulless Army definitely got old. I'd kinda like to try Hard Mode but I don't think I could stomach it, certainly not any time soon.

E_Darkness · Dec 31, 2015

Barrylocke said:
Too bad the combat in Soulless Army definitely got old. I'd kinda like to try Hard Mode but I don't think I could stomach it, certainly not any time soon.

You're saying that as if Soulless Army's combat wasn't already dated feeling when it came out. It does not play like a PS2 game that came out in 2006.

rrvv · Dec 31, 2015

King of abbadon make me want to play more taisho era game.

Raidou is so cool

brinstar · Dec 31, 2015

Loved Soul Hackers. I have both Raidou games installed on my PS3 but I haven't played 'em yet.

cj_iwakura · Dec 31, 2015

Barrylocke said:
Soul Hackers was so fun. It's a shame that it never came out in the West when it was new, because I think it would have been well received then (unless people couldn't get over the first person nature of it). Instead it was introduced on the 3DS and people saw it as dated, which is understandable since it was originally a Saturn/PSX game.

Nemissa is by far my favorite SMT companion, she really stole the show. And the game had a really cool atmosphere to it.

Soulless Army also excelled in atmosphere. Raidou is by far my favorite SMT protagonist, and I really enjoyed the jazzy feel of "the Capital".

The last minute SMT1 and 2 references were a big surprise as well.

Too bad the combat in Soulless Army definitely got old. I'd kinda like to try Hard Mode but I don't think I could stomach it, certainly not any time soon.

Hard Mode is not for the faint of heart. I cleared it and it took forever. 3x damage received, half inflicted.

vocab · Dec 31, 2015

Hard mode. More like get destroyed mode. Walk down the street to victor is a challenge in it self. You know, id probably stomach the hard mode if there wasn't random battles in town. Just kidding, Id quit before the first boss lol.

SpikeOut · Dec 31, 2015

Great series and one of the few JRPGs in which I can tolerate the characters and story. I will shed many tears once this jumps the shark like Persona has, though.

Persona 5 does look promising, though.

Celine · Dec 31, 2015

Soul Hackers is awesome.

Soriku · Dec 31, 2015

BennyBlanco said:
Only game under this umbrella i've played is Soul Hackers and it was really fucking good.

I need to check out more of these.

Pick up Raidou 2 immediately.

ZeroX03 · Dec 31, 2015

Still have my Soul Hackers 3DS sitting there with only an hour or so played. I really need to dig into it sometime. And Raidou 2 totally unplayed.

Thud · Dec 31, 2015

Soul Hackers 3DS was actually pretty hard. Had to hack the difficulty to finish it. I didn't like the grid like dungeoncrawling (blame SJ) as well. However the setting and the characters are great. Battles are fun and the music is nice.

Looking forward to playing the raidou games eventually.

cj_iwakura · Dec 31, 2015

SpikeOut said:
Great series and one of the few JRPGs in which I can tolerate the characters and story. I will shed many tears once this jumps the shark like Persona has, though.

Persona 5 does look promising, though.

I highly doubt the series will get continued. At least it went out strong.

Barrylocke · Dec 31, 2015

E_Darkness said:
You're saying that as if Soulless Army's combat wasn't already dated feeling when it came out. It does not play like a PS2 game that came out in 2006.

Got old as in it got boring and dull by the time I was halfway through. I'm surprised I stayed entertained on that front for so long.

At least the final boss was very entertaining.

cj_iwakura said:
Hard Mode is not for the faint of heart. I cleared it and it took forever. 3x damage received, half inflicted.

...I don't think I'm hardcore enough for that particular challenge.

SweetTeddie · Dec 31, 2015

Raidou 2 is one of my favourite SMT games. It's one of the few with a story that is interesting and makes sense. I loved the characters, music and setting a ton and they were pretty unique compared to most games. I haven't played the older Devil Summoner games but I will once I get a 3DS or maybe an NX with backwards compatibility.

kamineko · Dec 31, 2015

No idea why I haven't played Soul Hackers yet; I love that old-style SMT crunk.

2016 is gonna be different guys, I'm getting after that

Thanks for the nudge, TC

StereoVsn · Dec 31, 2015

Great series. I absolutely loved Soul Hackers because of the great story and the 90s setting. Yes, some things feel dated but the main game is not particularly hard and its very much worth a play through. The game is also cheap.

I also loved the Raidou series. Yes, the first game has some jank but the story is still good. The second one makes up with great gameplay and story. Especially second is a great game and must play.

sixteen-bit · Dec 31, 2015

Happy anniversary

Joqu · Dec 31, 2015

I absolutely love Soul Hackers, what an underrated gem. Been waiting on playing Raidou until it hits PS4 although I'm not actually sure if I'll be willing to rebuy my SMT games on there.

Tizoc · Dec 31, 2015

Raidou Kuzunoha is among the most underrated protagonists in video games :/

Raidou 2 needs to be re-released on PS4 so more children can experience his badassness.

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