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Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers- top 5 greatest RPG of all time?

K

Kimawolf

Member
Soul Hackers takes place in the fictional Amami City, a technologically-advanced Japanese metropolis. The main protagonist, a member of a hacker group called the Spookies, gains access to the closed beta for Paradigm X, an online game designed to connect the citizens of Amami. While in there, the protagonist encounters supernatural forces, then must work with the Spookies to investigate attacks by demons across the city. Aiding him is Nemissa, a demon who possesses the body of his friend Hitomi Tono.
(Thanks Wikipedia)


This is probably my favorite Shin Megami Tensei game of all of them. I just finished another playthough on my 3DS and LOVED IT! The pure cyber punk vibe, the world, the themes, the characters, everything is so memorable. And of course the soundtrack is pretty godly. So lets give it up for Soul Hackers! The one Devil Summoner game which needs a sequel!

So what say you GAF? Is this even in your top 3 RPGS? This one easily is number 3 for me of all time.

images
 
A

Aeana

Member
It's one of my favorite Megaten games and has been since I first played it on PSX. I've sung its praises for years. Then it finally came out in English and I watched people crap on it and it hurt my heart. It's not in my top 5 of all time, because there's just sooooooooooo many amazing RPGs out there, but I love it very much.

Here's what I wrote about it in my ranking post from way back when:

Aeana said:
Soul Hackers - This game is so cool. It really went full bore with the cyberpunk aesthetic that prior games in the franchise had been hinting at. The music has a similar kind of dreamy vibe to Persona's, and I really liked how the vision quests had their own versions of the area music. Speaking of the vision quests, I found that whole setup to be really novel, being able to see through the eyes of other people and see what they saw. The demon loyalty system was really neat, if not easily abusable, and although it debuted in Devil Summoner, I first saw it here. The whole idea of a virtual world was really interesting back in 1997, I think, and hadn't really been done to death as it has been now. Coming off of Persona, I really appreciated the quicker combat system too. To this day, I consider this game to be one of my favorite RPGs, even if it isn't quite so unique these days. The 3DS remake really improved a lot of the more iffy aspects, particularly the battle speed, which made me fall in love with the game all over again.
Click to expand...
 
L

legendaryskitch

Member
It's one of those games that I got and started but forgot about when another game came out. I'll definitely have to check it out again during the next game drought period
 
G

gngf123

Member
I don't know about top 3, but I really love Soul Hackers. It would definitely be somewhere high up on the list.

I loved the dungeons, the soundtrack, the 90's cyberpunk atmosphere, pretty much everything about it. The characters are all surprisingly memorable too.

Only problem with it was the slightly dodgy translation in places.
 
kunonabi

kunonabi

Member
It's way too easy and short to be top 5 out of SMT games let alone all RPGs. I waited a long time to get my hands on it and I enjoyed it but a life changer it was not.
 
B

brainpann

Member
Honesty time. I love SMT and own acopy of thi but haven't got around to playing it. Does it take place in the same universe as SMT? Same game play? I like the sound of amore cyber punk focused SMT.
 
H

Hibiki Kurosawa

Member
Uuuuuuh, yes!! This is one of my top games ever!! The story is cool, the characters are awesome. The sort of surreal, dark, cyberpunk world is fucking amazing. The soundtrack is godly, the gameplay is deep and addictive. It's a goddamn shame this messiah of gaming is mostly forgotten. Praise be to Soul Hackers.
 
NeonZ

NeonZ

Member
I liked how the game started, but everything just seemed to fall short by the ending. The 2nd to last dungeon was unnecessarily large for no good reason, and the story just fizzles out afterwards
since there's no resolution regarding the phantom society at all.

brainpann said:
Honesty time. I love SMT and own acopy of thi but haven't got around to playing it. Does it take place in the same universe as SMT? Same game play? I like the sound of amore cyber punk focused SMT.
Click to expand...

The setting is similar to mainline SMT, but without the apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic turn for the story. Also, no alignment characters which means they have more varied characterization.
 
Indelible

Indelible

Member
I thought it was ahead of its time when it came to story and characters but I wouldn't put it above SMT IV or Strange Journey.
 
Otherspacing

Otherspacing

Member
I don't know about top 5, specially if I compare it to some other SMT games, SMTIV, Nocturne and spin-offs like DeSu are better in my opinion.

But I would be lying if I said it isn't awesome. Battle system is quick and fun, even if it's simpler due to the lack of Press Turn. Demon negotiation is ALWAYS a blast. Soundtrack is A+. And even the graphics I didn't think were dated when I played in the 3DS, it played well with the cyberpunk aesthetic.

The only issue that I can come up with is the game fell a bit on the easier side. Nemissa destroyed everything on her path by the endgame. lol
 
S

Soriku

Junior Member
No the story and villains aren't nearly good enough for it to be a top 5 game (plus I don't think like the gameplay is good enough, and the music is good but not GOAT level, etc.). But it's still a good game and I beat the superbosses too.
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Better than even the best Persona game.
Innocent Sin.

Probably my favorite Megaten world, a fully modern but not post apocalyptic world. The dub is great and the opening rules. I have no problem with the non leveling mag guzzling demons. The dungeon design is competent. It's not too short nor is it too long. The plot is both breezy yet has real stakes.
 
O

Opa-Pa

Member
It makes me sad that I really like its world, style, music, almost everything, but it feels so dated. I got this day one and was very excited for it but it can't hold my interest for long... I've already tried two playthroughs and nope.

I find it really bizarre that they fixed and refined many things for the 3DS port but didn't add a "hack" for magnetite or tone down that annoying SFX that plays after everything you do in menus. That plus the boring battle backgrounds, cumbersome UI and bad audio mixing make it hard to play over other games in the seties I have in my backlog.

It's pretty much the only SMT game I own that I've started and haven't finished :/ last time I made it to some labyrinth with some old men with bad memory or something? Of course I'll make sure I finish it eventually, but I'm not really looking forward to it.

That battle music tho, god damn.
Too bad I can barely hear it
 
B

Beth Cyra

Member
I bought it. Seems like a well designed game but sadly I just can't enjoy it. I can't do first person rpgs.

Still glad I bought it.
 
C

Clov

Member
Not sure about all time, but it's definitely a great game. One of my favorites on 3DS for sure. I was really worried that it would be one of those older Megaten games that we'd never officially get, and that it would end up buried and forgotten (sort of like the original Devil Summoner; it sucks that we never got that PSP port, though I think that was due to technical issues). I was ecstatic when the 3DS version was announced, and it more than lived up to my expectations. I love the characters, the setting, the music... if you're an SMT fan, you owe it to yourself to try it out.
 
S

sir_kevith

Member
It took me a couple weeks to beat this when it took me over 2 years to beat SMT IV. I loved the quickness, story, and setting. I should get around to a replay!
 
G

ggx2ac

Member
I liked the theme of the game, and considering this was a remake/remaster of a game from the 90s it made me feel nostalgic listening to the music and seeing the visual settings.
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
I like it better than:

Every Persona game.
Both Raidou games.
Both Devil Survivor games
Both Digital Devil Saga games
SMT I
SMT if...
IMAGINE

It's a bit behind SMT III and far behind II, IV, TMS, IVA, which would make it top six. Not bad at all for such a good franchise.
 
T

Toth

Member
I remember it very fondly . The storyline was surprising good. It can be quite a hard game though if you don't have the best demons. If you do, even the end boss can be beaten without too much trouble.
 
A

also

Banned
After playing DeSu: Overclocked and SMT IV I was hungry for more demon summoning shenanigans so I got Soul Hackers. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations.
Apart from some UI annoyances, it played well but everything else was just not good. The story and characters are lame and I didn't like the visual style; it felt really dated. Don't remember being impressed by the music, though I rarely ever am.
 
S

SatelliteOfLove

Member
My most hipster-fuck hipster GOTY nod in my time here at #70.

Music was on goddamn white hot fire. Meguro was incubating here, growing stronger, more powerful.

Forum 2

Tenkai Airport (Vision Quest)

2D Field

Event Battle 2

Picture Gallery Radder

Leon Automotive (Lights On)

Opa-Pa said:
It makes me sad that I really like its world, style, music, almost everything, but it feels so dated. I got this day one and was very excited for it but it can't hold my interest for long... I've already tried two playthroughs and nope.

I find it really bizarre that they fixed and refined many things for the 3DS port but didn't add a "hack" for magnetite or tone down that annoying SFX that plays after everything you do in menus. That plus the boring battle backgrounds, cumbersome UI and bad audio mixing make it hard to play over other games in the seties I have in my backlog.

It's pretty much the only SMT game I own that I've started and haven't finished :/ last time I made it to some labyrinth with some old men with bad memory or something? Of course I'll make sure I finish it eventually, but I'm not really looking forward to it.

That battle music tho, god damn.
Too bad I can barely hear it
Click to expand...

"Only NINETIES KIDS will get this game!"
 
cj_iwakura

cj_iwakura

Member
I also consider this the best, or at least most consistent, dub Atlus USA has ever done. All the demons and bosses, even ones with a single line, have fantastic voices.

Sid Davis' voice was perfect.
 
M

MillionStabs

Banned
I would probably enjoy this game more/be able to play enough to enjoy it if it wasn't so needlessly difficult.

Not even like git gud difficult, just going these hard AF battles to get enough levels so you dont get one shot by the boss that just walked on stage.
 
A

Aeana

Member
Opa-Pa said:
It makes me sad that I really like its world, style, music, almost everything, but it feels so dated. I got this day one and was very excited for it but it can't hold my interest for long... I've already tried two playthroughs and nope.

I find it really bizarre that they fixed and refined many things for the 3DS port but didn't add a "hack" for magnetite or tone down that annoying SFX that plays after everything you do in menus. That plus the boring battle backgrounds, cumbersome UI and bad audio mixing make it hard to play over other games in the seties I have in my backlog.

It's pretty much the only SMT game I own that I've started and haven't finished :/ last time I made it to some labyrinth with some old men with bad memory or something? Of course I'll make sure I finish it eventually, but I'm not really looking forward to it.

That battle music tho, god damn.
Too bad I can barely hear it
Click to expand...

You act like magnetite is a bug or some sort of result of rough design and thus needed to be refined away. You don't have to like it, but it's a totally legitimate mechanic and it's something that exists in other SMT games, going way back to the genesis of the series. It's something that the game is designed around.

I think one thing that people don't get is that you can negotiate for more MAG. Negotiation isn't just for getting demons in earlier games, sometimes you have to do it to extort MAG from them. Do this enough and it's not the headache that you've made it out to be.
 
M

Mozendo

Member
Easily the best MegaTen game on the 3DS that and Strange Journey are some of the best handheld RPGs of all time.
 
D

Dr Thor

Neo Member
I've had this in my 3DS backlog for ages, and you all have convinced me to finally start it up once I finish SMT4 :) Going back more to the roots of the series sounds like a great journey to take before diving into SMT4A.

Any important tips/tricks I should know before jumping in?
 
O

Opa-Pa

Member
Aeana said:
You act like magnetite is a bug or some sort of result of rough design and thus needed to be refined away. You don't have to like it, but it's a totally legitimate mechanic and it's something that exists in other SMT games, going way back to the genesis of the series. It's something that the game is designed around.

I think one thing that people don't get is that you can negotiate for more MAG. Negotiation isn't just for getting demons in earlier games, sometimes you have to do it to extort MAG from them. Do this enough and it's not the headache that you've made it out to be.
Click to expand...

Of course I know it's a legit mechanic, I meant that I find it odd that they included in-game "cheats" in form of toggles for stuff like alignment, which makes far more sense as a mechanic IMO, but not MAG. I think way more people are likely to not want to deal with MAG specifically, there's a reason the feature isn't present in modern Megaten.

Plus MAG management felt far more lenient to me even in SMT1 and 2, and SH is pretty easy outside of this, so having some lousy mechanic that's only there to restrict exploration be the main source of annoyance gets boring after a while, I'd rather just have difficult fights.

Like I said I know I can deal with it and I don't think the game is /bad/, it just doesn't do it for me (yet?)
 
V

Voliko

Member
Best Megaten. Love all the different locations (planetarium, virtual reality) and the overall feel of the game. Waaaay better than SMT4

Saying it's dated makes me scratch my head... Compared to any 8bit or 16bit RPG and even many PS1 era RPGs Soul Hackers doesn't feel "archaic" at all.
 
E

E-flux

Member
Hey, anybody who has completed the game, how close i'm at finishing the game?
I'm currently fighting manitou in some ancient ruins.
 
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