Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers Review (3DS)

Atlus’ support for the 3DS has been consistently strong, with titles like Etrian Odyssey IV and Devil Survivor being some of my favourite games for the system. Soul Hackers is yet another addictive handheld JRPG that’s sure to keep you entertained for many hours, as long as you can handle some ageing gameplay mechanics. 

 

 

Released back in 1997 for Sega’s ill-fated Saturn, this 3DS port of Soul Hackers doesn’t offer a lot extra for those that played it all those years ago. Then again, considering that the first game didn’t make it’s way outside Japan, Atlus didn’t really need to do much to freshen up the game for Western players.

 

 

Soul Hackers as a whole feels dated, though in most areas this actually helps the game. It’s old-school representation of the future is, ironically, a breath of fresh air. Technology is more widespread in Amami city, with every citizen having access to a computer of some sort. Furthermore, a new virtual reality world for the residents of Amami city – Paradigm X – is just about to enter closed beta. However, demons and a certain secret organisation soon make their appearance, and it’s up to your unnamed protagonised and his gang, the Spookies (not a particularly cool name for a gang) to stop them.

 

While the setting itself is fairly interesting, the main area in which Shin Megami Tensei games excel is the cast of characters that you meet during your demon-busting adventures. Soul Hackers is no different in this, and the story handles many interesting – and surprisingly dark – themes with finesse. Even now, 16 years on, it’s storyletting surpasses that of many JRPGs that have come out today.

 

 

One area that hasn’t survived the test of time so well is the dungeon crawling which is large chunk of the game. Outside of the overworld map, you will be spending the majority of your time in first-person, traipsing through various dungeons filled with a ridiculous amount of demons. While it’s not as bad as some older games in this genre, it can often start to become annoying during longer excursions.

 

The dungeons themselves are also fairly uninteresting, but there are enough variations to keep them from feeling the same. The outdated graphics further add to the blandness of the dungeons. The only noticeable graphical update that Soul Hackers received was a slight resolution increase to accommodate for the 3DS’ screens. Demon and character sprites still look nice, though I can’t help but wish that they were redrawn for this port.

 

 

At least battles and recruiting demons remains as fun as ever. As with most SMT games, players must recruit enemy demons to help them out in later battles. The process for recruiting them is nothing new; each demon has it’s own personality, which leads to different questions you must answer along with gifts you may need to give. Their personalities also carry over into combat, since they also determine how a demon will act when you command them. The process of recruiting and fusing demons together to create a stronger party helps to alleviate some of the grind that comes with each dungeon, though it could prove to be complicated to franchise newcomers.

 

Combat is the usual Shin Megami Tensei fare, with a familiar array of enemies and skills. Two of your party slots are taken up by human characters, while the rest are filled with your chosen demons. Taking your demon’s personalities and abilities into account is the way to go, otherwise you’ll be in for a quick thrashing. Demons can be left to attack as they wish or commanded manually, though they will not execute commands that go against their nature. Overall, the turn-based battle system keeps things interesting enough, though the press-turn system used in other SMT games offers a more strategic take on this sort of combat.

 

 

For beginners, a few different ‘hacks’ have been added, which can be access at all times aside from battles. These allow you to change certain features of the game, such as it’s difficulty and the ability to view the entire map as soon as you enter an area. These are a nice addition that help to remove some annoyances for those that just want to enjoy the story. Menus have also received a minor upgrade, making menu navigation a little less awkward.

 

For those that are used to Atlus’ recent titles like Persona 4 Golden and the aforementioned Etrian Odyssey IV, some of Soul Hacker’s now-outdated mechanics may be off-putting.  However, behind these annoyances is an amazing game that you can sink many hours into, and for those that are long time fans of the SMT franchise, Soul Hackers is an essential purchase.

 

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