RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army Review – Plenty of Soul Found

RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army Review

RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army resurrects one of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise’s most stylish PS2 cult hits. The original Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army was a 2006 action RPG that was a bit of a chore to play. This remaster breathes so much new life into the game that it might be more of a remake. I’m having fun either way.

In an alternate Taisho period, a young man takes on the name Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV and goes to Tokyo. It’s the 1930s. Japan is rapidly modernizing, but old traditions—and older monsters—still hold sway.

The Kuzunoha clan of Devil Summoners protects the Capital from the shadows by using demons to fight demons. Raidou is no exception.

Soon after arriving in the Capital, Raidou partners with Detective Narumi to investigate supernatural incidents. When a mysterious girl begs them to kill her, then is kidnapped by demons before their eyes, the pair set out to find her.

The girl’s name is Kaya Daidouji, daughter of a prestigious family, and she’s been missing for a while. With her uncle’s blessing, Raidou sets out to solve the case of her disappearance… and uncovers a plot to shake the Capital to its core.

Solve the Case, Slay the Demon

RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is a fascinating occult detective story about the mundane and mystical perils of a country racing to modernize. It’s also an indictment of the cruel strictures of tradition. This game argues that it’s very easy to lose sight of the real people suffering when pursuing a goal or ideal.

The original Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army came out in 2006 for the PS2, and it shows. RAIDOU Remastered has visibly dated character models and slightly sketchy mouth flaps in cutscenes. However, its visual presentation is so stylish that it’s still spectacular to watch.

You can choose between English and Japanese voice-acting, or even turn the voices off entirely. The English voices are solid and the music is frankly spectacular, particularly the battle themes.

The story is often melancholy if not outright tragic. At the same time, there is a playful irreverence to RAIDOU Remastered. Every major character is a delightful twist on a standard noir archetype. You fistfight two yakuza while naked in the bathhouse. And there’s a whole side quest dedicated to playing with your feline mentor despite his best efforts to stay focused.

In short, RAIDOU Remastered has done a great job of updating the original’s story and presentation. And the game even streamlined the quest system so that it’s easier to find optional events and side quests. But how does the gameplay look?

RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army Changes the Game

RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is the most fun I’ve ever had with an Atlus action RPG. The revamped battle system is incredibly fun and challenging, feeling like a Dynasty Warriors-style game at times. Raidou wields a sword, a gun, a number of spells, and of course his summoned demons. He also has a variety of dodge techniques and can teleport behind an enemy. And he automatically locks on to the nearest foe.

Some skills cost magic, while others restore it. You must find a balance. And Raidou is pretty fragile on higher difficulties, so be careful. Slip up once and you could end up destroyed in short order. Having one dedicated healer and one damage dealer is a good plan.

Raidou can command two demons at a time in combat. They generally operate on their own, but you can order them to use a specific spell or to stop using skills. Using their skills drains Raidou’s MAG, so keep an eye on that.

Outside of combat, Raidou runs around Tokyo, navigating a retro top-down map and more detailed cityscapes. This game’s environments have a really unique atmosphere. It captures the contradiction of its fictional 1930s. Modernizing buildings and amenities clash with traditional Japanese architecture, fashion, and spirituality. The result is a stylized, surreal peek into an era in flux.

Different demons have different abilities that come in useful outside of battle. For example, Inugami can fly, while Pixie can sneak around.

The Best Shin Megami Tensei Action-RPG

RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army offers four difficulty levels, including one where your party cannot die. They don’t impact the story, but it’s nice to customize your experience at will. The game brings a ton of quality of life updates, from making it harder to skip events by accident to listing available side quests to removing random encounters entirely. You now see demons on the map and approach them for a sneak attack to start battle with an advantage.

In most Shin Megami Tensei games, you recruit demons through negotiating with them. In this one, you use Confinement to recruit them by force. By getting close and playing a little button-mashing minigame, Raidou can force a demon into one of his tubes. Negotiation still plays a role: answering a confined demon’s question well can affect its stats. And raising the loyalty of your demons through battling with them unlocks various extra power-ups.

Fusion works like most titles in the series. I wish the game let you see what demons you can make with the contents of your demon chart as well as the demons in your party. I should note that the game uses fixed camera angles. This allows for very cinematic presentation, but it can also make it really hard to find things. Also, I don’t think the DLC packs are particularly necessary.

There are a variety of optional battles to challenge, collectibles to gather, and side quests to complete. Some of them even have a noticeable impact on how the story plays out.

All in all, RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is an enjoyable update to an already compelling game. Some of the bells and whistles are irritating and the fusion system could be better. But I heartily recommend it to fans of stylish action RPGs and occult mystery titles.

***Steam code provided by the publisher***