Note: The RAIDOU Remastered Review text below is written by Sakura Index contributing writer JeanneCena
I remember way back when I was starting off collecting SMT games, SMT Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. The Soulless Army was HARD to find. It was one of my semi-Holy Grails because of this. I was only able to play it a few times thanks to friends who had copies, and even when I got a chance to go to Japan, I was unsuccessful in nabbing a JP one.
Those days are now over, as Sega finally gives us RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army.
Hell Yes, Here We Go Again! …I Think
Playing the game with a fresh set of eyes and a welcoming familiarity, I jumped in.
The opening was as expected, the same one as the original but made sharper for today’s consoles. After the cinematic and naming of your character (which will be changed to Raidou Kuzunoha XIV anyway), the tutorial battles started, where the familiarity stops.
ⒸATLUS. ⒸSEGA
Hitting Them Hard, Fast, And With Finesse
In the original, the battles (and most of the game) were set on pre-rendered backgrounds, so they felt “stiff” and were reminiscent of games like the first Parasite Eve. In the remake, the battles have not just been HD-fied, they have changed these to a set 3D field where you can move and rotate your camera, not to mention that the battles now move smoother and are MUCH more hectic.
Demon catching, fusion and usage are of course, an integral part of the game being an SMT one, and using them has been overhauled for a fresh experience. In battles, instead of each demon having their own MP bar to cast spells, they will now rely on Raidou’s MP to cast them, which can be replenished by repeatedly attacking enemies with normal slash attacks. This adds to the mayhem in battles now, as you will need to keep hacking at enemies so that your demons can cast spells for damage and support. Raidou can cast skills of his own, but these do not cost MP, just a cooldown timer.
ⒸATLUS. ⒸSEGA
Raidou also has a gun (which can be used with special bullets in the original game), but this time it is relegated to a smaller role which is a quick, long-range but very weak damage dealer, and you’ll rarely use it unless the situation calls for it, like for demons vulnerable to bullets. Overall, battles are now more easily accessible and lean further on hack-and-slash tactics than menu-based RPG combat.
Taisho 20 Just Got Noisier
Story-wise, not much has changed. It is mainly a detective caper set in the capital of Japan in Taisho 20, which starts off with Raidou and his boss Narumi meeting a young girl who gets kidnapped by mysterious red soldiers.
ⒸATLUS. ⒸSEGA
The story from here jumps from a simple kidnapping to uncovering a grand conspiracy, to perils further beyond, with a little comedy thrown in. The newly added voices certainly color the dialogue and are really good, given that the cast is top-notch (just a shame that Raidou himself, voiced by Tomokazu Sugita, barely speaks, if at all).
ⒸATLUS. ⒸSEGA
They have also added a few updates to the story, and the references to pop culture are peppered here and there.
ⒸATLUS. ⒸSEGA
Navigating the various areas of the Capital might take a bit to get used to if it’s your first romp in the series. The areas are mostly fixed camera areas and the map might sometimes confuse you, but you can get used to it with time. The overworld is your typical SMT-style “point A to point B” type of traveling, like SMT V, with waypoints being unlocked eventually.
ⒸATLUS. ⒸSEGA
We Need To Crack That Case!
As Raidou is part detective, you’ll have to go puzzle-solving along the way as well, and there will be points where you use your demons to solve these puzzles, like reading minds, alluring enemies, or by igniting their passions (or the opposite: cooling them down).
ⒸATLUS. ⒸSEGA
The soundtrack while you’re travelling around and battling is awesome to hear again (technically my second time as I got the Raidou DLC in Soul Hackers 2, which also included the original battle theme).
Once you’re done with the game, there is little else to do, but you do get an NG+ where you can start over with some stuff carrying over. A normal playthrough can probably take 25-30 hours plus (40-45 if you’re a completist).
ⒸATLUS. ⒸSEGA
And yes, they kept the Mahjong minigame from the original, so you can do that, too.
ⒸATLUS. ⒸSEGA
Concluding Thoughts
Overall, the game experience seems to have been polished and made easier so anyone can jump in and experience a unique side to the Shin Megami Tensei series. This is not a bad thing at all, and makes me hopeful that the second game can also be retold so a new generation can experience Raidou’s world in Taisho 20.
RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is out now on the PS4, PS5, Steam, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X/S.
*Review done on a PS4 version of the game. Special thanks to SEGA for the review copy