Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

Genre: First-Person Dungeon Crawler / Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPG

Players: 1

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Review:

In the massive Shin Megami Tensei franchise, the Devil Summoner series of games takes a different spin on the core franchise’s central mechanic of dealing with and summoning demons in a Turn-Based Monster Collecting JRPG akin to Pokemon, with the game being set in a more or less contemporary world rather than the post-apocalyptic settings of the main series. Soul Hackers, the second game in the Devil Summoner series, was originally only released in Japan, with the Sega Saturn receiving the game in 1997, and the PlayStation getting the game in 1999. Western audiences wouldn’t get the chance to play this game until this port on the Nintendo 3DS, released in 2013.

I should emphasize that this release really is a port of the 1997 Sega Saturn game – while it features a new localization, a few redone art and text elements, and it makes some limited use of the Nintendo 3DS’s dual screens, for the most part this game is presented much in the same way as the original was. Which is to say, the game has some nice hand-drawn character art, but its pre-rendered video sequences look adorably primitive by today’s standards, and its use of 3D for dungeon crawling is outright archaic. At the very least, the new English voice acting here is pretty good, although the localization is often so bad that you can tell the voice actors were struggling with trying to make sense of it.

This game’s story has players taking the role of a member of an underground hacking group who recently came into possession of a gun-shaped computer that enables them to communicate with, capture, and summon demons. As the rest of their modern city celebrates the high-tech revolution connecting everyone to a VR-infused version of something like an internet, your group is investigating the shady dealings behind the government and corporate forces behind this technological revolution, as well as attacks by demons throughout the city.

Despite the poor quality of the localization, players will still find themselves dealing with quite a lot of story, with the game sometimes seeming almost like a Visual Novel. However, when you finally get through to the action itself, the gameplay turns to a combination of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise’s usual Monster Collecting RPG, with a First-Person Dungeon Crawler. Thankfully, the 3DS’s dual screens allow players to reference a map at any time, making this a much smoother experience than it likely would have been without this feature. Unfortunately, this game has some other problems that make it difficult to get into.

Mainly, Soul Hackers has zero interest in explaining any of its mechanics or even detailing what its various menu options do. Even the abbreviations for the stats when upgrading your characters will have you either guessing what they all mean or searching online for a guide, and something as simple as changing your party order will have you searching through menus. This is a game that will not hold your hand at all, and while seasoned fans of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise may be able to figure things out, this game does not make it easy.

At the very least when you do figure things out, Soul Hackers is an enjoyable experience within the genre, although its Dungeon-Crawling elements are somewhat limited. Unfortunately, this game has to contend with the fact that the Nintendo 3DS has numerous other Shin Megami Tensei games, and while Soul Hackers does bring a somewhat unique Dungeon Crawler experience to the table, players who want a great Dungeon Crawler on the Nintendo 3DS also have a wealth of great titles to choose from – namely, the Etrian franchise. Or, if you really want a combination of the two, there’s also Strange Journey Redux, which offers a similar style of gameplay, but is better in just about every way.

Don’t get me wrong, Soul Hackers is still a fun game, at least if you can figure out how to play it properly. And the combination of the Turn-Based Monster Collecting RPG and First-Person Dungeon Crawler are fairly unique. But with extremely dated graphics, a poor localization, and poorly-explained gameplay mechanics, most players are better off getting a different game in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, or a different First-Person Dungeon Crawler, especially with so many wonderful examples of both on the Nintendo 3DS. Or, if you want something “just like this game but better”, get Strange Journey Redux instead. In any case, there’s not much going for Soul Hackers.

tl;dr – Soul Hackers is a port of a previously Japan-only Sega Saturn entry in the Devil Summoner spin-off of the Shin Megami Tensei franchise, combining the franchise’s demon-infused Turn-Based Monster Collecting RPG gameplay with a First-Person Dungeon Crawler. It’s an enjoyable game, but the presentation is terribly dated with some poor localization, and the gameplay is poorly-explained to players. With so many great alternatives on the Nintendo 3DS (especially Strange Journey Redux, which is similar to this but vastly better), it’s hard to recommend this game.

Grade: C+

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