As much as I’ve longed for a Digital Devil Saga HD Remaster, Atlus has some gumption in remastering a game that may not have been given a fair shake on release. I’m not going to say Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army sold poorly; it received a sequel almost immediately after release. With the changes made from the original, Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army could reignite a return to the action-RPG genre for Atlus.
Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army
Developer: Atlus
Price: $49.99
Platform: PC, PlayStation 4/5(Reviewed), Nintendo Switch 1/2, Xbox Series X|S
MonsterVine was supplied with a PlayStation 5 code for review
The fun part about Raidou Remastered is that Atlus made the tough call of what to do with the archaic combat system. Truthfully, I replayed Devil Summoner earlier this year to prep for this review and felt like the combat didn’t need much improvement. I realized mid-way through the remaster that I was wrong.
The Remastered combat allows for a better flow, enabling players to weave combos more easily. The combat skills are easier to use, and the combat is just a little more streamlined. Additionally, from the start, Raidou is permitted to have two demons on the battlefield, rather than just one. I didn’t think this changed much at first, but it made the battles a little more fun and chaotic while also opening the opportunity to spend less time in menus.
Raidou himself controls like he’s in a Ys game, very light and quick, while being able to break out of combos easily. Not all combos break equally, but for the most part, you’re just sword dancing. And with how well Raidou Remastered performs, you’ll find the gameplay more actiony and dodgy, and spending less time in menus than in the original. I know I already said that, but it should be emphasized.
As a follow-up to Shin Megami Tensei V, Raidou Remastered gives us a real sense of scale. While progressing through the game, the demons get bigger and more elaborate. You’ll go from having the cute lil’ Agathion following Raidou around in a floating urn to having a giant Mishaguji lumbering around and towering over everyone. Seeing large demons walking around “the capital” in Raidou in HD is an absolute treat.
Raidou Remastered comes with a full VO track, unlike the original. Maybe unsurprisingly, it’s good! There are some really great line reads, many of which are just very humorous because the story is a little wacky. However, some of the barks are downright incredible. Kicking off a Devil’s Bane attack will have Gotou shout, “RAIDOU KUZUNOHA THE FOURTEENTH!” which sent chills down my spine. Great line read, executed well, I was happy to hear it.
I never really clicked with the story that well. Overall, it’s fun. There are twists and turns you won’t expect, mostly because they’re just absolutely ridiculous. It’s just not what you’d expect. It starts in the most SMT way possible, though, with a girl asking the Narumi Detective Agency to kill her before she’s kidnapped.
Raidou is broken up into chapters that serve as case files. Every mystery Raidou finds himself cracking is somehow related to the original, naturally. Working through cases uncovers more of the story, and there are an abundance of side cases filling out the world. The original game had these side-cases mostly hidden and untracked, but the remaster utilizes them to great effect.
Even navigating Tokyo is easier now, as Raidou has access to his own private streetcar! Well, not really. However, an express streetcar IS available, and the cost difference between using it and the regular one is negligible. As much as I’m pro-QoL for older games in remasters, this one almost seemed like too much. I used it all the time, but the price should’ve been higher, or there should have been SOME drawbacks to using it.
Just having fast-travel at the touch of a button made some of the navigation trivial. While playing through, I wondered if that was the point. While Raidou Kuzunoha XIV plays the role of a detective, he doesn’t do much detective work. Despite having access to 120 demons, there aren’t very many puzzles outside of dungeons or the dark world. Maybe making the normal world feel breezy is intended.
We’ve had a lot of remastered games pop up, and usually, there’s a pretty divisive response to them. Lots of purists come out of the woodwork to tell you why a remaster is bad or what it didn’t preserve from the original, even if the game is barely changed. Devil Summoner – Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army had a LOT of changes in the remastered version and could be considered a drastically different game as a result, but I would struggle to say anything was actually lost.
Raidou Remastered may not be the same game as the original, but almost everything about it is just better. It’s just an easier case to crack. And while I’m sure there are people who long for the days when games were just more esoteric, it’s actually a good thing to make them more penetrable. Not all new games need to be easier, but not all old games were meant to be as abstruse as they were.
The Final Word
Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army is truly the best way to experience the Devil Summoner – Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army story. With few drawbacks and many additions, Raidou Remastered is more about enhancing than preserving. Take that as you will.
MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
