Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers — Ghosts in the Machine

There was a feeling of excitement from Megaten fans when Atlus announced that Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers was receiving an enhanced port for 3DS, especially from many outside Japan. The game previously released on Saturn and PSOne, but neither version left Japan. Now that it was on a new system that was doing well worldwide, one that could avoid Sony Computer Entertainment of America’s inane concept approval system, there was a much bigger chance of it coming over. And it did!

But coming with that excitement was a feeling of ambivalence, due to some old Megaten games feeling archaic and unpolished by today’s standards. The port of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona on PSP was fine in terms of its exploration, but many found its battle system too unintuitive to tolerate. And though the Persona 2 ports (one of which we didn’t get) fared better, they shared some of the same issues — made a little worse thanks to some long loading times.

But anyone who was in the “worried” category can mostly rest easy: those who said Soul Hackers had aged much better than the aforementioned Persona games were right. It’s more user friendly than them; and in places where they weren’t, Atlus added a few quirks to make it more palatable for a bigger audience. You should notice, though, that I used the word “mostly,” as it has some elements that could throw newer Megaten fans for a loop. This is an enhanced port of a 15+ year old game, after all.

And this is only the beginning.

While the game overall adheres to previously-established Megaten conventions, with a few quirks to spice things up, the setting is unlike any other. Whether you’ll appreciate it depends on your expectations. The game was played up by others as being a cyberpunk experience, but it doesn’t represent the genre as much as you think upon hearing it. When you mention “cyberpunk,” people often picture bright, shimmering cityscapes shining in the moonlight, dilapidated slums that segregate the rich and poor, and humans with augmented limbs. That’s an accurate explanation of the old, numbered Shin Megami Tensei games; but the Devil Summoner games have a history of not being quite as dreary as them, and Soul Hackers lives up to that.

That doesn’t mean it’s all sugar and rainbows, nor am I saying Soul Hackers’ setting and characters don’t have their own unique charms. Its world is a fusion of cyberpunk and sci-fi, and represents grounded-in-reality future as viewed by individuals in the mid-90s. It takes inspiration from sci-fi movies that delved into the topic of how the internet could evolve in a decade or two; and that especially, and fittingly, includes Hackers. The story happens in a fictional metropolis known as Amami City, and begins when the protagonist and his friend, Hitomi, are hacking a terminal to increase their chances of becoming candidates for testing a beta program known as Paradigm X. They’re part of a team of hackers known as the Spookies. It’s not the kind of group that puts ordinary citizens into trouble, despite eventually finding some of their own through their actions.

It’s always pleasant to see these kinds of maps in a Megaten game.

The protagonist obtains a gun-type PC found by the Spookies’ leader, Masahiro Sakurai, which he uses to hack into and visit Paradigm X. It’s a virtual world where people can hang out in their free time, similar to online communities that exist today, albeit far more immersive. Outside of Paradigm X, the gun-type PC performs actions similar to the COMs previously seen in other Megaten games. It includes a Demon Summoning Program that allows the protagonist to keep, summon, and fuse demons at will. It can be used as a weapon in battle, too, but there are other, better guns that can be purchased. And keep in mind that you’ll be purchasing weapons for the hero and Nemissa, since the game allows for two human participants in battle, and four demons. This was a hallmark of older Megaten games, allowing for more options in battle, though most enemies in the back row can’t perform physical attacks.

But that ostensible benefit comes with some catches. An element called “Magnetite” (MAG for short) exists in this game, and is consumed when you’re strolling through dungeons and certain other locations with demons in your party. You’ll also use it if to heal your party at terminals, and summon demons to your party — the latter of which consumes quite a bit. MAG can be acquired by purchasing it, defeating demons in battle, and negotiating with demons for it. If it runs out, the demons in your party will take damage with every step, provided you have them in your party. It’s difficult to manage properly early on, because it’s unfamiliar and restrictive for anyone who started playing Megaten games with the PS2 titles (which goes for most English-speakers). Ironically, demons later in the game drop a lot when you defeat them, and the random battle rate increases enough that you’ll be drowning in MAG by the end of the game.

And this is one of the easier dungeons.

The other catch? Somewhat similar to Strange Journey, demon alignment is important. Law and Chaos demons, for instance, won’t get along with each other, so you can’t have them in the party at once. There’s another element newer Megaten fans will be unfamiliar with, pertaining to a demon’s personality. Demons become more loyal when you have them use actions in battle they like. “Kind” demons, for example, favor healing and buffing the party, while “Wild” demons favor physical attacks. Having them perform something they don’t like will either result in them complying while letting you know they don’t like that, or completely disregarding your order. Like MAG, it’s less an intrusion and more a bizarre-yet-adaptable quirk.

Like all Megaten games, Soul Hackers is a dungeon crawler at heart. There’s an intriguing story, but you’ll spend most of your time navigating through labyrinthine corridors to reach your destination. The 3DS version expectedly makes things a little easier by giving you access to a map at all times on the touch screen, but that won’t help much with some puzzles. While the dungeons themselves are easier than in some newer games (especially Strange Journey), a couple of them go a little too long due to the level of backtracking. And the random battle rate makes them feel like longer slogs than they actually are.

Despite being an oldie, Soul Hackers actually isn’t one of the toughest games in the series. Anyone well-versed in RPGs can breeze through the first half, including the boss battles. It’s not until you the second half that you’ll get some really tough bosses, and their difficulty doesn’t go down from there. The moment can catch the player off guard, so never let your guard down. And make sure to have demons with good buffs and debuffs.

You’ll see a lot of familiar faces if you’re familiar with the franchise.

The 3DS version adds some new adjustment options through the COMP Hack menu. Though this, you can lower and increase the difficulty of battles (even if you’re in the middle of one), automatically fill out maps for areas you haven’t explored, ignore the aforementioned demon alignments summon who you want into battle, and automatically analyze all demons. They’re mainly anti-frustration features (the difficulty choice aside) that make the game more palatable for a bigger audience, which can be ignored by anyone who wants to experience the game as it originally was.

This version also adds a helpful demon called Nemechi, who you’ll power up using D-Souls. You can use to buy special demons, which consist of either alternate versions of those found in the game, or new ones seen in other Megaten games. The Japanese version only let you obtain Souls by StreetPassing with another Soul Hackers player; since that’s completely impractical outside Japan, the western version lets you use Play Coins for this. So make sure you get into the habit of shaking your 3DS every day.

You’ll be here a lot.

The English voice acting is very well done. The only problems are the familiar voices you’ll know if you’ve played some voice-acted Megaten games before — especially the Persona games. To give you an impression of how much voice acting the game has, even the vendors that sell you items, equipment, and offer other services are voiced. Nice as that is, it can grate when they have to repeat their lines multiple times. Thankfully, that doesn’t happen too often.

The soundtrack features the work of the familiar Shoji Meguro, Toshiko Tasaki, and classic Megaten composer Tsukasa Masuko — this game marking the last time he provided music for an Atlus game. Soul Hackers contains one of the more unique Megaten soundtracks, featuring compositions that fit the game’s 90s-style futuristic, cyberpunk world. It also relies on a lot of atmospheric tracks that help in lending the game’s multiple dungeons an air of creepiness. Some tracks may not make for good listening material, but they’re perfectly fine during the game. The few tracks for this version were composed by Shin Megami Tensei IV main composer Ryota Koduka.

We’re currently in a new era of games, especially Japanese RPGs, going without localizations. But it’s nice to have a port of one that got away from us in the 90s finally make it westward. Parts of it are archaic by today’s standards, sure, but Soul Hackers is still a title worth experiencing for anyone with even a passing interest in the genre.