It’s been nearly 20 years since Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army, and ahead of its 20th anniversary, SEGA and ATLUS has finally treated fans to the long awaited remaster: Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army. These days, the term remaster can mean anything from an upscaled port with additional features to a rework of the game and its systems, as we recently saw with The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. Fortunately, Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army falls into the latter category, offering a refreshing experience that hides the original action RPG’s age and stays faithful, and it’s really great on Nintendo Switch 2.
Staying true to the original story and a fantastical 1930s Tokyo setting, Raidou Remastered puts players in the uniform of Raidou Kuzunoha XIV, or rather the Devil Summoner trainee that inherits the moniker. The game’s tutorial does a great job setting up this premise while teaching players about the game’s various RPG mechanics. Everything from casting familiar magic spells from Shin Megami Tensei and Persona to demon recruitment via the act of containment is covered here in about 15 minutes. You get a quick grasp of how to dodge attacks, command demons, effectively use light and heavy attacks, and string together combos with a Musou-like gameplay system, and it’s all very fun and familiar without the hinderances of action games from its time.
Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army is a Fantastic RPG on Nintendo Switch 2
Not only is Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army easy to pick up and play, but so far, the Nintendo Switch 2 port doesn’t skip a beat. Leading up to launch, SEGA confirmed that Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army runs at 60 FPS at 1080p in both handheld and docked modes, and the experience is quite seamless on Nintendo Switch 2.
Although you’re not getting a native 4K resolution in docked, the output is still in 4K, and the revamped visuals certainly pop in both modes. As I mentioned in my Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut review, a lot of the Nintendo Switch performance quirks are simply gone with the latest releases on Switch 2. There are some occasional dips while roaming the capital, but for the most part, this is a locked 60 FPS experience.
There’s much more here than just the performance, though. Raidou Remastered brings so many different improvements that affect gameplay and overall usability, including an overhauled combat system based on Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon. What’s more, the combat system from that game was improved even further for Raidou Remastered, making it feel more responsive.
A Serious Facelift on the Original Game
Raidou Remastered feels like a facelift on the original game, thanks to the revamped combat system and many new features. These new features include an all-new UI, full English and Japanese voice-overs, the ability to save anywhere from the menu, five difficulty levels, and the option to change from the random encounter system to symbol encounters. In short, you have more control over how you want it play this game, and I’m all for it.
The addition of several new demons is also notable, with 50 new additions on top of the more than 70 demons that the original game offered. This brings the total to over 120 demons, which is quite respectable for a spinoff of the Shin Megami Tensei series. Some of these demons are returning from Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, including Hayatarou. You fight with up to two demons deployed by your side, but you can switch them out and summon other demons. You’ll also be fusing and creating demons at the Goumaden, so that signature aspect of the Shin Megami Tensei series is still intact here as well.
Raidou Remastered is Shaping Up to be One of 2025’s Best Remasters
I didn’t spent too much time in Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army, as I couldn’t really get into it on the PlayStation 2 when I tried it out roughly 8 years ago or so. Thankfully, Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army feels like it adds the vital pieces that were missing from the original game, and it mostly comes down to quality of life and the features I expect in action RPGs today.
Moreover, the new features play a big role in how engaged I am with the story at the moment. Raidou Remastered is a really well-paced game with its story, and the detective elements and charming characters certainly make me want to binge it to the very end. I think the setting of the Capital is also really great, as I think 1930s Tokyo, or Taisho 20 in this game, isn’t explored enough in games.
If you give Raidou Remastered 15 minutes of your time, you will probably be hooked if you’re an RPG fan. That first episode takes you right into your job as an apprentice detective at Narumi Detective Agency, and you start to meet some interesting characters while uncovering mysteries and a grand conspiracy. There’s twists and turns to be experienced, and you certainly get the first glimpses of that when the young girl you meet at the beginning of Episode 1 gets kidnapped right in front of you.
Right now, if I had to pick on a gripe, it would be the fact that Raidou Remastered is a game-key card title on Nintendo Switch 2. This means that the game’s data isn’t the physical game card and must be downloaded over the internet. Besides that, I’d say Raidou Remastered on Nintendo Switch 2 is nearly flawless, but you’ll have to wait until my full review to see if that statement still holds up.
Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army is available now for Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
Disclaimer: SEGA and ATLUS provided a Nintendo Switch 2 copy of Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army for review purposes.
