SEGA and ATLUS have struck gold with Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army, as it might be one of their most comprehensive remasters yet. For many years, I’ve wondered what a remaster of Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army might look like, but even then, I wasn’t expecting the approach that ATLUS went with. This is the definitive and most fun version of the game, while keeping the elements that make Raidou Kuzunoha a product of its time. This game is an emphatic answer to the criticism that Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster received, and I’m more than delighted that ATLUS learned from it.
Set in a fictionalized version of 1930s Tokyo, Raidou Remastered puts players into the shoes of Raidou Kuzunoha XIV during his training, which also serves as the game’s tutorial. The tutorial both sets up the premise of the main story while teaching players about the game’s various RPG mechanics. As I mentioned in our initial impressions, everything from casting familiar magic spells from Shin Megami Tensei and Persona to demon recruitment is covered in a concise way. In just a few minutes, Raidou Remastered gives you a quick rundown of how to dodge attacks, command demons, effectively use light and heavy attacks, and string together combos. Although the game has a repetitive Musou-like gameplay system, it still manages to be very fun due to its Shin Megami Tensei elements and stylish abilities.
Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army is a Respectable Facelift
Raidou Remastered really picks up when you receive your assignment as a detective at Narumi Detective Agency. As the 14th Raidou Kuzunoha, you are a Devil Summoner who works with Narumi, the reporter Tae, and other notable persons of interest in Tokyo in order to search for a girl that was mysteriously captured by a group of soldiers referred to as the Red Cape. The first case of the game takes players to the Daidouji Estate, which is where Raidou makes his first real encounter with what could be consider the antagonist of the game. It’s not a typical encounter though, as there are clearly demonic and supernatural elements at play. This is a simple but intriguing opening chapter of the game, and the story really only gets better from here as it takes Raidou all across Japan to uncover mysteries, meet new faces, and stop a demonic plot.
In Raidou Remastered, everything from the story to the actual gameplay itself is greatly improved. The inclusion of voice acting makes this game feel more alive and kicking, and the English dub is really great. The gameplay is based an overhauled combat system from Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon, and it feels incredibly responsive. Battles can get repetitive at times, but there are still strategy elements that come into play, especially during boss battles. You will still need to approach this game as if it were a turn-based Shin Megami Tensei game, except the combat is action-oriented this time. Even the moon cycle is here in all its glory, with various bonuses and conditions to consider.
Packed with Features Worthy of a Remaster
There are so many features that make Raidou Remastered a comprehensive remaster that sets it apart from any other remaster that ATLUS has developed. These new features include an all-new UI, 50 new demons, the aforementioned 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.
One hallmark of the Shin Megami Tensei series is demon fusion itself, and I’ve spent hours just on this feature alone. You’ll also be fusing and creating demons at the Goumaden, and as I mentioned previously, you will be approaching this game as if it were a more traditional Shin Megami Tensei game. This means fusing demons, creating well-rounded and robust stocks of demons, and ensuring demons have the skills you need.
Unlike other Shin Megami Tensei games, Raidou Remastered lets demons have their own unique skills that aid Raidou in his investigations in the real world and the Dark Realm, where demons reside. These skills range from uplifting the moods of NPCs to flying to distant areas to investigate or find items. Considering there are roughly 120 demons here, there’s a lot of options here.
A Technically Sound Remaster
As I teased in my pre-launch impressions, the Nintendo Switch 2 version of Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of The Soulless Army is easily the best version of the game. Raidou Remastered runs at 60 FPS at 1080p in both handheld and docked modes, and there were virtually no performance dips or glitches during my playthrough. Although the game is not rendering in native 4K resolution in docked, the output is still in 4K, and the revamped visuals certainly pop in both modes. I greatly appreciate that this is one of the many games on Nintendo Switch 2 that will not look like a blurry mess when I play it, compared to many games on the original Switch.
Though, one of my biggest gripes from the game’s launch is still a problem now. Raidou Remastered is a game-key card title on Nintendo Switch 2, which means that the game’s data isn’t the physical game card and must be downloaded over the internet. This presents a problem, as this isn’t a truly physical game, and there’s no upgrade path from the original Switch version to Switch 2. I certainly hope that SEGA will not follow this path for any future Shin Megami Tensei or Persona releases on Switch 2, as I believe there’s a lot to commend about a port that can reach high-performance targets and also be a truly physical game. It would be a best of both worlds scenario, but at the very least, friends can borrow Raidou Remastered and still play it, with enough storage space willing. In this case, you’ll need about 13 GB.
Raidou Remastered Sets a New Standard for RPG Remasters
Raidou Remastered brings a well-paced narrative with intriguing detective elements, a cast of charming characters with equally great voice actors behind them, robust features and quality of life improvements, and the Shin Megami Tensei-fused action combat that I’ve come to grow and love now with the Raidou games and even Persona 5 Strikers to an extent. This is all to say that Raidou Remastered is a really great remaster, and I’d go as far to say that it’s actually the ideal remaster that I had once hoped the original Raidou game would get all those years ago.
Besides the Switch 2 game-key card situation and occasionally repetitive gameplay, I definitely recommend Raidou Remastered, and there’s no doubt that the game is running and playing well on other platforms. The original Switch version is one I’d avoid for now, though, as I believe this game’s combat system excels when its locked at 60 FPS. Now, I hope the success of Raidou Remastered incentivizes ATLUS to go ahead and remaster Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon as well.
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.
