Hack for your life in Soul Hackers 2.

Before playing Soul Hackers 2, I ran a poll on asking for general opinions on the game. The consensus was middling. I was told to keep my expectations for Soul Hackers 2 in check. A few said the game was bad, but most of the poll participants said it was just, “there.” Supposedly, it’s not going to have the impact of other Shin Megami Tensei games like the main series or Persona. Well, as these things often go, I had fun with Soul Hackers 2. A lot of fun, actually. Part of that might be due to it being more “adult geared” instead of focusing on the high school shenanigans of a Persona cast. Another part was due to my somewhat “blah” feeling of the Persona series. The biggest part was probably just the game being a lot more fun than I expected. Coming in with low expectations helped immensely. Naturally, the game isn’t perfect. There’s one glaring flaw I’ll complain about later in the review. But the point remains that this is a solid game and a worthy addition to the Shin Megami Tensei universe.

We’re first introduced to Aion. Aion is a massive collection of cloud data that gets its information from the cybernetworks from all of humankind. With all this data, it’s able to predict events with close to 100 percent accuracy. And, as chance would have it, the end of humanity is one of those events. Aion uses its computing superpowers to create two human-like warriors: Ringo and Figue. The two ladies have arrived in Japan with a simple yet daunting mission: prevent the end of the world. Ringo, who players take control of, is a smarmy, brash, but caring individual. Figue is more reserved, but has a passion for saving humankind and a kindness that is undeniable.

The mission starts rough. The two individuals that Ringo and Figue had to save were found dead. But, with Ringo’s Aion technology at her disposal, she’s able to revive her target. This is Arrow, a member of the Yataragasu, an organization that’s also trying to prevent the world from ending. Not long after, Ringo meets Milady and Saizo. This group of four is your party for the entire game. They’re not besties. Their ideals are different. They have very different ways of “getting the job done.” But, there is still a camaraderie among them that is hard to ignore. They’ll grow, bond, and develop into a great team that you’ll enjoy getting to know. Taking a cue from Persona’s Social Links, Soul Hackers 2 features Soul Levels and Hangouts. In Hangouts, as well throughout the game, Ringo will interact with her new partners and increase their Soul Levels. Doing this will allow them to enter higher and higher levels of their Soul Matrices. I’ll get more into those in a minute. The point is, you’ll get to know more than you think about this group of four, as well the non-player characters. The story isn’t as long as either Persona or SMT. You can see most of it in about 30 hours. The pacing is swift yet condensed, allowing for solid character development and an interesting narrative.

Soul Hackers 2 takes the best of traditional role-playing and infuses it into a modern package thanks to quality-of-life features and style. You start taking control of Ringo in an abandoned container yard where you’ll get a general idea of what to expect with exploration in areas that are infested with enemy demons. Your demons perform recon where they’ll find items, healing spots, and other demons that wish to join Ringo. When an enemy approaches her, she can swing her sword to gain a potential first strike against the group of demons. Combat is turn based and uses a traditional player round/enemy round style. Ringo and her party can equip protective gear and Mistiques, the latter which are accessories that enhance the various elemental attacks. As Devil Summoners, the most important piece of equipment is a demon. Fans of SMT know where I’m going with this. A demon not only alters the Devil Summoners’ base stats, but they give them an arsenal of skills and magic. During your turn, you can use a standard attack, defend, use an item, or use one of the demon’s skills.

Using a demon’s skill that hits an enemy’s weakness will put one demon in a Stack. After the player round, all the demons in the Stack will perform an all-out attack called a Sabbath. The more demons in the Stack, the more powerful the Sabbath. It’s a simple but effective formula that becomes more and more powerful as the characters grow stronger. There are skills and abilities that allow multiple demons to be added in a Stack. Ringo gets her own unique set of Command Skills that further enhance the ability to add Stacked demons, as well as add other awesome perks. By the time I was nearing the end of the game, attacking an enemy weakness would unleash up to three demons in the Stack. This could culminate into a Sabbath of 13 demons for devastating results. With the right planning, I could have gotten more. Combat can be a bit tedious in the more crowded dungeons, but there’s fast forward option and the ability to modify difficulty at any time. This lets players enjoy the game how they want. When combat ends, you’re rewarded with Yen, items, and experience points. Devil Summoner’s gaining a level obviously increases their stats, but also allows them to acquire higher leveled demons. Demons level up, too. Once they reach a certain level, they’ll gift Ringo with new Mistiques or powerful items. There is a symbiotic relationship between Devil Summoner and demon that is always changing as new demons are encountered. It’s important to rotate demons frequently because they tend to outgrow their usefulness after they learn all their skills and give Ringo their present.

Exiting a dungeon will take you to a point-and-click world map. Here, you can select other destinations to explore such as shops, a guild, and a vendor that will upgrade your Devil Summoners’ COMPs. COMP is the catch-all term used for each character’s weapon of choice. This is another area where Soul Hackers 2 shines. There are lots of upgrade options for your characters. They’re pricy, but worth it. The Safe House is where you can rest and eat meals together. Eating a meal will provide some sort of perk next time you enter a dungeon. Most importantly, you can head to Cirque du Goumaden to summon and fuse new demons. Demon fusion is as addictive as ever and there’s a huge compendium of fiends to unlock.

New demons aren’t the only thing you’ll unlock. Remember the Soul Matrix I mentioned earlier? Going through these will unlock new skills for each character. Unfortunately, these areas are tedious and highlight the game’s worst feature. I’ll get to that in a minute. They start fine; simple mazes that lack variety but are relatively harmless. They feature some challenging boss fights that require specific set- ups. These can be annoying, but they’re doable. As higher levels of the matrices are unlocked, both the navigation and challenges get more arduous. I had to resort to a guide to get through some of them because they have one-way teleporters. Still, all of this wouldn’t be bad if not for one “feature” that cannot be turned off: the navi. In the early parts of the game, Figue will develop a navi that follows Ringo everywhere. Displayed on the top right corner, the navi will announce when an enemy is nearby, when an enemy is giving chase, when an enemy is knocked down, or when one of your demons discovered something. The above stuff happens all the time. Thus, the navi always has stuff to say. It’s constant. It’s annoying. And it’s so unnecessary. These navi assistants were a point of disgust since Ocarina of Time. So, why? Why include one?

With that out of the way, I can focus on more good stuff. Soul Hackers 2 is a stylish game. Ringo’s and Figue’s light-up outfits are just the start. The unique outfits, the super futuristic and neon Japan backdrop, and the huge compendium of demons make for another good looking Atlus title. We also have our favorite demon designs back in full force. New demons make their appearance, one of which is the Yoma Turbo Grandma. Indeed, there is a demon called Turbo Grandma in Soul Hackers 2. But, it’s not all shiny signs, fast-running octogenarians, and modern technology. The dungeons are boring and uninspired. The one you’ll be spending the most time in? Yep, it’s the Soul Matrix. They’re so stale, so boring that I can’t help but to wonder if Atlus ran out of budget, ideas, or a combination of the two. These are the type of dungeons that podcasts and documentaries were made for. The rest of them were just as bland. Really, the final dungeon is the only one that will make you stop and stare at your surroundings. The music fared better. Others will disagree, but I think the soundtrack is great. It fits the vibe of Soul Hackers 2 perfectly with dubstep, electro pop, and metal that feels like a modernized SMT. Once again there are English and Japanese voice options, both of which are great. I preferred the Japanese choice due to the game’s setting.

Another issue I have is with New Game Plus. Most of the stuff is carried over. Sadly, Soul Matrix progress and the skills acquired from it isn’t. There’s an achievement/trophy for getting the team to a Soul Level of 200, which is impossible in a new game. While doable in New Game Plus due to soul values getting doubled, it still means having to traverse through earlier layers of each matrix. Luckily, with everything else carrying over, it doesn’t take long to get back into the swing of everything. I ended up with about 55 hours of playtime total once the final boss was felled a second time and the final trophies popped. Soul Hackers 2 was one of the best surprises I had in a while. The Soul Matrix dungeons were a total slog, and there were other tweaks that would have served the game well. A likable cast, easy to learn systems, fun combat, and great narrative outshine the negatives while setting it apart from what people expect from Shin Megami Tensei.

Overall, 8/10: Soul Hackers 2 lacks the notoriety and reputation of other titles, but don’t let that stop from you giving it a try. This is another solid product from Atlus.