Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2- Soul Hackers

[martiniii]

I'm surprised no one's started discussion on this 1st person dungeon crawler since it finally received an English localization for the 3DS. Seems to me like something of a blessing for Saturn fans.

Anyway, I've been very much enjoying the game's challenge, atmosphere, and talk-to-enemies mechanic, and am already looking forward to getting the Saturn version, now that I'll have an idea of the story, the gameplay, and where to go when. Indeed, I think my biggest gripe with the game is that it's not well-suited to handheld gaming. Which just means more to look forward to from the Saturn version.

[savaroth]

Sept 24, 2013 21:58:06 GMT martiniii said:

I'm surprised no one's started discussion on this 1st person dungeon crawler since it finally received an English localization for the 3DS. Seems to me like something of a blessing for Saturn fans.

Anyway, I've been very much enjoying the game's challenge, atmosphere, and talk-to-enemies mechanic, and am already looking forward to getting the Saturn version, now that I'll have an idea of the story, the gameplay, and where to go when. Indeed, I think my biggest gripe with the game is that it's not well-suited to handheld gaming. Which just means more to look forward to from the Saturn version.

Want to get it, but I have no DS and for now have no intention of getting one. ( Yeah I know there are a lot of great games for the console ).
As for the Saturn release of Shin megami Tensei: as far as i'm aware that is JP release only. Assuming that you have no profound knowledge of Japanese ( waiting for the english localization for the 3ds version ) I doubt this game will bring you much joy. If you happen to have a PS2 I'd say check out those titles. Atlus made a bunch of great games for that platform. ( including pesona 3 and 4 ) and those are available in English.

[Deleted]

i recently got this too. Why do you feel its not suited for handheld?

Looking forward to sinking some time into it, as soon as I get bored of Killer is Dead...which doesn't seem to be happening any time soon!

On that note Strange Journey on the DS was an incredible game

[savaroth]

This might be one of the titles that will get me to buy a DS btw. This and bravely default.

[Deleted]

there's also Shin Megami Tensei IV to look forward to which is TBA 2014 for us now

[martiniii]

Sept 30, 2013 1:16:26 GMT @virtuamuser said:

i recently got this too. Why do you feel its not suited for handheld?

Well, the main thing is that when I die in the game, which happens a lot, I tend to turn the 3DS off and go do something else. I think story-driven dungeon crawlers like Soul Hackers are better experienced through long play sessions of about an hour; that way you can immerse yourself more deeply into the fight to survive a dungeon, and you spend less time recalling what was going on in the story. Also, it's easier to put yourself into that 1st person viewpoint when you're seeing it on a big screen. When playing on a handheld, things in your peripheral vision can be a distraction.

[Striker1985]

I have no insight whatsoever in the saturn or shin megami fan base, but can we hope to get a fantranslation of the Saturn game?

[Deleted]

Fair point there, martinii.

That may be possible now, Striker1985, if someone goes through the trouble of typing out the entire English script of the 3DS version.

Still, I am quite enjoying the game. Only played 3 hours so far but the game world is really deep and the combat system flows so nicely.

[martiniii]

Oct 1, 2013 0:36:11 GMT @virtuamuser said:

That may be possible now, Striker1985, if someone goes through the trouble of typing out the entire English script of the 3DS version.

Which would be unusually easy in this case, since the game's "digest" lets you watch any previously viewed cutscene. Of course it leaves out the town wandering conversations, but those aren't essential to playing the game. I may even type up a script for the cutscenes myself once I get through the game.

Oct 1, 2013 0:36:11 GMT @virtuamuser said:

Still, I am quite enjoying the game. Only played 3 hours so far but the game world is really deep and the combat system flows so nicely.

Yeah, I've really been won over to the combat system. I thought the fact that party members don't necessarily follow your orders would ruin the combat, but thanks to the design and planning the developers put into this aspect, it really works. I also love how the demons don't level up or use equipment, effectively forcing you to keep on changing your party lineup throughout the game. Very different from most of the game's contemporaries, which either discourage you from switching active party members (Shining Force III, Final Fantasy VII, Guardian Heroes/Powers Kingdom), or don't let you choose your party's lineup at all (Grandia, Albert Odyssey). Don't get me wrong, I love a good stable party lineup, but this is a very nice change of pace.

Oct 7, 2013 20:36:56 GMT holty said:

I went through the game on Saturn a few years ago (it was later ported to PS). It's bloody good - the atmosphere, the characters, the music, the setting. It was all great. I had to use a translated 'guide' to play through it, but it was well worth it! And honestly, I never thought it'd be re-released in English... that's just crazy. Does this new DS version include the cards? My Saturn copy has a nice holographic pokemon/yugioh-style card with it, and I'm pretty sure there were lots of different other cards given with the game too.

No cards are included, just a CD of the soundtrack. Pretty ironic that they're not included, given the 3DS's Augmented Reality feature.

Good to hear from someone who's played the Saturn version! I'm still looking forward to playing the game on its mother console.

[martiniii]

Finished the 3DS version yesterday. The final boss was... very odd (I mean gameplay design-wise, not appearance or personality), but the game was fun overall. Atlus did a typically solid job with the localization, and in particular I found myself appreciating Nemissa's voice actress more and more as the game went on.

I think I need a short break from the game right now, but has anyone else spotted any transcripts for the game yet? If not, I'll go ahead and start transcribing the English text myself, and either upload it to GameFAQs or post it here.

[Deleted]

hey martinii. How many hours did it take you?

I honestly kinda lost the hook if you know what I mean....I need to get back to the game at some point.

[savaroth]

Nov 11, 2013 1:58:07 GMT martiniii said:

and in particular I found myself appreciating Nemissa's voice actress more and more as the game went on.

She's pretty good yeah. On the downside she's been the voice for characters in MANY atlus games, from Persona 4, catherine to SMT: devil survivor.

[martiniii]

Nov 19, 2013 11:40:04 GMT @virtuamuser said:

hey martinii. How many hours did it take you?

I honestly kinda lost the hook if you know what I mean....I need to get back to the game at some point.

It took me a little under 40 hours.

I almost gave up on the game myself due to the later bosses. Not due to their difficulty per say, but because you can't skip cutscenes, and naturally every boss fight is preceded by a long cutscene. Eventually I got into the rhythm of entering the boss room, putting the 3DS down and going to do something else for ten minutes, and coming back when the boss was ready. And then, in most cases, getting killed in 3-5 turns and starting the cycle over again. Not ideal, but like I said, eventually I got into the rhythm of it.

[IrishNinja]

damn, totally forgot about this one after picking it up with the OST midsummer or so...between this & SMT IV my 3DS backlog is crazy right now. still excited this one got ported so we didn't have to miss out on it again!