Shin Megami Tensai: Devil Summoner -- Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army
As amusing as its title is long. Yes, that's a good thing.
Published: October 19, 2006
Compiling an arsenal of demons is a hoot and a half, but the game's combat really isn't substantial enough to hold your interest, let's say, in the event that you're stuck mucking through the same two or three panels and therefore forced to throw down with a familiar handful of demons that you've already captured. The phrase "real-time combat" that gets tagged with RPGs these days always seems to hint at a heightened sense of action and excitement, but the pattern of shoot/slash/back off as your demon does the fighting that you're stuck with here can wear thin. Our advice? Stick to demon catching to keep it lively.
Nabbing them is one thing, but actually using demons to your advantage is a slightly different story. In battle, they'll stick with you in taking down the impending crowd, interchanging respective melee/magic attacks with casting some useful healing magic on you or itself (if capable), and will even abide to some lite battle commands.. As combatants, they go through a fairly by-the-books system of leveling up and learning a few fancy new techniques (Combination Skills, namely, which Raidou can execute in battle after getting in some critical hits on a weakened enemy and building his demon's tension). The option of demon fusing, if you so choose to pursue it, can prove either fruitful or downright unexpected in its results. There's plenty to dabble around with in the Gouma-Den (assuming you're not too freaked out by its creator, Victor), and all told, it's a welcome if not chancier alternative to the art of raising demons.
As allies, demons will also become crucial to advancing your investigation. You'll have no chance fetching a boat at the end of a river, for example, without the assistance of a flying demon. Demons can be summoned anytime during normal gameplay and sent on solo investigations to potentially snoop out what humans can't. Moreover, they can't be perceived by the human eye, and they can exploit this weakness right when you most need them to.
And speaking of demons...
God lord are these buggers funny. There is truly something to be said about a text-based RPG with clever and imaginative character dialogue, and it makes up for any potential voice acting in spades. Just some really riotous stuff here.
In navigating the numerous cities and locals that Devil Summoner has to offer (all with a seemingly dated look to match the 1920's Taisho Japan setting), the game relies on a very Resident Evil-esque method of level presentation, taking you through the bits and pieces environment through one still frame at a time. Make no mistake, though, as the scenery is just bubbling with commotion. If it's not chugging locatives and speedy rickshaws, then it's the swarms of bustling passerbyers making their way through town (you typically can talk to a select few per stop - look out for the standing pensive-looking folk). It's all pretty impressive looking, with some gorgeously rendered edifice, shrines and buildings sprinkled across the city.
Character models are something of a mixed bag. While Raidou and Gouto (your sidekick, who makes up for Raidou's lack of words. He's also a cat) look wonderfully graceful as they dash from one end of the screen to the next, some of the demons suffer from the dreaded jaggies, particularly during battle. On the plus, the character renders that put up when an important conversation or encounter takes place are mighty sharp looking, if we do say so ourselves. Furthermore, with all the successive spell casting you'll be doing, it makes for some solid lighting effects. The CG is plenty for hungry eyes to behold, with an surprising fluid and detailed opening movie that never fails to impress with each successive run through. The in-game stuff doesn't quite stride for the same kind of gloss, but there are still many a graphical perk throughout.
Ok, so there may not be much to listen for, but that shouldn't stop you from offering a keen ear to the honest-to-goodness soundtrack that rides along the course of the game. An introduction theme rife with horn flairs can't help but strike a resemblance to Cowboy Bebop (ok, so you probably say that coming), but there's still a lot of interesting stuff going on, offering almost a driving rock mix with bits and pieces of string swells, sci-fi-type ambience and the aforementioned brass accents.
It's not easy to deliver role-playing diehards nowadays with a fresh take on their beloved genre, but Devil Summoner quite ably lives up to the challenge. It's as engrossing as it is amusing, and for as many hours as you'll be pouring into it, makes for a wholly entertaining experience. A SMT regular or not, you owe it to yourself to at least give this one a shot. Odds are, you'll be glad you did.
Nabbing them is one thing, but actually using demons to your advantage is a slightly different story. In battle, they'll stick with you in taking down the impending crowd, interchanging respective melee/magic attacks with casting some useful healing magic on you or itself (if capable), and will even abide to some lite battle commands.. As combatants, they go through a fairly by-the-books system of leveling up and learning a few fancy new techniques (Combination Skills, namely, which Raidou can execute in battle after getting in some critical hits on a weakened enemy and building his demon's tension). The option of demon fusing, if you so choose to pursue it, can prove either fruitful or downright unexpected in its results. There's plenty to dabble around with in the Gouma-Den (assuming you're not too freaked out by its creator, Victor), and all told, it's a welcome if not chancier alternative to the art of raising demons.
As allies, demons will also become crucial to advancing your investigation. You'll have no chance fetching a boat at the end of a river, for example, without the assistance of a flying demon. Demons can be summoned anytime during normal gameplay and sent on solo investigations to potentially snoop out what humans can't. Moreover, they can't be perceived by the human eye, and they can exploit this weakness right when you most need them to.
And speaking of demons...
God lord are these buggers funny. There is truly something to be said about a text-based RPG with clever and imaginative character dialogue, and it makes up for any potential voice acting in spades. Just some really riotous stuff here.
In navigating the numerous cities and locals that Devil Summoner has to offer (all with a seemingly dated look to match the 1920's Taisho Japan setting), the game relies on a very Resident Evil-esque method of level presentation, taking you through the bits and pieces environment through one still frame at a time. Make no mistake, though, as the scenery is just bubbling with commotion. If it's not chugging locatives and speedy rickshaws, then it's the swarms of bustling passerbyers making their way through town (you typically can talk to a select few per stop - look out for the standing pensive-looking folk). It's all pretty impressive looking, with some gorgeously rendered edifice, shrines and buildings sprinkled across the city.
Character models are something of a mixed bag. While Raidou and Gouto (your sidekick, who makes up for Raidou's lack of words. He's also a cat) look wonderfully graceful as they dash from one end of the screen to the next, some of the demons suffer from the dreaded jaggies, particularly during battle. On the plus, the character renders that put up when an important conversation or encounter takes place are mighty sharp looking, if we do say so ourselves. Furthermore, with all the successive spell casting you'll be doing, it makes for some solid lighting effects. The CG is plenty for hungry eyes to behold, with an surprising fluid and detailed opening movie that never fails to impress with each successive run through. The in-game stuff doesn't quite stride for the same kind of gloss, but there are still many a graphical perk throughout.
Ok, so there may not be much to listen for, but that shouldn't stop you from offering a keen ear to the honest-to-goodness soundtrack that rides along the course of the game. An introduction theme rife with horn flairs can't help but strike a resemblance to Cowboy Bebop (ok, so you probably say that coming), but there's still a lot of interesting stuff going on, offering almost a driving rock mix with bits and pieces of string swells, sci-fi-type ambience and the aforementioned brass accents.
It's not easy to deliver role-playing diehards nowadays with a fresh take on their beloved genre, but Devil Summoner quite ably lives up to the challenge. It's as engrossing as it is amusing, and for as many hours as you'll be pouring into it, makes for a wholly entertaining experience. A SMT regular or not, you owe it to yourself to at least give this one a shot. Odds are, you'll be glad you did.
