Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army

Atlus will be 40 years old as a video game development studio in 2026. 40 years. A true feat that barely a handful of companies on the planet can not only match, but aspire to, in this industry. And of course, during all that time they have published a lot of works, many of which we haven't even heard of in the West. Others came to us late, or their series were left unfinished along the way. But you can always see that primordial broth in all their ideas. That struggle to save the world, those demons (both internal and external) to face.

Today the vast majority of gamers know Atlus primarily for the Persona series, the latest Shin Megami Tensei games, and the more recent Metaphor: ReFantazio, but the studio's portfolio is far more extensive and varied than many gamers presume, especially the younger generations who have come to appreciate JRPGs thanks to those games. Going back to Shin Megami Tensei, the genesis of many of the character designs and narrative structure of these games, it spawned a multitude of spin-offs, such as the aforementioned Persona and the Devil Summoner games, from which the original Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner originates: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army, from 2006.

This SMT spin-off franchise had the distinction of being action-based rather than turn-based, though it retained both enemy (demon) designs and narrative elements, skills, elemental strengths and weaknesses, and fusion and combo options to create more powerful demons. And now, almost twenty years later, the studio gives us the opportunity to relive the story of Raidou Kuzunoha XIV, the hero who watches over the safety of Tokyo from demons in 1930s Taisho era Japan.

Raidou is a newcomer to the city who starts work at the Narumi Detective Agency, specialising in supernatural cases at a time of great social conflict for the country, as it sheds its old ways and opens up to the West, even as it begins to forge the extremist thinking that would lead to Japanese imperialism and its alignment with other like-minded powers in World War II. But before all that, Raidou Remastered is a mystery story in which we begin investigating the disappearance of a 15-year-old girl named Kaya, linked to a mysterious demon summoner who is murdering and disappearing people all over the city under the nickname Caparroja. Raidou belongs to the Kuzunoha clan, a secret society of demon summoners who protect Japan from the threats of the Antiworld, as the demons' home is called.

As we travel through locations throughout Tokyo, both on our side of the veil and in the spirit world, we unravel a story and build our own team of demon allies to stop the threat. The story is divided into chapters in which we explore different neighbourhoods and search for clues, interrogate witnesses, and reveal the little stories behind them, all the while engaging in lively combat against demons. It's an interesting premise that, while it works, it's not without its original design limitations in this modern version.

The investigations, unfortunately, are too linear and don't require any deduction from the player. Raidou quickly locates clues or irregularities in the scenes of each case, and when he doesn't, Gatou quickly encourages you to employ the corresponding demon's ability to get it. You don't even have to really know them: It's enough to have a sufficient variety of these abilities that you don't even have to visit the Goumaden to perform fusions. The Goumaden is a secret paranormal research lab run by Dr. Victor similar to the Velvet Room in the Persona games (which, oddly enough, has now made me think it makes sense that Igor would be the mentor there) and it is here that we get the best demons and also upgrade Raidou's sword with sword alchemy, giving it special abilities.

The combat is entertaining, but perhaps a little too easy to "break" at times by farming levels and mashing action buttons in most encounters. Only the boss ability-based fights force you to keep a closer eye on the screen at all times. The difficulty of these special encounters ramps up, but there's nothing overly difficult (on normal difficulty) to make you sweat too much, especially if you're already familiar with the SMT and Persona demon fusion system from recent years.

Raidou Remastered brings some quality of life improvements, though its new version has been more about tweaking character animations, speeding up combat, and giving more depth and vibrancy to the dynamic backgrounds that replace the original's pre-rendered ones. However, there are some added features that make the experience more enjoyable and are worth noting. First and foremost is voice acting for the characters (both supporting characters and even the demons you catch to summon and the bosses).

The menu has also been adapted to modern times and streamlined. For example, there is now a menu option to talk directly to all the demons in order and collect the gifts they have found during the game (the higher the loyalty level, the more often they will offer you gifts). There is also a Fast Forward option in the dialogues and a quick save option without having to return to the Narumi Detective Agency or search for the dragon sources (save points) in the dungeons. We also now have an option to review the case and the most prominent names and locations. The m'sucia, while not as memorable as more current works from the studio, delivers and here maintains the original style with a more modern Atlus remaster.

As for the current versions of Raidou Remastered, we've used the Switch 1 version and conducted this review starting on the console and then passing the save data and continuing on Nintendo Switch 2, but we haven't noticed any changes or differences even with the launch patch, so the native Switch 2 version, if it has any improvement, it's not noticeable from the previous model.

Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army will appeal to Atlus fans both for its familiar narrative and its very different approach to the usual turn-based combat. However, it's still a title that, despite the facelift, is almost two decades old, so there are certain limitations you should be aware of before jumping in. It will give you a satisfying 30 hours of gameplay, at a "normal" pace of play, and while it's easy to exploit its systems, it doesn't get boring or overly repetitive. And who knows, maybe Atlus is getting ready to revisit the model with a new Raidou on the horizon...