Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha versus King Abaddon
by Atlus
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Video Game Reviews of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha versus King Abaddon
Customer Review: Great atmosphere/sense of fun make up for tech/design faults...
Summary: 4 Stars
I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the Shin Megami Tensei series. I think the games have a great setup, but generally fall flat in their gameplay designs and cold/flat characters. The exceptions to this were Persona's 3&4 (which were awesome!) and for the most part Devil Summoner 2.
I've never played Devil Summoner 1 but I had no trouble figuring out the characters and story: People in 1920's Japan are experiencing "bad-luck" which is being stolen by tiny insects unleashed by an underground army of Demons. Sounds strange? Try throwing in a hard-boiled detective, old mafia/ninja clans, a talking cat, an underground reporter, and finally yourself a Devil Summoning superhero. I love zany elements like this and the writers of this game do a great job juggling all of these elements into a fun revealing detective story.
Most of the game revolves around you running around a wonderfully recreated 1920's Japan questioning people. When you're not doing that your fighting it out with demons and/or recruiting them into your party. The combat is in real time and (for me) is exceptionally difficult at times. The controls work fine and there is alot of depth to the combat system (different sword types, guns, demon abilities) but some people will find themselves grinding alot.
As mentioned before you can recruit the demons you're fighting into your party. The help you in combat in the sense that they provide the magic abilities while the rest of the time they fight no-holds barred against whatever villains are on the screen (i.e. they die alot). Just about every demon does the same thing in combat leaving you with the feeling of redundancy. This isn't necessarily bad, but there being so many demons to fuse/recruit in this game it would've been nice to see some uniqueness to them in combat.
Another thing that brings this game down a bit is the level designs. The towns are fun to explore (though easy to get lost in), but when you're in enemy dungeons the camera likes to flip around causing a lot of backtracking and flat-out confusion. Also the 'investigation' sections at the end of each chapter are confusing. You essentially have to take everything you learned in each chapter of the game and draw the deductive conclusions. I paid pretty close attention to the story and still found myself guessing at these points.
The soundtrack in this game in terrific (if a bit repetative). That being said the lack of voice-acting (especially in cut-scenes) is very disappointing. The dialogue in this game is top-notch but I think the designers missed a big opportunity in not including a voice cast to help draw in the player.
Even with my above mentioned complaints Devil Summoner 2 is a fun RPG experienced. It my not be the most polished game on the PS2, but if you're drawn into the story like I was you'll have a blast!
Customer Review: Wrong Direction, SMT identity crisis
Summary: 3 Stars
Starting off I'm a huge SMT fan. That said-
*The real time rpg system is to easy. You can basically button smash your way through all but the hardest bosses. No guides, no gaurds, no strategy, just strait hit them up and heal in emergency is all you need.
*Devil classes have been dumbed down into a handful of categories. While I'm sure theres actually more demons, it certainly feels like less, and by limiting the demons themselves are basically interchangable.
*You spend more time casually strolling and chatting then you actually spend in there incredibly small dungeons.
*storyline is substandard, and in the dialogue you're forced to view characters repeat things constantly.
*confusing unexplained direction. If it wasn't for the internet people might have trouble unlocking the very first dungeon.
To sum it up, SMT dumbed there game down to suit a more button mashing audience, and lost a lot of the complexity that comes from planning ahead. If your an atlus faithful, go for it, but if you truely want a SMT game, skip this title
Customer Review: An enjoyable and more than solid RPG
Summary: 4 Stars
Yes, the PS2's days appear to finally be dwindling down (I feel like I've been saying that for two years plus now), but Atlus continues to release some solid games for the aging system regardless. Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon (I am not typing that whole thing again) is an enjoyable and solid RPG that delivers the goods in terms of moments of fun combat and atmosphere, all wrapped up in a detective narrative. Playing as the devil summoning Raidou Kuzunoha, you're up to your neck in a missing person's case and end up taking on a whole bunch of otherworldly baddies in the process. Like nearly every other game that bears the Shin Megami Tensei brand on it, Devil Summoner 2 has quite the immersive world to explore, and the real-time combat makes the game that much more fun to enjoy. The detective elements don't always work too well, but the game's story ends up being one well told given the elements of the narrative. The only drawbacks to Devil Summoner 2 end up being the just plain bad camera angles that can impede exploring, and the fully rendered 3-D graphics definitely show the age of the PS2. Flaws aside though, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2 is an enjoyable and more than solid RPG that is definitely worth playing, and here's hoping that Atlus keeps the RPG train on the PS2 coming for some time yet.Customer Review: Most Excited
Summary: 4 Stars
Devil Summoner is a series that differs from Persona 3 and 4. A 1920's Japanese mystery game, you play as Raidou Kuzunoha, a summoner of the classic megaten devils. Your job, should you choose to accept, is to solve a mystery initially as simple as meeting someone but quickly explodes involving supernatural beings and the dark world.
I just got my copy of Devil Summoner 2 with Raiho plushy and am giddy as a school kid. Little Jack Frost is all set for Halloween in his Raidou costume. The packaging is great, a collectors dream...until they hear what the Japan release came with, the soundtrack or a new copy of Nocturne (another great SMT game). Each box is numbered and comes sealed by a bit of tape up top.
quite the fun game and pretty easy to pickup for SMT beginners
Sadly this is the last great of the PS2. RIP PS2