By all accounts, the good old PlayStation 2 is on its way out. Aside from licensed games and cut-down ports of a few next-gen hits, new releases for the system have slowed to a crawl. Don’t tell this to Atlus, though. For the last two or three years, when most publishers abandoned the PS2 in favor of the newest hardware, Atlus has released a string of new, critically-acclaimed titles for Sony’s outdated system: Odin Sphere, Persona 3, Baroque, Persona 3: FES Edition, Eternal Poison, and Persona 4 all received myriad great reviews and even some “Best of the Year” awards.

Before all these, though, Atlus released Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army, which combined the occult themes and roleplaying elements of their Shin Megami Tensei series with fast-paced action combat. It was well-received by critics but largely overlooked by gamers, as it released at the start of the busy 2006 holiday season. Apparently somebody at Atlus thought it was successful enough to warrant bringing over the sequel, Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon.

Like the first Devil Summoner, DS2 lets you take on the role of Raidou Kuzunoha the 14^th, a boy detective who captures demons and uses their abilities to assist him in solving cases. The games take place in Japan’s Taisho Era (the 1920s, by our system), and as a Devil Summoner, Raidou is tasked with protecting the Japanese Capital from demonic or supernatural threats. This new case starts with Raidou investigating the whereabouts of a mysterious man named Dahn, but quickly becomes much more involved than that. Suffice it to say, something is out of whack in the Capital regarding luck – some citizens have become incredibly lucky, and others incredibly unlucky – and it threatens to spiral out of control unless Raidou can do something about it.

 
Raidou investigations take him all over the Capital City, with his talking cat Gotou close behind.

As a detective, you’re going to have to hit the streets if you want to close the case. Much of the game sees you running from place to place, exploring the city and looking for information. Sometimes you’ll gain clues from investigating locations, but often you’ll have to rely on tips and intelligence you gain by talking to the citizens you encounter. These people aren’t always willing to cooperate, though, and this is where your ability to summon demons comes in handy.

When Raidou summons a demon he’s captured (more on this in a minute), he’s able to use that demon’s powers to affect people in a variety of ways. Certain demons grant the ability to read someone’s thoughts, for instance, while others might calm someone who’s too distraught to cooperate. There are plenty of different demon types, and each can be helpful in the right situation – it’s up to you to figure out which demonic abilities to use at what time.

 
Raidou stores the various demons he’s captured in small tubes.

Demons also have a huge impact on the other main gameplay mode: combat. Fights are random, but instead of the traditional turn-based RPG combat, Devil Summoner features a much more action-oriented combat system, where attacking and defending takes place in real time. Like in the first Devil Summoner, Raidou fights with a combination of gun and sword attacks; fortunately, Atlus has streamlined the combat system, getting rid of the complex “elemental bullet” system of the first game. Now, gun attacks are used mainly to stun your enemies, while sword attacks let you dish out serious damage. You can dodge and roll in all directions, and quickly avoiding attacks is as important as dealing damage. Like in most of the recent Shin Megami Tensei games, combat is all about exploiting your enemies’ elemental weaknesses, but without elemental bullets, you’ll have to rely on your demons.

When you enter combat you can choose two of your demons to accompany you into battle. These demons are competent fighters on their own, but at the press of a button you’ll freeze the action and access the menu, from which you can direct your demons to use special attacks and abilities on the enemy of your choice. From the same menu you can change which demons you are fighting with, which allows you to adapt to different enemies’ various elemental vulnerabilities.

 
At different times during the fight, your demons will make comments on the current situation.
This little detail really gives each demon their own personality.

Collecting new demons is crucial to your success, and since this is Shin Megami Tensei, there are several ways to get them. For the most part you recruit demons through negotiations – during battles, you can stop fighting and try to talk to your enemies. Conversations usually take the form of a question from the demon, to which you’re given multiple responses to choose from. Pick the right response and the demon gets a little friendlier, and if you can do this several times in a row they’ll become so happy that they’ll offer to join your team. Your demons can join the conversation, too; each has their own conversation skills (“intimidate”, “joke around”, that sort of thing) and depending on their personality, each enemy responds to these various tactics differently. Be careful, though, as the wrong response could anger them, which gives them a status boost as the fight resumes.

 
If you negotiate well you’ll arrive at this screen, where you can ask the demon
 to join your team, donate an item to your cause, or just leave the fight.

The other major way you’ll be gaining new demons is through fusion. By visiting the mad scientist Dr. Victor, you can combine any two demons in your collection to form a new, more powerful demon. The created demon can inherit skills and statistics from its “parents,” as well as having unique skills of their own. Fused demons can gain far more of the powerful “Passive Skills” than their caught counterparts, and some of the most powerful demons in the game can only be found through fusion, so learning and using the fusion system really pays off.

Atlus is known for its superb localizations, and Devil Summoner 2 keeps that streak going in style. The game’s script is outstanding; characters have distinct personalities that really come across in the written dialogue. Also neat is the 1920s slang and terminology that the characters use – this sort of thing is used sparingly enough so as not to get irritating, but often enough to remind you that the game is set in a different era. There’s also a lot of humor worked into the game, which was a nice touch in a series that’s sometimes known for being overly dark and depressing. One of the first cinematics centers on Narumi, a cocky ladies man who runs the detective agency you operate out of, spilling buttered toast all over his new dress slacks. Not long after that, you encounter a character who throws “your mama” jokes at Raidou. While the story eventually gets more serious, light-hearted moments like these help ease the tension.

The game’s visuals are fairly impressive, considering the PS2’s aging hardware. Sure, nobody’s gonna mistake it for a 360 game, but the 3D characters and enemies are highly detailed and everything animates smoothly and realistically. The game’s environments are pre-rendered with tons of attention to detail. Some players may be upset by the fact that there’s no voice acting in the game, but this puts a greater emphasis on the game’s outstanding music. Shin Megami composer extraordinaire Shoji Meguro delivers a killer score; lots of jazz reinforces the unique setting and atmosphere, while the energetic guitar rock battle theme keeps fights exciting and dramatic.

While the system it runs on might be outdated, everything about Devil Summoner 2 feels fresh and unique. It’s got style and charm to spare, enough depth to keep RPG fans playing for weeks, and an engaging story that hooks you from the opening cinematic. In a genre known for cookie-cutter plots and minor variations on the same old turn-based combat system, Devil Summoner 2 is a breath of fresh air well worth dusting off the old PS2 for.

Gameplay: 8.7
The unique, real-time battle system is fast-paced and exciting, while still affording the player plenty of tactical depth and control. The game’s demon collecting and fusion systems are incredibly deep, but not overwhelming (especially since you’re given extensive tutorials).

Graphics: 7.8
It’s a PS2 game, so sure, the visuals are a little dated. Still, Atlus has used the system’s capabilities cleverly; using high-quality pre-rendered backgrounds leaves plenty of polygon power for the detailed characters and enemies.

Sound: 8.6
There’s no voice work in the game, which is bound to bother some people (especially after the voice-heavy Persona 4), but the game’s awesome soundtrack makes up for it. Everything from soft, sentimental orchestral tracks to trumpet-heavy jazz tunes to modern-day guitar rock is used to accentuate the game’s setting and emotional tone.

Difficulty: Hard
Like most of the Shin Megami Tensei series, the battles in Devil Summoner 2 can get pretty tough. Carefully and intelligently managing your demon crew will help alleviate some of that difficulty, but some level grinding is still necessary to avoid getting destroyed by the game’s brutal bosses.

Concept: 9.4
The game’s version of 1920s Japan, just beginning to be Westernized after World War I, is one of the freshest and most unique game settings in recent memory; using it as a backdrop for a supernatural detective story works brilliantly. Gameplay-wise, the action-oriented combat system mixed with Shin Megami Tensei’s traditional RPG elements gives this game its own personality, even against other Shin Megami games.

Overall: 8.9
Devil Summoner 2 is a deep, engaging experience, with a captivating plot and a great combat system. If your PS2 is sitting in a closet somewhere it’s time to dig it out, because the system’s got one more must-play RPG.