Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers

Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers is a role-playing video game developed by Atlus. Forming part of the Megami Tensei series, Soul Hackers is the second game in the Devil Summoner subseries. Originally published by Atlus for the Sega Saturn in 1997, it was later ported to the PlayStation in 1999, and Nintendo 3DS in 2012.

Plot
Soul Hackers takes place in Amami City, a city fully connected through a colossal electronic network. The protagonist is a young man that belongs to a group of amateur hackers called the Spookies. While using his skills to hack his way into getting a beta invite for the new virtual world Paradigm X, he makes contact with a mysterious being named Kinap. Through a series of vision quests, the protagonist learns the secrets behind Paradigm X and the actions of a group called the Phantom Society that are working to steal souls through it.

He and his friend Hitomi Tono, who has been possessed by the demonic entity known as Nemissa, work together with the Spookies to put a stop to the Phantom Society's plans.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) Very faithful localization from the Japanese to English 3DS port.
 * 2) Excellent storyline with multiple endings to allow for extra replay value.
 * 3) Great experimental combat system.
 * 4) It focuses on themes of depression and loss in a touching and mature way.
 * 5) Great art direction and character designs especially Nemesia.
 * 6) Excellent boss fights that encourage experimentation.
 * 7) Its atmosphere is a perfect mix of cyberpunk and the occult nature of the series.
 * 8) Voice acting has been added in the 3DS port and the use of cyberpunk terms was very fitting for the game. It has one of the most voice acting in a Megami Tensei game second to Devil Survivor Overclocked.
 * 9) The voice acting itself is very solid.
 * 10) In the Nintendo 3DS version, an extra dungeon unlocks after you clear the game with other Devil Summoners like Raidou Kuzunoha who is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita (Ragna the Bloodedge in BlazBlue). Gatou, Raidou’s cat, is also in the game and another Raidou with a scar on his face is in the dungeon too.
 * 11) Shorter loading times on the 3DS.
 * 12) Much better controls on the 3DS.
 * 13) Better animations on the 3DS.
 * 14) Battle sprites in the 3DS version is now animated.
 * 15) New artwork in the 3DS version has been added.
 * 16) Nemesia is a highly well written character and the split personality aspect allowed for interesting dialogue.
 * 17) Good difficulty curve.
 * 18) A new anime opening from Satelight is on the 3DS.
 * 19) A comp hack feature has been added to change the difficulty of soul hackers anytime you like on the 3DS.
 * 20) The stereoscopic 3D effect adds real depth to the dungeons and layers the two-dimensional sprites, menus, and backgrounds in a way that seems perfectly at home on the new system.
 * 21) The 3DS remake features 30 new demons that were not present in the original game, including Nemechi, a new demon to the series. Nemechi does not gain experience by aiding the player in battle, but instead grows stronger through the Nintendo 3DS's Streetpass feature. Nemechi appears as a normal demon at first but will change as the player accumulates more Streetpasses. In the western release of the game the player can use Nintendo 3DS Play Coins to strengthen Nemechi instead of relying on StreetPass.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Dated visuals and graphics haven't aged that well.
 * 2) Hit or miss soundtrack.
 * 3) Occasional backtracking.
 * 4) Annoying random encounters when you least expected.
 * 5) Recycled environments and boring dungeons.
 * 6) The character development of your fellow spookies members isn't engaging a problem shared in the Persona series.

Tips

 * 1) There is a StreetPass function that works kind of like a virtual pet. With every person you pass, you earn D-Souls. You can also exchange 3DS play coins (the ones you earn for walking around with the 3DS) for D-Souls. These D-Souls can be used to exchange for rare demons, or you can evolve your virtual pet for more options in demons to purchase.

Trivia.

 * 1) Because of the localization team being fans of the cyberpunk genre this allowed them the advantage to translating the game.
 * 2) The game was referenced in Devil Survivor Overclocked and Devil Survivor 2, in the form of the competitors at the Devil Auction, many of which are named after characters from this game.