Soul Hackers 2 is a Vita Game (and that owns)

[@LuxLuciferVT]

saizo 🥴

[@TheShuuman]

Wow, I didn't think there was anybody on youtube that could accurately reflect a lot of ways how I think about games (and media) in general. That line of "I'm a vibe guy, objectivity doesn't exist I like what I like" just hit me in the soul. I just generally liked the vibe you have through this video as well which is what I hope I can achive when I get my own series off the ground (animation is touuuugh). You got a new sub today sir, hope to enjoy more of your stuff in the future.

[@jens1639]

This game is very reminiscent, and i do mean very reminiscent of the digimon story: cybersleuth games. The way you walk around in dungeons and interact with npcs looks incredibly familiar, but i also did play the first cybersleuth game on my vita at the time. If you like digimon and you like this kind of game, you could check it out, if you haven't already.

[@Deoxys_Used_Mimic]

More like the other way around: Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth (and the rest of the Digimon Story series) are very similar to SMT. Check this out ====> Digimon Story ===> Digital Monster Story ==> Digital Devil Story Between Beelzemon being an *actual* “Digital Devil,” the Demons being *actual* “Digital Monsters,” and the Artist being the same guy for SMT Devil Survivor… these games practically *are* SMT Spin-offs.

[@crustycrustacean5267]

Wait till you find out how similar the original soul hackers and cybersleuth are

[@rindou97]

This is a really respectable review and convinced me to play the game eventually.

[@KBash]

well now i wanna know about the "ronde" thing

[@culIen]

You should make that your first smt it'd be funny. Real Shiningcore

[@michaeldeaton]

Yeah I like it a lot actually. Its a throw back to an older generation of games, which has some draw backs like uninspiring dungeons, but there's a soul here. Its also smaller in nature, more approachable, a good entry point, a nice morsel while waiting for P5R on pc, a great budget title here in a few months when its price drops. The story is interestingly unique and the characters are likeable if a bit goofy. Its the sort of camp that you got in an older generation of games. To me, it feels like a blend of old school Digital Devil Saga dungeons with some Persona 5 combat and interactions and some SMT5 combat blended in.

[@culIen]

You know I couldn't put my finger on it, but I really was reminded of DDS! I need to go back and finish them, they're REALLY. The PS2 can almost get away with less inspired dungeons because the lower resolution makes them feel sort of eerie, and unfortunately with SH2's incredible style and high resolution makes the low budget visuals pop out way more

[@turian1moose]

I get what you are saying on such a personal level. Trails of cold steel 1 & 2 are such nostalgic vibes for me because of those Vita roots.

[@culIen]

I remember playing CS1 and 2 on Vita, its why it took me so long to jell with 3. I'd even make it a habit to play trails on my Vita every Christmas morning for a couple years haha

[@Henkoshi]

As someone who also got into JRPGs with the vita Yea this sold me on the game it's def a must buy now.

[@culIen]

Hire me atlus I know how to sell em even when I don't try 😎

[@Ninjacatmuffin]

I haven't used my Vita a lot (I got mine pretty late in its life so that I could play the P1 and P2:IS remakes), but I've played a lot of games that were originally on there. Describing Soul Hackers as a game that could be on there makes me want to play it. Well, makes me want to play it more, I suppose. I'm glad I'm not the only one who was reminded of Cyber Sleuth when I saw the first trailer. As a side note, I should beat Hacker's Memory sometime

[@Esskaden]

Finally, a review that lines up with what I was looking for from the game! Thanks so much for the fun video! Time to jump in

[@culIen]

Great to hear! I hope you enjoy it and thank you for watching ^-^

[@soysauceasian5032]

The Vita stays winning!

[@culIen]

more like the vita SLAYS. WINNING.

[@mikehathaway3743]

Thanks for this review, game looks right up my alley and I appreciate you being upfront about how it looks/plays.

[@eastcoasttone3952]

As a fan of Digimon Stories Cybersleuth this game really clicked with me. It's funny how whenever people diss a modern game by calling it "a PS2 game" it usually ends up being a game I adore (like Ys VIII and Blue Reflection Second Light for example).

[@NA-jd6wy]

Very valid review!!! Thanks Cullen, I know exactly what you are trying to say and now I am sure about getting the game.

[@oldmanonyoutube]

More than a cyberpunk world the characters looks like they are dressed for a cyberpunk nightclub, even the personas.

[@culIen]

Cyberpunk nightclub aesthetic is fashion goals society needs to pick up the pace

[@mathewhosier9739]

What are personas? You mean the demons?

[@Road_to_Dawn]

Both you and Backlog Battle have convinced me that I need to get this… sometime. I’m too loaded down with finally playing the Xenoblade games at the moment and I’m already broke af, but I definitely wanna pick this up when I can. Especially because both Ringo and Milady look like they alone will carry the game for me, and the rest of the cast looks really great too

[@ArkAynJoel]

Dangit Cullen, you really know how to get me hyped for video games! Looks like I'm buying SH2 haha

[@yyxy8650]

Gonna play this on remote play just so I can say this is a great Vita game.

[@culIen]

Hope it runs well on remote play!

[@aidanfaller5855]

I just finished this game and I loved it. I really want Altus to experiment with games like this more often

[@culIen]

Same! Don't get where people say this one felt safe, it was pretty out there for them

[@SpectreOfTheWired]

Alright you sold me on it, I gotta get this one

[@lnsflare1]

Well, you concerned me to get this for my Steam Deck the next time it comes on sale.

[@Terranigma23]

Does Ringo can run in dungeon ? I'm used to the turbo mode in Trails games ahah. I don't expect a turbo mode, but the dungeon in this game seems to be really big if Ringo is really that slow.

[@culIen]

Oh God, that slipped my mind. Production schedule on this vid was tight. Running is a temporary menu skill you unlock from Milady's soul matrix dungeon. It's so weird, I don't know why they did it like that???

[@Terranigma23]

@@culIen ahah it's fine. Thanks for the notice. Great video like always. 😁

[@bleusylphide766]

I really enjoyed Soul Hacker 2 and how you can see the amount of love for the first game put onto this one. Obviously the game has many flaws but the characters, environment and soundtrack being so good is what still makes this game unique in my opinion, although the story felt bland from times to times it tied it all together and the story element from the semi-optional dongeons made it interesting enough. I hope we can get other Megaten titles’ revival with this ! Loved the video btw great work

[@Tayruu]

I was really eager for this game as it neared release. When I saw reviews talking about how dungeon-crawly it is and seeing those _maps_ I definitely became more hesitant. The game clearly oozes style and I'm interested in the more adult cast, but I _also_ wanted to stream this with a friend and the more busy-work element of dungeon crawling feels more difficult to work with in that context. Dungeon crawling feels more "relax and shut brain off" sorta gaming for JRPGs. Even with Atlus combat.

[@culIen]

Oh yeah, I'm not really sure if this would be a good streaming game. Getting to turn my brain off and chill, maybe put a podcast on or smth, was part of what made the dungeons tolerable for me since you really can just relax. Wish they required more thought, but maybe the next one will have a higher budget if this does well lol

[@ShibuyaGato]

It's such a shame I'm having to pass on SH2 until later when my schedule/wallet recovers, but yeah. I'm ready to see the vision (and steal Saizo for myself).

[@kuraux56s59]

I have just recently found out about your channel, and I personally really love your style and humor. I hope I can comment on quite a few of your videos! Get ready! My comments will probably get pretty long! "PS2" and "Vita" are certainly used in, I am well aware. And I kinda hate that because I love PS2 games. I dont know if this is a "Hot Take" or what, but most of the time. I dont get that into the dungeons of most SMT games. I mean, if I remember correctly. SMT Nocturne has more than 1 underground subway dungeon, and they are kind of a pain to go through. The Ronde joke felt a bit... Shoehorned, I guess? Its kind of a low hanging fruit to mock at this point. I would prefer if it was just leaved alone, since. From one guy that actually bothered to translate the story, it turned out to be just okay. So I really think Ronde is just best forgotten rather than point and laugh at it over and over. I REALLY dont want to be the "ACKSHUALLY!!!" guy, but to try to put it as respectfully as possible. Ringo, as wonderful as she is. She isnt the first proper Megaten MC with a voice and a personality. Leaving aside the asshole that is Akemi Nakajima from the original Digital Devil Story novels, and their OVA adaptation. And... Kojiro Souma from the Tokyo Revelations manga and OVA... If you want to count him. The first proper Megaten MC outside of those guys to have not only a voice and a personality, are Setsuna and Mirai from the Devil Children/Demikids games. And, as if the Devil Children title wasnt enough. They are the biological children of Lucifer himself! Also, yay for Saizo not only having a romantic interest of his own. But also contrary to the usual pointless tragedies in mainline games. He gets to have a proper good ending with her!

[@culIen]

Thank you for the very detailed comment haha, and thank you for the compliment. The main two I'll respond to are Ronde and Ringo. I didn't necessarily think I was punching down with the Ronde thing, but since I finally got a sega saturn this is the first time I actually looked into it and I was fascinated lol. In regards to Ringo, while the demikids games might have a protagonist with a personality, those are pretty niche and very old so it still felt refreshing even if those had slipped my mind on time of writing. Thanks for the comment though, I do my best to respond to good faith feedback in detail if I have the energy for it 🙏

[@kuraux56s59]

@@culIen I'll do my best to have more detailed comments on your other videos! I guess, if you want a relatively more recent example of a voiced Megaten MC... I guess Itsuki from Tokyo Mirage Sessions could be mentioned...? But his game not only sits in this awkward middle spot between Megami Tensei and Fire Emblem. Itsuki himself is a pretty normal dude. Which, while I dont mind. Doesnt pack the same punch as things like Setsuna's determination to rescue his little brother.

[@culIen]

@@kuraux56s59 Itsuki was lowkey supposed to be the butt of the joke, since I don't think he's terribly interesting and even some of their silent protagonists have more character haha. Knowing the same team who made TMS went on to make SH2 was a great feeling, they learned a lot

[@kuraux56s59]

@@culIen Him not being that interesting is the reason why I used Setsuna and Mirai as better examples of voiced MCs. Like, bruh. In the Devil Children manga. Rather than letting his demon partner Cool. Do all the work... Setsuna fights demons WITH HIS BARE FISTS in ways that would make Demifiend proud!

[@culIen]

@@kuraux56s59 maybe I need to check out devil children lol, that sounds sick 👁👁

[@ChaoticHeroGames]

Maybe that's why I'm liking this game so much, I was also that guy scouring the Vita library for some random ass games, it's why I know Gravity Rush is one of the best superhero games ever, it's where I played Soul Sacrifice and Demon Gaze, where I got into Trails of Cold Steel. So yes I see what you're saying, this feels like one of those hidden gems that were on the Vita.

[@thatgamingauthor]

I'm actually kind of a fan of the simplistic dungeon design. A game's narrative is usually what I'm more drawn to, so I can usually deal with whatever's in between the story beats if I'm enjoying the story and characters, which for this game, I can say I very much am enjoying. Besides, those corridor-like dungeons are pretty nostalgic anyway, and I love old school dungeon-crawling RPGs, haha. But yes, we stan Ringo.

[@mathewhosier9739]

Imo gameplay and progression should always be the main focus of any RPG, not saying story and characters aren't important but at the end of the day this is a video game, gameplay should always be the main focus, we are here to play games, if you want a good story, go watch an anime

[@Road_to_Dawn]

@@mathewhosier9739 For me, it’s usually the opposite. Fun gameplay will keep me occupied for a little while, but if I don’t care about the characters or story, I can’t find much reason to invest myself into the game.

[@mathewhosier9739]

@@Road_to_Dawn just seems backwards to me, yes story is important but it should never be the main focus of the game, I mean the best selling RPGs of all time are entirely focused on gameplay, like pokemon, the elder scrolls and Diablo all sell incredible well, and you wonder why jrpgs are so niche and have far lower standards in terms of sales

[@Road_to_Dawn]

@@mathewhosier9739 Yeah, I may be in the minority on a lot of that. I have no desire to play Diablo, and the only Elder Scrolls I really tried is Skyrim and that actually bored me pretty quickly. The last Pokemon game I finished was Pearl version; I've dabbled a bit since then but none of them managed to hold my attention for long. Games that are more story-driven are much more likely to keep me invested through to the end, like Life is Strange, the Ace Attorney games, or pretty much any of the first-party Sony titles over the past decade or so. There are exceptions though, like survival horror or Metroid games.

[@Revanxbone]

Thanks for the shill king! I'm definitely more interested now and I'll keep an eye on the game!

[@GermanMermaidArt]

Loving the game. Don't get the hate from other reviewers that seem to only compare it to persona 5. This was never gonna be better than altus's recent games for most people, it was never trying to be, it wasn't trying to evolve the genre, or atlus's design formula. It was a game lovingly created with a small budget for people to have fun with. If you want to have fun playing Soul Hackers 2 you will, if you want it to be persona 6 you will be disappointed.

[@culIen]

I'm hoping that after this one expectations can be more in line for lower budget atlus games. In a lot of ways, I get it, because a ton of people got introduced to their games with bigger budget titles and its not like Atlus can say they spent less money making it. The bar was set a bit too high, and it'll suck that smaller dev teams making ambitious projects don't have as much support. All I can hope is that Atlus has more confidence in projects like this and bump the budgets up to iron out the rough spots, but I still adored the game.

[@bigt4135]

I would give anything if this was coming out on ps vita physical.

[@justsome500yearoldwithsmug2]

I'm a lot newer to the SMT series Started with PG4 > PG5 > SMT 3 > SMT 5 while this game does have many issues, especially in its dungeons but I'll gladly take them over SMT 3's any day of the week and as usual, the combat is great and addicting with its new demon stack system I think SMT veterans will not enjoy it for fair enough reasons. I went in loving the combat but left loving Ringo's ass

[@culIen]

Still have war flashbacks of nocturne dungeons and encounter rates. The only blemish on a brilliant game tbh, and yeah these are still leagues better in all but atmosphere

[@culIen]

I didn't know how many vitacore fans there were y'all are cool

[@amurter19]

Great video, mine's coming a bit late so I'm foolishly starting Lost Odyssey which is possibly a longer game than SH2. (It is good though)

[@NoonDragoon]

Too bad it's not on the most "Vita-like" platform like the Switch. Would love to pick up and play through dungeons in bed or while watching TV.

[@culIen]

I've had a ton of issues trying to get it on steam deck because you're absolutely right, but it just hasn't been working on that. Hope it gets ported in the future because it defo should run on that

[@NoonDragoon]

@@culIen I definitely don't have the money for a Steam Deck right now, so here's hoping for a port eventually!

[@fruitzytv7698]

Is this game only playable on the vita through remote play or is it actually ported to run on the vita natively?

[@culIen]

The vita game thing was a metaphor for game design, you can only play it through remote play (I think)

[@fruitzytv7698]

@@culIen thanks for the answer, I thought that game came out a long time ago but I found out that it just released recently

[@sawyer3933]

why the reupload? :O

[@culIen]

Original version actually had an oversight with the fps, and the whole thing was set to 30. It bothered me (brain goblins) so I changed and re-rendered it. Sorry for the double notification!

[@sawyer3933]

@@culIen no worries, ty for the reupload and the review itself

[@JJG1666]

Is the game still worth to play even without the exclusive story DLC?

[@culIen]

Yeah I didn't even touch that lol. They sent me the dlc but besides the demons (which really shouldn't have been dlc) I just played and covered the content available to everyone

[@JJG1666]

@@culIen will probably buy the game after a year or so when it's discounted. I loved playing Cybersleuth on the Vita and Hacker's Memory on the PS4.

[@culIen]

@@JJG1666 hell yeah! This game has big cybersleuth energy but with that excellent atlus polish

[@krispy_kornflake]

Great review, best of the 3 I've watched today. After reading Buffmaister's review a few days ago, I was sure I'd wait for a sale on this game. Macca and Nyarly made me think this game isn't really that bad but you made me realize this is what I NEED. I was craving a game with a chill friend group I don't have IRL. It makes it even better that the cast is mature as I'm very weak against the teenager drama from jrpgs. I mean, the cringe is what keeps me from ever laying a finger on P5 or even P4 (1-2-3 were still ok). I don't want to shit on modern Persona for being cringe but they make me physically repulse, it's like an allergy lol.

[@culIen]

I've been editing all day long so I haven't actually had a chance to watch other reviews :o I for sure think this game is an acquired taste, and those not seeking exceptionally "tight" experiences (like P5R, for example) are bound to just find something special here even with the weird gameplay issues. I started this feeling kind of cold on it and I was bummed, but the more I played the more I realized that I haven't seen Atlus make this kind of game in ages. These are the exact types of weird jank games of theirs that made me fall in love with. I was really worried that a lot of people wouldn't be able to understand my perspective here (and they still might not haha), but thank you for your kind comment! I hope you have a fun time with the game!

[@krispy_kornflake]

@@culIen I get what you mean by not seeking exceptionally "tight" experiences, smaller but flawed games tend to have more soul (pun intended) in them than the tightest of games lol. Although I don't really get your Vita nostalgia as I've never owned one, the fact that this game could invoke such emotions in you is amazing in itself. It's a very subjective thing but that's why I love your reviews, we need more subjective reviews lmao.

[@culIen]

@@krispy_kornflake while Vita is the vibe I got, I think PS2 could also be a more widely applicable experience. There are a tooooon of really cool budget games on that console and I think people who took the plunge far away from the AAA space were well rewarded. I love P5R, I'd almost call it a perfect game. It's an immaculately polished experience, probably the most polished I've seen from the company, but games like this just have that special feel. Most of my favorite games every year are those really special "7/10"s.

[@tasty_cake6563]

you should watch Marsh's review lol

[@krispy_kornflake]

@@tasty_cake6563 Everyone should watch every single video Marsh makes

[@henrybuehler7585]

Sorry Cullen, but this isnt really Cyber Sleuth unless there are some really low rez texture posters in the overworld and text options that bleed into other text options 0/10 I'll buy it anyways

[@culIen]

Can't believe the one thing Atlus brought into the formula completely ruined it: a good localization

[@pugbeastidon]

Ray gigant name drop lol

[@PolybiusArcadia]

pretty jealous of that sega saturn soul hackers copy tbh

[@larrywoolfolk8224]

R.S is the goat

[@MinatotheGreenLantern]

Fax

[@auravitae6063]

Vitacore yuh

[@churibman]

Damn, the digital looking dungeon looks like it was ripped straight off of Digimon cyber sleuth

[@culIen]

I almost spit my drink out when I got to them they really just did cybersleuth but a bit better its great 😭

[@themetronomian7239]

Gimme da Sega Saturn

[@Screwy]

#RONDESWEEP (Apparently pronounced "rondo"??)

[@culIen]

I think I tried to throw one of those in when I channeled ringo starr!

[@msd5808]

Atlus has hacked yr soul

[@culIen]

I hate when they do that

[@mathewhosier9739]

Ewww, your playing in the 30fps mode when there's a 60fps performance mode available, no wonder you think it's a vita game lol, I can play certain games at 30fps but not when I've already experienced it at 60, it's like a complete different and much better game in performance mode, the slow graphics mode is basically just the PS4 version

[@culIen]

I played on pc at 60 fps. My hard drive just fucked up while recording and lead to some of my footage dropping frames on occasion. The vita thing was more about game design