Soul Hackers 2: A Video Game

[@MarshSMT]

Special thanks: -ATLUS for providing me a review code -Shirakko [kzbin.infoabout] for basically all of the Soul Hackers 2 footage -comicfire [kzbin.info] for the Strange Journey footage A couple of things I realized I didn't talk about as soon as I uploaded this: meals for dungeons. Not much to say about it, that's probably why I forgot. Also, at the start of the story, they weren't exactly looking for Milady right away, but rather Ichiro Onda. You get the idea. And yeah, I'm aware that they're patching the game soon to let you run faster, that's kinda funny.

[@ProfessionalNamielleLewder69]

I don't care if you missed a few details. My words remain the same: *PRAAAAISE!!!*

[@jvts8916]

If you had to choose between the "temple" dungeons in Rhapsody A Musical Adventure and the Soul Matrix in this game, which would you pick?

[@WhoMightThis1Be]

Whoa you're getting review codes? Don't know if they just throw them out whatever but to me this sounds liek a big deal, gz!

[@fizawanico1624]

Getting recognised by atlus, i'm proud of you

[@devingunnels3251]

Mad props to you for keeping it real. Even though Atlus gave you a review copy, you didn't sugar coat it or try to bend the truth to appease the corpos. You got my respect.

[@fastblueapple6082]

Finally, a youtuber that describes Soul Hackers 2 as what it is, a video game

[@frds_skce]

Soul Hacker 2 is a video game of all time

[@Sorrelhas]

Others described it as a movie, or a McDonald's meal Finally one that isn't insane

[@henotic.essence]

I heard someone call it a radio station

[@WhokeepstakingMCX]

"Video game" is very charitable, "wet fart" seems more appropriate

[@noheffthing]

@@WhokeepstakingMCX youtubers are wet farts

[@versebuchanan512]

Dude really went from "I don't even review video games" to "Thanks for the review code Atlus", fucking BOSS

[@Sonicfoxtrot]

sell out...............................................

[@MegaRazor619]

@@Sonicfoxtrot what

[@Starlok007]

@@Sonicfoxtrot what

[@unuks9731]

@@Sonicfoxtrot what

[@Kelm_Kisaragi]

@@Sonicfoxtrot what

[@100Servings]

We don't deserve you, Marsh. You're the realest Atlus fan out there. Nothing in their catalog is too obscure, weird, or unplayable for you do go all the way in, up to the nuts. Thanks for all you do. You're a cool dude in my book.😎

[@titaniumpoop]

fr hes easily the best megaten youtuber

[@klonoa450]

Look I'm just waiting for him to play The Atlas racing game they put out for PS2

[@KCUFyoufordoxingme]

Yet, no shin megami tensei 2. Someday! It is bizarrely ignored by anyone who actually gets the series and makes good videos, despite it being seemingly well known.

[@t0xcn253]

@@titaniumpoop I agree, every video is amazing and his personality really makes the whole experience. Far and away the best megaten channel out there.

[@joshshrum2764]

@@KCUFyoufordoxingme Uhhh he did cover it though.

[@IamAJoe]

"Walks up to man in iron mask" "So are you the man called Iron Mask?" Honestly wouldn't believe it if she didn't ask.

[@sarafontanini7051]

No, I'm the man in the steel mask understandable have a great day

[@mauwus4322]

Well, you know what they say about assuming.

[@Thedarkglave360]

Ironmask is one of the only characters in Soul Hackers 2 that looks like he could of been in a previous Devil Summoner game. His designs just that good.

[@evilofparadise]

Probably because he looks identical to the unused design for nyarly

[@smergthedargon8974]

Could _have,_ not could of!

[@OnDavidsBrain]

I honestly kept being reminded of the main villain from Gundam F91 and kept referring to Iron Mask as a Char Clone.

[@Cegarth]

I don't know why but he reminds me of Bluffman from Caligula Effect

[@peppermillers8361]

​@OnDavidsBrain but is Iron Mask in Soul Hackers 2 also a cuck?

[@Bi0mega]

The way I look at it, it's a B-team sequel that was released because someone at Atlus was going through their older releases for inspiration, thought 'oh yeah, Soul Hackers had a real cult following, and it's got an anniversary coming up, let's throw the faithful a bone!' Then they gave it a small budget to get a small game out, but then someone in marketing decided 'hey, you know what this game needs? A full-price release with a digital edition that costs 80 goddamn dollars and a physical special edition that goes for about 180'. This is the exact same kind of greed and stupidity that resulted in a bare-bones rerelease of Nocturne coming out at full-price. If it had come out at a lower price-point, I think most of us could forgive some of the bigger issues, like the uninspired dungeons or the, frankly dull combat. Selling it at full-price gives the impression it's more than it is, plain and simple.

[@notyoursavior78]

For some reason Soul Hackers won a Atlus poll for what game do you want next in an old series. I almost feel like people voted in this poll for the game as a joke and Atlus was like whoah people really liked Soul Hackers. It's like how Peyton Hillis won a fan vote to be on the cover of Madden '12 because he had one good year and then his career completely fizzled out after except at least uhh Hillis had that one year recently, I still don't know how he won considering all the legends in the NFL still play and were upcoming at the time.

[@HansAlRachid]

This is an interesting take to me - I think I definitely would have a higher opinion of the game had it been sold for like 30-40 bucks or so. Though I think there's mostly a brand management aspect to that sort of thing to take into account, now that Atlus makes the big bucks with the Persona games. Releasing a smaller scale project for a lower price point might - in the minds of investors and corpo management - depreciate the franchise value in the long term. "We make premium titles the public wants, so we charge premium prices" - that sort of short-sighted thinking. Back when DVDs were still a thing that was the rationale used to defend anime box set pricing as well - 80 bucks for a 6 episode mini-seres? Sure!

[@Sigismund697]

@@HansAlRachid man I hated those things, specially when the dude on the store next door sold bootlegs with the full series for 5 bucks

[@HansAlRachid]

@@Sigismund697 Absolutely man, same here - that sales model was delusional from moment one. Bootleggers really deserve more credit for keeping anime alive when it was still a niche thing. I still have my ebay copies of FLCL and Cowboy Bebop lying around somewhere, complete with the titles in permanent marker directly on the discs.

[@Sigismund697]

@@HansAlRachid nah I have one better It's Trigun in three discs, disc 1 has the English dub, disc 2 has the Spanish dub (which I didn't even know it existed) and disc 3 is the JP original with Spanish subtitles

[@mikealangeloy]

Soul Hackers 2 felt like what would happen if you played Persona 5 once, had no other experience with SMT, and then got hired to lead development on a new SMT game. I actually liked that Shin Megami Tensei was dropped from the title because it just doesn't feel like one. Digital Devil Saga was also a very character driven and player oriented game, and yet it still *feels* like Shin Megami Tensei to me

[@thatitalianlameguy2235]

More like telling an ai to reconstruct soul hackers from memory with mixed in pieces of p5

[@smergthedargon8974]

Hell yeah - fellow DDS appreciator!

[@j.2512]

megaten fans have been saying for years that Persona would ruin the whole franchise, eventually only Persona will be left

[@lememe9781]

@@thatitalianlameguy2235 This is comment is painfully accurate

[@raidou_yagami]

@mikealangeloy DDS isn't a SMT, it is own series

[@lowfatslaplordofcheese6410]

Seeing a marsh video pop up is like finding a particularly shiny coin on the ground, it doesn’t happen often, but when it happens, it makes your day

[@sirlimen333]

Yeah, right on pal! Marsh's videos have stopped me from passing to the other side and from burning down that retirement home. SMT ftw.

[@PuyoPuyoMan]

I actually really liked the Figue twist, though maybe not for the right reasons. If you were a sucker (i.e. me) and bought the $10 DLC side story and completed that alongside the main story there's an event you can get where the whole gang gets together with Nana and Raven. In that event it's made super clear that Figue has a love-at-first-sight crush on Raven (its definitely hinted in the main story, but the event makes it blatant), and the idea that the super AI got all confused and emotional because she has a body now and Iron Mask is tall, dark, handsome and good with kids was so funny I actually enjoyed it.

[@notyoursavior78]

That's funny. I also definitely agree about the scummy DLC practices, it's not why I didn't buy the game but some of the writing can ring hollow unfortunately when the day one DLC is taking into consideration. From what I recall the bonus story DLC isn't unlocked until later and the character just shows up and more story is in its own separate soul matrice I think? It's not like this character is apart of your main party normally.

[@PuyoPuyoMan]

The quests come in over the course of the main story the same way as the other side quests (though unlike the normal side quests they're fully voiced). So after every major main story beat a new DLC quest would typically come in. But yeah, she's only in the party for the DLC quests. The only effect on the main story is learning lore and some more character moments, so probably not worth the $10.

[@kichiroumitsurugi4363]

It's also quite neat that it's one-sided on Figue's end, Raven basically doesn't even realize it until she tries to Soul Hack him

[@jamalshelton5746]

I'll always respect how honest you are Marsh. Whether you're grabbing your nuts with Charlie, going on a crusade, or saving the world you keep it real. Brutally honest criticism from a true fan. You may occasionally suck a games banana split but you're still willing to slap ham and call it out on its faults.

[@lilliput_steps]

One thing that doesn’t get said enough about Marsh videos is how concisely well-written they are. As someone who hasn’t played SH2 but has seen a lot of reviews, this is the first time I feel I actually understand the general plot lol. Great work as always!

[@jjj-sj1lx]

Its not well written at all. His comparison with persona 5 in the gameplay section completely falls apart. "Persona 5 is more custumizable" absolutly not, only joker is custumizable and yoi dont have the control of thz other party member move set, souls hackers let you custumize the four party member completely. He also said that persona 5 punish you more for missing or hit an ennemy resistance, it doesnt punish you at all like souls hackers 2. Only the press turn punish you for that. He is just lying. And also he like more strange journey combat when its also the same system but its force you to have the same alignement demons 😂, this sytem sucks ass, it locks you into playing only some demons, this is horrible for custtomization. He blame souls hackers 2 for abondoning this stupid idea

[@jjj-sj1lx]

@@erika-yi3gx in persona 5, you only fall when you miss a direct physical attack, safe to say it doesnt happen very often because its better to just use the persona in most case

[@jjj-sj1lx]

@@erika-yi3gx no not in persona 4, i didnt play p3 but pretty sure its the same

[@jjj-sj1lx]

@@erika-yi3gx i agree that the smt serie punish you more but persona dont punish like souls hackers 2

[@jjj-sj1lx]

@@erika-yi3gx if you hit an ennemy resistance in persona, you dont lose a turn or anything but of course you loose the opportunity of a one more. But the same can be said for souls hackers 2, you lose the opportunity to stack for the sabbath system. To be fair i prefer the one more system

[@RadiantMantra]

Make no mistake: SH2's main selling points being the story and characters is more of an unfortunate realization than a saving grace

[@WakkaMadeInYevon]

Often when playing mainline SMT games I wish they had a more involved plot. I'm a sucker for a good story, and so "silent protagonist decides his alignment and punches god" isn't enough for me, even if the gameplay is always on point. Worth noting I'm a fan of Etrian Odyssey games which adopt the same sort of "storytelling," so it's not a deal breaker for me, just something I wish was improved a bit. The "place-to-place-tasks-with-cutscenes-sometimes" nature of the games was especially painfully obvious with V, where the story resolution felt more like a punchline. But then when an SMT game actually does decide to go all in on the plot, we get Apocalypse, foregoing thematic depth in favor of friendship solving all problems, or Soul Hackers 2, which is basically Persona. Can't have your cake and eat it I guess. (If that's the right phrase to use?)

[@RadiantMantra]

@@WakkaMadeInYevon I feel like SMT does go into story and setting a lot but doesn't say much about it, at least in cases like SMT III and V. IV and II are more direct with their plot, but you can see the Kabbalistic inspiration in V and the buddhist inspiration in III if you look for it, in that way I feel like they're actually developed in an abstract, indirect way

[@WakkaMadeInYevon]

​@@RadiantMantra Oh for sure SMT has story, it's the kind that lingers in the tone and prompts you to think things through on your own. Like I said, it's like Etrian Odyssey in that regard; the story is what you make of it. I do appreciate it. What I want just occasionally is one that's told in a traditional sense. A narrative hook to bring me from dungeon to dungeon, where characters have more involved personal stakes and don't just end up as alignment mouthpieces that you rarely even meet. Dazai is the most glaring example of this, I shouldn't be laughing at a character's big last-act reveal. It's just when Atlus actually dips into any kind of direct storytelling through-line with SMT's tone, nuance usually goes out the window with it. The Devil Survivor games are probably the best execution of this plot-centric design I've seen them do.

[@Vajrapani108]

@@WakkaMadeInYevon let main line SMT be mainline SMT, they don't need to become persona or etrian odyessy. There are a whole lot of games that are heavily character driven, and are masterpieces in their own rights. But sometimes people just want to relax, alone with just the sound of one's footsteps and cries as we beat the shit out of YHVH

[@MastaGambit]

@@Vajrapani108 Enough with this stupid "SMT doesn't need to be Persona" anti-story cope, already. I'm sick of reading this exact same drivel from SMT elitists time and time again. Nobody is saying that SMT needs to become Persona. Injecting a worthwhile story into a SMT game does not require rehashing Persona style storytelling in order to be good.

[@sneslive1556]

The owl reeks plushy tie in if the game had caught on. A mascot for that particular game.

[@henotic.essence]

Very much Persona 4 and 5 vibes 🤣

[@thegamer9302]

The true irony being the frost mascot wouldve worked well if they werent cheap bastards about the preorders.

[@Zazuzozu]

Major respect to Marsh for calling out the hypocrisy of Atlus with this games themes

[@michaelgrant6899]

Reminds me of Persona Q 2's "escapism bad" plot, only to proceed to drop 2 overpriced dancing games on us directly afterwards.

[@ataridc]

The game writers have little to nothing to do with overall corporate practices of the company

[@jackflynn412]

@@michaelgrant6899 Even Persona 5 itself was hypocritical. They made Kaneshiro whom was a villain defined by his gluttonous love of money, and then they'll drop overpriced DLC on you, rerelease the game for $60, and drop even more DLC again on top of that.

[@shawklan27]

@@jackflynn412 certified atlus moment

[@jackflynn412]

@@shawklan27 Imagine if they made NFTs of the Sayuri. That would be the most hypocritical they could get. Because they'd be supporting an industry that supports art theft. Which is a real fear because I think SEGA wants to make an NFT game? Just a rumor I heard tho.

[@goobertgum]

I love the title so much. It's describes SH2 so well. It truly is a video game. One of all time, even.

[@sirlimen333]

Game

[@Sorrelhas]

When John Soul said "It's hacking time" and hacked all the souls, I realized big corporations finally got into the Morbius memes and decided they were truly dead

[@Vhie05]

It's truly one of the Shin Megami Tensei games Atlus ever made.

[@renren47618]

Through all the MT games that Atlus ever made Soul Hackers 2 is one of them

[@Lanoman123]

Ah yes, Soul Hackers 2. I remember being so incredibly hyped seeing the title then immediately becoming unhyped after seeing footage

[@henotic.essence]

It was very 😃😐

[@Lanoman123]

@@henotic.essence ^

[@gabrielsandor3474]

@@Lanoman123 And then you find out it also has day 1 dlc... It's sad to see how some of my favourite game series are getting slaughtered

[@noxturne16]

same, it clashed greatly with the original and felt kinda… eh, another JRPG ig

[@banquoviaquo9220]

I love that Ringo's made such an impression, even on players who have qualms with the more mechanical aspects of the game.

[@TheShowerofSlime]

10:40 This type of writing has been a common trope recently in a lot of media that I have flat out stopped playing some games midway because nothing was a mystery anymore. Scarlet Nexus and Tales of Arise were notorious for this, there was a chapter that went on for 45 mins with just talking and explaining of what literally just happened in cutscenes.

[@Carnationpetal]

Yeah, it's getting really ridiculous. I really wanted to play xenoblade chronicles 3 and was able to borrow a copy of it. I stopped playing because the cutscenes just really burned me out.

[@franjaff6919]

It's just poor writing.

[@henotic.essence]

I miss when games would make me sit and think about what was going on, who was really involved, and to what extent. Like, how dumb do the developers think people are?

[@NEETKitten]

@@henotic.essence Considering there are people that bought this game after the reviews came out, I'd say the devs are right about their consumers' intelligence.

[@henotic.essence]

@@NEETKitten I would heartily agree with that statement, but I'd hate to say that giving a beloved franchise the benefit of the doubt would be stupid. ATLUS duped their loyal fans with their most recent releases.

[@ShadowedKami]

More content for me to watch 10 times over. Thanks Marsh.

[@100Servings]

I love to start a Marsh video when I fall asleep at night. A cold, dark room, a thick comforter, and Marsh talking about If...

[@Kilawogsfan]

OMG I THOUGHR I WAS THE ONLY ONE

[@EternallyBlu]

I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE

[@AntwaineHorton]

Smh only 10, I've seen his SMT If more times then years I've been alive

[@DijaVlogsGames]

His videos are so easy to just put on in the background. I have rewatched them all so many times.

[@Ninjacatmuffin]

You raise a very good point in 11:30 - 12:00. Atlus' recent trend in pushing Day 1 DLC in other games is a big bummer and is especially ironic in a cyberpunk game like this. It's interesting seeing everyone get their reviews of SH2 in since it's so divisive. I've seen some who forgive the clunky dungeons for the characters and story and others who don't care about any part of the game. I'll probably play the game myself; I predict I'll be in the camp that'll like the writing bits overall and tolerate the dungeons ps. I'm glad to see another MegaTen fan that likes Strange Journey! It was the first mainline SMT game I played, so it holds a special place in my heart even if it's not my favorite SMT game (that goes to SMT IV) Pss. I agree with your assessment of SMT V. The combat and exploration were fine, but there weren't a lot of memorable characters or themes in it.

[@ShaimingLong]

Honestly I've found it to be a common thing among Japanese developers in general. Some are absolutely worse than others... looking at Tecmo Koei. It seems like they heard about what Western publishers decided to do in the 360/PS3 days, of having day 1 DLC that came free with a new copy to try counter the second hand market, took that idea and instead of making it free, decided to charge anywhere from half the price of the main game and in some cases as more than double on top of the main game. Not that Western publishers don't do their own scummy practices to make you keep paying on a game you bought, even single player games. I've played SH2 to completion and beyond the voice acting and a good portion of the character development and writing, I'll say it kind of felt like it was a fan game. Sure the iconography is there, but it lacks the design of a quality made game. Even some of the more basic decisions are a bit weird, like the default camera angle is at Ringo's ass level, off to the right and if you don't change it she can cover a 3rd of your view in narrower corridors. Then there's the loading screen tips, which if you don't turn off, artificially extend the loading screens to between 5 to 10 seconds, and depending on what you're doing you can go through a lot of loading screens in quick succession. Other than the teleport floors in the character dungeons, none of the dungeons have anything interesting going on. It really is just a case of finding the demon that has a key most of the time. There is a very brief one way barrier puzzle in the subway, that was neat I guess.

[@sharkattack153]

@@ShaimingLong Ringo ass cam was 100% intentional, you bet that atlus going to capitalize off of their female protagonist

[@fallentrash1673]

this isn't really an ATLUS problem. it's a SEGA problem, RGG Studios games are falling into this too with NOW they realize they could exploit the international release compared to releasing things on Japanese first.

[@ShaimingLong]

@@fallentrash1673 Atlus were already going ham with the DLC on the 3DS. It's not only solely a Sega problem, although with them in charge now it has only gotten worse.

[@zeroskaterz92]

@@fallentrash1673 Isn't Atlus problem? Atlus has been doing this shit even before Sega bought them. lmao Wtf are you even on about?

[@ronaldood4678]

It’s sad how depressingly accurate a video title sums up my own thoughts on a game too. Excited to see this one Marsh keep it real.

[@Styxlite9215]

What made me iffy on this game from the beginning (when the first trailer was showed) was how literal they were taking the "Soul Hacking." In sh1, you weren't the one soul hacking or belonged to a group hacking souls, but the events throughout the game can be described by the title. There was nuance to the title in relation to the plot, and that's what I like about is. (will admit also, it took sh2 to make me realize that in the first place)

[@X_Blake]

Soul Hackers 2: Capitalism and repackage nostalgia is bad mkay Atlus: Now buy our Day 1 DLC featuring your favorite waifu Nemissa. Also buy P4 and 3 in January 2023.

[@senorapples1115]

I knew classic smt is outdated to most but i feel like that what made devil summoner so neat in the first place. It was a call back to its roots and modernized it that allowed soul hackers to be more story focus.

[@walter4180]

It has characters, a story, and mechanics. Truly a game of all time.

[@Aigis31]

Mimi makes me think someone should ABSOLUTELY do a blindfolded run of SH2

[@SimplyDad]

lowkey they prolly removed the Devil Summoner name from the title bc it would be weird if ringo said "Im gonna try to Shin Megami Tensei Devil Summoner Soul Hack him"

[@henotic.essence]

I wheezed when I read this, oh my God 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@melly5741]

This is the most gameplay I’ve seen of soul hackers 2. Christ I did not know the camera was that bad. It felt like I was being suffocated just watching it

[@LampourgeR2]

It will always perplex my why they chose to call this game "Soul Hackers 2." One's first thought would be that is was an Atlus/Sega marketing decision to prop up a budget title by connecting it to a pre-existing title (even if the original was very obscure). However it seems like the team that made the game was really committed to this game being a "sequel" to the original, so it may have been planned to call it Soul Hackers 2 from the get-go. If the game had a different title it wouldn't have helped it be a better game, but the reception would have gone from one of universal "What?" to at least mild/cautious optimism. Hell, calling it something like "Devil Summoner: Covenant" or "Devil Summoner: 2049" or even "Devil Summoner: Soul Hacker" would have been a better choice since this game is more or less meant to re-introduce the Devil Summoner universe to Atlus's new audience. I also think the game does have one or two good ideas. In particular I hope the aspect of evolved technology becoming a larger force that combats demons jumps to mainline (as a new sort of faction alongside Law/Chaos/Divine Powers). The best thing about the game to me is seeing all of the legally distinct versions of famous Japanese stores like Don Quixote or Family Mart.

[@athorem]

Great video. Glad you shined light on the positives because this game does get a lot of flak. It's cool that this game exists and I hope they continue the series for Soul Hackers 3 and beyond.

[@flintlockbeithir4823]

maybe not i find this game works well when removing it from soul hackers proper to me it feels more like tokyo mirage session in that whilst it is a fairly good game it's not really what i wanted and it's not really a devil summoner title

[@naemissa7849]

man that footage of the first SH felt amazing to watch and listen to. that game was just dripping with style and atmosphere. atlus should've just ported that to current gen consoles/PC instead.

[@camil2003]

I knew what time it was when Soul hackers 2 didn't even have a special game over monologue like the other games do. persona 3+4 and especially 5( I loved that the game over changed and extended the further you got in the game) kept this tradition alive and even SMT 5 didn't forget to do it.

[@arob3800]

I was very much on the fence on this game until you brought up the section with the navigators, now this instantly dropped to a "don't bother". Can't believe nobody on the dev team bothered to think how the players might feel about that

[@andresalonsomartinez3070]

Stacks should be used like Xenosaga games, where you can get from 3 up to 6 bars, the strongest attacks use 2 to 4, but the most important part is that you can use 1 bar to give a character an extra turn, also enemies can have extra turns so it's not that unfair.

[@theMoporter]

The many of the OST tracks played in the background video is the genre I like to call "I wish I was listening to the Psycho-Pass soundtrack right now"

[@rexorchid9745]

I have to say my favorite mechanic of the game is demon fusing. Canceling out weaknesses is relieving, but splicing a unit immune to everything (except almighty and specific resistance piercing) is hilarious. Like a Titania who reflects all elements and just so Happens to be immune to both types of physical attacks and Ruin attacks.

[@codycochran6308]

Awesome content as always! Keep it up Marshal!

[@Valkbg]

Soul Hackers 2 is the only SMT game where I lower the difficulty. And I lower the difficulty because I want less gameplay which is weird for a SMT or even any Megaten game. 6/10 is pretty accurate

[@JULR0W]

Same

[@SavagePatch115]

Same. I got all the way to that bullshit underwater dungeon and said "eff this" and turned the difficulty down to easy because I could not be more ready to be done with this game

[@real1mem3s]

Weird cope for being garbage and hopping on hate bandwagons.

[@peropero2208]

Soul Hackers 2 feels so...miniature? Like,it doesn't seem good because of it's many visible flaws,but it also doesn't seem bad,its just...decent,the ,,decent" you would say with a poker face

[@leonardocarvalho7306]

The word you're looking for is "mid"

[@peropero2208]

​@@leonardocarvalho7306 No,not even mediocre,just.... It was something,i guess

[@flintlockbeithir4823]

@@peropero2208 it certainly was the spiritual successor to Tokyo mirage session

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

@@flintlockbeithir4823 I would barely say that, Tokyo Mirage Sessions once you get past the absolute utter lie the original SMT x FE marketing it had, is actually a decent game. And not a gritting your teeth decent, I mean I would call it a Persona palette cleanser.

[@vannills]

Thanks for this man. I think I’ve gone through your catalog and watched pretty much everything Atlus related you’ve covered by now, despite never even touching one of their games lol. I really just enjoy hearing you talk and critique them

[@hgmman]

One of the things that annoyed me about the story is after the showdown with Iron Mask after the Figue fake out where they all just stand there for 10 seconds, then Iron Mask just takes the covenants and leaves. Nobody goes after him after LITERALLY beating the shit out of him and killing his little gimp Zenon.

[@henotic.essence]

Complete immersion break, like why is this a trend in so many games? Ah yes, we beat you to a pulp for 30 minutes /cutscene/ yeah let's just let the main bad guy get away again.

[@aokyoutsuki7744]

@@henotic.essence its a common habit that writers would write, especially back then when game dialogues were in Visual Novel dialogue boxes, stuff like that doesnt flow well when it comes to realtime cutscenes, but its hard to get rid of a shite habit

[@unigon794]

The sudden cuts were pretty annoying too. Like when Figue absorbed the covenants after Raven’s death then it cuts to Saizo and Ringo eating pizza with her unconscious body on the couch. Funny but annoying.

[@maciejstachowski183]

Hey, he let you just leave that subway tunnel where he was kicking your ass with Zenon, it's only fair to return the favor.

[@rogercheetoofficial]

Honestly the main dealbreaker for me with this game was the removal of Zoma demons as allies, would have loved to go into the final boss with a silly lil fella of my own

[@nickydee584]

I enjoyed the game, despite the pretty glaring flaws. I say that as a longtime fan of the series, but I also say as a longtime fan that $60 is really steep when SMT5 and Persona 5 both exist for the same price or cheaper. But at the end of the day, I am just a SMT fanboy. It’s still one of the best games I’ve played this year tho

[@real1mem3s]

I'm not poor so idc

[@drowningin]

I've had no interest in playing this since the first trailer. I did replay soul hackers 1 instead, and that game is still great

[@Brian-tn4cd]

I also really liked the in battle dialogue and was one of the things i was expecting coming from the TMS people, i especially enjoy that when fighting bosses related to them they have unique dialogue and the boss also has dialogue towards them (i especially remember Arrow and Kaburagi, who'd do the anime thing of shouting each others name)

[@realtayo42]

Something about your videos is just...comforting? I don't know if it's the way you speak or your writing but I sincerely enjoy every video you make, especially the super long ones on older atlus titles I'll never have the chance or willpower to play. Thanks for another banger Marsh!

[@arashi86]

Marsh really out here telling it like it is about damn near every Atlus game under the sun. You're spoiling us with quality, my man. Thank you for it.

[@Thowzand]

Another Marsh banger. Can't wait to put the updated entire Marsh Playlist on in a few months as the literal best back ground music ever.

[@CyberBinary]

I was excited for SH2 but decided to wait to hear more about it and see if I'd want to get it on sale. Thanks for the vid!

[@greatsaiyaguy8868]

So true

[@KatanaRikku]

I love the subtle humor throughout the video 😂 one of my favorite SMT reviewers by far

[@leonhighwind2305]

I haven't played Soul Hackers 2, though I plan to, but I was getting major Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth from this game, and they only got stronger as the review went on. It seems like both have similar problems in regards to gameplay and dungeons, though at least Cyber Sleuth let you actually see your 'mons in combat and getting new ones was a matter of grinding battles or figuring out the right path to evolve and de-volve them. Though I did enjoy Cyber Sleuth despite its flaws, so I have some hopes I will enjoy SH2 as well.

[@OnDavidsBrain]

I honestly had a decent time with this game. It seems to zig where SMT 5 zags, SMT 5 had great combat and exploration with a weak sauce story and mostly bland characters where as Soul Hackers 2 has passable combat (but at least the enemies and bosses put up a decent fight), terrible and repetitive dungeon design but great characters and a decent enough story. The Day 1 DLC is still horsecrap and the only one I'll be investing in is the Lost Numbers DLC once it goes on sale. I feel like Soul Hackers 2 was more of a test case by Atlus to see if the public wants a different flavor of SMT as opposed to main line series and Persona but with the understandably mixed reception to it I doubt they'll see continuing the Devil Summoner series with this direction as a viable option. Hell the fact that this was made in Unity and released 6 months after it was announced seems to back my theory on that. But yeah I'd still say for people to play it, once it goes on sale and with Christmas around the corner it sounds like the perfect time to do that. Preferably if we get a game with a much more diverse roster of Demons, a story on par with Strange Journey, the Combat and exploration of 5, and the character writing and customization of Soul Hackers 2 we may have an as close to perfect SMT game, but that's just me. Oh and Atlus if you can just knock off the Day 1 DLC crap that'd be greeaaaaat thanks.

[@gaberazalas7333]

I guess Mimi was supposed to be like the original “radar” system of old SMT games, helping warn you of impending combat, but goddamn, is it the most annoying iteration here.

[@joshy541]

What, you don't like getting jump-scared by your GODDAM RADAR?

[@henotic.essence]

@@joshy541 I love dropping my mountain dew and Doritos all over the floor bc of my radar mascot, it really helps me be ready for combat!

[@rosesmelody]

The part that drives me crazy is just that... I feel like the games that just give you like a colored orb are what actually get it right? (Etrian Odyssey, which isn't SMT but there are definitely comparisons that can be drawn, uses this system). I don't need my radar to *talk*.

[@henotic.essence]

@@rosesmelody yes!! It's all about "show, don't tell"

[@burnemail2467]

Honestly I find Teddie way more annoying but the entire concept of it pisses me off in general.

[@mauriciohiure2192]

played this game nonstop through game pass for like 12 days straight just as it was about to leave the service, did basically everything you can do in a single playthrough, was definitely a challenge that i will remember for a long time, didn't play the first one but still liked this game for what it is, especially the cast, although it definitely isn't on par with most other games in the SMT franchise

[@tomatopawah6877]

It's amazing how they managed to downgrade Persona 5 and Strange Journey battle system in a single game

[@crispyalmond5361]

I think the thing that makes me the most sad about soul hackers 2 is that the original soul hackers has my favorite smt soundtrack and I just knew sh2 wasn't gonna hold up to that

[@xercespriest]

A friend of mine who was explaining this to me was like most modern day Atlus games are basically "Pershinmegamitensona". Elements of the past, but Persona's success waters down most their recent releases cause they are trying to appease the Persona sect of the fanbase. Is that true?

[@burnemail2467]

The whole "Persona ruined SMT by being more popular" thing is really overblown> You could argue there's more anime fanservice type of shit but I'd say that's games in general and SMT has always been anime.

[@Sigismund697]

Yes, for better and for worse Persona was a success, it's completely understandable that Atlus wants all of their series to thrive as well and if one formula works why not apply it for all of them The problem is that doing so ruins what the other not Persona series they own had, their own personality If you make me a SMT game with amazing gameplay but the story and specially the characters feel like copy pasted from some SoL anime it's going to clash with the post Apocalypse setting you're trying to sell, SPECIALLY if it's a sequel

[@reyzmalkovich1158]

I like the line from the game when protagonist say "it's soul hacking time"

[@bubbletea_]

"i think atlus could've trusted their audience a bit more to understand the relatively simple plot." funny you say that right after the whole persona 4 controversy that went down on twitter.

[@burnemail2467]

The what?

[@snatcher8517]

@@burnemail2467 Peni of SnapCube fame missed the point of Kanji's dungeon and threw a fit when people called her out for it.

[@Ergeniz]

@@snatcher8517 What did she say (I'm not stepping an electronic foot on twitter)?

[@TheSolBlader]

@@snatcher8517 >her

[@rubyrose6714]

I mean persona 4 pussy footed any message it tried so honestly getting anything out of it is your mileage may vary since the story telling outside of the main mystery sucked mega balls lol

[@joniden2215]

When I saw Iron Mask, my first thought was Bluffman from Caligula Effect 2.

[@dhorinfireheart99]

Fantastic review Marsh! Thank you for doing this 💖

[@jake4179]

Truly one of the games of all time. It amazes how this game is a mix of the story team putting in the effort with an actual realized protagonist and a pretty good story while the gameplay team putting out the most half-assed combat and dungeons we've pretty much seen in any SMT ever.

[@4KGamingSMT]

Marsh, first of love your videos bro, second you're review is on point and love the soul hackers comparison. I have to say I agree with everything you mentioned here, great review. I'm interested in what you would score SMT 3, and 4. Keep these amazing videos coming!

[@AdrienMorley-ck4eb]

Hi, resurecting the thread. Just bought it on Steam on sales. Very good game for 20 bucks. Highly recommended for the price. But it's true the atmosphere isn't as good as the original. Solid game overall.

[@koenvanrandtwijk9493]

I have just completed the game after getting it for very cheap on the PS4. I really enjoyed it, despite the dungeons being lackluster. The patch that gave Ringo faster movement speed really helped with the enjoyment. And I really enjoyed the characters.

[@BynineStudio]

thanks for making this video marsh! i had similar conflicted feelings when i saw it released, as soul hackers 1 is one of my favorite jrpgs ever and this sequel looked like it lacked much of what made that game special.

[@LesCritiquesduMaSQuE]

Thanks for the video, Marsh, I noped out of this one after six hours. Glad to see what I missed. Or didn't, I'm not sure.🤔

[@matildarose]

Having just finished SH2, there are definitely some neat elements here, but it needed more time in the oven/budget. I could easily see this going the way of Raidou games: semicontained stories that explore more and more of a world made stagnant by technology, Aion, etc. The stylized models for the demons seem to point in this direction. I'd like to see how they further develop this setting, and see them explore the grittier parts that were blocked away, like that alleyway. They got a foundation and room to grow. I'd be game for a second entry of Ringo and her adventures being able to get away with legally being able to drink alcohol.

[@kichiroumitsurugi4363]

Yea. I feel like there was meant to be more with Raven

[@CC-xq2qi]

It’s okay This along with the gameplay of 5 shows that it’s a matter of time before the new people at atlus get it right It’s also interesting to see that they tried something different with combat

[@MysteryEzekude]

...Huh...Strangely enough, this surprise "sequel" to Soul Hackers looks and sounds more like a Cyber Sleuth-esque game between with MegaTen demons instead of Digimon.

[@harrisonwhaley7872]

I saw a video the other day where the guy was upset that Ringo wasn’t a fish out of water archetype I couldn’t believe my eyes

[@GooTheMighty]

I honestly considered very niche, complex dungeons with very one-off puzzles and gimmicks a big part of what makes a Devil Summoner game a Devil Summoner game, so I’m surprised they completely did away with that for such generic corridors. Granted, I’ve never seen how they Raidou games do dungeons, so maybe it’s not a complete 180, but the other mechanic I considered core to this sub-franchise was the Demon Loyalty. Maybe omitting “Devil Summoner” in the title was a somewhat strategic decision, from a branding perspective. They could always put out a “Devil Summoner 3: Electric Beegaloo” and it would work.

[@GooTheMighty]

I still expect to see a Devil Summoner 3 at some point in the future.

[@nathanielbutler2553]

A little mercy there marsh SMT5 exploration was indeed fun

[@absoutezeo2126]

I honestly totally forgot about this game for a while, but after replaying Tokyo Mirage Sessions recently and having this video pop back into my feed, I've come to the realization that this game really is just TMS but worse in every single aspect. Yeah, even the societal critique is better in TMS. I know that game gets treated like shit in this fandom, but if people could get over themselves and stop bashing it for not being a game that they literally made up, they'd see that it's pretty worthwhile, actually. I also think SMT fans don't realize how "anime" Fire Emblem actually is, but that's another story lol.

[@DanBickeru]

I can't look at this game without immediately thinking of the Digimon Cyber Sleuth games. So much of the art direction feels ripped right out of it, which is funny because those were trying really hard to be SMT, to the point they used the same character designer as Devil Survivor.

[@GmodPlusWoW]

It might be because I've been reading The King in Yellow recently ("son, THAT'S powah!"), but Iron Mask talking about how "the only face [he has] is the one [we] see" makes me think of that one excerpt from the play. Same vibes as "I wear no mask". Naff as this game was, now we can relax. Also, gratz on reaching 100k subscribers. Hopefully your silver play button is in the mail.

[@Digital-Wave]

One of my subscribers pointed out that the soul matrix reminded them of the ps2 loading screen.

[@ForeverKite42]

kinda look like the dungeon design's focus was 'Show the fact that the main character is a lady with nice legs and butt!'

[@Mykahaia]

I'm only half-way through the game so I just watched the introduction but one thing I agree and can confirm is that Soul Hackers 2 is indeed a video game... And that opening SLAPS...

[@lessthantwo44]

Demon Negotiation in SH2: Ah, you don't have my [item]? All good chap, thank you for trying! I appreciate the thought. :) in most SMT games: ...you don't have my [item]? Pull your pants down and prepare >:)

[@nr2676]

prepare ... for SMT bs :)

[@sharkattack153]

When Ringo Soul Hack told Figue "I'm gonna hackers your soul 2", I lost my shit.

[@gnuwaves743]

Marsh, I love you giving me the SMT experience without the pain of actual gameplay. I know some people love the challenge and grind, but I just don't have the time for RNjesus right now. But I do love how dark and wacky these games can get. And any jrpg not set in a high school gets an automatic point for me. (I do enjoy persona but the tropes grow old real fast)

[@hopecat7466]

Marsh, you making a video makes me feel like doing a little jig and not caring who sees my bad dancing. Keep it up, man. Great stuff as always.

[@mikealangeloy]

I held off on watching this until I beat the game today, and I'm just starting it now. Before I get around to finishing it though I just wanted to share how I felt about the game and that was... Weird. Initially I loved SH2, even throughout the end in which I felt massively underwhelmed. Then as I watched the credits roll and hear Ringo's voice over I just couldn't help but think to myself that there just felt like there was something that was missing, hopefully I can figure out exactly what that was through your review.

[@Antiyoukai]

I finished it too. I liked it. But it was definitely more on the mid side. But it's fun enough I don't regret paying for it.

[@beetogarcia9983]

And here I was debating on whether I should get this or not. Thanks marsh

[@AshleysBallistics]

The moment I saw the teaser for soul hackers 2 I instantly thought of your video in the first game. Welp, time to buckle in for another review 🥰

[@sacredeight]

I will admit that I like the character designs but I'm biased because LAM was the designer and I adore his artstyle

[@Davvg]

Marsh you’re basically the only person whose opinion on these games I trust at this point. Great job as always! And I’m glad to see atlus has noticed you and provided you a review code!

[@emmereffing]

SMT: Mystic Quest

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

Oh my good god, that is the most accurate- Wait. No, it's not. Mystic Quest has insanely good music.

[@Shmeve0]

Love the style of the game very cool

[@tjofcarolina1776]

From the footage those dungeons remind me of Digimon Story: Cybersleuth's cyberspace (In a bad way)

[@nesmario123]

this game is literally persona without the heart

[@kichiroumitsurugi4363]

To be honest, SMT V is worse about it

[@Force-hiddenmasquerade]

This makes me want to get back into SMTV after I put it down after I couldn’t figure out where the fuck to go

[@ailill5458]

As someone who hasn't played a modern megaten game in years I really appreciate your reviews.

[@larskaiser8131]

I personally really liked the battle system (finally a game where random demons and bosses can actually wipe your butt with ease!) but I agree that the game has a lot of letdowns as well. The lack of budget shows everywhere, feels like they had a small team work on the game to see how to create games in Unity to prepare for a big release (Persona 6, most likely). I had a lot of fun with the game but even I wouldn't put it higher than a 7/10 or a 7.5/10.

[@FayeShiro]

I picked Soul Hackers 2 pretty early, thought it was pretty fun and different for the first few hours and I had the intention to platinum it but the further I got the more I felt it dragged on and on despite being comparatively short for a Megaten game. The thing that really bugged me the most and that many people have echoed was the sprint button being changed to a map spell you have to unlock and spend MP on, that really bugged me. The only extra content you get on any subsequent playthrough is in the soul matrix's which were already a pain and I in no way wanted to experience it again so that was out the window from the beginning. I've heard folks say the DLC side quest is good? But I didn't buy it so I have no idea. I know they're trying to add in QoL and extra stuff now with updates but I honestly already sold my copy of the game and they're a little too late for me to consider picking it up again unless I can get it dirt cheap. At the very least they got my replaying older SMT games and getting a taste of what was missing.

[@Brian-tn4cd]

DLC is alright in my opinion, but id wait on discounts, main highlight being you get to fight decently tough bosses, a lv99 superboss, more damage upgrades for your COMP, high level demons like Lilith and Seth are recruitable in the final floors of the new dungeon, and extra foods that substantially increase HP/MP. "Story" is not much to write home about, its a glorified side quest chain that gets voice acting, and if you buy it and play it after beating the story you'll miss at least 1/3 of it due to the main story's shenanigans

[@giannelli2291]

You are truly the cybershell of Altus games

[@El_Monchiz]

Yeeesssss im about to go to bed, perfect timing! ^^ ty Marsh, like always

[@temporarilyanon8779]

I think so much about just why this game exists, Like why soul hackers? why not literally any other spin-off? who were they even trying to appeal too? Why not just remake soul hackers og? Did no one stop to think a sequel to a 20 year old game might not be the best idea? You literally could've put the same time and money into a remake of the first one and it would've come out better, It's like they thought a working class japanese man in his 40's now was going to see "soul hackers 2" and remember "yeah i played that in my 20's let me pick that up".

[@vinegar4556]

Weirder still, it's a sequel that retains very little of what made SH1 what it was. It doesn't have the original aesthetic, characters, feel, not even gameplay. It's a very "in name only" revival, for a series that doesn't even really have any star power.

[@kichiroumitsurugi4363]

@@vinegar4556 To be honest, the SH1 aesthetic would definitely not fly these days, so it's understandable they went for the more modern look. I actually am fine with the gameplay being overhauled, SH1's gameplay is pretty unfun. As for characters...I mean, not much that can be done there, but it's nice to see Nishi again (yes, Azazel is in fact the same one from SH1)

[@nr2676]

It was made for Persona and Tokyo Mirrage Sessions fans, not SMT and Devil Summoner fans.