RAIDOU Remastered was supplied by SEGA for evaluate. Thanks!
There are a couple of corporations that I can identify off the highest of my head that discover a strategy to constantly make nice video games briefly spans of time due to the way in which they masterfully re-use property and mechanics, and ATLUS is on the prime of the checklist. Their video games all have very comparable mechanics and monsters, however they nonetheless handle to vary sufficient with their themes, story, and total ambiance to make every expertise really feel distinctive and pleasurable. RAIDOU Remastered: The Thriller of the Soulless Military is a kind of video games, and identical to ATLUS’ different titles, it’s superior.
For some context, it is a remaster of the sport Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Military, which was launched in 2005 on the PS2. Nonetheless, in contrast to a standard remaster, there are a ton of modifications, to the purpose the place I’ll even think about this nearer to a remake. On prime of the graphical updates, the fight system has been largely overhauled, extra monsters can be found to seek out and recruit, there are new mechanics and techniques, the present mechanics have been enhanced, full voice performing has been added in, and a lot extra. Itemizing all of the modifications would take up an excessive amount of area on this web page, but it surely’s sufficient to make it really feel extra like a remake.
Story is essential in a number of ATLUS video games, and RAIDOU would not disappoint. You play as a younger satan summoner who has been assigned to look at over the capital, defeat devils, and work as a detective. Nonetheless, as extra devils are popping up, you’ll tackle a case that leads you down a mysterious path, stuffed with twists and turns that lead down some insane paths that I by no means would have anticipated. I will not go deeper into these, but it surely undoubtedly acquired to a degree the place I did not know what to anticipate subsequent.
Whereas the narrative is not excellent, it delivers an important story that I used to be captivated by. The darker story and themes are executed properly with out feeling too miserable, whereas happening in an fascinating setting and Taisho period time interval. That results in an fascinating merging of older Japanese and Western affect, and may result in some fascinating points, like somebody being upset about Taxis turning into extra frequent as an alternative of Rickshaws. The voiceovers are fairly stable, too, and with the great-looking character fashions and settings, I used to be having a blast.
In comparison with ATLUS’ different releases, RAIDOU is a part of the Satan Summoner collection, and shares a number of frequent parts with Shin Megami Tensei, however there are some key variations which might be distinctive to this sport. One of many largest is the real-time fight system, which encompasses the core gameplay loop. You’ll have a weak and powerful assault, in addition to a number of particular talents, and use these with two satan companions to defeat different devils.
The fight is considerably like a tug of battle along with your satan companions. Their talents depend on how a lot Magic (MAG) you’ve got, and it depletes fairly shortly. Weak assaults replenish MAG to gas your companion’s talents, whereas your robust assault offers considerably extra harm to them, however would not replenish any MAG. You and your companions may also use elemental talents that would weaken the enemy, which boosts how a lot MAG your weak assaults replenish or how a lot harm your robust assaults do. We even have particular assaults that may deal nice harm and regenerate a number of MAG, so using these might be essential in battle as properly.
I wasn’t an enormous fan of the fight within the very starting. I felt the weak assaults have been means too weak, and there wasn’t sufficient selection, however as quickly as extra mechanics and the Shin Megami Tensei’s signature satan fusion system have been unlocked, it began getting considerably extra enjoyable. The frantic tug-of-war to maintain my devils equipped with MAG, utilizing talents to weaken enemies, and strike them is a good loop that stored me engaged and solely acquired higher over time.
I additionally need to take a second and recognize a number of the different high quality of life modifications in battle. We now have the power to swap out our two satan companions and our personal abilities at any time throughout the combat, and since we are able to solely have three at a time, this offers an opportunity to ensure the simplest talents are geared up always.
As for getting new devils, capturing them is comparatively straightforward and is finished throughout battle. With every completed battle, you get EXP that ranges you and all of your devils up, however there’s a cap to the stats they will have. To extend them, we might be heading to the Goumaden and participating in fusing. This brings two completely different devils collectively to create a brand new one, which often has increased stats and extra talents to make the most of in fight. They’ll additionally inherit previous lively and passive abilities, and if there is a sure monster you want, you’ll be able to register it to resummon for a price. The Goumaden additionally homes a strategy to improve our personal weapon with supplies we discover to provide it additional stats or extra harm.
The system is fantastic, and as a fan of it in earlier ATLUS video games, I can say that it nonetheless holds up even after utilizing it so many instances. Discovering time to get new demons, degree them up, and fuse them for a greater mixture was nice to return and do, and it gave me an opportunity to spherical out my group with all the basic and therapeutic abilities I needed. It took a while, but it surely was properly value it. Weapon strengthening is sort of useful too, and with three completely different weapon varieties to evolve into, I discovered the one which finest match the way in which I need to play.
Exterior of fight, we might be strolling round a number of completely different cities and environments, and finishing our missions. A few of these are for the primary quest, whereas there are different straightforward instances to finish. There are additionally some hidden objects that may be discovered with the assistance of the satan companions and rifts to get some additional EXP and cash with barely more durable battles. With the ability to quick journey with the Specific Streetcar made navigating the overworld simpler, however I’d have a lot somewhat spent extra time in battles.
Nonetheless, I’ll say there are nonetheless some areas that make the sport really feel dated. Having to undergo a number of completely different home windows to the Goumaden to fuse or improve weapons, then get taken again to the primary menu to do it once more, simply felt tedious, and the set digicam angles when working round within the overworld generally acquired in my means. It was little points like that which jogged my memory that this was initially a 2005 launch. They’re small issues that I used to be blissful to take care of, however nonetheless features I want have been improved.
Nonetheless, whereas it’s playable on the Steam Deck, it may also be a little bit bit odd.
RAIDOU Remastered: The Thriller of the Soulless Military – Steam Deck Efficiency
Within the overworld, RAIDOU Remastered performs splendidly, and may hit 90 FPS with excessive battery drain, however for no matter motive, some battles are likely to drop considerably. I noticed this primarily within the opening tutorial and in some fights in several areas throughout the story. It jogged my memory a number of Persona 3 Reload’s points earlier than Valve patched SteamOS to assist it run higher, so it’s extremely potential it might be having an analogous drawback.
Nonetheless, I most well-liked how the sport seems to be and did not need to lower the visible high quality for higher efficiency, which nonetheless ended up struggling in some fights, so I stored the whole lot the way in which it was and opted for a forty five FPS lock. It nonetheless had these drops, but it surely did not really feel as impactful or occur as typically, which made them bearable.
With the defaults being the best high quality settings, I can comfortably say that is one of the simplest ways to play. Might you go right down to 30 FPS for much more stability or decrease high quality settings for higher battery life? Sure in fact. However the sacrifices do not justify the modifications, and I’d say it is higher to take care of the problems right here and there over attempting to repair 2-3 drawback spots.
Accessibility
The sport does have a number of settings that mean you can change completely different features of the expertise. You’ll be able to change problem everytime you need, toggle autosave and inverted controls, change management sensitivity and preset layouts, change Artwork of Confinement controls, change audio settings, and toggle the HUD show.
The sport would not assist 16:10 resolutions, but it surely does have cloud saves and controller assist. There are not any HDR settings.
Conclusion
RAIDOU Remastered: The Thriller of the Soulless Military is an excellent time that I discovered myself having fun with, regardless of some features that make it really feel a little bit dated. The tug-of-war fight blended with ATLUS’ established mechanics and nice story make this a worthwhile expertise to see by means of to the tip. I loved the fictional time interval that it takes place in, and whereas a number of the menus and glued digicam angles make the sport really feel dated, it nonetheless succeeds in what it units out to do, with nice high quality of life options that improve the gameplay in vital methods.
On prime of that, it does run on the Steam Deck, but it surely is not excellent. It is nonetheless very playable, and I’d suggest taking part in it on the go, however simply be ready for some odd framerate points right here and there. I imagine these might be fastened eventually, however for now, they’re rare sufficient to only push by means of them.
Our evaluate relies on the PC model of this sport.
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