Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
From one of the greatest RPG developers in the world, Atlus, comes the second installment of the Shim Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner series, Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon. The game picks up not too long after The Soulless Army ends. If you didn’t play the first game, don’t worry, this game won’t go over your head.
Graphics
Remember, this is a PS2 game, so don’t expect anything epic in the graphics department. But, for a late PS2 game, it holds up very well. The Tokyo that you explore is very expanse and fun to experience. Kazuma Kaneko has created a very flashy, amine-like game that oozes with style.
- 18/20
Sound
The first thing you’ll notice in Devil Summoner 2, is the catchy music. Composer, Shoji Meguro, has created some amazing music again. He even took some of the music from the previous game and remixed it. The next thing you’ll notice is that there are no voiceovers in Devil Summoner 2. This is good and bad: good, because the voiceovers could have been horrible, like Chaos Wars; bad, because you end up reading a lot, like a couple of novels.
- 17/20
Story
You play as Raidou Kuzunoha the 14th, who is assigned a position in the Capital to look into some mysterious occurrences that seem to be happening, a lot. You take on a random missing person’s case that evolves into what could potentially be the end of the world – Gods and people wrecking havoc in Tokyo. Atlus has done a superb job in creating the well-paced story. It’s not necessarily a “good vs. evil” scenario. You will question your own actions and sometimes sympathize with the “enemy.”
- 19/20
Gameplay
The gamplay outside of battle is like any other RPG; however, inside the battles is where the gameplay excels. The battle gamplay is like the Tales of series – you have an area that you can move around in and attack, defend or come up with other battle tactics. As the main character, you can use your sword for some quick physical attacks, use your gun to attack from afar and stun the enemy, dodge and command your summoned demons to attack. Also, you can set your demons to use an attack repeatedly. There are almost 200 different demons in Devil Summoner 2 and you can take a maximum of 2 into battle with you. Another part of the gameplay is acquiring and fusing demons into more powerful ones. In battle, you can negotiate or bribe a demon to join you. The demons are the ones that will supply you with special abilities and magical attacks. The gamplay is very fluid, compared to The Soulless Army, and there is zero slow down in the frame rate.
- 19/20
Replayability
This game is shorter than most RPGs, clocking in at around 30 – 40 hours. But, don’t’ fret, there is a New Game+ that carries most of your stuff over to a new game. As I mentioned earlier, there are nearly 200 demons to collect and fuse to create more spells, attacks and other demons. Basic replay value for an RPG, but this is an RPG. The first play through is going to last you awhile and a second play through could last just as long.
- 18/20
Conclusion
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon is an excellent game for the PS2. If you’re a fan of RPGs, or Atlus, buy this game now! Honestly, it’s a unique experience that everyone should enjoy. Plus, it’s only $40 and, if you act quickly, you can receive 1 of 40,000 Raiho plushs.
Final Score
- 91/100
Grab your copy of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon below!
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