RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army Review

Game: RAIDOU Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army

Developer: Atlus

Genre: Action RPG

Release Date: June 19, 2025

Completed: July, 2025 on PS4 Pro

Raidou swagging it with his sword. Source

Overall Impression

I was very excited when this remake was announced earlier this year as a super Megaten fan. The original game is mostly regarded well in the SMT-sphere, and it is a series I knew very little about. I only knew it forgoes turn-based combat and is a more isolated story, that features an iconic main character who appears in other Megaten games. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this game in the first 15 hours but found some staleness and disappointments later in the game. Overall, I did enjoy RAIDOU for its charm, sequestered story and setting, well rendered graphics and scenes and its uniqueness from

the overall franchise.

Gameplay Mechanics & Performance

This game has a solid overall performance, with only some minute issues that I noticed as someone very familiar with Megaten games. I am a turn-based combat warrior, but I have dabbled in the action RPG style gaming, notably with a deep love and nostalgia for the Kingdom Hearts series. This combat, while it does not feel as smooth as KH, has some unique abilities. Raidou fights with 2 active demons in his party against all the foes he faces. The Raidou unique skills were useful, but I felt the cooldowns are longer than I would have liked, leaving some combat feeling like bland button mashing, especially because many bosses were not super punishing. I had my game crash twice during combat, around mid-game, both times trying to confine (recruit) Nekomata. This remake includes an auto-save function which was helpful for these crashes.

Combat aside, there is a plethora of side quest content, with a somewhat large but contained map that Raidou traverses constantly, which enhances the feeling of exploration. Raidou’s use of demons in the real and dark world is well-rounded, solidifying the cohesion of the Devil Summoner title. Demons feature cute and quick negotiation during confinement, gain loyalty to the player and ultimately give Raidou gifts in real time and sometimes post fusion. This is endearing, but not weight bearing on gameplay.

Fusion is always a highlight in Megaten games for me, but I felt like it doesn’t matter as much in this game, especially as it progresses. Demon fusion has some useful elements like being able to search for demons above a level range and register multiple copies of the same demon, but seriously lacks in other departments, like not being able to sort by cost. The UI wasn’t great, especially for calculating the cost of demons. Players must click to the demon result screen to see Raidou’s wallet, which in my opinion should be on all of the fusion screens for easier budgeting.

This game forgoes unique demon skills which was a bummer (RIP Hassou Tobi, Die for Me, Death Flies etc.) and makes demon fusion feel less exciting/important. Moreover, it's so easy to constantly fuse elements (free stat boost essentially), especially because you can recruit the same demon more than once, and just grind elemental fusion into one demon multiple times. The skill list feels much more limited, and of less importance, especially because Raidou is by far the primary damage dealer in the party. This places a strong(ish) importance being placed on Raidou’s weapon crafting instead.

The dungeons mostly felt unique, as most correspond with different areas of the map which are shaped kind of wonky in hand with fixed camera angles. You can really tell the original game was from the PS2 era, with map designs reminding me of Final Fantasy X. The frustration of movement in navigating with a fixed camera angle is oddly familiar. This dodginess reads like nostalgia for the era of gaming I grew up with. Most of the bosses after the first one do not feel super challenging or extremely engaging, but some side quests battles are more captivating. My main gripe is with the final dungeon of this game. Not only is the map extra offbeat, but the player has to replay literally every boss from the game at a higher level. I found this SUPER annoying and feel like it is a copout. I understand it's supposed to be like Raidou revisiting all of his memories but gameplay wise was extremely unsatisfying. The final boss was cool, and wraps up the story in a fairly epic way, especially with the final phase with explosive AOE attacks that begin in hand with the title theme being played.

Story and Characters

RAIDOU is a nice diversion from the usual apocalyptic narrative of other SMT games. The Taisho era setting makes the story feel like a time piece in an enclosed narrative. The same is to be said about the limited cast and map. Raidou is an undeniably cool character and is supplemented with more coolness through the Kuzunoha legacy. Gouto is an epic sidekick, although perhaps a bit chatty, more in line with the modern SMT guides characters. Of course, I am partial to Gouto, having a black cat myself. Narumi and Tae feel a bit stale, but provide some humanity in contrast to the player’s devil summoner ability. The other collaborators are not super memorable to me except for Rasputin because first of all why is he there and second of all he has the most personality and spunk of the side characters.

The story builds at an appropriate rate with a fun twist of time travel being introduced as the game goes on. This feels fitting, giving the ability to summon demons and enter the alternate dark realm, which brings forth a stronger sense of a multidimensional story. A cool subversion in the story is leading the player to believe Munakata is the antagonist, when it is actually a Raidou from the future.

This is a cool isolated story that felt like it occurred in a vacuum which I believe emits a certain type of nostalgia for some PS2-era RPG style gaming. Stories that have a special protagonist, fated with ultimate responsibility that traverse a story with clear beginnings, middle and endings that feel like a strong sealing of events.

Graphics and Sound

The graphics, as evident of its nature in a remaster, are very well done and clear. Some of my favourite Megaten Youtubers remark on how there was perhaps too much colour added to the game, but as a visually impaired player it helps me read and see elements in the game more clearly. I see the value in muting or having a more selective colour palette, but for me personally, accessibility wins here.

Some elements of the animations are particularly long, even with “skip” options that don’t really feel like you’re fast forwarding. For example, the fusion screens, even when “skipped” take a really long time, and I wish there could have been a better skip. The game also features some aggressively long load times for changing maps, but I’m not sure if this is because I played on a PS4 Pro. In regards to some specific visuals, I noticed some demons had more censored designs. Notably, Belphegor’s toilet throne is replaced with a more discrete outhouse style box and Lamia was given a bra of some kind. This makes me sad because I love the vulgarity and harshness in some iconic demon designs. It just feels like a cheap way to stray from tradition in favour of trying to sell to a wider audience.

As usual, this game has some banger music, composed by the GOAT Shoji Meguro. Although not a deeply long OST, I overall enjoyed it. I wish some bosses had unique music, but it overall fits the events on screen. I deeply appreciate the full voice-acted story and beyond. Moreover, each demon has a unique way of saying “Raidou!” which is extremely charming. 

Comparisons, Final Thoughts, Conclusions

A unique experience that feels like it occurs in a vacuum (in a good way), the RAIDOU Remaster is worth your time. A neat and well-paced story coupled with a time piece setting is a recipe for success, in 2006 and again in 2025. I am glad to see Atlus remaster older games with QoL upgrades to introduce older titles to the modern audience. It was very endearing and I enjoyed the game albeit with some parts feeling repetitive or undercooked.

Overall Arbitrary Rating:

6.5/10 spoopies