I’m excited for Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army, even if its title has risked becoming nearly as much of a tongue twister as Kirby and the Forgotten Land Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World. As with Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster, ATLUS has once again surprised us all in choosing to spruce up another game from its illustrious past.
It’s also a game that I hadn’t come across before, which, despite however much its genre captivates me, wasn’t a surprise given its PlayStation 2 origin as Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army. After spending time playing the game on Nintendo Switch 2 at a recent preview session, I can’t wait to team up with Gouto-Douji and complete whatever case files are hurled in our direction.
The black cat is Raidou Kuzunoha’s companion, accompanying him on missions to investigate demon-related threats to the Capital’s citizens from the Dark Realm, its invisible inhabitants scheming to exploit the darkness and vulnerability in people’s hearts.
Raidou may work as an apprentice at the Narumi Detective Agency, but his true calling is being a Devil Summoner. Investigating strange incidents around the city, he has a unique ability in that he can call upon the help of the demons who have allied with his cause through the art of confinement mid-battle.
In my short time with the game, an Alp read an exhausted servant’s troubled inner thoughts for me to receive some red wine that a Big Tarrasque was craving, an Azumi helped to rescue Taro the Dog after the pooch somehow got stranded high above a shrine entrance, and I purged an Aril Rift by defeating the demons that lurked inside it.
It turns out that the work of a Devil Summoner offers quite the job variety and, for a game that came out some 19 years ago, demonstrates a gameplay concept that I know I’m not alone in thinking would work well within the Pokémon universe. As someone who’s completely new to Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army, I felt motivated, or perhaps happily let myself become distracted from the main questline, to run around the Capital and see what other mishaps I could summon demons to help resolve. They need to earn their keep, otherwise I’ll sacrifice them in a Demon Fusion…
That main quest soon led me back to the basement in Daidouji Residence, where the Big Tarrasque unwelcomingly eyed Raidou up as the perfect meal to accompany the red wine I’d retrieved for him. Aside from the disrespectful lack of gratitude, this threw me into my first boss battle, having only dabbled in smaller demonic skirmishes up until this point.
The game’s battle system is fantastic. It has been “overhauled” compared to the original, but I’m not best placed to tell you how much (or little) has changed, given my lack of familiarity with it. Part-tutorial in teaching you how to build your Spirit gauge to perform a Spirit Slash (X and A Button), it was here that the game’s action RPG trappings shone in their fluidity.
With the demonic companions in your party freely left to throw their own weight behind the battle, you can move around the area, select which enemy you want to target and unleash whatever combination of weapon-based attacks or magic upon them. Rather than selecting these through menu choices that would slow down the pace, everything’s tied to button input. The directional buttons let you use an item or switch between your demons, whereas the standard input (A, B, X and Y Buttons) let you dodge, jump or perform light and heavy sword attacks. Hold the ZR Button, and these same buttons can be used to access your combat skills, such as the Pyro Sign, Frost Sign or Art of Confinement. It’s dynamic, constantly engaging, and better than what we find in some modern games.
What elevates the experience further is the new English voice cast who have recorded lines for the main story. I didn’t have enough time with the game or see enough cutscenes to be able to feel the impact of such a change at this point, but it shows the developer’s commitment to delivering more than a straightforward remaster.
As with Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut, this isn’t a graphical showcase that will demonstrate what the Nintendo Switch 2 hardware can achieve. However, we can look forward to sharp visuals and a solid frame rate, though. I love the game’s art direction, too. I have more familiarity with the Persona series, but the demon designs are incredible, and I can’t wait to encounter more in the full game. I know that I definitely want to recruit Raiho.
I surprised even myself at how much I enjoyed my fleeting time with Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army. The remaster is shaping up to be exactly what the game deserves, and, despite my brief session, I already know that I will be gripped by the events that unfold in this supernatural detective mystery. Luckily, we don’t all have that long to wait, and I simply hope that it isn’t overshadowed by all the other games that surround the Nintendo Switch 2 launch.
Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army will be released at retail and digitally on the Nintendo eShop for both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 worldwide on 19 June 2025. Those who pre-order will receive a Raidou Glasses bonus: a set of Taisho-era glasses for Raidou to don in-game.
