Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers is a first-person dungeon crawler RPG that is set in the future. To be clear, the game is set in Amami City filled with hackers. You are taking control of one of these hackers who, along with his friend named Hitomi, are trying to break into the Algon corporate database with the intention of being a beta tester list for Paradigm X. Soul Hackers first appeared in Japan in the year 1997 for the Sega Saturn console. Then it was released in 1999 for the Playstation One. Finally though, the developer has decided to release this game in North America for the Nintendo 3DS.
When you dive right in, getting through various screens is effortless. In the beginning, you get to read through the various dialogues that get deep into the story. Then during some of the action sequences, the controls stay trouble-free as you just need to make use of the directions and your 3DS buttons to choose your function. There aren’t any elaborate directional movements like in Street Fighter to execute moves. But that’s because a game like this doesn’t require such controls. Further to that note, you don’t have a lot of buttons to keep track of. It’s all very simple and easy to manage as what you’re trying to do is select the option of your choice and move about. At certain times in the game, navigating through your environment can be complicated with the mazes that you run into. Luckily, the bottom touch screen provides a map of the level.  Besides that, you’ll be able to perform other hacks which can include changing the game difficulty and accessing different parts in the game system.
When you converse with your friend, Hitomi, your responses to her will dictate what type of magic she will use. So based on what you choose for your character to say in the beginning, you already have an effect on how your gameplay and results will end up. Therefore, it’s not just about getting through the dialogue, but also having your experience adjusted according to what transpires during your conversations. While this may detract some types of players who are in tuned with constant action, there’s still a lot going on in Soul Hackers. If players are detailed enough to read through the dialogue, they’d see a whole lot of incentives that will keep them engaged with the plot and character development.
Soul Hackers is filled with anime video sequences and artwork. As a matter of fact, the characters are pretty cute and well-drawn to look at. Outside of the videos, there aren’t exactly explosions or gun fire that will feast the screen. But aside from this, the game is looking great with some clean designs and color crispness. And to top it off, the 3D features really accentuate the way the game appears. Whether it’s on the main top or bottom touch screen, Soul Hackers look mighty fantastic. Occasionally you’ll hear some audio effects that give that nice added touch. They are effective in keeping the gameplay exciting, whether it’s the music playing in the background or the voice acting.
The beauty of Soul Hackers is accentuated by the demons that you summon. Now keep in mind that these are digitalized demons that you will be working with to help with your hacking efforts. Your interaction with them will guide how much loyalty, attack power, and magic they end up with. The more respect and faith your demon has with you, the more effective their attacks and magic.
It’s quite a miracle for a game that originally spawned in Japan for a very long time to cross over to the USA and Canada.  That’s why a Nintendo 3DS title like Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers is truly a gamer’s delight. It’s a good-looking game with many qualities that allow the dungeon-crawling RPG experience to be pleasing. Look out for this game in your local video game retail store or the Nintendo eShop.
