First off, as any avid MegaTen fan will have already noticed, is the return of Kazuma Kaneko as the game's character designer and art director. Having been MIA on Atlus' two previou
s MegaTen games (Persona 3 and Persona 4), we now know what he's been up to (or at least some of what he's been up to). He takes a moment in the article to emphasize the inclusion of more demons to befriend and talk about a much bigger game world for Raidou to explore this time around, with an ever-deepening plot that will take him to various places outside of the Capital.Next, the game's director, Kazuyuki Yamai, chimes in to assure players that DS2 (as I will call the game from here on out) will feature a darker world than its predecessor, and more depth in the story and gameplay. He mentions, however, that the game is still very accessible to newcomers, so no one should feel left out.
DS2 features many of the same characters from the previous game, including Raidou Kuzunoha the Fourteenth as the game's silent protagonist. It also heralds the return of his familiar Gouto, his "boss" at the detective agency, Shouhei Narumi, and the slightly ditzy, but ever resourceful "ace" reporter, Kichou "Tae" Asakura.
Set during the 20th year of the Taishou era (which doesn't actually exist, in case you wanted to know. The Taishou era lasted only 14 years. If it did, that would make it roughly 1931.) in a small, behind-the-times kind of
backwater village called Kanson (also likely a fictitious place). The Narumi Detective Agency (which Raidou works for) receives a missing persons case, and Raidou, Narumi, Tae, and Gouto all make the trip to investigate. During the investigation, Raidou learns of a new disaster threatening to befall the Capital...Battles in DS2 will work similarly to Soulless Army, functioning completely in real time. However, some changes over DS1 include the ability to summon two demons at once, the ability to steal MAG (the substance used to summon) from enemies when their weakness is exploited, and the return of the much-clamored- or Demon Negotiation (where the player is forced to convince the demon to help him or her out). Additionally, Raidou will himself be able to make use of special moves in coordination with his summoned demons (which is a nice addition considering how little Raidou could do in DS1). Finally, the player will be able to tweak his or her demon's AI, telling them when they should heal, how they should attack, and so on (which really should have been a standard feature in DS1, imo).
There will also be a few extra additions to the battle system, including the ability to spam your special skills after continually exploiting an enemy's weakness. This suggests that
the combat will be much more challenging in DS2. (This is probably a good thing, as most fans agree that DS1 was just too damn easy.)Demon Negotiation is back in full swing, and looks very much like Demon Negotiation in many of the other MegaTen iterations: answer questions or make comments, and based on each demon's personality, they may agree to help you out in some way (joining you being only one of many possibilities), they may get scared and run away, or you might piss them off, making them attack you (usually stronger than they would have been normally).
In terms of non-battle gameplay, Raidou will be expected to find clues and solve puzzles just as before. Cases will be solved through listening to information provided by townsfolk and demons alike, searching for clues, and sending your demons out to investigate areas Raidou cannot access. This sounds all very Soulless Army-ish, so here's hoping there aren't as many pointless fetch quests...
The game promises to feature many new characters that will take an active role in the ever deepening mystery. Of particular mention in this article are three people who are apparently foreigners to Japan. One, a strange woman with pale blue eyes, encounters Raidou and Narumi just outside of a deep forest, telling them that she has been waiting for them in order to offer a warning... Another is an old man with long white hair who speaks with English mixed into his Japanese. The third is a young man with blonde hair who continually crosses paths with Raidou, offering mysterious and deep words for our heroes.
For those who played DS1, you will probably remember the "dark" version of many of the places you visited. These were basically the same locales, but full of demons instead of people. In DS2, instead of visiting this Dark Realm, you will be exploring demon-filled dungeons.
Another interesting point about DS2 is the existance of different endings. Depending on your actions throughout the game, your route to the ending, and indeed what ending you get, will change. This is fairly common in most MegaTen games (like Chaos vs. Law in Nocturne), but was not present in DS1. It is unclear at this time exactly what choices you will make that will affect the
outcome, but rest assured that they are in there.Finally, the article shows off the Black Masks. Wearing black masks (duh), carrying strange lanterns, and wielding katanas, the Black Masks are somehow involved in the mystery surrounding Kanson. We don't yet know what their objective is, but we do know that they are very keen on preventing Raidou from advancing in his investigation. Possibly acting as their leader, there is one man among them who wears a red mask and keeps a pet(?) bug, also wearing a mask. Oooo.
(Phew) Long article was long. You can check out the scans throughout the article courtesy of Gamekyo.
Devil Summoner: Kuzunoha Raidou vs. The King of Abbadon will be available on PlayStation 2 in Japan on October 23, 2008. No word yet on a North American version.
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