Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon
The cover for the North American version of the game.
Developer(s)	Atlus
Publisher(s)	Atlus
Composer(s)	Shōji Meguro
Series	Megami Tensei
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	JP October 23, 2008 NA May 12, 2009
Genre(s)	Action role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	CERO: C ESRB: M (Mature)
Media/distribution	DVD-ROM

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon, simply known as Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (デビルサマナー 葛葉ライドウ 対 アバドン王, Debiru Samanā Kuzunoha Raidō tai Abadon Ō^?) in Japan, is an action role-playing game in the Megami Tensei franchise. Along with the previous game Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army and the official derivative novel Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Dead Ekishi^[1], the game continues a sub-metaseries dedicated to the titular hero Raidou Kuzunoha.

Developed and published by Atlus, it was released in Japan on October 23, 2008 in two formats. The standard version included a soundtrack CD, while the limited edition, Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon Plus, came packaged with a new version of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne titled Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Maniax Chronicle Edition, which includes a guest appearance by Raidou Kuzunoha.^[2] SMT: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon was then released in North America on May 12, 2009, with all launch units containing a rare collectible plush doll of Raiho, a version of the Atlus mascot Jack Frost, dressed as Raidou.^[3] A release in PAL-territories has not been announced so far. Koei, which has published the previous game of the series in PAL-territories, has no plans to publish this game.^[4]

Gameplay

Gameplay is similar to that of the previous Raidou Kuzunoha game with some expansions and refinements. While traveling throughout Tsukudo-Cho and the neighboring towns, Raidou and Gouto can investigate into the case by speaking with civilians and searching for clues or other items. The store at Konnou-Ya still exists, as does the Gouma-Den. Upon entering the Dark Realm or other hostile environments, Raidou will randomly engage in battles with monster foes.

During battle, Raidou can attack with his sword (a stronger weapon which can combo to deal much greater damage) or gun (a weaker weapon which can stun enemies). He can also block with his sword to reduce damage taken and dodge roll to evade enemy attacks altogether. However, the core of the battle system involves utilizing the game's various monsters, many of which hail from previous Shin Megami Tensei titles.

The Pokémon-styled capturing mechanism present in the previous game is no more; instead, Raidou can now negotiate with enemy monsters to try to persuade or bribe them to join his side (a tactic employed in many other Shin Megami Tensei games). Raidou can summon two of the monsters from his roster at any time to fight alongside him; demons employ a variety of offensive, support, or healing spells which will greatly expedite the flow of battle. Both Raidou and his monsters will level up as they continue to win fights; additionally, monsters may drop Yen or items.

Raidou will also need to strategically balance his MAG (Magnetite) across fights. MAG is required to use monsters' spells, and more potent spells require more consumption of MAG. Merely killing enemies yields a tiny amount of MAG, but the key to much greater MAG acquisition is exploiting enemies' elemental weaknesses and physically attacking them while they are stunned from being hit by spells that target their weaknesses. In this way, Raidou must expend MAG to regain MAG; the goal is to attack with effective spells in order to absorb more MAG than is being expended.

Outside of battle, monsters can assist with investigations via skills such as mind-reading and transforming into various key individuals in order to deceive shady characters into giving up critical information. In order to continually gain higher-level and more diverse monsters, Raidou can utilize Dr. Victor's Gouma-Den to fuse monster together, creating more powerful monsters for Raidou to access provided he has the capacity to control them. Other self-improvements include synthesizing better swords for Raidou and sacrificing monsters to raise the strength of standard monsters.

Plot

Characters

The player controls Raidou Kuzunoha XIV, a young devil summoner charged with protecting the Capital. He is aided by Gôto-Douji, who is Raidou Kuzunoha the first who has been punished for a crime in the past. Raidou works under Detective Narumi from the Narumi Detective Agency. Kichou "Tae" Asakura, a young news reporter provides him leads to solving the detective's cases.

In the story, Akane Tsukigata, daughter of the finance minister, asks Raidou to search for her brother Dahn Tsukigata. Along the way, Raidou meets with Geirin Kuzunoha XVII, a member of a separate branch of the Kuzunoha clan. Geirin Kuzunoha protects a certain village alongside his apprentice, Nagi, who hopes to become Geirin Kuzunoha XVIII.

Story

The game chronologically occurs after its prequel, with Raidou Kuzunoha the 14th again being summoned by the Yatagarasu to protect the Capital of Japan. The Taishō period in Japanese history has been fictionally extended into its 20th year, placing the events of the game in the early 1930s (but with a setting influenced more so by the 1920s). Raidou and his mentor, the talking cat Gouto, are again called upon to protect the prosperity and peace of the Capital by simultaneously working undercover at the Narumi Detective Agency and battling demonic foes using the powers Raidou carries as a Summoner. The story begins when a young woman enters the detective agency and asks Narumi's and Raidou's help in locating a curious man named Dahn.

Music

Shōji Meguro composed the soundtrack for SMT: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon. The official soundtrack CD comes with the standard version of the game in Japan containing 23 tracks lasting a total of 45 minutes^[5].

While the game has new compositions, several tracks from Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. The Soulless Army are arranged for this game - including Theme of Raidou Kuzunoha, Battle -Raidou- and Tsukudo-cho - whilst others are taken directly from the previous game without any arrangement whatsoever.^[6]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
GameRankings	79.62%/100[7]
Metacritic	79/100[8]
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	A[9]
GameSpot	7.5/10[10]
GameTrailers	7.3/10[11]
IGN	7.5/10[12]
X-Play	[13]

SMT: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon has received positive reviews thus far; currently, the game holds an 79 average at Metacritic^[8] derived from 15 reviews chronicled by the website.

See also

• Yasunori Kato
• Teito Monogatari

References

1. ^ デビルサマナー 葛葉ライドウ 対 死人驛使 Enterbrain Japan
2. ^ http://www.atlusnet.jp/topic/detail/622
3. ^ http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/56960
4. ^ http://koei.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=22501#post22501
5. ^ http://www.atlusnet.jp/topic/detail/647
6. ^ http://www.new-moon.tv/teitoshinpou/news/index.html
7. ^ "Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon". GameRankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/ps2/951791-devil-summoner-2/index.html. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
8. ^ ^{a b} "Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2 - Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon (ps2: 2009)". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ps2/shinmegamitenseidevilsummoner2raidou. Retrieved 2009-06-24. 
9. ^ "Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha Vs. King Abaddon Review". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3174161. 
10. ^ "Devil Summoner 2 Review". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/devilsummonerkuzunoharaidoutaiabaddonou/review.html. Retrieved 2009-05-29. 
11. ^ "Devil Summoner 2 Review". GameTrailers. http://www.gametrailers.com/video/review-devil-summoner/52094. Retrieved 2009-09-30. 
12. ^ "Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon Review". IGN. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/984/984659p1.html. 
13. ^ "Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abadon Review". X-Play. http://g4tv.com/games/ps2/53354/Shin-Megami-Tensei-Devil-Summoner-Raidou-Kuzunoha-vs-King-Abadon/review/. Retrieved 2009-05-29. 

External links

• Official website
• Official U.S site