Over the last decade or so, Atlus has really made a name for itself in the Western world. While Atlus' vast back catalog of games stretches all the way back to the mid-1980s, it’s only been in the last 10 years or so that its games have made the trip across the pond, with titles likeShin Megami TenseiandPersonabecoming increasingly popular over the years. And now, with a slew ofPersonascoming to modern consoles, Atlus has never been more popular, which also opens the door for titles likeSoul Hackers 2to make it into the mainstream.
Releasing in just a week’s time, on August 26 in the US,Soul Hackers 2is the latest RPG entry in thelong-runningMegami Tenseifranchise, and is itself the fifth installment in theDevil Summonerseries. With turn-based, party-based gameplay that’ll be familiar to any fan of JRPGs,Soul Hackers 2also adds in a dash ofPersona’s social sim gameplay and puts players in the roles of Ringo and Figue, two supernatural twins who are tasked with stopping the apocalypse.
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Soul Hackers 2 - Ringo and Figue
Though players will meet a lot of colorful characters duringSoul Hackers 2, Ringo and Figue are by far the most important, acting as the central protagonists of the game and the main playable characters.Soul Hackers 2begins with Ringo and Figue landing on the planet, and it’s quickly revealed that both are supernatural entities known as agents of Aion. Aion is a digital hivemind that’s been collecting data on humanity for countless years, and upon predicting that the world is about to end due toa war between Devil Summoners, it creates two sentient, superpowered beings called Ringo and Figue, who are both born at the same time.
Though they were born simultaneously, Figue acts as an older, wiser sister to Ringo, often taking a step-back from any action or confrontation, and choosing to help in other ways. On the other hand, Ringo is propelled by her curiosity for the world and has a strong desire to build connections between herself and humans, while also trying to discover as much information as possible about human culture and societal conventions.
During the early stages of their adventure,Ringo gains the ability to Soul Hack, which essentially lets her revive her party members. Although Ringo and Figue arrive on the planet alone, they’ll soon meet a whole cast of characters, some of which join the duo’s party. Arrow, a Devil Summoner from Yatagarasu, is one such party member, with Aion considering him an individual that the two need to protect. Milady is another, being a Devil Summoner from the opposing Phantom Society clan. Saizo rounds out the initial crew, being a freelance Devil Summoner and a real people-person.
Though she’s not of this world, Ringo soon comes into possession ofher own Arm Terminal or COMP, which allows her to summon the Antikythera weapon, which acts as both a ranged weapon and a katana. Ringo is an all-round fighter but has a particular proficiency for Almighty and Electric skills. She can also use Commander Skills, which are a special set of support or passive abilities that can be used by all party members and don’t cost an action. However, these Commander Skills do have a cooldown attached, so Ringo needs to strategize on when’s best to use them. While Figue doesn’t participate in combat, she can use a small drone called Mimi, which is particularly useful for searching areas that would otherwise be unreachable.
Soul Hackers 2is set to release on August 26th for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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