Atlus fans who are familiar with the Devil Summoner sub-series are probably acquainted through the PlayStation 2 Raidou Kuzunoha games. While those were action-RPGs set in a parallel 1920s/1930s era Japan, Devil Summoner actually began on the Sega Saturn, with the eponymous title and its sequel, Soul Hackers. Both were more traditional, turn-based RPGs with first-person dungeon crawling.
While Devil Summoner was set in modern Japan, though, Soul Hackers is a cyberpunk ordeal, with all of the technological quandaries that brings to bear on the already thought-provoking sort of gothic horror plotline for which Shin Megami Tensei games are known. It’s also, finally, coming to North America on the 3DS.
RPGs from the Saturn and PlayStation era, especially those that explored themes beyond the mundane fantasy tropes, come from a strange time in Japanese game development. Quirk and the unusual seemed to be the order of the day back then. There’s a certain atmosphere to games from that era that hasn’t really been properly duplicated since. It’s an exhilarating sensation, and one you can experience in the Spring of 2013, when the game comes to North American shelves.
Oh, and for those who are disappointed that Raidou is not readily in sight, Atlus promises that he’ll make an appearance through a new dungeon, exclusive to the 3DS version of the game.
Source: Press Release